MENA Members.. Proof of Ongoing Relationship

[My Mohammed 2]

I was wondering if MENA can have a serious discussion concerning, Proof of Ongoing Relationship? Those of you who have already been through your interviews, can help those of us that are still yet to have theirs. This seems to be the number one reason for denial of a visa and I really want to make sure I have all bases covered.

Is there something you would've done differently?

Exactly what did you include for your proof?

Did you not have enough of one type of proof?

Do you feel web cam pics of you and your SO is a waste of time?

Are web cam pics of you, your SO, and family members important?

What seems to be the strongest Proof of an Ongoing Relationship?

What seems to be the least important proof?

What questions was your SO asked during the interview?

Especially in Egypt, I am very interested as this is where we're going through. Please if there is anything you have to share about your experiences good or bad, please do? This is for all MENA members, please tell us your experiences so those of us not yet there can learn from them.

[tenderheartusa79 14]

I was wondering if MENA can have a serious discussion concerning, Proof of Ongoing Relationship? Those of you who have already been through your interviews, can help those of us that are still yet to have theirs. This seems to be the number one reason for denial of a visa and I really want to make sure I have all bases covered.

Is there something you would've done differently?

Exactly what did you include for your proof?

Did you not have enough of one type of proof?

Do you feel web cam pics of you and your SO is a waste of time?

Are web cam pics of you, your SO, and family members important?

What seems to be the strongest Proof of an Ongoing Relationship?

What seems to be the least important proof?

What questions was your SO asked during the interview?

Especially in Egypt, I am very interested as this is where we're going through. Please if there is anything you have to share about your experiences good or bad, please do? This is for all MENA members, please tell us your experiences so those of us not yet there can learn from them.

Well i think you can take all the proof of ongoing relationship to the interview like Emails.letters,greeting cards,pictures,gift receipts ,char logs,phone bills...........

and you know what maybe they will not even look at nay of these.

well i don't think that web cam pictures is a waste of time cause its show you both talking to each other and i think its new way to proof of ongoing relationship (we have so many me and my fiance and with her mom)

i think the strongest proof of ongoing relationship is how many times you visited your fiance ? and how much time you spent with him ?

as i said maybe you will take a tans of emails,pictures..... and maybe they will not even look at them

i think they ask basic questions at the interview like

1-What's your fiancee full name?

2-How many times have you met?

3-When and how did you meet?

4- How long have you known each other?

5-How long were you together the last time?

6-What are the dates of the visits?

7-Where does she live? Which city and state?..............

Good luck and my best wishes for you

[Jenn! 918]

i think the strongest proof of ongoing relationship is how many times you visited your fiance ? and how much time you spent with him ?

I agree with this strongly. The best evidence is proof of time spent together.

[MrsAmera 41]

I think the greatest proof is picture you can show of you two together physically. Webcam pics I don't think are worth it. Pictures of you and his family are also important. You had mentioned your daughters had gone with you one trip - those pictures are also great. My son (he was 13 months at the time) went with when I lived with my husband one summer, the interviewer asked him lots of questions about that (in good way). Emails, letters etc are also good. Because you've visited several times, that proof is going to be the most important. Airline tickets/stubs, entry and exit stamps, hotel receipts if you stayed in hotels,

I put all of our info into an accordian binder, with folders for each thing they might need. 1) Original petition and receipts from USCIS 2) Affadavit of Support 3) Paperwork they sent him to complete 4) Pictures, dated underneath and small description. 5) Proof of visiting, airline stubs, receipts, passport stamps etc.

You may also want to get letters of support. Not sure how old your kid are but if older (over 15) they could write one stating they have visited and that you two have an ongoing reltionship, that they know him/love or like him. Anyone else who knows your relationship well could also do this.

A lot of ppl who have encoutered problems have had evidence, but it seems the CO sometimes won't even look at it if they're suspicious. Best to go in prepred though and hope for the best!

[Nagishkaw 510]

Written letters through snail mail including the envelopes which shows a postmark is way better evidence than pictures and chat logs, even though those do help along with what was already mentioned.

[prince+angel 3]

For the love of God, what is snail mail? I'm sorry its such a silly question - I hear it mentioned often & have no idea what it is or how to use it?

My husband & I debate about letters all the time, it takes soooo long to get them from eachother that its old news & we talk every day. How do you take web cam pics? I looked at my cam, its cheap & it says it takes photos & does videos but I havent been able to get it to work.

I've only been to see my husband 2X mainly due to scheduling conflicts & trying to balance out vacations (& expenses) for my daughter too. (No way will her Dad let me take her out the country despite him being a foreigner himself).

My Mohammed, I'm glad you asked this cause I've often wondered too what I should focus on more so the interview is smooth for my husband (& so he gets approved!).

Written letters through snail mail including the envelopes which shows a postmark is way better evidence than pictures and chat logs, even though those do help along with what was already mentioned.

[Nagishkaw 510]

For the love of God, what is snail mail? I'm sorry its such a silly question - I hear it mentioned often & have no idea what it is or how to use it?

My husband & I debate about letters all the time, it takes soooo long to get them from eachother that its old news & we talk every day. How do you take web cam pics? I looked at my cam, its cheap & it says it takes photos & does videos but I havent been able to get it to work.

I've only been to see my husband 2X mainly due to scheduling conflicts & trying to balance out vacations (& expenses) for my daughter too. (No way will her Dad let me take her out the country despite him being a foreigner himself).

My Mohammed, I'm glad you asked this cause I've often wondered too what I should focus on more so the interview is smooth for my husband (& so he gets approved!).

Written letters through snail mail including the envelopes which shows a postmark is way better evidence than pictures and chat logs, even though those do help along with what was already mentioned.

Snail mail is letters / cards / packages sent through regular USPS mail.

[nunyab 0]

For the love of God, what is snail mail? I'm sorry its such a silly question - I hear it mentioned often & have no idea what it is or how to use it?

My husband & I debate about letters all the time, it takes soooo long to get them from eachother that its old news & we talk every day. How do you take web cam pics? I looked at my cam, its cheap & it says it takes photos & does videos but I havent been able to get it to work.

I've only been to see my husband 2X mainly due to scheduling conflicts & trying to balance out vacations (& expenses) for my daughter too. (No way will her Dad let me take her out the country despite him being a foreigner himself).

My Mohammed, I'm glad you asked this cause I've often wondered too what I should focus on more so the interview is smooth for my husband (& so he gets approved!).

Written letters through snail mail including the envelopes which shows a postmark is way better evidence than pictures and chat logs, even though those do help along with what was already mentioned.

snail mail is mail sent via the postal service like the good old days not through email

our proofs were just what we did while we were seperated to feel close. I had copies of all the fedex papers from sending him things, I had my airline stubs from seeing him and my passport stamps.

I had everything organized in a binder... and even had all our emails bound in a book we had two seperate books. lol.

good luck

[Jenn! 918]

For the love of God, what is snail mail? I'm sorry its such a silly question - I hear it mentioned often & have no idea what it is or how to use it?

Snail mail just means the regular postal service (as opposed to email which is fast, snail mail is slow).

[caybee 21]

My husband had with him chat logs, e-mails between us, e-mails between him and my parents, and physical letters we'd written to each other. However, the CO didn't look at any of those, though I still think they are important to have. She looked carefully at every single picture I had of the two of us and of me with his family members (about 80 in all).

She also asked questions to see how well he knew me and then followed up with others. For example, she asked what I did for a living and then asked him to clarify what my job entailed. She asked what I did in my spare time. When he mentioned my sister's dogs, she asked their names, and he knew them. When he mentioned me going to visit my parents, she asked him how far I lived from them, and he knew that. I don't know how much weight she put on those kinds of questions, but I felt her questions were designed to see how well we really knew each other, and we certainly didn't think to prep for those follow-ups.

There have been home visits in Egypt, where someone from DOS pays a surprise visit on the beneficiary's family to ask about the relationship. Just something to be aware of.

Edited January 1, 2009 by caybee

[CasandraYounes 0]

I was wondering if MENA can have a serious discussion concerning, Proof of Ongoing Relationship? Those of you who have already been through your interviews, can help those of us that are still yet to have theirs. This seems to be the number one reason for denial of a visa and I really want to make sure I have all bases covered.

Is there something you would've done differently?

Exactly what did you include for your proof?

Did you not have enough of one type of proof?

Do you feel web cam pics of you and your SO is a waste of time?

Are web cam pics of you, your SO, and family members important?

What seems to be the strongest Proof of an Ongoing Relationship?

What seems to be the least important proof?

What questions was your SO asked during the interview?

Especially in Egypt, I am very interested as this is where we're going through. Please if there is anything you have to share about your experiences good or bad, please do? This is for all MENA members, please tell us your experiences so those of us not yet there can learn from them.

Thank you so much for posting this because this really helps those of us who have not had our interviews yet. I have accumliated so much evidence I don't know what to do with it. Thank you all for posting your experiences because it really helps me to determine what is relevant and not.

[star_dragon 0]

I think the best you can do is just prepare for everything as much as possible - all types of evidence (except the webcam pics)..I would browse through the reviews for Cairo and see what others had to say from their interviews. What I've found is that no two interviews are the same - even within the same consulate - so you honestly never know what to really expect. It's better to have more evidence than not enough. In our case, we forgot our pics. But when he went back for the second interview, to supposedly show them the photos that he'd forgotten the first time, they didn't even look at them. I had letters of support from family and friends, which I totally did as an "just in case" thing and never thought they would bother looking at them, but since all our evidences were kept (and returned him to later), it's quite possible they were looked at afterall.

Start organizing your stuff now. Even before the NOA2. I can't stress that enough, to those waiting. You're not under stress yet to get it mailed out, the months leading up to our NOA2 approval, at the end of each month, I would print off the chats, emails, phone records for that month. (I even tried to be 'eco friendly' and print double sided.....and saves space too..lol)

We had 2 binders. One had just chats. The other binder was divided as:

1) Letters of support, emails regarding wedding plans (email from friend officiating our wedding, email from my friend was going to make my dress), copy of engagement rings

2) Evidence of my trips there - copy of my passport, etickets, itinerary, boarding passes, bank statement showing i'd used my debit card there

3) Skype logs and My cell phone statements showing our calls

4) emails from me to him

5) emails from him to me

[My Mohammed 2]

Thank you to all who responded. I think this will help of us just now preapring things for the interview.

My daughter has never been with me to Egypt. She has a health condition that requires a specialist and I was unable to find one that could treat her should something happen. Also, her father refused her to even visit, so I didn't have any choices except for him to come to the U.S.

I'm not an expert on pictures believe me, but I think web cam pics do show you communicate. Even photos of you together, I hear can be fake. I have many web cam pics of myself, Mohammed, and my daughter. I think it at least proves our family members know of our relationship.

Rings.. I don't know about this one. I can not wear jewelry as I am allergic to many things and I have yet to find any type of jewelry I can wear. He wanted to buy me an engagement ring, but if I can't wear it, it's a waste of money. I told him, I found pretty wedding bands in walmart, but not sure if I can wear them, but i'd love to try one.. they're made from Titanium and have an inscription. They are cheap and Co might think that's a flag.. who knows.

I intend to include letters from family, but even those can be a lie. I don't see much strong evidence there, as we all can say anything, but doesn't mean it's true. I have mailed him MANY letters/cards, he has yet to receive the first one. We don't know what to do about this. Fedex just for a card, I can't afford that.

I have spent about 7 months or more total with him in Egypt, before I came back last month. I also think this is very strong proof.

** More questions:

Exactly how did you present your photos? Were they single or many glued/taped on a paper so as not to get lost?

Did you have emails? How many? * We talk for hours daily, so we don't email much.

What type of wedding plans did you show.. pic of a dress you liked, veils, etc. How does this prove anything? Is it a waste of time, because all we have to do is print off something we like?

Thanks Guys,

[star_dragon 0]

Well, if everything can be fabricated (letters from family, photos, printouts of wedding plans/ideas) then why bother with evidences?

You asked those of us who have gone through the interview process, and we gave our suggestions of what worked for us.

[My Mohammed 2]

Well, if everything can be fabricated (letters from family, photos, printouts of wedding plans/ideas) then why bother with evidences?

You asked those of us who have gone through the interview process, and we gave our suggestions of what worked for us.

I'm not trying to start anything here. I'm trying to find out what the CO won't say is fabricated, do you understand? You said, " I think the best you can do is just prepare for everything as much as possible - all types of evidence (except the webcam pics").. I thought webcam pics is perfect proof of evidence with us and our family. Maybe i'm wrong and the CO won't give them a second thought.

I have thought of starting a book with wedding ideas, but do they take this serious or think we just copied it from websites etc? If you made a book of wedding plans/ideas, how did you present them? Anyone who presented these as evidence please share how you presented it to the CO.