I-129F Questions

[the.ronin 0]

Hello all ... I've tried to search for these topics but could not find sufficient answers. I apologize in advance if I was not looking in the right places.

1) In regards the "Circumstances of Meeting" letter, I've tried to address what I would think are the obvious questions - what was I doing in the foreign country, what was she doing where we met, where did we meet, how did we meet. Try as I might, I can't condense this all into one page. My concern is that friends of ours had submitted a very brief letter and they got a RFE to expand on the letter delaying their process by 3 months. Am I reading too much into this?

2) Shoud letters such as the "Intent to Marry" and "Circumstances of Meeting" be signed by both of us?

3) The same friends had also been asked to submit a copy of her (foreign national) birth certificate along with a translation. Are there other things that people have submitted although not specified? For example, copy of each page of her passport?

4) What constitutes "proof of ongoing relationship"?

5) The latest forms appear to expire at the end of December. In all likelihood, we will hopefully have submitted our forms by then. Are there any risks in submitting it so close to the expiration? Will it be determined by postmark as opposed to when it actually gets "touched"?

Thanks so much for any advice. By way of background, I am a naturalized U.S. citizen and she lives in Tijuana, Mexico. I have been making the two hour drive to spend weekends with her for the past two years. We're ready now.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Hello all ... I've tried to search for these topics but could not find sufficient answers. I apologize in advance if I was not looking in the right places.

1) In regards the "Circumstances of Meeting" letter, I've tried to address what I would think are the obvious questions - what was I doing in the foreign country, what was she doing where we met, where did we meet, how did we meet. Try as I might, I can't condense this all into one page. My concern is that friends of ours had submitted a very brief letter and they got a RFE to expand on the letter delaying their process by 3 months. Am I reading too much into this?

Remember they are referring to your physical meeting, not how you met. How you met initially can be answered in a sentence, for some such as our case, that is online. However you met, give them one or two sentences.

They are really asking for a description of how you two were physically in the same place, at the same time. And yes, they give you a very tiny box, especially if you have been visiting her every weekend for the last two years. Type up a page or two regarding your actual visits together, and in the box, put see attachment.

Since she lives in Tijuana, it is unlikely you were getting your passport stamped every weekend. Consider asking the border gaurd to stamp yours for you the next time you visit, perhaps the next few times. They will likely laugh a little, but hey it is "proof" you crossed the border into Mexico.

2) Shoud letters such as the "Intent to Marry" and "Circumstances of Meeting" be signed by both of us?

You should sign your letter of intent, she should sign hers, and your respective letters really don't need to be any more elaborate than the sample letter here on VJ. Signing your attachment, the circumstances of meeting is not a bad idea, but probably not absolutely necessary.

3) The same friends had also been asked to submit a copy of her (foreign national) birth certificate along with a translation. Are there other things that people have submitted although not specified? For example, copy of each page of her passport?

If she has a passport you can copy it. Yours is more important than hers at this stage.

4) What constitutes "proof of ongoing relationship"?

Any documentation of your weekend visits. Phone records, emails, snail mails etc. And of course recent and historic photos of being together which are also secondary proof of having met.

5) The latest forms appear to expire at the end of December. In all likelihood, we will hopefully have submitted our forms by then. Are there any risks in submitting it so close to the expiration? Will it be determined by postmark as opposed to when it actually gets "touched"?

Not sure which forms you mean, but if you haven't already filled them out, going to the USCIS website and downloading their latest forms is one sure way of getting an approved form. If you printed one up, especially the old I-129F and use it, you will guarantee yourself an RFE!

Thanks so much for any advice. By way of background, I am a naturalized U.S. citizen and she lives in Tijuana, Mexico. I have been making the two hour drive to spend weekends with her for the past two years. We're ready now.

Best of luck on your journey!

[the.ronin 0]

Thank you for taking the time to reply, ready4ONE ...

In regards the Circumstances of Meeting letter, yes, I had intended on attaching a letter rather than trying to explain it all in the small space on the form itself. It would seem to me that I am reading way way way into the letter. I just don't want any unnecessary delays like what happened to my friend.

We are definitely good on the "proof of having been together in past two years" ... I've got over 1 gigabyte of photos hahaha. Also receipts for various vacations we've taken together. For the past two months, I've made sure the date stamp was activated on the camera as well (friend also got an RFE for not having dates on photos). What confuses me is the "proof of ongoing relationship" ... how does one prove that??

As for the forms, I got them directly from the USCIS website ... Form I129-F rev. 05/23/06 according to the bottom right corner and expires 12/31/06 according to the top corner.

Thanks again!

Edited December 11, 2006 by the.ronin

[SoL. 0]

Hello!

Here is what I did and didn't get an RFE (lucky me)

1. On the letter for the circumstances for meeting, I explained how we met (thru a mutual friend, her name and where she is from) and also a brief summary of our meeting (visited the museum, had dinner @ restaurant, walked around the city, etc.) and when he took me to the airport. I also explained that we kept contact via email, telephone, MSN, letters, etc. and submitted copies for evidence. He also sent me the same kind of letter signed by him.

2. On the letter of intent, there were two letters, each one of us made and signed one. There are examples of the letters here @ VJ.

3. I sent my Birth Certificate and copy of my passport with Point of Entry stamps + copy of his passport with POE stamps. If your BC is not in English, it needs to be translated.

4. For the proof of ongoing relationship you can provide phonebills, emails, pictures, plane tickets, receipts, anything that proves contact between the both of you.

5. The current forms should be on the USCIS site or you can also find them here @ VJ.

Hope this helps a bit and good luck with your journey!!

edi :energetic:

Edited December 11, 2006 by Sol-de-Verano

[ready4ONE 5,400]

You're very welcome. Proof of ongoing relationship is pretty much done by showing that you have been seeing her as regularly as you state. For longer distance relationships, phone records, emails and snail mails work just fine. In your case I don't see you having a problem showing the ongoing proof.

The dated and timed photos over the last two months should cover that.

The older photo's might not be time stamped, for our photo's my program prints the picture information out below the photo and that worked out just fine.

Any older card she sent, or you sent, and a newer card with the date stamped on the mailing envelope is a good way to show ongoing relationship as well.

[the.ronin 0]

Thank you Sol ... I loved the Van Gogh museum. I especially loved just spending a lazy afternoon in Museumplein. So beautiful. I would visit Holland quite a bit while I lived in New York.

I think I've got a handle on the Circumstances letter now ... and thank you both for clarifying the Intent letter. I did download the sample as well a while ago but I had thought it was just signed by me.

I guess I'm also reading into the ongoing relationship evidence ... I just had a hard time differentiating that and proof of having been together in last two years. I'm thinking cell phone bills ($100+ in text messages monthly ... yeah, OUCH), redacted emails, and passport stamps. Anything else?

Another question though ...

Can I, as petitioner, provide just a copy of each page of my passport? I was not born in the U.S. but moved here when I was 3 yr old and became naturalized.

Thanks again, folks.

[SoL. 0]

Ronin,

I sent them the copies of my passport pages to show my visits to Netherlands. What USCIS needs is a proof of your citizenship or that you are legal to be on the US.

Wow so you've been @ the Van Gogh Museum! I love that Museum too. Funny thing, me and my fiancé met there @ the Museumplein and he'll have his interview on the NL-US Embassy which is @ the Museumplein! Small world, isn't it?

I wish you the best of luck on your journey!

edi

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Thank you Sol ... I loved the Van Gogh museum. I especially loved just spending a lazy afternoon in Museumplein. So beautiful. I would visit Holland quite a bit while I lived in New York.

I think I've got a handle on the Circumstances letter now ... and thank you both for clarifying the Intent letter. I did download the sample as well a while ago but I had thought it was just signed by me.

I guess I'm also reading into the ongoing relationship evidence ... I just had a hard time differentiating that and proof of having been together in last two years. I'm thinking cell phone bills ($100+ in text messages monthly ... yeah, OUCH), redacted emails, and passport stamps. Anything else?

Another question though ...

Can I, as petitioner, provide just a copy of each page of my passport? I was not born in the U.S. but moved here when I was 3 yr old and became naturalized.

Thanks again, folks.

Just remember, you don't want to bury them with too much information. They are looking for pretty simple proof that you two have actually been in the same place at the same time. And that you have a current (on going) relationship of a fiance' nature.

I don't have a great answer for what you should provide as a naturalized USC. I would think you would need to provide copies of your naturalization papers, and perhaps attempt to get a birth certificate from your native country. Perhaps one of the VJ veterans or someone else who is naturalized has a better answer for you.

Curious, were you getting your passport stamped for your visits to Tijuana? I used to go there a lot when a high school friend of mine lived in San Diego, I didn't even have a passport back then!

[Marina + Dave 0]

I'm not sure if it's the same for Mexico, but when I went to canada recently they wanted to see my (USC) passport. I know that only recently you could get into Canada with only a US drivers license, but now they are requiring a passport or certified birth certificate.

Hope that answers your question! And again, that's Canada not Mexico so maybe it's different!

Edited December 11, 2006 by Marina + Dave

[bora bora 1]

As far as proof I agree that it is better not to give too much.

I sent a bit of each - 6 pictures, 5 emails (with translations), a couple phone records, credit card statements showing bought calling card, etc.

You can ask a friend to write a letter stating that they are a witness of your love. A friend did that for me and the letter was very beautiful.

[the.ronin 0]

Hey thanks so much for taking the time to respond, all ... "better not to give too much" is sound advice. I was all ready to send them our entire photo album haha. Ok ... I will keep that in mind. The proof of citizenship for a naturalized citizen is now starting to scare me. I have my passport but I think it will take some time to dig up my birth certificate.

Question - Would it be too risky to just send copies of each page of my passport? Am I just begging for an RFE? However, the form clearly states either BC or passport.

ready4One - You can cross back to the U.S. from Mexico with just a valid drivers license. Supposedly in Jan 08 you will need a passport, but they have been saying that every year since 06. I show my passport anyway just to avoid additional questioning but they never ever stamp it.

Sol - I am very well familiar with the U.S. embassy in Amsterdam. I got my hotel room broken into and my passport stolen. I never felt like such royalty - the embassy has a separate no-wait line for citizens. They were very very cordial and attentive. So now my passport is actually marked as issued by the Netherlands Consulate haha. Tot zeins.

[mozplay 29]

Question - Would it be too risky to just send copies of each page of my passport? Am I just begging for an RFE? However, the form clearly states either BC or passport.

Many petitioners have sent a copy of their passport and it has been fine. Just be sure to include copies of ALL pages - even if they are blank.