Question on supporting documentation for fiancée (K-1) Visa:

[thongd4me 69]

Is it good to get an affidavit (certificate, statement) to state that we are a good couple from:

1) family or other relatives

2) co-workers or boss

3) long-time friends

4) religious leaders - monks or priests

I believe that they are looking for is evidence of a relationship -

who is better to give proof of that than people who know us?

Did anybody have experience with submitting an affidavit from one or any of the above,

and do you think they paid attention to that in the interview and subsequent decision?

thanks for any reply

[ThaitoUSA 15]

I believe that although it would do no harm to include statements from relatives and/or acquaintances, they should be used as secondary sources of evidence. Primary sources would include items such as email or regular mail correspondence going both ways over a period of time, as well as chat logs; Detailed phone bills and/or records showing contact going both ways and visa stamps and boarding passes showing visits. Other secondary sources of evidence could include photographs, hotel receipts from visits, etc.

I would suggest keeping the affidavits for the interview at the US consulate in Bangkok. While filing the initial I-129F petition, it is vital to prove having met in person in the last two years (visa stamps, boarding passes, etc.). Including a bit of evidence of ongoing relationship (emails, chat logs, phone records) has its advantages, but is not mandatory.

My fiancée showed up to the interview with two bags of evidence, including 500 pages of chat log samples. Though I felt this was a bit overkill, she was granted the visa without incident. We did not include any statements from family or acquaintances.

[NatPatBen 3]

My cousin is using an attorney that recommended letters from people who have witnessed your relationship. This is, as mentioned, in addition to "primary" evidence. I had a cousin & friend who traveled with me to Jamaica write letters about the relationship.

[thongd4me 69]

I believe that although it would do no harm to include statements from relatives and/or acquaintances, they should be used as secondary sources of evidence. Primary sources would include items such as email or regular mail correspondence going both ways over a period of time, as well as chat logs; Detailed phone bills and/or records showing contact going both ways and visa stamps and boarding passes showing visits. Other secondary sources of evidence could include photographs, hotel receipts from visits, etc.

I would suggest keeping the affidavits for the interview at the US consulate in Bangkok. While filing the initial I-129F petition, it is vital to prove having met in person in the last two years (visa stamps, boarding passes, etc.). Including a bit of evidence of ongoing relationship (emails, chat logs, phone records) has its advantages, but is not mandatory.

My fiancée showed up to the interview with two bags of evidence, including 500 pages of chat log samples. Though I felt this was a bit overkill, she was granted the visa without incident. We did not include any statements from family or acquaintances.

Thanks for the useful reply. We probably won't need any such affadavits because we probably have, as you did,

enough overkill to make the visa a cinch. We have chat & email going back 5 years and pics of 4 of my trips to

BKK, where I am with her family, friends & co-workers as well as the usual tourists spots. We could print out

1000 pages of chats, as we sometimes chat twice a day, almost every day. I tried phoning early on but found

the sound quality so poor that we both decided to stick to chat & email. In any case, that's one less expense.

The last visit to Thailand was in April 2008 but I hope to be able to go before 2009 is up (September is a

busy time so it would have to be after then). My fiancée is like yours in that she is probably the better one

at details & preparations. We each have different styles in our approach to this project but I think they are

complimentary rather than at cross-purposes. Has she travelled and are you married yet? I'm in NYC

[rsn 135]

I tried phoning early on but found

the sound quality so poor that we both decided to stick to chat & email.

FYI: You can make unlimited calls to Thailand over the internet OR using any cell phone with Skype now for $5.95/month. My wife has been using this service to keep in contact with her family and she tells me it is very clear and reliable.

[thongd4me 69]

It's interesting to see how so many people find phone contact so essential.

In the first few months since we met, I got a phone card and made a few calls,

but was not happy with the landline to cell sound quality. When we are face to

face we never have communication problems and we never had any in chat

or email either. If either one of us doesn't understand, we always ask

"what do you mean" and it's never taken as an insult or affront. I can't recall

any time when one of us has gotten angry about something the other said.

Suprise, yes, anger never.

We have the capability to do video chats but we rarely go into that mode

because it actually seems to get in the way of communication, because we

are looking instead of thinking.

When I started my online life I held from the beginning that communication

had to get top priority. I was in a marriage that had failed many years before

and I wanted to learn what the hell I was doing wrong. Knowing what she did

wrong was the easy part, but it takes deeper digging to see your own faults.

That's why when I chatted up females I wanted to know what their boyfriends or

husbands did to piss them off, not to mock them but to learn from their experience.

By what they left out and by their "tone" I could also discover what both men and

women were doing wrong and sometimes doing right.

My fiancee from Thailand was the first one who was open and frank about her

life on a whole different level than the others. For that I am eternally grateful

because it was her ability to communicate that drew us together. When people

meet in person or online in closer geographic proximity, it's often the visual

attraction and hormones that kick in and snuff out any/all warning signals from

the other senses (including the brain and the heart) that might serve to derail

a train that is ultimately going nowhere. By the same token I'm not saying the

exual element is unimportant. Good ex is the icing on the cake,

but if all you're consuming is the icing you might be in for a case of diabetes.

I see now that my main failure in my marriage was to put too much emphasis

on ex maybe because I was young and stupid. I also let her insult me

and thought that by not reacting or objecting I was "taking the high road" and

that eventually she would come to her senses because I was giving her such

a good example of how a person should behave. Lawyers have a word for

that: "condonation." Once you accept it it becomes the status quo.

So communication is the key. If you communicate better on the phone so be it

but that's not everybody's style.

(I think this looks like a new thread, so I'll start one as this is a little off-topic

for this thread.)