January 2010 K-1 Filers

[knnth 0]

Here's to waiting for our NOA2s, and then a speedy interview date!

[~Johnny~ 27]

That's awesome! I'm so happy for you! I hope this means good news for the rest of us!

See...I told you there was nothing to worry about...!!!! Yes that's good news n I'm happy for you too....now we wait...

[~Johnny~ 27]

Congratulations!!! Isn't it so exciting when you get the NOA1? I was so relieved!

omg I'm glad someone else got as excited as I did when they got their NOA1..I started jumping up and down and then I started crying lol!! congratulations!!!

Yeah...it was a funny site for me and I suppose for my neighbor didn't get it........but you know how it feels to see that USA NOA1!!!! I been RE-reading this 129F for 4 months!!! Was such a relief to have it moving forward. Congrats to you as well!! Let's all pray for speedy NOA2s!!

Edited February 5, 2010 by duplantisjj

[Liz_Allan 0]

Add me to the Jan 2010 filers. All paperwork is filled out, signed and in a folder. Will send out fed-ex first thing in the morning! I've looked through the papers at least 10 times, it's 70 pages with all evidence of relationship proof information... Hope CSC employees come to work in a good mood this week!

Alan

70 PAGES???

Gosh I am nervous now.

We only have 25 pages, including forms. Getting ready to send in the packet tomorrow (at least I thought we were going to, now I'm nervous) What is enough and what is too much? I've seen so much that said to not send more than was listed, even saw one listing (GOD ONLY KNOWS where I saw this note) that said not to send more than 4-6 pictures.

How much "relationship proof" did you have? Maybe that's what I need to add to??

Anyone else want to chime in on how many pages is "enough"?

Reading the instructions and taking them literally, I thought we had enough. Afraid to send too much and afraid now to send too little!

Input??

[az110965 252]

Good morning Keepermom...

Don't be nervous as each petition is different. In my case 22 pages were the copy of my divorce decree alone! I also chose to "front load" my petition, so we not only included proof of having met (passport entry stamp pages, airline ticket boarding passes, hotel receipts, some photos) but also included some proof of ongoing relationship (phone records, selected email printouts, copy of Vanessa's engagement ring receipt, etc.).

Most of the advice you'll see on this forum will tell you that you really can't send "too much stuff", while a few others will tell you that they've had success with the bare minimum that USCIS stipulates... My opinion was that if I sent more than the minimum USCIS requires that I could head off any potential RFE's. Plus, my thoughts were that evereything I sent into the USCIS would be forwarded to the Consualte in San Jose so I wanted as complete of a petition as possible.

If you take the bare minimum as a giude you'll come up with approximately this:

Cover letter 1 Page

I-192F Petition 3 Pages

I-129F Supplement 1 Page (If needed)

G-325A (you) 1 Page

G-325A (fiancee) 1 Page

Birth Certificate (USC) 1 Page

Divorce Decree 10 Page (estimate) - mine was a whopping 22 pages!!! (If Applicible)

Letter of Intent to marry 1 Page

Letter of Intent to marry 1 Page

Proof of having met 1 Page (passport page with entry stamp)

Boarding passes 1 Page (scanned all boarding pases from each trip on one sheet)

Hotel receipts 1 Page

Photographs 4 Pages (scanned 2 photos on each page total 8 photos)

w/o divorce decree approximately: 17 pages (bare minimum)

with all passport pages: add an additional 15 pages (30 pages in passport - 2 pages on each sheet) = 32 pages

Hope this helps!

Alan

[~Johnny~ 27]

Good morning Keepermom...

Don't be nervous as each petition is different. In my case 22 pages were the copy of my divorce decree alone! I also chose to "front load" my petition, so we not only included proof of having met (passport entry stamp pages, airline ticket boarding passes, hotel receipts, some photos) but also included some proof of ongoing relationship (phone records, selected email printouts, copy of Vanessa's engagement ring receipt, etc.).

Most of the advice you'll see on this forum will tell you that you really can't send "too much stuff", while a few others will tell you that they've had success with the bare minimum that USCIS stipulates... My opinion was that if I sent more than the minimum USCIS requires that I could head off any potential RFE's. Plus, my thoughts were that evereything I sent into the USCIS would be forwarded to the Consualte in San Jose so I wanted as complete of a petition as possible.

If you take the bare minimum as a giude you'll come up with approximately this:

Cover letter 1 Page

I-192F Petition 3 Pages

I-129F Supplement 1 Page (If needed)

G-325A (you) 1 Page

G-325A (fiancee) 1 Page

Birth Certificate (USC) 1 Page

Divorce Decree 10 Page (estimate) - mine was a whopping 22 pages!!! (If Applicible)

Letter of Intent to marry 1 Page

Letter of Intent to marry 1 Page

Proof of having met 1 Page (passport page with entry stamp)

Boarding passes 1 Page (scanned all boarding pases from each trip on one sheet)

Hotel receipts 1 Page

Photographs 4 Pages (scanned 2 photos on each page total 8 photos)

w/o divorce decree approximately: 17 pages (bare minimum)

with all passport pages: add an additional 15 pages (30 pages in passport - 2 pages on each sheet) = 32 pages

Hope this helps!

Alan

Exactly!

Mine was about 40 pages, but I included ferry tickets and boarding passes that had our names on it, various receipts, baggage claim tickets, ATM receipts and movie theater tickets (which has the city name and theater name on them). I included birth certificate and full copy of passport (like everyone says, leave no doubt). And I printed two sheets of pictures with 4 pictures on each sheet, on photo paper with detailed descriptions under each photo. Page number is not as important as making sure you answer all the questions and leave no doubt in the mind of the person handling your petition. I even used the ACCO thingy...and tabbed my sections on the bottom. You never know...they may move it faster if they don't have to work too hard...

Edited February 9, 2010 by duplantisjj

[SunDrop 59]

Good morning Keepermom...

Don't be nervous as each petition is different. In my case 22 pages were the copy of my divorce decree alone! I also chose to "front load" my petition, so we not only included proof of having met (passport entry stamp pages, airline ticket boarding passes, hotel receipts, some photos) but also included some proof of ongoing relationship (phone records, selected email printouts, copy of Vanessa's engagement ring receipt, etc.).

Most of the advice you'll see on this forum will tell you that you really can't send "too much stuff", while a few others will tell you that they've had success with the bare minimum that USCIS stipulates... My opinion was that if I sent more than the minimum USCIS requires that I could head off any potential RFE's. Plus, my thoughts were that evereything I sent into the USCIS would be forwarded to the Consualte in San Jose so I wanted as complete of a petition as possible.

If you take the bare minimum as a giude you'll come up with approximately this:

Cover letter 1 Page

I-192F Petition 3 Pages

I-129F Supplement 1 Page (If needed)

G-325A (you) 1 Page

G-325A (fiancee) 1 Page

Birth Certificate (USC) 1 Page

Divorce Decree 10 Page (estimate) - mine was a whopping 22 pages!!! (If Applicible)

Letter of Intent to marry 1 Page

Letter of Intent to marry 1 Page

Proof of having met 1 Page (passport page with entry stamp)

Boarding passes 1 Page (scanned all boarding pases from each trip on one sheet)

Hotel receipts 1 Page

Photographs 4 Pages (scanned 2 photos on each page total 8 photos)

w/o divorce decree approximately: 17 pages (bare minimum)

with all passport pages: add an additional 15 pages (30 pages in passport - 2 pages on each sheet) = 32 pages

Hope this helps!

Alan

*waves to Alan* Just thought I'd drop in as a Feb filer and see what all the Jan filers are chatting about

22 pages?? Holy smokes! Mine is 1 page. That's it. lol Hope we don't get an RFE going "hey, where's the rest of it?"

Just wanted to add that I also had a proof of name change document, my now former marriage. And you're supposed to send 2 copies of the G-325A. It used to have 4 identical sheets that you printed out, but the VSC Director in his Q&A with Gary and Alla said that Adjudicators were throwing 2 of the 4 away, 2 is sufficient.

I included scanned boarding passes, travel itineraries and luggage tags for each of my 5 trips, plus a cover sheet listing what was in each clipped pack and included a scan of my POE stamp at the bottom of the cover sheet. Ry's 2 trips we just had the itineraries, since he couldn't find his passport! We used his Birth Cert as proof of citizenship. So more than is needed but it serves as a proof of ongoing relationship too, since the trips span from Sept 07 to Jan 10. I also threw in 3 pages with 6 photos total, a print out of our yahoo chat archive log (2 pages for the past year) and 2 clean chat logs, of about 8 pages each.

So our total is approx 72 pages.

[SunDrop 59]

And just wanted to add a Good Luck to all Jan 2010 filers. The faster they get through you guys, the faster they'll get to us! lol..

[sharaincali 0]

Congrats to everyone who has sent out their I-129F packets and good luck on speedy approvals!

I have a couple questions for you guys. I am sending out my documents on Friday, and I am stressing! I have been with my Fiance for 2 years, we have taken numerous vacations together, and we have literally thousands of pictures together. Unfortunately we didn't save much of a paper trail. Just how much do you think is needed? I only have one set of boarding passes and my luggage tags from the last trip I made to the UK. I have bank statements showing the purchases of plane tickets, hotel receipts, dated tickets to sporting events with photos collaborating we attended, photos with my family, and we even have a joint checking account here in the US with a letter from the bank manager stating that we were both present when we opened it. Even though there is no doubt that we have a legitimate relationship, I mean we even lived together for 3 months in England, I am so nervous that they will want more paper evidence like more boarding passes and stuff. I was also wondering, am I supposed to send in actual photos, or sheets of photos on photo paper? I want to hire an attorney to help me, but there doesn't seem to be many that will just look over all of my evidence and tell me if it is correct. Any help you can give me will be awesome. I am freaking out here!

Thanks!

Shara

[az110965 252]

Sharaincali...

The I-129F is just about proof that the two of you have met within the past 2 years. As Keepermom asked in an earlier thread, each petition is different and some folks send in minimal amounts of proof, some send in mountains...

The best proof of meeting is passport pages with entry/exit stamps, hotel receipts and boarding passes from the flights you've taken to see your SO. Photograps are excellent secondary evidence of you having had met in person.

As far as the photos, scan them and print them out 4 or so to a page (won't hurt to make a note under each stating what the photgraph is).

My belief is that I'd rather send too much information than not enough. My hope is that I'll avoid a RFE by supplying more than the bare minimum that the USCIS requires, therefore saving time in the long run.

Sounds like you have excellent evidence of an ongoing relationship as well as the proof of meeting in person. Now your choice is whether or not to "front load" the petition or supply the proof of relationship at the interview stage.

As far as needing a lawyer... You'll find that most people's advice here is that if you have a fairly straighforward case you don't need a lawyer. Why give your hard earned money to someone when you can do (in all honesty) a better job. Afterall, who has your best interest at heart: you or a paid employee. Also, all the lawyer does is enter the information that YOU provide to him on the forms that are available for free... If your case has unique factors that you feel warrant a lawyer's representation (ie: waiver required, IMBRA difficulties, etc...) then perhaps a lawyer is in order - but for the most part we're all "do it yourselfers"...

Ask questions - there are excellent sources for advice here. We're just one big happy VJ family (albeit sometimes a little dysfunctional)..

Alan

SunDrop...

In my opinon it's gonna be a great day!!!!!!!!! lol

[Amy and Michael 21]

Wow, the last month has kinda slowly creeped by, and now it feels like it has just flown by. Yesterday, it was a month that I mailed the petition, today is a month that it was received...and tomorrow will be the one month anniversary of receiving our NOA1. My guess/goal from the beginning was to receive the NOA2 by the end of April and we are right on schedule with that.

Oh, and I will be flying to Heathrow next Thur/Fri to spend about 10 days with my fiance - so the next few weeks should pass rather quickly too, even though I wish they would slowly creep along!!

Can't wait to hear from the first January CSC K-1 filer to get their NOA2. Good Luck everyone on a speedy journey!

[~Johnny~ 27]

Can't wait to hear from the first January CSC K-1 filer to get their NOA2. Good Luck everyone on a speedy journey!

I'll be happy to start hearing from those too.... Coz it means I'm getting close!!

[sharaincali 0]

Dropped my I-129F packet off today, all 3 lbs of it! $27.01 was the total to ship it, well worth it I think!! One question I have, since it is going to a PO Box, how does someone sign for that? Oh, it is supposed to be a PO box right? That is the address on the USCIS website. I was very meticulous, so I am hoping it will go through without any problems. Good luck to everyone!!

[visacat 1]

Well we have had our military expedite approved and we received our NOA2 yesterday woo hoo

Good luck to all the other January filers!!!!

[az110965 252]

Visacat-

Congratulations on your speedy approval! Please wish your future husband best wishes and a safe deployment - we are grateful to your fiancee for his service to his country!

Alan

US Army CWO- Retired

Edited February 17, 2010 by az110965