Supporting evidence for K-1 petition

[Eric & Hang 0]

Greetings to everyone on this forum from a first time poster! I find myself both nervous and excited as I begin the process that I hope will unite me with my fiancee here in the United States. I'm particularly appreciative for all of the good information posted here by "veterans" of the K-1 process.

I don't expect any major issues with our initial filing, but I gather that the big hurdle will be the determination by the consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. My primary question right now is whether and when we will have the opportunity to submit additional supporting material between the time of our initial I129-F filing and the actual interview.

I feel like this could be very important to our case. For example, we (actually her terrific family!) organized our Dinh Hon celebration on short notice after I proposed to her on my most recent visit to Vietnam in November, and none of my family could be in attendance. My parents are eager to meet her and her family but will not be able to travel until my father recovers from surgery scheduled for later this month. If they are able to go in the near future, I would hope to be able to get that evidence in front of the consular officer.

My current thought is to strive for a relatively short, well organized initial package, but this depends on whether we will indeed have a chance to provide a more complete and current set of evidence later that will be fully considered before she goes in for the interview.

Thanks much,

Eric

[Anh map 2,098]

Do some reading in the Asia: East & Pacific regional forum to learn about the HCMC experience.

There is no real opportunity to present evidence after the petition filing and the interview. There is a spirited debate on the value of front loading your petition. It's been recommended by one immigration attorney with a lot of HCMC experience.

During our petition phase the over riding advice to me was that the CO can only evaluate what is presented. If they have the evidence/information to consider prior to the actual interview, then the CO knows more of your story and the development of your relationship.

Plan on submitting a timeline of your relationship with the initial petition and then have an updated version at the interview.

Don't worry about your parents not attending the Dinh Hon. Having one is a good thing.

Welcome to VJ and the HCMC group.

[az110965 252]

Greetings to everyone on this forum from a first time poster! I find myself both nervous and excited as I begin the process that I hope will unite me with my fiancee here in the United States. I'm particularly appreciative for all of the good information posted here by "veterans" of the K-1 process.

I don't expect any major issues with our initial filing, but I gather that the big hurdle will be the determination by the consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. My primary question right now is whether and when we will have the opportunity to submit additional supporting material between the time of our initial I129-F filing and the actual interview.

I feel like this could be very important to our case. For example, we (actually her terrific family!) organized our Dinh Hon celebration on short notice after I proposed to her on my most recent visit to Vietnam in November, and none of my family could be in attendance. My parents are eager to meet her and her family but will not be able to travel until my father recovers from surgery scheduled for later this month. If they are able to go in the near future, I would hope to be able to get that evidence in front of the consular officer.

My current thought is to strive for a relatively short, well organized initial package, but this depends on whether we will indeed have a chance to provide a more complete and current set of evidence later that will be fully considered before she goes in for the interview.

Thanks much,

Eric

Hi Eric,

At the interview stage you will have the opportunity to provide evidence of the ongoing relationship between you and your fiance. Good evidence will of course include photos of your you (with your family) visiting your fiacee's family- so photos are crucial. Also, provide documentation of your communications with her (phone records, IM conversation print-outs, skype print-outs, etc). Email copies and e-cards also are a good menthod to prove you and your fiancee are communicating.

Airline tickets, boarding passes, ATM receipts from her city are beneficial as are hotel receipts ad of course - copies of your passport stamped with entry and departure information from her home city.

I would highly recommend that you visit the section on interview questions. This area of VJ will prove helpful in preparing your fiance for the CO interview.

Best of luck to you and your bride!

Al

[ScottThuy 140]

Welcome to the group Eric. As Roger said, frontloading can be a real asset... When you are getting the initial filing together.. look at it from the big picture.. rather than just submitting what you need to get USCIS's approval (the minimum), submit a packet that addresses any issues that may be present in your case and make a clear case that you love each other and show that it is a bonafide relationship... by taking a few extra months in the front end getting everything in order.. one can save themselves possible years of heartache in the long run...

Go through the topics here and look to see what the Consulate will be looking for and see why others have been denied... this will give you a good idea of what to expect... think as if you are the CO that will be making the decision and keep in mind that they think everyone is a fraud until they prove otherwise...

[Eric & Hang 0]

Thanks for the replies! It's great that there is a community like this for sharing information.

It sounds like the best approach is to go ahead and put together a complete and current set of evidence now and then try our best to make sure that the CO is aware of important updates at the time of the interview.

Eric

[james&nicole 2]

Greetings to everyone on this forum from a first time poster! I find myself both nervous and excited as I begin the process that I hope will unite me with my fiancee here in the United States. I'm particularly appreciative for all of the good information posted here by "veterans" of the K-1 process.

I don't expect any major issues with our initial filing, but I gather that the big hurdle will be the determination by the consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. My primary question right now is whether and when we will have the opportunity to submit additional supporting material between the time of our initial I129-F filing and the actual interview.

I feel like this could be very important to our case. For example, we (actually her terrific family!) organized our Dinh Hon celebration on short notice after I proposed to her on my most recent visit to Vietnam in November, and none of my family could be in attendance. My parents are eager to meet her and her family but will not be able to travel until my father recovers from surgery scheduled for later this month. If they are able to go in the near future, I would hope to be able to get that evidence in front of the consular officer.

My current thought is to strive for a relatively short, well organized initial package, but this depends on whether we will indeed have a chance to provide a more complete and current set of evidence later that will be fully considered before she goes in for the interview.

Thanks much,

Eric

Edited January 11, 2010 by james&nicole

[james&nicole 2]

Eric, in our case after filing the initial 129f we got an RFE asking for proof of ongoing relationship three months later. I used it to submit evidence of two additional trips to VN and a brief update of our circumstances of meeting. Getting an RFE is not guaranteed so you can't bank on it but my attorney said it is not uncommon.

After reading many posts here I think the "frontloading" concept has merit. If I could do it all over again I would give them all the info I had at every opportunity. In my case they asked for a narrative/timeline of our relationship on three occasions. With the initial filing, with the RFE and again when we got the blue slip at the interview.