Proof of Meeting

[Gingerpants 8]

As someone else pointed out, how are you going to get the date on the newspaper and the people all in one photo? That's hard to do. And if photos are only considered secondary evidence because they are able to be doctored, holding a newspaper doesn't prove anything. You can add or change anything in a photo. It's not necessary to take a special photo with a newspaper as it wouldn't be able to serve as primary evidence. You would STILL need boarding passes or passport stamps to prove you were in the same place at the same time. So why go to the trouble of taking such a photo when there is no purpose behind it and it's impossible to do right anyway?

Look this is just a suggestion someone else had on another forum that I was simply passing along. It obviously wouldn't be primary evidence, but if the petitioner was feeling like they wanted to include more just to put their mind at ease then this piece of supporting evidence then this could be attempted.

Maybe I'm misreading your tone, but it seems as though you're getting a bit worked up over this newspaper-photo thing.

[bobby_kvisa 7]

Anything that can be verified in and of itself is primary.

For instance a Boarding Pass is primary because it is issued by a third party (airline) and bears your name on it. Additionally the BP itself is proof because this evidence is not easily fabricated and can be verified if necessary with the airline or TSA.

Other examples of primary are Lease Agreements, Hotel Bills and all the other verifiable items people mention in this thread and forum.

Secondary proofs are those which cannot be easily verified or can possibly be easily fabricated. Such proofs are photographs (esp photos of just 2 people - it is very easy for 2 people to meet and take photos, but rounding a group together is much harder) and phone bills or emails or chats. Of course phone bills, emails, etc and such can be verified but you can see that they can also easily be fabricated. So they are secondary.

[* Kristin * 49]

I think the idea of taking a picture with your sweetie while holding a newspaper is a good one (I wish I had done it). I hope you don't mind my asking, but why wouldn't people who are actually living together in the beneficiary's country (in other words, not being forced by the horrible separation that most of us have to live with) marry and then file for a I-130 and the I-129 F? I would think it the better deal because the beneficiary would enter the country as a permanent resident and would have work authorization right away...

We really had no desire to get married in Britain.. also there may be some restrictions with the visa that I live and work in England on.. not sure. Didn't get that far into it!

Edited September 1, 2010 by * Kristin *

[bobby_kvisa 7]

Another step I took when assembling the package of evidence was to make sure my photocopies (of everything) were in color.

This is not a requirement of course, but I know from experience for other things that color copies bear slightly more weight.

The reason is obvious, a photocopy in black and white is very common and could be a fabrication.

However color photocopies are in a different league and are harder to fabricate and are visually more substantial proof than a black and white photocopy.

The source of a black and white copy is harder to verify - is it legitimate or was it put together for purposes of creating evidence. Is it a copy of a copy or is it a copy of the original ?

The source of the color copy is more substantial. If you make color copies using a high-end machine at Fedex Kinkos - the color copies look more real than the actual evidence (boarding pass, etc) :-)

[Gingerpants 8]

I think the idea of taking a picture with your sweetie while holding a newspaper is a good one (I wish I had done it). I hope you don't mind my asking, but why wouldn't people who are actually living together in the beneficiary's country (in other words, not being forced by the horrible separation that most of us have to live with) marry and then file for a I-130 and the I-129 F? I would think it the better deal because the beneficiary would enter the country as a permanent resident and would have work authorization right away...

I'm here on what's called a de-facto visa (visa for a couple in a long term relationship) which permits me to work. It's the same stamp as a spousal visa but I would still have to resubmit as his spouse which could take 2-4 months and cost 150 euro. So I guess it seemed like more trouble to do it that way and I'm kind of anxious to get settled in the States again so I can finish school.

[jimmy&eloisa 1]

what about someone who dose not take a plane or have to get my passport stamped, i got o mexico and its only 8 hours form where i live and we dont get stamp, and i drive there so no boarding passes,,, the only thing i have is toll receipts, but ive only just started that since december of 09, so my question is what can i do about that? and that thing about a priest? dose that work?

[marlea 84]

Look this is just a suggestion someone else had on another forum that I was simply passing along. It obviously wouldn't be primary evidence, but if the petitioner was feeling like they wanted to include more just to put their mind at ease then this piece of supporting evidence then this could be attempted.

Maybe I'm misreading your tone, but it seems as though you're getting a bit worked up over this newspaper-photo thing.

No, I'm not worked up. It's not worth it. I just get frustrated when there are lots of ideas bantered about and no one questions the quality of the ideas. I was just trying to point out that it wouldn't really hold any weight, and an adjudicator wouldn't care about that photo at all, unless it was the only photo in the packet. There are many people on these boards who worry about the smallest details but don't look at the big picture, who worry about what kind of paperclips to use to hold things together, but don't go through the effort to find out what the petition requires. Secondary evidence is useless without primary evidence. So someone can take a picture like this if they want, but I don't know how it would put someone's mind at ease when it has little to no purpose to the adjudicator. I just don't want someone else reading this and thinking that they are at a disadvantage because they don't have a similar picture, that's all.

[slangofoil 50]

I'm here on what's called a de-facto visa (visa for a couple in a long term relationship) which permits me to work. It's the same stamp as a spousal visa but I would still have to resubmit as his spouse which could take 2-4 months and cost 150 euro. So I guess it seemed like more trouble to do it that way and I'm kind of anxious to get settled in the States again so I can finish school.

I don't think you would have had to get a new stamp in order to go ahead with DCF. Since the stamp for a spouse is the same, and still only given for 12 months initially, there would be no difference. You'd just have to prove that you are (a) married and (b) the USC has been legally resident/maintaining their principal residence in the State for the preceding six months. And DCF is usually considerably faster than a K-1.

Just saying in case someone else has this situation. I had a stamp 4 from the de-facto "visa" as well, but I left shortly after getting it for economic reasons and we didn't get engaged until 6 months later. Would have been nice if we could have done DCF, but since I've been back in the states for over a year now I'm better equipped to provide for him when he first comes, since I have a stable job and whatnot.

Good luck with your process anyway.

[JohnDonne 0]

No pictures but we lived in neighboring zip codes. Can we still get the 129f approved?

[* Kristin * 49]

I don't know if it would help or work, but do you have like receipts of things that you guys did together?

We kept separate bank accounts for 3 years but submitted statements of our individual accounts showing that we shopped in the same places, ate at the same restaurants, etc.

No pictures but we lived in neighboring zip codes. Can we still get the 129f approved?