Preparing proof of having met

[BennyJax 5]

Starting to prepare evidence of having met within the last two years. Feels overwhelming. Trying to take it one step at a time. I'll probably have many question so will probably just keep posting them on here.

1) I don't have used boarding passes. Never kept them and didn't realize I needed to. However I do have the receipts and itineraries that the airline e-mailed to me. Will this be okay to send in?

2) If it's okay to send it, a couple places we went to she flew on a different airline than the rest of my family (due to having to buy her ticket later after she arrived to the US). Will that be okay as well?

3) Again if it's okay, do I need to make any markings or notes on the itinerary or receipts? Highlight her name? Highlight the destinations? Make a not for clarifications?

4) Skype. For Skype, I can't find a way to print out call logs. Does anyone know? I just see a list of the call history with the names and if I click on her name, it shows the date. How can I use this to show them?

5) Also have Skype chats that we will occasionally do even while we are talking on Skype. That goes back to 2008. It breaks up the chats and shows the date on them. If I printed it all out it'd be 200+ pages. Should I just print out certain pages that show the date? Any ideas?

6) Photos. Like everyone here, we have lots of them. If I could I'd send them as many as I could. How many should I send? Can I print them at home or do I need to print them at a store or an online printer like Kodak? Do I need to make a note on the back with the date?

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read and help. Much appreciated.

[amykathleen2005 441]

1. Boarding passes are great but you can get by without them. Itineraries accompanied by passport stamps would serve the same purpose.

2. It shouldn't matter that there were different airlines. You only basically need to show you were in the same country at the same time.

3. I highlighted mine just to make it easier to say what I wanted them to get from each document.

4. 5. Skype really is not needed at this phase unless you are in a really high fraud country. You'll have to go to the specific Taiwan related forum to see if this would be necessary or not. It just shows proof of a relationship and not of having met in person.

6.Photos are great. Send a few good ones of you together, maybe 5-10. You can print them or have them printed but be sure to label them with the names of who is in the pictures, where it was taken and when. Then put the pics in a plastic sandwich baggie so none of them get lost.

[twowls 217]

Starting to prepare evidence of having met within the last two years. Feels overwhelming. Trying to take it one step at a time. I'll probably have many question so will probably just keep posting them on here.

1) I don't have used boarding passes. Never kept them and didn't realize I needed to. However I do have the receipts and itineraries that the airline e-mailed to me. Will this be okay to send in?

2) If it's okay to send it, a couple places we went to she flew on a different airline than the rest of my family (due to having to buy her ticket later after she arrived to the US). Will that be okay as well?

3) Again if it's okay, do I need to make any markings or notes on the itinerary or receipts? Highlight her name? Highlight the destinations? Make a not for clarifications?

4) Skype. For Skype, I can't find a way to print out call logs. Does anyone know? I just see a list of the call history with the names and if I click on her name, it shows the date. How can I use this to show them?

5) Also have Skype chats that we will occasionally do even while we are talking on Skype. That goes back to 2008. It breaks up the chats and shows the date on them. If I printed it all out it'd be 200+ pages. Should I just print out certain pages that show the date? Any ideas?

6) Photos. Like everyone here, we have lots of them. If I could I'd send them as many as I could. How many should I send? Can I print them at home or do I need to print them at a store or an online printer like Kodak? Do I need to make a note on the back with the date?

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read and help. Much appreciated.

Forget the Skype and receipts and that kind of thing and focus on rock solid primary evidence: passport stamps. Do you have 'em? You don't need a mountain of evidence; you need one piece of clear evidence. Somehow, you must show you were in the same place at the same time. Just once. If you can fulfill that with something good like matching passport stamps, you don't need to pile on anything else.

This is Not the part of the process where you have to build a case for a legitimate relationship with lots of receipts and photos. This is just about one technical requirement. Don't stay overwhelmed about the minutiae of your various iffy evidence. Seek one solid piece.

[Darnell 8,478]

passport stamps, BAG TAGS from luggage, verra useful, when no 'boarding passes'.

[amykathleen2005 441]

passport stamps, BAG TAGS from luggage, verra useful, when no 'boarding passes'.

Oh yes I forgot about those. I made copies for ours as well.

[Ab44 3]

Hi Benny Jax!

I'm in the process now too of collecting evidence :-) If in doubt I'd just send something; although no, you don't want to print out 200 pages of conversation..Just use good judgment, you don't want to totally bog the reviewer down, but on the other hand if you leave something out when you could have easily gotten it, I'd just put it in to prevent an RFE. From my research and talking to people on the forum, I'd still include even secondary evidence..This may not be critical BUT it starts setting the stage for your interview; making reviewers more confident of your ongoing relationship before you even getting to that stage.

What I am going to do is have a paper just explaining some of the evidence, if its not apparent. I read a tip that it's a good idea to link evidence pieces together. For example; instead of merely putting in passport stamps and my fiance itineraries alone. Like I will refer to passport stamp say Madrid, 2007; and then make mention that this stamp was for X itinerary. Fill in the lines for the reviewer, make it as clear and easy for them as possible. That will lessen the chance of them not figuring something out and subsequently asking for an RFE.

Good luck!

[Ab44 3]

PS- about just needing one clear piece of evidence. I've seen in the RFE thread that several people have submitted what they thought was clear evidence, including boarding passes but still got an RFE . Yes, every country may differ, but to play it safe I'd cover all your bases and include skype stuff, like records..I too am trying to figure out how to download the records from skype; thats more legit than copy and paste. the effort now including things could potentially save you headaches in the future.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

PS- about just needing one clear piece of evidence. I've seen in the RFE thread that several people have submitted what they thought was clear evidence, including boarding passes but still got an RFE . Yes, every country may differ, but to play it safe I'd cover all your bases and include skype stuff, like records..I too am trying to figure out how to download the records from skype; thats more legit than copy and paste. the effort now including things could potentially save you headaches in the future.

With the petition, you have to prove you've actually MET each other, face-to-face. Skype records prove the opposite. Two people sitting in the same room together do not use Skype to communicate. Skype records are proof of a RELATIONSHIP, which you don't have to prove to USCIS. You could include a huge pile of relationship evidence, but if none of it proves you actually met face-to-face then the petition won't be approved.

If you're dealing with a tough consulate then you might want to frontload some relationship evidence, but to get the petition approved you need to prove you've actually met.

[Ab44 3]

Yep exactly.skype is secondary..itineraries are also secondary; anybody can make an account and buy a ticket, but not necessarily go. So focus on/highlight your primary evidence but also include secondary evidence showing ongoing relationship..not everyone agrees with including secondary also, but just do what you feel is best based on feedback u get and research u do. As long as the skype times aren't when you are suppoesd to have met face to face I don't think it would hurt..then again someone can correct me if they think it hurt them.

[Aztec&Taino 144]

Forget the Skype and receipts and that kind of thing and focus on rock solid primary evidence: passport stamps. Do you have 'em? You don't need a mountain of evidence; you need one piece of clear evidence. Somehow, you must show you were in the same place at the same time. Just once. If you can fulfill that with something good like matching passport stamps, you don't need to pile on anything else.

This is Not the part of the process where you have to build a case for a legitimate relationship with lots of receipts and photos. This is just about one technical requirement. Don't stay overwhelmed about the minutiae of your various iffy evidence. Seek one solid piece.

Agree!

For the time being, be more worried/concerned with showing OFFICIAL proof. In other words, if you can make photocopies of actual passport pages and its corresponding stamps from your or your fiance(e)'s passport (PROVING that you two have visited each other's country) you will be much better off than showing itineraries, e-mail confirmations, etc. You can send some pics (I sent 10 with my own application), but remember that you are just trying to prove that you have met within the last two years (at this stage). The proof of the actual relationship will be at the interview stage (more pic, Sypke chats, etc.)

[BennyJax 5]

Thank you guys. It makes it more clear for me. I understand that Skype and e-mails just prove the relationship is ongoing but at this stage they just want proof that we have MET in person within the last two years. Ok.

I do have copies of her passport pages showing when she entered the US this past year and last year. I do have my passport stamp when I went to Taiwan last January 2009.

If she entered Sydney (to go study in August 2008) and then I went a month later, will that be acceptable as well? I assume it proves we were both in Sydney at the time and then I would probably provide pictures for those times.

After I include those items, are you guys saying I don't need to include emails, Skype, chats, etc? On the step-by-step guide it does say Documentary Proof of Having Met in Person in the Past Two Years and an Ongoing Relationship:, it mentions it as the last item. I understand it doesn't prove we have met, just that we have an ongoing relationship.

[Aztec&Taino 144]

Thank you guys. It makes it more clear for me. I understand that Skype and e-mails just prove the relationship is ongoing but at this stage they just want proof that we have MET in person within the last two years. Ok.

I do have copies of her passport pages showing when she entered the US this past year and last year. I do have my passport stamp when I went to Taiwan last January 2009.

If she entered Sydney (to go study in August 2008) and then I went a month later, will that be acceptable as well? I assume it proves we were both in Sydney at the time and then I would probably provide pictures for those times.

After I include those items, are you guys saying I don't need to include emails, Skype, chats, etc? On the step-by-step guide it does say Documentary Proof of Having Met in Person in the Past Two Years and an Ongoing Relationship:, it mentions it as the last item. I understand it doesn't prove we have met, just that we have an ongoing relationship.

I think it is always better to err in the side of caution. So, I would say also include evidence that proves an ongoing relationship. As other VJ members have said elsewhere in forum posts, it might be to your advantage to include such evidence in your petition so that when your petition reaches the embassy/consulate stage they can see all of this proof in your file before you arrive to the interview (frontload your petition). Other members have also suggested sending in a "sample" of phone calls, chat logs, etc. In other words, rather than sending every single one, you could choose to send one or two of such records per week (rather than every day records). You could also include pictures (I included 10 in my petition) showing you in a variety of settings, places, wearing different clothes, etc. Caption your pictures, too. Yet, the most important aspect at the petition stage is to send primary proof such as stamped passports and boarding passes. I have read through the RFE thread and it seems that some people got RFEs because they included secondary evidence (such as chat logs, phone calls, etc.) rather than providing copies of ALL pages of the couple's passports (primary evidence).

Good luck, I know it feels overwhelming, but it will be worth it when you are with your loved one!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

If she entered Sydney (to go study in August 2008) and then I went a month later, will that be acceptable as well? I assume it proves we were both in Sydney at the time and then I would probably provide pictures for those times.

That's borderline because of the time frame. Remember that you have to prove the meeting occurred within two years of FILING the I-129F. Otherwise, yes - as long as you can show you were in the same place at the same time with primary evidence, and show that you actually met with secondary evidence, then it's good.

After I include those items, are you guys saying I don't need to include emails, Skype, chats, etc? On the step-by-step guide it does say Documentary Proof of Having Met in Person in the Past Two Years and an Ongoing Relationship:, it mentions it as the last item. I understand it doesn't prove we have met, just that we have an ongoing relationship.

It depends. USCIS isn't going to look at the relationship evidence because it's not needed to approve the petition. However, presuming your petition package is sent to the consulate in it's entirety and not transferred electronically (which apparently some consulates are now doing) then your relationship evidence should accompany your petition to the consulate. The consular officer usually WILL look at this evidence. This sort of frontloading tends to be more useful at difficult consulates in high fraud countries, and not so much at easier consulates in low fraud countries.

[usmcwife 3]

We didn't keep boarding passes either. I did print out the itineraries from our trips and included them with the passport stamps. That and photos were pretty much the majority of our evidence that we sent.

Of course I brought a tonne of additional evidence to the interview.