K-1 Denied

[Inyakee 2]

The marriage licence is irrelevant. I got mine in Toronto without my husband even being in the country. It is not proof you met in the past 2 years

I think your case is weak. I suggest if you cannot get stronger evidence, you should just refile

Good luck

Maybe the next time I visit there and get a picture of us with a current news paper and notarized letter from my relatives there.

[CanAmBride 5]

My husband and also visited eachother by car and didn't have hotel receipts because we stayed at eachother's houses. We also didn't have any stamps in our passports despite crossing weekly for 8 years.

Here's what we sent as proof of a relationship:

1. Detailed account of how/when/where we met

2. Affadivits from family members and friends verifying our relationship

3. Hotel receipts and plane tickets from trips we took together and pictures of us together in those places

4. Pictures of us with eachother's family members at different times (example: his cousin's 1st birthday and her 5th birthday)

5. Copies of email sent throughout the years with "relationship" type conversations

6. Copies of our cell phone bills with eachothers phone numbers highlighted

7. Pictures of us at eachothers major life events (college graduation, birthdays...etc).

There are many, many other ways to prove a bonified relationship other than passport stamps.

[Inyakee 2]

My husband and also visited eachother by car and didn't have hotel receipts because we stayed at eachother's houses. We also didn't have any stamps in our passports despite crossing weekly for 8 years.

Here's what we sent as proof of a relationship:

1. Detailed account of how/when/where we met

2. Affadivits from family members and friends verifying our relationship

3. Hotel receipts and plane tickets from trips we took together and pictures of us together in those places

4. Pictures of us with eachother's family members at different times (example: his cousin's 1st birthday and her 5th birthday)

5. Copies of email sent throughout the years with "relationship" type conversations

6. Copies of our cell phone bills with eachothers phone numbers highlighted

7. Pictures of us at eachothers major life events (college graduation, birthdays...etc).

There are many, many other ways to prove a bonified relationship other than passport stamps.

Thank you so much! Now I got some ideas.

[Amy and Michael 21]

I'm not sure if you should provide the evidence or start from scratch. It sounds like you should be able to prove, somehow, that you have met in the last two years. You just have to prove that you met...there's many ways to do that. Pictures are not primary evidence, but receipts and other things are.

1. If you applied for a marriage license - did you both have to be present? Are your signatures on the document with a date? That would be enough to prove you met.

2. Gas receipts at gas stations along the way, receipts for dinner, etc.

When I applied, I used the receipts I had - an ATM receipt showing I took out money in a city nearby where my fiance lives, an entry on my credit card statement for a shirt I bought for him when I was there, etc. etc. The boarding passes I had proved I was there - but for you that's obviously not necessary. Did you save movie stubs, receipts, etc? Do you use a credit card, debit card?

I'm not sure of the cost difference, but if it were me I wouldn't just drop the first attempt at filing the I-129F petition.

[JlovesA 109]

I'm in the same situation, driving into the USA to visit my fiancé. One of the pieces of evidence I used was credit card statements I printed that showed purchases made in my fiance's town (the purchases on the statement showed the location). The statement only showed my visa number, not my name. So I photocopied my credit card (which shows my name) and attached it to the statement. I blacked out the middle digits of my card but left the first and last set so they could see the first and last 4 numbers were the same.

Hope that gives you another idea.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Is this petition denied or has the OP just gotten an RFE?

[baron555 934]

didn't have hotel receipts because we stayed at eachother's houses. W

People, don't you realize that with this international relationship and your inevitable dance with USCIS you have to think and act outside your normal box.

Stay at a hotel, even for one night, just to generate that evidence. Generate the evidence. What is so hard about this concept?

It is well known, at least to us VJers, what most folks provide and get by with. You can do the same. You don't have a normal relationship because of USCIS.

When Alla and I met in Kiev for 10 days, we did things together, sometimes for the sole purpose of generating evidence of meeting and to show our relationship.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

People, don't you realize that with this international relationship and your inevitable dance with USCIS you have to think and act outside your normal box.

Stay at a hotel, even for one night, just to generate that evidence. Generate the evidence. What is so hard about this concept?

It is well known, at least to us VJers, what most folks provide and get by with. You can do the same. You don't have a normal relationship because of USCIS.

When Alla and I met in Kiev for 10 days, we did things together, sometimes for the sole purpose of generating evidence of meeting and to show our relationship.

I would wager that at least half the people in international relationships don't have a clue what they will need to do if they decide to live in the US.

[daboyz 36]

Rebecca is right. I was given a 3 year work visa in canada. Took a week I think. I was given a 15 month marraige visa in Thailand in about 36 hours. I hear in the EU it takes 30 days. It took a year to get my wifes IR-1. She came here for help, not to be scolded like a child. If you don't have anything constructive to post, go and hang out in OT or P and R. I'm sure happy I didn't get responses like that when we got 221g. Everyone helped out a lot here. Even those here I had issues with in the past.

[Inyakee 2]

I'm in the same situation, driving into the USA to visit my fiancé. One of the pieces of evidence I used was credit card statements I printed that showed purchases made in my fiance's town (the purchases on the statement showed the location). The statement only showed my visa number, not my name. So I photocopied my credit card (which shows my name) and attached it to the statement. I blacked out the middle digits of my card but left the first and last set so they could see the first and last 4 numbers were the same.

Hope that gives you another idea.

Thank you for the tips.

[Lise+Michael 13]

The love of my life lives in Minnesota and I live in Thunder Bay, no air travel required. We frequently go back and forth with no passport stamps. What I did to help solve this problem is I kept a 'contact log' detailing each time Michael came to Thunder Bay and when I went to Minnesota. It clearly states the dates of entry, the dates of departure, who we saw etc. I was fortunate in that my daughter's friend had just been through the process so I started collecting 'evidence' as soon as we started discussing marriage. When the right time came to mail our K1 petition Michael and I both signed and dated the contact log. Our log goes back to Dec 2008. Since then we have received our NOA1. I will continue to do this until our interview in Montreal. Of course we also put in other evidence: picture (I included photos of Michael with my pets and also with my grandchildren), facebook comments of our engagement; emails etc. Also, I clearly outlined how we first met. Hope this helps future applicants who live close to each other and do not receive passport stamps.

Enjoy your day!

[daboyz 36]

The love of my life lives in Minnesota and I live in Thunder Bay, no air travel required. We frequently go back and forth with no passport stamps. What I did to help solve this problem is I kept a 'contact log' detailing each time Michael came to Thunder Bay and when I went to Minnesota. It clearly states the dates of entry, the dates of departure, who we saw etc. I was fortunate in that my daughter's friend had just been through the process so I started collecting 'evidence' as soon as we started discussing marriage. When the right time came to mail our K1 petition Michael and I both signed and dated the contact log. Our log goes back to Dec 2008. Since then we have received our NOA1. I will continue to do this until our interview in Montreal. Of course we also put in other evidence: picture (I included photos of Michael with my pets and also with my grandchildren), facebook comments of our engagement; emails etc. Also, I clearly outlined how we first met. Hope this helps future applicants who live close to each other and do not receive passport stamps.

Enjoy your day!

Cant you just walk across the lake this time of year?

[w8inglongtime 29]

And I do have a marriage certificate approved by the Canada and lawyers permit to get marriage. Is this enough to prove them that I met my fiance for the past two years?

If it's dated to suggest that, then hopefully they will consider it. Plus the fact that you have a 14 month old baby suggests you met 2 years ago considering it took approximately 9 months before the baby got here. Maybe you should point that out in the space they provided for you to write anything you think will help your case. In the mean time, think long and hard and find more evidence. Surely you should have more paper trail for a 2 year old relationship. Receipts, post cards, email with highlited dates, confirmation email of items you had mailed to him showing from your address to fiance's address etc...

[CanAmBride 5]

People, don't you realize that with this international relationship and your inevitable dance with USCIS you have to think and act outside your normal box.

Stay at a hotel, even for one night, just to generate that evidence. Generate the evidence. What is so hard about this concept?

It is well known, at least to us VJers, what most folks provide and get by with. You can do the same. You don't have a normal relationship because of USCIS.

When Alla and I met in Kiev for 10 days, we did things together, sometimes for the sole purpose of generating evidence of meeting and to show our relationship.

When I met my now husband 8 years ago, it didn't occur to me to think "oh gosh, I need to start gathering evidence of a bonified relationship!!!" It wasn't until 7 years later when we decided to get married that we looked into what it took to get a Green Card. Luckly, we had plenty of evidence because I am sentimental and I keep things like cute emails and plane tickets. I don't think it's fair to expect people to collect these things throughout the course of dating just because one day, they may get married and want to apply for a Green Card.

However, normal things like phone records and credit card statements, and photos which show an ongoing relationship are easy to get in today's digital age, so it's not too hard to retrace your steps once you decide to file.

[Robert de Bonda 3]

When I met my now husband 8 years ago, it didn't occur to me to think "oh gosh, I need to start gathering evidence of a bonified relationship!!!" It wasn't until 7 years later when we decided to get married that we looked into what it took to get a Green Card. Luckly, we had plenty of evidence because I am sentimental and I keep things like cute emails and plane tickets. I don't think it's fair to expect people to collect these things throughout the course of dating just because one day, they may get married and want to apply for a Green Card.

However, normal things like phone records and credit card statements, and photos which show an ongoing relationship are easy to get in today's digital age, so it's not too hard to retrace your steps once you decide to file.

I agree wholeheartedly. It wasn't until 2 1/2 years into our relationship that we considered the possibility of her moving to the US. Luckily, I'm a packrat and had most of the evidences somewhere around. I glad that I didn't one day wake up and start changing my packrat ways. I have phone bills from when we were merely talking on the phone. Receipts for little birthday gifts that I sent and don't even start talking about fotos.

I think that once the OP puts his mind to it, he'll find many of the things that he needs. He might even be able to get them from others who were at family gatherings and took fotos etc.