A question re: referencing letters

[rd33 0]

Hello good people of VJ - I am so very worried about getting this process right and I can't thank the regular contributors enough for some of the advise and tips I've picked up from this forum.

Anyhow, I'm British and my Floridian fiancé and I are currently putting together items for the I129F and gathering info for the future stages of the process. A lawyer we spoke to advised getting signed letters from friends and family as forms of evidence (annoyingly, several times in the past when they've actually met, we weren't really thinking about this process so don't have any photos of!) and I'm just wondering:

a) if anyone else has done similar

and

b) if so, what these should contain? In particular, I'm curious as to whether they should be in 'yes, I know them' or 'I know them from [context]' format.

Thank you very much for any readers, I hope you don't mind me pestering you with a few more questions before each part of the process.

[bigdog 376]

Photos are very important, they show a visual relationship between each of you, your families and life in general. Everything else is just paper and your verbal representation of the relationship. You don't need an attorney if you are here. Letters I am sure would help especially if their are no photos?

Edited January 2, 2012 by bigdog

[Enigma11561 336]

Seeing is believing. A few photos of the two of you two together is worth more than letters from "people". At this stage the

USCIS is more interested in knowing that you have actually seen each other in the last two years. Maybe some others can chime in here, but from my experience, everyone I know has used photos. You have no photos at all? Can you guys take another trip?

[cdneh 3,112]

Photos are secondary evidence. We didn't have any when we filed for our K1, and so sent none. I took a few screenshots from the webcam for interview, but that was it. We weren't planning on needing photos either, and neither one of us is a fan of the camera. A friend I had here did have dinner with us twice during my first visit, and he simply put that down on paper, that he had seen us together and where. All he did was sign it, was not notarized.

We did submit boarding passes, itineraries, copies of passport pages that showed entry and exit stamps, receipts for times purchased with my NZ Mastercard in DC, things that showed that we were in the same place at the same time. At interview I took evidence of an ongoing relationship, plenty of email, chat longs, things of that nature.

Welcome to VJ. It's a great little resource, plenty of people who can point you in the right direction.

[rd33 0]

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

Sorry, I seem to have phrased that badly: there are plenty of photos of us together (though frustratingly not from when we actually met in the first place whilst I was on a work secondment in the US), just none with us and each other's families and friends.

I think the optimist in me can read into that that photos of just us from our last few visits will be sufficient... Have always been one for memories instead of photographs before; I wasn't looking at it from an immigration perspective!

Edited January 2, 2012 by rd33

[brian_n_phuong 193]

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

Sorry, I seem to have phrased that badly: there are plenty of photos of us together (though frustratingly not from when we actually met in the first place whilst I was on a work secondment in the US), just none with us and each other's families and friends.

I think the optimist in me can read into that that photos of just us from our last few visits will be sufficient... Have always been one for memories instead of photographs before; I wasn't looking at it from an immigration perspective!

rd.... I submitted affidavits (also on the advice of an attorney) to address a particular red flag. I can send you a copy if needed, I have versions for a family member, and a co-worker/friend.

Edited January 2, 2012 by brian_n_phuong

[rd33 0]

Brian, that would be unbelievably fantastic, I'll drop you a PM with an email address. Thank you.

[baron555 934]

I'll write as many reference letter about you teo ad you want.....meaning they have very little value since they can easily be fabricated. They do nothing about telling of your relationship; we didn't use any.

[brian_n_phuong 193]

I'll write as many reference letter about you teo ad you want.....meaning they have very little value since they can easily be fabricated. They do nothing about telling of your relationship; we didn't use any.

Any thing can be fabricated, incuding photos. A 6 year old could fake a chat log, and most High Schoolers have the photoshop skills to print a passable fake photograph. There are many shady firms in Southeast Asia that make a good living producing fake immigration evidence.

Signed/Notarized affidavits are valuable and legally acceptable documents when used in the correct context and situation that requires them.

[brian_n_phuong 193]

Brian, that would be unbelievably fantastic, I'll drop you a PM with an email address. Thank you.

Rd... Sent u a PM... You want Word 2008 Format (or 2003/Text??), I need to do some redaction on the docs, so might be later today before I can send them.

[rd33 0]

anytime you could would be fantastic, any format is fine.

[brian_n_phuong 193]

anytime you could would be fantastic, any format is fine.

Just emailed you the Affidavit templates!

[cardinal 1]

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

Sorry, I seem to have phrased that badly: there are plenty of photos of us together (though frustratingly not from when we actually met in the first place whilst I was on a work secondment in the US), just none with us and each other's families and friends.

I think the optimist in me can read into that that photos of just us from our last few visits will be sufficient... Have always been one for memories instead of photographs before; I wasn't looking at it from an immigration perspective!

We applied with only photos of us and it was fine. I will say that at the interview stage having a photo of us with my husband's extended family seemed to seal the deal - once the CO saw that the interview was over. There are a lot of reasons why you may not have pictures with friends and family, including not being able to travel where they are for various reasons, and just not being big photo people.

Having said that we did have a letter from my parents, one from a senior family member on his side, and one from a friend - all basically said they had spent time with us, watched our relationship evolve, that it was serious and that they supported our engagement etc. In my parents case they hadn't met him (and said that in the letter) but wrote that they were aware of and supportive of the relationship, that we all spoke a common language (french) etc