yet another Evidence related question

[Jen and Mikey 13]

I hate to start yet another topic regarding this, but here it goes....

I posted this in someone else's thread, but it's gotten lost......I am in KY right now visiting my fiance and we are getting ready to submit.... I like other Canadians don't have really anything but pictures as proof. I actually thought about doing the "ransom" type picture with the newspaper and date as that really should work, but it seems like that isn't even enough.

I am not staying at a hotel so I don't have receipts, passport stamps or anything flight related as I drive. I guess my question regarding the whole just buy something so you have a receipt has me concerned.... how do they know I made the purchase? Anyone could have. I withdrew money here, but stupidly didn't get a receipt with that and when I look at my banking info it just shows up as a bunch of letters.... nothing stating that I made a withdrawal in somerset ky...

I've read so many threads regarding this and it seems like it all depends on the person who is working on it at the service center and what kind of mood they are in.

So what should I do? go make a purchase and submit the receipt with a printout of my bank statement? which will be off because of the currency conversion?

Someone had suggested phone bills with roaming charges..... I did go through and look at past bills.... I do have one from this past February that has roaming charges on it for brief convo's with my man..... it does state that I was making the call from Somerset, KY and his phone number..... will that help?

Again, I'm sorry for another topic on this. I just want to get my ducks in a row so we can get this out in the next day or 2.

Thanks

Jen

[CarolAnn&Eddy 12]

I hate to start yet another topic regarding this, but here it goes....

I posted this in someone else's thread, but it's gotten lost......I am in KY right now visiting my fiance and we are getting ready to submit.... I like other Canadians don't have really anything but pictures as proof. I actually thought about doing the "ransom" type picture with the newspaper and date as that really should work, but it seems like that isn't even enough.

I am not staying at a hotel so I don't have receipts, passport stamps or anything flight related as I drive. I guess my question regarding the whole just buy something so you have a receipt has me concerned.... how do they know I made the purchase? Anyone could have. I withdrew money here, but stupidly didn't get a receipt with that and when I look at my banking info it just shows up as a bunch of letters.... nothing stating that I made a withdrawal in somerset ky...

I've read so many threads regarding this and it seems like it all depends on the person who is working on it at the service center and what kind of mood they are in.

So what should I do? go make a purchase and submit the receipt with a printout of my bank statement? which will be off because of the currency conversion?

Someone had suggested phone bills with roaming charges..... I did go through and look at past bills.... I do have one from this past February that has roaming charges on it for brief convo's with my man..... it does state that I was making the call from Somerset, KY and his phone number..... will that help?

Again, I'm sorry for another topic on this. I just want to get my ducks in a row so we can get this out in the next day or 2.

Thanks

Jen

Makes it very difficult to prove the meeting. I think it was on my thread actually that you posted this From my understanding, now, you need to have the proof that the USC was in the foreign country as someone posted on my thread that they did not take into consideration the receipts and such of the beneficiary when they visited here in the US. Also, I am learning that you basically have to prove that you were in the city that the beneficiary lives in. Look for anything you have that proves you were there. Maybe your bank can pull a more detailed report of your withdrawal.. just a thought.

Good luck... a few of us are in this same situation together.

[Brian121957 43]

I think the requirement is to have meet. Not what country you have met in. Just proving you were in the same city and had opportunity to meet is not enough. It only helps support your claim. It is the photo with both of you in it that is the proof.

I still like the staged photo of both of you and the front page of a local newspaper with the date showing. Some say it is a bad idea and it may be if you don't have other photos to.

The random purchase receipt does not insure it was you who purchased it. The hotel receipt usually has the name of the person on it. Combine the hotel receipt with a picture of you by the hotel sign I would think would be good.

bottom line, You want to show evidence a loving relationship but you really need to think like a lawyer and build you case of evidence.

[huppie 0]

I submitted photos of us together, dated on the back. I also had a few boarding passes from visits, but I wasn't confident that was enough. So I had 3 people complete signed affidavit letters stating that they were aware of our relationship and how long we had been together. One was a co-worker, one was a friend and the third was a family member. There was no issue and our I-130 was approved. Hope this helps

[CarolAnn&Eddy 12]

I submitted photos of us together, dated on the back. I also had a few boarding passes from visits, but I wasn't confident that was enough. So I had 3 people complete signed affidavit letters stating that they were aware of our relationship and how long we had been together. One was a co-worker, one was a friend and the third was a family member. There was no issue and our I-130 was approved. Hope this helps

I was wondering about the letters and plan on doing them for our case. I can easily get those from a ton of people to prove ongoing.

I think the reason these questions are coming up about photos, is because when traveling by car you don't have all the copies of tickets and boarding passes. Also, it was stated in another thread on here that the photos were not proof alone and that there needed to be receipts and/or bank statements. Also photos, from my understanding, are only secondary proof to support primary proof. I too wrote names and dates and places on the back of my photos, but it was stated in another thread that they needed to be digitally stamped and not written on, another place stated that digitally stamped is not good because it can be faked.

There are to many different things that can be used and done and makes it very confusing to some of us who are trying to do everything perfect.

I totally agree with the posting above that stated you need to think like a lawyer! lol

[Ontarkie 14,234]

Gas receipts showing you where there, any shopping receipts showing withdraws from your bank work also. Movie tickets, just about anything you do together can be proof. The newspaper pic has been known to work, also standing in front of statues, anything famous or unique. If you have to, go withdraw another 20 bucks and get another bank slip. Just because someone gets a stamp in their passport doesn't mean they have better proof then yours. It just means they entered that country, don't over think it.

[canada_socks 97]

Well, what we did was we each took our credit card statements that matched up with a visit and copied any similar transactions. So if I was in Maryland in January for a week, I would take my January statement and highlight all the transactions made in Maryland during the time I was there. It always had an exchange rate listed under it, so you know it was in the US. It also usually had either the city or state name with it too I believe. We would do the same for his statements, proving that he was in the same city as me. We did this for weekend trips we took at our halfway points (usually Erie Pa or Niagara Falls, though Niagara was further than half way for him). I put little post it's on the statements explaining that I visited him from this date to this date in this place

For the photos, I printed of a sheet that I made on my computer that had 4 lines in the bottom half of the page. I took that sheet and my photos to Staples. I place the photo in the top half of the page above the lines and colour copied it. I would do the same for the next photo (just changed the photos out). When I got home, I wrote the date, location and who was in the photos on the lines underneath. I put numbers above the person in the photo, and numbered them in the list underneath. If there was more than the two of us in the photo, I also listed the relationship we had with the other person. We made sure to use photos of us together in significant places (like when we went to Niagara Falls, they could easily go back to look at our credit statements and see that we both made purchases in Niagara on that date.)

Excuse my horrid MSPaint skills...I was using my laptop track pad...

Edited May 23, 2012 by sherrybaby

[dukeandduchess 141]

If you're still there go withdraw some money and get the receipt. I find it hard to believe you've done nothing that would act as proof. Receipts for anything will work. Go see a movie together. Go to dinner together. Use your visa somewhere. It isn't very hard.

If you're driving, submit receipts from gas stations along the way including the city your fiance lives in.

If you absolutely have no proof, you need to start saving EVERYTHING. Even if you just buy a bottle of water. I'm still saving everything for when I file for AOS. It's habit now *just in case* they try to question things.

[Jen and Mikey 13]

thanks everyone.... I appreciate it all..... I just don't want an RFE

I was reading that most if not all banks have a notary and even thought of writing up a letter and both of us going in so they can notarize a letter saying that we are in fact there in person..... along with any receipts I get in the next few days...

Sigh, why can't they just take our word for it hehe

[SapphireDreams 71]

Have you guys ever gone on vacation together? We had been on a cruise, so we submitted our itinerary with both our names on it.

[huppie 0]

We had nothing financially to submit, including receipts or bank statements or credit cards. We tried to get a joint account but I wasn't able to do it without a social security number, which I can't get until I have green card, which I can't get without the I-130.....you get the point. It's a neverending circle. We had no RFEs at all with the photos and affidavit letters. They accepted that as proof enough for us. Hopefully they do the same for you.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The gas receipts showing the dated locations on the way down to his place, gas while at his place (same town) and back to Canada would be good evidence. You can send your fiance the receipts when you get home and he can include them. Conversely, yes, banks often have someone who is a Notary on staff and offer that service free for someone with an account there. UPS Stores also almost always have notaries on staff. Our local UPS store charges $7 for a notary stamp, so having a notarized statement that the two of you were in the same place at the same time, the receipt from paying the notary and even a photo showing you both at the UPS store at the same time as the stamp and the receipt - you can even take it in the parking lot showing all the Kentucky license plates on the cars and the store in the background - well, you do have lots of options if you get creative.

Good luck.

Edited May 23, 2012 by Kathryn41

[Hugglebuggles 60]

If you absolutely have no proof, you need to start saving EVERYTHING. Even if you just buy a bottle of water. I'm still saving everything for when I file for AOS. It's habit now *just in case* they try to question things.

That will come in handy when you do ROC in a couple of years. After 3 years of saving everything, I constantly remind myself I can stop saving things!

thanks everyone.... I appreciate it all..... I just don't want an RFE

I was reading that most if not all banks have a notary and even thought of writing up a letter and both of us going in so they can notarize a letter saying that we are in fact there in person..... along with any receipts I get in the next few days...

Sigh, why can't they just take our word for it hehe

Wouldn't that be nice? Who is talented enough to fake all those pictures anyways? But I actually think the notary thing is a really good idea. Its impossible to deny you were both together with that.

Have you ever gone to any sporting events or concerts together? Ticket stubs with seats next to each other could help. And then if you had any photos to back them up, even better.