RFE circumstances of meeting

[Mogambi 96]

REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE

REQUIREMENT THAT PETITIONER AND BENEFICIARY HAVE MET IN PERSON: It must be established that the petitioner and beneficiary have met and the circumstances of their meeting.

• Circumstances of Meeting- Submit information regarding the circumstances under which the petitioner and beneficiary met to establish the relationship.

I agree, read the wording carefully! It's not saying 'prove that you met', it's saying 'submit information REGARDING THE CIRCUMSTANCES'. It sounds like they want the letter that most of us write to expand on the I-129F question 'how did you meet your fiancé in person'. So I think that's exactly what they are asking for. Write a letter descriving 1) how you met your fiancé in the first place, be it online, etc. Then also continue to describe your first trip, the dates you travelled, where you stayed, what you did, who you met.

Not sure it's worth sending in more info, but you could include in that letter that you been back twice more (include photocopies of those passport stamps and boarding passes too!).

[kmff 2]

Hello all,

Thank you in advance for your help, please read all of my post before replying...

I need some advice, help, or similar sucessful experiences please. I received an RFE today regarding my K1 fiance visa petition All that waiting for this... As a forward I will note that although I know anyone is subject to a mistake, I am an EXTREMELY thorough person. I read every word of the guides here and went through my petition at least 5 times before sending it in. I was shocked to have received this RFE and thought for sure I must have missed something stupid but from what I can tell they are asking for something I have already provided...

Here is verbatim what the RFE says in its entirety:

REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE

REQUIREMENT THAT PETITIONER AND BENEFICIARY HAVE MET IN PERSON: It must be established that the petitioner and beneficiary have met and the circumstances of their meeting.

• Circumstances of Meeting- Submit information regarding the circumstances under which the petitioner and beneficiary met to establish the relationship.
  

That's ALL. Here is what I submitted with my petition:

• Paragraph in question 18 explaining that I was in Lebanon in December to visit my fiance and his family.
  
• Every copied page of my passport showing my entry/exit stamps into his country at said times. (It is important to note that these were the ONLY stamps in my passport at the time and my fiance has never been to the US before so our pictures together could have ONLY been taken at this time as opposed to any time earlier)
  
• Copies of all of my boarding passes to Lebanon from above mentioned trip.
  
• Separate, signed letters from both my fiance and I stating that we were together in person at this time.
  
• Copies of blood test results (very common in his country for a couple to get these prior to a formal engagement to eliminate incompatability for children, disease etc) with our full names, date, and address of facility showing we were in the same doctor's office at the same time.
  
• Six photos of us together including one with us and his mother and one with me and his mother and sister (names of people, dates, and location written on the back of each).
  

I called my fiance immediately and discussed with him whether they were asking for proof we were together in person within the last two years OR a statement regarding how we met (because both are kind of mentioned in the RFE but as far as I knew, the later was not a requirement of the petition itself, I've always read they just want to make sure you have been in each other's presence within 2 years prior to filing the petition). Since we couldn't make a definite determiniation I called the USCIS customer service number. The first customer service rep. said he had no idea and transferred me to an officer. 45 minutes on hold later I explained calmly and clearly what I received and what was my question. The officer insisted I was not telling her everything the RFE said because it was too vague and said that usually they list exactly what they are requestion. I replied that I agreed the statement was vague which is why I was calling. She continued to insist I was leaving something out and her final word was to make an info pass appointment so someone could see my RFE to know what was being requested (because again she insisted I was leaving something out). Her last words were "Ma'am, I can not help you".... Thanks a lot..

Okay, sorry it was so long. I just wanted to answer any questions up front. Should I just resubmit everything I submitted already with a kind letter explaining how we met initially, when we were last together, please see the attached etc etc.. I am just unclear whether they are asking for evidence proving we have been together within the last two years or requesting an explanation of how we met for the first time.

As I know everyone else here would agree, I miss my fiance SO MUCH and just want this process over with so we can be together again...

Thank you again everyone.

Hello,

this is my opinion, but based on what the RFE letter says, and what your answer for questions 18 was, I think they want you to better elaborate what the "circustances" of your meeting was.

When I sent my paper work I sent two pages explaining the "circustances" of how we met, and how we began our relationship. To be honest, your answer for question #18 does not really answer the "CIRCUSTANCES" of your meeting.

Keep up the faith! I did get an RFE and believe me there are worst things that can happen! TRUST ME!!!!!

Good luck.

[WaitingHayete 5]

Thank you again everyone for even more replies :)

The more I read it, I think I may have interpreted question 18 incorrectly. It asks "have you been together in person within the last two years' and then asks 'describe the circumstances under which you met'. I just assumed they meant describe when/how etc you were together in person since it was under one umbrella. Also, the RFE heading does say "Met in person" but I think as they are asking on the petition two separate questions they are doing the same here. I feel the petition is slightly unclear in this aspect because it isn't initially obvious if they were asking "How did you meet initially" or "How did you meet in person within the last two years". In hindsite I guess they are asking both.

Regardless, lesson learned. I sent back the RFE today with a nice paragraph describing how we first met (online) and how we kept in touch and fell in love as well as how I traveled to Lebanon to see him within the last two years. For good measure I included all the pages of my passport (with the new stamps of my other two visits since I submitted the petition), all the pages of his passport (I put sticky-notes in places to point out his entry/exit stamps to Lebanon to prove we were both in his country at the same time), the same 6 pictures I sent originally plus 3 more from our December visit, copies of my boarding passes, and finally the copies of the pre-engagement blood tests. So I feel like I covered all bases no matter which question they are asking and also provided documents that they may have lost which caused the RFE in the first place.

Please please please let them not leave our petition to collect dust on the shelf. Hopefully things will start to move soon. I have so much sympathy for those who have waited much longer than us. Good luck to everyone!

[kmff 2]

Thank you again everyone for even more replies :)

The more I read it, I think I may have interpreted question 18 incorrectly. It asks "have you been together in person within the last two years' and then asks 'describe the circumstances under which you met'. I just assumed they meant describe when/how etc you were together in person since it was under one umbrella. Also, the RFE heading does say "Met in person" but I think as they are asking on the petition two separate questions they are doing the same here. I feel the petition is slightly unclear in this aspect because it isn't initially obvious if they were asking "How did you meet initially" or "How did you meet in person within the last two years". In hindsite I guess they are asking both.

Regardless, lesson learned. I sent back the RFE today with a nice paragraph describing how we first met (online) and how we kept in touch and fell in love as well as how I traveled to Lebanon to see him within the last two years. For good measure I included all the pages of my passport (with the new stamps of my other two visits since I submitted the petition), all the pages of his passport (I put sticky-notes in places to point out his entry/exit stamps to Lebanon to prove we were both in his country at the same time), the same 6 pictures I sent originally plus 3 more from our December visit, copies of my boarding passes, and finally the copies of the pre-engagement blood tests. So I feel like I covered all bases no matter which question they are asking and also provided documents that they may have lost which caused the RFE in the first place.

Please please please let them not leave our petition to collect dust on the shelf. Hopefully things will start to move soon. I have so much sympathy for those who have waited much longer than us. Good luck to everyone!

Yes, that should be more than than enough!

Good luck!

[dwheels76 5,475]

You did good dear.Thats how ya hit them with your best shot. Now izzy pizzy you will get approved and move on.

[WaitingHayete 5]

Okay so I thought again about everything everyone said and I just had a sudden moment of panic... I just realized that while I did describe in my RFE the circumstances under which we met each other initially and kept in touch etc, then I kind of just said I travelled to his country to visit with him and his family during the holidays. I didn't really give any specifics on our visit together etc... Could it be this is what they were asking for all along and it was the one question I didn't answer in detail? Could they now just deny the whole petition because I failed to answer the RFE sufficiently? I feel even more bitter at the officer I spoke to when I called for clarification who told me over and over "I can not help you" because she said she didn't understand what they were asking either and insisted I wasn't reading her the whole RFE.... Well if it helps to answer this question, here is the exact paragraph I sent with my RFE along with the copies of our passports etc..

"I, *******, first met and talked with my now fiancé, *********, near the end of July, beginning of August, 2011 via a public online matchmaking site (**********.com). We discovered each others’ profiles at almost the same time and began communicating though email. We then emailed, talked on the phone, used video chat, and BlackBerry messenger for hours each day. Our parents even met and spoke with each other via video calling. It was during this time that we fell in love and decided to take the next step in our relationship. I traveled to Lebanon to visit him and his family for sixteen days starting on December 18th 2011. It was during this visit we further established our relationship and became engaged on New Year’s Eve 2011. After I originally submitted my petition in February 2012 I have since visited ******** two more times in Lebanon: once in April 2012 and again in June 2012. I would like to note that as our passports show, I have never been to another country other than Lebanon before and ******* has never before been to the United States so the only time and place we would have had the opportunity to take the provided pictures together would be during the above mentioned."

The pictures I sent of course show us at various places, his parents' home, restaurants, etc. but I didn't actually list a general itinerary or describe anything of our trip in this letter. I do have plenty of movie stubs, our tickets to a musical, and various other keepsake items but I figured this would be more for his interview and less for his petition.

So should I begin the panic process (I know, no) or does what I wrote/sent seem to be enough? Should I immediately send another document tomorrow with copies of these keepsake tickets etc. to try to add to what I sent today to be safe? Is it possible these two would even find the same hands there? The words describing they have the right to deny your petition should you fail to answer the RFE completely at one time are haunting me. I can't imagine having our petition denied over this... I think I would die.

Ideas?

[Que Saudade 284]

It appears you have submitted enough to establish what appears to be a legitimate relationship. I mean, come on, shall we mention sex next? BTW, we were asked in our interview in Rio if we had been intimate or not

Lately I have seen a trend of weird to weirder coming from USCIS. I doubt it is an intentional stall tactic, but who knows anymore.

OP, take a deep breath and try to relax. You have done your part.!!

[Henry&Rebecca 39]

Okay so I thought again about everything everyone said and I just had a sudden moment of panic... I just realized that while I did describe in my RFE the circumstances under which we met each other initially and kept in touch etc, then I kind of just said I travelled to his country to visit with him and his family during the holidays. I didn't really give any specifics on our visit together etc... Could it be this is what they were asking for all along and it was the one question I didn't answer in detail? Could they now just deny the whole petition because I failed to answer the RFE sufficiently? I feel even more bitter at the officer I spoke to when I called for clarification who told me over and over "I can not help you" because she said she didn't understand what they were asking either and insisted I wasn't reading her the whole RFE.... Well if it helps to answer this question, here is the exact paragraph I sent with my RFE along with the copies of our passports etc..

"I, *******, first met and talked with my now fiancé, *********, near the end of July, beginning of August, 2011 via a public online matchmaking site (**********.com). We discovered each others’ profiles at almost the same time and began communicating though email. We then emailed, talked on the phone, used video chat, and BlackBerry messenger for hours each day. Our parents even met and spoke with each other via video calling. It was during this time that we fell in love and decided to take the next step in our relationship. I traveled to Lebanon to visit him and his family for sixteen days starting on December 18th 2011. It was during this visit we further established our relationship and became engaged on New Year’s Eve 2011. After I originally submitted my petition in February 2012 I have since visited ******** two more times in Lebanon: once in April 2012 and again in June 2012. I would like to note that as our passports show, I have never been to another country other than Lebanon before and ******* has never before been to the United States so the only time and place we would have had the opportunity to take the provided pictures together would be during the above mentioned."

The pictures I sent of course show us at various places, his parents' home, restaurants, etc. but I didn't actually list a general itinerary or describe anything of our trip in this letter. I do have plenty of movie stubs, our tickets to a musical, and various other keepsake items but I figured this would be more for his interview and less for his petition.

So should I begin the panic process (I know, no) or does what I wrote/sent seem to be enough? Should I immediately send another document tomorrow with copies of these keepsake tickets etc. to try to add to what I sent today to be safe? Is it possible these two would even find the same hands there? The words describing they have the right to deny your petition should you fail to answer the RFE completely at one time are haunting me. I can't imagine having our petition denied over this... I think I would die.

Ideas?

Could it be that the RFE was meant to be regarding question #19 of I-129F all along? Instead of #18? Since you say above that you met your fiancee online, I would assume that you included the name of the website on your initial I-129F submission, question #19. If you did not include further details about that, however, then maybe that is what the RFE was about? For you to describe just exactly how the online site helped you establish the relationship?

In any case, your above answer seems to be about as detailed as you could have been. If what you wrote and sent above is not enough for this RFE, then I don't know what would be.

[WaitingHayete 5]

Wheeeew! You know, you guys are right... This was my primary reason for not sending more to them afterall. I sat down to actually write a letter with more info and simply couldn't think of any more to write other than "Oh and by the way I stayed at his parents' house and we went to dinner and the movies a lot" LOL then I decided it was ridiculous, as you both said, what more could I add? Perhaps they are indeed asking for more info regarding both parts of question 18 as well as question 19. Either way, I answered both. I included the name of the web site etc. It would have been nice if the request wach much clearer, I have read other RFEs that listed exactly what they were looking for, for mine I felt you could take it a couple different ways. Maybe they could have even said "In reference to question 18..." or maybe I wish that the officer I talked to knew ANYTHING about RFEs or the immigration process in general or that she didn't act like she hated me from the moment she picked up the phone... but hey, while we're wishing, I wish instead my fiance could just be here right now. There, that eas easy! Why didn't I think of that sooner??