I-129F Denied :(

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

In other words, it is standard to offer the right of appeal, but in this case you are appealing against their decision and their decision can't be challenged, so you would not win. I doubt it will be quicker and it wont be cheaper. If you want an approval, I believe you are better to get a new petition on its way.

To file an appeal costs $585. A petition is $340. The petition will get processed faster than the appeal and the appeal will be lost.

[L+T 71]

They sometimes reject it right away when receiving a petition that lacks obvious things, other times they send out and RFE. HOwever, when crucial documents and forms are needed, they are in their right to put is as denied, otherwise the RFE will basically be asking for a whole new petition.

IMO, you might as well send a new petition since an appeal won't do you any good when you did not submit the evidence needed. I'm sorry about the 5 months and the money that have gone by. You don't need a waiver of any kind to submit a new petition.

USCIS are trying to determine if your eligible to petition your fiancee. Assume they know everything about you but that they wnt YOU to come forward with the information and submit it. They just double-check it. That also means if you do not volounteer information about yourself(criminal history) or you click no when the answer is yes, you're either flat out denied or RFE'd.

Summing it up; read the instructions here, and then read them again tomorrow; http://www.uscis.gov...i-129finstr.pdf

It's alot to read however it'll save you approx 5 months of waiting around for a denial if you're eligible, and if you submit what's required.

Keep hanging around VJ, loads of useful information, both for now and later on during embassy stage and after your fiancee arrives in the states.

This is your second petition in 2 years, you do need request waiver. Better to read the instructions. Submit a letter labeled IMBRA WAIVER, and explain how this is your second petiontion in 2 years and why. It should be approved no problem based on your circumstances.

[pushbrk 12,877]

People keep asserting the statement "Be careful using Western Union receipts" apparently it could viewed as a business transaction OR BUYING HER LOVE. Just wondering where is the proof with this statement? What if Western Union receipts Actually HELP your case???

FACT: I sent Western Union receipts along with my I-129F and I got approved.

Helped, didn't hurt and can hurt are three separate things. Whether Western Union receipts, help hurt or make no difference depends on a lot of things. Generally though, they CAN hurt and seldom HELP. That you got through the process successfully says nothing about whether sending Western Union receipts helped. It's one item in a sea of total circumstances.

[LSnBigBear 61]

Mike. Sorry for hearing about your denial. I chalk any disapointment as way to learn and move on. Step back take a deep breath and start reviewing the Link here on VJ for your K1 Guide. Follow it as written. Gather all you need and get ready to send it back in after you read your denial letter. It sounds like all you will need to do is re-submit and pay the $340 fee again sorry to say. At least your fiancee is in school to keep her mind occupied.

Suggestion on the Education. Have her finish there and at least get her degree as it may look better here on her resumes. As smart as we believe our fiancee's are, we need to keep in mind they may be behind when they attend a US University. I doubt she will step in here and finish in the same time as in the Philippines. We need to understand our education system here in the USA is higher quality than MOST RP Universitys. I worked and lived there for 5 years and understand the culture quite well. My fiancee is an education major but to work here she will still need at least 2 years of College Courses minimum to teach full time. And this is just to obtain a Bachelors which she already holds from Philippines. Just some thoughts on this part for you to think about. Sounds like time has not been an issue with you both since your relationship has worked out so well for 5 years. I do wish you the best.

Shawn AKA Bigbear.

[Lalo & Susana 50]

Do not wait for the letter! Start getting everything together asap. Follow the guides and ask any and all questions you have here you will get great advice.

Good luck

[M J 11]

Mike. Sorry for hearing about your denial. I chalk any disapointment as way to learn and move on. Step back take a deep breath and start reviewing the Link here on VJ for your K1 Guide. Follow it as written. Gather all you need and get ready to send it back in after you read your denial letter. It sounds like all you will need to do is re-submit and pay the $340 fee again sorry to say. At least your fiancee is in school to keep her mind occupied.

Suggestion on the Education. Have her finish there and at least get her degree as it may look better here on her resumes. As smart as we believe our fiancee's are, we need to keep in mind they may be behind when they attend a US University. I doubt she will step in here and finish in the same time as in the Philippines. We need to understand our education system here in the USA is higher quality than MOST RP Universitys. I worked and lived there for 5 years and understand the culture quite well. My fiancee is an education major but to work here she will still need at least 2 years of College Courses minimum to teach full time. And this is just to obtain a Bachelors which she already holds from Philippines. Just some thoughts on this part for you to think about. Sounds like time has not been an issue with you both since your relationship has worked out so well for 5 years. I do wish you the best.

Shawn AKA Bigbear.

I should have checked this thread sooner, I did not expect it to still be alive so long after I last posted.

Yes, I will be refiling. I have already read over a lot on this site and have most things I need. I just need to gather everything up once I received the G-325A, letter of intent, and pic from my Fiance. I had some issues come up here so it took me a few weeks to get back to all of this, but I am not too worried about being able to prove our relationship. Like I have said before, I am more disappointed about the 5 months wasted than the fee.

Regarding school... I understand the comparisons of school there and here. I was worried about that with her studying Information Technology. Her class subjects seem good and relevant, but how well they are taught I don't know, but at least they are not teaching her some 20 year old technology or programming language. She has also already participated in a sort of internship, I forgot what they call it there, and her grades are very good. Some of her classmates have even paid her to do their homework lol. She is in her third year now, so if she finishes there it will be over 1 more year. Then she will need to come here and assimilate to living here. I don't think she would be prepared to jump right in to interviewing. I am thinking it would be better for her to just finish school here and while doing that build a network with classmates, and also get more comfortable with the culture here. Not to mention get better at speaking English. She will also need to learn how to drive a car. I am expecting her to need to take classes over and maybe need to almost start over, but taking things over will just help her to understand the subject more. Maybe she could even get an internship while in school here. Thanks for the best wishes.

Mike

[M J 11]

Unfortunately, the same thing happened to my husband and I when we first filed our I-129F. We were completely clueless to the correct steps and call us crazy, but we really did think that it was as simple as filling out a form and submitting a check. We assumed that evidence, etc. would come at a later time. We were denied right off the bat - of course AFTER they cashed our check. It was a very expensive lesson to learn and we were sure to make sure we did it properly when we re-filed. We just celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary!

We all make mistakes do not beat yourself up too badly!

The worst part was that I called USICS twice and talked to 2 different people and they both said I just need to fill out the form and pay the fee. Like you I figured later at the interview was where I needed to bring all the proof. The worst part of it all was that it took them 5 months to deny me. Congrats on your 2 years. I can't wait to celebrate our first week.

[M J 11]

Do not wait for the letter! Start getting everything together asap. Follow the guides and ask any and all questions you have here you will get great advice.

Good luck

I already have it all. It's just a matter of printing everything and gathering it all up. I also need to get a pic of myself, which I plan to do in the next few days. We had an issue with fitting her address on the G-325A form, but got around that now. She had her pic taken the other day and I just sent her a new G-235A for her to print and sign. Hopefully she can do that soon. She also found a FedEx near by that she will use to send me everything.

[Lalo & Susana 50]

I already have it all. It's just a matter of printing everything and gathering it all up. I also need to get a pic of myself, which I plan to do in the next few days. We had an issue with fitting her address on the G-325A form, but got around that now. She had her pic taken the other day and I just sent her a new G-235A for her to print and sign. Hopefully she can do that soon. She also found a FedEx near by that she will use to send me everything.

That is great. I had the same address problem with my fiance I added an additional sheet which was recommended by USCIS. If you did the same they told me to make sure you add your fiance's name & date of birth as well as the name of the form and the question number. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

[Lalo & Susana 50]

The worst part was that I called USICS twice and talked to 2 different people and they both said I just need to fill out the form and pay the fee. Like you I figured later at the interview was where I needed to bring all the proof. The worst part of it all was that it took them 5 months to deny me. Congrats on your 2 years. I can't wait to celebrate our first week.

I spoke to USCIS a bunch of times and they told me several times that I only needed to fill out the I-129F form and send a check. Thankfully I found this website when I asked USCIS about also filling out G-325A they said wait what form is that? Then she said just follow the I-129F directions that is all you need. Thankfully I found this website and followed the guidelines. Vj is great you'll love it!

[Love's JAA 100]

Well I received the denial letter today. No surprise... basically it says I did not provide the proof needed. The attachment lists a few paragraphs and parts that say what is required to prove a relationship that I did not fulfill. It says I can appeal for $630, and it also included a I-290B form. Now my question is, should I appeal and provide all the info, or just refile with all the info??? What path would be quicker?

I thought with the I-129F you have to have evidence of having met within the last two years and at the interview you have to have proof of an ongoing relationship. Am I wrong? Do you now have to show proof of the ongoing relationship with the petition?

[M J 11]

That is great. I had the same address problem with my fiance I added an additional sheet which was recommended by USCIS. If you did the same they told me to make sure you add your fiance's name & date of birth as well as the name of the form and the question number. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

I asked about an unlocked version of the G-325A which someone provided in another thread. They were able to change the font so I could fit more in the address. It was still tight, but by leaving out some spaces I was able to fit it all. Now on the I-129F I will include an additional sheet. I will also include my Fiance's name and birth date. Thanks.

I spoke to USCIS a bunch of times and they told me several times that I only needed to fill out the I-129F form and send a check. Thankfully I found this website when I asked USCIS about also filling out G-325A they said wait what form is that? Then she said just follow the I-129F directions that is all you need. Thankfully I found this website and followed the guidelines. Vj is great you'll love it!

Unfortunately I did not find this site until after I got the denial. This is a great site and I have found answers to all the questions I had.

I thought with the I-129F you have to have evidence of having met within the last two years and at the interview you have to have proof of an ongoing relationship. Am I wrong? Do you now have to show proof of the ongoing relationship with the petition?

Yes you need to prove you have a relationship. Having met in person is part of that. Look in the guide section, it will tell you all you need to include with the I-129F "packet".

Edited September 26, 2012 by M J

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

I thought with the I-129F you have to have evidence of having met within the last two years and at the interview you have to have proof of an ongoing relationship. Am I wrong? Do you now have to show proof of the ongoing relationship with the petition?

This is true. It is not a requirement for the I-129F petition. Some people like to add that evidence and it is known around here as front-loading. Those going through the tougher, high-fraud consulates are usually the ones that front-load.

[AgnettaHoo 18]

Worst part is that I do not know why yet. It's been almost 5 months and I received an email yesterday just telling it has been denied and I should receive a letter explaining why. So needless to say I'm freaking out. At first I had no clue why, but after looking through this site, I think I might know. I pretty much only filled out the I-129F form and mailed that in with the fee, nothing else. I figued once the backgroud checks were done they would ask for more info for the interviews. I called USCIS 3 different times and talked to 3 different people asking them what I needed to do, and they all said the only thing I need to do is fill out the I-129F form and mail it in. They also mentioned the requiremens to be eligable, but that was it. I talked to a couple lawyers also, but they wanted a few thousand dollars to handle it. I did not get the letter yet, but should in the next couple days. I don't know why I did not find this site before when searching online. It came up now in my google searces on what to do about a visa denial.

So what are my options? Should I get a lawyer?

My background... My Fiance is from the Philippines, and I have known her for 5 years now. I have been supporting her for the past 4, I helped her go back and finish highschool, and she is now in her 3rd year of college. Originally we were going to wait for her to finish college, but I figured it would be better for her to finish here (USA) and get used to the culture, language, and build a network through school. I have a lot of (daily) chat logs from Yahoo, Skype, and emails. I also have a lot of Western Union receipts and Xoom online history of me sending her money. I have visited her and met her family 2 times now and gave her an engagement ring. We are both eligieble to marry and have no criminal background. Also neither one of us have been married before, or have any kids.

I thought I might be asked for clarification or more info, but I did not expect to be denied. Would not providing enough info or documentation result in a denial? I guess worst case is that there is something in her background check that came up, but knowing her as long as I have, I would be very surprised. I feel foolish now if it is just because I did not provide enough info. I waited a few months before mailing the form while trying to make sure it was all I needed.

Thanks for any advise.

Sorry I did not introduce myself. My name is Mike... hello everyone.

Hi, MJ. I am very sorry to hear your story. However! Don't give up hope. You need to wait for the letter to get to you and read what is exactly the reason why you got denied. Afterward, you can try again and provide lots and lots of evidences of your relationship with her. I wish you best wishes.

Agnetta and Brianl.

[Lalo & Susana 50]

I asked about an unlocked version of the G-325A which someone provided in another thread. They were able to change the font so I could fit more in the address. It was still tight, but by leaving out some spaces I was able to fit it all. Now on the I-129F I will include an additional sheet. I will also include my Fiance's name and birth date. Thanks.

Unfortunately I did not find this site until after I got the denial. This is a great site and I have found answers to all the questions I had.

Yes you need to prove you have a relationship. Having met in person is part of that. Look in the guide section, it will tell you all you need to include with the I-129F "packet".

Well I just hope you didn't wait too long. If you ever need any help feel free to ask. I am a few months ahead of you. Good luck