Question about starting the petition

[ricsim78 11]

Hello everyone,

My girlfriend is a Filipina living in Israel (working there). We have been together for 2 years and my plan is to go and meet her in Israel in February of 2013. By that time we will have been talking for 2 years and 2 months. We have yet to meet in person, but we are quite sure of each other and we talk or see each other daily since we met.

My question is this: Is there anyway I can start the fiance visa process in December of 2012 before I meet her in February 2013? I know one of the requirements of the fiance visa process is to have met within 2 years of petitioning, but we are for sure meeting in February. I assume you need the evidence for the fiance visa interview and that is one of the final steps. Would this be at all possible?

The thought process is we can speed the application wait time up and by the time we meet, we can already be a couple of months into the K1 process.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. As much as this sounds great, I do not want to cause problems with the K1 or get denied because of it. I would just like a for sure answer or thoughts on this.

[Grant PDX 183]

The rule is that you have to have met prior to filing the petition. Part of your petition is proof you met and how you met. If you haven't met in person, you can't meet that requirement. If you file now you will get denied and will be out the petition fee. Also it will take months for them to deny you so if you file again in February you will have 2 files pending, likely generating an RFE and delaying you even further.

Don't file until after you've met.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Grant PDX

[aamirpearl 47]

Better meet each other before filing, there are questions on the I-129f that ask if you guys have met each other, so sorry there is no way around this....best of luck

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

You must both be free to marry and have met in person within the 2 years prior to filing. They are very strict on those requirements. You must provide proof of meeting in person in those 2 years prior to filing in order for your I-129F petition to be approved. The petition is separate from the actual visa interview. You must have an approved petition in order for the foreign fiance(e) to be able to apply for the K-1 visa. You do not take evidence needed for the I-129F petition approval to the K-1 visa interview. No petition approval, no visa interview.

Read the guide here and do a little more research on the process.

[ricsim78 11]

You must both be free to marry and have met in person within the 2 years prior to filing. They are very strict on those requirements. You must provide proof of meeting in person in those 2 years prior to filing in order for your I-129F petition to be approved. The petition is separate from the actual visa interview. You must have an approved petition in order for the foreign fiance(e) to be able to apply for the K-1 visa. You do not take evidence needed for the I-129F petition approval to the K-1 visa interview. No petition approval, no visa interview.

Read the guide here and do a little more research on the process.

Thank you Grant PDX,@@mirpeArL, and Jay-Kay. I have done some research (this is part of it) and I pretty much knew the answer, I just wanted to ask if it was at all possible. You see we were supposed to meet in December but I don't think I can pull it off with my work. I know its not a long time to wait, but those 2 months add on to the final time she will be here so it was just a stab in the dark.

I have a copy of all the documents (with samples of the completion of the papers) and have gone over it but I will definitely look over it more in depth. I was just hoping we can start the petition as we plan to meet in February for sure. I will definitely read more into it before I proceed.

Her friend was also living in Israel but now is with her new husband in New York. It took them about 7 months (December to June) to get approved for her Visa so I am hoping we have the same or better luck. She is certainly worth whatever it takes to get her here and patience is definitely something you need for this to work.

Thanks again and I appreciate the help,sounds like good and correct advice to me!