RFE to show we met in person. HELP!

[davendale 10]

Please update us when you figure this one out! We are about the same timeline as you, same service center, and we also sent in just about exactly what you did with the I-129. I'm very curious, and a bit concerned, as to why you guys were RFE'd.

[bxman 13]

Hi VJ'ers,

I need advice from the throng on VJ about what I can do to meet the requirement for proving we met in person.

Background: Here is the letter that I included with the I129F for Part B, Question 18: "Has your fiancée met and seen you in within the two-year period immediately preceding the filing of this petition."

To Whom It May Concern:

Michelle and I met in person in Manila. I arrived on May 23 and returned to San Francisco on June 6, 2012. During our time together I stayed at her house in Las Piñas, Manila. Our time was spent in and around Manila. I met Michelles family, most of whom flew in from Butuan City for the duration of my stay.

Attached is documentation that confirms that I, Jeffrey X. XXXXX, met and saw my fiancée, Michelle X. XXXXX, within the 2-year period preceding the filing of my I-129F petition.

Included herewith:

Itinerary/Receipt of round-trip flight from SFO to MNL

Copy of petitioners US Passport with entry and exit stamps from the immigration officers at the Manila airport (entry: 5/23/12, exit: 6/6/12)

Copies of boarding passes

Receipt for Php 550 Passenger Service Charge upon exiting the Philippines

Copies of toll receipts for taxi rides on Manila Skyway

Copies of receipts from restaurants and movie theater

Photographs documenting our time together [here I included 6 pages of photos of us together, printed in full color at Kinkos, with dates]

Here is the text from the RFE from the CSC:

REQUIREMENT THAT PETITIONER AND BENEFICIARY HAVE MET IN PERSON: It must be established that the petitioner and beneficiary have met in person and/or have been in each other's physical presence at any time during the two years immediately preceding the filing of this petition.

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

So, my question is, what else can I do to prove that I spent 2 weeks with Michelle? Are they looking for a longer narrative about our love story? More pictures?

Thanks for your help!!

Did you write on the back of EACH photo the names of each person in the pic and the date and where it was taken?

Edited October 15, 2012 by bxman

[Misha♥Jeff 12]

Just an update...

We got the RFE in the mail on Saturday. And thanks to all your advice, I was able to submit the response today (Monday). I included:

* A timeline with key dates in our relationship

* A color screen shot of each of our profile pages in Filipino Cupid

* A little write-up about each of our important dates. (All in all it was about 1.5 pages)

* Many more photographs than I had in the original petition (41 pics now, only 19 in the original) grouped by day and a short description

I also resent the following stuff from the original petition just in case they were "misplaced" by USCIS

* Resent copy of the flight itinerary/receipt

* Resent copy of the boarding passes

* Resent copy of passport with entry and exit stamps

* Resent copy of receipts from our activities while I was there

SO......Let's see if that passes muster. Hope so! Wish us luck :-)

[Texas22 50]

Just an update...

We got the RFE in the mail on Saturday. And thanks to all your advice, I was able to submit the response today (Monday). I included:

* A timeline with key dates in our relationship

* A color screen shot of each of our profile pages in Filipino Cupid

* A little write-up about each of our important dates. (All in all it was about 1.5 pages)

* Many more photographs than I had in the original petition (41 pics now, only 19 in the original) grouped by day and a short description

I also resent the following stuff from the original petition just in case they were "misplaced" by USCIS

* Resent copy of the flight itinerary/receipt

* Resent copy of the boarding passes

* Resent copy of passport with entry and exit stamps

* Resent copy of receipts from our activities while I was there

SO......Let's see if that passes muster. Hope so! Wish us luck :-)

Good Luck!!

[Tintin and Mike 127]

Just an update...

We got the RFE in the mail on Saturday. And thanks to all your advice, I was able to submit the response today (Monday). I included:

* A timeline with key dates in our relationship

* A color screen shot of each of our profile pages in Filipino Cupid

* A little write-up about each of our important dates. (All in all it was about 1.5 pages)

* Many more photographs than I had in the original petition (41 pics now, only 19 in the original) grouped by day and a short description

I also resent the following stuff from the original petition just in case they were "misplaced" by USCIS

* Resent copy of the flight itinerary/receipt

* Resent copy of the boarding passes

* Resent copy of passport with entry and exit stamps

* Resent copy of receipts from our activities while I was there

SO......Let's see if that passes muster. Hope so! Wish us luck :-)

Good luck!

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Does that really happen? Where some papers are lost? That is probably not likely since I MEGA-stapled everything together.

Yes it happens. But they want to know how you first encountered each other. Not just how you met face to face.

I agree except I would have worded it "They want to know how you met to establish a relationship AND proof of meeting within the past two years". The only thing I submitted as to how we met to establish a relationship was one sentence in my overall statement of meeting.

But......it happens often enough that the AO wants to know more.

[Mogambi 96]

Most people recommend writing in more detail than can fit in the little box. What I did, and what seems the safest, is to as succinctly as possible answer the question in the box, and then at the very end write 'please see attached'. Then on another single sheet, write a more detailed explanation, and in THAT one, include not only how and where you met in person, but start before that, and at least briefly explain 'how' you met at the very beginning, be it on a dating site, through mutual friends, etc., especially if your introduction to each other was not in person.

I think if you do something like that, the chances for an RFE for 'that' question anyway are pretty slim.

But yeah, bummer, the only thing I can think in your case, is that almost all of your evidence is somewhat circumstantial, in that only your pictures would have anything with your fiance on there, if that makes sense. Meaning, a boarding pass, passport stamps, receipts for travel all prove that you were in the country, but only the picture prove that you met. And if your pictures looked suspect for some reason maybe? Like printed on just regular paper, I know it's a trivial point, but presentation does count for this silly game with play with them.

We were lucky that by the time we submitted, we had taken two trips together to Hong Kong and Sinagpore, so had plane tickets, boarding passes, ferry tickets, with both of our names, and seats sitting next to each other, etc.

[Misha♥Jeff 12]

But yeah, bummer, the only thing I can think in your case, is that almost all of your evidence is somewhat circumstantial, in that only your pictures would have anything with your fiance on there, if that makes sense. Meaning, a boarding pass, passport stamps, receipts for travel all prove that you were in the country, but only the picture prove that you met. And if your pictures looked suspect for some reason maybe? Like printed on just regular paper, I know it's a trivial point, but presentation does count for this silly game with play with them.

We were lucky that by the time we submitted, we had taken two trips together to Hong Kong and Sinagpore, so had plane tickets, boarding passes, ferry tickets, with both of our names, and seats sitting next to each other, etc.

It would have been great if we had traveled together within the Philippines. Then we would have had more hard evidence. But we decided to spend money fixing her place up, rather than a week in Boracay. I included pictures of me with her family, eating out, chilling in front of her house drinking Red Horse with her mom and dad... We really had a great time just hanging out with the whole clan and bonding with everyone. Well, let's see if my response was sufficient :-)

[TnJ 131]

Just an update...

We got the RFE in the mail on Saturday. And thanks to all your advice, I was able to submit the response today (Monday). I included:

* A timeline with key dates in our relationship

* A color screen shot of each of our profile pages in Filipino Cupid

* A little write-up about each of our important dates. (All in all it was about 1.5 pages)

* Many more photographs than I had in the original petition (41 pics now, only 19 in the original) grouped by day and a short description

I also resent the following stuff from the original petition just in case they were "misplaced" by USCIS

* Resent copy of the flight itinerary/receipt

* Resent copy of the boarding passes

* Resent copy of passport with entry and exit stamps

* Resent copy of receipts from our activities while I was there

SO......Let's see if that passes muster. Hope so! Wish us luck :-)

Good luck!

It looks great!

[Misha♥Jeff 12]

Prove, prove, proof, what you write in your letters means nothing, I can write a letter with your name on it. Somehow you did not prove to them you meet in person. Did you write on your I-129 Line 18 how you meet. They pay the most attention to the form you fill in, and not some letter you wrote.

Turns out you were wrong about that. The proof was in our original petition. Our response to the RFE contained nothing more than a 1.5 page "letter" of the milestones of our relationship with a one or two sentence description of each milestone. One week later, the NOA2 came. The letter was precisely what they were looking for.

Edited November 13, 2012 by Misha & Jeff

[Sandris&Jim 3]

If you ready carefully the following: Circumstances of Meeting - Submit information regarding the circumstances under which the petitioner and beneficiary met to establish this relationship, it seems they need more details about how you guys got to start the relationship. Actually if you read your letter and you do not know in advance it is about a relationship, you would not figure it out. Maybe you got a picky officer. So, my advice would be, give them details about your love relationship and how did you start it. I hope this is of any help. May the Good Lord help you!!

[TnJ 131]

If you ready carefully the following: Circumstances of Meeting - Submit information regarding the circumstances under which the petitioner and beneficiary met to establish this relationship, it seems they need more details about how you guys got to start the relationship. Actually if you read your letter and you do not know in advance it is about a relationship, you would not figure it out. Maybe you got a picky officer. So, my advice would be, give them details about your love relationship and how did you start it. I hope this is of any help. May the Good Lord help you!!

The post above you.

[Misha♥Jeff 12]

The post above you.