I-129F RFE and Casablanca Consulate

[Possiblymaybe 371]

Hello everyone,

I have been watching this site for a long time, but just became a member today. I filed the I-129F in October 2012 and today received the update for Request for Evidence. I'm sure whatever silly thing I messed up can be easily fixed, and I don't have any questions about the RFE itself.

However, when I filed the petition, I provided a minimum amount of evidence to meet the requirements of meeting in person (flight itineraries, copy of all pages of passport, and about 7 photos of us together). At that time we had 3 visits together and I provided photos from 2 of those visits. I did not include any chat logs or skype logs or anything like that.

Since filing 6 months ago, we have had two additional trips together. Also, since filing, I have learned from this website that Casablanca seems to make decisions on the case before the interview and that Casablanca rarely looks at additional evidence brought to the interview.

So I see this RFE as an opportunity to get additional proof of relationship into the case file before it is sent to Casablanca (I realize USCIS doesn't need it to complete the petition). In addition to whatever the RFE is requesting, I am considering including the following:

- Proof of the latest two trips (itineraries, another full copy of passport)

- More photos (probably about 20-30 from previous visits and most recent one)

Is there anything wrong with adding this to my case file when I respond to the RFE?

Should I include anything else? (chat logs, skype logs, etc)

Sorry this was such a long post. Thanks for your responses!

[destiny64 222]

Proof of the extra trips would be very beneficial!! Casablanca is very concerned with the amount of time spent together before applying. Especially when the beneficiary is a Moroccan man and petitioner is an American woman. Others may have a different view , but I think the extra photos and proof of more visits would be quality proof! Best of luck and wishing you a speedy process!

[Possiblymaybe 371]

Thank you for your reply, destiny64! I see you have your interview coming soon. Good luck to you!!

I hope others will give me their opinions as well

[Possiblymaybe 371]

Is there a way to move this to the MENA forum where I might get more responses?

[Crossed_fingers 128]

Personally I would include extra evidence at the NVC stage and only provide what is requested in the RFE. The type and quantity of evidence you should send in depends on whether your case has red flags that need explanation or that need to be outweighed by positives. My husband and I had lots of in person time and English fluency wasn't a problem, and we didn't have too many red flags, so we did not see a reason to provide chats. We submitted photo collages, copies of boarding passes (itineraries only for future trips), a few affidavits, and financial docs showing he was added to my accounts as a beneficiary or authorized user. IMO submitting more would have made what should have been a simple and straightforward case more complicated or suspicious, but if we had more red flags or less in person time we might have taken a different approach. Good luck!

Edited April 25, 2013 by Crossed_fingers

[Possiblymaybe 371]

Thank you for the reply. I didn't think that there was an opportunity to send anything in at the NVC stage for fiancé petitions. Thought that was only for spouse petitions. Am I wrong?

[Crossed_fingers 128]

I had skimmed and missed that, you might be right.

[msheesha 548]

Is there a way to move this to the MENA forum where I might get more responses?

I've sent a request to the moderators for you to do so.

[kristen_maroc 126]

My husband and I had very few red flags: I had lived in Morocco for 3 years before we met, we met through a mutual friend at a dinner party, he was studying in Europe and had papers to be in Italy for a few years before we met, we are the same age (I'm 9 months older), we both speak English, French, and I know enough Darija to get by... we got engaged after being together 9 months, and though he was studying in Italy, we had spent 4 months together in person by the time I sent in the petition for him.

We frontloaded it: sent Skype records (of calls and how long; not chat records), a screenshot of how many Facebook messages we sent each other, a ton of pics (including me with his family for l'Eid Kebir), a sample of 5 emails, a sample of 5 chat records, a sample of 5 facebook messages... and because for my job I was traveling out of Morocco often, and because he kept going to Italy, I ended up typing out a several-page document with copies of passport stamps that showed the exact dates we were together. That was intense. It was "kristen enters Morocco 3.15 (stamp on page 14), leaves 3.20 for Spain (stamp on page 13), re-enters 3.20(stamp on page 22), stays through 4.22."

I'm glad we frontloaded. I don't know if our interview was easier for having done it or the lack of red flags in and of itself made it easier, but my husband says his interview was informal and almost fun-- just a conversation about our relationship. We made a "visa album" for the interview with the story of our relationship (plane tickets, pictures, hotel receipts, lots and lots of pictures!) but they didn't even look at it.

So, yes. I say that if you think about the different ways you can prove your relationship and do things strategically, it's worth sending it in. I wouldn't print every single chat record, or every email-- but if you can pull up a page that shows how many you've sent over a certain period of time, or a Skype log that shows the frequency/length of your conversations with a few examples... I'd do it. And ANYTHING you have showing time spent together in-person is key.

[Possiblymaybe 371]

My husband and I had very few red flags: I had lived in Morocco for 3 years before we met, we met through a mutual friend at a dinner party, he was studying in Europe and had papers to be in Italy for a few years before we met, we are the same age (I'm 9 months older), we both speak English, French, and I know enough Darija to get by... we got engaged after being together 9 months, and though he was studying in Italy, we had spent 4 months together in person by the time I sent in the petition for him.

We frontloaded it: sent Skype records (of calls and how long; not chat records), a screenshot of how many Facebook messages we sent each other, a ton of pics (including me with his family for l'Eid Kebir), a sample of 5 emails, a sample of 5 chat records, a sample of 5 facebook messages... and because for my job I was traveling out of Morocco often, and because he kept going to Italy, I ended up typing out a several-page document with copies of passport stamps that showed the exact dates we were together. That was intense. It was "kristen enters Morocco 3.15 (stamp on page 14), leaves 3.20 for Spain (stamp on page 13), re-enters 3.20(stamp on page 22), stays through 4.22."

I'm glad we frontloaded. I don't know if our interview was easier for having done it or the lack of red flags in and of itself made it easier, but my husband says his interview was informal and almost fun-- just a conversation about our relationship. We made a "visa album" for the interview with the story of our relationship (plane tickets, pictures, hotel receipts, lots and lots of pictures!) but they didn't even look at it.

So, yes. I say that if you think about the different ways you can prove your relationship and do things strategically, it's worth sending it in. I wouldn't print every single chat record, or every email-- but if you can pull up a page that shows how many you've sent over a certain period of time, or a Skype log that shows the frequency/length of your conversations with a few examples... I'd do it. And ANYTHING you have showing time spent together in-person is key.

Thank you so very much for sharing your experience with me!

I am definitely going to add more proof of relationship since the original petition wasn't front loaded.

I was thinking of adding an updated full copy of all my passport pages, a photo collage of each trip together, and some boarding passes (unfortunately, I don't have all the boarding passes) along with a letter that points out the entry/exit stamps from the passport.

You've given me a great idea about chat logs, not the actual chats, but the frequency and duration of chats)

[kristen_maroc 126]

Don't stress about the boarding passes. Do you still have a copy of the itinerary in your email? With that and the stamp in your passport (or, really, the stamp in and of itself), you should be fine.

Glad I was able to help. You have to be careful with the chats/emails. As I said, sending a few (to demonstrate language ability, etc.) isn't bad, but don't give too much information that they may extrapolate something negative from.

Good luck! How did y'all meet?

[Possiblymaybe 371]

I do have copies of the itineraries that I can print out.

I'll send you a private message

[ShirahBet 42]

I know this is a few days old, but I definitely front loaded both the I-130 and the Visa application... and when I got a checklist at the NVC, I sent in even more. Why chance it?

Somewhere on here, there's a post from a guy that used to work at one of the USCIS field offices about what happens. I read that after my application had already gone through USCIS, but I found it informative and interesting. I didn't feel bad about having sent so many emails or gchats or facebook chats. One chat with my husband was 40 or 50 pages long, I wanted them to see that. All of the pictures I sent, I did so with captions edited into them before I printed them. I sent pictures of me with his family and him with my family, his mother and my grandmother hanging out at Niagara Falls when we were there.

As long as everything is well-labeled and has a purpose, send it.

[Possiblymaybe 371]

Thanks for the advice. I mailed off my RFE response yesterday and "front loaded" it with information and pictures from all our visits. Boarding passes, passport stamps, receipts from things we did and places we went including pics of us at those places, and 1-2 photo collages from each visit with 8-10 pics on each collage. Hopefully they will just add it to the case file and send me the NOA2!

Edited May 4, 2013 by jenafid