RFE received: Circumstances of Meeting and Last Personal Meeting

[Greg n Veronica 17]

I got notification of an RFE being sent out on May 8 and May 13, 2013, and I just received the hard copy RFE in the mail on May 17, 2013. The RFE is asking to submit information regarding the circumstances under which the petitioner and beneficiary met to establish the relationship. Also, the RFE is asking to submit evidence of meeting the beneficiary in person within the two-year period preceding the filing of the petition.

I've given one sentence on the I-129F on the circumstances of meeting. The beneficiary was going to the same college I was attending, and we've been dating since. What more specifics do they want? An one page essay? Documents? College transcripts? College degrees?

For the last personal meeting, I didn't submit copies of my passport pages initially, showing that I traveled to my fiance's home country within the past 2 years, and I don't have the plane ticket stubs of that trip. Has anyone got an approval from just only submitting copies of passport pages?

Also, my RFE doesn't show a due date to turn in the RFE back to them. However, it says you are given until May 13, 2013 in which to submit the requested information to the address at the bottom of this notice. The notice date of the RFE IS May 13, 2013. Is this a typo? Or are they really expecting me to send the evidence on date that is already passed? (Note: the due date is BEFORE the date I received the hard copy RFE)

I just got off the phone with USCIS, and they didn't give me any help regarding my specific RFE. All thry told me was to make an InfoPass appointment.

Any help would be appreciated.

I submitted a couple paragraphs on how we met and how our relationship developed into love.

As for proof, I included copies from my passport showing the stamps of my visit to there. Plus photos of us together and her family too. Each labeled with names, dates and where taken. With just this we still received our NOA2 with no RFE.

Hope this helps and that you receive your NOA2 really soon.

[risingjsun 1]

Thank you.

[Sami0101010001 8]

I got notification of an RFE being sent out on May 10 and May 13, 2013, and I just received the hard copy RFE in the mail today. The RFE is asking to submit information regarding the circumstances under which the petitioner and beneficiary met to establish the relationship. Also, the RFE is asking to submit evidence of meeting the beneficiary in person within the two-year period preceding the filing of the petition. I provide them with a copy of my bording pass for both flight and I have no idea what to send.

Please help us !!!!!!!!

[storminnorman 9]

i had the same or similar RFE...i gave a short explanation on how we met..there main concern was proof of meeting within the last two years so i included passport stamps, boarding passes, bank statements, and numerous receipts and photographs. Since I was fortunate enough to present an award at a local pageant i had photos of myself with banners in the background. All photos were time and date stamped also.

Good luck

God Bless

[Pinkrlion 2,716]

No that's not what the qn is about at all. it is ONLY about when you last met IN PERSON. Mine read "I met Vanessa in person when she came to stay with me in the US for X days on X date". that was it

I sent ticket stubs, copies of passport stamps, itinerary and a couple of photos. Approved without issue.

Not true. They want to know how you met, they met 6 six years ago at school. Then they need to prove they meet the requirements of meeting within the past two years since filing petition, between 2010 - 2012.

[Pinkrlion 2,716]

They ask for evidence of the beneficiary and petitioner having met each other in the past two years. My fiance and I have been steadily dating for six years and I have evidence having met each other in the past three, four, five, and six years.

Based on the "past two years" wording, will they accept evidence that is three or more years old?

Your proof needs to be between the years of 2010 - 2012, if you filed in 2012. If you filed in 2013' then it is between 2011 - 2013.

I got notification of an RFE being sent out on May 10 and May 13, 2013, and I just received the hard copy RFE in the mail today. The RFE is asking to submit information regarding the circumstances under which the petitioner and beneficiary met to establish the relationship. Also, the RFE is asking to submit evidence of meeting the beneficiary in person within the two-year period preceding the filing of the petition. I provide them with a copy of my bording pass for both flight and I have no idea what to send.

Please help us !!!!!!!!

Same thing as above responses.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Not true. They want to know how you met, they met 6 six years ago at school. Then they need to prove they meet the requirements of meeting within the past two years since filing petition, between 2010 - 2012.

Mmm no. If that were true I wouldn't have been approved without RFE. They asked at the K1 interview sort of. My interview was quick, didn't look at any evidence, i didn't front load. I have not interviewed at any other process (AOS or ROC).

Again, this particular question (18) is ONLY about how you last met in person. The OP didn't give dates but it read like their answer did not state that. They did admit they didn't include any primary evidence of meeting either.

Of course the amount of evidence depends on country. Some countries you MUST frontload the petition. Some require you to include an "evolution of relationship".

Edited May 18, 2013 by Vanessa&Tony

[Kehinde 45]

If you never stayed in a hotel them show them an invitation letter you used to get your visa and also a notorized statement from her parents telling the dates you stayed there in her home.

[Dave&Roza 748]

I got notification of an RFE being sent out on May 10 and May 13, 2013, and I just received the hard copy RFE in the mail today. The RFE is asking to submit information regarding the circumstances under which the petitioner and beneficiary met to establish the relationship. Also, the RFE is asking to submit evidence of meeting the beneficiary in person within the two-year period preceding the filing of the petition. I provide them with a copy of my bording pass for both flight and I have no idea what to send.

Please help us !!!!!!!!

Think of it like presenting evidence in a court of law. You show a plane ticket. Great did you actually go. Now you show a passport stamp. Great you did buy the planer ticket and you did actually go. Now you just need to prove you and the beneficiary met in person while you were in the beneficiary's country or the beneficiary was in the US. This is where a couple of photos would work nicely. Otherwise you need to come up with receipts in the same city.

For us we meet in 2003, so I mentioned that I met her in 2003 when I was visiting her country to see friends. Now 2003 was outside the having met within the last two years, so I mentioned that we began e-mailing each other in 2006 and she came to the US in 2008 and 2009 and I went to her country over New Year's 2009-2010. I sent in the itineraries of all trips, photos of us in front of the White House and US Capital to prove she was in the US and I sent in my visa to Kazakhstan with all the stamps to prove that I actually was in her country along with photos of us with her brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and Mother. Not sure if there recognized the landmarks in the photos.

Good luck,

Dave

[GandK 168]

I got notification of an RFE being sent out on May 8 and May 13, 2013, and I just received the hard copy RFE in the mail on May 17, 2013. The RFE is asking to submit information regarding the circumstances under which the petitioner and beneficiary met to establish the relationship. Also, the RFE is asking to submit evidence of meeting the beneficiary in person within the two-year period preceding the filing of the petition.

I've given one sentence on the I-129F on the circumstances of meeting. The beneficiary was going to the same college I was attending, and we've been dating since. What more specifics do they want? An one page essay? Documents? College transcripts? College degrees?

For the last personal meeting, I didn't submit copies of my passport pages initially, showing that I traveled to my fiance's home country within the past 2 years, and I don't have the plane ticket stubs of that trip. Has anyone got an approval from just only submitting copies of passport pages?

Also, my RFE doesn't show a due date to turn in the RFE back to them. However, it says you are given until May 13, 2013 in which to submit the requested information to the address at the bottom of this notice. The notice date of the RFE IS May 13, 2013. Is this a typo? Or are they really expecting me to send the evidence on date that is already passed? (Note: the due date is BEFORE the date I received the hard copy RFE)

I just got off the phone with USCIS, and they didn't give me any help regarding my specific RFE. All thry told me was to make an InfoPass appointment.

Any help would be appreciated.

Anyone could write a one sentence that they met and dated on the moon but can you prove it? Words and statement especially from the petitioner and beneficiary carry no weight.

In fact, you can write a whole book about how you met and dated and they still are not going to believe you.

You need to send documentary evidence. Passport stamp, college enrollment confirmation, plane ticket stubs or any documentary evidence that establishes you two were in the same place at the same time.

Edited May 18, 2013 by GandK

[risingjsun 1]

Mmm no. If that were true I wouldn't have been approved without RFE. They asked at the K1 interview sort of. My interview was quick, didn't look at any evidence, i didn't front load. I have not interviewed at any other process (AOS or ROC).

Again, this particular question (18) is ONLY about how you last met in person. The OP didn't give dates but it read like their answer did not state that. They did admit they didn't include any primary evidence of meeting either.

Of course the amount of evidence depends on country. Some countries you MUST frontload the petition. Some require you to include an "evolution of relationship".

To clarify, the primary evidence that I've submitted with my initial I-129F application included:

• One passport page that shows my picture, name, nationality, etc.
• Plane ticket receipt showing that I traveled to beneficiary's home country in 2010-2011

All other forms and letters (letters of intent) outlined on the VisaJourney guides were also submitted with my package. Also, I submitted a copy of an apartment complex rental history, showing both the beneficiary and petitioner's names on it. I thought this would've been a very strong piece of evidence, but it proved it wasn't. Maybe the date on the rental history missed the date range in question. (Rental history conducted on March 2010. Date range in question: October 2010 to November 2012)

So, as for the Last Personal Meeting aspect on the RFE, the exact wording on the RFE states:

• Last Personal Meeting - The petitioner and the beneficiary must meet in person between October 31, 2010 and November 01, 2012. Submit evidence of meeting the beneficiary in person within the two-year period preceding the filing of the petition. Primary evidence may include airline ticket stubs and receipts (that indicate month, day, and year); copies of passport pages that show the identification page and admission stamps, military order(s), letter from Commanding Officer, or any evidence that will help the USCIS to determine that the petitioner has met the beneficiary within the last two years. Secondary evidence may include film-dated photographs of the petitioner and beneficiary together. The following DOES NOT constitute evidence of meeting: disc, videos, emails, letters, phone bills, and greeting cards.

The reason why I posted on the forums in the first place was because I submitted most of these pieces of evidence already (except for the passport stamps). Just in terms of primary and secondary evidence, I've already submitted airline ticket receipts, passport identification page, 5 pictures dated between 2010 to 2012 of the beneficiary and petitioner together with names, locations, dates (one picture was with San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in the background), and handwritten letters dated between 2010 to 2012 with copies of the envelopes showing postmark dates and addresses. It seemed that even after all of the evidence I submitted would've met the Last Personal Meeting requirement, in my case it did not and resulted in an RFE. I know that my gut tells me that the answer is the passport stamps, but even when I submitted airline ticket receipts (which I felt was strong), I feel a bit worried that there's something else that I'm missing besides the passport stamps.

As for question 18 on my I-129F, I answered:

• We have met and known each other ever since 2006, when my fiance was an international student in (university name), the same university I attended in 2006

For my RFE response, I elaborated further by saying that we began dating, established a relationship, traveled to other countries together, and kept in contact after she moved back to her home country. Also, I added that I visited her in her home country, and she visited me in my home country between 2010 to 2012.

[risingjsun 1]

Anyone could write a one sentence that they met and dated on the moon but can you prove it? Words and statement especially from the petitioner and beneficiary carry no weight.

In fact, you can write a whole book about how you met and dated and they still are not going to believe you.

You need to send documentary evidence. Passport stamp, college enrollment confirmation, plane ticket stubs or any documentary evidence that establishes you two were in the same place at the same time.

Understood, but here are my RFE's exact wording:

REQUIREMENT THAT PETITIONER AND BENEFICIARY HAVE MET IN PERSON: It must be established that the petitioner, (petitioner's name) and beneficiary, (beneficiary's name) 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 the relationship.
• Last Personal Meeting - The petitioner and the beneficiary must meet in person between October 31, 2010 and November 01, 2012. Submit evidence of meeting the beneficiary in person within the two-year period preceding the filing of the petition. Primary evidence may include airline ticket stubs and receipts (that indicate month, day and year); copies of passport pages that show the identification page and admission stamps, military order(s), letter from Commanding Officer, or any evidence that will help the USCIS to determine that the petition has met the beneficiary within the two years. Secondary evidence may include film-dated photographs of the petitioner and beneficiary together. The following DOES NOT constitute evidence of meeting: disc, videos, emails, letters, phone bills, and greeting cards.

Then the last part of the RFE talks about Extreme Harship Waiver and Violations of Customs, but that's not applicable to me.

What I am getting at from all the answers I've seen so far in regards to question 18 on the I-129F and the "last personal meeting" aspect of the package is they blend in with each other; your circumstances of meeting or your initial meeting could have been the last personal meeting or could have been one of the many meetings. That's just my observation.

But in terms of the wording and the directions on question 18 on the I-129F, it just says describe, and only describe:

• 18. Has your fiance(e) met and seen you within the two-year period immediately preceding the filing of this petition? Describe the circumstances under which you met. If you have not personally met each other, explain how the relationship was established.

Initially when I answered this question, I just wrote a sentence explaining how we met. If, for example, the directions were to say prove or provide evidence, then I would've attached passport stamps, college enrollment information, plane ticket stubs, etc. Later in the package, I would provide plane ticket receipts and pictures, but I just wasn't prompted by a form to do so; all of my packaging directions are coming from VisaJourney, and not from a USCIS form.

So, I understand that there needs to be documentary evidence to support, but I'm trying to separate what needs and what doesn't need evidence. According to my RFE, Circumstances of Meeting doesn't say I need evidence but Last Personal Meeting says I need evidence.

[Dave&Roza 748]

• We have met and known each other ever since 2006, when my fiance was an international student in (university name), the same university I attended in 2006

For my RFE response, I elaborated further by saying that we began dating, established a relationship, traveled to other countries together, and kept in contact after she moved back to her home country. Also, I added that I visited her in her home country, and she visited me in my home country between 2010 to 2012.

Did you send any of that proof? Do you have that proof to send in if you did not before? As was stated earlier, you can SAY anything you want, but you need to back that up with actual proof. An airline ticket is good, but the passport stamps shows you actually travelled. You say you met in 2006 is good but did you show that you both attended the same University? By proving that you are truthful in everything you state goes along way to establishing your credibility. It is up to YOU to establish beyond any doubt that you two met within the past two years. Lay it out for them in steps. Airline ticket or itinerary, passort stamp, receipt for an item purchased in the same city, a photo the twop of you in front of a well known landmark with the date. I guess we have it easier as we both need visas to visit the other's country so we could include them.

What ever you state back it up with evidence and then IMHO you should be okay. I would include proof that you visited her country and she visited the US between 2010 and 2012. Again, you stated it so they will want actual evidence that proves this statement. It is just like the I-864 form where you state your income, but you have to have documents that back up that number--you cannot just make something up. Same goes here. If you say she visited the US between 2010-2012--PROVE it. You state that you visited her country between 2010 and 2012--PROVE it.

Good luck,

Dave

[risingjsun 1]

Yup, the passport stamps are the only thing missing on my initial I-129F package, so hopefully that'll PROVE IT.

[GandK 168]

I understand your confusion. The way I read it for the circumstances of meeting, they want information, I interpret this as statement how you met. For the last personal meeting, they want evidence, this is documentary evidence.

In our case, we met almost 3 years before we filed for K-1, the evidences that we submitted with our 129F packet only spanned back to the two years period before we filed our 129F. (Photos, passport stamps, airline boarding pass etc) but we did write a paragraph or so about how we first met and how our relationship developed. No RFE.