How useful is the 'Proof of Ongoing Relationship'?

[Caladan 19]

C. has a shoebox full of phone cards because he's a pack rat. He's not bringing them to the interview because it doesn't show a damned thing about whom he called. Woo, expired plastic.

We're using a couple months of my phone bills, since they have my name and lists of calls itemized to his number, some photographs, a couple e-mails, and a memory album. The phone cards can sit in the drawer, imo.

[ding 1]

Rida and I use phone cards, but more often we call each other through yahoo messenger. You can archive the calls you make. The call log tells you who the incoming calls are from, who your outgoing calls are to, the date of the call, the time the call was made and the duration fo the call. Best of all, no charge. You will need YM and a headset though. We talk for hours on end that way and we have a record to give during the interview. Hope this helps.

Maybe YM is next for me, after my 3.9 cents a minute card that is -clear as a bell. It seems important to hear well when deciphering a foreign accent and applying it to bureaucrat speak. I heard stress in her voice as we tried to work on the DS-230 Part 1 Biographic Data and letters of intent to marry/how we met.

I tried Skype and may again if I can find out how their records can be downloaded & printed. I just couldn't hear well. I tried a headset, a usb phone, Skype-in, Skype-out. Nothing sounded very clear. Never got customer support either, especially when trying to quit/stop the service charges.

[edit to add]

I wonder if sending money via Western Union would provide a solid record of an ongoing relationship, and evidence of support later too...

Other ways are cheaper, but this would buy a convenient record wouldn't it? (I never have used it)

Edited January 13, 2007 by ding

[David-and-Mae 15]

Starting my I-129F and wondering how useful the 'Proof of Ongoing Relationship' is?

I talk to her daily, but the phone cards only show a vague charge name on my credit card. Will there be a RFE that we are still involved with each other.

Should I mail a postcard just for evidence? Copy emails?

-thanks!

Pictures together will prove that you two have met prior to K1 application and of your relationship. Airline tickets, boarding passes, itineraries, stamped passport pages, hotel accomodations/receipts, etc. are the kind of proofs that you'll need to include in your I-129F packet. As for the telephone bills, letters, email and the likes, you can use them for the interview part later. Sending postcard and mail will help establish your ongoing relationship and might be of help as well.

Mae

[salma 0]

it will help to have pictures of the two of you together, cards, something that shows that the two have you have met and spent time together - visits to each others cities and take some pictures of yourself in front of landmarks. I went to Wrigley field and took pictures there, Water Tower reading the paper..etc. Also had a going away party with my friends...so they can see the interest level

During my interview at the consulate my interviewer went through every picture and asked many many questions. I had itineraries, boarding passes, tickets to games and concerts etc. I really believe this helped me get through the interview process quickly

Good luck

[ariana623 0]

I use Skype to call my fiance. We spent 25$ on 2 sets of headphones and call each others computers. Its free and we get a record of our calls. I'm submitting lots of stuff just to be on the safe side. I made Paul keep all our tickets and letters etc! We're submitting in a few weeks, good luck on yours!

[ding 1]

I use Skype to call my fiance. We spent 25$ on 2 sets of headphones and call each others computers. Its free and we get a record of our calls. I'm submitting lots of stuff just to be on the safe side. I made Paul keep all our tickets and letters etc! We're submitting in a few weeks, good luck on yours!

Maybe it was because I called a cell phone and not a high speed internet computer. Not many average working Thais have computers or high speed internet. But even the land line I called was hard to hear and there was a delay that was awkward.

I've used my cell to call my phonecard connection #, and I'll write a postcard or two. I printed out our emails and emails from the phone card. That should prove our continuing relationship.

I'm pretty sure our in-person meeting is well documented. I have copies where both of us signed hotel registrations and a pic in front of one of those hotels' sign. Passport stamps. Hard copies of air tix and travel agency itinerary. ATM withdrawal slips from my account. etc...

[ausqueen 0]

I use Skype to call my fiance. We spent 25$ on 2 sets of headphones and call each others computers. Its free and we get a record of our calls. I'm submitting lots of stuff just to be on the safe side. I made Paul keep all our tickets and letters etc! We're submitting in a few weeks, good luck on yours!

Maybe it was because I called a cell phone and not a high speed internet computer. Not many average working Thais have computers or high speed internet. But even the land line I called was hard to hear and there was a delay that was awkward.

I've used my cell to call my phonecard connection #, and I'll write a postcard or two. I printed out our emails and emails from the phone card. That should prove our continuing relationship.

I'm pretty sure our in-person meeting is well documented. I have copies where both of us signed hotel registrations and a pic in front of one of those hotels' sign. Passport stamps. Hard copies of air tix and travel agency itinerary. ATM withdrawal slips from my account. etc...

Ding, that sounds reasonable. I know some say you can never give them too much evidence, but we probably worry more than we need at times! Hope what you've got will be more than enough.

When I mentioned Skype in my earlier post, I also meant: comp to comp calls. We never used it comp to phone - trying to save money :-) And, yeah, I know it is different and can be difficult with dial-up and slow comps. Good luck with doing the best you can!

[deathbydalbhat 0]

Rida and I use phone cards, but more often we call each other through yahoo messenger. You can archive the calls you make. The call log tells you who the incoming calls are from, who your outgoing calls are to, the date of the call, the time the call was made and the duration fo the call. Best of all, no charge. You will need YM and a headset though. We talk for hours on end that way and we have a record to give during the interview. Hope this helps.

Maybe YM is next for me, after my 3.9 cents a minute card that is -clear as a bell. It seems important to hear well when deciphering a foreign accent and applying it to bureaucrat speak. I heard stress in her voice as we tried to work on the DS-230 Part 1 Biographic Data and letters of intent to marry/how we met.

I tried Skype and may again if I can find out how their records can be downloaded & printed. I just couldn't hear well. I tried a headset, a usb phone, Skype-in, Skype-out. Nothing sounded very clear. Never got customer support either, especially when trying to quit/stop the service charges.

[edit to add]

I wonder if sending money via Western Union would provide a solid record of an ongoing relationship, and evidence of support later too...

Other ways are cheaper, but this would buy a convenient record wouldn't it? (I never have used it)

Oh, I forgot about this. I have sent Kumar money by Western Union a few times online('Money in Minutes') and when I log in it shows a clear transaction history. I will print this out and include it with my I-129F.

[safitu 0]

PINGO.com prepaid calling card, keeps records, OK rates.

good luck!

[Alex+R 0]

Rida and I use phone cards, but more often we call each other through yahoo messenger. You can archive the calls you make. The call log tells you who the incoming calls are from, who your outgoing calls are to, the date of the call, the time the call was made and the duration fo the call. Best of all, no charge. You will need YM and a headset though. We talk for hours on end that way and we have a record to give during the interview. Hope this helps.

Maybe YM is next for me, after my 3.9 cents a minute card that is -clear as a bell. It seems important to hear well when deciphering a foreign accent and applying it to bureaucrat speak. I heard stress in her voice as we tried to work on the DS-230 Part 1 Biographic Data and letters of intent to marry/how we met.

I tried Skype and may again if I can find out how their records can be downloaded & printed. I just couldn't hear well. I tried a headset, a usb phone, Skype-in, Skype-out. Nothing sounded very clear. Never got customer support either, especially when trying to quit/stop the service charges.

[edit to add]

I wonder if sending money via Western Union would provide a solid record of an ongoing relationship, and evidence of support later too...

Other ways are cheaper, but this would buy a convenient record wouldn't it? (I never have used it)

Oh, I forgot about this. I have sent Kumar money by Western Union a few times online('Money in Minutes') and when I log in it shows a clear transaction history. I will print this out and include it with my I-129F.

I have heard it is supposed to be a bad sign if the USC woman is older and has sent money. Dunno though.

[Len & How 0]

I use Skype to call my fiance. We spent 25$ on 2 sets of headphones and call each others computers. Its free and we get a record of our calls. I'm submitting lots of stuff just to be on the safe side. I made Paul keep all our tickets and letters etc! We're submitting in a few weeks, good luck on yours!

We are also using Skype and it is great - free and much better quality than regular phones. I can even call my Fiance to his work 800 number for free. I have a question though:

I can see my call history when I'm logged in, but how do I get a printable view?

Thank you for any help with this

[mmb 0]

Rida and I use phone cards, but more often we call each other through yahoo messenger. You can archive the calls you make. The call log tells you who the incoming calls are from, who your outgoing calls are to, the date of the call, the time the call was made and the duration fo the call. Best of all, no charge. You will need YM and a headset though. We talk for hours on end that way and we have a record to give during the interview. Hope this helps.

Maybe YM is next for me, after my 3.9 cents a minute card that is -clear as a bell. It seems important to hear well when deciphering a foreign accent and applying it to bureaucrat speak. I heard stress in her voice as we tried to work on the DS-230 Part 1 Biographic Data and letters of intent to marry/how we met.

I tried Skype and may again if I can find out how their records can be downloaded & printed. I just couldn't hear well. I tried a headset, a usb phone, Skype-in, Skype-out. Nothing sounded very clear. Never got customer support either, especially when trying to quit/stop the service charges.

[edit to add]

I wonder if sending money via Western Union would provide a solid record of an ongoing relationship, and evidence of support later too...

Other ways are cheaper, but this would buy a convenient record wouldn't it? (I never have used it)

Skype records can't be downloaded and printed, you just go to your call history and take screenshots, scrolling through them patiently, which you can paste into a file for printing. I printed 42 pages of records, each showing about 16-17 calls between us.

[Len & How 0]

Thanks, mmb!

PrintScreen button was the only way how I could get the records out. I guess I'll just print a few pages with random dates spreading from the time we started using Skype until the Interview date. I'm not going to prove every single call and waste so much paper on this... Saving our forests!

[Pudum and Ken 0]

I like using the prepaid cards to Thailand and it only costs me 1 cent per minute. No record of calls but the cards must amount to something. I too have tons of emails and will be taking a ton of pictures (with dates and times printed on front) in April on my return trip to Thailand. This and airline ticket receipts, boarding passes and hotel receipts are good. Can there be anything else?

Ken