Any recent Iran K1 applicants?

[quid 0]

Hi all,

I'm at the I-129f stage and am preparing the forms and pulling together all required documents. I'd love to talk with folks who are currently working through the process or have recently completed it. We met via a common interest Facebook page (Iranian classical culture) in March of 2014, then met in person in Istanbul in September. We have a constant (daily) dialogue history via Facebook, Viber and Skype.

I'm curious about a number of things but some of the immediate concerns relate to acceptable documentation. She's leary of sending items through the mail to the United States because of the possibility of unwanted attention from her government. Is this a problem we should be concerned about? I'm fairly familiar with Iran and realize it's a complex political climate. I don't see the country in black and white terms but I'm aware that communications with the US can lead to interrogation, etc.

If it's unwise to send mail from Iran to the US, particularly documents related to immigration, will scanned and/or unsigned documents be acceptable? I've read conflicting information on whether the G-325a needs to be signed, for example, although it seems an unsigned copy will be okay. She typed her responses (her English is good) and sent it to me as an attachment in pdf format. As backup, she printed and signed it a second copy and sent it to me as a scanned pdf. I'm considering submitting both with an explanation that a live signature won't be available until her interview because mailing from Iran is risky. Is this a sensible approach?

She also sent a very good photo scan but, again, it's not a jpeg, it's a pdf. I think it will look acceptable when I visit a local office copy shop and print it on glossy paper, but it's not an original photo. Any thoughts?

These are my concerns of the moment but, since Iran has its own set of problems in relation to the US, I'd appreciate any other pointers or guidance that comes to mind. Are wait times longer for Iranians? Any information is GREATLY appreciated.

[HollyDaniela 6]

Not Iran...but my fiance is in Libya. Similar concerns but most of all....it would have been impossible to mail anything! We did everything electronically. But definitely your fiance needs to sign all documents. Nowhere did I ever see it needed to be original signature page, and our petition was approved how I did it.

[quid 0]

I also see that the sample "Fiance Letter of Intent" on the I-129f step-by-step guide on this website includes place for her signature. Same questions here, is it required? If required, will scanned copy suffice?

[Cheryl-Hossein 25]

My husband and I went through the process last year. You can check out our timeline, but we went from initial I-129 to Green Card in about 14-15 months. It was all really painless. Feel free to private message me with any specific questions/concerns you might have. I did go to Ankara for his embassy interview, and when they found out I was there, they asked me to come back the next day to be interviewed. It turned out to be a good thing and he was approved on the spot. [i have an embassy review posted too.]

As far as communication and original documents, we did all original signatures on the documents. We didn't want to risk an RFE. Other than being rather expensive to send documents from Iran to US, it wasn't an issue as far as privacy. As far as your electronic communications, I'm assuming she has a VPN, or else accessing Facebook and other western sites would be nearly impossible. We had a "safe word" -- which meant things were getting too political or too "spicy" to talk about in text form.

Like you said, the situation with Iran is complicated politically, but unless you or she have a high-powered government job, it's really not going to be an issue.

[quid 0]

Thanks for the info. If anybody else cares to leave additional comments I'll be certain to read them all.

Edited December 1, 2014 by quid

[ChuckM 8]

It has been a little while since I filed the K-1 for my now wife. It was very smooth for us. We sent items electronically, but also mailed signed documents from Iran to the US without any problems. We decided to send by mail for two reasons, I (Petitioner) was filing all of the paperwork from the US, even the embassy portion. We could also use the envelopes, and letters we sent as proof of relationship. It usually took about 10 days for her to send something to me.

The process has changed a little since my wife was interviewed (Ankara, December 2012) but feel free to ask me any questions you have. Our time from filing the 129-F to the Visa approval was 13 months. The only delay was of our doing as we requested a later interview date than what we were initially given.

[Pishi_Pishi 63]

You cannot count on Iranian post as I never received letter from my fiance, which he sent to me. Some of my letters he received from me that I sent via regular mail within 10 days. DHL is very reliable though from Iran. A bit pricey, but I got it in few days. They can hold it at customs though, but I called and explained what is inside and I got it the following day. I definitely recommend it. I believe that you do not need original signature on g325-a, but you need it on the letter of intent, which can be sent by DHL. Just a suggestion It is a long process for us and not an easy one. My fiance just had an interview and I flew to meet him, but I was not let into the embassy. Unfortunatelly, he was not approved on a spot, so my waiting nightmare is not over yet and result is a mystery Btw, I met my Iranian fiance during my trip to Iran over 2 years ago and then flew 4 times to see him again in various countries. We had lot of documents to support our relationship and still we do not have an answer

Edited December 2, 2014 by Sylvi_Ali

[quid 0]

Excellent tips, I appreciate everyone's input. DHL makes sense.