Does the length of the relationship matter

[az143 22]

By the time I file for my fiance, we would have known each other for 8 months. Can anyone who filed early in the relationship share if they had any issues or did it not matter?

[baron555 934]

We only knew each other three months before we filed.

[az143 22]

Oh wow!

[Marco&Bettina 502]

My Fiancee & I only knew each other 4 months when we filed. We had like 13 days actual face time when I submitted the I-129F. I proposed to her like 10 days into our face time. No issues.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Marco&Bettina

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

It will depend on the officer conducting the K-1 interview. They will decide if you provided enough evidence to prove your relationship is real and not just for the purpose of immigration. Research the consulate you will go through. Read the reviews. See how much evidence they like to see. See how tough your consulate is to get through. Some are more difficult than others and require more evidence.

For the I-129F petition, it won't matter at all. You only need to have met face-to-face at least once within the 2 years before you file.

[Enigma23 68]

My Husband now (then Fiance) and I filed 3.5 months after meeting and we were approved.... They did ask a lot of questions trying to trip me up about how well I knew his family here in the states (making sure it was not organized by them) and asked why we applied so soon... my fiance answered it was not too soon to apply... that the wait was very long for us to find each other... :-D

So if the love is real.. they see it... no worries... but still takes TONS of Evidence, pics, etc. Better to have too much than not enough.

Best wishes!!

[baron555 934]

Oh wow!

Wow what?

During the 9 months until her interview, our relationship developed. We had an agreement that either could call it all off at any time.

[Umka36 781]

The K1 petition only requires that you've met within two years of filing, and are free to marry. Personally I would get as much face time with each other as you can while waiting for the petition to be approved. This would provide good proof of a continuing relationship for the interview stage, and you also get to see each others habit (whether good/bad).

I know people say Skyping/phone/emails works, but for me I prefer the real deal. It may be expensive, but I rather pay now than finding out later. If people think it's too expensive (financially/time) to make multiple trips, I can only say it only gets more expensive once the beneficiary arrives. There are multiple threads of people asking if they can wait on filing the AOS due to financial issues. OP, I am not writing this directly at you but only making a comment.

[az143 22]

I said wow because I'm worried our relationship is new but I see that that's not necessarily a major issue :-)

Edited January 22, 2015 by az143

[Pinkrlion 2,722]

It depends on your country! Some countries can get away with meeting and engaged the same day.

[Maria4Garrett 5]

we got engaged after 3 months of nonstop video chats and tons of messages. filed our petition 2 months after the engagement. we have yet to hear interview.

[Daveadams903 19]

We got married 2 months after know each other and filed 5 months later. It won't be an issue as long as you guys prove the legitimacy of your marriage! Good luck!

[AmAjjD 33]

It will depend on the officer conducting the K-1 interview. They will decide if you provided enough evidence to prove your relationship is real and not just for the purpose of immigration. Research the consulate you will go through. Read the reviews. See how much evidence they like to see. See how tough your consulate is to get through. Some are more difficult than others and require more evidence.

For the I-129F petition, it won't matter at all. You only need to have met face-to-face at least once within the 2 years before you file.

^This. And you also have to consider if you're coming from a high risk country, meaning one that has a lot of fraud for marriage visas just to get into the US and become a citizen. If it is, you will be under a lot of scrutiny if your relationship developed quickly and if you haven't had a lot of face to face time together. While you're in this process I would recommend seeing each other a few more times after sending in your paperwork. You definitely want to have a lot of proof that you have gone to your fiance's country and vice versa. It might not matter right now when you send in the paperwork, but it definitely will matter once you have the interview.

[raven52 233]

I do not think you will find many this brief.

I knew who my wife "was" maybe 2-3 months before we discovered it was more than friends, spending time together, etc, did not happen until 6-22-12, then we discovered, there was something between us.

On 6-22-12, we filed K-1 visa, approved 12-31-12. Problem with medical, she entered the USA 4-24-13. That was less than 2 weeks, and we filed a K-1, no problems. GREAT documentation!!!

Married 6-22-13, so, less than two weeks of documentation.

But, we had a visa company in Cebu do all our paper work, and it was perfect!

[TBoneTX 45,309]

It will depend on the officer conducting the K-1 interview. They will decide if you provided enough evidence to prove your relationship is real and not just for the purpose of immigration. Research the consulate you will go through. Read the reviews. See how much evidence they like to see. See how tough your consulate is to get through. Some are more difficult than others and require more evidence.

For the I-129F petition, it won't matter at all. You only need to have met face-to-face at least once within the 2 years before you file.

The K1 petition only requires that you've met within two years of filing, and are free to marry. Personally I would get as much face time with each other as you can while waiting for the petition to be approved. This would provide good proof of a continuing relationship for the interview stage, and you also get to see each others habit (whether good/bad).

I know people say Skyping/phone/emails works, but for me I prefer the real deal. It may be expensive, but I rather pay now than finding out later. If people think it's too expensive (financially/time) to make multiple trips, I can only say it only gets more expensive once the beneficiary arrives. There are multiple threads of people asking if they can wait on filing the AOS due to financial issues. OP, I am not writing this directly at you but only making a comment.

These are two of the best answers that you could possibly get.

Santo Domingo is NOT an easy consulate. Read "Reviews: Embassy" and "Embassy Info" (links atop any VJ page). I recommend that you have another quality visit before you file your I-129F petition, and that you front-load the petition with extra "proof of bona fide relationship" when you do file. Bear in mind that your presence at the eventual visa interview is just about mandatory.

If you want some true horror stories, albeit from elsewhere, here are some from my time:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/110313-us-consulate-in-guayaquil-ecuador/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/180306-guayaquil-consulate-administrative-process/

The lesson that I've chiefly remained around VisaJourney to impart is this: Do NOT (do not!) underestimate the consular phase of the process, and do everything possible to ease your experience in advance.

Here's a broader thread about my I-129F/K-1 experience in general:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/410945-k-1-journey-completed/

Edited January 22, 2015 by TBoneTX