How romantic should the explanation of meeting letter be?

[GabsUSA 19]

For what it's worth, we had a one page description of how we met, what attracted us to each other (as far as likes and dislikes) and how it got us talking in the first place, then went on to how we have known each other over the years, how we have kept in touch and finally how and why we decided to meet in person.

Througout our I-129f, we decided that we would give much more information than what was actually required (when appropriate) and make sure that there was no doubt that our relationship was genuine. In fact, at the end of it, because of all the work that was involved, the USC petitioner wrote a cover letter to explain how important it was for us to have gotten all the details right and how we wanted to make sure everything that could potentially be needed was included from the start.

As other's have said, it doesn't have to be long winded. The truth is that whoever read our petition may have rolled their eyes and would have rather we kept it to just the minimumn amount of detail. Either way we made it through without an RFE and I think that we can all agree, that's what we strive for.

You don't need to be romantic, but you should make it feel natural. If the way you write tends to be more romantic then so be it. After all, the people processing your case are human too.

Edited March 17, 2015 by GabsUSA

[Cody and Daisy 373]

Agreed but wouldn't it be more fun to make it romantic.

"The air from the a/c lifted her hair as our eyes met across the departures gate, the air was fragrant with the smell of the duty free perfume. She walked slowly towards me, narrowly avoiding being knocked over by the woman with 8 suitcases".

Oh Lordy, I'd love to know if someone actually did one like that ?

[VOL 425]

For what it's worth, we had a one page description of how we met, what attracted us to each other (as far as likes and dislikes) and how it got us talking in the first place, then went on to how we have known each other over the years, how we have kept in touch and finally how and why we decided to meet in person.

Wow.

I have done 3 K'1s and all 3 I was able to fill in the blank provided on I-129 form. Example I was in Philippines on 11/22/2014 and met her at airport.

[GabsUSA 19]

Wow.

I have done 3 K'1s and all 3 I was able to fill in the blank provided on I-129 form. Example I was in Philippines on 11/22/2014 and met her at airport.

If they had a problem with longer explainations, they would not allow you to add an attachment to explain in details.

To each their own, like I said, we purposely added as much details to make sure we would not get an RFE.

[Cody and Daisy 373]

If they had a problem with longer explainations, they would not allow you to add an attachment to explain in details.

To each their own, like I said, we purposely added as much details to make sure we would not get an RFE.

See that's what I don't understand about how some people come to the conclusions about this question.

They are asking how and where you met in person.. Not how you fell in love and noticed the sparkle in each other's eyes ?

[VOL 425]

If they had a problem with longer explainations, they would not allow you to add an attachment to explain in details.

To each their own, like I said, we purposely added as much details to make sure we would not get an RFE.

Attachments are for anything, Too long names, etc.

I think they are vague about the meeting details to see if someone is dumb enough to tell on themselves by explaining too much

A few years ago the instruction said - Describe how you meet in person in the last two years. Now of days it just says describe how you met.

[GabsUSA 19]

See that's what I don't understand about how some people come to the conclusions about this question.

They are asking how and where you met in person.. Not how you fell in love and noticed the sparkle in each other's eyes ?

That may be so, but the fact still remains that it got us through without any additional requests for information. We wanted to make sure nothing else was going to be needed. Besides, I never said ours was romantic. It was factual from the moment we actually met to the moment we met in person. Each case is different and because of that, it may not just be enough to say, "we met on this date at this place".

I think they are vague about the meeting details to see if someone is dumb enough to tell on themselves by explaining too much

Agreed, but they probably also find people that explain too little and then send out an RFE.

Edited March 17, 2015 by GabsUSA

[Zedayn 485]

Hello Visa Community!

My fiance and I are discussing this topic before we send off our K-1 petition. He feels it should include more romantic parts of our relationship (I love that about him!) and I feel (based on being a federal employee in an investigative/auditing role) that it should clearly discuss the topics on how we met (not subject to marriage brokerage act), why we were attracted to each other, what we had to overcome to meet each other in person (a lot of stuff that I won't bore you with here), and how we stay in contact with each other.

What do you guys think? What did you guys include in your petition? Warm and fuzzy or clear and factual?

Thank you in advance for your comments!!!!

The I-129F petition only requires a simple statement of how you met, and it should fit perfectly in the box on the form. Something like: WE MET ON [date] IN [place].

However, you may want to check on your embassy reviews, particularly for the K-1 visa. It may be in your best interest to include a statement of relationship, along with a lot of other evidences of your relationship, in order to front load your petition for the embassy.

If you are including a statement of relationship, keep it more factual. It shouldn't read like a romance novel.

[GabsUSA 19]

I'd like to point out that this is what the VJ guide says specifically on this matter:

Declaration of how you met in person in the last two years. This should be a single typed page attachment regarding question '34.a' of the I-129F. Make sure to sign and date it.

Obviously it's luck of the draw, but why chance it?

[Limey 551]

For the initial K1 application they just need evidence you met - no need to show how much you love each other. As you've said, at the interview that is when you need to prove you're genuinely in love.

Some have mentioned having a few shots of you kissing as these are less likely if you're in a fake relationship. My fiancee and I got engaged at Niagara Falls - I'd joked that we'd keep a picture of us both in the heart shaped hot tub together as "the nuke" in case the interview seemed to be going badly.

[Mad & J 25]

In our case, our first meeting in person was nearly 4 years before our petition date. For that reason, it didn't seem enough to say "I met (same) on (date)," because it was more than two years ago. Even though we had included more recent boarding passes, I didn't want anyone to assume from that question that we'd only met once, 4 years ago!

So we wrote a statement, about 3/4 of a page, that gave the date we started talking online, the date we first met in person, then a list of times we visited each other or went on trips together. Nothing flowery, but I felt it painted a better picture of our relationship and made it clear that it was ongoing. It might've been superfluous, but I figured too much is better than too little.

[Pennycat 880]

People get confused about this all the time.

They do not want romance or a page long explanation.

They want a small statement.

For example.

I Cody met daisy at London heathrow airport on the 4th June 2013.

That's all they want.

Just you to tell them where and when you met in person for the first time.

Not necessarily the first time, if the first time was over two years ago.

To the OP: That question is aiming at you stating/proving that you fulfill the requirement of having seen each other face to face at least once in the past two years. What I did was (all on a separate piece of paper) include a short description of our most recent visit at the top of the page, and supported this with boarding passes, visa stamp and a photo we took of us holding up a newspaper during the trip (completely unnecessary but we found the idea humorous). Requirement fulfilled and proven.

Then I said, "for a more detailed description about initial meeting and subsequent visits, see below". Then I went through the whole thing--briefly, and with no "squishy" romantic, feelings-focused stuff, but it's pretty romantic just on its own, and you can clearly see a relationship progression. I figure they can read it if they like, but that first sentence is really all USCIS is after.

Now, for STATE--the embassy folks. They're the ones you'll need to prove a legitimate relationship to. This stage right now is USCIS, which remember is part of the Department of Homeland Security. They're not giving you the visa--that's the State Department. USCIS is making a homeland-security focused call on whether you're allowed to apply for a visa. As such, they're the "base requirements" folks whose main job is to make sure you're even eligible for the visa and that certain dangers are not present (criminality/terror threat of foreign national, criminal/human trafficking threat of US citizen etc). Everything you send to USCIS gets forwarded to the embassy, though. So, some people "front load" the application---give everything needed for the embassy to USCIS.

Whether or not this is a good idea is up for debate. I think the consensus is "can't hurt". I do know several people who are Counselor Officers in embassies abroad (high school/college friends, mostly, also some people I know from having lived overseas myself). The ones I've asked about this are a bit....medium about front loading. As long as it's not crazy overboard (read: taking up a huge amount of space in their office until your interview date), it's fine. But mostly, they feel like if they want to see something they'll ask for it.

Edited March 17, 2015 by CatherineA

[Amhara 460]

This is why I LOVE this site so much! Visa journey has a great base of visitors that can and will share their vast experience with! We aren't limited by a "guy that knew a guy" conversation or by others with a lower exposure level.

I really like that we can rely on each other for views through this stressful process and not have to worry about any xenophobic opinions! Thank you guys so much!

[Sunnyland 639]

See that's what I don't understand about how some people come to the conclusions about this question.

They are asking how and where you met in person.. Not how you fell in love and noticed the sparkle in each other's eyes ?

[Ortolan 381]

@HotterOtter...laughing!

@OP: Just a simple statement is all they want with dates and places. A couple of photos of you both together...all you need.