g325-a Biometric questions for Mexican fiance & children

[Jim&Aura 6]

Hello everyone,

I am about to file the I-129f (K-1/2 Visa) package for my Mexican fiancé and her 3 children. I recently discovered that their eventual interview will have to take place in Ciudad Juarez, not Merida as I had first thought. One of the repliers to my thread about that issue copied this link that provides great information about the specific process in Juarez. However, a couple of pieces of information there prompted a few questions that I am hoping someone can answer for me.

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Mexico&cty=Juarez

1) First and foremost, I only need 2 g325-A’s in our I-129f packages (one for me and one for my fiancé), correct? I just want to make sure that I also don’t need one for each of her 3 children.

2) The reason I ask #1 above is that in the Packet 3 section of the page linked above, it states the following: “All applicants, regardless of age, are required to appear in person at the Applicant Service Center (ASC) prior to the consular appointment date”. I understand this to mean that the 3 kids will need to attend the ASC/Biometrics(fingerprint) appointment. But, is this only to fingerprint them in preparation for issuance of their K-2 Visas? Or, are they part of the Biometric interview process? The latter question is why I ask if g-325a’s are required for the children.

3) Also, even if the kids are not part of any actual interview, is there any recourse that can help prepare my fiancé for this phase? Or, do I have it wrong and there is no interview here like will take place afterwards with the actual consular officer for the Visa.

4) Finally, the reasons I am somewhat concerned about the g-325a piece (at least for my fiancé), is as follows:

a. We do not have much information about her father… only his name and nationality as they are listed on her birth certificate… as he left the family when she was very young and they haven’t heard anything from him since. I was told by a local USCIS officer that this should not be an issue, so hoping that is true.

b. Another concern is in her employment area. She is a professional massage therapist and has had 3 jobs as such since being in the workforce. She only has 1 4-month gap between her 2^nd and 3^rd jobs as she was laid off due to lack of business volume, then found a job at another spa 4 months later. However, I have heard that gaps in this section could be problematic. Should I include an explanation for this gap as an attachment?

c. Also, I am somewhat concerned about the ability of officials to validate information on her form, mostly in the employment section. Her first (and by far longest) employment was in a small fishing village in SE Mexico and she worked there as an independent massage therapist on the beach. Frankly, there is probably literally no way to validate this. I guess my question is, what types of things do they focus on validating on this form? Also, what if she loses her current job by the time of the interview? This is a concern because low season has hit again in her area and demand for massages is again very low.

d. Finally, and somewhat related to the validation question in #c above, I am unsure what official documents her mother has. Her correct name and Mexican nationality are reflected on my fiance’s birth certificate but upon last check, her mother did not have a copy of her birth certificate. Furthermore, he mother now lives in another country (which I have listed on my fiance’s g-325a form) as she met and married a man from that country and moved there to live with him. Because of this, it may be problematic if she is somehow asked to produce her birth certificate. This is why I would like to know how likely this will be a concern because it could take quite a long time to obtain a copy and I want to avoid delays if at all possible.

Thank you very much for any feedback & advice!

[MariaR323 199]

Hi there,

I commented/responded in red using your original msg, see below, hope it helps

Hello everyone,

I am about to file the I-129f (K-1/2 Visa) package for my Mexican fiancé and her 3 children. I recently discovered that their eventual interview will have to take place in Ciudad Juarez, not Merida as I had first thought. One of the repliers to my thread about that issue copied this link that provides great information about the specific process in Juarez. However, a couple of pieces of information there prompted a few questions that I am hoping someone can answer for me.

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Mexico&cty=Juarez

1) First and foremost, I only need 2 g325-A’s in our I-129f packages (one for me and one for my fiancé), correct? I just want to make sure that I also don’t need one for each of her 3 children. Correct, one G325-A for you as the petitioner and one for your fiance as the beneficiary. The children should be listed on the actual I-129F application.

2) The reason I ask #1 above is that in the Packet 3 section of the page linked above, it states the following: “All applicants, regardless of age, are required to appear in person at the Applicant Service Center (ASC) prior to the consular appointment date”. I understand this to mean that the 3 kids will need to attend the ASC/Biometrics(fingerprint) appointment. But, is this only to fingerprint them in preparation for issuance of their K-2 Visas? Or, are they part of the Biometric interview process? The latter question is why I ask if g-325a’s are required for the children. The children will need to be present as well for the biometrics and interview but they do not need the G325-A. Their info will be asked later on in the process when you submit the actual Visa application (DS-160).

3) Also, even if the kids are not part of any actual interview, is there any recourse that can help prepare my fiancé for this phase? Or, do I have it wrong and there is no interview here like will take place afterwards with the actual consular officer for the Visa. The embassy does ask for the children to be present for the interview. In our case, my fiancée's children are 6 and 9 and both were present and were only asked to state their name - nothing else.

4) Finally, the reasons I am somewhat concerned about the g-325a piece (at least for my fiancé), is as follows:

a. We do not have much information about her father… only his name and nationality as they are listed on her birth certificate… as he left the family when she was very young and they haven’t heard anything from him since. I was told by a local USCIS officer that this should not be an issue, so hoping that is true. I believe you can leave blank whatever info is unknown, double check the instructions. My fiancée was unsure of the birth date for her father as well and it was not an issue.

b. Another concern is in her employment area. She is a professional massage therapist and has had 3 jobs as such since being in the workforce. She only has 1 4-month gap between her 2^nd and 3^rd jobs as she was laid off due to lack of business volume, then found a job at another spa 4 months later. However, I have heard that gaps in this section could be problematic. Should I include an explanation for this gap as an attachment? No need to explain gaps upfront. If it's an issue, they will be questioned at the interview.

c. Also, I am somewhat concerned about the ability of officials to validate information on her form, mostly in the employment section. Her first (and by far longest) employment was in a small fishing village in SE Mexico and she worked there as an independent massage therapist on the beach. Frankly, there is probably literally no way to validate this. I guess my question is, what types of things do they focus on validating on this form? Also, what if she loses her current job by the time of the interview? This is a concern because low season has hit again in her area and demand for massages is again very low. I sense a bit of overthinking - don't worry about this My fiancée quit working right after we filed the I-129F so she can prepare for the process and the move.

d. Finally, and somewhat related to the validation question in #c above, I am unsure what official documents her mother has. Her correct name and Mexican nationality are reflected on my fiance’s birth certificate but upon last check, her mother did not have a copy of her birth certificate. Furthermore, he mother now lives in another country (which I have listed on my fiance’s g-325a form) as she met and married a man from that country and moved there to live with him. Because of this, it may be problematic if she is somehow asked to produce her birth certificate. This is why I would like to know how likely this will be a concern because it could take quite a long time to obtain a copy and I want to avoid delays if at all possible. Not sure if I understood this one correctly... is it your fiancée who doesn't have her birth certificate or her mother? If it's her mother - no problem, the beneficiary is not asked to present birth certificates of anybody else other than themselves and their children. Make sure your fiancée has at least 2 or 3 copies of her birth certificate as well as her children's.

Thank you very much for any feedback & advice!

Edited July 5, 2016 by MariaR323

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

The I-129F petition and the K-1 visa application at the consulate in Juarez are two separate processes. Just provide what is required for the I-129F petition to begin with. You list the children where it asks on the I-129F, that is it. Nothing more about the children is needed now. You need a G-325A from the USC petitioner and one from the foreign fiance(e). You will both need statements of intent to marry as well. Just check the guide here on VJ. It lists what you need, and also be sure to read through the I-129F form instructions for yourself.

The G-325A is just basic info. You are worrying too much about this form. You fill it out to the best of your ability. You do not even need to give specific addresses for the employers, just stating something like 'ABC Company Name, City, State, Country' will do. You do not need to leave gaps for unemployment. You simply state, 'Unemployed' and put the dates.

If there is something you do not know, then you put Unknown.

The foreign fiance(e) does not have to be employed, so that is a non-issue.

She will need her birth certificate for her K-1 visa interview, so have her go to her local government office that issues them to get several copies.

The children will all need to apply for the K-2 visas along with the mother's K-1. They will all need a DS-160 and to pay the visa processing fee for each. They will all need the ASC(biometrics) appointments, medicals and to attend the interview.

Research here about the actual applying for the visa that will come after the I-129F is approved > https://mx.usembassy.gov/visas/fiancee/

Edited July 6, 2016 by KayDeeCee

[Jim&Aura 6]

Thank you both very much for your thoughtful replies! They set my mind at ease... well, at least as much as that is possible at this point in time ;-)

A few responses to points/questions you had...

- on my bullet 4d above... yes, I am talking about potential difficulties getting my fiance's mother's BC. We certainly have my fiance's BC... I have filled in all data on all forms to match the information contained on it.

- I think you are both right... I got into a rabbit hole on the g-325a... starting to 2nd guess everything that is not 100% complete, but it really seems that not having all fields filled in on it should not be an issue, especially regarding her parent's info.

- as to the actual I-129f form, i feel pretty good about it. I have completed all of my information, as well as for my fiance and her 3 kids... all of which matches their BC's, which i have electronic copies of just to be sure. The only piece missing is the date that I filed this ap for my previous wife about 17 years ago. I had all of the other info for this, including her A #, etc. I actually went to my local USCIS office to try to get this date but they would not release to me but indicated that leaving it blank should not be an issue since someone in the ap process can look it up if needed. Still, I included an attached paragraph explaining exactly this just in case. Other than that, I just had to change the city of US Consulate 36.a from Merida to Cd Juarez, so i just need to print another copy and sign and then should be ready to send in the packet.

- about the birth certificates needed for the Visa application/interview process... I was previously thinking copies meant photo copies... but now i am thinking that actually mean official copies. I believe my fiance currently only has 1 copy of her BC and her kid's. So, I am assuming she will need to get maybe 3 more official copies of each before this appointment?

Thanks again for all your help!