% of approvals with success after one visit?

[doreenmattseattle 9]

Just curious how many people succeeded with evidence of engagement in the form of documented ceremony with 200 guests/witnesses with formal invitations and public proposal but all on the first visit, but we had previous meetings in the past but irrevalent/undocumented.

[gregoryagu 31]

For me, I visited Fiancee once for two weeks, we got engaged, and then did K1 Petition and it was approved.

[Georgia16 2,858]

You can't put it up like that.

It really is dirrenrent if it one visit to a fiancé in Sweden or it´s a one visit to a fiancé in Ghana.

Take a ton of other countries too of course those were just an example.

Also what other red flag there is:

Age difference

Meeting family

Religion difference

and so on

Some embassies needs a lot of evidence (front loaded) and some hardly needs anything, to depends if it's a high fraud country or not.

People say well it doesn't matter we love each other and bla bla but when it comes down to it, it is in the hands of the CO in the embassy and what they are looking for. So instead of worry about the visit/s then focus on your evidence and your own case. think about how you can make it stronger.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

How are earlier meetings irrelevant?

[Georgia16 2,858]

How are earlier meetings irrelevant?

Oh yeah I missed that one!! Agree how is that irrelevant. It almost better then the whole 200 people ceremony stuff that they easily can think is a wedding.

[doreenmattseattle 9]

We met over 5 years ago while working/living in the same country. We were not even considering marriage at that stage and have no bonafide evidence of meeting. Seems inconsequential at best.

We have formal printed engagement announcements as evidence. If married I would guess we would apply for another visa.

[soulstriker 274]

wow what a very tough question , take another visit if you can

[gregoryagu 31]

I think it is good for evidence to include that you met long ago to show it's not fraud. But I would say more importantly is how it turned into a love and romance from there. I formal engagement with 200 people is a bit out of the ordinary to me. But maybe in your culture it is the norm, and then it would be good evidence. In my petition, I gave a great deal of evidence - photos with family, chat logs, financial support etc. You want to show all the evidence of an ordinary romance. It's true you don't want it to appear like it was a wedding, as that would be a different Visa.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Just curious how many people succeeded with evidence of engagement in the form of documented ceremony with 200 guests/witnesses with formal invitations and public proposal but all on the first visit, but we had previous meetings in the past but irrevalent/undocumented.

The engagement could be seen as a traditional wedding and then you would be considered too married for a K1

and not enough for a spousal visa, CR1. For example in Ghana and Nigeria it would it be considered married.

Having the formal invitations showing it is just an engagement would definitely help.

They want to know when you first met no matter if it was as a couple or not so do not leave that part out it is not

irrelevant to the CO at all. When asked at the interview tell the truth when you first met.

Getting engaged on the first visit is not great for a high fraud country but still many do it and get approved.

It all boils down to did you front load the petition with quality relationship evidence to convince the CO that you

are bona fide and submit ongoing evidence for the interview and know your fiance well enough to answer all questions correctly.

[McBee 2]

The engagement could be seen as a traditional wedding and then you would be considered too married for a K1

and not enough for a spousal visa, CR1. For example in Ghana and Nigeria it would it be considered married.

Having the formal invitations showing it is just an engagement would definitely help.

They want to know when you first met no matter if it was as a couple or not so do not leave that part out it is not

irrelevant to the CO at all. When asked at the interview tell the truth when you first met.

Getting engaged on the first visit is not great for a high fraud country but still many do it and get approved.

It all boils down to did you front load the petition with quality relationship evidence to convince the CO that you

are bona fide and submit ongoing evidence for the interview and know your fiance well enough to answer all questions correctly.

This engagement thing can be very confusing especially when dealing with Ghana CO's. I need some clarification with my if it will be a red flag. So I met my fiancee in 2007 when I visited my Uncle in a different Town. Got introduced to her by my niece because they were classmates and my niece knew we also goes to the same church. We talked for some time and I left for school and also lost her contacts. I came to the state in 2010 and all those years could not get into contact with her, until late 2014 when a friend of my who went to college with her was able to get me in touch with her again. Our love just clicked because I had known her for some time now. I visited Ghana in July, 2015 and engaged her with few friends around at a restaurant. I also added the picture of me kneeling to propose and the ring receipt when I filled for K1 Visa. My question is could this be a problem in Ghana with them thinking we are married? Furthermore, am planning to go to Ghana when the interview is due. Have been talking to the Senator's office to request from the embassy if they could allow me be present during the interview

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

You can't put it up like that.

It really is dirrenrent if it one visit to a fiancé in Sweden or it´s a one visit to a fiancé in Ghana.

Take a ton of other countries too of course those were just an example.

Also what other red flag there is:

Age difference

Meeting family

Religion difference

and so on

Some embassies needs a lot of evidence (front loaded) and some hardly needs anything, to depends if it's a high fraud country or not.

People say well it doesn't matter we love each other and bla bla but when it comes down to it, it is in the hands of the CO in the embassy and what they are looking for. So instead of worry about the visit/s then focus on your evidence and your own case. think about how you can make it stronger.

Seconding this one.

It does really depend on case by case. Country by country, embassy by embassy.

WI only have visited once(9 days) and that was June-July 2015.... We are just about to set interview date and medical and hopefully be done with this whole process(until AOS and such) by mid november.

But, this is for the Philippines(yea yea hand them out like candy I know haha); but if it was for Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, ect... I do not think this would be so straight forward or "simple".

Every situation is different so there can't really be a "%" put on any of it I wouldn't think. Or at least, it would be misleading.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

This engagement thing can be very confusing especially when dealing with Ghana CO's. I need some clarification with my if it will be a red flag. So I met my fiancee in 2007 when I visited my Uncle in a different Town. Got introduced to her by my niece because they were classmates and my niece knew we also goes to the same church. We talked for some time and I left for school and also lost her contacts. I came to the state in 2010 and all those years could not get into contact with her, until late 2014 when a friend of my who went to college with her was able to get me in touch with her again. Our love just clicked because I had known her for some time now. I visited Ghana in July, 2015 and engaged her with few friends around at a restaurant. I also added the picture of me kneeling to propose and the ring receipt when I filled for K1 Visa. My question is could this be a problem in Ghana with them thinking we are married? Furthermore, am planning to go to Ghana when the interview is due. Have been talking to the Senator's office to request from the embassy if they could allow me be present during the interview

Eating out with friends in a restaurant is better than a traditional engagement with many guests and wearing the same

traditional garments which looks like traditional wedding.

Hope you will be allowed in for the interview, good effort on your part. No one knows what Ghana will do.

Best wishes !

[LionessDeon 2,060]

This really is country specific. Don't understand how meeting 5 years ago is irrelevant. It seems very relevant, documented or not.

OP what consulate are you working with? Your profile says Malawi. Your timeline shows the default Armenia.

Edited October 6, 2016 by LionessDeon

[doreenmattseattle 9]

I don't have anything substantive to show we met 5 years ago. First I was married then. Second-- only our passports show we were in the same country at the same time. We don't have pics of one another together. Nothing. I have included in my kit pics of us at the engagement ceremony, an actual image of the engagement invitation, so it can't be construed as a wedding. I have my receipt for an engagement ring. From what I can guess it seems the interview has a lot of weight on this process. Our hope is she can bring additional evidence. Whatsapp chat logs which are hundreds of pages deep. Funds I send each month to pay her rent. I don't think Malawi is a high fraud country, has no conflicts with the USA currently. We are keeping our optimism.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

This really is country specific. Don't understand how meeting 5 years ago is irrelevant. It seems very relevant, documented or not.

OP what consulate are you working with? Your profile says Malawi. Your timeline shows the default Armenia.

I agree.

How were the prior meetings undocumented? There should be passport stamps for someone, conversations online, texts, something?

Was the ONLY meeting you guys had within the last 2 years this engagement party? Did you have no other meetings in the last 2 years?

Honestly, showing that ya'll met 5 years ago is MORE relevant to getting an approval than showing one meeting with a grandious party that can (and has a good chance of) be seen as a traditional wedding.

I don't have anything substantive to show we met 5 years ago. First I was married then. Second-- only our passports show we were in the same country at the same time. We don't have pics of one another together. Nothing. I have included in my kit pics of us at the engagement ceremony, an actual image of the engagement invitation, so it can't be construed as a wedding. I have my receipt for an engagement ring. From what I can guess it seems the interview has a lot of weight on this process. Our hope is she can bring additional evidence. Whatsapp chat logs which are hundreds of pages deep. Funds I send each month to pay her rent. I don't think Malawi is a high fraud country, has no conflicts with the USA currently. We are keeping our optimism.

I was still married (but in process of seperation) when I met my husband in person for the first time.

Passports are harder evidence than pictures. Pictures are considered secondary. You would RATHER show them passport stamps than pictures. Passport stamps, proof you're in the same place like receipts, ticket stubs, hotel payments, etc, weigh MORE than pictures. May not make sense, but that's how they do it.

The interview stage is the hardest and does have the most weight. The I-129F paperwork process is simply paperwork. The interview is people judging your relationship, you, your fiance, and seeing if there's any hitches. The CO's can use their own discretion, and while you and your fiance could be the epitome of love, if the CO has doubts that he can write down on paper with reason, he can basically go "nope, not a legit couple". The ones that assume the interview is the smooth going part because "they are so in love" or "have so much proof" (when they don't have -that- much proof) are usually the ones that get surprised with denials.

Also, be careful on showing that you send money. It can be seen as you're trying to buy her, while I totally understand that you want to help out, my husband (then fiance) split my rent with my father and paid most my bills. The CO can see it as an exchange of money to get the girl into the country.

Some times proof you think may show you're the most legit couple in the world, like paying for her rent and other things, and having a grand engagement party, can be taken the wrong way if presented in a fashion the CO finds to be questionable.