Final checks before sending off our package

[shoesoff 6]

Thanks A'n'L. I did end up moving the G-1145 forms to the top, after quickly printing out a new cover sheet.
And our passport photos were US style. From Costco, which seemed to be the cheapest way to get a stranger to take our photo on a regular old digital camera against a white backdrop (very different to the process of popping into a passport photo booth in the UK!)

 

We sent it off last night after work and are depressingly tracking the package's every move!

[Cee & Ed 4]

Welcome to the ride. It is going to be an exciting and exhausting journey, but the bad will pale in comparison to the good. Best of luck! 
 

[ziggyzaazaa 14]

I have learned as well as many others here that in the initial package it is good to send the terms and conditions of a website if you met online to prove that it is not a brokerage site. If you don't I can almost guarantee you will get an RFE. That's what happened to me and many others, and I wish I just sent it originally because I front-loaded like crazy since i knew I was dealing with the Nigeria embassy. still it was only an extra 30 days but it could've been avoided. I think it could be helpful to add that step as one of the tips for requirements in the initial guides. Good luck, it sounds like you have a very strong front-loaded petition. I think you will be fine. 

[MapleLeaf29 247]

1 hour ago, ziggyzaazaa said:

I have learned as well as many others here that in the initial package it is good to send the terms and conditions of a website if you met online to prove that it is not a brokerage site. If you don't I can almost guarantee you will get an RFE. That's what happened to me and many others, and I wish I just sent it originally because I front-loaded like crazy since i knew I was dealing with the Nigeria embassy. still it was only an extra 30 days but it could've been avoided. I think it could be helpful to add that step as one of the tips for requirements in the initial guides. Good luck, it sounds like you have a very strong front-loaded petition. I think you will be fine. 

Yeah, we wish we had included the terms of service.  We thought we might be okay because my fiancé is from Canada.  However, I recently saw that someone from the UK got an RFE, so maybe it's just standard practice to require the terms of service now.  If so, it would be really nice if that were included in a list of guidelines.  I was so careful to check off every item on the list.  Well. . . I'm all prepared in case we get an RFE.

Edited February 9, 2017 by MapleLeaf29

[Yuilicious 65]

On 2/3/2017 at 5:36 AM, shoesoff said:

Hey guys,

 

We are ready to send off our package today, thanks in a large part to the good people here at Visa Journey.

I just wanted to very quickly list what we have included and get your thoughts on whether we really are, as we think, good to go!

 

We have the following in a turquoise 3-ring binder, all separated into separate sheet protectors (with paper clips to secure groups of documents together):

 

• Cover letter
• Check for $535
• I-129F
• I-129F - Continuation Sheet for 34.a (brief but including dates and locations of each time we have visited each other)
• Petitioner and beneficiary's G325a with passport photos taken two days ago.
• Continuation sheets for both of our employment history questions for the G325a
• Both of our G-1145 forms
• Copy of USC's birth certificate (both sides)
• Copies of all pages of her US passport
• Copy of both sides of Social Security card
• Petitioner and beneficiary's intent to marry letters
• Screenshots of both of our engagement announcements on Facebook (showing the number of likes and comments)
• Copy of the valuation of the engagement ring that I had made in the UK (showing the ring's value at a few thousand dollars)
• 3 conversation excerpts between petitioner and friends/family about wedding planning
• 2 conversation excerpts between beneficiary and friends about wedding planning
• 23 photos of us together printed 3 to a page with the date, location and brief description - beginning with our engagement and dating back to February 2016 - in various locations around the world - 7 of them showing us with family and friends
• Copies of all pages of my UK passport
• 15 boarding pass / travel documents showing me flying to America, to Portland to see her, her coming to England, us travelling around Europe and me coming back in November to see her
• 4 different months' bank statements for her and me showing us spending money in the same places at the same time
• 20 pages of excerpts from our WhatsApp conversation - beginning with the first messages we ever sent to each other (after talking on Tinder) - then several screenshots of snippets from each month up to now

 

And that's about it!
We know there's always more we could include but we feel there would be no reason for USCIS to question the validity of our relationship (and therefore the application) based on what we have supplied.
Would you guys agree? Or is there some glaring piece of evidence we're missing?
We're very excited (and relieved) to be getting this underway and being able to enjoy our next week together before I head back to England.

Thank you so so much, everyone. You've been fantastic at easing our minds and clearing up issues during this process.
We will definitely be sticking around on here to help out others when we can.

Peter (& Alexa)

 

Hello!

I know that your post is from a while ago, and I hope you had a smooth K1 visa process since then! I have a question for you since you mentioned about Tinder. Did you mention about meeting your fiance on Tinder on I-129f? We are wondering if we should mention about us meeting on Tinder or not when they ask to "describe the circumstances of your in-person meeting." Some people seem like getting REF because they mentioned that they met on website/online. If you can let us know what/how you did, it would be helpful! Thank you!

[shoesoff 6]

16 hours ago, Yuilicious said:

Hello!

I know that your post is from a while ago, and I hope you had a smooth K1 visa process since then! I have a question for you since you mentioned about Tinder. Did you mention about meeting your fiance on Tinder on I-129f? We are wondering if we should mention about us meeting on Tinder or not when they ask to "describe the circumstances of your in-person meeting." Some people seem like getting REF because they mentioned that they met on website/online. If you can let us know what/how you did, it would be helpful! Thank you!

Hey.

 

I'm pretty sure Tinder is fine these days. It's definitely not an IMB and not worth lying about. It would be worse if you got further down the line and they found out somehow.

We didn't give it too much attention in our application, but we definitely mentioned it.

 

Here's the first paragraph from our continuation sheet for 34.a - 'Describe the circumstance of how you met':

 

"I first met my fiancé, Peter [MIDDLE NAME] [SURNAME], on October 5th 2015 at Powell’s Books in Portand, OR – following a conversation started on Tinder and then WhatsApp (please see ‘WhatsApp Conversation Excerpts’ attachment). We saw each other a number of times while he was visiting Portland, OR as a tourist in October 2015 before he left to continue his trip around the United States."

 

I also very briefly (in a sentence or two) explained how our first ever WhatsApp conversation continued from our talking on Tinder. I also mentioned that we deleted the app and unfortunately were unable to retrieve the initial exchange.

No RFE. No problems. I've also mentioned it to officers during interviews and they don't seem to care. When they ask how we met I always say 'On Tinder while I was travelling up the West Coast - we messaged a couple of times then met in Powell's Book store' - I'll then usually go into a little more depth explaining that actual first encounter which always seems to be sufficient!

 

I hope that helps. As I say, it's not worth hiding it just to avoid an RFE. If you're really concerned, include the terms of service for Tinder and just draw their attention to how it's definitely not an IMB. We didn't do this - and it could be overkill - but for peace of mind you might choose to!

 

Let me know if you have any more questions.
And good luck!

[Yuilicious 65]

On 8/22/2017 at 8:35 AM, shoesoff said:

Hey.

 

I'm pretty sure Tinder is fine these days. It's definitely not an IMB and not worth lying about. It would be worse if you got further down the line and they found out somehow.

We didn't give it too much attention in our application, but we definitely mentioned it.

 

Here's the first paragraph from our continuation sheet for 34.a - 'Describe the circumstance of how you met':

 

"I first met my fiancé, Peter [MIDDLE NAME] [SURNAME], on October 5th 2015 at Powell’s Books in Portand, OR – following a conversation started on Tinder and then WhatsApp (please see ‘WhatsApp Conversation Excerpts’ attachment). We saw each other a number of times while he was visiting Portland, OR as a tourist in October 2015 before he left to continue his trip around the United States."

 

I also very briefly (in a sentence or two) explained how our first ever WhatsApp conversation continued from our talking on Tinder. I also mentioned that we deleted the app and unfortunately were unable to retrieve the initial exchange.

No RFE. No problems. I've also mentioned it to officers during interviews and they don't seem to care. When they ask how we met I always say 'On Tinder while I was travelling up the West Coast - we messaged a couple of times then met in Powell's Book store' - I'll then usually go into a little more depth explaining that actual first encounter which always seems to be sufficient!

 

I hope that helps. As I say, it's not worth hiding it just to avoid an RFE. If you're really concerned, include the terms of service for Tinder and just draw their attention to how it's definitely not an IMB. We didn't do this - and it could be overkill - but for peace of mind you might choose to!

 

Let me know if you have any more questions.
And good luck!

Thank you so much for your reply and letting me know how you did it! This is really helpful and as you said, for my peace of my mind, I will attach the terms of service for Tinder  Thank you so much, again!