Facebook posts as Evidence of In-person Meeting

[battsher 0]

Fiance and I have no lack of evidence of our relationship. We've been together (living together) in the US and abroad for close to three years. We have two lease agreements in both our names and many photos of us together. We plan to submit the lease agreements, engagement ring info, and selected photos of us together from our vacations and daily lives.

 

We had the idea to submit printed out screenshots of Facebook posts (showing us pictured together) from vacations and important moments in our lives together. The idea is this will add more context to the photo and therefore more evidence for our case. Good idea or bad idea? 

 

It occurs to me that the requested evidence isn't about the existence of a relationship so much as simply proof that we have met in the past two years. With that in mind should we focus solely on the past two years and only evidence that proves that the meeting took place in the past two years? After all, we could write any date on the back of a photo (or even change the date on a Facebook post).

 

Thanks for you thoughts, ideas and answers.

[purplepretzel 35]

My husband and I were friends for 10 years before we started dating. When we applied for the K-1 Visa, we included all of our history. Blog posts and comments, email and chat transcripts, class pictures...you name it. Whatever we felt helped tell our story,we included in the package. Same thing when I applied to adjust my status.

 

During both interviews, the immigration officer took a look at our thick packet, and didn't really ask us a lot of questions anymore. Hope it helps.

[C-ma'am 684]

Hi!

 

The main focus should be the proof of meeting at least once within the last two years. Your primary evidence will be the lease agreements and anything else you can show, such as receipts from vacations, boarding passes, etc. The pictures and facebook post are secondary evidence that will also support your primary. For example, if you provide receipts of the hotel bill in Paris where you both traveled together, a picture of the two of you at the Eiffel Tower will glue the pieces of the puzzle together. The secondary evidence doesn't necessarily have to back up the primary.

 

The best to go about it is to put yourself in the shoes of the person who received your application to process. If you were them, with all the evidence you are about to submit, can you establish a timeline showing that you both shared the same time and space, at least once, within the last 2 years prior to filing? Worse case scenario, they will ask you for more.

 

Good luck!

 

 

[BahamaIslander242 244]

As stated above, the requirements for the petition are that you have to have proof of an in person meeting in the last 2 years. For our petition we included trip evidence (receipts, boarding passes) and screenshots of geotagged and dated photos of us together from my iPhone. We opted to choose those from our most recent trips over the last 2 years to specifically address that requirement.

 

Separately we did also add in Facebook screenshots from the beginning up to recently but it was more for front-loading purposes. I do think it helps to tell your story and show a overall time line of sorts for your relationship for when the petition gets to the embassy level.

[KozmicBlues 592]

Sounds like you have more than enough evidence without them, but I don't think it would hurt to add them. I added several Facebook posts of photos/check-in's with my fiance during both trips to visit him since we're going through a difficult embassy and I figured having the additional support would only help our case. 

[battsher 0]

Thanks everybody. Looks like I'll have to dig up what I can find for airline tickets/itineraries from our trip to the US last summer. And figure out how to display geotags along with photos. Ours doesn't seem to fit the mold since we are always together and almost never travel in ways that supply a paper trail with our names on it. I have gas receipts from our trip to San Francisco last year, but that's all they are, receipts.

 

CBP has plenty of evidence of us being together. Every time we cross the US/Mexico border together. No way to access that data though.

 

 

[ECBZ 31]

Sounds like a lot of great advice.  I will just add that with my I-130 packet I submitted screenshots of my facebook posts from when we announced our engagement and when a friend posted a picture from the wedding ceremony.  The lawyer liked that the screenshots show "likes" and positive comments from our family and friends.  Never hurts to have a little extra prepared!

[Ash.1101 1,756]

15 minutes ago, battsher said:

Thanks everybody. Looks like I'll have to dig up what I can find for airline tickets/itineraries from our trip to the US last summer. And figure out how to display geotags along with photos. Ours doesn't seem to fit the mold since we are always together and almost never travel in ways that supply a paper trail with our names on it. I have gas receipts from our trip to San Francisco last year, but that's all they are, receipts.

 

CBP has plenty of evidence of us being together. Every time we cross the US/Mexico border together. No way to access that data though.

 

 

You'll def want passport stamps, receipts (showing that you went out in the same place so like a restaurant receipt for 2), plane tickets etc. They won't look up CBP's records to see if you've met, they want you to provide everything.

Everything that is pictures, even with geotags, facebook posts, everything else is secondary evidence and doesn't really matter until the interview. If you don't have any primary evidence of meeting, they will still RFE you even if you have a lot of secondary evidence. Secondary evidence does NOT qualify as proof of meeting.


Also a good question you may get asked at the interview. Why are you always together? While I understand Mexico and the US are close, it still seems odd that you guys are ALWAYS together.

[battsher 0]

On 4/25/2017 at 1:32 PM, Ash.1101 said:

You'll def want passport stamps, receipts (showing that you went out in the same place so like a restaurant receipt for 2), plane tickets etc. They won't look up CBP's records to see if you've met, they want you to provide everything.

Everything that is pictures, even with geotags, facebook posts, everything else is secondary evidence and doesn't really matter until the interview. If you don't have any primary evidence of meeting, they will still RFE you even if you have a lot of secondary evidence. Secondary evidence does NOT qualify as proof of meeting.


Also a good question you may get asked at the interview. Why are you always together? While I understand Mexico and the US are close, it still seems odd that you guys are ALWAYS together.

Looks like we'll be able to dig up some boarding passes to supplement the lease agreements. So that should suffice for the req. to meet.  

I'm still struggling to understand some of the criteria for this. Do they really accept a restaurant receipt as evidence? I mean, they usually don't show one name, much less two. They would be taking my word that it was me and my fiancé who were present for the meal. At least a picture is proof that two people were together at some point.  But I digress...

 

Why would it be odd that we are always together? Do you mean uncommon odd or suspicious odd?

 

[Ash.1101 1,756]

37 minutes ago, battsher said:

Looks like we'll be able to dig up some boarding passes to supplement the lease agreements. So that should suffice for the req. to meet.  

I'm still struggling to understand some of the criteria for this. Do they really accept a restaurant receipt as evidence? I mean, they usually don't show one name, much less two. They would be taking my word that it was me and my fiancé who were present for the meal. At least a picture is proof that two people were together at some point.  But I digress...

 

Why would it be odd that we are always together? Do you mean uncommon odd or suspicious odd?

 

Yes, it's uncommon for two people over different countries to always be together. Even relationships from Canada/Mexico end up getting hit with a fiance being turned around at the border more than once if they enter too often. Normally those who even are visiting get turned around by CBP, much less have a lease and are living together.

Also from experience, you can sign leases without ever seeing each other. My dad signed my lease with me years ago while in Australia and I was signing a lease in the US lol, I didn't see him til months after he signed a lease with me and I moved in. But yes, they'll hold things like hotel receipts, restaurant receipts (where it would show two meals), plane tickets in MUCH higher regard than pictures. It's possible that they believe pictures can be faked, but receipts and plane tickets leave a paper trail that they can contact the issuing company if there are any questions. And you never just want ONE form of proof, you want at least two or three, something that is valid. Having only say a restaurant receipt without any proof from that time or other times can make them question it.

The normal is, is that the foreigner is not suppose to spend more time in the US than their home country. Usually coming in and out, or someone looking at their track record flags them and they get turned around.

How long does your fiance stay in the US at a time?


Honestly I don't think I've seen ANY person that wasn't married in an international relationship be on the lease with their US fiance, they may see that as him living in the US and that may not be a good thing.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Ash.1101

[battsher 0]

26 minutes ago, Ash.1101 said:

The normal is, is that the foreigner is not suppose to spend more time in the US than their home country. Usually coming in and out, or someone looking at their track record flags them and they get turned around.

How long does your fiance stay in the US at a time?

My situation may be uncommon, but it's not unreasonable.  Beneficiary was in the US on a student visa (where we met, dated, lived together and got engaged). Beneficiary moved back to home country (Mexico) and I (petitioner) followed. We live near the San Diego/Tijuana border (on the Mexican side). It is one of the busiest borders in the world. Basically, the border into Mexico is open. Crossing into and visiting Mexico requires no visa (though I have gotten 180 day tourist visas to document my stays). True, my fiancé could be turned away while entering the US but it's highly unlikely. She holds a B1/B2 visa (border crossing card) and is registered with the SENTRI program (requires an interview with ICE, gets you in a shorter faster line to get in the country). She doesn't even need an I-94 unless traveling further than a certain distance from the border.

 

Thank you for your advice; especially re: multiple forms of proof. I think I'm recognizing now the restaurant receipt thing. It's not that there are two names on the Arby's or Best Western receipt, it's that it matches the date and location of the airline boarding passes that are presented for evidence?

 

 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

2 hours ago, battsher said:

I think I'm recognizing now the restaurant receipt thing. It's not that there are two names on the Arby's or Best Western receipt, it's that it matches the date and location of the airline boarding passes that are presented for evidence?

 

^^ This exactly 

And if you want to show that the receipt is yours - if you payed with card you can supply the matching statement and  highlight the charge. We did this for example for engagement rings... receipt from store in city where I lived payed with my now husband's card - receipt from hotel payed with my card with dinner receipt same night in hotel restaurant payed with his card etc.. supplementing with photos...and confirming with statements...

 

Two ppl - same place and time -