New to the K1 process, help!

[NicolaBolton87 161]

Hi all,

 

I'm English and have recently gotten engaged to my American boyfriend and we are now beginning the K1 visa process. I'm getting confused over what we need to initially send to start the process.

 

i have all the paperwork and we are filling out the l-129f but my question is:

 

do we need to send the l-129f with all the evidence of our relationship or do I take all the evidence with me when I go for the interview?

 

thanks guys, any information you can give would be really helpful!

 

Nicola

[Estibaliz 3,037]

Just now, NicolaBolton87 said:

Hi all,

 

I'm English and have recently gotten engaged to my American boyfriend and we are now beginning the K1 visa process. I'm getting confused over what we need to initially send to start the process.

 

i have all the paperwork and we are filling out the l-129f but my question is:

 

do we need to send the l-129f with all the evidence of our relationship or do I take all the evidence with me when I go for the interview?

 

thanks guys, any information you can give would be really helpful!

 

Nicola

Send the evidence now to avoid RFE's. Gather new evidence from the time after filling the petition for the interview.

Good luck!

[NicolaBolton87 161]

Estibaliz, thank you! 

[geowrian 22,338]

Sending the evidence early ("front loading") won't impact getting an RFE or not. They don't review the validity of the relationship for the I-129F...only (among other things such as criminal histories, past petitions, citizenship of the petitioner, etc.) that the individuals have met in person at least once within the past 2 years.

 

But if you want to front load, that's fine too. It won't impact getting an RFE or not, but can be beneficial for the interview to have the CO be able to review the evidence beforehand. UK is a pretty low fraud embassy.

[NicolaBolton87 161]

3 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Sending the evidence early ("front loading") won't impact getting an RFE or not. They don't review the validity of the relationship for the I-129F...only (among other things such as criminal histories, past petitions, citizenship of the petitioner, etc.) that the individuals have met in person at least once within the past 2 years.

 

But if you want to front load, that's fine too. It won't impact getting an RFE or not, but can be beneficial for the interview to have the CO be able to review the evidence beforehand. UK is a pretty low fraud embassy.

Oh I see! So let me see if I have this right. I send a whole coordinated folder of evidence of our relationship, proof that we've met in person, along with the relevant forms and the filing fee and that goes to the filing location which I believe ours is Dallas.. that then all gets sent to the US embassy in my country (England) and they hold onto it there until my interview is scheduled?

 

and that's brilliant to know that the UK is low fraud!! 

[geowrian 22,338]

17 minutes ago, NicolaBolton87 said:

Oh I see! So let me see if I have this right. I send a whole coordinated folder of evidence of our relationship, proof that we've met in person, along with the relevant forms and the filing fee and that goes to the filing location which I believe ours is Dallas.. that then all gets sent to the US embassy in my country (England) and they hold onto it there until my interview is scheduled?

 

and that's brilliant to know that the UK is low fraud!! 

Basically, yes. You send the I-129F and supporting documents (including the evidence of meeting in person) - and optionally relationship evidence - to the TX lockbox. Then it will be sent to CSC in California. In about 3-4 months you are likely to hear back with an RFE or NOA2...albeit it could be sooner or much longer (security checks can take months or longer in some very rare cases). If you get an RFE, you send the response back to CSC....instructions will be in the RFE.

 

If you get a NOA2, all the documentation + CSC's notes will be sent to the NVC for packaging, getting a case number, and preparation for the embassy. Then it will be sent to the embassy. This process (from NOA2 to embassy receipt) normally takes about a month. There's nothing for you to do here explicitly, but you can call NVC to get the case number (starting about a week or so after the NOA2). The case number can be used for tracking the case on the CEAC website, scheduling the appointment (at some embassies), scheduling/attending the interview (at some embassies), etc. The beneficiary can also start filling out the DS-160 at this time, but I personally suggest not submitting it until CEAC shows the case as ready.

 

Once the embassy receives the package, they will do some processing and optionally send packet 3 via mail or email. I'm not familiar enough with London to say what their process is, sorry. Some embassies don't send or even have a packet 3. The beneficiary will need police clearances, their birth certificate, a completed medical, etc. Once everything with packet 4 is ready, you can attend the interview. London's embassy actually covers the process pretty well....most are quite generic online:

https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/fiancee-2/

Specifically:

Applying for the visa : https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/fiancee-2/applying-for-the-visa/

Required documents (this is normally what would be/be in packet 4): https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/fiancee-2/required-documents/

 

Edited July 6, 2017 by geowrian

[NicolaBolton87 161]

25 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Basically, yes. You send the I-129F and supporting documents (including the evidence of meeting in person) - and optionally relationship evidence - to the TX lockbox. Then it will be sent to CSC in California. In about 3-4 months you are likely to hear back with an RFE or NOA2...albeit it could be sooner or much longer (security checks can take months or longer in some very rare cases). If you get an RFE, you send the response back to CSC....instructions will be in the RFE.

 

If you get a NOA2, all the documentation + CSC's notes will be sent to the NVC for packaging, getting a case number, and preparation for the embassy. Then it will be sent to the embassy. This process (from NOA2 to embassy receipt) normally takes about a month. There's nothing for you to do here explicitly, but you can call NVC to get the case number (starting about a week or so after the NOA2). The case number can be used for tracking the case on the CEAC website, scheduling the appointment (at some embassies), scheduling/attending the interview (at some embassies), etc. The beneficiary can also start filling out the DS-160 at this time, but I personally suggest not submitting it until CEAC shows the case as ready.

 

Once the embassy receives the package, they will do some processing and optionally send packet 3 via mail or email. I'm not familiar enough with London to say what their process is, sorry. Some embassies don't send or even have a packet 3. The beneficiary will need police clearances, their birth certificate, a completed medical, etc. Once everything with packet 4 is ready, you can attend the interview. London's embassy actually covers the process pretty well....most are quite generic online:

https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/fiancee-2/

Specifically:

Applying for the visa : https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/fiancee-2/applying-for-the-visa/

Required documents (this is normally what would be/be in packet 4): https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/fiancee-2/required-documents/

 

That is SO helpful, thank you!!