Required documents for K1

[KhietN 0]

Hi everyone, 
Me and my boyfriend are gathering stuff for our K1. We are doing this ourselves without an attorney and having some questions. Hope you guys can help us to figure that out.
We have found a list of documents on visajourney website.

1. Payment by USCIS (they say it's $535 but I just read from other comments here saying it's $585. So wondering which number is correct?)
2. Cover letter (we got it done)
3. Form i-129f  (working on but here I have a big concern. As I used to do the D/S 160 last year for my J1 visa, don't know if they still can check the provided information. I can't remember exactly months for my job and address history. So how should I fill my job and address history on this form. Should I make a guess when filling?) 
4. Proof of having met in the past 2 years (we have emails, whatsapp conversation back and forth, flight, train tickets, passport stamps that I have been in the US by J1...but unfortunately no photo together. So the question is how should we prepare the email, whatsapp to show them? Just screenshot then print bunch of photos or else?)
5. Passport type photo (for both of us. And they say print the photo on "high quality paper", what they mean by that? Can anyone have a photo to show how it look like?) 
6. Copy of birth certificate front and back for the US citizent or a copy of passport with a validity of 5 years (my boyfriend's passport is 2013-2023 so should be good)
7. Certificate copies of all court and police records (Can anyone clarify? He has some speed tickets in the past. How can he order all that copies of police records? Can it be ordered online or where to go get it?) 

8. We both never married in the past, so the question is is it necessary to provide single certificate? If yes, then how to do it? 
8. I don't see this listed but wondering if my bf needs to prepare his tax paper? If yes, then please help us with detailed answer for this.

We're looking forward to hearing back. Appreciate any help. Thanks!

[KULtoATL 1,551]

1. $535. No such thing as $585.
2. Perfect.
3. Does your J-1 have a 2-year residency requirement??? You can provide a guess-timate of the months that you worked for each employer during your J-1.
4. Screenshot photos of you guys together from Facebook or Instagram if there are any. You don't need a ton but you should be able to show some photo proofs. And yes, a sample of your communication with each other.
5. Basically, photo paper. Get them printed at photo shop.
6. Perfect.
7. I'm not sure if speeding tickets are needed. Others should be able to advise you.
8. No need.
9. Tax transcripts are needed at the K-1 interview stage to support the I-134, not at the I-129F petition stage.

Edited July 26, 2017 by KULtoATL

[geowrian 22,338]

7) Speeding tickets don't need to be reported. Only traffic violations with a fine in excess of $500, or if drugs or alcohol are involved need to be reported. They will still run a background check and see whatever traffic violations you have, but you don't need to provide additional paperwork for them.

 

Emails and conversations and such are fine to include as frontloading of relationship evidence, but they aren't evidence of meeting within the past 2 years (anybody can say they were together). The boarding passes, passport stamps, etc. are better. Photos are secondary evidence, but if you have any at all, it would be beneficial to throw some in.

Edited July 26, 2017 by geowrian

[Unshakable Faith 493]

12 minutes ago, geowrian said:

7) Speeding tickets don't need to be reported. Only traffic violations with a fine in excess of $500, or if drugs or alcohol are involved need to be reported. They will still run a background check and see whatever traffic violations you have, but you don't need to provide additional paperwork for them.

 

Emails and conversations and such are fine to include as frontloading of relationship evidence, but they aren't evidence of meeting within the past 2 years (anybody can say they were together). The boarding passes, passport stamps, etc. are better. Photos are secondary evidence, but if you have any at all, it would be beneficial to throw some in.

I would say that passport stamps and boarding passes are not proof of meeting, just proof of being in the same country at the same time.   I would say photos are needed to prove you have actually met along with the other evidence to prove that it's been within the past two years before filling. 

Edited July 26, 2017 by Unshakable Faith

[geowrian 22,338]

2 minutes ago, Unshakable Faith said:

I would say that passport stamps and boarding passes are not proof of meeting, just proof of being in the same country at the same time.   I would say photos are needed to prove you have actually met along with the other evidence to prove that it's been within the past two years before filling. 

Besides video proof (which you can't submit anyway) and such, it's extremely difficult to prove two people were at the same place with a confirmed date and time. It's all about showing sufficient evidence as a whole - boarding passes and passport stamps show the country you were in, photos show you physical met at some point, hotel receipts show you were at the same location at a given time, etc. It's all taken in together for them to make a decision.

 

I actually was extremely light on photos with my I-129F...I included 1 of just her and one of us together. Everything else was paper documentation. They had no issue with it. Photos are still just secondary evidence to help corroborate the other (verifiable) documentation.

[George & Roth 1,485]

I think the new I-129f instructions don't require front and back of birth certificate, but the old instructions did. I guess it doesn't hurt to put the extra paper anyway 

[Unshakable Faith 493]

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

Besides video proof (which you can't submit anyway) and such, it's extremely difficult to prove two people were at the same place with a confirmed date and time. It's all about showing sufficient evidence as a whole - boarding passes and passport stamps show the country you were in, photos show you physical met at some point, hotel receipts show you were at the same location at a given time, etc. It's all taken in together for them to make a decision.

 

I actually was extremely light on photos with my I-129F...I included 1 of just her and one of us together. Everything else was paper documentation. They had no issue with it. Photos are still just secondary evidence to help corroborate the other (verifiable) documentation.

Yes, but you had a least one photo to prove that you were actually together at some point- only a picture of the two together can prove that.  Boarding passes and passport stamps cannot although they are great to go along with the picture, but they alone do not prove you were together. 

[KhietN 0]

35 minutes ago, KULtoATL said:

1. $535. No such thing as $585.
2. Perfect.
3. Does your J-1 have a 2-year residency requirement??? You can provide a guess-timate of the months that you worked for each employer during your J-1.
4. Screenshot photos of you guys together from Facebook or Instagram if there are any. You don't need a ton but you should be able to show some photo proofs. And yes, a sample of your communication with each other.
5. Basically, photo paper. Get them printed at photo shop.
6. Perfect.
7. I'm not sure if speeding tickets are needed. Others should be able to advise you.
8. No need.
9. Tax transcripts are needed at the K-1 interview stage to support the I-134, not at the I-129F petition stage.

3. No, I was on J-1 for just a year and didnt have a 2 years residency. What I mean is on i-129f they require information for job and address in the past 5 years. But I have worked and moved several times in 3 different countries. So, honestly I cant remember each period of time for each job, address. When I filled D/S 160 for J-1 last year, was a guess too. My question now is can they still be able to check my D/S 160 provided in the past or it wiped out of system? If they can check it, then a guess will lead to dishonest information... So, I am kinda confused about what should I do.

7. Actually it was a ticket about drunk while driving since 2008. If he does need to provide it, then do you have an advise about how to get that record?

 

Thanks a lot. Your comment is very helpful!

[KhietN 0]

39 minutes ago, geowrian said:

7) Speeding tickets don't need to be reported. Only traffic violations with a fine in excess of $500, or if drugs or alcohol are involved need to be reported. They will still run a background check and see whatever traffic violations you have, but you don't need to provide additional paperwork for them.

 

Emails and conversations and such are fine to include as frontloading of relationship evidence, but they aren't evidence of meeting within the past 2 years (anybody can say they were together). The boarding passes, passport stamps, etc. are better. Photos are secondary evidence, but if you have any at all, it would be beneficial to throw some in.

Actually it was alcohol involved. He was drunk while driving and happened since 2008. So I guess it's needed to provide. Do you have an advice about how to get it? He is in North carolina. Thanks for your comment, appreciate!

[KULtoATL 1,551]

3 minutes ago, KhietN said:

3. No, I was on J-1 for just a year and didnt have a 2 years residency. What I mean is on i-129f they require information for job and address in the past 5 years. But I have worked and moved several times in 3 different countries. So, honestly I cant remember each period of time for each job, address. When I filled D/S 160 for J-1 last year, was a guess too. My question now is can they still be able to check my D/S 160 provided in the past or it wiped out of system? If they can check it, then a guess will lead to dishonest information... So, I am kinda confused about what should I do.

7. Actually it was a ticket about drunk while driving since 2008. If he does need to provide it, then do you have an advise about how to get that record?

 

Thanks a lot. Your comment is very helpful!

3. This is what I am referring to when I say 2-year residency:

 

The two-year home residency requirement (or 212(e), as it is referenced in the immigration regulations) means that those who come the U.S. in J-1 status cannot become permanent residents in the U.S., change status in the U.S., or get work or family-based visa status such as H, L or K until they return to their country of last permanent residence for at least two years cumulatively.

 

Frankly, the embassy will likely have your previous visa application details in their system. I know mine was because the consular officer who interviewed me for my second B2 application had all the details concerning my past J-1 and the denied (first) B2 applications. Providing a guess-timate is not exactly giving dishonest information. If they have issues with the discrepancies, they will ask you follow-up questions. 

 

7. For this, if he went to the court for that ticket, he can go get the records from the court. If no court was involved, he will obviously need to go to the police department. 

[KhietN 0]

for some reasons, we had been together when I was in the US but we just never be decided about getting married. Just 2 weeks ago, we met again in Italy and that trip made us realize that we need to be together, then the idea about doing fiance visa, getting married came up. Now we're working on but it's a sudden plan so we didnt prepare for all of this stuff while together and sounds weird but we have no photo together, not even one. 

But we did travel together to New Orleans, to Italy and around in North Carolina, so we have visa stamps, flight, train tickets and photos of each of us with same background same place. Not sure if these are convincing enough.

Edited July 26, 2017 by KhietN