Starting the process

[IslandMate714 9]

Hello, all! I am in the beginning stages of filling out all the paperwork required for the K1.  First off I want to say thank you to everyone who has contributed to the wealth of information on this site, it is absolutely amazing and makes the process less daunting. 

 

My questions are as when signing the cover letter and letter of intent does it matter if I use black or blue ink? Also, I have screenshots of my fiance and myself video chatting and wanted to know if that's something I would be able to use and if it would be okay for me to write on those printouts the day and time? I want to make sure all my I's are dotted and T's are crossed when it comes to this. Thank you in advance for your help. I looked and read just about every forum or thread when it came to starting this process please feel free to add any additional information.   

[YecaCruz 379]

I would say black ink because the K1 instructions for the form say to use black ink when filling out the actual form. So if they want black ink for the form you might as well do it for everything else. Is there not a way to print your video chats with any kind of time stamp?

 

Good luck on your k1 journey! there are a whole lot of people who have a lot of knowledge and experience to share on here!

Edited September 26, 2017 by YecaCruz

[IslandMate714 9]

There is not. Our video chats are via Whatsapp and I have about 300 pages from that I plan on sending. That shows where we either called or video chatted over the app. You think that would be good enough verse sending screenshot photos that are not time stamped? 

Edited September 26, 2017 by IslandMate714

[YecaCruz 379]

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew that's a lot! lol! I don't think the uscis folks want to sift through 300 pages of anything. May I suggest to take some time to bring that number down and show that you guys have just been chatting etc since the relationship started.  

 

Heck I had over 10k of pages of correspondence between my husband and I via facebook. I chose chats about every 3 months to demonstrate the constant communication we had over the course of 6 years. Your stronger evidence is going to be the face to face time you have had (plane tickets, corresponding passport stamps, receipts, pics)  

[IslandMate714 9]

LOL okay I will go through and do every three months. Also on my first visit, my passport was not stamped but I do have flight and maybe hotel information from my stay. 

[YecaCruz 379]

Oh I'm sure that will work just fine. Especially if you have pics from that first visit. With my pics I labeled the backs with the date taken and the place in pencil.  

[Salty2305 504]

We tried to make sure that every time we had seen each other in person, we had multiple different items of evidence for our packet so for example when we spent the week in London together, I had our separate boarding passes, receipts for shows, attractions or restaurants in London we had visited and pictures placing us at those places for example the London eye as well as our Airbnb booking. I’ve tried to do that for every trip as well as submitting screenshots of call logs, a few pages of messages from WhatsApp and some screenshots of Facebook posts from other peoples profiles with us tagged in. 

 

Yes you you need to condense down your evidence but I wanted it to be abundantly clear that anyone could pick up our file and see that we had been together in person and we are in a genuine relationship. We just got our NOA2 back a couple of weeks ago so hopefully that approach works! Good luck with your journey

[geowrian 22,337]

The color of ink on your signature is at the bottom of the barrel for worries. They just want a signature. But yeah, if you used black ink for the rest, then do the same for the letter.

 

18 hours ago, IslandMate714 said:

Our video chats are via Whatsapp and I have about 300 pages from that I plan on sending. That shows where we either called or video chatted over the app. You think that would be good enough verse sending screenshot photos that are not time stamped? 

I agree that 300 pages is overkill. Nobody will even look a that pile. My then-fiancee and I sent one page from every month we were together. YMMV, but I suggest sending something they will actually look at (them = the CO at the embassy...USCIS won't review any relationship evidence for the I-129F).

 

What embassy are you going through?

[John & Rose 7,239]

18 hours ago, IslandMate714 said:

There is not. Our video chats are via Whatsapp and I have about 300 pages from that I plan on sending. That shows where we either called or video chatted over the app. You think that would be good enough verse sending screenshot photos that are not time stamped? 

Just do about 10 to 15 pictures showing you together.  You don't need too much of that right now.  There have been many people here that got delayed as USCIS sent back binders that were considered to be "incorrect format to be read".  If you really need 300 pages to prove that you really met (that is all you need for the I-129F) then you may have other battles later.

 

Just give them what they ask for.  Do what they say.  Don't try to figure out their motivations.  You may need that information later but not with the I-129F.

[IslandMate714 9]

Kington, Jamaica I've read the COs there have their good days and bad days like everyone else. Just want to make sure we have the information we need for it to go as smoothly as it possibly can. As for the 300 pages (it's way more than 300 pages I stopped printing there), I will sift through it all and send them something that shows our ongoing relationship,  I just want to show that this is not a joke and that we are both taking this seriously. I realize that I may be putting the cart before the horse as I read the feedback I am getting. I need to focus on sending in the I-129F first and everything else comes after, I want to get all we need now just because I am not able to visit like I want to. 

[IslandMate714 9]

I do want to thank each of you for your feedback it's greatly appreciated!! Please keep it coming!!! 

[John & Rose 7,239]

42 minutes ago, IslandMate714 said:

Kington, Jamaica I've read the COs there have their good days and bad days like everyone else. Just want to make sure we have the information we need for it to go as smoothly as it possibly can. As for the 300 pages (it's way more than 300 pages I stopped printing there), I will sift through it all and send them something that shows our ongoing relationship,  I just want to show that this is not a joke and that we are both taking this seriously. I realize that I may be putting the cart before the horse as I read the feedback I am getting. I need to focus on sending in the I-129F first and everything else comes after, I want to get all we need now just because I am not able to visit like I want to. 

You got this!!!  Just make sure that you have met in person within two years of the interview date, which won't be until 7 or 8 months after you submit the I-129F.  

[geowrian 22,337]

2 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

You got this!!!  Just make sure that you have met in person within two years of the interview date, which won't be until 7 or 8 months after you submit the I-129F.  

The meeting within 2 years is as of the time of I-129F filing, not the interview.

 

Page 1 of the I-129F instructions:

" You and your fiancé(e):

...

Have met each other in person within the two years immediately before you filed this petition"

Edited September 27, 2017 by geowrian

[John & Rose 7,239]

Just now, geowrian said:

The meeting within 2 years is as of the time of I-129F filing, not the interview.

 

Page 1 of the I-129F instructions:

" You and your fiancé(e):

...

Have met each other in person within the two years immediately before you filed this petition"

I have heard that certain COs have denied applicants because they were actually past 2 or 2.5 years when they had the interview.  Just trying to error on the cautious side.  If you haven't met in over 2 ½ years prior to the interview it may be hard to show it is a real relationship.  This is at the COs discretion.  If they haven't meet in a few years they must have great proof of a real relationship.

[geowrian 22,337]

4 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

I have heard that certain COs have denied applicants because they were actually past 2 or 2.5 years when they had the interview.  Just trying to error on the cautious side.  If you haven't met in over 2 ½ years prior to the interview it may be hard to show it is a real relationship.  This is at the COs discretion.  If they haven't meet in a few years they must have great proof of a real relationship.

The CO may have refused the visa because they didn't believe the relationship was legitimate, and the lack of face to face time is a factor for making that decision. But they cannot deny solely because you haven't met in over 2 years at the time of the interview. USCIS verifies this requirement prior to approval of the petition.

 

But yes, face time (both how much and how recent) would be a factor that the CO can look at. Preferably, the petitioner should be at the interview (or waiting outside if not possible). Or visit between I-129F filing and interview. But neither is a requirement...just a good way to show evidence of an ongoing relationship.