My Fiance and I are currently living together, including lease with I-129f?

[ADAngel 40]

Hello, again. I just finished filling out the I-129F and now I'm preparing the supporting documents to go with it. I am the U.S. petitioner but I'm currently attending University in the United Kingdom, and my Fiance and I have been living together since I started my program last September. I want to prove that we have been living together for proof that "we have met in the last two years" but I'm not sure if I should include the entire lease agreement or just the part that has our address and then our names as the tenants? I want to provide sufficient evidence but I also don't want to include too much.

 

Also a few other questions I could use some help with. Should I include a photocopy of my student visa for the UK?

How many pictures should I include to help our case? I have about 6 picked out but I remember reading somewhere that the recommendation is 2-5.  will make sure to include the ones we have with his family but I can't decide which pictures of just us to include.

One last question! In the I-129F instructions it says to include one copy of proof of citizenship. I lost my birth certificate when I was in-between apartments during my undergraduate years, since it could take some time to get a new one delivered to my mother, would it be okay for me to just send a photocopy of my passport? Has anyone else done this and had any issues? Should I just play it safe and wait for my new birth certificate (I haven't ordered it yet but wait times are usually a few weeks)?? I really don't want to wait but I don't want to put our petition at risk just because I'm impatient!
 

Thank you for reading! Any advice is majorly appreciated. 

[Becci391 340]

1 minute ago, ADAngel said:

Hello, again. I just finished filling out the I-129F and now I'm preparing the supporting documents to go with it. I am the U.S. petitioner but I'm currently attending University in the United Kingdom, and my Fiance and I have been living together since I started my program last September. I want to prove that we have been living together for proof that "we have met in the last two years" but I'm not sure if I should include the entire lease agreement or just the part that has our address and then our names as the tenants? I want to provide sufficient evidence but I also don't want to include too much.

 

Also a few other questions I could use some help with. Should I include a photocopy of my student visa for the UK?

How many pictures should I include to help our case? I have about 6 picked out but I remember reading somewhere that the recommendation is 2-5.  will make sure to include the ones we have with his family but I can't decide which pictures of just us to include.

One last question! In the I-129F instructions it says to include one copy of proof of citizenship. I lost my birth certificate when I was in-between apartments during my undergraduate years, since it could take some time to get a new one delivered to my mother, would it be okay for me to just send a photocopy of my passport? Has anyone else done this and had any issues? Should I just play it safe and wait for my new birth certificate (I haven't ordered it yet but wait times are usually a few weeks)?? I really don't want to wait but I don't want to put our petition at risk just because I'm impatient!
 

Thank you for reading! Any advice is majorly appreciated. 

I am not sure but I think the US petitioner needs to live in the US but don't quote me on that. I might be wrong...

 

I would say include the lease agreement.

 

We submitted not more than 5 pictures and were fine.

 

You might want to wait until your birth certificate is in the mail because if you don't send it you might could get an RFE which would delay the whole process. A copy of the birth certificate of the US petitioner is what you have to send to USCIS along with the application and other required documents.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

As you can see ( number 8) the birth certificate is required to establish US-citizenship.

The guide I attached above is really helpful.

 

 

[geowrian 22,338]

Why not marry there and do DCF instead? It's much faster, cheaper, and he'll have LPR status right away (no need for AOS, an EAD, or AP).

 

Including the lease together is one good piece of evidence.

 

The birth certificate is only 1 way to previous US citizenship...a copy of the passport is acceptable as well.

 

Edit: US domicile OR sufficient evidence of intent to establish US domicile will be required before either visa can be issued.

 

8 minutes ago, Becci391 said:

You might want to wait until your birth certificate is in the mail because if you don't send it you might could get an RFE which would delay the whole process. A copy of the birth certificate of the US petitioner is what you have to send to USCIS along with the application and other required documents.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

As you can see ( number 8) the birth certificate is required to establish US-citizenship.

8.	Copy of the Birth certificate (front and back) for the US Citizen or a copy of ALL pages of the US Citizen's passport issued with a validity of at least 5 years or a copy of the US Citizen's naturalization certificate (front and back). This is used to establish citizenship.

 

Edited January 21, 2018 by geowrian

[ADAngel 40]

59 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Why not marry there and do DCF instead? It's much faster, cheaper, and he'll have LPR status right away (no need for AOS, an EAD, or AP).

 

Including the lease together is one good piece of evidence.

 

The birth certificate is only 1 way to previous US citizenship...a copy of the passport is acceptable as well.

 

Edit: US domicile OR sufficient evidence of intent to establish US domicile will be required before either visa can be issued.

 

8.	Copy of the Birth certificate (front and back) for the US Citizen or a copy of ALL pages of the US Citizen's passport issued with a validity of at least 5 years or a copy of the US Citizen's naturalization certificate (front and back). This is used to establish citizenship.

 

I don't have to be currently living in the U.S. thankfully, as I only have to prove domicile in the U.S., which I have. Plus I am on a temporary student visa, not a resident visa here in the UK. 

 

Well in the I-129F instructions it says "or" copy of every page of the petitioners passport. That's why I think I might be able to get away with not sending birth certificate I just wanted to see if anyone else had. 

[Becci391 340]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

Why not marry there and do DCF instead? It's much faster, cheaper, and he'll have LPR status right away (no need for AOS, an EAD, or AP).

 

Including the lease together is one good piece of evidence.

 

The birth certificate is only 1 way to previous US citizenship...a copy of the passport is acceptable as well.

 

Edit: US domicile OR sufficient evidence of intent to establish US domicile will be required before either visa can be issued.

 

8.	Copy of the Birth certificate (front and back) for the US Citizen or a copy of ALL pages of the US Citizen's passport issued with a validity of at least 5 years or a copy of the US Citizen's naturalization certificate (front and back). This is used to establish citizenship.

 

🙈🙈🙈🙈

I might have skipped reading the last part. Sorry.

[ADAngel 40]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

Why not marry there and do DCF instead? It's much faster, cheaper, and he'll have LPR status right away (no need for AOS, an EAD, or AP).

 

Including the lease together is one good piece of evidence.

 

The birth certificate is only 1 way to previous US citizenship...a copy of the passport is acceptable as well.

 

Edit: US domicile OR sufficient evidence of intent to establish US domicile will be required before either visa can be issued.

 

8.	Copy of the Birth certificate (front and back) for the US Citizen or a copy of ALL pages of the US Citizen's passport issued with a validity of at least 5 years or a copy of the US Citizen's naturalization certificate (front and back). This is used to establish citizenship.

 

There are a few reasons we are doing the K-1 instead of marrying here, but the main one would be that marrying here while on my student visa could put my visa in jeopardy and it's not worth the risks, but thank you for the suggestion.

 

I thought the lease might be great, I just wasn't sure if it was allowed I guess. I'm also including the following:

-screenshots of our WhatsApp phone records

-screenshots of our Skype video call history

-pictures of us together

-witness declarations from my mother and my best friend

-plane ticket receipts

-proof that the website we originally met on is NOT an IMB

-screenshots of Facebook posts back and forth

 

Also, what is a good way for me to prove domicile in the U.S.? I could photocopy my UK student visa, as it has the date (January 2019) that I must leave the country. Or could I just write a letter, sign and date it like I have with everything else?

 

I really appreciate your comment, I'm sure some of my questions seem a bit silly but I'm trying to do this as quickly an accurately as possible as I'd ideally like to be back in the states by October. 

[ADAngel 40]

8 minutes ago, Becci391 said:

🙈🙈🙈🙈

I might have skipped reading the last part. Sorry.

No that was my bad I quoted the wrong post! sorry 

[geowrian 22,338]

4 minutes ago, ADAngel said:

I don't have to be currently living in the U.S. thankfully, as I only have to prove domicile in the U.S., which I have. Plus I am on a temporary student visa, not a resident visa here in the UK. 

 

Well in the I-129F instructions it says "or" copy of every page of the petitioners passport. That's why I think I might be able to get away with not sending birth certificate I just wanted to see if anyone else had. 

I doubt you have domicile in the US if you are living abroad. While the legal definition can be kinda complicated, the "simple" test for domicile is "where do you lay your head at night more often than anywhere else?". So your current domicile would be in the UK. Establishing sufficient intent for US domicile, as a student, should not be too hard, though. And London isn't overly strict on it AFAIK.

 

Generally, being present on a student visa is sufficient for DCF. I don't know the exact requirements for London, but I've been told they are more lenient than most.

 

Yes, people have sent a copy of their passport to prove their citizenship without issue. Some citizens do not have a US birth certificate (i.e. those born abroad) and never bothered to get a naturalization certificate since a US passport is of more use and works the same to prove citizenship.

 

7 minutes ago, ADAngel said:

There are a few reasons we are doing the K-1 instead of marrying here, but the main one would be that marrying here while on my student visa could put my visa in jeopardy and it's not worth the risks, but thank you for the suggestion.

Gotcha. I'm not familiar with the visa requirements there, but I have heard about needing a marriage visa or something. I'll defer to others here.

If you want to proceed with a K-1 to marry within the US, that is a valid option. He will need to complete AOS after entry, and cannot work or travel abroad for ~4 months after getting married there.

 

7 minutes ago, ADAngel said:

I thought the lease might be great, I just wasn't sure if it was allowed I guess. I'm also including the following:

-screenshots of our WhatsApp phone records

-screenshots of our Skype video call history

-pictures of us together

-witness declarations from my mother and my best friend

-plane ticket receipts

-proof that the website we originally met on is NOT an IMB

-screenshots of Facebook posts back and forth

Yup, it's allowed. Nothing is really prohibited...they just ignore what they don't need.

The witness declarations/affidavits are fine to include, but carry very little to no weight.

 

Frontloading with relationship evidence isn't really needed with the UK, but it's fine to include so the CO can possibly see it before the interview.

 

7 minutes ago, ADAngel said:

Also, what is a good way for me to prove domicile in the U.S.? I could photocopy my UK student visa, as it has the date (January 2019) that I must leave the country. Or could I just write a letter, sign and date it like I have with everything else?

Domicile won't be an issue until the interview. Since you are returning to the US before the interview, then this becomes moot. Doing a K-1 will take ~9-12 months form I-129F filing to interview.

[Jeto 118]

On 1/21/2018 at 12:33 PM, ADAngel said:

There are a few reasons we are doing the K-1 instead of marrying here, but the main one would be that marrying here while on my student visa could put my visa in jeopardy and it's not worth the risks, but thank you for the suggestion.

 

I thought the lease might be great, I just wasn't sure if it was allowed I guess. I'm also including the following:

-screenshots of our WhatsApp phone records

-screenshots of our Skype video call history

-pictures of us together

-witness declarations from my mother and my best friend

-plane ticket receipts

-proof that the website we originally met on is NOT an IMB

-screenshots of Facebook posts back and forth

 

Also, what is a good way for me to prove domicile in the U.S.? I could photocopy my UK student visa, as it has the date (January 2019) that I must leave the country. Or could I just write a letter, sign and date it like I have with everything else?

 

I really appreciate your comment, I'm sure some of my questions seem a bit silly but I'm trying to do this as quickly an accurately as possible as I'd ideally like to be back in the states by October. 

We sent the bare minimum with our application.

 

My partner is the USC and had been living in Australia for 3 years, (1 year with me), she was on a 457 visa. 

 

What we sent:

- The passport photo page of both our passports

- Birth Certificate copy

- Lease agreement

- 1x original copy of 'Intent to marry' within 90 days of entry (written by me the beneficiary & signed by both of us)

- 1x 'How we met' on Tinder statement, (also written by me & signed by both)

- 2x Australian sized passport photos of each of us (they're different sized to US passport photos)

And obviously the 129 & bank cheque.

 

Approved with no RFE and only sending what was asked for in the application.

 

 

 

 

[ADAngel 40]

9 hours ago, Jeto said:

We sent the bare minimum with our application.

 

My partner is the USC and had been living in Australia for 3 years, (1 year with me), she was on a 457 visa. 

 

What we sent:

- The passport photo page of both our passports

- Birth Certificate copy

- Lease agreement

- 1x original copy of 'Intent to marry' within 90 days of entry (written by me the beneficiary & signed by both of us)

- 1x 'How we met' on Tinder statement, (also written by me & signed by both)

- 2x Australian sized passport photos of each of us (they're different sized to US passport photos)

And obviously the 129 & bank cheque.

 

Approved with no RFE and only sending what was asked for in the application.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing that, it makes me feel a lot better about our application!

 

I didn't print out the entirety of the lease, just the pages with the address, all of the practical information, our names, and our signatures and also a page with all of the activity for the lease document (it was originally electronic). Do you think that will be an issue? Our application is already an inch or so thick because I had to print out my passport instead of my birth certificate so I didn't want to bog it down with all of the un-relevant lease bs.

[Jeto 118]

11 minutes ago, ADAngel said:

Thank you for sharing that, it makes me feel a lot better about our application!

 

I didn't print out the entirety of the lease, just the pages with the address, all of the practical information, our names, and our signatures and also a page with all of the activity for the lease document (it was originally electronic). Do you think that will be an issue? Our application is already an inch or so thick because I had to print out my passport instead of my birth certificate so I didn't want to bog it down with all of the un-relevant lease bs.

You're welcome

I forgot to mention, we only sent the front page of our lease agreement as well, I don't think they care about the legal jargon that follows haha.

[ADAngel 40]

Just now, Jeto said:

You're welcome

I forgot to mention, we only sent the front page of our lease agreement as well, I don't think they care about the legal jargon that follows haha.

Okay good  I hate printing stuff at 10 pence a page.