For the I-129F, is a Delaration of How We Met required?

[SebastianOs 14]

I recently read an article on lovevisalife.com about a document called "Declaration of How We Met" and how it is suppose to be submitted with the I-129F Fiance Visa Petition.  They said it's "mandatory to submit a Declaration of How We Met when you file a Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiance. "  Here is the link: http://www.lovevisalife.com/2017/04/declaration-how-we-met-example/

 

In all my research, I have NEVER come across this potential "requirement" until now.  It DOESN'T show the on VisaJourney petition guide here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide#proof

 

So, what is this document? Is it required?  If so, why does NO ONE talk about it?

Thanks.

Edited March 26, 2018 by SebastianOs

[payxibka 10,045]

Nonsense.  The statement is the "intent to marry" is mandatory .  You can read the instructions to the I-129F yourself and you will see.   The statement on how we met can be a simple sentence or two.  I know.  That is all I wrote

 

 

Edited March 26, 2018 by payxibka

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

No where in the form nor in the instructions of the I-129F does it say that this is mandatory. There's a short question in the form itself but a once sentence answer is all that's needed.

That being said, I know a lot of people do send in a small writing on how they met. We did that too and it is part of our supportive evidence folder. I used it to tie together several other pieces of evidence to make the story more clear and comprehensible.

[SebastianOs 14]

Hi Vixen! Where is this "short question in the form itself" you are referring to?   Also, did you and your fiance have to both sign it?

Edited March 26, 2018 by SebastianOs

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

8 minutes ago, SebastianOs said:

Hi Vixen! Where is this "short question in the form itself" you are referring to?

Oh dear I need to look that up. There was a question on how we met in there somewhere. Give me a second ok?

 

Edit: On page 8, question 53 is asks if you and your fiancé met in person before filing, question 54 asks you to explain the circumstances of that meeting. So yeah its not exactly the 'how you met' question. But It kinda is.

Edited March 26, 2018 by Little_Vixen

[payxibka 10,045]

Part 2, Q54

[SebastianOs 14]

Part 2, Q54 is referring specifically to how we met in person, but not how we met for the first time (via online).  I'm guessing you weren't talking about meeting for the first time online.  Also, for this "how we met" document you sent, did you and your fiance sign it?

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

Payxibka beat me to it, lol

I canlt remember if we both signed it. I think only my fiancé signed it as he is the petitioner.

[jakejon 1,197]

Hey, I got this from the USCIS website. We never included a statement. We paid a lawyer to fill ours out. We did include though flight itineraries, passport stamps, hotel receipts, ring receipts (already, ha!), letters of intent to marry and within 90 days and some very special photos. 

 

I always assumed that ‘how did you meet’ would be for embassy stage as at the point they want to see 2 things: (1) show the evidence you have met within two years of filing this petition and (2) have a letter that you intend to marry and obviously within the 90 days of the beneficiary entering the states. So for that Q54 we put please see exhibits attached and attached a few pieces of solid info. 

 

Edited March 26, 2018 by jakejon

[Dashinka 24,514]

We both added a brief narrative of our relationship story in our intent to marry statement.  As already stated, the I129F does not require a statement of how you met (overall relationship) just how you met in person to qualify for filing the form.

 

Good Luck!

[geowrian 22,337]

There's a bit of misunderstanding in your post, OP. There's a few requirements for the I-129F, but there are 3 main ones being covered here:

1. Evidence of intent to marry within 90 days of entry on the K-1 visa. This is where the signed letters of intents come into play to address this requirement.
2. Having met at least once within the past 2 years. This should be answered on the I-129F, as well as providing evidence supporting this (passport stamps, boarding passes, receipts, etc.).
3. Having not met through an IMB (or having provided appropriate documentation if you did). This is where - sometimes - it's beneficial to provide information on how you initial contacted each other along with evidence that it was not through an IMB. For instance, if you met through a typical dating website, you could provide a statement plus the website's TOS and such (showing that it's not an IMB). It's not a requirement to do this...in general, you don't want to provide evidence that causes them to ask more questions. At the same time, I have seen people get an RFE requesting evidence that they did not meet through an IMB.

[kris&me 572]

may not be required but most people here include a short summary of how they were originally introduced and first meeting in person

as you do not want an RFE to prove this wasn't an IMB 

[Nevad@ 26]

It is NOT required but we submitted one, mostly as an addition to the question asking about meeting in person in the last 2 years. I did not write anything about how much we love each and other sweet high school type of stuff but just facts, dates and circumstances of how we met first, and chronology of our in person meetings for the past 2 years (we have traveled together a bunch). Ours was barely a full page. I think it helps, would not hurt to add one without too many details about romantic feelings... imo

[Chris Duffy 1,257]

I always filled in the blanks provided by the I-129F form, and never had to use a supplemental page, always got approved by USCIS.