Help - RFE on two year meeting requirement :(

[M&Y_2019 25]

I'm pretty frustrated - I found out a few days ago I was going to receive an RFE and I just received it today. It's a lot worse than I thought it was going to be because it's for the two-year meeting requirement. 

 

"You submitted travel itinerary information and photographs between you and your finance. However, the document you submitted is insufficient to warrant favorable consideration between you and your fiance." It then goes on to ask for evidence that we met in person and gives me until July to respond. 

 

This is especially frustrating because my fiance and I LIVED together overseas for over a year. I moved back to the US two months before submitting the application. The evidence I included for us meeting included the following:

 

1. Photographs of our travels together during the 2-year period.

2. Copies of official Japan-government documents showing that we resided at the same address overseas with certified translations.

3. Copies of our passports showing stamps entering various countries on the same day.

4. My partner's I-94 showing he entered the US the same day as me when we flew in for a trip in 2017 along with the flight tickets. 

5. Travel itineraries (flight tickets, hotel receipts) corresponding to #3 and #4 above. 

 

I can't believe this is all not sufficient to determine that we met -ONCE- in the past two years. I'm wondering at this point if I should take it to lawyer to review my entire application and help me submit the RFE. 

 

I'm really lost with what to do next because I really thought I had submitted way more than enough evidence. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you!!

 

Edited April 21, 2019 by M&Y_2019

[JFH 12,191]

18 minutes ago, M&Y_2019 said:

I'm pretty frustrated - I found out a few days ago I was going to receive an RFE and I just received it today. It's a lot worse than I thought it was going to be because it's for the two-year meeting requirement. 

 

"You submitted travel itinerary information and photographs between you and your finance. However, the document you submitted is insufficient to warrant favorable consideration between you and your fiance." It then goes on to ask for evidence that we met in person and gives me until July to respond. 

 

This is especially frustrating because my fiance and I LIVED together overseas for over a year. I moved back to the US two months before submitting the application. The evidence I included for us meeting included the following:

 

1. Photographs of our travels together during the 2-year period.

2. Copies of official Japan-government documents showing that we resided at the same address overseas with certified translations.

3. Copies of our passports showing stamps entering various countries on the same day.

4. My partner's I-94 showing he entered the US the same day as me when we flew in for a trip in 2017 along with the flight tickets. 

5. Travel itineraries (flight tickets, hotel receipts) corresponding to #3 and #4 above. 

 

I can't believe this is all not sufficient to determine that we met -ONCE- in the past two years. I'm wondering at this point if I should take it to lawyer to review my entire application and help me submit the RFE. 

 

I'm really lost with what to do next because I really thought I had submitted way more than enough evidence. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you!!

 

This is frustrating for you.

 

I can understand they don’t accept the photographs as sufficient evidence as they are not dated. 

 

The documents pertaining to your residency there - are they dated? Is there a lease with both names on that puts you at the same address at the same time? 

 

Do the travel bookings have both both names on the hotel reservations? 

[M&Y_2019 25]

7 minutes ago, JFH said:

This is frustrating for you.

 

I can understand they don’t accept the photographs as sufficient evidence as they are not dated. 

 

The documents pertaining to your residency there - are they dated? Is there a lease with both names on that puts you at the same address at the same time? 

 

Do the travel bookings have both both names on the hotel reservations? 

The documents for my residence are dated. In Japan, everyone (included Japanese citizens) must register their addresses with the local government and then an official certificate of registration is issued. Before leaving we obtained a few copies of ours which show us registered at the same address and the dates we are registered there. 

 

There is a lease as well with both of our names signed and dated. I did not submit because it is an extremely long document entirely in Japanese, and I assumed the official government document would be much more legitimate than a lease. I can submit the lease with the RFE but that said, I'm not sure it will prove to them that we actually "met in person". 

 

For the travel bookings, we have both our names on the flight tickets, but not the hotel receipts - since you just book those for "2 persons". 

Edited April 21, 2019 by M&Y_2019

[QueenieBonds 15]

32 minutes ago, M&Y_2019 said:

I'm pretty frustrated - I found out a few days ago I was going to receive an RFE and I just received it today. It's a lot worse than I thought it was going to be because it's for the two-year meeting requirement. 

 

"You submitted travel itinerary information and photographs between you and your finance. However, the document you submitted is insufficient to warrant favorable consideration between you and your fiance." It then goes on to ask for evidence that we met in person and gives me until July to respond. 

 

This is especially frustrating because my fiance and I LIVED together overseas for over a year. I moved back to the US two months before submitting the application. The evidence I included for us meeting included the following:

 

1. Photographs of our travels together during the 2-year period.

2. Copies of official Japan-government documents showing that we resided at the same address overseas with certified translations.

3. Copies of our passports showing stamps entering various countries on the same day.

4. My partner's I-94 showing he entered the US the same day as me when we flew in for a trip in 2017 along with the flight tickets. 

5. Travel itineraries (flight tickets, hotel receipts) corresponding to #3 and #4 above. 

 

I can't believe this is all not sufficient to determine that we met -ONCE- in the past two years. I'm wondering at this point if I should take it to lawyer to review my entire application and help me submit the RFE. 

 

I'm really lost with what to do next because I really thought I had submitted way more than enough evidence. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you!!

 

I also just got an RFE for the same reason. We also submitted what I felt was a lot of proof that we had been together several times in the two year period. 

 

They asked us for affidavits from people who were with us when we were together within the 2 year period. That could be a direction you go as well. ??? 

[M&Y_2019 25]

23 minutes ago, QueenieBonds said:

I also just got an RFE for the same reason. We also submitted what I felt was a lot of proof that we had been together several times in the two year period. 

 

They asked us for affidavits from people who were with us when we were together within the 2 year period. That could be a direction you go as well. ??? 

They did list the affidavit option as well (although it doesn’t seem to be required, just an option). 

 

That will be difficult for me to provide because we kept our relationship mostly to our selves (same sex and in Japan). 

 

That said, I could get my mother to write about when she met us. The RFE guidelines for affidavits say “sworn by TWO” persons though, which is unclear to me. I guess if I submit one, I need a second person to submit another.

[QueenieBonds 15]

Just now, M&Y_2019 said:

They did list the affidavit option as well (although it doesn’t seem to be required, just an option). 

 

That will be difficult for me to provide because we kept our relationship mostly to our selves (same sex and in Japan). 

 

That said, I could get my mother to write about when she met us. The RFE guidelines for affidavits say “sworn by TWO” persons though, which is unclear to me. I guess if I submit one, I need a second person to submit another.

Ya. Try to find two people. Even the landlord you signed your lease with. And any texts you guys have talking about being with each other and the dates. 

Fingers crossed for you 

[M&Y_2019 25]

I mailed in the RFE with a bunch of new evidence, wish me luck!

• Two notarized, sworn letters - one from each of my parents. One of my parents met the two of us in person, so she swore to us being together on a specific date. The other parent swore to having knowledge of the meeting. 
• An airline was able to issue me signed certificates showing that we both actually boarded the same flight. 
• I got the actual lease that we signed together translated and it shows the date that we signed. (Cost $300 to translate that huge thing...)
• Screenshots of text message conversations we had which show the dates.
• Personal statement describing all of the above.

Honestly, I thought the evidence I submitted with the I-129F was more than enough (see my post above). Especially the passport pages in which we both literally had the same country stamps on the same day (how could that alone not be enough? the RFE made no mention of that). We also entered the US once on the same day (described in the I-129F with I-94 records) which you'd think they'd be able to verify from their end.

 

Regardless, I really hope what I sent with this time is sufficient for them. 

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by M&Y_2019

[M&Y_2019 25]

NOA2 received :). Thanks for the help everyone!

Edited May 24, 2019 by M&Y_2019

[Pitaya 2,577]

1 minute ago, M&Y_2019 said:

NOA2 received :). 

CONGRATULATIONS !!