Form i129F General Questions

[clintwestwood 10]

Hi all,

 

I am new here. My fiance and I are just about ready to mail in our i129F and our supporting documents, but we have several questions regarding the I-129F form. I know this is a long read but I think many of these questions must be common?

 

I'm deathly afraid I'm going to format something incorrectly and be rejected (i.e., confusing foreign address, misunderstanding about my previous workplace, etc.).

 

In general, I am curious how “exact” formatting of addresses and such needs to be. Obviously one must be as detailed and exact as possible, but occasionally there are discrepancies in address formats, or arbitrary decisions of where to put something as trivial as “Building number” (foreign addresses can be confusing).

 

I imagine human beings will be processing these documents, so there must be some degree of thoughtful consideration given by the employees processing these documents, but I am not sure how much.

 

Here are some of my questions. Unfortunately, I will need all of these questions answered before I will feel comfortable sending in the i-129F.

 

Are these valid concerns or am I being paranoid?

 

1. I’ve filled out the entire form in caps lock. Is this ok?

 

2. When there is not much space in an address box, can you type two lines of smaller text to fit it in, as long as it’s easily legible?

 

3. Here's a head-scratcher: My previous job was for a software agency. My business cards had their logo on it, my LinkedIn profile lists them as my employer, I listed them on my CV/resume, and I generally considered myself their employee. However, I billed them through a second “middleman” type of company, which actually transferred my paycheck each month. This second company provided me with my work permit and kept a percentage of my salary. For legal and tax purposes, I was actually the employee of the second company, while the first company was technically my client. Which company should I put on my resume? If I put the first company, I fear it won’t carry legal weight, but if I put the second company, then it won’t match with my LinkedIn profile and my CV/resume. Could this sort of issue screw up an application or is it not a huge deal? Should I try to enter the company that was on my tax return?

 

4. For past countries lived in since 18th birthday, does it matter what order I put them in? I.e. in chronological order, starting with most recent, or in chronological orderstarting with earliest?

 

5. For one or two of my previous addresses, I cannot remember the exact day I started/ended the lease. I can remember the month, and even the week, but I don’t have the lease agreement. In one case, I do have the lease agreement, but I put in my 1-month notice of vacation via text message and I don’t remember the exact day I moved out. Is it ok to put my best guess, knowing it is at least the correct month, and probably within a few days’ accuracy? How picky is the USCIS about something like this?

 

6. One of the places I lived was 34 1/2 Lincoln street (using fake street name for privacy, but it did have 1/2 in the name). When I was signing up for cable internet, the company was unable to locate 34 1/2 Lincoln street in their database (although 34 Lincoln St. was not a problem), and it also does not show up on Google maps. If I put 34 1/2 Lincoln St. and USCIS can’t find it in their system, what happens? Should I just put 34 Lincoln St. instead?

 

7. I lived in my fiance’s country for many years. On some previous address sections, the space given for the address is insufficient (not enough lines). In this case, should I leave it blank and just put a note saying, “See Page 13” or “See Attached” or even “See Section 8, 4.a-d” and then put the whole address on page 13? I thought this might be a nice, considerate solution, but not sure.. I also thought of putting as much of the address as I can fit into these sections, and then putting the full address on page 13. But if I do this, I fear the USCIS employee might just use the first, incomplete address I provide.

 

8. For Part 8 (Additional Information), is it acceptable to put a range of item numbers in the “ItemNumber” box? For example, when listing a past employer, I listed Page Number 2, Part Numer 1, Item Number 17, 18, 19 so that I could include the Employer name, address, and my position in that same box.

 

9. Also regarding Part 8, is it necessary that the data in the boxes follows the order of the rest of the form?  There were a few cases where I realized I needed extra space on something earlier in the form, so I had to fill out a box in Part 8 that was actually after a number of other boxes, so it kind of jumps around (although you can easily associate each box with the part of the form it references based on the Page Number, Part Number, Item Number indexing).

 

 

Thank you SO MUCH for reading this far! I hope I can quickly make any necessary adjustments to my I-129F after receiving some responses to this, and soon my fiance and I can be on our journey!

 

 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

35 minutes ago, clintwestwood said:

Hi all,

 

I am new here. My fiance and I are just about ready to mail in our i129F and our supporting documents, but we have several questions regarding the I-129F form. I know this is a long read but I think many of these questions must be common?

 

I'm deathly afraid I'm going to format something incorrectly and be rejected (i.e., confusing foreign address, misunderstanding about my previous workplace, etc.).

 

In general, I am curious how “exact” formatting of addresses and such needs to be. Obviously one must be as detailed and exact as possible, but occasionally there are discrepancies in address formats, or arbitrary decisions of where to put something as trivial as “Building number” (foreign addresses can be confusing).

 

I imagine human beings will be processing these documents, so there must be some degree of thoughtful consideration given by the employees processing these documents, but I am not sure how much......

1. Caps are fine but the normal manner is to use sentence format. SF is easier to read then all caps.

2. Yes, or use Part 8 and tie back to the address. If you use all the Part 8 entries, use a piece of bond paper, and continue your entries using the same format. I would just make a copy of Part 8 and attach as an addendum. 

3. Put down the employer. Don't worry about external factors such as LinkedIn. If they want more information, they will issue an RFE.

4. Either way is fine to list them. I'm sure the IO will figure it out.

5. Month and year are fine.

6. Put the exact address. So, if that is 1/2 st then enter it as that.

7.  “See Section 8, 4.a-d” and then put the whole address on page 13

8. Yes

9. No

 

You are overthinking this form. Complete it literally and not what you think they want. You'll be the better for it.

 

Good luck and stay engaged. 

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

1. IF I’m not mistaken it doesn’t SAY to fill it out in caps lock so no, I wouldn’t do that.

 

2. Not enough space- print it out and hand write what is missing.

 

3. Here's a head-scratcher: Are you saying you were employed by a staffing agency? If so the staffing agency is your employer. You are overthinking. 

 

4. Does it specify? If not, do it in chronological order either earliest or most recent.

 

5. I would pick the start of the month if you can’t remember. Ex. June 1.

 

6.  Keep it simple. What address did you mail arrive at? Use that one.

 

7. Type and write out what doesn’t fit .

 

 

you can always write “See Addendum” and have a separate page labeled Addendum and for each question you need more room number it and out answer. Ex, 4a. Or 20. You will notice when you type normal (not all caps) more words will fit as well.

[Corey Novak 5]

2 hours ago, clintwestwood said:

Hi all,

 

I am new here. My fiance and I are just about ready to mail in our i129F and our supporting documents, but we have several questions regarding the I-129F form. I know this is a long read but I think many of these questions must be common?

 

I'm deathly afraid I'm going to format something incorrectly and be rejected (i.e., confusing foreign address, misunderstanding about my previous workplace, etc.).

 

In general, I am curious how “exact” formatting of addresses and such needs to be. Obviously one must be as detailed and exact as possible, but occasionally there are discrepancies in address formats, or arbitrary decisions of where to put something as trivial as “Building number” (foreign addresses can be confusing).

 

I imagine human beings will be processing these documents, so there must be some degree of thoughtful consideration given by the employees processing these documents, but I am not sure how much.

 

Here are some of my questions. Unfortunately, I will need all of these questions answered before I will feel comfortable sending in the i-129F.

 

Are these valid concerns or am I being paranoid?

 

1. I’ve filled out the entire form in caps lock. Is this ok?

 

2. When there is not much space in an address box, can you type two lines of smaller text to fit it in, as long as it’s easily legible?

 

3. Here's a head-scratcher: My previous job was for a software agency. My business cards had their logo on it, my LinkedIn profile lists them as my employer, I listed them on my CV/resume, and I generally considered myself their employee. However, I billed them through a second “middleman” type of company, which actually transferred my paycheck each month. This second company provided me with my work permit and kept a percentage of my salary. For legal and tax purposes, I was actually the employee of the second company, while the first company was technically my client. Which company should I put on my resume? If I put the first company, I fear it won’t carry legal weight, but if I put the second company, then it won’t match with my LinkedIn profile and my CV/resume. Could this sort of issue screw up an application or is it not a huge deal? Should I try to enter the company that was on my tax return?

 

4. For past countries lived in since 18th birthday, does it matter what order I put them in? I.e. in chronological order, starting with most recent, or in chronological orderstarting with earliest?

 

5. For one or two of my previous addresses, I cannot remember the exact day I started/ended the lease. I can remember the month, and even the week, but I don’t have the lease agreement. In one case, I do have the lease agreement, but I put in my 1-month notice of vacation via text message and I don’t remember the exact day I moved out. Is it ok to put my best guess, knowing it is at least the correct month, and probably within a few days’ accuracy? How picky is the USCIS about something like this?

 

6. One of the places I lived was 34 1/2 Lincoln street (using fake street name for privacy, but it did have 1/2 in the name). When I was signing up for cable internet, the company was unable to locate 34 1/2 Lincoln street in their database (although 34 Lincoln St. was not a problem), and it also does not show up on Google maps. If I put 34 1/2 Lincoln St. and USCIS can’t find it in their system, what happens? Should I just put 34 Lincoln St. instead?

 

7. I lived in my fiance’s country for many years. On some previous address sections, the space given for the address is insufficient (not enough lines). In this case, should I leave it blank and just put a note saying, “See Page 13” or “See Attached” or even “See Section 8, 4.a-d” and then put the whole address on page 13? I thought this might be a nice, considerate solution, but not sure.. I also thought of putting as much of the address as I can fit into these sections, and then putting the full address on page 13. But if I do this, I fear the USCIS employee might just use the first, incomplete address I provide.

 

8. For Part 8 (Additional Information), is it acceptable to put a range of item numbers in the “ItemNumber” box? For example, when listing a past employer, I listed Page Number 2, Part Numer 1, Item Number 17, 18, 19 so that I could include the Employer name, address, and my position in that same box.

 

9. Also regarding Part 8, is it necessary that the data in the boxes follows the order of the rest of the form?  There were a few cases where I realized I needed extra space on something earlier in the form, so I had to fill out a box in Part 8 that was actually after a number of other boxes, so it kind of jumps around (although you can easily associate each box with the part of the form it references based on the Page Number, Part Number, Item Number indexing).

 

 

Thank you SO MUCH for reading this far! I hope I can quickly make any necessary adjustments to my I-129F after receiving some responses to this, and soon my fiance and I can be on our journey!

 

 

I filled mine out in all Caps and I got approved so I don’t think it matters to much. Also, I’m pretty sure that in the instructions on the government website or one website I used said you should fill it out in all caps so you’re fine. Also, for additional information... I put one section the rest of my fiancé’s address and I also typed out the description of relationship part in word and attached it to the I-129f. For your question number 8, I don’t think it matters to much as long as it’s there. I’m pretty sure I didn’t put my stuff in order. Good Luck 👍🏻

[clintwestwood 10]

On 6/12/2020 at 11:17 AM, Greenbaum said:

...

 

Good luck and stay engaged. 

Thanks Greenbaum and also the others who replied.

I'm impressed with how helpful everyone here is. I feel much better about submitting the i129-F now. My fiance and I are almost done with the form.

 

One question remains: for former employers who have moved their offices, would it be more appropriate to put their current address, or the address during the period when I was working for them?

[SalishSea 18,102]

On 6/12/2020 at 7:31 AM, clintwestwood said:

This second company provided me with my work permit and kept a percentage of my salary.

Why did you need a work permit?  Are you not a US citizen?

[clintwestwood 10]

9 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Why did you need a work permit?  Are you not a US citizen?

As I mentioned previously, I lived in my fiance's country (Thailand) for many years. I spent a couple of those years working for a Thai employer. I am a US citizen.

Edited June 20, 2020 by clintwestwood

[Fr8dog 312]

1 hour ago, clintwestwood said:

One question remains: for former employers who have moved their offices, would it be more appropriate to put their current address, or the address during the period when I was working for them?

Either one will be fine. I seriously doubt they even research them that deeply and I'm sure you are not going to be denied because of that.

 

On 6/12/2020 at 11:17 AM, Greenbaum said:

You are overthinking this form. Complete it literally and not what you think they want. You'll be the better for it.

This right here is the best piece of advise you will get during this journey. Read the form, read the instructions answer the question.

 

I like to add that unless it comes from the USCIS website, it is an assumption. USCIS guidelines and instructions trump everything

 

[clintwestwood 10]

Thank you @Fr8dog.

 

I'm almost there, I think my fiance and I will be finished tonight. Just another question to add:

I have seen it recommended to submit I-129F supplement, Part 2, 53-54, "Evidence of Meeting in person" AS WELL as "Proof of having met in person in the past two years"? Aren't these two documents basically the same thing? Can they be joined into one?

Also, I plan to reference this document in Part 2.54, rather than include the info on the extra blank page of the i129-F form. I assume that should be accepted no problem?

[clintwestwood 10]

[deleted]

Edited June 28, 2020 by clintwestwood
found my answer

[powerpuff 6,747]

10 hours ago, clintwestwood said:

Thank you @Fr8dog.

 

I'm almost there, I think my fiance and I will be finished tonight. Just another question to add:

I have seen it recommended to submit I-129F supplement, Part 2, 53-54, "Evidence of Meeting in person" AS WELL as "Proof of having met in person in the past two years"? Aren't these two documents basically the same thing? Can they be joined into one?

Also, I plan to reference this document in Part 2.54, rather than include the info on the extra blank page of the i129-F form. I assume that should be accepted no problem?

Yeah that is basically the same document. We just opened a Word document and put a title "Evidence of meeting in the last 2 years" and put all the evidence in and printed it out.

 

In question 54 part 2, we just briefly stated how and when we met and we didn't reference the document as its already listed in the cover letter (also we didn't really have the space to reference it). But i'm sure you could reference it, it wouldn't hurt I believe.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

On 6/20/2020 at 12:08 PM, clintwestwood said:

Thanks Greenbaum and also the others who replied.

I'm impressed with how helpful everyone here is. I feel much better about submitting the i129-F now. My fiance and I are almost done with the form.

 

One question remains: for former employers who have moved their offices, would it be more appropriate to put their current address, or the address during the period when I was working for them?

Current address in the event that USCIS or any other governmental agency will need for background checks. Think literally, not what you think they want.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

14 hours ago, clintwestwood said:

Thank you @Fr8dog.

 

I'm almost there, I think my fiancé and I will be finished tonight. Just another question to add:

I have seen it recommended to submit I-129F supplement, Part 2, 53-54, "Evidence of Meeting in person" AS WELL as "Proof of having met in person in the past two years"? Aren't these two documents basically the same thing? Can they be joined into one?

Also, I plan to reference this document in Part 2.54, rather than include the info on the extra blank page of the i129-F form. I assume that should be accepted no problem?

Begin to describe your meeting in P2, 54 with a caveat to see additional pages with additional information. Include hotel receipts, plane tickets and any other evidence that can put you two in each other presence during the two year prior to the submittal of your application. 

 

Use the checklist from https://www.uscis.gov/i-129f. It's listed toward the bottom of the page. 

[clintwestwood 10]

Ok, got everything compiled into PDF. My contents will go out tomorrow or Friday:
 

- $535 payment
- i129F form (PDF)
- Evidence of Meeting in Person: Photos (PDF)

- Evidence of Meeting in Person: Scanned Documents (25 pages of Hotel receipts, boarding passes, passport stamps) (PDF)
- Evidence of Ongoing Relationship: Screenshots of Chat conversations (PDF)
- Passport photo (her)
- Passport photo (me)

- Letter of intent to marry (her)

- Letter of intent to marry (me)

- Birth certificate (me)

FINAL question... It just struck me to ask this... Right now I'm staying with roommates near my office to save money, but when my fiancé arrives, she and I will get a place of our own once. We obviously can't predict what our address will be. I have been using my parents' address for mailing address, is this ok to put as the address she will be staying at?

 

Thx in advance

Edited July 2, 2020 by clintwestwood

[Greenbaum 12,259]

4 hours ago, clintwestwood said:

Ok, got everything compiled into PDF. My contents will go out tomorrow or Friday:
 

- $535 payment
- i129F form (PDF)
- Evidence of Meeting in Person: Photos (PDF)

- Evidence of Meeting in Person: Scanned Documents (25 pages of Hotel receipts, boarding passes, passport stamps) (PDF)
- Evidence of Ongoing Relationship: Screenshots of Chat conversations (PDF)
- Passport photo (her)
- Passport photo (me)

- Letter of intent to marry (her)

- Letter of intent to marry (me)

- Birth certificate (me)

FINAL question... It just struck me to ask this... Right now I'm staying with roommates near my office to save money, but when my fiancé arrives, she and I will get a place of our own once. We obviously can't predict what our address will be. I have been using my parents' address for mailing address, is this ok to put as the address she will be staying at?

 

Thx in advance

Yes, using your parent address is fine.