To Lawyer or Not to Lawyer

[PostalDuchess 30]

For the evidence of in person meeting in the past two years, how long should the document for that be? I am trying to provide information for both of our trips and wasn't sure how much to include and how formal the writing should be. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[geowrian 22,337]

10 hours ago, Ela S. said:

Before the virus K-1 was 5-7 months total for most people from filing to getting their visa in hand. In 2019 they sped up processing for K-1s it was the fastest in a long time. Mine was 6 months total because my I-129f took longer to get approved. I know many people who got their NOA2 in under 3 months. Now it takes 6 months to get a NOA2 alone...

"Long time" is relative....

In the month I mailed an I-129F to USCIS, the average timeframe for NOA2 was about 30 days. The visa from end to end was taking ~3-5 months depending on embassy/consulate. This was Q4 2016...not exactly a "long time" IMHO.

Of course, it jumped to 4+ months right afterwards, then 6-7 months then closer to 10 months over the next year.

 

15 minutes ago, PostalDuchess said:

For the evidence of in person meeting in the past two years, how long should the document for that be? I am trying to provide information for both of our trips and wasn't sure how much to include and how formal the writing should be. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

What document are you referring to?

[PostalDuchess 30]

2 minutes ago, geowrian said:

 

What document are you referring to?

I felt the space for "describe the circumstances of your in person meeting" was too small so the guide recommended attaching a separate sheet. So I wrote about a page about the two trips we have had an just wasn't sure how long it should be etc. I attaching photos from that trip and everything as well.

[Ela G. 389]

28 minutes ago, geowrian said:

"Long time" is relative....

In the month I mailed an I-129F to USCIS, the average timeframe for NOA2 was about 30 days. The visa from end to end was taking ~3-5 months depending on embassy/consulate. This was Q4 2016...not exactly a "long time" IMHO.

Of course, it jumped to 4+ months right afterwards, then 6-7 months then closer to 10 months over the next year.

 

What document are you referring to?

Good to know. We’re talking about right before covid-19 happened though not 2016  Also the fast processing times were going on for some time, like 2019-2020 not just one quarter. It was a trend that was there to stay for a significant time if Covid hadn’t happened

[geowrian 22,337]

11 minutes ago, PostalDuchess said:

I felt the space for "describe the circumstances of your in person meeting" was too small so the guide recommended attaching a separate sheet. So I wrote about a page about the two trips we have had an just wasn't sure how long it should be etc. I attaching photos from that trip and everything as well.

Ah. We used the space on the form as an indication of how long of an explanation they were looking for. It was basically "We met in xxxxx from xx/xx to xx/xx in yyyy, then again on...".

The cover letter then listed out the supporting evidence that we did met in person.

No issue using a separate paper to lay it out, but I wouldn't go overboard with writing details. The more you write, the less likely they are to read it IMO. If they can't get what they're looking for in a few glances, they're more likely to RFE for what they want than dig through stuff to find it.

 

Keep in mind USCIS is not looking for a valid relationship here...they are ticking off boxes to ensure eligibility to petition a fiance/fiancee.

The embassy/consulate will evaluate the relationship later. You can provide evidence of this with your petition (aka "front-loading"), but don't confuse it with what the I-129F actually requires (and therefore what USCIS actually will review).

Maybe this is a bit confusing as you did an I-130 before, which does require bona fide marriage evidence. And it was with somebody already in the US and in removal, that piece was critical very early in the process.

 

The main thing is to provide good evidence of meeting in person. Photos are secondary (putting a date to a photo is extremely difficult). Things like passport stamps, boarding passes (if the full date is on them - some lack a year), ATM receipts in their area, hotel receipts, etc., are usually pretty good.

Also, anything that requires showing ID is good IMHO. For instance, we each used a JR Pass in Japan, which are dated and identities verified via our passports by an official. Since they were both validated on the same date, around the same time, by the same official, I think that was pretty convincing that we were physically in the presence of each other.

[PostalDuchess 30]

3 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Ah. We used the space on the form as an indication of how long of an explanation they were looking for. It was basically "We met in xxxxx from xx/xx to xx/xx in yyyy, then again on...".

The cover letter then listed out the supporting evidence that we did met in person.

No issue using a separate paper to lay it out, but I wouldn't go overboard with writing details. The more you write, the less likely they are to read it IMO. If they can't get what they're looking for in a few glances, they're more likely to RFE for what they want than dig through stuff to find it.

 

Keep in mind USCIS is not looking for a valid relationship here...they are ticking off boxes to ensure eligibility to petition a fiance/fiancee.

The embassy/consulate will evaluate the relationship later. You can provide evidence of this with your petition (aka "front-loading"), but don't confuse it with what the I-129F actually requires (and therefore what USCIS actually will review).

Maybe this is a bit confusing as you did an I-130 before, which does require bona fide marriage evidence. And it was with somebody already in the US and in removal, that piece was critical very early in the process.

 

The main thing is to provide good evidence of meeting in person. Photos are secondary (putting a date to a photo is extremely difficult). Things like passport stamps, boarding passes (if the full date is on them - some lack a year), ATM receipts in their area, hotel receipts, etc., are usually pretty good.

Also, anything that requires showing ID is good IMHO. For instance, we each used a JR Pass in Japan, which are dated and identities verified via our passports by an official. Since they were both validated on the same date, around the same time, by the same official, I think that was pretty convincing that we were physically in the presence of each other.

That is extremely helpful information. I was 100% overdoing it and looking at it from a legitimacy point of view.

[PostalDuchess 30]

This past trip when he was here in the US we had dinner with friends and family friends. Would it make sense to have letters drawn up for them to sign?

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,087]

6 hours ago, PostalDuchess said:

For the evidence of in person meeting in the past two years, how long should the document for that be? I am trying to provide information for both of our trips and wasn't sure how much to include and how formal the writing should be. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

The box is indicative of about how much information they want.

 

What I put in there still included unnecessary information, and all I put was a list of bullet points like this

• met online on [site] in [month, year]
• met in [city, country] in [month, year]
• met in [city, country] in [month, year]
• met in [city, country] in [month, year]

 

[PostalDuchess 30]

Ok one last question. On the 129f where it asks about my partners parents I want to make sure I get the right answers in here. He was adopted when he was 6 so he knows nothing about his birth parents. He ended up leaving his adoptive parents at 14 and was with a foster family. These are the people he calls "mom and dad". Who do I put in this section?

 

[Cyn1128 0]

Hi,

 

I used an attorney for my case which made the whole process so much easier for me and my fiancé. Here's the attorney I used for my case. You can find some good information regarding the K-1 visa here: http://www.maxlawinc.com/fiance-visa/