Advice for a bewildered Scottish fiance stuck in Covid limbo.

[WestHighlander 64]

1 hour ago, yoda one for me said:

Note that you have to provide evidence of having physically met up in the two years prior to filing, so you may want to get a move on in terms of putting together your paperwork else you'll have to wait until you're able to make another visit. You could try claiming the pandemic as hardship but given that it's going to take a while for processing to catch up you may be best just applying ASAP and dealing with the next steps as they come.

This question probably gets asked a zillion times a day in here, so excuse me if you've heard this one before: When it comes to evidence of having met up within the preceding two years, can I use printed extracts from my Facebook timeline (with photos of trips together, at the airport, etc) showing the dates they were posted? Most of our interaction when we're not together takes place on Facebook, so I'm planning to rely heavily on posts from both our profile pages as evidence of our relationship.

[Crazy Cat 41,837]

1 hour ago, WestHighlander said:

When it comes to evidence of having met up within the preceding two years, can I use printed extracts from my Facebook timeline (with photos of trips together, at the airport, etc) showing the dates they were posted?

Passport stamps, Boarding passes, hotel receipts, etc. are better evidence.

[yoda one for me 322]

1 hour ago, WestHighlander said:

This question probably gets asked a zillion times a day in here, so excuse me if you've heard this one before: When it comes to evidence of having met up within the preceding two years, can I use printed extracts from my Facebook timeline (with photos of trips together, at the airport, etc) showing the dates they were posted? Most of our interaction when we're not together takes place on Facebook, so I'm planning to rely heavily on posts from both our profile pages as evidence of our relationship.

As Lucky Cat says, the best evidence is the 'primary' evidence: passport stamps, boarding passes, hotel receipts. This should be your priority. For a UK beneficiary situation, you don't need to supply chat logs or anything. As I understand this is usually advised to be included for countries where fraud is common and they want to see as much as possible to establish veracity of a relationship. Your evidence at this stage is proving you have physically met, per the i-129f requirements: https://www.uscis.gov/i-129f

 

Quote

If you are petitioning to classify your fiancé(e) as a K-1 nonimmigrant, did you provide the following?

• Evidence you and your fiancé(e) intend to marry within 90 days of their admission into the United States as a K-1 nonimmigrant; and
• Evidence you met your fiancé(e) in-person within two years of you filing your Form I-129F. If you haven’t met within two years, submit evidence that meeting in-person would violate strict and long-established customs of your fiancé(e)’s foreign culture or social practice or would be an extreme hardship on the petitioner.

 

So, in my case, we produced passport & boarding pass evidence and (as additional rather than main evidence) added copies of photos of us taken together during that trip (annotated with date & context). No further evidence was required and my petition was approved, and following the Embassy interview & medical my visa came through without problems.

 

We had been a couple for about 6 months and met a grand total of once before we sent in the i-129f petition, and had subsequent visits before interview time a few months later. Out of an abundance of caution, I took evidence of our relationship (basically more boarding passes, photos together and with family, birthday cards/gift receipts from each other, etc.) to the interview in London but this was never asked for. 

 

In short, don't worry too much about collecting evidence - your focus is the proof of meeting and filling out the forms correctly. 

[WestHighlander 64]

2 hours ago, yoda one for me said:

As Lucky Cat says, the best evidence is the 'primary' evidence: passport stamps, boarding passes, hotel receipts.

Ah. In that case, I think we're going to have to wait until the travel ban is lifted and try for another visit before filing for the K1.. I have a passport stamp showing my last entry to the US at SeaTac in November 2019, but we hadn't really started talking about me moving to the States at that point because the Trump-era public charge law was still in effect and it was impossible for me to gain entry due to my financial circumstances. It's only since the Biden administration changed the law back to what it used to be prior to 2019 that we've realised we can do it now. As a result, I didn't keep any boarding passes, so I think I'll have to fit in another visit as soon as the ban is lifted with a view to collecting as much primary evidence as possible before we petition the embassy.

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

3 hours ago, WestHighlander said:

I have a passport stamp showing my last entry to the US at SeaTac in November 2019, but we hadn't really started talking about me moving to the States at that point because the Trump-era public charge law was still in effect and it was impossible for me to gain entry due to my financial circumstances.

How do you have an entry stamp if it was impossible for you to gain entry? 

And if you weren't able to enter the US, where did you see your fiancee last time and where did you get engaged? 

[WestHighlander 64]

51 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

How do you have an entry stamp if it was impossible for you to gain entry? 

And if you weren't able to enter the US, where did you see your fiancee last time and where did you get engaged? 

Small misunderstanding there! What I meant that it was impossible for me to gain permanent entry as a fiancee under the Trump-era immigration laws. I was still able to visit on an ESTA, which is what I entered on last time I visited (November 2019). We got engaged at her home in Kennewick, WA on Christmas Eve 2019.

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

39 minutes ago, WestHighlander said:

Small misunderstanding there! What I meant that it was impossible for me to gain permanent entry as a fiancee under the Trump-era immigration laws. I was still able to visit on an ESTA, which is what I entered on last time I visited (November 2019). We got engaged at her home in Kennewick, WA on Christmas Eve 2019.

The content I bolded confused me even more. 😆 

 

In any case, as you've been advised already, you can file now, including evidence of your last meeting -and any previous meetings-: passport stamps from both of you, boarding passes, hotel bookings and 1 or 2 pictures should be more than enough. You could add the FB posts, but I personally find that unnecessary. 

 

Except for certain countries/cases, a K1 does not require lots of evidence.

[SalishSea 17,819]

On 5/20/2021 at 11:23 AM, WestHighlander said:

By the time that rolls around, I should still have a few thousand in the bank to keep me going until I'm issued with a Green Card in the US.

A few thousand does not go far here in Washington.  It may take >8 months before you are allowed to work, so your fiance will need to be prepared to support you during that time.

[SalishSea 17,819]

1 hour ago, WestHighlander said:

Small misunderstanding there! What I meant that it was impossible for me to gain permanent entry as a fiancee under the Trump-era immigration laws. I was still able to visit on an ESTA, which is what I entered on last time I visited (November 2019). We got engaged at her home in Kennewick, WA on Christmas Eve 2019.

Huh?  Not sure what you're referring to, but no immigration laws have changed.

[WestHighlander 64]

21 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Huh?  Not sure what you're referring to, but no immigration laws have changed.

The Trump administration introduced a draconian Public Charge clause in November 2019 which required all visa applicants to submit proof of income, savings and all assets. It was no longer enough for the petitioner to sign an affadavit of support, and I didn't have anything like enough cash assets or savings to qualify for residency, so we had to abandon any plans for me to join my fiancee in the States. Fortunately, one of the Biden administrations first acts was to strike down the Trump Public Charge clause and change the law back to what it was prior to that.

[SalishSea 17,819]

10 hours ago, WestHighlander said:

The Trump administration introduced a draconian Public Charge clause in November 2019 which required all visa applicants to submit proof of income, savings and all assets. It was no longer enough for the petitioner to sign an affadavit of support, and I didn't have anything like enough cash assets or savings to qualify for residency, so we had to abandon any plans for me to join my fiancee in the States. Fortunately, one of the Biden administrations first acts was to strike down the Trump Public Charge clause and change the law back to what it was prior to that.

Again, there was no law that changed.  The Public Charge inadmissibility was there, and continues to be there.  The I-944 form is just no longer required.   There were never any cash asset requirements per the form that you would have had to have met to receive a K-1 visa.  

[WestHighlander 64]

OK, just to explain my situation here in the UK.. Seven years ago, I was diagnosed with a degenerative liver condition and made homeless by a former employer at the same time. I was extremely ill for about nine months, but, luckily, my liver stabilised, I managed to get a house through the local council, and I've been in otherwise perfect health since then. I've even recovered to the point that I've been able to work part-time (16 hours per week, as per the Department of Work & Pensions rules). About 50% of my income comes from my part-time job, and the other 50% is paid by the DWP because of my health condition. Obviously, I'll be signing off all benefits when I move to Washington and give up my house. My fiancee had a consultation with an immigration lawyer in the US a few weeks ago, and they assured her that none of that would be an issue provided she signs an affadavit of support, so hopefully that turns out to be correct.

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

38 minutes ago, WestHighlander said:

OK, just to explain my situation here in the UK.. Seven years ago, I was diagnosed with a degenerative liver condition and made homeless by a former employer at the same time. I was extremely ill for about nine months, but, luckily, my liver stabilised, I managed to get a house through the local council, and I've been in otherwise perfect health since then. I've even recovered to the point that I've been able to work part-time (16 hours per week, as per the Department of Work & Pensions rules). About 50% of my income comes from my part-time job, and the other 50% is paid by the DWP because of my health condition. Obviously, I'll be signing off all benefits when I move to Washington and give up my house. My fiancee had a consultation with an immigration lawyer in the US a few weeks ago, and they assured her that none of that would be an issue provided she signs an affadavit of support, so hopefully that turns out to be correct.

If she fulfills the income requirements, there will be no issue. 

As the beneficiary, your financial status is not an obstacle for immigration.

Sorry you had to go through bad times and glad you're recovering.