How many times did you see your Fiance before the interview?

[Inveigh 69]

Greetings everyone,

 

Just started the process for my fiance who is from Iran and I only saw her once for a period of half 1/2 (15 days) a month in April and I was wondering if this was enough to get approval from the interview stage? I anticipate seeing her more but everything is up in the air with work right now and flying overseas multiple times. Also I was wondering if the length of time mattered more then the amount of meetups for the interview. Regardless I appreciate the help

Edited May 24, 2022 by Inveigh

[RUJEN 140]

I only saw mine once for 6 weeks and had no problems with her interview. just make sure you have plenty of pictures together and with her family and friends. also have all your receipts from your visit, hopefully with her name on them too if it involves lodging.......

[Mike E 11,739]

During the statutory 2 year period and the period between I-129F NOA1, we met least 10 times. Despite all that evidence in hand including documentation of meeting 6 weeks prior to the interview, the IO had the gall to ask my fiancee when was the last time she saw me. Her answer: "He brought me to the embassy and is waiting outside".

 

You have enough to get I-129F approved, but to get K-1 approved you should continue to meet between now and the interview.

Edited May 24, 2022 by Mike E

[Dashinka 24,494]

Twice for me for several weeks each time. I also was present at the interview, back then, the Moscow consulate allowed the USC inside.

 

Good Luck!

[SalishSea 17,829]

2 hours ago, Inveigh said:

Greetings everyone,

 

Just started the process for my fiance who is from Iran and I only saw her once for a period of half 1/2 (15 days) a month in April and I was wondering if this was enough to get approval from the interview stage? I anticipate seeing her more but everything is up in the air with work right now and flying overseas multiple times. Also I was wondering if the length of time mattered more then the amount of meetups for the interview. Regardless I appreciate the help

You may be in for scrutiny, especially if she is from Iran.

 

We had about 10 trips back and forth over a period of a couple of years before even filing.  Personally, I don't understand how people can be sure about marrying someone they met once for a few days.

[Neonred 3,562]

2 hours ago, Dashinka said:

Twice for me for several weeks each time. I also was present at the interview, back then, the Moscow consulate allowed the USC inside.

 

Good Luck!

6 or 7 times for at least  2 weeks each.  I was also there when she interviewed, but back then they did not allow the USC in.  I was down the street in a cafe because it was too cold to just wait outside.

[powerpuff 6,697]

~~ Topic moved from K1 Progress Reports to Process ~~
 

Between filing and interview, we saw each other once. Additionally, we have been in a relationship for 4 years while I lived in the US previously. After my departure, we met twice for few weeks each before filing. At the interview CO asked me when was the last time I saw my now husband and he was satisfied with my answer. 
 

To answer your question, no, I do not believe that would be enough to safely say “you’re likely to be approved”. I think you should expect scrutiny. In worst case, they won’t believe your relationship is bona fide or “real” in layman’s terms. If you want a smoother sailing, you should definitely see each other more. 

Edited May 25, 2022 by powerpuff

[Kel_H 42]

We met only one time, for six days. Covid hit shortly after that trip, and I had already bought plane tickets to visit again a few months later, which had to be canceled of course. I included the proof of that second purchased trip, and then Algeria had been completely closed and it was impossible for me to go there, so maybe that helped. Good luck.

[Holly&Andreas 38]

13 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

You may be in for scrutiny, especially if she is from Iran.

 

We had about 10 trips back and forth over a period of a couple of years before even filing.  Personally, I don't understand how people can be sure about marrying someone they met once for a few days.

I met my husband online and 6 months later we were engaged after a 12 day trip to Spain (we stayed with his sister.) That being said, we did not get married until 3 years later and me visiting him about every 6 months for 2-3 weeks each time. When we married, I stayed for a month. I suppose every couple works differently, but back when we were first engaged, him immigrating to the US was a consideration, but not a serious one. We knew we had a lot of learning and growing to do as a couple first. Now we've been married for 3 years in July, I lived with him for 18 months in his country and we have a much better idea of how we function as a couple. I just filed the I-130 in April. IMO, time together as a couple is important before making the choice to jump into the immigration process. 

[xxlian 100]

I only saw mine once for less than a week. We had plans to see each other again (I had purchased the plane tickets even), but then Covid happened, and those plans were cancelled. We were approved with no issue, but I was very concerned about it for awhile. It does depend on your embassy.

[Redro 4,611]

18 hours ago, Inveigh said:

Greetings everyone,

 

Just started the process for my fiance who is from Iran and I only saw her once for a period of half 1/2 (15 days) a month in April and I was wondering if this was enough to get approval from the interview stage? I anticipate seeing her more but everything is up in the air with work right now and flying overseas multiple times. Also I was wondering if the length of time mattered more then the amount of meetups for the interview. Regardless I appreciate the help

Think about how many times you would want to see your partner in the time between approval and interview stage. 

If it is 1-4 months maybe one visit is enough. If it is 6-12 months maybe 2-3 visits. 12+ months maybe 4+ ... 

We are speaking approval to interview not initial filing to interview. So, looking at timelines at the moment... K1 processing for 2 years maybe you want to have met at least 4 times... JMO. 

You should be asking people 

1.) How long did it take to interview from initial I-129F filing?

2.) How many times did you meet during that time?

3.) What was the total amount of time spent together? 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,447]

After filing, I saw my wife twice. First time for 2 weeks in Greece and the second time for 2 months living with her in Ukraine.

 

I do know many others were approved with less.

[JoshandSarah 52]

We only saw each other once and on that one trip we saw each other, we filed and got engaged. Don't be too paranoid about this my friend.
Hope this helps! 

[Sarah&Facundo 595]

Every country is different. I flew back and forth about 10-15 times, often staying with him for multiple weeks and sometimes for months. My now-husband also visited me in the US twice for 2 weeks each, once before we filed and once after we filed before his interview. I also flew to him and went to his K1 interview. Note my husband is not from a high fraud country though, so everyone is going to have a different experience. 

[JKLSemicolon 413]

Just to add another data point:

 

For the K-1 petition, I documented a total of 20 separate visits or periods when we were living in the same town, totaling 486 days. At the time of the petition, 7 of those visits (86 days) had been during the previous two years. Between the filing and interview, we had an additional 3 visits totaling 30 days together.

 

Obviously not everyone is going to be spending as much time together but if there is still an opportunity for additional visits before the interview, I would say that first and foremost it's good for the relationship and it certainly can't hurt when it comes to the petition.

 

I documented all of our visits on a table with the following headings, and provided an updated version for the interview:

Quote

Visit #

Start Date

End Date

# of Days

Description

Location(s)

Supporting Documents

Page #

 

The supporting documents included flight itineraries, boarding passes and/or passport stamps, and photos with dates/locations in the captions.

Edited May 25, 2022 by JKLSemicolon