I’m currently with my partner in her country and leaving in a week. What do I need to do when together, if anything, to start the I-129F?

[MetallicDog142 0]

Background: I (29M USA) met my partner (30F Thailand) back in October 2016. I went to Thailand to work as a teacher. We met on tinder and started as friends and that developed into a relationship. I left Thailand in May 2018 due to health insurance and we went long distance. As a teacher, I can really only visit during summers. In summer 2019, I was taking 2 grad school classes so we couldn’t visit. Our planned trip summer 2020 was canceled due to Covid and again in summer 2021 as delta was raging in Thailand then. Finally I was able to visit this year. We wanted to use this trip to see if we wanted to get married after 4 years of distance and we definitely do now. So we’re doing the k1. I know it’s slower and more inconvenient that the CR1 but we weren’t ready to get legally married after 4 years apart without spending a summer together. Now, we are ready and feel strongly about the relationship. I read the guides and just have a few questions.

 

1. Are there any documents we should get together before I leave for the I-129F? I plan on getting some passport photos of her and do our signed statements of intent to marry. Anything else? And how do I know the appropriate addresses to write on the intent to marry (from the example on the guide)?

 

2. In proving the genuineness of the relationship, we have countless chat logs dating back to 2016. We’ve talked nearly everyday via phone while long distance. We have a few Facebook posts but not a lot as I don’t use Facebook. How exactly do you choose your evidence out of so much? I know Thailand is a country where they might be skeptical of relationships from there. We don’t have concrete wedding plans or an engagement ring yet either. Also concerned with how we met on tinder, but that’s a common way for people in my generation to meet. She’s a working professional and has been gainfully employed throughout. Am I overthinking this part?

 

3. There’s a lot of copies of documents….some parts that I complete and others that she completes. I know there are times where I have to mail documents and vice verse. How simple is this process? Does it get complicated where only originals are accepted and you can’t send things digitally? 

thanks all! Great website and I’m trusting that I won’t need a lawyer for all this. I’m organized so I know I can get it done, just fee a bit overwhelmed

[Mike E 11,739]

1. Signed statements of intent to marry should be recent and ideally dated the day the I-129F is sent. You don’t need original documents. So you optically the beneficiary signs a statement and sends an electronic photo of the statement 
 

2. You need to have photos of the two of you together from your current trip. 
 

3. There are no originals you need from the beneficiary.  Some embassies want an original I-134 from you.  

[EatBulaga 315]

I-129F wants proof of you two having met within 2-years of filing and have a bona fide relationship. Take plenty of photos together, preferably with her family members and friends while you are there. Take plenty of screenshots of videocalls together with your family members as well. Pics with family members are usually the most convincing of genuine relationship. Put together a pics collage with descriptions (who, what, when, where, etc) in chronological order (backwards chronological is okay). Include the pics collage in the I-129F as evidence of the relationship, and take more pics to the K1 interview even though they may not ask for them.

 

Since you met on Tinder, find somewhere on the Tinder's site the IMBRA waiver. If not readily available, then you need to request directly from Tinder. Download and include a copy of it in the I-129F. Some applicants get RFE for the IMBRA waiver.

 

And lastly, be very clear of your partner's criminal background and US travel history so that you can provide documentation. Also, be able to provide the same for yourself. Background checks are a major reason for K1 denials.

 

I-129F is filled out by the US petitioner from the perspective of the petitioner. Start building your proof of financial of support for the I-134. When your case gets approved and is forward to the NVC and then to US consulate/embassy, the UStravelDocs and DS-160 needs to be filled out by the beneficiary. Of course you can help or do them for her but they need to be completed from the beneficiary perspective.

 

Good luck and don't forget to fill out your Timeline!

Edited July 25, 2022 by EatBulaga

[EatBulaga 315]

8 hours ago, MetallicDog142 said:

Anything else? And how do I know the appropriate addresses to write on the intent to marry (from the example on the guide)?

For the addresses, I would put both your US address and her Thailand address on the letter. Bonus point if you can type Thai characters, but handwritten is okay. I believe others had problems typing Thai characters into the I-129F form and used handwriting. But you can check with the Thai regional forums to see how others type special Thai characters to the forms?

 

Also for the I-134, the beneficiary work and assets do not weigh as much as the US citizen's. The beneficiary's assets are a plus but can not be counted on to transfer to the US for financial support. Likewise, the beneficiary work can not be assumed to continue until the EAD is granted.

 

Also, find reliable Thai translator,  notarization, and authentication for stuff like birth certificate, police records, etc. Those will come in handy soon.

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by EatBulaga

[beloved_dingo 1,979]

When we did K-1, we sent a selection of chat logs covering about a 2 year period. I also went through and redacted things that were too personal, embarrassing, or irrelevant. I also included a screenshot from FB where we announced our engagement there, and the comments that included members of both of our families congratulating us. 

 

I don't recall how many photos we sent (I think around a dozen?), but we sent some from each visit we had together and put them in a Word doc with dates, locations, and captions that were easy to print out. So you could include pics from 2018 and from your current trip. 

 

No worries about not having an engagement ring yet or wedding plans. That is pretty common and won't affect anything negatively. 

 

Do NOT refer to each other as a spouse, "hubby", "wifey", "Mrs." or anything that remotely makes it sound like you are already married. If USCIS gets a whiff of anything like that, you can be denied the K-1. Check your chat logs to make sure that none of this kind of language is included. 

[milimelo 4,481]

Not entirely K-1 related, but why not do Utah zoom marriage and start I-130? Cheaper, easier, less hassle than K1/AOS and wife is a LPR from the moment her immigrant visa is activated. Also not bound to sitting in the house for 8 months+ until EAD/AP approved. Can work immediately if so desired. 

[EatBulaga 315]

2 hours ago, milimelo said:

Not entirely K-1 related, but why not do Utah zoom marriage and start I-130? Cheaper, easier, less hassle than K1/AOS and wife is a LPR from the moment her immigrant visa is activated. Also not bound to sitting in the house for 8 months+ until EAD/AP approved. Can work immediately if so desired. 

As to not hijack this thread, you can start a new thread/topic on the Zoom marriage/I-130, and reference related threads. The Utah zoom marriage/I-130 is a fairly recent process that got popular from the covid pandemic. I personally would like to see more reports from actual experiences to compare, and see how USCIS is evolving handling such processes?

[MetallicDog142 0]

16 hours ago, Mike E said:

1. Signed statements of intent to marry should be recent and ideally dated the day the I-129F is sent. You don’t need original documents. So you optically the beneficiary signs a statement and sends an electronic photo of the statement 
 

2. You need to have photos of the two of you together from your current trip. 
 

3. There are no originals you need from the beneficiary.  Some embassies want an original I-134 from you.  

Thank you for the info! For some reason, I thought the Letter of Intent to Marry had to be an original copy signed in pen by the beneficiary. I'm glad an electronic photo will suffice. We have plenty of photos from the current trip, boarding passes, passport stamp, tickets to attractions, hotel receipts, etc. so we are definitely gathering evidence of meeting.

[MetallicDog142 0]

15 hours ago, EatBulaga said:

I-129F wants proof of you two having met within 2-years of filing and have a bona fide relationship. Take plenty of photos together, preferably with her family members and friends while you are there. Take plenty of screenshots of videocalls together with your family members as well. Pics with family members are usually the most convincing of genuine relationship. Put together a pics collage with descriptions (who, what, when, where, etc) in chronological order (backwards chronological is okay). Include the pics collage in the I-129F as evidence of the relationship, and take more pics to the K1 interview even though they may not ask for them.

 

Since you met on Tinder, find somewhere on the Tinder's site the IMBRA waiver. If not readily available, then you need to request directly from Tinder. Download and include a copy of it in the I-129F. Some applicants get RFE for the IMBRA waiver.

 

And lastly, be very clear of your partner's criminal background and US travel history so that you can provide documentation. Also, be able to provide the same for yourself. Background checks are a major reason for K1 denials.

 

I-129F is filled out by the US petitioner from the perspective of the petitioner. Start building your proof of financial of support for the I-134. When your case gets approved and is forward to the NVC and then to US consulate/embassy, the UStravelDocs and DS-160 needs to be filled out by the beneficiary. Of course you can help or do them for her but they need to be completed from the beneficiary perspective.

 

Good luck and don't forget to fill out your Timeline!

Thanks! Unfortunately, we don't have a ton of photos with family and friends, but we will take a couple in our last week. We do have photos from 2016-2018 with family, as I've met her family many times, so hopefully that will help. I don't have screenshots of video calls with my own parents, however.

 

Thanks for that info on Tinder - had no idea about IMBRA, but upon further research, it seems others were able to obtain copies, terms of service agreements, etc. that they sent in case.

 

Fortunately, there is no criminal background for us. My partner has not been to the US. Do we still need to submit background checks at this stage? I don't see that in the guide.

 

I'll build financial support proof as soon as I submit. Luckily I qualify for the income thresholds and my employer is able to offer letters of employment and I have paystubs and everything. I'll contact my banking institutions as well.

 

I definitely plan to continue using the timeline and help others as I learn - this seems like a great resource!

 

[MetallicDog142 0]

11 hours ago, beloved_dingo said:

When we did K-1, we sent a selection of chat logs covering about a 2 year period. I also went through and redacted things that were too personal, embarrassing, or irrelevant. I also included a screenshot from FB where we announced our engagement there, and the comments that included members of both of our families congratulating us. 

 

I don't recall how many photos we sent (I think around a dozen?), but we sent some from each visit we had together and put them in a Word doc with dates, locations, and captions that were easy to print out. So you could include pics from 2018 and from your current trip. 

 

No worries about not having an engagement ring yet or wedding plans. That is pretty common and won't affect anything negatively. 

 

Do NOT refer to each other as a spouse, "hubby", "wifey", "Mrs." or anything that remotely makes it sound like you are already married. If USCIS gets a whiff of anything like that, you can be denied the K-1. Check your chat logs to make sure that none of this kind of language is included. 

 

Thanks for the tips! We will definitely include pictures and chats from our time together and in long-distance. We have plenty of photos dating from 2016-2022. The challenge is picking from all of them hah! I'm really happy to hear no concrete wedding plans or engagement ring is necessary. It's hard to make plans when the timeline is so long and Covid has made things difficult too.

 

And thanks for that final tip - we do not talk as if already married, but we will certainly proofread everything carefully. 

[MetallicDog142 0]

9 hours ago, milimelo said:

Not entirely K-1 related, but why not do Utah zoom marriage and start I-130? Cheaper, easier, less hassle than K1/AOS and wife is a LPR from the moment her immigrant visa is activated. Also not bound to sitting in the house for 8 months+ until EAD/AP approved. Can work immediately if so desired. 

There's a small chance we forgo the K1 and I fly back in December on my Winter Break to get legally married in Thailand and do the CR1, but I'm not sure we want to proceed with a Zoom marriage. I know the CR1 is a lot more convenient and "better" but I think we've accepted that the pandemic truly limited our options and will just go for the K1. Has we been able to see each other over the past 4 years, we would have proceeded with the CR1 route, but we wanted the focus of this trip to spend a few weeks together to really make sure we were ready and wanting to marry. 

[EatBulaga 315]

10 minutes ago, MetallicDog142 said:

Fortunately, there is no criminal background for us. My partner has not been to the US. Do we still need to submit background checks at this stage? I don't see that in the guide.

Police records will be required of the beneficiary for the K1 interview.

But Part3 of the I-129F is the Criminal Information, which states "...even if your records were sealed, cleared...". Many RFEs are about these forgotten minor offenses or juvenile offenses or cleared offenses. And if what you put down does not match USCIS background checks, it could be grounds for denial or further delays while you track down something you might have forgotten. Just a standard warning for all.

 

But do follow the K1 guidelines here and join the discussions as that is how we help each other. Good luck!

[MetallicDog142 0]

2 minutes ago, EatBulaga said:

Police records will be required of the beneficiary for the K1 interview.

But Part3 of the I-129F is the Criminal Information, which states "...even if your records were sealed, cleared...". Many RFEs are about these forgotten minor offenses or juvenile offenses or cleared offenses. And if what you put down does not match USCIS background checks, it could be grounds for denial or further delays while you track down something you might have forgotten. Just a standard warning for all.

 

But do follow the K1 guidelines here and join the discussions as that is how we help each other. Good luck!

Thanks a ton for that info. Doesn't Part 3 state that it's only for the specified crimes of:
(1) a restraining order
(2) domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, child neglect, dating violence, elder abuse, or an attempt to commit any of those crimes 
(3) homicide, murder, manslaughter, rape, abusive sexual contact, sexual exploitation, incest, torture, trafficking, peonage, holding hostage, involuntary servitude, slave trade, kidnapping, abduction, unlawful criminal restraint, false imprisonment, or attempt to commit any of those crimes

(4) 3 or more arrests due to controlled substance or alcohol

 

From my understanding, there is nothing required for traffic offenses, correct? Most I ever had was traffic court once and even that was dismissed (put the wrong registration sticker on a car).

[EatBulaga 315]

9 hours ago, MetallicDog142 said:

From my understanding, there is nothing required for traffic offenses, correct? Most I ever had was traffic court once and even that was dismissed (put the wrong registration sticker on a car).

Yes to the excluding traffic offenses, unless the traffic offenses are alcohol- or drug-related (see 4.a)

 

Part3, Item3 and Item4 can easily be overlooked like 3.a "...acting in self-defense..." or 4.a "...in any country..." or "...$500 or more..."

 

 

In our I-129F that was filed and approved, I went ahead and mentioned in Part8 that I had multiple parking and traffic violations, which were mostly dismissed from defensive driving courses, etc, just to be safe.

Having a "Yes" to any of the criminal information and explaining it in the I-129F is not an automatic denial, but not listing anything and USCIS dig something up and question about it can be a potential denial, or further delay.

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by EatBulaga

[SalishSea 17,837]

22 hours ago, EatBulaga said:

As to not hijack this thread, you can start a new thread/topic on the Zoom marriage/I-130, and reference related threads. The Utah zoom marriage/I-130 is a fairly recent process that got popular from the covid pandemic. I personally would like to see more reports from actual experiences to compare, and see how USCIS is evolving handling such processes?

There are many threads already, you can search for them.