I have been wondering how to fill out the section 18 and 19 on the form 1-129.
I came in contact with my Fiance'e by means of a free personals ad but the website I think clearly caters to international dating.

Then I decided to use the govt's own definition of "Met".
Emails nor phone calls constitute a "Meeting" but only a face to face meeting would meet the general demand (with some exceptions).

So when they ask me if I used the services of a IMB when I met my fiance'e, the answer would be "No" because we met without the help or aid , either paid or free of anyone.
Sure we used the help of a website for the first contact letter but that does not constitute a "meeting", for that months later we did completely on our own.

Here is how I worded my answe to question 18.

{After extensive communication by phone and email I arrived in St Petersburg on 00/00/2007. I met Nxxxxxx Xxxxxxx at the airport and her and I were together until 00/00/2007.

For the K-1 visa, its meeting in person. Either here, the benifcieries country or somewhere else. Just answering the question though is not enough. You will need to provide passport stamps, photos, airline boarding passes, hotel receipts, and other proof that puts the two of you at the same place at the same time.

yeah ...with what dan said.

Danno you are correct and incorrect in the way you have analized the reg's. When they ask about meeting they are wanting to know how you made your first contact not how you had your first face to face meeting. You can used that definition but they won't.

Since it was a free personals site and no money was exchanged for the contact information it is not considered that you met through a MOB agency. Your answer is correct but your analasis is wrong. Had you met through a religious based organization it would also have been exempt even if you had paid.

Having seen your fiance in the last two years technically satisfies the question. But there is anecdotal evidence aplenty in this forum of that answer not being 'quite enough' even prior to IMBRA.

When we were processing two years ago, another member was RFE'd for having simply stated the dates of the first meeting, but not disclosing how she and her fiance first became acquainted. Her RFE reply of having met on the web resolved the situation.

In all instances, IMBRA or no, the question would best be answered as the OP plans with the addition of naming the website.

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Yes, of course I would need to include "proof" of the meeting.
Thanks for your input.

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TG, thanks for your comments.
The site I used was Brides.ru
Guys can place a free profile and she contacted me. I think we would agree Brides.ru might verywell be considered a IMB. In your opinion should I answer "yes" followed by the similar answer/ explination I provided?

Naturally I feel the word "Met" has one definition on one part of the document and might mean something else (acquainted) in the IMB section but I am not out to challange them, I just want the Visa

Yes, I guess the same word can mean different things. When they ask how you met they want to know the sorce of your initial contact. When they ask if you have met within the past two years or how many times you have met they are talking about face to face.

Bride.RU has both free and paid contacts. Since neither of you paid it is not considered a MOB under Imbra.

Danno, You don't want to be playing word games with the USCIS. They can totally screw up your plans and make things really difficult. You can ask lots of people here, it's hard enough going through this process without trying to play games with the government.

So, this kind of begs the question. Is there a reason you don't want IMBRA to be affecting you? I'm not prejudging you, but only suggest that honesty is the best policy here. Both with the government and your fiancee. The process you are entering into is serious and should not be taken lightly.

I agree with you, it is always better to be honest with the USCIS. Not being honest can catch up to you. Remember this, never ever lie and if you do do a really good job of it.

Answering you met through an IMBRA MOB should not be that big a deal. It sounds like since they paid nothing they can honestly say no.

Danno,

You are playing games and may be guilty of misrepresentation by omission if nowhere in your presentation do you mention how you and your fiancee became aware of each others existance. Whether it would be a material misrepresentation I don't know, but somewhere along the line either she or you are likely to be asked how the "extensive communication by phone and email" got started. What will your answer be?

Yodrak

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