proof of having met in person in the past two years for K1 visa application?

[CalochortusLuteus 0]

Hello,

My fiance and I have decided to live in the United States together and would like to make sure that we have everything that is required to apply for the K1 visa. I haven't left him yet to go back to the United States and start the K1 visa application, I am still here with him in Canada. Before I leave I would like to ask some questions regarding gathering enough/correct documentary proof of having met in person in the past two years.

I do not have my itinerary or boarding passes from when I came to Canada anymore and my passport was not stamped either. I was wondering if anyone knew if I should ask the airline I took to Canada if they could send me some form of proof that I traveled here on the date that I did, like maybe a copy of the itinerary from then or a receipt or something. Has anyone ever been able to get anything like that? Would that even really matter since I will have and keep an itinerary and boarding passes when I leave here to return to the United States, would that be enough?

As for pictures of my fiance and I together, we don't have any yet but we will be taking some soon and I was wondering, even though in most of what I have read people are saying that pictures are only secondary evidence of having met in the past two years, if I would be able to make it primary evidence by taking a picture of us with a local newspaper, showing the date? Would it be considered primary evidence only if it the picture was taken with a disposable camera with regular film as opposed to being taken with a digital camera since a digital photo can be edited while a disposable camera with regular film could only be developed in a store and is not able to be edited? This also leads me to ask if it even matters because people can get digital prints and can you even tell the difference between regular film photo prints and digital photo prints? Is there a way to prove photos are from one camera or the other or that the prints were made directly from the memory card from the digital camera? We were also thinking of taking pictures in front of landmarks here in Canada, as well, would this be a good idea and help as primary evidence or even at all? I ask about using a digital or a regular film camera because I have ordered a digital camera and figure that the photos will be better quality than with a disposable camera, especially with showing the date on a local newspaper, I am still willing to use a regular disposable camera with film if it would make the photos primary evidence and if digital photos would never be considered primary evidence.

I also have bank account statements/transaction history (mailed paper ones and transaction history on the internet where I can sign in to my account-which would be better to send in, actual mailed paper ones right from the bank instead of the printed out transaction history from the internet?) that include withdrawals I have made in Canada since I arrived here as well as for when I bought the plane tickets to come here. There are also deposits made in the United States between the withdrawals made here because my father had deposited money into my account from the United States, would this cause confusion and make sending my statements as primary evidence pointless? My father still has the receipts for the deposits with his signature on them though, would that help to prove that it was him in the states making the deposits and not me? Would that even matter as primary evidence of having met in the past two years? If not, would it still help for using it as proof of relationship as being able to prove that I was with my fiance for that whole time of making withdrawals considering I could prove that the deposits were made by my father and not me? I do not have any of the withdrawal receipts from the ATM's here in Canada anymore, would that matter, would the statements and my father's signed deposit receipts be enough?

I also have cell phone records of me making calls to the United States when I was here in Canada, would that be primary evidence of having met in the past two years as well?

Would written and signed letters (including dates we met and then the date when I will leave to go to the United States) from my parents and my fiance's mother (who we live with now), saying that we have been living together here in Canada, be primary evidence of having met in the past two years or would that be better for just the proof of relationship?

Am I missing any other ideas in regards to gathering proof of having met in the past two years? Would these ideas be enough? Thank you so much for your time!

[KarenCee 3]

When you do leave Canada, couldn't you keep the boarding passes from the trip? I'm surprised your passport hasn't been stamped at some point as this would corroborate your visit. Pictures are secondary evidence for proof of ongoing relationship as well and won't be needed til the interview stage. Right now you would only be proving that you've met in the last two years. Keeping those boarding passes when you DO go home would be your proof since they have dates. Here is what is stated in the Guides section at the top of this website. It does mention photos but for the most part, as I stated earlie r (and other will tell you the same thing), it is secondary: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...e=k1guide#proof

1. Copies of all airline boarding passes, train passes, itineraries, hotel receipts, passport stamps (make sure you can read the dates on the stamps), and other documentary evidence that you have met within the last two years. You may want to highlight or place post-it notes indicating the dates and locations on the copies (to make the adjudication easier) for the person reviewing your file.

2. Color Photo's of you and your fiance(e) together. Make sure you write your names, date, and location on the back of every photo. Provide two to five photo's. If you only have a single copy of the photo, then make a color copy and send that. If it is a digital photo, have it printed at a company such as kodakgallery.com. You can also make duplicates of photo's at your local photo store (Walgreeens, CVS, etc). Place photo's in a plastic bag or photo sheet and label the sheet. Note that you may not receive originals of photo's back.

3. The following items will not typically show proof of having met in the last two years however will show proof of an ongoing relationship: Copies of phone bills, cell phone bills, emails (you can edit personal info with a marker), letters (edit personal info also), stamps on the letters (to document the date they were sent), and other written documentary proof. Provide a reasonable amount; two to four of each type. Pick a range of dates up to and including the present. You can also include a copy of engagement ring receipt (this is something that is a big optional - do not worry if you do not have a ring yet!)

Edited July 3, 2008 by KarenCee

[CalochortusLuteus 0]

When you do leave Canada, couldn't you keep the boarding passes from the trip? I'm surprised your passport hasn't been stamped at some point as this would corroborate your visit. Pictures are secondary evidence for proof of ongoing relationship as well and won't be needed til the interview stage. Right now you would only be proving that you've met in the last two years. Keeping those boarding passes when you DO go home would be your proof since they have dates. Here is what is stated in the Guides section at the top of this website. It does mention photos but for the most part, as I stated earlie r (and other will tell you the same thing), it is secondary: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...e=k1guide#proof

1. Copies of all airline boarding passes, train passes, itineraries, hotel receipts, passport stamps (make sure you can read the dates on the stamps), and other documentary evidence that you have met within the last two years. You may want to highlight or place post-it notes indicating the dates and locations on the copies (to make the adjudication easier) for the person reviewing your file.

2. Color Photo's of you and your fiance(e) together. Make sure you write your names, date, and location on the back of every photo. Provide two to five photo's. If you only have a single copy of the photo, then make a color copy and send that. If it is a digital photo, have it printed at a company such as kodakgallery.com. You can also make duplicates of photo's at your local photo store (Walgreeens, CVS, etc). Place photo's in a plastic bag or photo sheet and label the sheet. Note that you may not receive originals of photo's back.

3. The following items will not typically show proof of having met in the last two years however will show proof of an ongoing relationship: Copies of phone bills, cell phone bills, emails (you can edit personal info with a marker), letters (edit personal info also), stamps on the letters (to document the date they were sent), and other written documentary proof. Provide a reasonable amount; two to four of each type. Pick a range of dates up to and including the present. You can also include a copy of engagement ring receipt (this is something that is a big optional - do not worry if you do not have a ring yet!)

yes, i will keep the boarding passes and itinerary from when i leave here, i also found something online from the airline i took where i can request a receipt and itinerary from when i came here, hopefully they can send that to me, that might help as well. So if I send the boarding passes and itinerary from when I leave here plus the itinerary and receipt that they will send me again from my trip here that should be enough? Thanks so much.

[Kathryn41 3,207]

Yes, that should be enough. Canadian/American couples are fortunate in that we don't need to provide a huge amount of evidence that we met - a minimal amount to establish that you were in the same place at the same time along with a photograph of you together is usually sufficient. We just included boarding passes and flight itinerary of his trip up to see me the first time and my trip down to see him the second time - the first flight schedule showed him flying into Detroit which is where I picked him up - it was the closest airport to where I lived with direct flights. The second showed me flying into Atlanta.

Don't overthink this:-). You can collect the other evidence that you have and provide it to him as copies to bring to the interview showing the ongoing relationship, however, he probably won't need it then either:-).

Good luck.

Edited July 4, 2008 by Kathryn41

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

Hello:

I live about 6 miles from Canada and go there often. It is true they do not "stamp" your passport BUT if you have the newer passport with the bar code, they DO swipe it and it records that you entered and left Canada and they KNOW exactly when you were there and left. (When they ask you how long you were there, don't lie, they already know!) It may be possible to get a printout at the border station if you go inside and ask, I am not sure. I DO know that airline itineraries or even copies of tickets in your name are not accepted as proof of anything. They DO accept copies of boarding passes. When we submitted our petition I included copies of all pages of my passport with stamps (my fiancee is in Ukraine and they do stamp the passport) boarding passes and time stamped photos from my digital camera. Any photo shows you have been together and several photos of you looking pretty much the same as your recent passport photo will show you have met in person. Do you have any hotel reciepts, or any other things showing you were together? I have heard of the "photo with a newspaper" thing but never did it and it was not necessary. I also do not know if they would accept the fact that you were in Canada to be "proof" of anything as it is pretty common for Americans to go there, but if you can get a printout from the border authorities and several recent photos, I would think that is enough.

Gary

[CalochortusLuteus 0]

Yes, that should be enough. Canadian/American couples are fortunate in that we don't need to provide a huge amount of evidence that we met - a minimal amount to establish that you were in the same place at the same time along with a photograph of you together is usually sufficient. We just included boarding passes and flight itinerary of his trip up to see me the first time and my trip down to see him the second time - the first flight schedule showed him flying into Detroit which is where I picked him up - it was the closest airport to where I lived with direct flights. The second showed me flying into Atlanta.

Don't overthink this:-). You can collect the other evidence that you have and provide it to him as copies to bring to the interview showing the ongoing relationship, however, he probably won't need it then either:-).

Good luck.

Okay, thanks so much!

[CalochortusLuteus 0]

Hello:

I live about 6 miles from Canada and go there often. It is true they do not "stamp" your passport BUT if you have the newer passport with the bar code, they DO swipe it and it records that you entered and left Canada and they KNOW exactly when you were there and left. (When they ask you how long you were there, don't lie, they already know!) It may be possible to get a printout at the border station if you go inside and ask, I am not sure. I DO know that airline itineraries or even copies of tickets in your name are not accepted as proof of anything. They DO accept copies of boarding passes. When we submitted our petition I included copies of all pages of my passport with stamps (my fiancee is in Ukraine and they do stamp the passport) boarding passes and time stamped photos from my digital camera. Any photo shows you have been together and several photos of you looking pretty much the same as your recent passport photo will show you have met in person. Do you have any hotel reciepts, or any other things showing you were together? I have heard of the "photo with a newspaper" thing but never did it and it was not necessary. I also do not know if they would accept the fact that you were in Canada to be "proof" of anything as it is pretty common for Americans to go there, but if you can get a printout from the border authorities and several recent photos, I would think that is enough.

Gary

I have a regular book passport and a card as well. I only used the passport book when I came here, but if I use the card instead when I leave maybe that will help as primary evidence as well as the boarding passes I will have. We don't have any hotel receipts or anything like that, but maybe we could get something like that before I leave, hotel receipts or something else. I'm not sure if we can afford to stay in a hotel now, are there any other things like that? What is it exactly, the receipt from our stay would show both of our names on it? We will probably do the photo with a newspaper thing even if we aren't sure it will work as primary evidence just in case we find out that somehow it could, I don't know. So if I have at least the boarding passes for when I leave (not when I got here), the printout from the border authorities for when I leave (not when I got here) and several recent photos I should be okay? Thanks so much!