How many times did you meet with your fiancé before submitting I-129F?

[dxg68 0]

I met with my fiancé once for about 2 weeks and sent I-129F petition. I am going to visit her again in April so we will meet at least two times before the interview. I am happy to see that it is usual. Thank you for the responses!

[Turboguy 6]

Personally I think there is risk in one short meeting and nothing more on a K-1. Not so much a risk that your visa may not be approved but I think a relationship is like a flower and needs to be nurished. I think it is a time to build the bond between you and to let your relationship develop. It also lets you find out more about each other which might help prevent mistakes. Then again during that period I really wanted to spend time with her and emails, phone calls or skype are just not the same.

[FortLaudy 10]

Personally I think there is risk in one short meeting and nothing more on a K-1. Not so much a risk that your visa may not be approved but I think a relationship is like a flower and needs to be nurished. I think it is a time to build the bond between you and to let your relationship develop. It also lets you find out more about each other which might help prevent mistakes. Then again during that period I really wanted to spend time with her and emails, phone calls or skype are just not the same.

some major leap of faith there with just meeting one time, bit of a gamble isn't it? Can go really bad:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/09/20/...ain;contentBody or really good, a friend of ours married a Russian girl and they stayed together for 7 years.

I've personally had the bad experience of meeting someone online and over time on long chats started having feelings for him and in real life he turned out far from what I had in mind of who he was and it could never have worked out between us.

[F & J 21]

We met twice - first time for 8 days, 2nd time for a little over 2 weeks.

It shouldn't be a problem if you've only met once as long as it's within the last 2 years from the date of filing your I-129F ^__^

[AKguy 1]

You could say we met 3 times. Met when she was working here and spent around 3 weeks together. I flew to Russia and lived with her for 3 weeks. She flew here and lived with me for 7 weeks. And then we filed.

[SMR 368]

You could say we met 3 times. Met when she was working here and spent around 3 weeks together. I flew to Russia and lived with her for 3 weeks. She flew here and lived with me for 7 weeks. And then we filed.

I don't know how to count how many times in our case. I guess you could say we met 4 times. But we spent a total of almost a year in almost daily contact between those 4 times.

[Nasturtium 500]

I did Cr-1, but we met 3 times before filing and 2 times afterwards. Two of my visits were actually work and on work visas and modified resident visas.

I wouldn't worry. The rule is once in the last 2 years... I have seen many a MENA couple go through with one visit for a short period of time and none since-- especially when religious things are involved.

[baron555 934]

Personally I think there is risk in one short meeting and nothing more on a K-1. Not so much a risk that your visa may not be approved but I think a relationship is like a flower and needs to be nurished. I think it is a time to build the bond between you and to let your relationship develop. It also lets you find out more about each other which might help prevent mistakes. Then again during that period I really wanted to spend time with her and emails, phone calls or skype are just not the same.

One really can not and should not rationalize this. It all depends on the nature and quality of the relationship, nothing else.

How many times a couple has met prior to filing is irrevelant to the quality of their relationship.

Plus no one can make any general comment on the quality of a relationship based soley on how many times the couple met prior to filing.

The two facts are exclusive from each other.

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

Personally I think there is risk in one short meeting and nothing more on a K-1. Not so much a risk that your visa may not be approved but I think a relationship is like a flower and needs to be nurished. I think it is a time to build the bond between you and to let your relationship develop. It also lets you find out more about each other which might help prevent mistakes. Then again during that period I really wanted to spend time with her and emails, phone calls or skype are just not the same.

This may or may not be true (may not more often) for the VISA application and interview. It makes absolutely NO difference for the petition.

How much time you need on a personal level to assure you are doing the right thing is a personal matter. Satisfying the needs for the petition are one thing, satisfying the needs for the visa are another thing and satisfying your personal needs are a third thing. For the petition, meeting one time, shaking hands, having a picture taken and being able to prove it is sufficent.

[jimnlena 8]

Met Lena only 1 trip for 10 days, approved with no problems

[baron555 934]

one visit is as good as 3 visits if you've done a good job of showing that you have a bona fide relationship and that there are no red flags surrounding either one of you.

Nicely said; it's the total picture that is important. Everyone's evidence needs to "tell your story".

[Tanya and Barry 59]

Three times over the course of 4 months.

Edited January 25, 2010 by bjstults

[Brad and Vika 129]

I assume more is better but did somebody meet just once, sent the petition and was approved with no problems? Thanks!

Oops! Never answered the original question. Although we met here in the US, I visited Vika three or four times before the interview, bt I don't remember where we were in the cycle at each visit.

[ZorValachan 0]

1 meeting for 14 days. That made it for the petition and visa approval.

I can't recall of the top of my head how Jonathan&Katya's interview went, but my SO was put through the grinder, and Baron555's was in AP for a time after the interview, until he sent in more evidence. So maybe they drill the once met more than others (my idle specualtion based off nothing). But in any case I suggest preparing for 'middle' questions when the interview comes. We prepared for the super hard and super easy (in English), but forgot the in-between. And as they did not let my SO take the interview in Russian, she got flustered trying to translate our common interests. He ignored her saying them in Russian.

As others said, it is the totality of the evidence. My SO and I have some age gap, but no children, no ex-s. We both have similar educational backgrounds. A couple pounds of email and snail mail evidence and phone records (all ignored). So if there is a possible 'red flag' in once place, make sure the other places of bona fides are solid.

So is it possible, yes. 3 here made it through very recently (last 2 months), but just be prepared for a little more intense interview.

I have known couples who have known each other for years, get together and break up. marriages of 10 years go sour and others who I would have sworn wouldn't make it 2 weeks last 25 years. Once, before the internet, romance could be carried out from letters sent by ship. So I do not buy the 'have to live with each other X amount of time for the relationship to work'. It is just relationship ARE work and many do not want to put forth an effort. Love does not conquer all. Everything else; work, dedication, commitment, compromise that's the ####### you have to do for it to work. Love's just the gooey good jelly filled center.

How many times I can count the guys who dumped their gfs because they lived on the other side of town (too far to go to for the evening). While I know things are and will be difficult for cross-cultural relationships, at least we both know we got a hell-ton of difficulties past us without abandoning ship.

And do make sure your SO sticks up for you, or corrects them if they say something not true. That is one thing I am glad we went over. They tried to tell her I was divorced. She set them straight, and I think that was the seal.

just my $1.25

Edited January 26, 2010 by ZorValachan

[clueless_in_usa 8]

I have read so many "they did not let her do the interview in Russian" statements that I have to chime in. My, now wife, made it clear that we communicated mainly in Russian, because her knowledge of English left much to be desired, so she had her interview in Russian ...

... but she told me that the CO spoke Russian so bad that it was difficult to understand her even in Russian.

All questions were about me, and no problems with a large age difference. They never asked if I met her parents. They did keep all the evidence we provided (except for originals) and did not ask for anything more. The evidence was organized in sections, so my wife gave all the packet for the CO to browse at will. No emails or chats. Just a phone bill showing how often I called her.

It may have helped that I was there (in Moscow) just after the interview was scheduled. And I included a two-page letter explaining the evidence and the way we communicated (no story about how we met or other toucy-feely BS).

That was it! She passed the interview with flying colors.