Ready to file I-129F

[cedwards001 18]

Hey guys,

My first trip to Vietnam was a success and I look forward to going back in April 2010 for our Dinh Hon

I have studied the K-1 guides on VJ quite a bit, but I do have a few questions to ask since I plan to file the I-129F petition in April after our Dinh Hon.

I-129F Questions:

1) I have a Certificate of Citizenship in my name. I know that I can use a copy of my entire passport to prove US Citizenship which is what I intend to use. If I do use my passport, would the USCIS still RFE me for the Certificate of Citizenship? I don't think they would do that, but I think I read a case in the K1 Forums a few months ago about this happening to somebody. In my case, which would you recommend I use?

G-325A Questions:

1) I have done a lot of searches on this but cannot find my answer. How many copies of the G-325A do I submit for me and my fiance? Some say 1 copy, some say 4 copies. From your experiences with the HCMC consulate, what is the best to do here?

2) My fiance has lived with her parents at the same address since her birth. For the "Applicant's residence last five years" section on the form, should I list all 22 years she lived at her same address, or only the last 5 years she lived there?

3) My fiance is currently self employed and works from home. If she specifies that on the "Applicant's employment last five years" section, does she have to specify it again where it says "Last occupation abroad if not shown above"?

Other Questions:

1) After my Dinh Hon in April this year, I will have made a total of 2 trips to VN and 4 trips overall to visit her. I would like to front-load all 4 trips with my I-129F. My question is, should I put all 4 trips together under the "evidence of meeting in the last 2 years" category, or should I put the first trip as evidence of meeting in the last 2 years and then put the remaining trips as evidence of a bonafide relationship?

2) My fiance has no relatives in the US. Should I still provide a document that states she has no relatives in the US and notarize it?

Neither of us has ever been married before or have any criminal record. We are both 22 years old so this should not present any red flags.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Carl

[cedwards001 18]

Oh I forgot to ask. We intend to submit originals for all our pictures and write our names and locations on the back of each picture. Should we just make photo copies of all the pictures and submit that with our petition or send the originals?

[hniHnitsuJ 8]

Oh I forgot to ask. We intend to submit originals for all our pictures and write our names and locations on the back of each picture. Should we just make photo copies of all the pictures and submit that with our petition or send the originals?

Check out the link below.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-129Finstr.pdf

[cedwards001 18]

Hey,

Thanks for the reply. I know what the I-129F instructions say but since the HCMC consulate has higher expectations then the average consulate, I thought maybe I can submit original pics instead of printed color copies. I am just wondering what some of you have used from your personal experiences so that I can apply that for my case.

Carl

[Anh map 2,098]

Printed several to page or indivdual pics will be fine. While HCMC is picky, there aren't that bad.

Be sure to have a variety of photos showing you two in different clothes. Also photos with family members are good.

[BinhJerome 14]

Oh I forgot to ask. We intend to submit originals for all our pictures and write our names and locations on the back of each picture. Should we just make photo copies of all the pictures and submit that with our petition or send the originals?

submit original photos, and get copies made of what you submitted for the interview. When you say copies, I have visions of 4 photos on one paper from your printer, make sure they are original photos, and make sure you do not use any clear photo edits. As others said, make sure you submit photos of you with her family, and even a few that were taken in a known place, not just in the house. It is also good to make sure they are photos of you wearing many different sets of clothing. Some people have been hit for photo evidence of only a few days. I dont know how many people take photos each day, and how many people have different clothes for every single day, but they seem to nit pick that since they can argue that it was the same clothing so it must have been the same day. as far as everything else goes, try to keep it in order, and have copies of everything you send in to the service center and if you think it can help show a bonified relationship then submit it, the more the better, if they dont want to look at it then it was their choice, but you had it there in case they wanted it. Good luck with your visa!! Jerome and Binh

[WeatherEmperor 21]

Oh I forgot to ask. We intend to submit originals for all our pictures and write our names and locations on the back of each picture. Should we just make photo copies of all the pictures and submit that with our petition or send the originals?

This is something I am thinking about as well. I would like to front-load pictures for my Dinh Hon into my I-129F petition as well. What I do not yet know, is if I should submit the actual original pictures (with names and dates written on the back), or just print the pictures to regular Letter size printer paper and submit these with my petition and then keep the original pictures just in case they ask for them in the interview. Perhaps somebody that has gone through the process can tell us which way is better???

<CARRICK>

[luckytxn 2,263]

Was wondering why not make two copies of all pics and send in one set and keep one set. I of course as many do here use a digital camera and make pics at will but if using a regular camera just make two copies.

As for the question about last income or job from abroad. If the questions does not apply to you then just say NA.

Edited February 28, 2010 by luckytxn

[BinhJerome 14]

This is something I am thinking about as well. I would like to front-load pictures for my Dinh Hon into my I-129F petition as well. What I do not yet know, is if I should submit the actual original pictures (with names and dates written on the back), or just print the pictures to regular Letter size printer paper and submit these with my petition and then keep the original pictures just in case they ask for them in the interview. Perhaps somebody that has gone through the process can tell us which way is better???

<CARRICK>

Dont use printer paper, make sure they are on photo paper, most digital photos you can make many copies of, even if you have to scan it then reprint it, if it is on printer paper it would not be as good of quality and if the CO wanted to nit pick they could possibly say that it had been faked, but we all know any digital photo with photo shop can be faked, it just looks better and less wiggle room. This is what I would do, but it truly is your choice, I am sure some have passed using printed out photos on regular paper and had no problems, and maybe some have had problems, I really dont know, as I said, I know how I would do it. Jerome

[luckytxn 2,263]

Dont use printer paper, make sure they are on photo paper, most digital photos you can make many copies of, even if you have to scan it then reprint it, if it is on printer paper it would not be as good of quality and if the CO wanted to nit pick they could possibly say that it had been faked, but we all know any digital photo with photo shop can be faked, it just looks better and less wiggle room. This is what I would do, but it truly is your choice, I am sure some have passed using printed out photos on regular paper and had no problems, and maybe some have had problems, I really dont know, as I said, I know how I would do it. Jerome

I just pick out what pics I want and email them to a place like walgreens online and have them ready at the nearest store. I pick them up the next day.

[luckytxn 2,263]

Also wanted to add that it is very good to read the guides and examples often but also go into the forum that is for this very thing and ask the questions and use us for the specific embassy in HCM stuff.

[Old Dominion 26]

Bear in mind that you are petitioning the USCIS for permission to have your fiance apply for a visa. You need only proof that you have met at least once in the last two years. The consulate has nothing to do with this petition, which will be acted upon by USCIS. USCIS doesn't need too many photos, nor do they need to be originals or on glossy paper. USCIS has no interest in your fiance's employment record. It asks where she has lived in the last 5 years, and that's all.

When it comes time for her to apply for her visa, the consulate's questions about her need to be answered. For the interview, evidence of your additional meetings will be helpful. Still, her work record is not relevant except to show that she is a responsible person. The consulate's main concern will be that a bona fide relationship exists, and it is not all about getting her a visa to enter the US.

[BurningFinger 5]

Bear in mind that you are petitioning the USCIS for permission to have your fiance apply for a visa. You need only proof that you have met at least once in the last two years. The consulate has nothing to do with this petition, which will be acted upon by USCIS. USCIS doesn't need too many photos, nor do they need to be originals or on glossy paper. USCIS has no interest in your fiance's employment record. It asks where she has lived in the last 5 years, and that's all.

When it comes time for her to apply for her visa, the consulate's questions about her need to be answered. For the interview, evidence of your additional meetings will be helpful. Still, her work record is not relevant except to show that she is a responsible person. The consulate's main concern will be that a bona fide relationship exists, and it is not all about getting her a visa to enter the US.

Technically speaking you are correct when you say that evidence of a bonafide relationship are for the interview stage, not the petition stage. However, the OP will be dealing with the HCMC Consulate is one of the highest fraud consulates in the world. Consequently, visa applicants at the HCMC Consulate are held to much higher standards compared to the average Consulate/Embassy. There have been quite a few visa applications in the Vietnam forum that were approved with front-loaded petitions. While nobody can say with 100% certainty that the CO will always use the documentation included in the petition as a basis for deciding whether or not to issue the visa at the interview, the front-loaded material does carry a lot of weight that may be enough to influence his decision before hand. This is especially true when the front-loaded material addresses the applicant's red flags clearly and convincingly. There is a little bump of sorts in the Immigration and Nationality Act. In short, the CO is not allowed to deny a visa application based on what was already know to the USCIS at the petition stage. In other words, if a divorce by the petitioner and/or beneficiary was properly and convincingly documented with the petition and the USCIS approved that petition, then the CO cannot deny the visa for this reason since it was already know by the USCIS. This is not an exact science as the CO can still issue a Blue Slip for anything they want, but you get the point.

Having said that I do believe the reasons to front-load the petition outweigh the reasons not to front-load, especially if the petitioner/beneficiary have red flags that need to be addressed. I understand that the OP intends to file for the K1 visa while I filed for the CR1. Nonetheless, I did front-load my I-130 petition with evidence of every trip I had taken to see my fiance and then wife, including the "required" Dinh Hon engagement ceremony and then obviously my wedding evidence as well. It is worth noting that there is a member here at VJ that had the visa approved without front-loading anything. I believe he met his fiance about 1 month before having the engagement ceremony. I also believe that neither him or his fiance had ever been married before, the fiance did not have any family living in the US, and they were not introduced by family members and both had solid incomes. The aforementioned red flags are the ones that the Consulates sees the most of which is why it is advised to front-load the petition to address those correctly. We just don't know the OP's red flags to make a judgment on how much front-loading needs to be done.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I have no doubt that frontloading our petition helped our case at the consulate. There were a number of red flags in our case, many of which the consulate would have known about (or would have discovered during their investigation) based solely on information we were required to submit with the petition or visa application forms and documents. If we had not addressed those red flags sufficiently in the papers included with the petition, I'm certain the CO would have focused on any or all of them to grill my fiancee at the interview. There are many cases in this forum of beneficiary's who carried bags full of evidence to the interview to address their red flags and bona fides, and the CO never looked at them, and ultimately denied the visa. Phuong was asked only 3 questions (4, if you include "Do you speak English?"), and she was approved. Phuong and her daughter both saw the pink slip already filled out when they approached the window for the interview. I am certain it would not have been this easy if we had not frontloaded the petition with a pile of evidence.

That said, frontloaded evidence isn't going to help much if it doesn't address the red flags adequately, or if it doesn't reenforce the "bona fides" of your relationship. It can also make things worse if the frontloaded evidence only confirms the CO's suspicions. For example, if you were introduced to your fiancee by her uncle, and your frontloaded evidence reveals that her uncle financed your trips and paid for your petition and visa fees, then you may have shot yourself in the foot.

[vietazn 1]

4 copies of G325A from each person, sign each of the 8 pages.

Put the entire date of when she lived at address, from 1988 to present. Also put into question below that one concerning address outside the USA of more than 1 year.

If she lists her employment already, then she doesn't have to list it again because it clearly states only if not shown above.

Because of the number of trips and to different countries, recommend adding a line on each photo stating "Meeting #1, Meeting #2..." in addition to date and place. This will help clarify which photo is the initial meeting and which are followup meetings. Provide engagement photos with I-129F.

Would not submit notarized copy of letter stating no relatives in the USA because it would unnecessarily stick out. Wouldn't even provide one if she had relatives unless requested.

Can't hurt by submitting original photos. It's time-tested and has been done for many years. While having a variety of photos is good, make sure you can easily describe on the back of the photos where both of you are when submitting photos with other people present.