Help With My RFE

[SRS77 4]

I received an RFE yesterday (hard copy). It says I need to show further proof of having met in person. The two options it lists under that heading are "circumstances of meeting" and "last personal meeting." Obviously I answered question 18 in the petition which I think addresses "circumstances of meeting" so should I assume they did not believe/accept my explanation? What else can I say/send to respond to this request? Also, "last personal meeting" isn't a problem since I just went and visited him in early November. However, he isn't in his home country. I have never been to his home country. We have requested on the petition form that our case be sent to the embassy in the country where he is currently living and that is the country I just visited so my boarding passes, air fare receipts, and passport stamps will be for that country. Does anyone forsee this being a problem?

[bt1 42]

I received an RFE yesterday (hard copy). It says I need to show further proof of having met in person. The two options it lists under that heading are "circumstances of meeting" and "last personal meeting." Obviously I answered question 18 in the petition which I think addresses "circumstances of meeting" so should I assume they did not believe/accept my explanation? What else can I say/send to respond to this request? Also, "last personal meeting" isn't a problem since I just went and visited him in early November. However, he isn't in his home country. I have never been to his home country. We have requested on the petition form that our case be sent to the embassy in the country where he is currently living and that is the country I just visited so my boarding passes, air fare receipts, and passport stamps will be for that country. Does anyone forsee this being a problem?

Shouldn't be a problem as long as he can also show that he was in the same country as you

[Stefanni K 2]

I received an RFE yesterday (hard copy). It says I need to show further proof of having met in person. The two options it lists under that heading are "circumstances of meeting" and "last personal meeting." Obviously I answered question 18 in the petition which I think addresses "circumstances of meeting" so should I assume they did not believe/accept my explanation? What else can I say/send to respond to this request? Also, "last personal meeting" isn't a problem since I just went and visited him in early November. However, he isn't in his home country. I have never been to his home country. We have requested on the petition form that our case be sent to the embassy in the country where he is currently living and that is the country I just visited so my boarding passes, air fare receipts, and passport stamps will be for that country. Does anyone forsee this being a problem?

we got the same rfe, it was asking about circumstance of meeting like no.18 on i-129f form, it doesnt mean they did not believe you, they just want more detail, write your circumstance of meeting in more detail, and also same with the last personal meeting

my fiance wrote it in 2 different sheets about circumstance of meeting and last personal meeting

and then about proof of meeting within last 2 years, my fiance sent

1. passport pages with Indonesia' visa

2. ATM transaction in indonesia

3. hotel bill

4. itinerary

5. 8 pictures,he wrote about date,place,and what were we doing on the back

it is ok if you have never been in his home country, so u also need to submit the proof that your fiance was in a same place when u visited

Good luck

Edited December 8, 2010 by Setefanni

[SRS77 4]

we got the same rfe, it was asking about circumstance of meeting like no.18 on i-129f form, it doesnt mean they did not believe you, they just want more detail, write your circumstance of meeting in more detail, and also same with the last personal meeting

my fiance wrote it in 2 different sheets about circumstance of meeting and last personal meeting

and then about proof of meeting within last 2 years, my fiance sent

1. passport pages with Indonesia' visa

2. ATM transaction in indonesia

3. hotel bill

4. itinerary

5. 8 pictures,he wrote about date,place,and what were we doing on the back

it is ok if you have never been in his home country, so u also need to submit the proof that your fiance was in a same place when u visited

Good luck

thank you so much for your response, it is very helpful! i am wondering if you would be willing to private message me a copy of what you submitted for the explanation about circumstance of meeting? i felt my first explanation was pretty detailed so i would like to see one that they accepted as satisfactory. thanks again for the info.

[Anh map 2,098]

They need to see proof that you've been in the same place at the same time. Not a narrative about the meeting, rather your boarding pass on a flight or entry stamp on your passport to the same country where he is. Plus proof of him being there at that same time.

Edit: A couple of photos together in that country could also be helpful.

Edited December 8, 2010 by Anh map

[Stefanni K 2]

thank you so much for your response, it is very helpful! i am wondering if you would be willing to private message me a copy of what you submitted for the explanation about circumstance of meeting? i felt my first explanation was pretty detailed so i would like to see one that they accepted as satisfactory. thanks again for the info.

lol, ok, that is fine, i will send you what my fiance wrote about circumstance of meeting

lets check your message in few minutes, i am copying now

[SRS77 4]

lol, ok, that is fine, i will send you what my fiance wrote about circumstance of meeting

lets check your message in few minutes, i am copying now

HA i'm sorry i know it is probably overkill and that i'm being totally neurotic about it but i am just trying to avoid a second RFE!!! thank you so much again!!!

[Stefanni K 2]

HA i'm sorry i know it is probably overkill and that i'm being totally neurotic about it but i am just trying to avoid a second RFE!!! thank you so much again!!!

lol, no problem, honestly i am glad my experience can help you and it is fine to share it as long as it can help another folks, i know how does it feel, i was also afraid about second RFE, but don't worry, u will get noa2 soon after you mail the RFE back, let me know if u need some more help

[SRS77 4]

I'm submitting my passport entry stamps as evidence of being in Spain (the country where my fiance is currently living and where we met) but all but one of my entry points were in different European countries (Germany, France, Switzerland) so I will send along an explanation that these countries were my first point of entries but that my final destination was always Spain. In conjunction with these stamps and an explanation I was going to submit copies of my bank statements that list ATM withdrawals and other purchases in Spain. If I don't have the actual ATM receipts, only the bank statements, will it be worthwhile for me to submit the statements? I can't recall whether bank statements are valuable evidence if not accompanied with the actual receipts. Anyone have any thoughts or knowledge about this?

[pushbrk 12,973]

I'm submitting my passport entry stamps as evidence of being in Spain (the country where my fiance is currently living and where we met) but all but one of my entry points were in different European countries (Germany, France, Switzerland) so I will send along an explanation that these countries were my first point of entries but that my final destination was always Spain. In conjunction with these stamps and an explanation I was going to submit copies of my bank statements that list ATM withdrawals and other purchases in Spain. If I don't have the actual ATM receipts, only the bank statements, will it be worthwhile for me to submit the statements? I can't recall whether bank statements are valuable evidence if not accompanied with the actual receipts. Anyone have any thoughts or knowledge about this?

In addition to what you list above, you'll need similar primary evidence that HE was also in Spain during the same time period. I expect that if you read your entire RFE in context, you'll find that the problem is really a lack of primary evidence of the meeting, not your explanation in section 18 of the petition. Pay close attention to their explanation of primary evidence. In your case, evidence of your travels to Spain is not enough because they will not presume your fiance was in Spain, like they would assume he was in Gambia if you had visited Gambia. You have to cover ALL the bases.

[SRS77 4]

In addition to what you list above, you'll need similar primary evidence that HE was also in Spain during the same time period. I expect that if you read your entire RFE in context, you'll find that the problem is really a lack of primary evidence of the meeting, not your explanation in section 18 of the petition. Pay close attention to their explanation of primary evidence. In your case, evidence of your travels to Spain is not enough because they will not presume your fiance was in Spain, like they would assume he was in Gambia if you had visited Gambia. You have to cover ALL the bases.

Sorry, yes I understand that. We have a couple different documents from different government agencies in Spain documenting that he was in Spain when I was. One is his address registration from the city government where he lived and the other is from a library registration certifcate, stamped, signed and on official letterhead. We both went and got library cards together so I too have the same certificate showing that I got a library card the same day as he did. I wanted to be sure that my evidence of being in Spain, since I have more, is well documented. My passport stamps span 9 months so I was just wondering if the bank statements along w/the stamps (since the stamps aren't from Spain but rather other EU countries) and my explanation would work effectively together? He doesn't have passport stamps because he came to Spain through extremely non-traditional means of travel. I have since gone back and visited (November 2010) and have a lot more well documented evidence for the both of us including his Spanish police record (we got it while I was visiting in preparation for the interview), school registration certificate, and my passport stamps (point of entry in Spain this time) and boarding passes. I am hoping that we will not have to refile the petition but if we do we have much better documented evidence of us both being there. Oh one other question, we lived together for 5 months, and in our original submission for the petition we submitted a letter from our landlord, but it wasn't notarized. I see now that this was only secondary evidence but will they still consider it along with the new evidence I am submitting for my RFE response or should I resubmit it again? Or is it worthless b/c it wasn't notarized? Its the only proof we have that we lived together b/c we paid cash, neither of us had a bank account in Spain.

Thanks for the response!

[pushbrk 12,973]

Sorry, yes I understand that. We have a couple different documents from different government agencies in Spain documenting that he was in Spain when I was. One is his address registration from the city government where he lived and the other is from a library registration certifcate, stamped, signed and on official letterhead. We both went and got library cards together so I too have the same certificate showing that I got a library card the same day as he did. I wanted to be sure that my evidence of being in Spain, since I have more, is well documented. My passport stamps span 9 months so I was just wondering if the bank statements along w/the stamps (since the stamps aren't from Spain but rather other EU countries) and my explanation would work effectively together? He doesn't have passport stamps because he came to Spain through extremely non-traditional means of travel. I have since gone back and visited (November 2010) and have a lot more well documented evidence for the both of us including his Spanish police record (we got it while I was visiting in preparation for the interview), school registration certificate, and my passport stamps (point of entry in Spain this time) and boarding passes. I am hoping that we will not have to refile the petition but if we do we have much better documented evidence of us both being there. Oh one other question, we lived together for 5 months, and in our original submission for the petition we submitted a letter from our landlord, but it wasn't notarized. I see now that this was only secondary evidence but will they still consider it along with the new evidence I am submitting for my RFE response or should I resubmit it again? Or is it worthless b/c it wasn't notarized? Its the only proof we have that we lived together b/c we paid cash, neither of us had a bank account in Spain.

Thanks for the response!

The only evidence of meeting they will consider is evidence of meeting in the two years prior to filing the petition. Evidence of visits after filing is helpful in obtaining the visa but not in getting the petition approved.