A few easy K1 questions.... arghhh nothing is easy!!

[Ready to do it 101]

A) I'm submitting my certified copy of divorce decree from my previous marriage that ended 5+ years ago. Do I need to submit a copy of my marriage certificate regarding the marriage in 1995 to my now ex-wife? I've read where they want to see all the documentation on stuff. Seems foolish that they would want that as obvioulsy if you have a divorce decree then you had to have gotten married. I'm asking so I don't get an RFE

B) I-129F questions...

Item 1)CAPS for Family name only, everything else written in standard form throughout the form... or stick to Capital letters?

Item 9) Ex wife's name... put her maiden name? She still uses my last name. Which one do I put here. G325a asked for maiden, but I-129F doesn't state which way to put it.

Item 10) I've checked "Birth in the US" Is it asking for my birth certificate #, date and place of birth in the next line? Not sure what my birth certificate number is. There is a File No. in the top right corner adn there is a 7 digit number in the bottom left that starts with a letter and then 6 numbers? Which one would it be (born in Texas)or does this question only refer to people who check naturalized?

Have you obtained a certificate of citizenship in your name? leave that blank??? I don't even know what that is.

I'm not leaving anything blank. I've put N/A by everything or none when none fits the answer. Even in Section E. Is that what I should be doing?

C)G-1145 questions....

It says Applicant/Petitioner last name, first name etc. Does it just want mine or hers and not both of us? Can we fill out 2 forms so we both get an email? I'm just not sure why they put Applicant/Petitioner... I guess they mean either one of us?

D) Everything I've filled in has been typed and I will neatly handwrite stuff that didn't fit... Ok?

[George & Gina 29]

A) I'm submitting my certified copy of divorce decree from my previous marriage that ended 5+ years ago. Do I need to submit a copy of my marriage certificate regarding the marriage in 1995 to my now ex-wife? I've read where they want to see all the documentation on stuff. Seems foolish that they would want that as obvioulsy if you have a divorce decree then you had to have gotten married. I'm asking so I don't get an RFE

The divorce decree, annulment, or death certificate is all that is required to prove legal termination of previous marriages.

B) I-129F questions...

Item 1)CAPS for Family name only, everything else written in standard form throughout the form... or stick to Capital letters?

There is no standardized requirement. The most common convention that I've seen is LAST/SURNAME in all caps and everything else using standard upper/lower case.

Item 9) Ex wife's name... put her maiden name? She still uses my last name. Which one do I put here. G325a asked for maiden, but I-129F doesn't state which way to put it.

Don't read into the question, if they don't ask for the maiden name then they don't want the maiden name. What is her name now?

Item 10) I've checked "Birth in the US" Is it asking for my birth certificate #, date and place of birth in the next line? Not sure what my birth certificate number is. There is a File No. in the top right corner adn there is a 7 digit number in the bottom left that starts with a letter and then 6 numbers? Which one would it be (born in Texas)or does this question only refer to people who check naturalized?

Have you obtained a certificate of citizenship in your name? leave that blank??? I don't even know what that is.

No, it is not asking for your birth certificate number. N/A would be the appropriate answer here.

I'm not leaving anything blank. I've put N/A by everything or none when none fits the answer. Even in Section E. Is that what I should be doing?

You really can leave section E blank if you've filled out the form for yourself. If you're paranoid though (been there), you can go ahead and put "N/A" in the blanks. Everything else should have an "N/A" or "none" as is appropriate.

C)G-1145 questions....

It says Applicant/Petitioner last name, first name etc. Does it just want mine or hers and not both of us? Can we fill out 2 forms so we both get an email? I'm just not sure why they put Applicant/Petitioner... I guess they mean either one of us?

It means you. You can go ahead and fill out a G-1145 for her also, the worse that will happen is they might ignore it since she's not the petitioner.

D) Everything I've filled in has been typed and I will neatly handwrite stuff that didn't fit... Ok?

Neat/legible handwritten print in BLACK INK is perfectly acceptable.

George

[pushbrk 12,108]

The divorce decree, annulment, or death certificate is all that is required to prove legal termination of previous marriages.

There is no standardized requirement. The most common convention that I've seen is LAST/SURNAME in all caps and everything else using standard upper/lower case.

Don't read into the question, if they don't ask for the maiden name then they don't want the maiden name. What is her name now?

No, it is not asking for your birth certificate number. N/A would be the appropriate answer here.

You really can leave section E blank if you've filled out the form for yourself. If you're paranoid though (been there), you can go ahead and put "N/A" in the blanks. Everything else should have an "N/A" or "none" as is appropriate.

It means you. You can go ahead and fill out a G-1145 for her also, the worse that will happen is they might ignore it since she's not the petitioner.

Neat/legible handwritten print in BLACK INK is perfectly acceptable.

George

Women who change names at marriage, sometimes need to include a marriage certificate to document a name change.

I recommend family names and country names be in all caps.

They actually do want the maiden name on both forms but there's no penalty if you do it wrong.

You are the "petitioner". The foreigner is the "beneficiary".

[Ready to do it 101]

Thanks for the great responses.

A few more questions.

1) Is there a way to make it so when I try to print the G-325A and I-129F that each of the boxes doesn't have that greyish-blue looking color filled in. I think it is making my printed copy too light and I don't know how to fix that.

2) On I-129F Cover page... the sample frequently says... (Petitioner) or (Beneficiary). Is that exactly what I write or do I put our names in place of Petitioner and Beneficiary?

3) Can everything be dated about 30 days ago or is there a timeframe they have to be dated and then sent. I.e. Dated within last 2 weeks, 1 month etc when USCIS receives everything?

4) Does it matter whether we sign in black or blue

5) Does it matter whether we use black or blue when writing our names on the back of passport photos

6) In the "How did you meet"... instead of attaching an extra sheet. I simply wrote in the box that we met 5 years ago online and then face to face for the first time in July 2006. I rented an apartment there for 3 months to be with her and then have traveled there to see her 3-5 times per year over the last 5 years. See "Proof of meeting and ongoing relationship documents" for exact dates.

And then in the "Proof of meeting and ongoing relationship" area of my packet I have a word document of every date of entry and departure into her country, all pages of my "new" passport showing stamps etc- (3 years old as I lost my old one), all the itineraries and boarding passes I could find (about 75% of them), 4-5 pictures over the last 5 years... 1 each year, and lastly call logs from my phone over the last 5 years. Is that ok for the "How did you meet" question or do I really need to send an extra letter for that? Proof of meeting and ongoing relationship info sufficient?

7) My birth certificate specifically says... Warning: It is illegal to duplicate this copy.... so I should duplicate it and send it in, correct? Also the back of my birth certificate is blank, so should I just put a blank page behind the duplicated front page and write on it "Back of Birth Certificate is blank."

Hopefully that is all the questions. Wow, this really is a process.

Thanks for the great responses.

Edited February 26, 2011 by Ready to do it

[baron555 934]

By definition, a certified divorce decree indicates that you were legally married prior to it. By definition. No need if they dont' ask for it.

[jleebeane 2]

1) Is there a way to make it so when I try to print the G-325A and I-129F that each of the boxes doesn't have that greyish-blue looking color filled in. I think it is making my printed copy too light and I don't know how to fix that.

Try changing your print settings to black and white. I'm guessing you're running low in colored ink, but if you change to B&W printing the text will be black and the boxes light grey. Worth trying!

7) My birth certificate specifically says... Warning: It is illegal to duplicate this copy.... so I should duplicate it and send it in, correct? Also the back of my birth certificate is blank, so should I just put a blank page behind the duplicated front page and write on it "Back of Birth Certificate is blank."

It's illegal to duplicate it for use as an official copy. Making a photocopy is fine, since it will be clear it's a photocopy. No raised seal, no ink signatures, etc. The back of mine is blank as well, but I made a photocopy anyway. The outline of the seal is slightly visible and the lines from where it was folded in thirds show up clearly, so it's obviously the blank back.