Initial packet questions

[MairzyDoats 0]

Greetings,

I have gathered almost all of the elements for my initial petition which I am planning to mail next week. I have a few questions:

1. How do I represent contract work? Do I only need to include employment, or do I need to add self-employment/contract work (where I work for myself and am not the employee of another company)?

2. I have worked multiple contracts at once, and currently work for 2 employers. How do I present this on my petition? (The form itself asks for an "ending" date for the second job listed -- can I write in "Present"?)

3. I took photos with my fiance when he was here in July, but my digital camera didn't have the date setting on so it didn't "stamp" the date on. Can I just write the dates on the back and is that acceptable? Or is there a way to add the dates to the photos? (Obviously this would not be fraud since they would be honest and correct dates for each photo.)

4. In my letter explaining how we met and detailing my supportive evidence, do I need to talk about how we first met (online) and courted? Do I need to include any personal letters (I have many if needed, handwritten ones as well as email.)? Or do I just need to keep things simple and say we met online at this time, fell in love, exchanged letters/gifts etc. and met in July and so forth? How much detail should I include about us? Do I need to put in our shared interests and such?

5. My fiance is planning a trip back to the U.S. to see me in December...I am mailing the petition next week, so do you forsee any problem with his coming here for 2 weeks? I have a book which says that he may encounter trouble coming into the country because they might think he is coming to marry me at that time. thing is, we are registered at my church and can't get married til next year because my fiance must be baptized for me to be allowed to marry him. He is going through the course for baptism and Eucharist and confirmation which will not be completed until next Easter. We have met with my pastor and filled out initial paperwork and have seen the marriage and family counselor here as well. I am getting copies of that info from my church just to show that we are planning marriage after Easter of 2007 (it just can't happen before that and I don't want the immigration people thinking we're going to get married and try to defraud the government when we can't possibly do that and aren't inclined to, anyway.)

Thank you for your help.

Mairzy

Edited September 1, 2006 by MairzyDoats

[garya505 2]

Greetings,

I have gathered almost all of the elements for my initial petition which I am planning to mail next week. I have a few questions:

1. How do I represent contract work? Do I only need to include employment, or do I need to add self-employment/contract work (where I work for myself and am not the employee of another company)?

2. I have worked multiple contracts at once, and currently work for 2 employers. How do I present this on my petition? (The form itself asks for an "ending" date for the second job listed -- can I write in "Present"?)

3. I took photos with my fiance when he was here in July, but my digital camera didn't have the date setting on so it didn't "stamp" the date on. Can I just write the dates on the back and is that acceptable? Or is there a way to add the dates to the photos? (Obviously this would not be fraud since they would be honest and correct dates for each photo.)

4. In my letter explaining how we met and detailing my supportive evidence, do I need to talk about how we first met (online) and courted? Do I need to include any personal letters (I have many if needed, handwritten ones as well as email.)? Or do I just need to keep things simple and say we met online at this time, fell in love, exchanged letters/gifts etc. and met in July and so forth? How much detail should I include about us? Do I need to put in our shared interests and such?

Thank you for your help.

Mairzy

1. How do I represent contract work? Do I only need to include employment, or do I need to add self-employment/contract work (where I work for myself and am not the employee of another company)?

I would suggest listing this as "self employed".

2. I have worked multiple contracts at once, and currently work for 2 employers. How do I present this on my petition? (The form itself asks for an "ending" date for the second job listed -- can I write in "Present"?)

I would list both jobs, and yes the end date for current job is "present".

3. I took photos with my fiance when he was here in July, but my digital camera didn't have the date setting on so it didn't "stamp" the date on. Can I just write the dates on the back and is that acceptable? Or is there a way to add the dates to the photos? (Obviously this would not be fraud since they would be honest and correct dates for each photo.)

I wrote the date and location on the back of my photos.

4. In my letter explaining how we met and detailing my supportive evidence, do I need to talk about how we first met (online) and courted? Do I need to include any personal letters (I have many if needed, handwritten ones as well as email.)? Or do I just need to keep things simple and say we met online at this time, fell in love, exchanged letters/gifts etc. and met in July and so forth? How much detail should I include about us? Do I need to put in our shared interests and such?

Make sure you state that you "intend to marry within 90 days of arrival in the US" as this is a K1 requirement. Everything else is fluff, but can be used to make a picture of a serious relationship in the eyes of the reader. My advice is to just say what's true, no BS.

[Mew 0]

3. I took photos with my fiance when he was here in July, but my digital camera didn't have the date setting on so it didn't "stamp" the date on. Can I just write the dates on the back and is that acceptable? Or is there a way to add the dates to the photos? (Obviously this would not be fraud since they would be honest and correct dates for each photo.)

Like Gary said, date them on the back.

4. In my letter explaining how we met and detailing my supportive evidence, do I need to talk about how we first met (online) and courted? Do I need to include any personal letters (I have many if needed, handwritten ones as well as email.)? Or do I just need to keep things simple and say we met online at this time, fell in love, exchanged letters/gifts etc. and met in July and so forth? How much detail should I include about us? Do I need to put in our shared interests and such?

For Q18: Describe how/when/where you've met. You don't give them a super detailed story. Support the meeting described with evidence you've gathered.

My fiance describe it in one line: We've met initially online and them we met in person twice after that. We included his air tickets, a couple of pictures of us and copies of his passport showing the visa stamps.

The "letter of intent" is a separate letter stating that you intend to marry - you'll find an example letter on the links above (example forms).

5. My fiance is planning a trip back to the U.S. to see me in December...I am mailing the petition next week, so do you forsee any problem with his coming here for 2 weeks? I have a book which says that he may encounter trouble coming into the country because they might think he is coming to marry me at that time. thing is, we are registered at my church and can't get married til next year because my fiance must be baptized for me to be allowed to marry him. He is going through the course for baptism and Eucharist and confirmation which will not be completed until next Easter. We have met with my pastor and filled out initial paperwork and have seen the marriage and family counselor here as well. I am getting copies of that info from my church just to show that we are planning marriage after Easter of 2007 (it just can't happen before that and I don't want the immigration people thinking we're going to get married and try to defraud the government when we can't possibly do that and aren't inclined to, anyway.)

Even though those documents would help you, please note that your being unable to have a religious marriage doesn't exclude the possibility of your having a civil wedding (and *that* would be the issue). If your fiance is coming from the U.K., he'll come on VWP, I assume. So have him bring proof of strong ties to his country - letter from his employer stating that he's expected to go back to work on such date, lease agreement, for example.

[MairzyDoats 0]

Even though those documents would help you, please note that your being unable to have a religious marriage doesn't exclude the possibility of your having a civil wedding (and *that* would be the issue). If your fiance is coming from the U.K., he'll come on VWP, I assume. So have him bring proof of strong ties to his country - letter from his employer stating that he's expected to go back to work on such date, lease agreement, for example.

Aye, a civil marriage in the eyes of the state. For me the civil aspect is only a legal requirement and not the actual "marriage" and for me it is a grave sin to marry without the person being baptized (without special dispensation from my church) i.e. absolutely not going to happen. But how to convince them of that, right?

The letter from employer etc. I had not thought of that at all. Thank you so much! I will be sure that he brings that information with him in case it's needed. He DOES have to get back to work and all so that will be helpful.

Thank you again for the advice on the other questions. Your knowledge is so helpful:)

Mairzy

Edited September 1, 2006 by MairzyDoats

[Mew 0]

Aye, a civil marriage in the eyes of the state. For me the civil aspect is only a legal requirement and not the actual "marriage" and for me it is a grave sin to marry without the person being baptized (without special dispensation from my church) i.e. absolutely not going to happen. But how to convince them of that, right?

Yes, I understood what you meant. The point is that the marriage that's supposed to happen within 90 days as of your fiance's entry on the U.S. after getting a K1 is a legally-binding one.

Good tips on what to bring as proof of strong ties: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28565

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24624

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28731

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26441

[MairzyDoats 0]

Aye, a civil marriage in the eyes of the state. For me the civil aspect is only a legal requirement and not the actual "marriage" and for me it is a grave sin to marry without the person being baptized (without special dispensation from my church) i.e. absolutely not going to happen. But how to convince them of that, right?

Yes, I understood what you meant. The point is that the marriage that's supposed to happen within 90 days as of your fiance's entry on the U.S. after getting a K1 is a legally-binding one.

Good tips on what to bring as proof of strong ties: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28565

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24624

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28731

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26441

thanks again for the info:)

Yep, I read that once the K1 visa is granted the person has 6 months to enter the country and once entered, 90 days to marry. So we're planning it thusly: he gets his baptism etc. at Easter next year and hopefully the visa will be granted somewhere around that time (april/may or so) and if so we will wed in June. It's going to be a really small wedding since my family is so spread out and all and his will be really far away so we're not worried about pushing the date around if needed. We just know we need him to get baptized and we need the visa and I think the time frame we have right now is going to be pretty good. I am estimating 6-9 months for the visa and then a grace period to get him here and then marry asap:)

[BPM-MVS 0]

Aye, a civil marriage in the eyes of the state. For me the civil aspect is only a legal requirement and not the actual "marriage" and for me it is a grave sin to marry without the person being baptized (without special dispensation from my church) i.e. absolutely not going to happen. But how to convince them of that, right?

Yes, I understood what you meant. The point is that the marriage that's supposed to happen within 90 days as of your fiance's entry on the U.S. after getting a K1 is a legally-binding one.

Good tips on what to bring as proof of strong ties: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28565

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24624

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28731

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26441

thanks again for the info:)

Yep, I read that once the K1 visa is granted the person has 6 months to enter the country and once entered, 90 days to marry. So we're planning it thusly: he gets his baptism etc. at Easter next year and hopefully the visa will be granted somewhere around that time (april/may or so) and if so we will wed in June. It's going to be a really small wedding since my family is so spread out and all and his will be really far away so we're not worried about pushing the date around if needed. We just know we need him to get baptized and we need the visa and I think the time frame we have right now is going to be pretty good. I am estimating 6-9 months for the visa and then a grace period to get him here and then marry asap:)

I hope your approval comes in time for your wedding plans No disrespect but can I ask? I am a Christian and am wondering the strong importance of Baptismal before wedding? What if someone finds Christ after a marriage? or is this a situation where a Christian shouldn't marry a non Baptised person? Again, I truly am just asking because I am not familiar with this.

Thanks and good luck

[Mew 0]

thanks again for the info:)

Yep, I read that once the K1 visa is granted the person has 6 months to enter the country and once entered, 90 days to marry. So we're planning it thusly: he gets his baptism etc. at Easter next year and hopefully the visa will be granted somewhere around that time (april/may or so) and if so we will wed in June. It's going to be a really small wedding since my family is so spread out and all and his will be really far away so we're not worried about pushing the date around if needed. We just know we need him to get baptized and we need the visa and I think the time frame we have right now is going to be pretty good. I am estimating 6-9 months for the visa and then a grace period to get him here and then marry asap:)

No problem! It sound like you have it all figured out!

Again, MairzyDoats, just be sure it's legally-binding and not just a religious ceremony.

Edited September 2, 2006 by Mew