Questions about how to answer certain I-29F questions

[fm2002 0]

1) Petitioners Address - currently I live in Thailand with my fiance (I do not have a work permit or long term Visa in Thailand), but my home and where we will live is in the USA. What address should I use; Thailand or USA?

2) Documentary Proof of Having Met in Person in the Past Two Years and an Ongoing Relationship: We've known each other 5 years, living together for almost 3 years. Here's the sticky part my divorce was just final 2 weeks ago. Does this matter? How far back should I show proof of having met my new fiance?

3) For the I-29F do I need to include Birth Certificate and/or Police Clearance for Fiance ?

4) I'm kind of in a grey area here. We live together in Thailand, but I cannot file for HER Visa here in Thailand because MY Visa is not a long term one. Hence my question about which address should I use. Also down the line a lot of the proof they ask for is not applicable to us, i; phone bills, emails, letters etc. Will this situation adversely affect our chances?

Thanks

[payxibka 10,045]

1) Petitioners Address - currently I live in Thailand with my fiance (I do not have a work permit or long term Visa in Thailand), but my home and where we will live is in the USA. What address should I use; Thailand or USA?

2) Documentary Proof of Having Met in Person in the Past Two Years and an Ongoing Relationship: We've known each other 5 years, living together for almost 3 years. Here's the sticky part my divorce was just final 2 weeks ago. Does this matter? How far back should I show proof of having met my new fiance?

3) For the I-29F do I need to include Birth Certificate and/or Police Clearance for Fiance ?

4) I'm kind of in a grey area here. We live together in Thailand, but I cannot file for HER Visa here in Thailand because MY Visa is not a long term one. Hence my question about which address should I use. Also down the line a lot of the proof they ask for is not applicable to us, i; phone bills, emails, letters etc. Will this situation adversely affect our chances?

Thanks

1) US address

2) you need to show you have been in each other's presence at least once in the two previous years just prior to the filing of the petition... Divorced or married is not important as long as you were "free to marry" on the day the petition is filed

3) No

4) The USC does NOT apply for the alien's visa. So your status in Thailand is not material. The USC files a petition to the USCIS stateside which is NOT filing for a visa. The alien applies for their own fiance(e) visa at the consulate that has jurisdiction over there legal residence but ONLY after the petition is approved.

[fm2002 0]

1) US address

2) you need to show you have been in each other's presence at least once in the two previous years just prior to the filing of the petition... Divorced or married is not important as long as you were "free to marry" on the day the petition is filed

3) No

4) The USC does NOT apply for the alien's visa. So your status in Thailand is not material. The USC files a petition to the USCIS stateside which is NOT filing for a visa. The alien applies for their own fiance(e) visa at the consulate that has jurisdiction over there legal residence but ONLY after the petition is approved.

Thank you for your answers and quick reply. As for your answer for #4. You are correct who files for what and where. I was told if I had a long term Visa in Thailand I could file the I-29F in Thailand, but I don't. What I was trying to get at was I will not be able to provide some of the examples given on this website for proof we've met, ie: phone bills, emails, letters money transfers, etc. Because we live together. Will this be a negative?

[Rich&Vero 14]

Phone bills, emails, etc... are only examples of what you can submit. If the two of you are living together, I'm sure there must be a lot of better evidence you can submit. Bills in both of your names at the same address, and a boatload of pictures together just to name a couple.

[payxibka 10,045]

Phone bills, emails, etc... are only examples of what you can submit. If the two of you are living together, I'm sure there must be a lot of better evidence you can submit. Bills in both of your names at the same address, and a boatload of pictures together just to name a couple.

e-mails are not proof of anything that the uscis is looking for

[Rich&Vero 14]

e-mails are not proof of anything that the uscis is looking for

Technically, as I understand it, the USCIS isn't looking for proof of relationship at all, just proof of meeting in the last 2 years. I assumed he was refering to what the consulate would need to verify a bona fide relationship. That being said, emails can be easily faked and probably not very strong evidence.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thank you for your answers and quick reply. As for your answer for #4. You are correct who files for what and where. I was told if I had a long term Visa in Thailand I could file the I-29F in Thailand, but I don't. What I was trying to get at was I will not be able to provide some of the examples given on this website for proof we've met, ie: phone bills, emails, letters money transfers, etc. Because we live together. Will this be a negative?

Filing a petition at the consulate is called Direct Consular Filing, or DCF. You can file many immigrant visa petitions at the consulate, but you can't file an I-129F petition at the consulate - not even if you've got resident status in Thailand. I-129F petitions can only be filed in the US.

You should submit a copy of the visas you used to enter Thailand, as well as copies of the entry/exit stamps. Since you need to submit proof that you're a US citizen you might as well just submit a copy of your entire passport. If you've got airline boarding passes then submit copies of those, as well. That should take care of the primary evidence. For secondary evidence you should submit some photos of you and her together. You also need to submit letters of intent signed by each of you. If you want rock solid evidence that you've met then you could get your letters of intent notarized at the same place on the same day - perhaps at the US consulate. It's not necessary to get the letters notarized, but doing so would be proof positive that you met the two year meeting requirement, especially if they were notarized by a US consular officer.

Phone bills, emails, money transfers - all evidence of a relationship, but not evidence you've met. Relationship evidence is not required with the petition, but it can be useful to include some depending on the consulate.

[payxibka 10,045]

Thank you for your answers and quick reply. As for your answer for #4. You are correct who files for what and where. I was told if I had a long term Visa in Thailand I could file the I-29F in Thailand, but I don't. What I was trying to get at was I will not be able to provide some of the examples given on this website for proof we've met, ie: phone bills, emails, letters money transfers, etc. Because we live together. Will this be a negative?

Nope, I-129F's can ONLY be submitted stateside. Period. I-130's for a spouse might be able to be filed directly but you don't yet qualify maritally for that yet.

[fm2002 0]

Well, it's apparent I'm just beginning on a long journey and my knowledge is very limited at this point. Appreciate your help and hope you'll have some patience with my initial ignorance.

I can definitely get my letter of intent notarized at the US Consulate in Chiang Mai or USA Embassy in BKK. Great idea. One question though: will a USA Consulate/Embassy notarize a non USA citizen signature?

I can also photocopy all passport pages which are many. Pictures are no problem. I have 100's, some going back as far 2006. Never kept any of the boarding passes or such, but i could perhaps dig up credit card statements and match them up with entry/exit stamps from both our passports showing travel together to other countries ?

Great feedback thanks !

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Well, it's apparent I'm just beginning on a long journey and my knowledge is very limited at this point. Appreciate your help and hope you'll have some patience with my initial ignorance.

I can definitely get my letter of intent notarized at the US Consulate in Chiang Mai or USA Embassy in BKK. Great idea. One question though: will a USA Consulate/Embassy notarize a non USA citizen signature?

I can also photocopy all passport pages which are many. Pictures are no problem. I have 100's, some going back as far 2006. Never kept any of the boarding passes or such, but i could perhaps dig up credit card statements and match them up with entry/exit stamps from both our passports showing travel together to other countries ?

Great feedback thanks !

Each consulate has an office called US Citizen Services. This is where they provide notary services. It's usually a walk-in service; i.e., no appointment required. They'll allow a foreign national into the US Citizen Services offices if they have valid business there.

The consulate will provide notary services for any document which is going to be submitted to the US government. They will notarize the signature of a foreign national as long as the document the foreigner is signing is going to be submitted to the US government, and the foreign national has adequate proof of their identity. The notary will be a US Consular Officer.

Remember that the letter of intent does not actually need to be notarized, but having the notary stamp on both of your letters essentially means that you have a US Consular Officer as witness that you were both in the same room at the same time. The only downside is that notary services at the consulate tend to be pretty expensive compared to the same services in the US. I remember paying $75 for each notarized document at the consulate in HCMC.

Credit card statements would be secondary evidence. They prove you paid somebody, but they don't prove you actually traveled. The same would be true of an itinerary. Visas and passports stamps are very good primary evidence. Add some photos and the notarized letters and there's no way USCIS would question whether you'd met the requirement.

[payxibka 10,045]

I can definitely get my letter of intent notarized at the US Consulate in Chiang Mai or USA Embassy in BKK. Great idea. One question though: will a USA Consulate/Embassy notarize a non USA citizen signature?

Not needed for either of you

[fm2002 0]

Each consulate has an office called US Citizen Services. This is where they provide notary services. It's usually a walk-in service; i.e., no appointment required. They'll allow a foreign national into the US Citizen Services offices if they have valid business there.

The consulate will provide notary services for any document which is going to be submitted to the US government. They will notarize the signature of a foreign national as long as the document the foreigner is signing is going to be submitted to the US government, and the foreign national has adequate proof of their identity. The notary will be a US Consular Officer.

Remember that the letter of intent does not actually need to be notarized, but having the notary stamp on both of your letters essentially means that you have a US Consular Officer as witness that you were both in the same room at the same time. The only downside is that notary services at the consulate tend to be pretty expensive compared to the same services in the US. I remember paying $75 for each notarized document at the consulate in HCMC.

Credit card statements would be secondary evidence. They prove you paid somebody, but they don't prove you actually traveled. The same would be true of an itinerary. Visas and passports stamps are very good primary evidence. Add some photos and the notarized letters and there's no way USCIS would question whether you'd met the requirement.

Appreciate your help JimVaPhuong. It seems we have some things in common. I grew up in the East Bay, San Lorenzo. I see you were married in Oakland. Also if you spent anytime in HCMC I'm sure we have some mutual friends there.

As for the notary I've done it for myself before at the BKK US Embassy and I did a online appointment. Not sure if I had to, but I did anyway. Just didn't know about a foreigner. As for the cost I'll still be way ahead of the game doing the VISA process myself.

[fm2002 0]

How is this for a statement for question 18: Originally met in person July 2, 2006. At the time of filing this I-129F living together.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Not needed for either of you

I explained (twice) that the letters don't need to be notarized. The only reason for doing it at the consulate is because:

A) he's already there, in country, so it would be relatively easy to do, and...

B) it's proof positive that they've met the two-year meeting requirement. They have a US Consular Officer as a witness.

If they had none of the other traditional evidence - zero - and submitted nothing other than the notarized letters of intent, the petition would be approved. There's no way USCIS would question the stamp and signature of a US Consular Officer, especially when they both have to present ID to get their signatures notarized.

Appreciate your help JimVaPhuong. It seems we have some things in common. I grew up in the East Bay, San Lorenzo. I see you were married in Oakland. Also if you spent anytime in HCMC I'm sure we have some mutual friends there.

I actually live much closer to San Lorenzo than to Oakland. I live in Hayward. There's a great little Asian market in San Lorenzo, on the corner of Grant Avenue and Channel St.

My wife is from central Vietnam, so we didn't spend a lot of time in HCMC. No more than a week or so at a time. She's got family in HCMC though. Her cousin owns a little hotel in Tan Phu district, south of the airport. I'd give a medium two star rating, but it's relatively new so it's pretty decent.

How is this for a statement for question 18: Originally met in person July 2, 2006. At the time of filing this I-129F living together.

USCIS doesn't care when you originally met, especially if it was more than two years ago. Your answer should make it clear that you've met, face-to-face, within the past two years. Tell them what date you last entered Thailand, and that you are currently living with your fiancee in Thailand.

[payxibka 10,045]

I explained (twice) that the letters don't need to be notarized. The only reason for doing it at the consulate is because:

A) he's already there, in country, so it would be relatively easy to do, and...

B) it's proof positive that they've met the two-year meeting requirement. They have a US Consular Officer as a witness.

If they had none of the other traditional evidence - zero - and submitted nothing other than the notarized letters of intent, the petition would be approved. There's no way USCIS would question the stamp and signature of a US Consular Officer, especially when they both have to present ID to get their signatures notarized.

good luck getting the consulate to do it