I-129F Package Almost Complete - Nervous - A Couple of Questions

[SCFan 0]

My I-129F package is essentially complete. All I have to do is obtain the Fiance Letter of Intent and G-325A form from my fiance, and it's all set and ready to go. I'm very nervous, and have a couple of important questions before I mail it off.

- How many photos are normal for proof of a relationship and having met previously? I have literally thousands of photos of us together, and I've chosen several from various trips and time periods in our relationship. I just wonder how many photos most of you submitted with your package.

- Would notarized statements by friends or family members stating that they have met my fiance when she was visiting me in the States help at all?

- This is the most important question of all. As I mentioned in a previous post, my fiance is Mexican, and has a B1-B2 Border Crossing Card. She is currently in Mexico, and also currently has a multiple-entry I-94 that will expire at the end of April. I will be traveling to Mexico next week to visit her, and she will be crossing back over with me when I return. Our plan is that she will stay with me until she has to return home just before her I-94 expires. At that point, we will try to obtain another one, but since the K-1 application process will be well under way at that point, I understand that it's probably at best a 50/50 chance that she'll be granted another 6-month I-94.

My question is this: Once I have the 2 items I need from her early next week, and the package is complete, would it be smart of me to wait until she's in the United States before mailing the package? I don't want there to be a situation where she's denied entry because her record shows up as having a K-1 application in process.

We are committed to doing this the right way. I understand from everything I've read that there's absolutely no legal issue with her coming to stay with me (as long as she has a valid I-94) while the K-1 application is working it's way through the system. We also understand completely that even if she's able to obtain a new I-94 in April and return to the States with me, that she'll have to return to Mexico for her physical and interview. Am I reading things wrong, or am I good to go with this plan?

Any suggestion or advice from folks in the know out there?

Edited January 26, 2012 by SCFan

[skiptex 225]

i sent pictures of use together.. and with me and her family/friends and her with my family/friends.. dont really need anything notarized.. from the way i understand..

you will just have to find out if the goverment will allow you to get another I-94.. but you basically want her to stay with you in US until the entire process is complete?

[SCFan 0]

i sent pictures of use together.. and with me and her family/friends and her with my family/friends.. dont really need anything notarized.. from the way i understand..

Thanks. Sending photos us together with the other's family and friends is a good idea.

you will just have to find out if the goverment will allow you to get another I-94.. but you basically want her to stay with you in US until the entire process is complete?

Yeah, we are going back in late April to turn in her I-94 and take care of a few things there. We'll then try to cross back over the border and obtain a new 6-month I-94. I fully expect them to not want to give it to her, since she has a K-1 in progress. I'm going to take a copy of our entire I-129F package with us, along with any correspondence from USCIC that I've received since sending it in. I'm hoping that the immigration officer will understand that we are trying to do things the correct way, if we weren't, why would we have spent so much time and money going through the K-1 process if we were intending to just have her cross and get married?

So to answer your question in short form, yes, we want her to be able to stay here while until they contact her to schedule her physical and Visa interview at the consulate.

Edited January 26, 2012 by SCFan

[Dan C. 18]

- This is the most important question of all. As I mentioned in a previous post, my fiance is Mexican, and has a B1-B2 Border Crossing Card. She is currently in Mexico, and also currently has a multiple-entry I-94 that will expire at the end of April. I will be traveling to Mexico next week to visit her, and she will be crossing back over with me when I return. Our plan is that she will stay with me until she has to return home just before her I-94 expires. At that point, we will try to obtain another one, but since the K-1 application process will be well under way at that point, I understand that it's probably at best a 50/50 chance that she'll be granted another 6-month I-94.

My wife and I applied for a CR-1, not a K-1, but she's also Mexican. She and I got married by the civil authorities about six months before our church wedding—you can't get married in a church in Mexico without doing the civil paperwork beforehand anyway—so as soon as we did that, we filed the paperwork for our CR-1. During the time that the CR-1 was pending, we didn't have any trouble with her getting an I-94 at the border. She visited me twice on the East Coast without any trouble.

When we came back from our honeymoon after our church wedding, we flew into the US from Europe. They paid her extra scrutiny there, but she had enough ties to Mexico that we didn't really have any trouble. A month later, she went back to Mexico for her visa interview.

So your fiancee should be fine at the border. It's always at the discretion of the border entry official, but there shouldn't be any restrictions on her travel.

The restrictions on her traveling will go into effect after she enters with her K-1—she'll have to stay in the US until she adjusts status.

I don't know your particular situation, but if your fiancee is near the border region, you might want to look into skipping the K-1 and just getting married and filing for the CR-1. You'll save yourselves about $900, and she can wait in the US up to 6 months at a time with her BCC. She can't work, but she couldn't work with the K-1 anyway (at least, not until she gets work authorization, which I heard can take as long as the AOS process). Since she can come into the US with her BCC, why bother with the extra hassle of travel restriction, status adjustment, and fees?

Just something to consider.

Edited January 27, 2012 by Dan C.

[SCFan 0]

My wife and I applied for a CR-1, not a K-1, but she's also Mexican. She and I got married by the civil authorities about six months before our church wedding—you can't get married in a church in Mexico without doing the civil paperwork beforehand anyway—so as soon as we did that, we filed the paperwork for our CR-1. During the time that the CR-1 was pending, we didn't have any trouble with her getting an I-94 at the border. She visited me twice on the East Coast without any trouble.

When we came back from our honeymoon after our church wedding, we flew into the US from Europe. They paid her extra scrutiny there, but she had enough ties to Mexico that we didn't really have any trouble. A month later, she went back to Mexico for her visa interview.

So your fiancee should be fine at the border. It's always at the discretion of the border entry official, but there shouldn't be any restrictions on her travel.

The restrictions on her traveling will go into effect after she enters with her K-1—she'll have to stay in the US until she adjusts status.

I don't know your particular situation, but if your fiancee is near the border region, you might want to look into skipping the K-1 and just getting married and filing for the CR-1. You'll save yourselves about $900, and she can wait in the US up to 6 months at a time with her BCC. She can't work, but she couldn't work with the K-1 anyway (at least, not until she gets work authorization, which I heard can take as long as the AOS process). Since she can come into the US with her BCC, why bother with the extra hassle of travel restriction, status adjustment, and fees?

Just something to consider.

Thanks, Dan. That's definitely something to consider. I really appreciate all the information.

My fiance does, in fact, live near the border.

I had decided against the CR-1, mostly because I was certain that she'd not be able to cross the border to stay with me once her CR-1 application was received. The K-1 seemed to be the only way to be able to work that out.

When you and your wife went through this, did she quit her job in Mexico so she could stay with you on her I-94? If so, did that not cause the immigration officers to have more issues with giving her the I-94?

[mugumogu 18]

My I-129F package is essentially complete. All I have to do is obtain the Fiance Letter of Intent and G-325A form from my fiance, and it's all set and ready to go. I'm very nervous, and have a couple of important questions before I mail it off.

- How many photos are normal for proof of a relationship and having met previously? I have literally thousands of photos of us together, and I've chosen several from various trips and time periods in our relationship. I just wonder how many photos most of you submitted with your package.

- Would notarized statements by friends or family members stating that they have met my fiance when she was visiting me in the States help at all?

- This is the most important question of all. As I mentioned in a previous post, my fiance is Mexican, and has a B1-B2 Border Crossing Card. She is currently in Mexico, and also currently has a multiple-entry I-94 that will expire at the end of April. I will be traveling to Mexico next week to visit her, and she will be crossing back over with me when I return. Our plan is that she will stay with me until she has to return home just before her I-94 expires. At that point, we will try to obtain another one, but since the K-1 application process will be well under way at that point, I understand that it's probably at best a 50/50 chance that she'll be granted another 6-month I-94.

My question is this: Once I have the 2 items I need from her early next week, and the package is complete, would it be smart of me to wait until she's in the United States before mailing the package? I don't want there to be a situation where she's denied entry because her record shows up as having a K-1 application in process.

We are committed to doing this the right way. I understand from everything I've read that there's absolutely no legal issue with her coming to stay with me (as long as she has a valid I-94) while the K-1 application is working it's way through the system. We also understand completely that even if she's able to obtain a new I-94 in April and return to the States with me, that she'll have to return to Mexico for her physical and interview. Am I reading things wrong, or am I good to go with this plan?

Any suggestion or advice from folks in the know out there?

1. I turned in 15 photos covering the 2 year period we had known each other at that time. There is no point in submitting a whole lot. These guys have a lot to do and they're not going to kill time flipping through a lot of photos. Just pick the best ones from different times & locations and that should be fine.

2. The more information you submit, the better; however, notarized statements aren't necessary and probably wouldn't do anything to improve your case. If submitting them will put your mind at ease then it might be worth it.

3. I'm not sure, but people travel back and forth all the time with a pending K-1 application so the most important thing is that she have a return ticket home and doesn't give the immigration officers at the POE any suspicion that she won't be returning to Mexico.

Edited January 28, 2012 by mugumogu