Few questions, regarding I-129F (newbie)

[Mariya and Tim 5]

Hello everybody!!! My name is Mariya and I have few questions regarding the I-129F. I would really appreciate your help since I'm already freaking out =/

1. I want to help my fiance with the photos, so my idea is to do it on A4 paper (Word) - 3-4 photos per page with short description under them. Is that okay? Do they need to be printed as normal photos?

Also, (silly question) how do I "name" people? For example - a photo of my fiance and my dad - do we write "Me, Timothy ..... and the beneficiary's father" or just "Me and my fiancee father".. I know it's minor but it really threw me off.

P.S. How many photos is too much?

2. How do we separate the attachments? Is it okay if we separate them in folders, numbered - for example: "Attachment No.1 - Question 18". And then the statement followed by different proofs separated by years - "Attachments - 2010" etc. or we just put them all behind the statement in chronological order without separation?

3. G325 - Beneficiary - Do I list ALL my addresses - f.e. my 4 month addresses in the US? And if I do - do I write again my Bulgarian permanent address between all these or I just state its period and add the small gaps, while living in the US?

For example:

May 2010 - Sept 2010 - USA address

Oct 2010 - May 2011 - permanent address

May 2011 - Oct 2011 - USA address

Oct 2011 - present - permanent address

Yes/No?

4. If the petitioner was employed but with no contract and no taxes paid - does he list that job, or states unemployed?

5. We want to include a Birthday card from my fiance but the last two words are in Roman letters but a Bulgarian word. Do we need to translate this officially?! OR he can just say what it means? Or we say nothing at all?

Thank you in advance :*

[acuratlsd 11]

Hello everybody!!! My name is Mariya and I have few questions regarding the I-129F. I would really appreciate your help since I'm already freaking out =/

1. I want to help my fiance with the photos, so my idea is to do it on A4 paper (Word) - 3-4 photos per page with short description under them. Is that okay? Do they need to be printed as normal photos?

Also, (silly question) how do I "name" people? For example - a photo of my fiance and my dad - do we write "Me, Timothy ..... and the beneficiary's father" or just "Me and my fiancee father".. I know it's minor but it really threw me off.

P.S. How many photos is too much?

2. How do we separate the attachments? Is it okay if we separate them in folders, numbered - for example: "Attachment No.1 - Question 18". And then the statement followed by different proofs separated by years - "Attachments - 2010" etc. or we just put them all behind the statement in chronological order without separation?

3. G325 - Beneficiary - Do I list ALL my addresses - f.e. my 4 month addresses in the US? And if I do - do I write again my Bulgarian permanent address between all these or I just state its period and add the small gaps, while living in the US?

For example:

May 2010 - Sept 2010 - USA address

Oct 2010 - May 2011 - permanent address

May 2011 - Oct 2011 - USA address

Oct 2011 - present - permanent address

Yes/No?

4. If the petitioner was employed but with no contract and no taxes paid - does he list that job, or states unemployed?

5. We want to include a Birthday card from my fiance but the last two words are in Roman letters but a Bulgarian word. Do we need to translate this officially?! OR he can just say what it means? Or we say nothing at all?

Thank you in advance :*

For the G-325, List all your addresses from present to latest.... Just know this... the US government can pull up your residential history in a hear beat. So never lie...

If you have lived in more places than what the G-325 gives you space for, then you make an attachment.

make sure your addresses are dead accurate.

About the Photos,

I supplied 5-7 photos and on the back I wrote when and where those photo were taken.

Remember to save them because you will have to do it again for the US Visa Interview.

[pinoygwapo 1]

To answer some of your questions.

First, yes, you can do that. You can use an A4 paper and attached the photos. Either you print them off from a Word format, or, actually pasting on actual photo prints from any KODAK shops, is fine. Some people, didn't label them, some did. But if you would label them, it wouldn't hurt you, would it?

Second, I will again, tell you, some did put tons of photos, some didn't. Just a few pages of A4, say 3-5 pages will do.

Third, when my fiancee filed the 129F, she did a cover letter containing the indices and or appendices of each section and label them. Through that way, they can easily locate which is which.

Fourth, I do not know really

Fifth, I guess, the actual Bulgarian Card which was written in Roman is fine, if you could attach the translation, it is fine. But, I guess, not mandatory.

[pumpkinseed 10]

Hello and welcome to VJ!

First of all, I really like your attitude towards the petition because you seem to be a perfectionist and read every line 10 times, and then wonder about every little thing. It's gonna help you have a perfect application, but it will also stress you out, so try to relax because it will all be ok in the end! (I'm talking from experience, I was the same about our application). Now to your questions:

1. I printed our pictures on regular A4 paper - two per page and some description underneath which my then fiance (now husband) actually wrote by hand. It stated the location of the pictures and named people in them. Yes, you can name people in the pictures whichever way you like as long as it's reasonable, of course.

We had around 30 pictures in the i-129f application, so 15 printed pages, which I think was reasonable but also quite a lot, so anything more than that is too much, in my opinion.

2.You don't really need folders for your different documents - they will take it all apart and put it in the order they prefer - so as long as you have a well written cover letter (which I'm sure you will) and put them all in order, it will all be fine. They should be able to find what they need in the whole bunch of documents. I only used paperclips, and I'm sure those were taken off right away too. Using folders or plastic "pockets" will only make it difficult for them (as I noticed on my visa interviews in the embassy - they didn't want to see any folders, just a stack of papers in the right order.) It's ok to use tabs and tags. Check this link to the USCIS website - http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=fe529c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextoid=ff053d146a7ee010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD

3. I had the same issue cause I did Work and Travel in the USA for 3 years and I had to put all that down on my address and employment history in the G-325. You have to put ALL of it and do it in a chronological order - just like in the example you gave. I did the same thing. Remember to never leave gaps in time. Of course I couldn't fit it all in the form, so I used an attachment sheet - cause I had about 10 lines of addresses.

4. Not sure what to tell you about this one - but I guess it's good to always tell the truth to USCIS so you don't get in trouble.

5. You don't need to translate it. Postcards and letters etc. are not even necessary for your petition submission. You will need them for the interview (although they didn't even look at mine at the interview either). So the chances are they won't read them at all at the USCIS. Even if they do, believe me they won't care about a couple of words in Bulgarian. If you feel better translating them - just attach a little tag to it or something - you definitely don't need certified translation.

Good luck with your petition - you will be ok! Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

[brian_n_phuong 193]

5. You don't need to translate it. Postcards and letters etc. are not even necessary for your petition submission. You will need them for the interview (although they didn't even look at mine at the interview either). So the chances are they won't read them at all at the USCIS. Even if they do, believe me they won't care about a couple of words in Bulgarian. If you feel better translating them - just attach a little tag to it or something - you definitely don't need certified translation.

Per the USCIS, documents not in English must be translated. The policy states as follows:

"All documents that are in a language other than English must be submitted with a translation. The person translating the document must certify that the translation is complete and accurate and that he/she is competent to translate from the foreign language into English."

All translations must include a statement similar to the following:

Certification by Translator:

I (typed name) , certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and (type the foreign language) languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document attached entitled (name of document).

Signature ______________________ Typed Name _________________

Date ___________ Address _____________________

Yes, I'm sure that others have submitted doccuments in foriegn language and had them sneak through, however the "official" USCIS policy for K1 petitions is as above.

Edited February 5, 2012 by brian_n_phuong

[pumpkinseed 10]

Per the USCIS, documents not in English must be translated. The policy states as follows:

"All documents that are in a language other than English must be submitted with a translation. The person translating the document must certify that the translation is complete and accurate and that he/she is competent to translate from the foreign language into English."

All translations must include a statement similar to the following:

Certification by Translator:

I (typed name) , certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and (type the foreign language) languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document attached entitled (name of document).

Signature ______________________ Typed Name _________________

Date ___________ Address _____________________

Yes, I'm sure that others have submitted doccuments in foriegn language and had them sneak through, however the "official" USCIS policy for K1 petitions is as above.

This is a good point and I agree with you, and yes, USCIS policies are always to be followed. But we are talking about a couple of words in a foreign language on a birthday card. It's not an official document. They probably don't even read those things. They don't even require you to send them. If they really cared about every word you send them then why is that they don't mind if you black things out with a marker? We personally blacked out whole sentences that were too personal in the evidence we sent in and we had no problems whatsoever. I'm sure they don't have the time to read every e-mail and postcard people send them - can you imagine how many hours it would take them to review a petition if they did?

Anyway, to the Original Poster - if you feel more comfortable, then translate it. Or just black it out with a marker. They wouldn't mind. Good luck!

[brian_n_phuong 193]

This is a good point and I agree with you, and yes, USCIS policies are always to be followed. But we are talking about a couple of words in a foreign language on a birthday card. It's not an official document. They probably don't even read those things. They don't even require you to send them. If they really cared about every word you send them then why is that they don't mind if you black things out with a marker? We personally blacked out whole sentences that were too personal in the evidence we sent in and we had no problems whatsoever. I'm sure they don't have the time to read every e-mail and postcard people send them - can you imagine how many hours it would take them to review a petition if they did?

Anyway, to the Original Poster - if you feel more comfortable, then translate it. Or just black it out with a marker. They wouldn't mind. Good luck!

I agree with ya Pumpkin, translating the b-day card would be totally ridiculous !!!

I only posted the info as a warning to those that may misinterpret your comment and think everything in the native language can be sent to USCIS without transalation.

[pumpkinseed 10]

I agree with ya Pumpkin, translating the b-day card would be totally ridiculous !!!

I only posted the info as a warning to those that may misinterpret your comment and think everything in the native language can be sent to USCIS without transalation.

Thank you.

[Mariya and Tim 5]

Thank you so much!!! You helped me a lot.

Fingers crossed - we are hoping to get everything done till Friday!

[s2kroma 0]

Thank you so much!!! You helped me a lot.

Fingers crossed - we are hoping to get everything done till Friday!

Good Luck. I am sending my I-129F packet this Thursday. Been preparing my packet for the past 2 weeks. I hope that I have everything in order.

[jeffandmariya 0]

Good luck on the journey and be patient!!!

About the pictures - I don't think that it would be a problem whatever you put in there. We had one single picture together (I'm not much of a picture taker) and I worried about this all the time but it went well.

Take care and keep us updated!