Questions about I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)

[wolfx 0]

If the name you currently use isn't on the documents you'll need to supply -- I recommend looking ahead to see what you'll need to provide at the interview stage -- then you should include documentation noting your name change. Did you change your name on your government documents?

You don't need to supply your birth certificate at this stage, but you will need it for the interview preparation down the road, which again, is why it's important that if you have a different name on the documents you'll need for the interview that there's a clear explanation/document stating this.

What documents do you refer to? The name I use is on everything. The only time my old name is present is on my birth certificate. Everything else is my current name. My bank card, license, government stuff... all use my current name. So I suppose I don't need to put my old name in Other Names section? That one bugs me. Either way I'll send a copy of the name change to my fiance. Just might leave the Other Names section blank. What do you think?

Another question comes to mind:

>> Color Photo's of you and your fiance(e) together. Make sure you write your names, date, and location on the back of every photo. Provide two to five photo's. If you only have a single copy of the photo, then make a color copy and send that. If it is a digital photo, have it printed at a company such as kodakgallery.com. You can also make duplicates of photo's at your local photo store (Walgreeens, CVS, etc). Place photo's in a plastic bag or photo sheet and label the sheet. Note that you may not receive originals of photo's back. <<

Can we not just print a digital photo (iphone photo) and use that? Only my fiance has a printer. And the only photos we have are digital. I mean her printer isn't professional but it can print those photos out. Has anyone done this and been successful? Christ, I'm going to bed. Stressed out. Gotta wait until she finishes work so we can start this. Taking it slowly.

[LeftCoastLady 441]

I'll just put this out there. Helping your fiancée prepare what she'll need to submit is a great thing, but the details do matter in this process. If the preparation of the documents is stressing you out, then maybe you need to take a breather for a few days (or longer) until you're both ready to refocus on what needs to be done.

What documents do you refer to? The name I use is on everything. The only time my old name is present is on my birth certificate. Everything else is my current name. My bank card, license, government stuff... all use my current name. So I suppose I don't need to put my old name in Other Names section? That one bugs me. Either way I'll send a copy of the name change to my fiance. Just might leave the Other Names section blank. What do you think?

Since your old name is on your birth certificate, I would include that information on your G-325A form.

[baron555 934]

So trying to do this form, but have a few questions about the requirements. I've been reading for like 2 days straight on the process... getting mixed answers.

1. How and when do you pay for this form.. when you send it out? Or do you pay after? I can't find on any websites that tell you WHEN you have to pay.

2. I have changed my name before in the past. It has nothing to do with marriages or anything, just changed it when I was younger. (Im a guy btw) I'm talking about the "Other Names" section on the form. Can I leave it blank, or I must mention my changed name? That means I'll have to send a copy of the change name to my fiance in America? Thats gonna delay everything

3. Do you need a photograph on the form? I dunno where I read this but I saw it somewhere. I sure hope not. Makes everything harder.

4. Form expiry date says 02/29/2012 down below it says (Rev. 11/23/10) - apparently it's still okay according to the website saying edition 11/23/10 is still okay to use. Just wanted to double check with you guys.

I was hoping it was as easy as filling out the form, sending it, wham bam, approved.

Anything else I need to know before my fiance sends out that form? Don't want any mistakes and delays.

You do not pay, your USC fiance pays....more later.

Yes to list other names and sending form to USC fiance.

Yes to photographs, the instructions are very clear. Read them

Go to the USCIS website and get their latest version.

YOU do not fill out the form and send it in.....your USC fiance fills out the form and sends it in. It is a petition by the USC to allow you to be considered for a K-1 visa......you only provide the information she needs to fill out the form here in the US. You do have to go to an interview at the Embassy..eventually. If your USC is not involved, then there is a big problem. This should be the USCs job not yours.

[Enigma11561 336]

You are asking a lot of good questions. BUT...your fiancee is the USC. She is supposed to be petitioning for you.

SHE should be doing this work. It's good that you are involved but this cannot be done in a vacuum. If she "does not have the time" to work on this now, what will happen when the the other processes take place? I am not feeling the love here. Just my opinion.

[worth_the_wait 12]

I think the Cover letter is a good way to identify what is in your packet and makes the forms and information easier to digest at USCIS. I personally used it as a way to double check myself and make sure that I had included everything I listed in the Cover Letter so I didn't accidentally leave something out.

Yes, if your name is still your old name on your birth certificate you'll either have to supply them with the documentation of you legally chainging your name OR go have your name changed on your Birth Certificate. You will HAVE to have your birth certificate when you go for your interview at the Embassy so you have time to get the document changed. It is really how you want to personally move forward.

I would recommend starting with the Cover Letter and working your way down from there. The forms that are required to have your signature, it will have to be your original signature not a photo copied or printed one so YES you will need to mail those to your Fiancee to include in her packet.

I also recommend following the directions as closely as possible and not question them for WHY because it could cost you time and delay your petition in the end.

Also, the process is NOT easy. It is very difficult and very long. You should prepare yourself to have patience while your petition works it way through the ranks of the Government Agencies who have to process it.

Good Luck!

[baron555 934]

Where's the edit button? Seems like it's gone after a while.

13. Proof of Legal Name Change if either the US Citizen and/or foreign fiance(e) is using a name other than that shown on the relevant documents. You must give USCIS copies of the legal documents that made the change, such as a marriage certificate, adoption decree or court order.

Why can't I understand this? lol. Relevant documents; which relevant documents? The only time I'm using my name is on the petition, cover letter, fiance letter of intent and a couple other forms. Which is my current name. I changed my name long time ago in the past. So I'm still not sure if they need to know about this. But I guess I might as well send it a long with all my other stuff.

Also, no where in the guide it says I need MY birth certificate. Only my fiance (U.S. citizen) - So I guess I don't have to send it out?

You may have been a terrorist who changed their name....that's why they want to know.

Also, no where in the guide it says I need MY birth certificate. Only my fiance (U.S. citizen) - So I guess I don't have to send it out?

Correct, you need your BC for your interview.

[troutcat 41]

Phew! There is a concept in procedural law known as "answering the call of the question". If I am asking the US to do something for me - grant my husband an immigrant visa - I must ask myself "what do they want from me?" and give them exactly that, rather than asking "WHY do they want this?", and trying to give them what I want. I use the form instructions and the forums to find out WHAT the government wants me to send, and I let go of wondering why and arguing about it. The skill I need is to understand the question or request, and answer or respond. I find all the why why whying just feeds my own craziness. (I realize your fiancee is asking for a fiancee visa for you, and you are working with (her?) to make this happen. I happen to be petitioning for my husband, but we are all in the same boat in the broader sense.)

You ask 'WHY, WHY do they want photos that are fewer than 3 months old? I have perfectly good photos from X months ago! How will they ever know how old they are?' Surrender. This line of questioning will not help you. I find it only stirs up my own feeling of being put upon. If the USCIS says 'give us photos fewer than 3 months old', I send them photos that are fewer than 3 months old, and then I get on with my day. Why? Because they say so. Simple. If I keep asking why why why, I only fan the flames of my own anxiety and discontentment, and this will get in the way of my ability to "answer the call of the question". I do not have the luxury of spending a huge amount of emotional energy questioning a process which is not mine to change.

It helps me to remember that I am asking the government to do something for me, something discretionary. In order to ask, I must follow the rules for asking. It will be easier if I feel neutral about it, rather than continually feeding the part of my head that thinks "WHY? This is stupid! I should not have to do X or Y: I should be able to do what I feel like doing instead." Of course, I can do what I feel like: it is just not likely to get a visa for my husband.

I feel your pain, as they say, when I hear you saying 'OH MY GOD DO I REALLY HAVE TO MAIL SOMETHING in the MAIL with a stamp and an envelope and, well, MAIL it?' Phew! Mailing: not the toughest hurdle to clear. I tell myself, really, all I have to do is mail it? I don't have to actually go there and do it in person? Phew." It is clear to me from watching other people's journeys that this is a long and exacting process. I have to be able to relax, take it in small bits, not feed my own frustration, pick my battles, and demonstrate care and patience and hope and my sense of how lucky we are to my partner. It is, weirdly enough, a good test of and revelation of the skills I will bring to the relationship which underlies this whole business: my marriage. It is a long process which will show me if I am capable of seeing something through in good spirits, and am able to make daily living better during the process, or if I become an #### when confronted with something which is not my idea and which I may find inconvenient. I say all this to remind myself, because I feel the level of stress you are expressing at times (say, doing my taxes jointly with a non-resident alien for the first time, and trying to understand which applies, the IRS 1116 or the IRS 2555 - I am still waiting for my sobbing to end - but I digress), and it is always good to see from another person's stress that I myself am losing perspective, and this visa business is all a luxury, not a problem.

Best wishes to you, and to your fiancee.

(and what I want to know is why are my tickers dead? They do not update...)

Edited March 7, 2012 by troutcat

[keysjangle 145]

OP, about your photo pages. I put 2 or 3 photos per page on Word with a brief blurb under each one (names, date photo was taken, where it was taken, event/occasion), printed them out and had no issues. I think, or at least I hope, a lot of the younger couples are doing things in this far more efficient way.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Gervl

[KayDeeCee 4,900]

What documents do you refer to? The name I use is on everything. The only time my old name is present is on my birth certificate. Everything else is my current name. My bank card, license, government stuff... all use my current name. So I suppose I don't need to put my old name in Other Names section? That one bugs me. Either way I'll send a copy of the name change to my fiance. Just might leave the Other Names section blank. What do you think?

Why did your name change? Was it marriage? Through the courts? You need to provide the document that shows your legal name change, so if your name is different than the one on your birth certificate because you got married before, then provide your marriage certificate that shows your name change. Also provide the divorce decree that shows that marriage was terminated. If you filed a name change through the courts, then send a copy of the name change document from the court to prove your name being changed. Where the forms ask for old names or other names used, put your name that is on your birth certificate. So, the name you put there matches with the name shown on your document that proves the name change occurred, and when you show your birth certificate at the interview no one is confused. They know that is you, and it is indeed your birth cert.

[Visalessbob 0]

Yes, you will have to snail-mail the documents you have to sign to your fiancée. You have to submit actual signatures for the letter of intent and G-325A form.

Since I don't know which country you're from...your passport photos should match the criteria for the US (white background, sizing, etc.).

What I did for my wife who lives in Brazil was she emailed me the photos and I took them to Wal-Mart and had them print out US passport size photos of her. Worked quite well.

This is covered in the K-1 guide on the VJ site, but you can use a plastic baggy for containing the photos and clip them (not staple or glue) to the appropriate documents.

Since you're going to have to snail-mail her the other documents, you can always throw in the name change documentation, too.

As has been mentioned, this process can be easily done as long as you (and your fiancée) are ready to embark on the journey. (And it really is a journey.) You can search the forum to see how those who used the services of a lawyer have fared.

[jayne d 12]

In some countries like the United Kingdom, you do not have to do anything from a legal standpoint to change your name, you just start using your new name, therefore it is likely you will not have any legal document such as a deed poll showing your change of name.

You can however, provide a letter from a responsible person, such as a GP, solicitor, minister, priest or MP, this will often be enough evidence that you have changed your name. The letter should state that the person has known you in both names (your current name and the one on your birth certificate) and that the change of name is to be used for all purposes. I suggest you organise such a letter as evidence of name change as you will need this at your interview later during the visa process.

You will need to put the name on your birth certificate under 'Other names' on the g325A

Edited March 8, 2012 by jayne d

[wolfx 0]

You are asking a lot of good questions. BUT...your fiancee is the USC. She is supposed to be petitioning for you.

SHE should be doing this work. It's good that you are involved but this cannot be done in a vacuum. If she "does not have the time" to work on this now, what will happen when the the other processes take place? I am not feeling the love here. Just my opinion.

I understand your thoughts. She's really busy but she makes time after work, like right now, we are chatting and doing it together. When she goes to sleep or work, I help out with documents and putting forms together. I type a lot faster than her as I do it for a living at the courts. So I don't mind... but she's also putting in some work too. I have a lot more time on my hands than her.

Yes, if your name is still your old name on your birth certificate you'll either have to supply them with the documentation of you legally chainging your name OR go have your name changed on your Birth Certificate. You will HAVE to have your birth certificate when you go for your interview at the Embassy so you have time to get the document changed. It is really how you want to personally move forward.

The name on my birth certificate is different than my current name (My first name is the only difference) - I wasn't aware you can get a new birth certificate with the current name on it. hmm. Not much point doing that anyway, I have all the changed name documents. Just dunno if I should send it to my fiance to send with the petition. then I'd have to send my birth certificate which they didn't ask for yet.

OP, about your photo pages. I put 2 or 3 photos per page on Word with a brief blurb under each one (names, date photo was taken, where it was taken, event/occasion), printed them out and had no issues. I think, or at least I hope, a lot of the younger couples are doing things in this far more efficient way.

Really? Wow that's good. Saves us from printing photos on a crappy printer. How many pages did you use and how many photos all up? Just to get an idea.

In some countries like the United Kingdom, you do not have to do anything from a legal standpoint to change your name, you just start using your new name, therefore it is likely you will not have any legal document such as a deed poll showing your change of name.

You can however, provide a letter from a responsible person, such as a GP, solicitor, minister, priest or MP, this will often be enough evidence that you have changed your name. The letter should state that the person has known you in both names (your current name and the one on your birth certificate) and that the change of name is to be used for all purposes. I suggest you organise such a letter as evidence of name change as you will need this at your interview later during the visa process.

You will need to put the name on your birth certificate under 'Other names' on the g325A

Yes it was changed by deed poll when I was like 18. I changed it back when I was maybe 24 I think. I am 28 now. I just don't know if I should send the change of name copies to my fiance to send out with the petition. Then they'd need my birth certificate and they didn't ask for that. Dunno what to do about that one.

Edited March 8, 2012 by wolfx

[keysjangle 145]

OP, we did use a home printer. Sorry if that wasn't clear. USCIS scans them all into their system anyway. Seems like this method makes it easier for them as well. This is what it looked like:

Edited March 8, 2012 by Gervl

[wolfx 0]

OP, we did use a home printer. Sorry if that wasn't clear. USCIS scans them all into their system anyway. Seems like this method makes it easier for them as well. This is what it looked like:

Alright that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks a lot

[jayne d 12]

Yes it was changed by deed poll when I was like 18. I changed it back when I was maybe 24 I think. I am 28 now. I just don't know if I should send the change of name copies to my fiance to send out with the petition. Then they'd need my birth certificate and they didn't ask for that. Dunno what to do about that one.

Hi, you do not need to send any documents relating to your change of name to your financee at this stage. You will need it for your interview later. Just include your other name in the correct place on the G325A.