Ongoing relationship proof ideas...

[bebop + rocksteady 0]

I did a search for this info, and pulled up a few helpful threads, but also thought I'd get the 2 cents of the active forum and get it all in one thread for everyone to benefit from. What suggestions do you have for things that will work as good ongoing relationship proof for the interview. So far my list of ideas includes:

Photos

Boarding Passes

Passport Exit/Entry Stamps

Cards or Letters

Email or IM correspondence

Phone Records

Proof of Wedding planning

Engagement ring receipt

Receipts from gifts

Money transfer receipts

Bank statements from visits

Receipts from items purchased together

Stubs from events attended together

Letters/invitations addressed to both of us

Now these are just the ones that are going to work for us, what other things did everyone else use (or are going to use), it'd be nice to get a large list together so people can pick and choose what paints the right picture for them.

Cass (bebop the great)

[joeyjoey 1]

Your list looks similar to mine below. I am going to Brazil next week with all the forms completed for Fernanda's Packet 3. Also, we'll make some fresh new photos for her to carry to the Interview. DOn't there to be any doubt that what we have is "ongoing"! Hey, your list is great! Best of luck to you.

Photos

Phone Bills

Hotel receipts

Letters

Emails

Boarding Passes

Passport Stamps

Engagement ring receipts

Western Union receipts

[Rodney 0]

I would add that in the photos, to have family members in some also.

[hockeygal 0]

all that sounds good. Much better than what I've cobbled together!

a phone bill per year. Maybe a few more recent ones of his. I haven't had a phone bill for 4 months now.

an email per year. A few more recent ones.

a few old photos. A bunch of them taken very recently.

an old postcard.

It's made me realize we suck! We don't take photos, our emails are of the polite good-morning-how-are-you- ok-gotta-run variety. All the romantic emails and cards from the first few years, I trashed after our last break up! ah well.

[Johnta 0]

all that sounds good. Much better than what I've cobbled together!

a phone bill per year. Maybe a few more recent ones of his. I haven't had a phone bill for 4 months now.

an email per year. A few more recent ones.

a few old photos. A bunch of them taken very recently.

an old postcard.

It's made me realize we suck! We don't take photos, our emails are of the polite good-morning-how-are-you- ok-gotta-run variety. All the romantic emails and cards from the first few years, I trashed after our last break up! ah well.

Heh! I can relate to this couple!

I too have known my fiancee for years and we've had our ups and downs. We've got tons of letters from well BEFORE the starting of the K-1 process---but precious few since.

I think the problem with the nice lists above is that many of us haven't been able to go visit our Fiancees since we filed. So--I have no plane tickets--photos--etc.

Just phone bills mostly---LOTS of them tho.

JB

[ftr_mrs_f 0]

Here's ours:

Photos

Boarding Passes

Ticket purchases

Passport Exit/Entry Stamps

Cards from us and our families

Email and IM correspondence of us

(also from my family to him and his family to me)

Screenshots of us chatting

Phone Records

Affidavit from our priest

Engagement ring receipt

Receipts from gifts, restaurants and

different places we went to together

when we traveled abroad on vacation.

Money transfer receipts

Copies of post office stamps of stuff

we've mailed to each other

Ufff, we dont know what else to get, they wont give him the phone records from his calling cards so we gotta find a substitute for that. Anyway, good luck to everybody!

[ljs 1]

I've been thinking about this a lot recently as my interview is fast approaching. A few days ago I saw this post from Yodrak, which I saved, but not the link to the actual thread (sorry):

"This "proof on ongoing relationship" is a mis-statement of the actual requirement. What it is that the visa applicant, not you, needs to prove is that the relationship is not solely for the purpose of evading immigration law.

This mis-understanding can be a big frustration for petitioners with fiance(e)s and spouses in high-fraud countries. "We provided tons of evidence - hundreds of e-mails and reams of phone logs". Great, but did those tons of evidence clearly indicate that the visa applicant wasn't patiently e-mailing you and listening to your voice because they thought it was their easiest route to a Green Card?

So, think about what it is about the relationship that needs to be proved, and who needs to prove it.

Yodrak"

This is a different perspective than I was looking at it from; how do you prove that your relationship is bona fide and you are not looking for an easy green card? A joke when you look at some of our timelines I know!

So the question remains...how do you prove that? We are treading into metaphysics now. I am hoping the consular officer can look into my heart and see the truth. And if s/he can't I have a truckload of phone bills and boarding passes to wow him/her with.

Food for thought.

Linda

[Cassie 8]

I included emails /cards / correspondence from my future in-law family

Evidence that comes from or includes family members (especially showing a relationship between you and future stepchildren) would be beneficial.

[Ken_Maria 0]

This link is where I pulled the required documents and examples from. Guides and Examples payato

[no name 1]

I did a search for this info, and pulled up a few helpful threads, but also thought I'd get the 2 cents of the active forum and get it all in one thread for everyone to benefit from. What suggestions do you have for things that will work as good ongoing relationship proof for the interview. So far my list of ideas includes:

Photos

Boarding Passes

Passport Exit/Entry Stamps

Cards or Letters (only good if dated or have postmarked envelope)

Email or IM correspondence

Phone Records

Proof of Wedding planning

Engagement ring receipt

Receipts from gifts (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's receipt)

Money transfer receipts

Bank statements from visits

Receipts from items purchased together (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's receipt)

Stubs from events attended together (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's stubs)

Letters/invitations addressed to both of us

[bebop + rocksteady 0]

Good point on the receipts. But what if they are purchase with say....my debit card (therefore have my name and partial account number on them) and were purchased in HIS hometown?

Hmm, this just feels like such a weird concept to prove, you know? I mean, I guess the fact that we ARE in a legitimate relationship should be enough. It's not like Canada is a high-risk country. I just....am struggling with what is a good way to prove that we are legitimate. Which, is why I guess the very reason they have an interview, because it's hard to tell from just the paper facts.

Cass (bebop the great)

Receipts from gifts (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's receipt)

Money transfer receipts

Bank statements from visits

Receipts from items purchased together (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's receipt)

Stubs from events attended together (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's stubs)

Letters/invitations addressed to both of us

Edited November 3, 2006 by bebop + rocksteady

[no name 1]

Good point on the receipts. But what if they are purchase with say....my debit card (therefore have my name and partial account number on them) and were purchased in HIS hometown?

Hmm, this just feels like such a weird concept to prove, you know? I mean, I guess the fact that we ARE in a legitimate relationship should be enough. It's not like Canada is a high-risk country. I just....am struggling with what is a good way to prove that we are legitimate. Which, is why I guess the very reason they have an interview, because it's hard to tell from just the paper facts.

Yes, I suppose those would work but you already have bank statements from visits as well. I think pics & emails & travel plans are the best idea.

I dunno how Canada is, but J didn't show anything in London at interview. I supppose that depends on how your relationship looks to them - we lived in London for 1.5 years while dating so I think it easily looks legit.

Edited November 3, 2006 by devilette

[Yodrak 7]

Linda,

Excellent. You understand exactly how the consular officer is going to decide - based on how they percieve the warm body who is standing in front of them answering a few basic (or many not so basic) questions. Something on paper is needed to document the decision for the file, but the paper documentation may or may not play a major role in the decision.

Again, as I wrote in the post that you quoted, I sense that this is to a great extent why visa applicants at high-fraud posts often have much more trouble that visa applicants at low-fraud posts. Anyone with a little time and patience can generate a wealth of paper documentation, and in fact fraudsters are often better at it than the average person.

Yodrak

... how do you prove that your relationship is bona fide and you are not looking for an easy green card? A joke when you look at some of our timelines I know!

So the question remains...how do you prove that? We are treading into metaphysics now. I am hoping the consular officer can look into my heart and see the truth. And if s/he can't I have a truckload of phone bills and boarding passes to wow him/her with.

Food for thought.

Linda

devilette,

Not only could they be anyone's, but many people would be happy to write and receive cards and letters, give and receive a few gifts, buy a few things, and attend a few events, if it will get them a pass to the USA.

Yodrak

I did a search for this info, and pulled up a few helpful threads, but also thought I'd get the 2 cents of the active forum and get it all in one thread for everyone to benefit from. What suggestions do you have for things that will work as good ongoing relationship proof for the interview. So far my list of ideas includes:

Photos

Boarding Passes

Passport Exit/Entry Stamps

Cards or Letters (only good if dated or have postmarked envelope)

Email or IM correspondence

Phone Records

Proof of Wedding planning

Engagement ring receipt

Receipts from gifts (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's receipt)

Money transfer receipts

Bank statements from visits

Receipts from items purchased together (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's receipt)

Stubs from events attended together (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's stubs)

Letters/invitations addressed to both of us

[garya505 2]

Linda,

Excellent. You understand exactly how the consular officer is going to decide - based on how they percieve the warm body who is standing in front of them answering a few basic (or many not so basic) questions. Something on paper is needed to document the decision for the file, but the paper documentation may or may not play a major role in the decision.

Again, as I wrote in the post that you quoted, I sense that this is to a great extent why visa applicants at high-fraud posts often have much more trouble that visa applicants at low-fraud posts. Anyone with a little time and patience can generate a wealth of paper documentation, and in fact fraudsters are often better at it than the average person.

Yodrak

... how do you prove that your relationship is bona fide and you are not looking for an easy green card? A joke when you look at some of our timelines I know!

So the question remains...how do you prove that? We are treading into metaphysics now. I am hoping the consular officer can look into my heart and see the truth. And if s/he can't I have a truckload of phone bills and boarding passes to wow him/her with.

Food for thought.

Linda

devilette,

Not only could they be anyone's, but many people would be happy to write and receive cards and letters, give and receive a few gifts, buy a few things, and attend a few events, if it will get them a pass to the USA.

Yodrak

I did a search for this info, and pulled up a few helpful threads, but also thought I'd get the 2 cents of the active forum and get it all in one thread for everyone to benefit from. What suggestions do you have for things that will work as good ongoing relationship proof for the interview. So far my list of ideas includes:

Photos

Boarding Passes

Passport Exit/Entry Stamps

Cards or Letters (only good if dated or have postmarked envelope)

Email or IM correspondence

Phone Records

Proof of Wedding planning

Engagement ring receipt

Receipts from gifts (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's receipt)

Money transfer receipts

Bank statements from visits

Receipts from items purchased together (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's receipt)

Stubs from events attended together (proves nothing about you TWO, could be anyone's stubs)

Letters/invitations addressed to both of us

Maybe this is why over-documentation is a red flag for fraud?

[no name 1]

devilette,

Not only could they be anyone's, but many people would be happy to write and receive cards and letters, give and receive a few gifts, buy a few things, and attend a few events, if it will get them a pass to the USA.

Yodrak

heh heh....