Letter of intent

[wazajg 1]

My letter of intent for fiances l-129f, do l address it with the filing location or do i put the submitting for interview address?

[Soapies 18]

Hmm, for the first one we mailed with the packet, we put...

"United States Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

P.O. Box 660151, Dallas, TX 75266"

For the letter of intent for the interview, we left out an address all together.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

My letter of intent for fiances l-129f, do l address it with the filing location or do i put the submitting for interview address?

My opinion has always been it is not an actual letter you are mailing separately that needs formal business letter writing format. It is a signed statement telling your intentions. It would be just as satisfactory to put:

-----------

October 26, 2014

STATEMENT OF INTENT

I, John Henry Jones blah blah blah

[signature]

John Henry Jones

----------------

Bottom line, it does matter what you put because the address (if any) isn't the required portion of the exercise. Make sense?

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Correction (I can't type)

Bottom line, it does NOT matter what you put because the address (if any) isn't the required portion of the exercise.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

Put the address you send the I-129F petition to, OR put no addresses at all. They are not a requirement. They just want a statement.

These samples work perfectly >

(Date Here)

To Whom It May Concern,

I, (USC petitioner’s name), do hereby state that I am legally able and willing to marry (foreign fiance(e)’s name), and intend to so within 90 days of (his/her) entrance into the US by way of a K-1 visa.

(Sign Here)

(Print Name Here)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Date Here)

To Whom It May Concern,

I, (foreign fiance(e)’s name), do hereby state that I am legally able and willing to marry (USC petitioner’s name), and intend to so within 90 days of my entrance into the US by way of a K-1 visa.

(Sign Here)

(Print Name Here)

[Soapies 18]

I agree with everyone here, the address is unnecessary! They just want to know that you intend to marry !

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

And while we are on the subject that comes up often. Why doesn't VJ draft a new sample letter in the format that Kay provided?

Back in 2008 when I submitted a fiancé petition, there was no central Lockbox manned by contractors to process all incoming I-129Fs before sending to the real USCIS people at service centers. Our form instructions had a breakdown by states and you mailed directly to Vermont or California service center, depending on which place handled your state of residence. That sample letter was appropriate six years ago, but needs to change with the times.

The contractors at the lockbox location don't need it addressed to them. They don't have authority to approve your petition. And you aren't guaranteed in advance where your petition will go for processing so choosing a service center address is inappropriate really. A generic "To whom it may concern" or "To the USCIS", with no location, would make a better VJ sample of the required statement.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

I completely agree with Nich-Nick. People often ask confused about the sample letter and what address they are supposed to use. I copy and paste this answer on a fairly regular basis.

The I-129F instructions say that a statement of intent may used. There is no need for a formal letter addressed to anyone, service center or consulate specifically.

[Megan & Luke 93]

And while we are on the subject that comes up often. Why doesn't VJ draft a new sample letter in the format that Kay provided?

Back in 2008 when I submitted a fiancé petition, there was no central Lockbox manned by contractors to process all incoming I-129Fs before sending to the real USCIS people at service centers. Our form instructions had a breakdown by states and you mailed directly to Vermont or California service center, depending on which place handled your state of residence. That sample letter was appropriate six years ago, but needs to change with the times.

The contractors at the lockbox location don't need it addressed to them. They don't have authority to approve your petition. And you aren't guaranteed in advance where your petition will go for processing so choosing a service center address is inappropriate really. A generic "To whom it may concern" or "To the USCIS", with no location, would make a better VJ sample of the required statement.

There is a sample letter provided, granted it is buried along with the 'letter of intent' portion of the K-1 Guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

"5. Original statements (from both the US Citizen and foreign fiance) certifying an intent to marry within 90 days of entering the US on a valid K-1. (see example)"

Step 5 of the I-129F checklist. This is the one my fiance and I used, though I agree the address is of no consequence.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

There is a sample letter provided, granted it is buried along with the 'letter of intent' portion of the K-1 Guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

"5. Original statements (from both the US Citizen and foreign fiance) certifying an intent to marry within 90 days of entering the US on a valid K-1. (see example)"

Step 5 of the I-129F checklist. This is the one my fiance and I used, though I agree the address is of no consequence.

We know the sample letter exists on VJ. We are stating that the example letter here on VJ is outdated, and Nich-Nick explained why.

Also, the link to the example letter of intent is not just buried within the K-1 guide. You can find it in the example forms > http://www.visajourney.com/content/examples

[Megan & Luke 93]

We know the sample letter exists on VJ. We are stating that the example letter here on VJ is outdated, and Nich-Nick explained why.

Also, the link to the example letter of intent is not just buried within the K-1 guide. You can find it in the example forms > http://www.visajourney.com/content/examples

Yes, it is outdated only because of the address being listed on the letter. I don't really think USCIS would care if it was addressed or not, though it's really not required and that is why I said it is of no consequence. I don't see that there is any other difference in the wording. Dear Sir/Madam works for whoever is reviewing the petition, which is fine. The remaining portion of the letter is just generic stating I intend to marry. To be honest anyone with a decent grasp of English could write a letter of intent without a template, though the template is nice to have.

It is listed on the example forms page, though even when I was reviewing VJ for months before I joined I was more drawn to the K-1 guide step by step than I was looking at the example forms. Mainly because if you're new to the process you have no idea what half the forms even mean on the example page. Once I read up exhaustively on the process did I understand what they all were

Edited October 27, 2014 by Megan & Luke

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

No, the address does not matter. That was the point. The format of the example here is the problem. People get confused about what address they are to use. As I said, I need to answer this question from confused people fairly often. Since there is so much confusion about the formal letter formatting of the example form, then why not change the formatting to show a simple statement like I posted above in this thread? Back when you used to mail the petitions directly to a specific service center, then addressing the letter made a bit more sense at that time. Using a formal letter format addressed to an intake mail sorting facility makes a lot less sense. As was pointed out, the Dallas Lockbox will not be processing the petition, so no need to address it to them.

Nich-Nick and I are speaking abut reducing confusion surrounding the example letter format. Less confusion can only be a good thing.

And yes, anyone could write their own statements of intent, however people like to follow the templates that they know have been used successfully. The immigration process is stressful and some people have more stress about it than others. If following an example template can help them feel more at ease about what they are submitting, then that makes them worth having around. It would just be better to have ones that do not cause so many people to question how to follow the template/example.