Please help I-129F questions!!!! (merged/edited title)

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Problem is, you're probably judging from one experience -- yours -- with all the bias that that (understandably) involves.

There is no problem at all, I am not basing all cases on my experience. In addition to my personal experience and that of my friends, I have been

reading the sub-saharan forum for many years and come across numerous posts and have seen a pattern emerge and 221g's given for not sufficient

proof of family interaction, besides chats, affidavits and a few other things there are photos for that.

This is very important to Lagos and whether it is to you or not is irrelevant.

You can't provide in 12 photos you and your fiance/wife plus all the family interaction and engagement party, it simply isn't enough for Lagos.

You may or may not get by with it because you have been together for 10 years. Many couples, be it married or engaged, have not been together for more

than a year or two, living apart with one or two visits and no co mingling. Apples and oranges !

Consider this: Even in "difficult" consulates like Lagos and Accra, married applicants have a much higher success rate than do unmarried ones, at least from the experience of most people who report here. Why? If the decisions were based on "gut feeling" the way you suggest, there should be no meaningful difference between the approval rates of the two types of relationships. But married people tend to more successful, I believe, because they tend to offer better evidence -- kids/DNA tests, documentation of co-mingled finances, a marriage certificate, longer shared trips/events, etc. -- than do unmarried ones, and even those mean, heartless COs respond accordingly.

It is becoming evident from your responses that perhaps you are unable to combine one with the other.

Let me clarify : Not ALL CO's go by 'feelings' and 'vibes', but there are some that do. Why not be ready for them with the 'heart' component added to the

dry logic and lawyer approach ? Why does it have to be one or the other with you ? It appears you lack experience and time in the forums to get the dose of reality

needed to be objective enough. You can march in there all prepared with every t crossed and every i dotted and still fall flat on your face. That is Lagos for you.

What K-1 applicants need to do, then, is present better evidence, not just snap hundreds of pics. Better to spend more time crafting the key elements of your story -- how you met, how you relate despite the long distance, and what steps you're taking to plan for the future -- and then assemble convincing corroborating evidence to support each of your claims, including, but not exclusively, photos. Yes, obviously and I stated that, nothing new. I simply said add more photos which does not negate how you lay out the flow

of the relationship nor does it negate quality and multiple other core evidence or key elements if you will. On the contrary, it increases support for it.

You don't seem to be able to bring both, quality evidence and lots of photos into the equation TOGETHER. One does not wipe out the other.

You keep saying 'picture dump' like hundreds of mindless snapshots is all I am suggesting. Not so.

My main message isn't to use 12 pics, however much you choose to repeat that line. It is that applicants especially in Lagos think more carefully about their cases, much like a lawyer would, and not just resort to a picture dump. The lawyer who wants to convict a murder suspect doesn't just show pictures of the dead victim; he presents other incriminating evidence of motive (e.g., previous threats) and opportunity (the murder weapon, witness testimony, cell phone location tracking) as well. But I promise to let you know how far my 12 pics go! Picture dump, here is your condescending descriptive comprehension of what you think I said. What I actually said was far from it.

Yes, sure let us know how it went with your 12 pics, but remember even if you won't have any problems with it, you can't base it all on your personal experience alone,

so keep on researching other people's experience in the regional forum as well when you give advice.

[Khenniebabs 4]

Good evening everyone, now in the last phase of gathering my documents together for the K1 visa. I have duplicated every copies of the documents for my foreign (Nigerian) fiance

A copy of my naturalization certificate, my birth certificate, airplane boarding passes, chats information, pictures, calling cards, emails, greeting cards. What else do I need to include abeg? Tnx for your responses

[Darnell 8,478]

I-134 and new letter of intent to marry.. that's what you send a fiance(e ) when applying for a K-1 visa.

did you mean the I-129-F petition, instead?

Edited July 14, 2015 by Darnell

[Khenniebabs 4]

I.mean what will be added to my fiance"s package in Nigeria?

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

I.mean what will be added to my fiance"s package in Nigeria?

Please fill in your timeline so people can answer your questions.

It is not clear if you are asking about the K1 for the embassy or filing the I-129 petition.

So....has your I-129 petition been approved yet ?

[TBoneTX 43,058]

Yet another similar-themed thread has been merged into an ongoing one.

OP, you can now see what confusion can be caused by continuing to start multiple threads on similar topics. As your second notice on this, please avoid doing this in the future.

TBoneTX

VJ Moderation

[afrocraft 313]

Just wanted to close the circle on this. As expected, my visa was approved, my "12 photos" notwithstanding. First comment the consular officer made was "Everything seems to be in order", before proceeding to ask a few questions to verify my knowledge of our relationship (date of birth, residence, work details, etc.). My interview was brief and businesslike. Several people with thick photo albums and flowery descriptions of their loving relationships (at the interview) were denied.

Moral of the story: You don't need 200 photos for Lagos, or 1000 pages of calls/texts. Biggest hoax ever. You need a clear story of your relationship, preferably a married one, and corroborating evidence to support the key claims in your application package. Then speak credibly about that at the interview, and you're good to go.

Best wishes!

So for the sake of others: If 12 photos are "a skeleton" and 36 are insufficient, about how many photos would you recommend?

150-200 depending on how many trips and other evidence.

30-50 per category for example.

Family, in front of land marks, low key engagement parties (not to be mistaken with traditional wedding).

I front loaded them in our petition and the CO said he could see our love for each other through the photos and that we looked genuine.

He got the vibes from our photos and it helped him in addition to lots of other things to approve us.

I made 5 trips. We met in 2009.

First K1 was returned for lack of evidence (which was BS, we had a boat load full).

Second time on the re file we buried them so they couldn't use that excuse again.

My advice is do it with a generous amount to begin with that tells your story from day one to current and let them 'feel' something

through the photos and relationship letter if you get a CO that is capable of feeling anything.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Congratulations on your approval.

However that is your experience and there are some that slip by with just a few photos besides having a quality package of evidence.

For most applicants that is not enough for Lagos.

Time and time again we hear from applicants that Lagos CO's request and asking about photos, especially from engagement/wedding events

with family and there is a reason for it.

If you don't have any red flags then it's easier, that's a no brainer.

Emphasis is on a quality front loaded package and quality ongoing evidence presented confidently with lots of photos. Period.

Why you keep rehashing the same old same old is beyond me.

[afrocraft 313]

Thanks. But I didn't "slip by" with just a few photos (that's funny, though). What I did was disprove your oft-repeated theory that applicants need lots of photos (up to 200, according to you) to get approved in Lagos. They need, more than anything else, to craft a credible, defensible narrative. To think like lawyers.

In fact, my interview was rather awkward, as the consular officer literally ran out of questions to ask. At one point, he asked if I had anything else in my package to show him -- but I said everything was in the application. I controlled the narrative. Yes, each case is different, but careful forethought of the situation is preferable to 200 glitzy photos.

Congratulations on your approval.

However that is your experience and there are some that slip by with just a few photos besides having a quality package of evidence.

For most applicants that is not enough for Lagos.

Time and time again we hear from applicants that Lagos CO's request and asking about photos, especially from engagement/wedding events

with family and there is a reason for it.

If you don't have any red flags then it's easier, that's a no brainer.

Emphasis is on a quality front loaded package and quality ongoing evidence presented confidently with lots of photos. Period.

Why you keep rehashing the same old same old is beyond me.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Thanks. But I didn't "slip by" with just a few photos (that's funny, though). What I did was disprove your oft-repeated theory that applicants need lots of photos (up to 200, according to you) to get approved in Lagos. They need, more than anything else, to craft a credible, defensible narrative. To think like lawyers.

In fact, my interview was rather awkward, as the consular officer literally ran out of questions to ask. At one point, he asked if I had anything else in my package to show him -- but I said everything was in the application. I controlled the narrative. Yes, each case is different, but careful forethought of the situation is preferable to 200 glitzy photos.

Your assumption that you controlled the narrative is even funnier. You may have 'guided' it but the CO is always in control.

You got approved with a good package and confidence in your demeanor but please do not flatter yourself too much to say you controlled the CO's

manner of interview.

Plenty of various photos is not my theory but a pattern emerged for the past 6 years, based on factual experience by others who also had quality packages

of evidence assembled. Careful forethought would include lots of photos, be they glitzy or not.

Therefore you are incorrect to tell others 12 photos are enough for Nigerians. End of story.