Front-Loading 129f...How Much is Too Much? (Argentina) [edited title]

[swalker 137]

Hi there, me again...

I am the USC with an Argentine fiancee. We have lived together here in Buenos Aires for the past 6 years, and have been a couple for 8. I will be sending our I-129f in January, when I move back to the USA and she stays here a few extra months to complete her medical degree. I have a couple of posts here from the past two weeks, so maybe some of you may remember our story and I don't need to rehash it all/bore everyone to death.

For various reasons, we are interested in front loading our petition. From reading here, it does not seem that Argentina is a high fraud country, but of course we want to get approved and on with our lives as quickly as possible. Yes, I know that I am only required to show that we have met the past 2 years, but it seems like front loading is the best way to go for an easier interview. I want to arm her with everything necessary when that interview comes and I am not physically able to be there with her.

My question is: how much is too much? Eight years...that is a long time. My idea was splitting up the photos and evidence by year. So, for 2015, for example, I would have some photos, maybe our bus passes for a trip we took, a few emails. (We do not have a rental lease nor a bank account here in Argentina.) I want to keep things as simple as possible, but also don't want to oversimplify because we have been together for so long and possibly miss some obvious stuff. I also worry that I will go overboard and possibly annoy the people dealing with our case. I know that probably sounds silly. As I am gathering everything though, I am thinking maybe I am putting too much into our packet.

Obviously, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and want some advice from those who have done it all before. How would you go about arranging a front loaded petition for a relationship that has been going on for 8 years? Does the yearly plan I have sound ok? Or does it sound like overkill? I need some perspective, folks!

2 other questions, if you are still reading this long, rambling post:

1. I saw a video posted here where a man was showing how his petition looked. It included a letter about their story by each of them. Good idea? Or MORE over doing it?

2. This is making me crazy...I once saw how a letter of intent from a beneficiary was signed AND dated. Now I cannot see any instructions that this needs to be dated at all, just signed. I am worried since there could be a few weeks between her dating something and my sending it in. I know that I have been reading a ton of stuff and may of gotten confused, but if something is dated, can it 'expire'?

[usmsbow 802]

I'll be honest: you're worrying too much.

Since you're not in a high fraud country, I don't see the point in giving USCIS that much. They just care about being able to check the boxes, and unless there is something in that package that would indicate fraud, the consular officer reviewing your application while prepping for your interview won't especially care either. A "yearly" package that you described for the interview sounds reasonable though.

Just my 2 cents.

[swalker 137]

It's ok, this is exactly the kind of stuff I need to hear! Thank you so much for responding!

[shayden10 78]

If you're not from a high fraud country, I think you're okay to not include yearly proof. My fiance and I (though we only met 2 years ago) included the plane tickets from our 5 most recent trips; 2 months of Facebook chat logs (I chose the most recent month before we filed and one from the beginning of our long distance relationship); receipts from any trips we took together in the past two years (i.e. hotel receipts and dinner reservation receipts if it was done online); a handful of ticket stubs from events or attractions we visited; and 5 photographs. If I included all of the evidence from the past two years, my package would have easily been 4 times bigger than it was. My statement about how we met was just over two pages long, because I included some of the story about our long distance journey and made sure what was in my statement lined up with the evidence I provided, for example I said in my statement we got engaged in Niagara Falls, ON on New Years Day 2016, I included ticket stubs from attractions we visited, our hotel reservation confirmation, and our dinner reservation confirmation for New Years Eve. We were approved without any issues or an RFE. You need to provide strong evidence of a relationship, not a lot of evidence of a relationship!

[p-ana 933]

Remember, they want to see good proof. You don't need excessive paperwork but good quality proof. Also, be sure to include, mostly, proof from the past two years, because that's what they're going to look at

[soulstriker 274]

quality over quantity , a strong case is usually 100 pages or more, ull be shocked how fast you can get up to 100 pages without the feeling of adding useless stuff in the petition , my case was between 100 - 140 pages including the forms, etc . I never knew itd even get up to that point but by the time you put everything together ull be fine , mind you i front-loaded so maybe if i didn't front-load it would of been 90-105 pages probably, high fraud country or not , i would make sure the petition is strong, you dont want to start questioning yourself when you send it off . Once i sent mine off i knew it was sound and didnt regret anything

[TBoneTX 45,550]

*** Country-specific thread is moved from the K-1 Process forum to the Mexico/Latin/South America regional subforum -- answers from people going through other consulates can be irrelevant to Argentina. Thread title edited to indicate Argentina. ***