Evidence of intent to marry...

[KristineGB 56]

On 5/7/2017 at 5:42 PM, shayden10 said:

Previously USCIS have required "wet" (or original) signatures on forms. When my fiancé and I did the K1 process last summer, I mailed him originals, however I have heard from other posters on the VisaJourney forum that USCIS no longer requires wet signatures from the foreign beneficiary and scanned copies will work fine.

 

You don't need proof of wedding arrangements. My fiancé and I sent proof of visiting each other (receipts from hotels/dinner reservations/plane tickets/tickets from amusement parks and attractions) and photos (only 5) that corresponded with the evidence I sent and the statement of meeting. My statement was two pages long as I chronicled all of our trips back and forth. He did officially propose to me with a ring the New Years Eve prior to us applying for the K1, but I didn't include photos of the ring or the receipt. 

 

We had a courthouse wedding at the end of January and are planning to have a wedding at a later date. I shared that with the officer during my interview. I was never requested other proof of intent to marry other than the letters. 

This is so helpful, thank you. I'm also from Canada.

[KristineGB 56]

On 5/7/2017 at 5:44 PM, Unshakable Faith said:

A copy is fine.   I had my fiance scan a signed copy to me.

 

Because you are filing a I-129F (for the K1 fiance visa), you wouldn't have receipts for anything pertaining to a wedding.  I'm sure you can use those receipts after your fiance arrives here and you marry and file AOS, but that's many months into the future.  Follow the guide on VJ and you will have everything you need to file the I-129F. 

HI! Was just wondering why the K1 was initially denied? If it's not too personal. Love your VJ handle. Faith faith faith.

[KristineGB 56]

On 5/7/2017 at 6:00 PM, shayden10 said:

Do not worry too much if you don't have/include passport stamps - I never submitted copies of stamps for my passport and they were never looked at in the interview. I only sent receipts from when I initially bought the plane tickets. 

 

Also if your photos aren't time stamped it isn't a big deal. I hand wrote on the back of my photos who was in the photo, the date it was taken, and the circumstances (I.e following our engagement, at a hockey fundraising gala, etc). 

 

Make sure that you aren't just throwing together a lot of evidence, you want the evidence you are submitting to be good strong evidence!

 

This user is right - get used to waiting. The K1 is the quick part, after your SO is in the US and you marry, the AOS process can be an even longer one (not to mention after the AOS you have ROC and then Naturalization if that's the route you want to go). 

 

Best of luck on your journey!

My mistake was that I never saved receipts. Because I thought, well this doesn't have his name or my name on it so it doesn't really prove anything. So I asked him to go back to bank statements instead, stating charges in Canada and I'll do the same with mine. We drive in to see each other so there aren't anything with our names on it such as airline tickets. Even AirBnb only has my name on it. Any advice? 

[shayden10 78]

9 minutes ago, KristineGB said:

My mistake was that I never saved receipts. Because I thought, well this doesn't have his name or my name on it so it doesn't really prove anything. So I asked him to go back to bank statements instead, stating charges in Canada and I'll do the same with mine. We drive in to see each other so there aren't anything with our names on it such as airline tickets. Even AirBnb only has my name on it. Any advice? 

AirBnb receipts will work even if they have just your name, do you have photos from the trips where you used the AirBnb? I used hotel receipts that had only my name and mentioned that we traveled to that destination together and included a picture. Such as a receipt I used from a hotel in Niagara Falls, I mentioned in my statement that we traveled there for NYE and visited tourist attractions on January 1st, so I also attached a photo of us at one of the tourist attractions in Niagara and our ticket stubs to the attraction which didn't have our name. You can use any receipts as long as they will help pull the story of you guys together. Another example is that I had mentioned in my statement that we took a vacation to a local beach and played mini golf, so I sent a copy of our mini golf score card. The way I presented it was that my statement was a (shortened) story that I was telling about our life and relationship, and I tried to attach things that correlated with the story and would pull it together a bit more. I did also include two months worth of our messages back and forth (I edited some of the naughty parts out) which border security loved. If you need help, send me a message and we can chat more!

[KristineGB 56]

43 minutes ago, shayden10 said:

 

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I did also include two months worth of our messages back and forth (I edited some of the naughty parts out) which border security loved.

This is hilarious!

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[shayden10 78]

3 minutes ago, KristineGB said:

 

It was even more hilarious when they were reviewing my approved K1 at the border when I was passing over and two male border security officers started reenacting our messages!

[KristineGB 56]

47 minutes ago, shayden10 said:

AirBnb receipts will work even if they have just your name, do you have photos from the trips where you used the AirBnb? I used hotel receipts that had only my name and mentioned that we traveled to that destination together and included a picture. Such as a receipt I used from a hotel in Niagara Falls, I mentioned in my statement that we traveled there for NYE and visited tourist attractions on January 1st, so I also attached a photo of us at one of the tourist attractions in Niagara and our ticket stubs to the attraction which didn't have our name. You can use any receipts as long as they will help pull the story of you guys together. Another example is that I had mentioned in my statement that we took a vacation to a local beach and played mini golf, so I sent a copy of our mini golf score card. The way I presented it was that my statement was a (shortened) story that I was telling about our life and relationship, and I tried to attach things that correlated with the story and would pull it together a bit more. I did also include two months worth of our messages back and forth (I edited some of the naughty parts out) which border security loved. If you need help, send me a message and we can chat more!

This is great! You gave me an idea. I was just going to write the story and then put an album of proof/photos with captions. But I think now I will create a newsletter type so that the photos/proof are next to the words that talk about them. What do you think? 

 

How many pages was your story?

 

Also, I'm guessing your partner is the petitioner and you are the beneficiary right? Did you put the whole packet together? 

This is stressing me out so I wanted to turn it over to my boyfriend and let him have do all the work but then if I do we might never get this done (men!) haha. 

2 minutes ago, shayden10 said:

It was even more hilarious when they were reviewing my approved K1 at the border when I was passing over and two male border security officers started reenacting our messages!

OMG that is too precious! I love that. Hahahahahahah. 

[shayden10 78]

1 minute ago, KristineGB said:

This is great! You gave me an idea. I was just going to write the story and then put an album of proof/photos with captions. But I think now I will create a newsletter type so that the photos/proof are next to the words that talk about them. What do you think? 

 

How many pages was your story?

 

Also, I'm guessing your partner is the petitioner and you are the beneficiary right? Did you put the whole packet together? 

This is stressing me out so I wanted to turn it over to my boyfriend and let him have do all the work but then if I do we might never get this done (men!) haha. 

OMG that is too precious! I love that. Hahahahahahah. 

I think that’s a great idea!

 

I tried to keep my story very brief and to the point, I know they don’t want all the little details, so it ended up being just under 2 and a half pages. I put all of my evidence (photos, receipts, tickets, etc) in the order of events after the story. 

 

Yes my husband was the petitioner one’d and I the beneficiary. I put together absolutely everything and filled out all of the paperwork and then put tabs on the papers that required his signature. I sent it to him via overnight mail with instructions so he would sign everything and not rearrange or forget anything. I even included the cheque already filled out and the package for him to send it in so he had minimal to do. Not that he is incapable but I wanted everything to be right. He received the package and promptly signed the paperwork and went to the post office. 

 

It is stressful but worth it, I promise!

[KristineGB 56]

1 hour ago, shayden10 said:

I think that’s a great idea!

 

I tried to keep my story very brief and to the point, I know they don’t want all the little details, so it ended up being just under 2 and a half pages. I put all of my evidence (photos, receipts, tickets, etc) in the order of events after the story. 

 

Yes my husband was the petitioner one’d and I the beneficiary. I put together absolutely everything and filled out all of the paperwork and then put tabs on the papers that required his signature. I sent it to him via overnight mail with instructions so he would sign everything and not rearrange or forget anything. I even included the cheque already filled out and the package for him to send it in so he had minimal to do. Not that he is incapable but I wanted everything to be right. He received the package and promptly signed the paperwork and went to the post office. 

 

It is stressful but worth it, I promise!

Thanks this is great! Yeah, same with me. I wanted things to get done right. I don't want delays. I know men aren't as detail oriented (some men do) so I wanted to just do things. What did you use to fasten things? Metal/plastic paper fastener/bull clips? 

[shayden10 78]

48 minutes ago, KristineGB said:

Thanks this is great! Yeah, same with me. I wanted things to get done right. I don't want delays. I know men aren't as detail oriented (some men do) so I wanted to just do things. What did you use to fasten things? Metal/plastic paper fastener/bull clips? 

I definitely didn't want any delays or an RFE so I did it myself and was extremely happy with our processing time (from the date my husband sent the documents to receiving my visa was like 4 months and 2 weeks, which is so fast compared to some processing times!).

 

I grouped certain documents together in the order listed on the "Step by Step Guide to filing a K1 Visa" with either metal paper clips or small binder clips depending on how many documents were in the group to create some organization, and then fastened the entire package together with a large binder clip. The two months worth of messages were over 200 pages so I used a separate large binder clip to fasten them together and put them at the end.

 

[KristineGB 56]

5 minutes ago, shayden10 said:

I definitely didn't want any delays or an RFE so I did it myself and was extremely happy with our processing time (from the date my husband sent the documents to receiving my visa was like 4 months and 2 weeks, which is so fast compared to some processing times!).

 

I grouped certain documents together in the order listed on the "Step by Step Guide to filing a K1 Visa" with either metal paper clips or small binder clips depending on how many documents were in the group to create some organization, and then fastened the entire package together with a large binder clip. The two months worth of messages were over 200 pages so I used a separate large binder clip to fasten them together and put them at the end.

 

Wow!!! That is extremely quick! This is so helpful. I was contemplating how to go about binding everything so it helps to know your best practices. I'm planning to just print the photos in colour on paper, instead of having it printed on photo paper. You think that's okay? I screenshot my photos so that the metadata is showing (less work for captioning). 

[ImmHelp123 13]

On 5/7/2017 at 5:44 PM, Unshakable Faith said:

A copy is fine.   I had my fiance scan a signed copy to me.

 

Because you are filing a I-129F (for the K1 fiance visa), you wouldn't have receipts for anything pertaining to a wedding.  I'm sure you can use those receipts after your fiance arrives here and you marry and file AOS, but that's many months into the future.  Follow the guide on VJ and you will have everything you need to file the I-129F. 

 

Receipts in relation to a wedding, reception, or preparation are valid evidence when applying for a K-1 finance visa.  According to the USCIS website "If you are a U.S. citizen who wants to bring your foreign fiancé(e) to the United States in order to get married, you will need to file a Form I-129F, Petition For Alien Fiancé(e) . . . In order to obtain a K-1 fiancé(e) visa, you and your fiancé(e) must intend to marry each other within 90 days of your fiancé(e) entering the U.S as a K-1 nonimmigrant. Your marriage must be valid, meaning both you and your fiancé(e) have a bona fide intent to establish a life together and the marriage is not for the sole purpose of obtaining an immigration benefit."

 

Accordingly, such evidence would be helpful in establishing such intent.  I do recommend, however, that you spend the time organizing the evidence.  I would suggest using cover letters outlining and briefly explaining the premise you are trying to establish.

 

[shayden10 78]

1 minute ago, KristineGB said:

Wow!!! That is extremely quick! This is so helpful. I was contemplating how to go about binding everything so it helps to know your best practices. I'm planning to just print the photos in colour on paper, instead of having it printed on photo paper. You think that's okay? I screenshot my photos so that the metadata is showing (less work for captioning). 

It is fine to print on photo paper as long as the photos are clear. I provided a mix of photos professionally printed and some were photocopied, like most of our tickets and a couple of photos that I only had one copy of I sent on normal paper and I didn't have any issues!

[KristineGB 56]

2 minutes ago, shayden10 said:

It is fine to print on photo paper as long as the photos are clear. I provided a mix of photos professionally printed and some were photocopied, like most of our tickets and a couple of photos that I only had one copy of I sent on normal paper and I didn't have any issues!

Yaay. Thank you again for all the advice and for answering my questions.

[shayden10 78]

11 minutes ago, ImmHelp123 said:

 

Receipts in relation to a wedding, reception, or preparation are valid evidence when applying for a K-1 finance visa.  According to the USCIS website "If you are a U.S. citizen who wants to bring your foreign fiancé(e) to the United States in order to get married, you will need to file a Form I-129F, Petition For Alien Fiancé(e) . . . In order to obtain a K-1 fiancé(e) visa, you and your fiancé(e) must intend to marry each other within 90 days of your fiancé(e) entering the U.S as a K-1 nonimmigrant. Your marriage must be valid, meaning both you and your fiancé(e) have a bona fide intent to establish a life together and the marriage is not for the sole purpose of obtaining an immigration benefit."

 

Accordingly, such evidence would be helpful in establishing such intent.  I do recommend, however, that you spend the time organizing the evidence.  I would suggest using cover letters outlining and briefly explaining the premise you are trying to establish. 

 

While evidence will be helpful, it is not at all required. I had no receipts or any legitimate evidence that actually showed we were going to get married, other than he asked me and I said yes. The only time it came up was in my interview, the gentleman interviewing me asked "do you intend to get married within 90 days of entry into the USA on your K1 Visa?" to which I said yes, of course. I never sent them anything to say I bought a dress or to show my husband gave me a ring. We got married at the courthouse and didn't throw a celebration so there was no receipts from a hall or caterer or anything. I don't think anyone should stress over not having evidence to prove they are getting married, if you establish a legitimate relationship and send a letter that you intend to marry like they require, you'll be fine.

3 minutes ago, KristineGB said:

Yaay. Thank you again for all the advice and for answering my questions.

Of course! I am always willing to help if you have any more questions