Should I be worried?

[Tokenfreak 223]

I submitted the I-129F back in late January 2018 and we have been waiting on the NOA 2 for almost 4 months now.  However,  we are getting worried that they may denied it since we got engaged the first time we met.  I asked her to marry me shortly before I left the airport to fly back home.  At that time we had been talking for 5 months when I flew there to see her.  Now we have been talking for almost 1 year and are excited to get married and for me to come back again on her interview date.  But we are both worried we will be denied since we got engaged soon after we met in person.  We read on this link that may raise a red flag:  https://rapidvisa.com/3-most-common-reasons-for-fiance-visa-denials/ Does anyone think I need to be worried or we should be ok?

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2018 by Tokenfreak

[Crazy Cat 43,701]

There is no reason to worry at this point.  If you submitted evidence of meeting within 2 years before submitting the K-1 along with letters of intent to marry within 90 days, chances are they will not immediately deny it.  Processing time from NOA1 to approval is currently taking longer than the 4 months you have been waiting...........you just have to be patient.

[janet3 1,170]

My story is a lot like yours...we met after talking via internet for 6 months and engaged on the first meeting....I filed for the k1 at the beginning of last year (after meeting once). The processing time between the NOA1 and the NOA2 is between 4 and 7 months now (at least) ....it's a long wait........but no need to worry. 

[JFH 12,192]

Philippines? That's pretty much the norm with Filipino/American couples. You will find many cases here from the Philippines where couples got engaged after a week or so together. The Manila embassy is quite relaxed about such things. Other embassies may be tougher (many MENA and sub-Saharan African ones, for example) but that's not your concern. 

[Highmystic 234]

28 minutes ago, Tokenfreak said:

I submitted the I-129F back in late January 2018 and we have been waiting on the NOA 2 for almost 4 months now.  However,  we are getting worried that they may denied it since we got engaged the first time we met.  I asked her to marry me shortly before I left the airport to fly back home.  At that time we had been talking for 5 months when I flew there to see her.  Now we have been talking for almost 1 year and are excited to get married and for me to come back again on her interview date.  But we are both worried we will be denied since we got engaged soon after we met in person.  We read on this link that may raise a red flag:  https://rapidvisa.com/3-most-common-reasons-for-fiance-visa-denials/ Does anyone think I need to be worried or we should be ok?

 

 

 

Our time from NOA1 and NOA2 was just under 5 months.  It takes time, that's for sure.   Our relationship was fast in regards to the time we met in person, engaged and filed.  we are married now and now waiting on EAD and AOS.   Don't fret until you have something to fret about!

[geowrian 22,339]

Be prepared with plenty of relationship evidence. Visit again and/or be there for the interview. Make the best case you can for yourself.

 

USEM likely won't think twice about it, but be ready anyway.

[Tokenfreak 223]

34 minutes ago, missileman said:

There is no reason to worry at this point.  If you submitted evidence of meeting within 2 years before submitting the K-1 along with letters of intent to marry within 90 days, chances are they will not immediately deny it.  Processing time from NOA1 to approval is currently taking longer than the 4 months you have been waiting...........you just have to be patient.

Yes, I did submit evidence of me meeting her when I came and visited her for the first time last November.  I submitted lots of pictures with us together and our plane tickets, hotel receipts, travel itinerary, restaurants receipts, etc.  We also both submitted and sign a letter of intent to marry within 90 days.  So I hope everything will be ok.

22 minutes ago, janet3 said:

My story is a lot like yours...we met after talking via internet for 6 months and engaged on the first meeting....I filed for the k1 at the beginning of last year (after meeting once). The processing time between the NOA1 and the NOA2 is between 4 and 7 months now (at least) ....it's a long wait........but no need to worry. 

Ok, cool so we are the not the only ones out there then that have a similar story.  I hope we get it soon as we miss each other a lot.  Been since November 2017 since I have seen her.

20 minutes ago, JFH said:

Philippines? That's pretty much the norm with Filipino/American couples. You will find many cases here from the Philippines where couples got engaged after a week or so together. The Manila embassy is quite relaxed about such things. Other embassies may be tougher (many MENA and sub-Saharan African ones, for example) but that's not your concern. 

Yup, she is a Filipina.  My worry is getting past the NOA2 first before the embassy.  I am worried they might deny and we never even make it to the embassy since we only met each other in person for like 2 weeks.

13 minutes ago, Highmystic said:

Our time from NOA1 and NOA2 was just under 5 months.  It takes time, that's for sure.   Our relationship was fast in regards to the time we met in person, engaged and filed.  we are married now and now waiting on EAD and AOS.   Don't fret until you have something to fret about!

Ok thanks I will try to keep my head up and look forwards.  Congrats by the way!

5 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Be prepared with plenty of relationship evidence. Visit again and/or be there for the interview. Make the best case you can for yourself.

 

USEM likely won't think twice about it, but be ready anyway.

I do have plenty of relationship evidence that's not a problem to provide.  We talk every single day for a while numerous times throughout the day.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to visit again until it is time for the interview as I only have so many days I can take off for work.  But I hope me being there in person will help a lot.

[JFH 12,192]

27 minutes ago, Tokenfreak said:

 

 

Yup, she is a Filipina.  My worry is getting past the NOA2 first before the embassy.  I am worried they might deny and we never even make it to the embassy since we only met each other in person for like 2 weeks.

 

 

I don't think you've fully understood the process. The I-129F is just a petition. It's not the visa application. All it does is ascertains whether you meet the legal requirements to petition for your fiancé so that she can be invited to apply for a visa. 

 

The legal requirements are:

 

- you are a USC

- you are both free to marry (not currently married to each other or anyone else, old enough to marry, not related to one another that would make marriage illegal)

- met face to face in the last 2 years

- agree to marry within 90 days of her arrival

- not barred from petitioning due to certain criminal activities

 

The petition has nothing to do with the validity of your relationship. That's decided by the CO at the embassy interview. USCIS employees are specifically instructed not to use judgement on whether they think a relationship will last, whether a couple are a good match, etc (see the field manual for this, if you wish). They are concerned only with the petitioner's legal eligibility, not the strength of the application for a visa. 

 

It is extremely difficult to have your I-129F denied unless you fail to meet one of the above requirements (in which case it's very easy). 

 

The petition is based on a series of "yes" and "no" answers. You either qualify or not. 

 

[Chris Duffy 1,257]

7 hours ago, Tokenfreak said:

I submitted the I-129F back in late January 2018 and we have been waiting on the NOA 2 for almost 4 months now.  However,  we are getting worried that they may denied it since we got engaged the first time we met.  I asked her to marry me shortly before I left the airport to fly back home.  At that time we had been talking for 5 months when I flew there to see her.  Now we have been talking for almost 1 year and are excited to get married and for me to come back again on her interview date.  But we are both worried we will be denied since we got engaged soon after we met in person.  We read on this link that may raise a red flag:  https://rapidvisa.com/3-most-common-reasons-for-fiance-visa-denials/ Does anyone think I need to be worried or we should be ok?

 

 

 

You will be fine

 

I am the VJ resident expert on K1 Approval in Manila

[bowens44 214]

8 hours ago, Tokenfreak said:

I submitted the I-129F back in late January 2018 and we have been waiting on the NOA 2 for almost 4 months now.  However,  we are getting worried that they may denied it since we got engaged the first time we met.  I asked her to marry me shortly before I left the airport to fly back home.  At that time we had been talking for 5 months when I flew there to see her.  Now we have been talking for almost 1 year and are excited to get married and for me to come back again on her interview date.  But we are both worried we will be denied since we got engaged soon after we met in person.  We read on this link that may raise a red flag:  https://rapidvisa.com/3-most-common-reasons-for-fiance-visa-denials/ Does anyone think I need to be worried or we should be ok?

 

 

 

This is not a problem. I met my Filipina fiance (now wife) only one time in person after 5 months of talking and also proposed on that trip. We provided plenty of evidence that we had an on ongoing relationship and had no problems getting the k1 visa.

[Tokenfreak 223]

10 hours ago, JFH said:

I don't think you've fully understood the process. The I-129F is just a petition. It's not the visa application. All it does is ascertains whether you meet the legal requirements to petition for your fiancé so that she can be invited to apply for a visa. 

 

The legal requirements are:

 

- you are a USC

- you are both free to marry (not currently married to each other or anyone else, old enough to marry, not related to one another that would make marriage illegal)

- met face to face in the last 2 years

- agree to marry within 90 days of her arrival

- not barred from petitioning due to certain criminal activities

 

The petition has nothing to do with the validity of your relationship. That's decided by the CO at the embassy interview. USCIS employees are specifically instructed not to use judgement on whether they think a relationship will last, whether a couple are a good match, etc (see the field manual for this, if you wish). They are concerned only with the petitioner's legal eligibility, not the strength of the application for a visa. 

 

It is extremely difficult to have your I-129F denied unless you fail to meet one of the above requirements (in which case it's very easy). 

 

The petition is based on a series of "yes" and "no" answers. You either qualify or not. 

 

Wow thanks for the clarification.  You are right I didn't fully understand the process and how it works.  That makes much more sense now.  So since we qualify we shouldn't have a problem at all getting the NOA2.  So it is really just providing more evidence when we go to the interview about our relationship and seriousness to get married.  Thank again so much for that.  I really appreciate it.

4 hours ago, Chris Duffy said:

You will be fine

 

I am the VJ resident expert on K1 Approval in Manila

Ok thanks I am feeling more confident now.

3 hours ago, bowens44 said:

This is not a problem. I met my Filipina fiance (now wife) only one time in person after 5 months of talking and also proposed on that trip. We provided plenty of evidence that we had an on ongoing relationship and had no problems getting the k1 visa.

Ok thats great. I think we should be fine then from what I am hearing.

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

49 minutes ago, Tokenfreak said:

Wow thanks for the clarification.  You are right I didn't fully understand the process and how it works.  That makes much more sense now.  So since we qualify we shouldn't have a problem at all getting the NOA2.  So it is really just providing more evidence when we go to the interview about our relationship and seriousness to get married.  Thank again so much for that.  I really appreciate it.

Ok thanks I am feeling more confident now.

Ok thats great. I think we should be fine then from what I am hearing.

 

Yea don't stress. We had literally 8 days together one time, got through the whole process no issues. By time you got to interview stage you'd have built up a lot of relationship time, even if not necessarily in person. Wouldn't worry right now about that.

[JMCKNG 156]

12 hours ago, janet3 said:

My story is a lot like yours...we met after talking via internet for 6 months and engaged on the first meeting....I filed for the k1 at the beginning of last year (after meeting once). The processing time between the NOA1 and the NOA2 is between 4 and 7 months now (at least) ....it's a long wait........but no need to worry. 

Definitely no need to worry yet for a time frame. We didn't get out application touched until 6 months after the NOA1 with an RFE, now waiting 3 weeks after we sent back the paperwork. I would plan a good 6-8 months to be safe from time of NOA1-NOA2 it is definitely a longer waiting period than a year or two ago.

[Mark_712 126]

12 hours ago, Tokenfreak said:

I submitted the I-129F back in late January 2018 and we have been waiting on the NOA 2 for almost 4 months now.  However,  we are getting worried that they may denied it since we got engaged the first time we met.  I asked her to marry me shortly before I left the airport to fly back home.  At that time we had been talking for 5 months when I flew there to see her.  Now we have been talking for almost 1 year and are excited to get married and for me to come back again on her interview date.  But we are both worried we will be denied since we got engaged soon after we met in person.  We read on this link that may raise a red flag:  https://rapidvisa.com/3-most-common-reasons-for-fiance-visa-denials/ Does anyone think I need to be worried or we should be ok?

 

 

 

Your story is just like ours and we had no issues on the process. Our POE is May 30th! This place is a wonderful resource with many knowledgeable and experience individuals 😇

[javadown2 308]

14 hours ago, Tokenfreak said:

Yes, I did submit evidence of me meeting her when I came and visited her for the first time last November.  I submitted lots of pictures with us together and our plane tickets, hotel receipts, travel itinerary, restaurants receipts, etc.  We also both submitted and sign a letter of intent to marry within 90 days.  So I hope everything will be ok.

Ok, cool so we are the not the only ones out there then that have a similar story.  I hope we get it soon as we miss each other a lot.  Been since November 2017 since I have seen her.

Yup, she is a Filipina.  My worry is getting past the NOA2 first before the embassy.  I am worried they might deny and we never even make it to the embassy since we only met each other in person for like 2 weeks.

Ok thanks I will try to keep my head up and look forwards.  Congrats by the way!

I do have plenty of relationship evidence that's not a problem to provide.  We talk every single day for a while numerous times throughout the day.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to visit again until it is time for the interview as I only have so many days I can take off for work.  But I hope me being there in person will help a lot.

Honestly...stop worrying for one it does no good..secondly like others have said the Philippines embassy rarely turns couples away for this reason, maybe for an incomplete packet or missing something. You will be fine, my wife and I met online and we were engaged on our second visit (they were only like 3 months apart and about 7 months from the time we met online. We had no issues and everything has gone very smoothly without even one incident. 

 

I hear you about not having enough time to take off from work, it kinda sucks...but enjoy the time you do. That is great that you plan on being with her during the interview, that is always a good thing. Do you also plan on flying back with here once she gets the visa?