I-129f questions

[JuliaMary 29]

Hello,

 

I am filling out the i-129f for my fiancé and I currently. He’s from the UK. I have a few questions.

 

1) is there such a thing as too much evidence? I’ve got flight confirmations, passport stamps, visas, plane tickets, hotel confirmations, photographs from the past 3 1/2 years. A huge stack of things. Should I just submit it all? And are Instagram photos okay, just paper print outs of them? Or do they want actual photos I need to go print at Walgreens, etc?

2) for the copies of everything for the i-129f do i need to make color copies? I plan on making myself and my fiancé a binder of everything. Can i send the color copies off and photocopy black and white for us? This is mainly about the pictures I plan to submit.

3) since I’ve got so much to submit, what’s the best way to send this all off? Should i just send it in an envelope, or make it more neat and organized in a folder/binder? 

4) for proof of on going relationship, can someone tell me what exactly i need to submit? I’ve got an upcoming flight confirmation for fiancé printed out. What about us sending money to each other? Like we plan to split all costs of everything so he’s going to send me money for half of the i-129f and we’ve sent each money in the past. 

 

Thank you

 

 

[JFH 12,189]

Way too much, especially for the London embassy. 

 

For the I-129F you only need to prove that you 

- are a US citizen

- have met your fiancé face to face in the last 2 years

- are free to marry (I.e any previous marriages ended lawfully either through a complete divorce or the death of the spouse)

- understand that you need to marry within 90 days of his arrival and are intending to do so (signed statement is enough for this)

 

No need to send anything more than that. He can take pictures, etc to the embassy interview but I’ll bet you any money he won’t be asked to show it at the London embassy. 

[JuliaMary 29]

4 minutes ago, JFH said:

Way too much, especially for the London embassy. 

 

For the I-129F you only need to prove that you 

- are a US citizen

- have met your fiancé face to face in the last 2 years

- are free to marry (I.e any previous marriages ended lawfully either through a complete divorce or the death of the spouse)

- understand that you need to marry within 90 days of his arrival and are intending to do so (signed statement is enough for this)

 

No need to send anything more than that. He can take pictures, etc to the embassy interview but I’ll bet you any money he won’t be asked to show it at the London embassy. 

Thank you. The checklist I found on here has way more to it than what you stated so I think I got a bit worried. 

 

So what would you suggest to submit based on what I've stated above? 

[JFH 12,189]

The best evidence for the in-person meeting requirement is passport stamps, boarding passes, hotel receipts and you can throw in a few photos if you wish but unless there is something in the picture that confirms the date the picture was taken they are only useful as secondary evidence. 

 

There is no requirement to submit “evidence of an ongoing relationship” with the I-129F. London is a very easy embassy to get through due to the very low fraud rate there. Essentially, the view is taken by the embassy that there is little or no economic advantage for anyone from the UK to fraudulently enter into a marriage with an American to gain an immigration benefit. 

 

Make your petition clean and simple. 

[JuliaMary 29]

2 minutes ago, JFH said:

The best evidence for the in-person meeting requirement is passport stamps, boarding passes, hotel receipts and you can throw in a few photos if you wish but unless there is something in the picture that confirms the date the picture was taken they are only useful as secondary evidence. 

 

There is no requirement to submit “evidence of an ongoing relationship” with the I-129F. London is a very easy embassy to get through due to the very low fraud rate there. Essentially, the view is taken by the embassy that there is little or no economic advantage for anyone from the UK to fraudulently enter into a marriage with an American to gain an immigration benefit. 

 

Make your petition clean and simple. 

Thank you. I've taken out all the photos, but it's still quite a large pile of paper due to being together/seeing each so often. 

 

Thank you for reply and help. I appreciate it.

[SalishSea 16,769]

We went through Auckland, a similarly low-fraud consulate.  We did not include any photos, except for the required passport photos.  We didn't even specify how we initially met.  Just supplied the dates of our visits with coordinating passport stamps, our letters of intent to marry each other within 90 days, and divorce documents, as well as proof of my US citizenship.

 

In all my time here on VJ, I have come to the conclusion (anecdotally) that adding items not required simply prolongs the process and may even increase RFE risk.

 

Good luck with your petition!   My advice would be to read as much as possible here.  

[JuliaMary 29]

2 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

We went through Auckland, a similarly low-fraud consulate.  We did not include any photos, except for the required passport photos.  We didn't even specify how we initially met.  Just supplied the dates of our visits with coordinating passport stamps, our letters of intent to marry each other within 90 days, and divorce documents, as well as proof of my US citizenship.

 

In all my time here on VJ, I have come to the conclusion (anecdotally) that adding items not required simply prolongs the process and may even increase RFE risk.

 

Good luck with your petition!   My advice would be to read as much as possible here.  

Okay, thank you. I have taken out photos and only included flight confirmations, tickets, passport stamps, and visas (my fiance worked in the United States for 3 summers at a summer camp, hence how we met). Still lengthy, but better than what I had before. I'll keep everything else I put together and give it to him to bring it his interview. 

 

Says on VJ under the Step-by-Step Guide for i-129f, you need to include a cover letter. Did you not do this? 

[SalishSea 16,769]

1 minute ago, JuliaMary said:

Okay, thank you. I have taken out photos and only included flight confirmations, tickets, passport stamps, and visas (my fiance worked in the United States for 3 summers at a summer camp, hence how we met). Still lengthy, but better than what I had before. I'll keep everything else I put together and give it to him to bring it his interview. 

 

Says on VJ under the Step-by-Step Guide for i-129f, you need to include a cover letter. Did you not do this? 

We did not.  I'm not sure why, as it's not a bad idea.

[JuliaMary 29]

Just now, Jorgedig said:

We did not.  I'm not sure why, as it's not a bad idea.

Okay, great I will include just to keep with the checklist guide.

 

One more question because you are so helpful... What address do I send this all to? Probably a dumb question, but still so new to all of this. 

[SalishSea 16,769]

3 minutes ago, JuliaMary said:

Okay, great I will include just to keep with the checklist guide.

 

One more question because you are so helpful... What address do I send this all to? Probably a dumb question, but still so new to all of this. 

Not dumb at all!  It is the Texas lockbox address.  I believe it is either on the form or on the optional check list.  The petition will be forwarded to the California Service Center.  Make sure your check is for the correct amount, and that it is visibly affixed to the front of the packet.  Some here have had their forms rejected because USCIS couldn't manage to find the check!

[JuliaMary 29]

3 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Not dumb at all!  It is the Texas lockbox address.  I believe it is either on the form or on the optional check list.  The petition will be forwarded to the California Service Center.  Make sure your check is for the correct amount, and that it is visibly affixed to the front of the packet.  Some here have had their forms rejected because USCIS couldn't manage to find the check!

Okay thank you.

 

For the letter of intent to marry, it's just very basic correct? I found a sample and am just going to fill in the blanks.

[SalishSea 16,769]

1 minute ago, JuliaMary said:

Okay thank you.

 

For the letter of intent to marry, it's just very basic correct? I found a sample and am just going to fill in the blanks.

Yes.  We did ours as a joint letter, but some folks here advocate two separate letters.  Just make sure that you state that you are both free to marry, and that you intend to marry each other within 90 days of the alien fiance's arrival into the US on the K-1 visa.

[JuliaMary 29]

Just now, Jorgedig said:

Yes.  We did ours as a joint letter, but some folks here advocate two separate letters.  Just make sure that you state that you are both free to marry, and that you intend to marry each other within 90 days of the alien fiance's arrival into the US on the K-1 visa.

Okay, thank you. I really appreciate all your help!

[accumbyte 148]

27 minutes ago, JuliaMary said:

What address do I send this all to?

https://www.uscis.gov/forms/direct-filing-addresses-form-i-129f-petition-alien-fiancee

22 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Make sure your check is for the correct amount, and that it is visibly affixed to the front of the packet.  Some here have had their forms rejected because USCIS couldn't manage to find the check!

@JuliaMary, paying with a credit card or debit card is also an option: https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-expands-credit-card-payment-option-fees

[Cirub 10]

6 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Pasamos por Auckland, un consulado similar de bajo fraude. No incluimos ninguna foto, excepto las fotos requeridas del pasaporte. Ni siquiera especificamos cómo nos conocimos inicialmente. Acabo de proporcionar las fechas de nuestras visitas con sellos de pasaportes de coordinación, nuestras cartas de intención de casarnos entre nosotros dentro de los 90 días y los documentos de divorcio, así como la prueba de mi ciudadanía estadounidense.

 

En todo mi tiempo aquí en VJ, he llegado a la conclusión (anecdóticamente) de que agregar elementos que no son necesarios simplemente prolonga el proceso e incluso puede aumentar el riesgo de RFE .

 

Buena suerte con tu petición! Mi consejo sería leer lo más posible aquí.  

We are at the same situation. Right now, our worry is the divorce papers. My fiancé has a 32 pages of Divorce decree. We need to send all those papers? Or just a certificate that my fiance will get at the courts?