How we met document

[payxibka 10,044]

Anytime you have dealings with the government (USCIS, IRS, etc.), you treat them like a deposition.   You answer truthfully and give them only what's required.   Nothing more

[Prisonmate 93]

Actual people who has gone through the process posted their experience on YouTube. It's not legal advise but nice to hear from people  that actually went thru the process.  Most of us are doing this for the first time. Hopefully, the first and last time. My relationship is a true relationship so if they need more info, I'm happy to give it.

[geowrian 22,335]

Anecdotal evidence is fine, but also realize that no 2 cases are the same. Somebody else's circumstances are never your own, and you need to really know what you're doing to identify which circumstances are actually relevant and if the anecdotal advice being offered applies to your situation as well. One must also consider that there is no real peer review of the information or advice being offered.

Also, things change over time. One's experience is just a snapshot in time.

Edited May 12, 2019 by geowrian

[Prisonmate 93]

YouTube videos are made by people that actually went through the process. It's not legal advise but legit views and hands on experience. If I get a RFE, I'll be surprise.

[SalishSea 16,770]

3 minutes ago, Prisonmate said:

YouTube videos are made by people that actually went through the process. It's not legal advise but legit views and hands on experience. If I get a RFE, I'll be surprise.

And many here are actual people who went through the process 😉

[Prisonmate 93]

Okay. You do it your way and I'll do it my way. What matters is the petition gets approve.

[payxibka 10,044]

3 minutes ago, Prisonmate said:

YouTube videos are made by people that actually went through the process. It's not legal advise but legit views and hands on experience. If I get a RFE, I'll be surprise.

And any YouTube video that is  more than 6 mos. to a year old is likely no longer current as the process is fluid and changes periodically 

[Prisonmate 93]

One or two lines can be fake. Three pages can be fake. A novel can be fake. Everything can be fake.

[payxibka 10,044]

For a petition there is three kinds of evidence 

 

Primary

Secondary 

Fluff

 

Love letters are in the fluff category 

[Mike E 11,723]

2 hours ago, Loren Y said:

Keep it simple. I wrote one word on that question... " McDonald's". We met at a McDonald's, that was it. No paper, no document one word. No problems.

I just wrote the dates and places of every place we met prior to filing the I129-F. 

 

[Mike E 11,723]

1 hour ago, toothfixer said:

thanks all for the response 

 

Once my fiance enters the US, I understand that we have 90 days to get married. 

 

This basically means my fiance and I will go to a court house in Florida (or whichever state we plan to live in) and get legally married

Now in order to have a legal wedding, what do we need for that? 

 

Generally you go to the county seat office to get a marriage license.  Often both of you need to be there. Some counties make it difficult for aliens to be married. Some make it easy. 

 

After you get a license, seconds to days to weeks after, you are allowed to be married. If getting married at the county office / county court house you might have to bring your own witness(es) or the county might provide (often for a fee). 

 

The biggest consideration is how fast you can get the marriage certificate after getting married. At Los Angeles County it is 12 weeks and incredibly there are K-1 visa holders who refuse to acknowledge the risks of that. If it takes more than 5 working days to get the certificate then find another county to marry.  Honestly 2 working days in Santa Clara county was driving me crazy.  Huge relief when my wife had those documents waiting for me when I got home from work.  

Edited May 12, 2019 by Mike E

[Wuozopo 4,285]

3 hours ago, toothfixer said:

thanks all for the response 

 

Once my fiance enters the US, I understand that we have 90 days to get married. 

 

This basically means my fiance and I will go to a court house in Florida (or whichever state we plan to live in) and get legally married

Now in order to have a legal wedding, what do we need for that? 

 

I am wondering if you think there is a difference between legally married and legal wedding. ???

You do not need a wedding with fancy clothes and flowers. Your state of choice will have it's own rules. You can get married in another state besides the one where you live, ...i.e. Vegas wedding.

 

Pick a county where you think you might get married and look at their website. It will likely explain how to get a license, how to schedule a judge to marry you, if there is any waiting requirement between getting the license and the I do's. My state requires 72 hours, but a judge can waive that. You don't have to get married in the courthouse. If you know a nice park or have a friend with a nice patio or boat, you can easily find people licensed to perform marriages, For a fee they will meet you anywhere and make it legal by signing off on your license. Then you take it in all signed to the place where you got the license and they record the marriage in the county record and issue a certified marriage certificate. 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Wuozopo

[VJmember2020 32]

2 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

I am wondering if you think there is a difference between legally married and legal wedding. ???

You do not need a wedding with fancy clothes and flowers. Your state of choice will have it's own rules. You can get married in another state besides the one where you live, ...i.e. Vegas wedding.

 

Pick a county where you think you might get married and look at their website. It will likely explain how to get a license, how to schedule a judge to marry you, if there is any waiting requirement between getting the license and the I do's. My state requires 72 hours, but a judge can waive that. You don't have to get married in the courthouse. If you know a nice park or have a friend with a nice patio or boat, you can easily find people licensed to perform marriages, For a fee they will meet you anywhere and make it legal by signing off on your license. Then you take it in all signed to the place where you got the license and they record the marriage in the county record and issue a certified marriage certificate. 

 

Ah, ok makes much more sense. thanks a bunch! really appreciate it. 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

23 minutes ago, toothfixer said:

 

Ah, ok makes much more sense. thanks a bunch! really appreciate it. 

If you just call up the county where you might get married, you may get more info than from the website which can be generic. My county listed SSN as required. Fiance called to ask what if my fiancé won't have a SSN? She said that was fine, his passport for photo ID would do. So you might pick up additional info by asking. I found out we could bring in the signed marriage license and they would record it while we waited and give us a certificate on the spot. The website estimated 3 weeks.

Edited May 13, 2019 by Wuozopo

[VJmember2020 32]

1 minute ago, Wuozopo said:

If you just call up the county where you might get married, you may get more info than from the website which can be generic. My county listed SSN as required. I called to ask what if my fiancé won't have a SSN? She said that was fine, his passport for photo ID would do. So you might pick up additional info by asking. I found out we could bring in the signed marriage license and they would record it while we waited and give us a certificate on the spot. The website estimated 3 weeks.

 

perfect, I will call the counties and ask them the same thing. I really appreciate your help Wuozopo , i had one more question I will message you about. thanks