Gagan and Lindsay

My fiancé and I met on a business trip...We work for the same company...He came to the US and then I went to India for 2 weeks. By the end of my business trip, we were smitten and developed a great friendship...10 months and 3 more trips later, we were engaged and starting our visa process!

My own grandmother told me she was "praying against my relationship" and "hoping I'd get this out of my system and move on"...She actually refused to meet him with the rest of my family and she is the only person in my family that is not 100% supportive...I actually love it when I get the crazy looks and I love telling "our story"...it reminds me of what this process is all about and if I can educate some people along the way about our government and other cultures...I see it as me being the bigger person...

Normally when I am done explaining to them how it works, the have a new found respect because I'm going through something they, themselves, could never be strong enough to do with their partners. Yes it is easier to relate with others that are going through the same process which is why we are on VJ but we can also use these experiences as a way of educating those less fortunate that don't know a love that spreads across oceans and in the end, prove all the doubters wrong!

Marriage is so easy to enter into in the US and a divorce is even easier. The sanctity of marriage means so much more when you go through the journey we all are going through...

Be encouraged and hold your head up high! You know what is right in your heart!

We have suffered all of this in New Delhi. You can read my experience in my posts. All I can say is that New Delhi is hard nut to crack when it comes to K1. Involve your families. Have you celebrated engagement ceremony?

Good Luck.

Yes...New Delhi honestly scares me a little bit and we are going through Mumbai but not sure if they are truly any better.

I sent a book with over 200 pictures of my fiance and I together from our trips that we've spent together in India and in the US. We had a family lunch in India on my last trip there to celebrate our pre-engagement and so that I could meet his entire family, but no official engagement ceremony. I had seen too many cases where the CO questioned it as "Are you sure you did not get married?" or "Why didn't you just get married?" So he proposed to me in the US and then we had an engagement party that we sent invitations for with my friends and family. Both of our families are very supportive of the marriage even though we are different religions. We have lots of pictures all together and we even still Skype with each other's family too.

but, yeah. things would be simpler/cheaper/less stressful if we had fallen in love with a guy who lives a couple blocks away, but thats not how it happened. plus, that would have been boring! : )

again, best wishes to you and your faraway love!

ps. do k1s from india always get AP? im curious as to whether or not that possibility is factored in to your chosen wedding date?

You are SO right about the boring part...There is nothing boring about an international long-distance relationship... :-)

From the research I have done on K-1's in India...They do not always get AP, but I will say that certain consulates are more strict than others so the chances are much higher at certain consulates than others. My fiance and I are going through Mumbai which has historically been a little bit easier. It's been going through a lot of changes lately though so we'll see what the outcome is. And yes that did play a factor in our wedding date but the date also has significance in our relationship and so it kind of worked out too.

We have NOA1 of 11.08.11 and the average for K-1 from start to finish was 6 months when we received NOA1. Our wedding was over 9months away from the NOA1 date. I have not seen very many people go longer than 9mos even with RFE or AP...but we'll see...I'm not making any fixed plans right now and we are not planning a HUGE wedding either. We are also having a lot of friends and family helping like with cake and photography so there is flexibility as they are all aware of the process we are going through.

All that we can do is be positive and encourage each other...no matter what the circumstances are or what our personal situation is. We are all here for the same reason and none of us want our hopes and dreams crushed before a decision is even made.

What you have said makes perfect sense from a 'logical' standpoint, and would find myself in complete agreement. However, the same logic may not work from a practical standpoint from the perspective of the CO.

Try to place yourself in the CO's position. He/She has a VERY small amount of time to sift through a stack of paperwork, ask a few questions, and make a snap decision that will effect peoples lives forever. They are bombarded with lies, cheats, and criminals who are VERY talented at looking and sounding like a sincere and loving fiance. The CO's are not heartless, and are effected by the crying, heartbroken, and sometimes hostile fiance who is handed a denial or blue slip of paper. The CO is under incredible pressure from their supervisor to not only make the correct decision, but to ALSO do it FAST to prevent a backlog of cases. Not to mention that these people do this same job over and over and over.

So if you were a CO, what questions would you ask? What evidence would you want to see? What would sway you too see inside peoples heart? Is this person a fraud? What if I decide incorrectly and ruin a good persons life? You need to make that life-altering decision NOW, you have 15 minutes, HURRY the next 20 couples are waiting!

Very good point...I am in management for my job so one of my duties is hiring people. Typically, when I conduct interview screenings, I don't have much time. I'm between meetings and I really only have 3-5 minutes. I ask about their previous experience, look at their resume, listen to how they answer the questions, and then go with my gut to make a decision. I know not everyone works that way but I have never been wrong when I go with my first instinct. Even when there are multiple supervisors interviewing/screening the same person, if I'm out-voted...I still end up right as that person ends up not being a good employee or ends up leaving the company fairly quickly after starting their job.

I know the CO has a very hard job but the USCIS spends 4+ months with our paperwork and then they approve it. You would think they would do some research and actually review some of the documentation. You would think the petition approval would mean something more...

I love hearing everyone's opinions and feedback...Keep them coming!

As I sit and wait for my NOA2, I can't help but think about the K-1 process. I've been on VJ for several months now and I've read numerous success stories but also numerous horror stories. I know I need to be informed of the worst case scenarios to be prepared but I can't help in worrying that for some reason my legitimate relationship may not be approved because the country my fiance is from is high-fraud and the CO did not like the way he said "the".

As I've read different journeys I've realized the proof of the relationship is not necessarily in the "pudding". I feel the CO wants to see how much money are you willing to spend to validate and prove you have a legitimate relationship. Have you gone to see each other several times spending thousands of dollars in airfare, hotels, etc? Have you spent hundreds of dollars sending letters or packages to your fiance across international waters (are we not in the 21st century?!?) when you could just send an e-mail or wait to deliver the package and gift when you actually visit them?

Does quality not mean more than quantity? Why would $$$ be an indicator of authenticity? If someone was trying to "buy" their way into the US, don't you think it would be via $$$ (bribes)?

Why is religion such a red flag when one of my freedoms as a USC is freedom of religion? Can I not love someone from another religion? Even two USCs from different states could have such different beliefs and different cultures it would be comparable to being from a different country.

Why don't they read some of the e-mails or text messages that go back and forth between the couple? You can't make up that type of conversation between 2 people in love. Why don't they care about the details?

As I digress, I am at the discretion of the US government and will follow this process if I want to have a future with my fiance in the US. I will provide as much evidence as possible that they deem valid, but I can only hope and pray that my fiance and I have a smooth journey and that we can get married in August 2012. I can only dream that this will be my last holiday season alone and that next year, we will be able to celebrate our first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's together as husband and wife.

We finally got an interview date scheduled! Hooray!

JANUARY 5, 2012 !!!

Our case closed at NVC on October 28th so seems we've been waiting forever! I thought the NOA2 process was bad -- I think this wait was worse because we knew when it arrived at the NVC, when it closed, when it got shipped to the Embassy and when they received it etc etc etc. Just sitting around waiting for this date and knowing each step along the way (albeit with many calls to NVC and the DOS!) -- for some reason this wait seemed worse and I think it's only because our expectations were that we wouldn't be waiting this long for a date!

Anyhoo... just wanted to share our excitement and we will definitely post results! Pray for an approval for us!

Thanks VJ!

Can't wait to hear how it goes! I'm still waiting for my NOA2 and will be going through Mumbai. All the Best!

Thank you everyone for your support!! I've been reading VisaJourney for well over 6 months and just joined when it was getting close for "our turn" and I cannot even describe how awesome it is to have such a great support circle where we all want nothing but the best for each other!! I look forward to going on this journey with all of you as well!

Hi All-

I posted earlier that I just filed my I-129F and as I'm waiting and waiting, I want to be as prepared as possible for when we receive our NOA2. I was looking at the I-134 Affadavit of Support and I was a little concerned. I have a good, steady job that I have been at for the last 3 years. I make well over the 125% of Poverty Level requirement. Everything is fairly good for me financially.

My concern is that just recently, my position was ultimately outsourced. I was long-term supplemental/contracted employee and my contract was up for renewal. Instead of renewing with the same company, they outsourced the position to a staffing agency. My job title is the same, my job description is the same, and my pay has even increased. The ONLY difference is the company name on my paycheck and the fact that when asked if I'm a permanent or temporary employee, I believe they have to say temporary because it is a staffing agency.

Will this require me to have a co-sponsor? Also, how do you know if you need a co-sponsor? Do you submit the I-134 with Packet 3 and then they advise you in Packet 4 if you need a co-sponsor and you either submit it then or at the interview?

Thanks for all your support!

your optimistic arent you just kidding

godspeed

Well...Trying to be...

That's all us VJers have some days...Optimism and Hope!

Hi All-

On this very day one year ago, I was driving to Chicago to file for my Indian Visa for a business trip that changed my life and where I met the man of my dreams whom I will marry in less than 10 months. Today, I filed the I-129F petition in the mail for a K-1 Visa for my Indian fiance. Today, I committed to a new chapter in my life...Our visa journey "officially" begins! Now I get to hurry up and...wait! Praying that the approval comes sooner than later!!

Hi All-

I'm gathering all my documents and evidence to send with my I-129F and was wondering if anyone had any tips as to how to put everything together or keep it separate and organized? Staples? Paper Clips? Post-It Notes?

Thanks!!

My fiancé has a 10 year B1/B2 visa that he has used for our visits with each other. We are getting ready to file our K-1 Visa and were wondering if his B1/B2 visa would still be valid and if he would be able to visit the US again while the K-1 is being processed?

Thanks!!

Ok...that makes sense...only if there will be documentation where it is written in the non-Roman alphabet. Thanks!

I've tried searching for the answer to my question but have not been able to specifically locate it. I'm filling out the I-129F and it says to fill out my fiancee's name and address in his native alphabet if other than Roman letters. My fiancee lives in Mumbai, India and actually grew up learning English as his primary language. Does he still have to write in the Indian alphabet as that is technically the native alphabet of where he is from? Or is English popular enough in India as it is a primary language that we do not need to fill in anything there?

Thanks!

Thanks all for the feedback.

Yes we are an inter-racial couple and we know that we are going to need to submit a lot more evidence because of that as well as India is more strict about the visas as well.

We actually opted not to have an engagement ceremony when I was in India as we did not want there to be any question or doubt that it was too extravagant and think that we got married. We just did a very small engagement party once we got back to the US.

I'm feeling pretty organized because I've been saving so much stuff but I definitely want to make sure everything is aligned to try to make this as smooth as possible (which will still be bumpy, I'm sure... ;-)

Has anyone submitted photo-books such as a Blurb book to better organize the pictures they are using as evidence of having met? Did you submit them with the I-129F packet or just hold them for the interview?

Hi All-

I've been watching VisaJourney for 6+ months now as my relationship with my fiancee has been blooming and well...we are officially engaged now so our own Visa Journey is beginning! He lives in Mumbai, India. I'm prepping all the documents to submit the I-129F and wanted to get feedback on how much "evidence of on-going relationship" should we send in right now?

I have hundreds of pages of chat records, phone/text message records as well as a lot of pictures from our 3 meetings over the last year. I also have receipts, boarding passes, and other momentos that validate our meetings, engagement party guest list and invitation, a book of encouraging advice for our marriage that our friends wrote us during our engagement party, etc.

I know that a lot of this we bring to the interview but how much is too much to send with this packet since this is the main evidence they will use that will get us an interview scheduled?

Thanks all!

Not sure about the transit visa as I've avoided all that since my fiancee and I fly Continental/United. It's always been the cheapest for us and it flies us into EWR.