BS1982

As long as the risks are understood and acceptable, how is that foolish? In 2 days I will be with my fiancée instead of waiting another 2 months. If there had been a problem with her visa, $600 in change fees wouldn't have "screwed" me financially or emotionally. My initial post was to simply illustrate that there is not a "one size fits all" answer as to when to buy tickets. My method isn't for everyone, but it may very well be a good choice for some. Waiting another 2 months and paying high season airfare was not the best of both worlds for me and my fiancée, and I don't think I am foolish.

The standard response always seems to be "never book until the visa is in hand", but I don't think the answer is that simple. Last minute tickets can be VERY expensive, and some tickets allow changes for a fee. For my fiancée and I, we followed similar timelines to ours very closely to get a good idea how long the process would take. We also researched airline ticket prices. Tickets booked a couple of months in advance could be as cheap as $2,000 for both of us (me flying round trip from Denver to Bangkok and her flying one way from Bangkok to Denver). Last minute tickets were priced around $6,000! The change fee was $300 per ticket.
Once the U.S. Embassy had our documents in June of 2015, we book our tickets for 2 moths later in August. Maybe we just got lucky, but my fiancee's visa was issued with a couple of weeks to spare. Worst case, we would have been out $600 in change fees, much better than being out $2,000 to $4,000 by waiting until after the visa was issued.
My recommendation is to do the math and evaluate your specific situation. Sometimes buying the tickets early makes good sense.

I can vouch for TransferWise as well. I’ve used Western Union and TransferWise and  TW is much cheaper and faster. TransferWise provides the best exchange rate I’ve found. 

I can vouch for TransferWise as well. I’ve used Western Union and TransferWise and  TW is much cheaper and faster. TransferWise provides the best exchange rate I’ve found. 

I can vouch for TransferWise as well. I’ve used Western Union and TransferWise and  TW is much cheaper and faster. TransferWise provides the best exchange rate I’ve found. 

Yes, my wife received her green card Nov 18, 2016

Too many people are overthinking this. I met my wife on eharmony and we sailed through the K1 process. We checked NOT an IMB. EHarmomy, asiadating.com, match.com and other online dating sites are not IMBs. We had screen shots of our initial meeting on EH, but for the OP I would simply explain how you met, explain why you don't have documentation and provide info showing that it is an online dating site. Simple as that.

My opinion is that ALL visas to the US are going to be more difficult moving forward, especially K1 visa from countries with any Radical Islamic Terrorist connections or activity. I think this is true even if no immigration laws are changed.
Think of the many, many government bureaucrats involved in the visa process. Given the recent mass killings in Paris and San Bernardino, is a government bureaucrat going to be more or less attentive to every detail on the visa application? Are they more likely to get fired for rejecting a visa applicant that should have been admitted, or accepting an applicant that should not have been admitted? How would you like to be in the shoes of any of the bureaucrats that had anything to do with approving Tashfeen Malik's visa?
I think the best case is that visas will take longer to process, and the worst case is that many people who would have received visas before will be rejected with the increased scrutiny.
My wife entered the country on a K1 visa a little over three months ago, and I am very thankful. My heart goes out to the people currently in the process, and the people that start the process in the future. It is frustrating and difficult enough without terrorists making it even more difficult. I wish all the best of luck.

My opinion is that ALL visas to the US are going to be more difficult moving forward, especially K1 visa from countries with any Radical Islamic Terrorist connections or activity. I think this is true even if no immigration laws are changed.
Think of the many, many government bureaucrats involved in the visa process. Given the recent mass killings in Paris and San Bernardino, is a government bureaucrat going to be more or less attentive to every detail on the visa application? Are they more likely to get fired for rejecting a visa applicant that should have been admitted, or accepting an applicant that should not have been admitted? How would you like to be in the shoes of any of the bureaucrats that had anything to do with approving Tashfeen Malik's visa?
I think the best case is that visas will take longer to process, and the worst case is that many people who would have received visas before will be rejected with the increased scrutiny.
My wife entered the country on a K1 visa a little over three months ago, and I am very thankful. My heart goes out to the people currently in the process, and the people that start the process in the future. It is frustrating and difficult enough without terrorists making it even more difficult. I wish all the best of luck.

My opinion is that ALL visas to the US are going to be more difficult moving forward, especially K1 visa from countries with any Radical Islamic Terrorist connections or activity. I think this is true even if no immigration laws are changed.
Think of the many, many government bureaucrats involved in the visa process. Given the recent mass killings in Paris and San Bernardino, is a government bureaucrat going to be more or less attentive to every detail on the visa application? Are they more likely to get fired for rejecting a visa applicant that should have been admitted, or accepting an applicant that should not have been admitted? How would you like to be in the shoes of any of the bureaucrats that had anything to do with approving Tashfeen Malik's visa?
I think the best case is that visas will take longer to process, and the worst case is that many people who would have received visas before will be rejected with the increased scrutiny.
My wife entered the country on a K1 visa a little over three months ago, and I am very thankful. My heart goes out to the people currently in the process, and the people that start the process in the future. It is frustrating and difficult enough without terrorists making it even more difficult. I wish all the best of luck.

My opinion is that ALL visas to the US are going to be more difficult moving forward, especially K1 visa from countries with any Radical Islamic Terrorist connections or activity. I think this is true even if no immigration laws are changed.
Think of the many, many government bureaucrats involved in the visa process. Given the recent mass killings in Paris and San Bernardino, is a government bureaucrat going to be more or less attentive to every detail on the visa application? Are they more likely to get fired for rejecting a visa applicant that should have been admitted, or accepting an applicant that should not have been admitted? How would you like to be in the shoes of any of the bureaucrats that had anything to do with approving Tashfeen Malik's visa?
I think the best case is that visas will take longer to process, and the worst case is that many people who would have received visas before will be rejected with the increased scrutiny.
My wife entered the country on a K1 visa a little over three months ago, and I am very thankful. My heart goes out to the people currently in the process, and the people that start the process in the future. It is frustrating and difficult enough without terrorists making it even more difficult. I wish all the best of luck.

Too many people are overthinking this. I met my wife on eharmony and we sailed through the K1 process. We checked NOT an IMB. EHarmomy, asiadating.com, match.com and other online dating sites are not IMBs. We had screen shots of our initial meeting on EH, but for the OP I would simply explain how you met, explain why you don't have documentation and provide info showing that it is an online dating site. Simple as that.

I met my now wife in May of 2014 through eHarmony. We first met in person when I flew to Thailand in October 2014. In our I129f application I included a timeline summary and detailed documentation of our initial meeting on eHarmony, our subsequent communication via Skype, Line and email, and our meetings in person in Thailand. I think a summary timeline listing key milestones in your relationship that tells your complete relationship history is the way to go. I believe that if you make their jobs easy by providing good, detailed documentation of your relationship, your interview will be much easier. We "front loaded" our I129f, read everything we could find on VJ, paid attention to details and sailed easily through the process
Having said that, you definitely don't want to provide extraneous and irrelevant documentation. A "quit smoking" web site is clearly not an IMB, and you have met in person several times. As others have already pointed out, there is no need to include any IMB info. I think it only leads to confusion.
You should also be very careful and precise with your wording. Your original post confused many people (including me) by stating "because we still haven't meet in person yet" Making statements like that in your application or supporting documents will at best cause confusion and at worst cause a denial.
-Bill-
ps. When Boiler asked if you have "given up", I'm pretty sure he meant "Have you given up smoking?". Once again, pay attention to details.