netminder30

My foreign fiancée had been working with the same company for seven years when about a year ago, that company became financially distressed and eliminated her job.

Rather than immediately seeking new work, my fiancée decided to sublet her apartment and move in with her mother in order to help her provide care for her elderly parents (my fiancée's grandparents). She also wanted to spend more time with her 10-year-old daughter and play a more active role in her life. My fiancée can afford to do this because she is receiving income from subletting her apartment and from alimony from her former husband.

Will the fact that my fiancée has not been working the past year jeopardize approval of our petition (I-129F)? Until her layoff, she had been working for seven consecutive years. Will that clearly demonstrate that she is employable? In addition, would the personal reasons sufficiently justify her voluntary unemployment for the past year?

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

Steve

Thanks, Dave and Ash. I see you chose to include evidence for several of your face-to-face meetings.

Do you see a problem if I mention that my fiancée and I have met five times, but I only submit evidence for one of the meetings? Am I better off only mentioning the one meeting for which I'm submitting the evidence or is it ok to mention all the meetings? Unfortunately, we can only produce a patchwork of evidence for all but one of the visits.

Thanks again. I welcome comments from anyone else who wishes to contribute.

Sorry, but I have one follow up question for Dave. Dave, did you provide proof for all three of your meetings or just one meeting of your choice?

It seems I have the most solid evidence for our fourth meeting. My fiancée flew to Atlanta and we subsequently flew to San Francisco to visit my brother. I plan to submit her passport stamps, our boarding passes showing that we sat together on the flight to San Francisco, and pictures of us in San Francisco.

Will mentioning all five of our meetings without providing proof for each create confusion? Are we better off only referencing our fourth meeting on the I-129F form and mentioning the other meetings on an attachment?

Thanks again for your help.

Steve

A very sincere, heartfelt thanks to all of you who answered my question. Your input and advice is extremely helpful.

I am taking it that a lengthy, more detailed response is not required and may not even count for much on the I-129F, but could prove helpful when it comes time for the embassy interview.

I intend to provide a short, direct answer to 34. a. directly on the I-129F form in the space provided, and then reference USCIS to an attachment that will provide more detail as I have done above. They can choose to look at it or not, but it may help set the stage for the embassy interview.

Thanks again to everyone who responded to my question. I greatly appreciate the efforts made to help me out.

Steve

Thank you very much for your response! I appreciate the tips on how to package the petition and it's contents.

I am the U.S. citizen petitioner in the process of completing the I-129F. I am not certain about how to respond to question 34.a. which asks for a description of the circumstances under which my fiancé and I met. There seem to be conflicting opinions out there.

Some people advocate a very succinct response that fits within the space provided on the form, while others advise sending a lengthier response presented on a separate sheet. What is the consensus? Can both approaches be taken with a succinct answer appearing on the form and a lengthier response appearing on a separate sheet?

Below is what I am proposing to write. I would appreciate feedback on both the length and content. Also, does the documentation I plan to include provide sufficient proof that my fiancé and I have met?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I first met my fiancé Nelly about five years ago (September 2010) on the internet through a website devoted to foreign language learning. I was studying Russian (her native language), while she was improving her English (my native language). Our first communication came when Nelly reviewed an exercise I posted, and this led to us exchanging contact information (both e-mail and chat) so we could help each other with our language learning. I have included a copy our first e-mail exchange following our online meeting.

Avid learners, Nelly and I quickly established regular communication, exchanging e-mails and chatting (both text and voice). These interactions provided not only an opportunity for language learning, but also for discussions about culture, history, politics, philosophy, and aspects of our personal lives. There was almost an instant chemistry between us and our correspondences became an almost daily affair. I was struck by Nelly’s warmth, her sense of humor, her intelligence, her devotion to her family, and love of music, which I share. By 2012, we had fallen in love and started to make plans for our first face-to-face meeting in Moscow. (I have included several examples of our e-mail correspondences.) We first met in person in Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow on May 13, 2013. Our connection was instant – we felt like we had known each other our entire lives. I’ll never forget the thrill of hugging her for the first time. We spent a magical week in Moscow, seeing all the major tourist attractions, enjoying meals together, and having long talks over coffee at Starbucks. By the time I left on May 19, we were already talking about our next meeting.

We have since had four personal meetings between November 2013 and September 2015; I returned to Moscow once and Nelly came to the U.S. three times. Our visits lasted anywhere from two weeks to three months, giving us ample opportunity to assess our compatibility, not only with each other, but with members of our families, including our children. I developed a close relationship with Nelly’s 10-year-old daughter, Sasha, who recently accompanied Nelly to the U.S., while Nelly established a great rapport with my three children (ages 16, 20, and 22). Given our experiences together, along with the support of our families, Nelly and I know we can live together happily and harmoniously. We are deeply in love, ready for marriage, and looking forward to a long and fulfilling life together.

I have included documentation of our third meeting which began in New York City on May 17, 2014: 1) a copy of Nelly’s entire visa containing a stamp indicating she arrived at JFK airport in New York on May 17; 2) an e-mail from Delta Air Lines inviting me to check in for my flight from Atlanta arriving in JFK airport on May 17; and 3) separate e-mails from the hotel in New York City respectively addressed to Nelly and me showing we stayed together at the hotel on May 17 and 18. I have also included pictures of our meeting in New York, along with photos from other meetings.