Hq1987

For an Iranian citizen, and with the travel ban in place, and with today's political climate... I say you guys just made a ***HUUUUUGE*** accomplishment. When you get your passport with a visa in hand, make sure you celebrate, cuz you guys definitely deserve it. 

Egypt is a really tough embassy. Probably top 5 toughest ones outside of the countries listed in the travel ban. Make sure you get as many visits as possible and front load your application. Also, make sure you travel with your fiance at the time of the interview to attend the interview together. It could make a lot of difference. I'm not saying that to discourage you, but just to make sure you are prepared and not take any shortcuts. 

Greetings,
 
I met with an immigration lawyer last weekend so that I can prepare our K1 documents as well as have some questions answered. Our situation isn't complicated, but we figured its would be best to be safe than sorry and hire a lawyer. She is a competent and well informed lawyer (based on many online reviews) who has handled many K1 cases in the past. She was very confident and straight to the point in what she was saying.
 
I had already done research on VJ and read lots of peoples stories as to what information needs to be submitted with the I129F. However, when I relayed this information to the lawyer, she had a different stance, as follows:
 
1) Copy of Letter of Intent : She said that my fiance can send his signed letter through email, then we can either print it or scan it; it doesn't have to be the original version. She also said she handled many cases where the letter of intent was the scanned copy and it got approved. On VJ however, it was noted that the fiance has to send his/her letter of intent by mail because it HAS to be the original version or else there will be an RFE
 
2) Labeling pictures: She said labeling pictures with the date and location isn't necessary for the initial stage, but for the interview, it would come in handy. People on VJ make it seem that if you don't label the pictures you will also get an RFE.
 
3) Texts, call logs, video chats: Again, she mentioned that this would be useful during the interview but not in the filing stage. She also said that submitting copies of texts/call logs/video chats might give the impression to consular or visa officers that we might be "trying too hard" , which could raise some eyebrows or cause suspicion.
 
4) Statement from parents: She told me to get a signed statement from both our parents that we met and they know that we want to get married. This is not something I'm seeing on the VJ website that people do, how come?
 
So VJ members, is she making valid points, or is she wrong on all of these statements? I understand lots of people on here choose to file without a lawyer, so they may be extra cautious than usual by front loading their application or being paranoid over the little things. But for anyone who has been through this journey before or has knowledge about the issues I brought up, your feedback/insight would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thank you! 
 

Greetings,
 
I met with an immigration lawyer last weekend so that I can prepare our K1 documents as well as have some questions answered. Our situation isn't complicated, but we figured its would be best to be safe than sorry and hire a lawyer. She is a competent and well informed lawyer (based on many online reviews) who has handled many K1 cases in the past. She was very confident and straight to the point in what she was saying.
 
I had already done research on VJ and read lots of peoples stories as to what information needs to be submitted with the I129F. However, when I relayed this information to the lawyer, she had a different stance, as follows:
 
1) Copy of Letter of Intent : She said that my fiance can send his signed letter through email, then we can either print it or scan it; it doesn't have to be the original version. She also said she handled many cases where the letter of intent was the scanned copy and it got approved. On VJ however, it was noted that the fiance has to send his/her letter of intent by mail because it HAS to be the original version or else there will be an RFE
 
2) Labeling pictures: She said labeling pictures with the date and location isn't necessary for the initial stage, but for the interview, it would come in handy. People on VJ make it seem that if you don't label the pictures you will also get an RFE.
 
3) Texts, call logs, video chats: Again, she mentioned that this would be useful during the interview but not in the filing stage. She also said that submitting copies of texts/call logs/video chats might give the impression to consular or visa officers that we might be "trying too hard" , which could raise some eyebrows or cause suspicion.
 
4) Statement from parents: She told me to get a signed statement from both our parents that we met and they know that we want to get married. This is not something I'm seeing on the VJ website that people do, how come?
 
So VJ members, is she making valid points, or is she wrong on all of these statements? I understand lots of people on here choose to file without a lawyer, so they may be extra cautious than usual by front loading their application or being paranoid over the little things. But for anyone who has been through this journey before or has knowledge about the issues I brought up, your feedback/insight would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thank you! 
 

Alf alf mabrook