SocratesJohnson

If he's in the U.K. then the photo booths in Sainburys, Tesco, post office etc have US sized photos as an option.
Its where I got mine done.

I have not, however I am severely paranoid now because my beneficiary's photo was slightly smaller than mine.  Did you receive an RFE for this? 
I am also paranoid that I will get a second RFE for the photo size, even though if that was a problem, they should have already included that in the first RFE, right??  

I got my approval in the mail today 8/18! 
 
Just to sum up: 
 
RFE dated 8/2/17, arrived in mail on 8/7/17, reply sent on 8/9/17 and USCIS received on 8/10/17, official notice dated 8/14/17, and I received it in the mail today, 8/18/17. 
 
Thanks everyone for your help and support!

We got one for the passport style photo of the petitioner. It was an easy fix and we got approved a week later. 

I moved after starting AOS (bought a house). We were in the same town, but I updated my address with USCIS and it didn't cause any problems. Its probably a good idea to setup mail forwarding so you'd get any mail sent to old address for a few months, just in case.

you will need more documents for the DS-160 than you ever thought possible.... especially if you are self employed!! My fiancee walked into the embassy with a stack of papers so large it looked like the book "war and peace" .
 
 

You are free to move while the AOS is pending---just make sure that the beneficiary files an online AR-11 form to update USCIS with the new address within 10 days of moving (there is no fee for this).

It's perfectly fine to move while AOS is pending, or after the first visajourney. Just make sure to update your address in time with the USCIS. 

You're very welcome! Im applying for AOS at the end of this month so will blog about that and update my timeline accordingly for you to follow for that part too. If your fiance or you have any questions please don't hesitate to message me directly!! 😊 Good luck with your journey!! 

Thank you for posting this, my fiance is from Scotland as well so reading your experience and following your timeline is very interesting!

Hi All
 
I'm just back from visiting my fiance in the US whilst our K1 is processing (we have the interview booked!) and had absolutely no problems!  
 
I've wrote a blog post about it if you want to hear about my personal experience: https://yaztalksalot.wordpress.com/
 
All that worrying for nothing! 
 
Yaz xo

I just thought I'd add my experience since I just went through this.
I've actually stopped for 2 weeks in the US on my way to Montreal in Canada to do my interview.
 
I was quite nervous but ended up breezing through almost more quickly than I usually do. They were more concerned about the food I had declared. I simply mentioned I was visiting my fiancee, to which he asked for how long. I said two weeks, he took a quick peek at my printed flight itinerary and said have a good visit. Didn't even have to mention our process (though do NOT avoid it if they do ask).
 
As per another poster, I got my boss to write up a quick notice of return: "___ is an employee at ___ and has been given leave for vacation from __ to __. They are expected to return as of __. Any questions please contact me at __. 'signature' "
Helps to solidify your ties to home, though if you have a return ticket and are honest you should be more than fine. Go see your sweethearts!

That is exactly what you do, if asked do you know the time the answer is yes or no.

This thread helped me out tremendously so I wanted to pay it forward.
Background
My Fiancé is from Budapest, Hungary
Received her ESTA around August or Sept 2016.
First trip to the US was for two weeks in October of 2016 to visit a friend. She came through Miami Int. She had no issues.
She returned to the US in December of 2016 and stayed in Florida for almost three months to help out a friend. During her Visit in December is when we met and started dating.
End of February 2017, she had to leave due to the 90 day ESTA requirement.
She went to Costa Rica for 1 week and then returned to the US. She came through Dallas Int. Had no issues.
She stayed again in Florida from March 2017 until the middle of May 2017. She had to leave again due to ESTA 90 day requirement.
Around the end of May 2017, we decided to go the Fiance Visa route and filed the K1 petition.  The NOA1 was issued June 23,2017.
July 17, 2017 (after being back home for 2 months) she arrived at Miami Int airport to come visit me.
She went to the automatic passport machine and she received the “X” on her paper.
When she approached the CBP officer, he asked her who she was going to see and she said “my fiancé”. The CBP then told her that she “needed to be verified” and sent her to secondary inspection.
Note: Although we cant be sure, the “X” and being sent to secondary was not due to the K1 petition but rather the long and frequent prior trips
They sat her in a room and confiscated her cell phone.  
While in secondary, a different officer began questioning her about her previous long stays. He was concerned with how she could be working and making money while also being in the US for so long. She stated that she does Graphic Design (which is true) and works remotely via her Mac.
She offered to provide her NOA1; employment contract; bank statement and return flight home (she bought a return ticket for a 10 day stay). The CBP officer told her he didn’t need to see any papers.
Approx. 45 minutes after getting put into secondary inspection, I received a call on my cell phone from the CBP officer. He asked me:
Do you know ____. Yes, she’s my fiancé and coming to visit me
How long is she staying for her – I believe a couple weeks
Where do you live - _____
Is she staying with you – She is
Are you picking her up – Yes, I’m actually outside as we speak
How is getting to the airport for her return flight – Il be driving her
What do you do for a living – I am a Personal Injury Attorney
When did you receive your NOA1? We received it approx. 3 weeks ago
Are you familiar with the rules and that she needs to return home? Of course, we are doing everything the correct way…
At this point, he cheered up and we talked about being from the same home town and that he is going to let her through, which he did.
Summarize
Not only did having K1 petition not cause an issue, it was the reason they let her in! This was due to her frequent visits and long stays in the US during the preceding year (She stayed 6 out of the last 10 months in the US and was coming back for a 4th time)
The CBP officers were not concerned about her having a fiancé AT ALL. They were concerned with the time she spent in the US during the preceding year and wanted to be sure she could support herself and was going to return home after her visit
What to do
Bring all supporting documents discussed in the previous threads
Make sure you have discussed the length of stay, how you met, etc.. for when you get a phone call from the CBP officer
Have your phone on and be prepared to speak with the CBP officer!!!
Keep the answers short and assure the officer you will follow the rules
As long as you are honest and have the proper documentation there really is nothing to worry about. Make the trip!!!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

it says most recent passport photos are needed so "by their own rules" new ones are good
we went thru a long process and had passport photos done at different stages about 4 times
you will be fine

New passport photos are fine for the medical and interview. 

@Prof_Q  Just like @SocratesJohnson said keep it short and to the point because they will have hundreds of applications to process and will not take a lot of time reading long love stories and about evidence of relationship like I said "little evidence but strong ones" !!!

Me and my wife(then a total stranger) first met online in 2010 and then as time went on friendship turned into relationship and we decided to meet and when we met we met in real for just 2 days in Dubai ! and that was it. We didnt have yahoo and e-mails back from 2010 and even if i did i had to book a big container of Fedex truck to ship alllllll of those bundles of printouts  ...Anyways its obvious that we didnt know that we were gonna fall in love and so we didnt save any of our emails or chat messages but we did started to save all the info when we first read about the k-visa requirements and then she saved the air ticket, boarding pass, hotel receipts etc and a few screenshots of skype, international calling cards etc and that's it....Am here and are happily married !
 
we met just for 2 days and we had little evidence but that little was strong !

I first met my fiance back in July 2015 when he was on his last year of his student visa. After he left, we still kept in touch and communication with one another. We are going to start the K1 process soon. In the past year, we have seen each other on 6 different occasions (I took 6 trips to go see him). However, we do not really have any proof of us meeting or talking back in 2015 when he was still in the states. We did not bother collecting any evidence in 2015 because none of us knew we would be getting married at that time. 
 
Would this be a problem or inconvenience for us? I am aware that in the interview we will be asked how did we know each other. What if they need proof of that?
 
Also, In Question 34(a) of the I129F application, which states ¨describe the circumstances in which you met¨ , I just put down the dates of our visits when I went to go see him and the duration of the visits. Would this suffice? 
 
Thank you for your help in advance VJers. 

Yes she can.  As long as she is legally able to visit the US, there is no reason that she shouldn't make the trip.  I'm assuming she would have a return ticket ?  It's uncommon to have any trouble at US immigration but making sure she has proof of ties to her home country can help if she is questioned.  I traveled several time from the UK during our K-1 process and never had any problems.  The only thing that can start counting against her is multiple long trips where she could be seen to be abusing her tourist visa or staying in the US more than she is in her home country.  As long as visits are relatively short and not overly frequent, she should be fine.

Hello! My fiance (from Argentina) is in the final steps for obtaining his K1. Here's the situation:
 
He has to submit all his medical/police records/etc and do his interview by November 8th. The US embassy already said they will not extend this when we asked for an extension.
 
HOWEVER, he already purchased a ticket a few months ago to spend 2 weeks with my family in the US for Thanksgiving before we knew about this deadline. He will be staying November 19-December 3rd. He already has a tourist visa and has spent time in the US with my family before, so he has shown he comes and leaves (and never stays more than 2-3 weeks).
 
The embassy email said they would be willing to keep his tourist visa valid for his travel and he can get his K1 later, even after the interview. I assume there would be some type of form for this.
 
He does NOT want to move to the US until February/March (which of course, we would then schedule the medical appointment towards the mid-to-end of October to remain within 6 months).
 
The embassy put a disclaimer at the end of the email saying he could have an issue at POE if he already has a K application in progress. Most likely because it looks like he could potentially overstay due to having a fiance. We do not know if they HAVE to put that disclaimer so protect themselves, because the woman emailing me isn't really aware of the rest of the situation. Here are my thoughts:
 
1.) He has a tourist visa already and has entered/exited before. He was in the US even after we submitted the I-129F and nothing happened. They just asked where he worked.
2.) He has a job and can get a letter saying he has to return. He has a bank account, credit card, etc.
3.) Why would he spend ALL of that money and time with this process to run to the US illegally? He would have to return to Argentina at some point for the K1 visa to be put in the passport. Assuming there would be a document for this, he would take it with him for the customs officer
4.) Since he is coming to the US for Thanksgiving, I would fly down to Argentina (likely with my mom) for Christmas/New Years. By the time November rolled around, I would have the tickets to Argentina which he can present as well. Why would we go to Argentina without him?
 
My fiance is freaking out about this and is petrified of being turned away by US customs. In my opinion, I think he would be fine as long as he brought all of the documents proving what I just listed above. I do think there is a high chance they will pull him out for secondary questioning, but as long as he can back up what he is saying, would he be okay? There are no lies being told at all whatsoever so there is no chance of getting "caught" or anything.
 
What are your thoughts? Should he travel to the US for Thanksgiving or cancel the ticket and lose the money?

It's better to be more current so gather the stuff when you receive your NOA2 Now is a bit too early.

When can I start to complete the Affidavit of Support (I-134)? Is it alright if the supporting documents are obtained a few months before the embassy interview? We're expecting our NOA2 in the next couple months, and I want to get everything taken care of as soon as possible so there aren't any unexpected delays.
 
Thanks,
Matt

This depends on the consulate / embassy. MOST want to see IRS forms even though (for some reason) it doesn't say this on the form instructions itself. You do often get a document from the embassy telling you to submit them for K-1 specifically. This can definitely be frustrating when using friends as a co-sponsor, because they don't believe that it's a requirement. I even had one co-sponsor contact a lawyer, and the lawyer said to absolutely NOT include the tax documents. However, at my interview, they DEFINITELY looked for them. They absolutely should add this to the back of the documentation!
 
You only need to provide the most recent tax year. 3 years is way overkill, outdated, and unnecessary.
 
They definitely will care more about your current employment. Last year I could make $1 and show that on my taxes, but if I got a job making well above the 125% this year, they'll want to know that. Like you thought, I think it has more to do with showing that they are "tax payers" rather than the info meeting the requirement. However, I also think that in most cases it can be easier to prove income of 125% on last year's taxes rather than having to show various employment letters, stubs, etc.. Both could be the case.
 
My experience was this: I went to the interview and submitted THREE I-134 forms. One from my fiance (not meeting the financial requirement) and two from friends of mine. One friend included tax documents and the other did not. When I got up to the interview window and handed the documents in, she right away noted that one of them did not have tax information. She did not look at this one when making her decision.

This is asked about time and time again. The instructions state to mail the I-129F petition to the Dallas Lockbox facility, but people are still often confused about where to mail it, where it goes, and where it gets processed.
The Dallas Lockbox is an intake facility. It is not a USCIS service center. They do not process and adjudicate the petitions there.
The address for regular mail is a Dallas address and the address for courier mail is a Lewisville address. They are still both being sent to the Dallas Lockbox. The difference in addresses is just because the Dallas PO Box address cannot accept courier mail.
This is exactly what happens when your petition is received at the Dallas Lockbox > http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/directorates-and-program-offices/lockbox-intake/lockbox-intake-processing-questions-and-answers
The Lockbox Service provider performs the following activities when processing incoming applications:
Receive, open, sort and stage mail. Prepare and scan documents. Enter document data in system from scanned images. Accept or reject applications and related fees based on business rules. Balance applications and fees. Deposit payments to the U.S. Treasury Send receipt notices for accepted applications to the applicant and designated representative. Return rejected applications to the applicant or designated representative. Transmit application data to USCIS and payment data to U.S. Department of Treasury. Send application files to the appropriate USCIS service center or field office for further processing. Once your petition is received and dealt with by the Lockbox facility, it will be sent to one of the USCIS service centers to be adjudicated. This is not a transfer of your case. Transfers only happen between one service center and another. If your petition was to be transferred, then you would receive a transfer notice stating such. Don't enter a transfer into your VJ timeline unless you actually receive a transfer notice, which is something entirely separate/different from your NOA1 receipt notice of filing.
Your receipt notice (NOA1) will contain your receipt number and the service center location that your petition was sent to. Currently there are only two service centers processing the I-129F petitions. They are California (CSC) and Texas (TSC). If your receipt number begins with WAC, then your petition is at the CSC. If your receipt number begins with SRC then your petition is at the TSC.
Typically the petitions are sent to one of the two service centers based on where the USC petitioner resides. I have seen some report that is not always 100% the case, but for the most part this is correct.
California Service Center: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Texas Service Center: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.