Kush_Omaded

Physical evidence would probably be the best bet. If you have proof of meeting in person, that's the best info to include. For example, you may include copies of passport pages with the passport stamps showing the petitioner/beneficiary's entry into the country where you met; copies of boarding passes from times you flew to meet each other; receipts from your time together (hotels you visited, engagement ring--if applicable, museums, etc.), or if you've ever sent letters or packages to each other, copies of the envelopes or customs declarations. Evidence of a secondary nature which is also helpful to include is pictures which show you two together (bonus points if you include pictures with family members) and/or chat logs from your preferred method of long-distance communication (WhatsApp, Viber, Line, Facebook, Skype, etc. These logs and photos should show a progression of the relationship, and it's not necessary to include pages and pages. Just enough to demonstrate your point.

In addition to these, if you wish to elaborate more on the circumstances surrounding your meeting, you can. I chose to do so, for example, just to clarify how my fiancé and I first met and fell in love, since I didn't have enough room on the I-129F form. You can include this as a written attachment, but remember that it doesn't need to be an essay. A convincing case should sell itself through physical evidence, so mostly focus on that.

You should be fine. It was a long time ago, the case was dismissed, and you're not a repeat offender. Definitely be honest about it if you're asked,  but I wouldn't worry.

Not a UK citizen, but will nonetheless input my two-cents. Chats and video call logs are helpful, but are technically still considered secondary evidence. More important are "primary" pieces of evidence, which are items like receipts from your time together (bonus, but not required, if you have a receipt for the engagement ring), plane boarding pass stubs showing visits, passport stamps, etc. Similarly, pictures are great for showing you have physically been in each other's company; try to select ones that cover a timeline of you two together. Ultimately, it is up to you if you want to include chat logs, but I'd recommend it. I had to sift through months and months of WhatsApp messages to pick the ones that worked best, screenshot, and then assemble in a word document. It's a pain, yes,, but I'd recommend at least including some messages, just to have a concise argument for your case that covers all your bases. Chat logs are good, they show ongoing relationship, so while not necessary to show every single message you've ever sent, it should be fine just to take a screenshot of, say, one message per month that you've been dating. This helps prove you have a relationship that's ongoing.  Ultimately, a wide variety of evidence types makes for a well-rounded case. Hope that helps!

1 hour ago, Brian&Prasha said:

Hello,

 

I've read the instructions for I--134 which makes no mention of pay stubs or tax documents. Anyone know why I'm reading these as required docs so often? Are they just a "nice to have" or truly required?

 

 

Thanks,

Brian

Every country's consular office in different in their financial requirements. Some consular offices might require these documents, some might recommend them, and some might not need at all. Ultimately, though, the burden of proof is on the petitioner to prove that they (or their cosponsor) will be able to provide for the beneficiary upon arrival to the U.S. So extra proof, even if superfluous, can always be a good thing when it comes to proving your ability to financially support your beneficiary. Contacting your specific consular office is probably the best way to ensure that you have all the necessary financial documents, as well as learn which documents may not be required.

Even if NVC makes a mistake, it's not the end of the world. It will add extra time to your case, potentially, and isn't necessarily a great idea, but you can change the embassy location once it's already been sent off by NVC. I'd spoken previously to consular staff about it, and they'd said it's possible. Tajikistan, where my fiancé is currently residing, doesn't process immigration visas, so he'll be going for his interview in Kazakhstan. However, as an Afghan refugee, he has limited travel privileges, and Kazakhstan has been known to deny refugees entry for visa interviews in the past, even if they have bonafied documents from the American embassy proving their intent for traveling. Anyway, long story short, my case will be sent to Kazakhstan, but the consulate has said it's possible to change the processing location after its already arrived at the embassy, if due to extenuating circumstances (i.e. third party country won't allow entry for an interview.) So, it may be worth consulting with the embassy about your question. Every country has different regulations, of course, but if NVC mistakenly sends it to the wrong country, you may still be able to change it. So no use panicking yet!

Hi there,

So I'm still preparing for receiving my NOA2 in March or so, but figured I'd get a head start on the planning. So I'm opting to have cosponsors for the financial requirement, since I'm a recent college graduate, just started working, etc. My parents have expressed a willingness to be my cosponsors, but my question is: can both of them sponsor me, as their accounts and income taxes are all listed/filed jointly? Or should I pick the parent with the highest annual income and have them sponsor me individually, even though their income tax returns and bank statements will also reflect contributions from my other parent too? I know you can't split the sponsorship amount between multiple sponsors; your cosponsor needs to be able to fulfill the entire responsibility themselves, but if the sponsors' finances are completely joint, what sort of difference would that make?

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Taiwan.html

It shows where to find necessary documents in Taiwan

If anything, the massive delays creeping more and more into I-129F processing might be indicative of the first wave of this new trend. I've also heard that more and more RFEs are being given, so presumably USCIS is less likely to let minor things fly. I mean, could the delays be coincidence? Maybe. But honestly, I doubt it. There's not a lot of love for immigrants politically right now, and I doubt it'll get any better. And while Department of State operates under different administrative platforms than USCIS, I'm sure their orders aren't much different. Delay and deny seems to be increasingly common, particularly for high-fraud countries. Fingers crossed we'll all make it out with minimal frustration.

For the petitioner, a birth certificate or a passport will suffice. While technically a birth certificate is required for the beneficiary (and possibly adoption paperwork, in your case), sometimes it can get a bit difficult to get the birth certificate, as not every country issues one. Look for your beneficiary's country on the side bar of the below website and click on it. The chart shows which documents the State Department may require for your visa-type and where to obtain them, if you don't already have them. Not every country is Canada or the U.K; sometimes it's simply impossible for you to acquire a document that other countries might easily access. State Department lists which ones they expect you to have, and which ones may be unavailable. Depending on the record-keeping system and criminal justice system in your beneficiary's country, police certificates and birth certificates aren't always readily available, so other alternative documents will sometimes be allowed.  

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country.html

Not necessarily, country of legal residence can override citizenship when it comes to where you get interviewed. At least that's the case with refugees legally residing in a country other than the one in which they have citizenship. I've heard of it holding true for students and workers too, though. Provided she is living in Argentina legally and has paperwork proving as such, your fiancée should be able to go through the embassy in Argentina without a problem. Just make sure she won't have to return to live in Venezuela during the process, otherwise you may have to change embassies.

5 hours ago, Kyle2017 said:

Thank you!  Oh yeah, I was puzzled by that for a long time.  I follow r/LongDistance on Reddit and it seems like more than half of those people are always together!  I'm like "How?!  What do you people do for money?!"

 

My fiance is like 7,000 miles away from me and it's not like I can just go hop on a plane to spend a month with her any time I feel like it, and it's been a real test of our relationship over the last 3 months to be so far apart.  Looking forward to another 3 - 5 more months of being apart is not a happy thought, but I think it's been making us stronger in the long run.

 

I was unemployed for quite a while, which gave me the time to go see her, but I ended up burning through my savings and I had no other choice than to go get a job, an apartment and make sure I have everything set up for her to come here.  If I was still unemployed like I was before, what was I going to do?  I have a co-sponsor, but that doesn't solve the problem of where we would live and how I would support the two of us.  Now I've got that figured out and I'm relieved, but I wish I had a way to go visit her while this visa process is still ongoing. 

I'm with you there, it's a frustrating process. My fiancé can't leave Tajikistan to visit me (currently residing there on a refugee visa, so he can only leave for permanent resettlement or to return to Afghanistan), and I'm undergoing my security clearance for work with a government contractor, so I can't leave the U.S. to visit him. So we're kinda stuck until the K-1 pulls through and brings him here. It's hard, and while it is making us stronger as a couple, I wish we had a way to see each other. But, I do consider us lucky to live in the age of technology. I don't know what I'd do without WhatsApp; daily video calls really do help us feel closer. We'll all be reunited with our sweethearts eventually, though, that's for sure. Optimism is the best approach!

Honestly, pictures are considered secondary evidence: they can be faked and the date can be altered. They're helpful to include, but officials prefer to see passport stamps, receipts, etc. So I'd say include all the pictures you have, but focus primarily on other types of evidence. Pictures are good, but the other types of evidence you previously mentioned having, those are even better. Sure, take some pictures when you visit again, but don't worry about documenting every second. DO keep your boarding passes and receipts, though, those are "hard" evidence which officials like to see. Roughly 12 pictures is the amount I'd recommend including, anyway, provided they're from a range of dates. No need to include fifty or one-hundred photos, as some people on here have done. That gets repetitive and annoying for those reviewing your case. You need ample evidence, yes, but from a wide variety of mediums. And it sounds like you're in good shape with the amount of different types you have.

First off, I'm so sorry.My best suggestion is to contact the embassy. Only they can tell you what they'll be doing with your case; you can see if there's the potential for a hardship waiver in your case or maybe another loophole. If you can find a way to demonstrate your fiancé has connections to the U.S. or is otherwise really pro-America, it might help too. I don't know what their criteria is for determining that someone's not a "threat to the U.S," but if you have chat logs where he's talking about his excitement to come to the States or he's praising something about the U.S., maybe you could include that? Or if he ever worked for an American company or something to that effect, maybe you could include that too? Only the embassy can tell you, though. I'd send them an email or call them. And if nothing else, go to the interview unless you hear otherwise. Good luck!

I think frontloading can be beneficial, if it's the right kind of evidence. Obviously no USCIS agent or Consular officer wants to read 300 pages of chat logs, but  including a mixture of every type of evidence can be good for your case. Include pictures, receipts, chat logs, copies of visas or passport stamps. Don't go overboard, of course, but it can't hurt to show an example of a chat log from every month of your relationship, for instance. Or even one screenshot per week, if you want to be extra sure. But ultimately, if your case is otherwise solid, including those extra chats probably won't be critical for your case, but I doubt it would hurt you.

While an earlier post did raise a valid point about trying to keep the information to a minimum, so as to not accidentally misrepresent yourself during an interview, that's an easily solved problem. Make copies of the documents you include with your I-129F and be sure that both the petitioner and beneficiary know everything completely. Review the documents thoroughly, make sure you both understand the same version of events. For instance, my fiancé insists our first date was the first time we went out together, while I consider it to be once we'd formally started dating a little bit later. These exact details are harmless in the scope of the overall relationship; it's not like we love each other any less or have less of a desire to get married. And when it comes time for the interview, we'll both agree which timeline we'll use.  If there's a discrepancy during the interview, even a harmless one like that, it can look bad. So more info isn't bad, but be sure both petitioner and beneficiary have a clear grasp on the details.

21 minutes ago, weakheart said:

so can we translate by ourselves?

 

Yes, if you feel you can make a competent translation by yourself, then no need for a professional. Just as long as the consular officer can understand what they're reading.

I don't know if this was necessarily the right approach, but I solved my problem similarly.  My fiance and I filed originally in September, now waiting on NOA2.  Since my fiancé is an Afghan currently residing in Tajikistan, we'd originally planned to complete the process at the embassy in Afghanistan. We ran into a number of security concerns, though, in the months after filing, so we decided to change and file through Kazakhstan instead (which processes visas for residents of Tajikistan). I called USCIS, and they recommended just sending an addendum to the file, in order to update the case. So we sent a document to the California Service Center, which was signed by both of us, had our receipt number, date of original file, etc and which requested a change in the embassy through which our case would eventually be processed. I'm still waiting for NOA2, so I suppose we'll see if that was the right way of going about that situation, but it was what USCIS recommended.

Honestly, I opt for a more optimistic approach. Most of the world is on the high-fraud list, and while it pays to be well-prepared for the interview, it's no reason to panic unnecessarily. Just be sure you have abundant evidence of in-person meetings and proof of a legitimate relationship. If you guys have lived together for a long amount of time, make sure you have saved boarding passes, receipts, passport stamps, photos--all the evidence you sent along with your original packet. Be sure to have updated evidence, from the time that's elapsed between your initial form submission and the date of your interview. Review sample interview questions with your fiancé; make sure that you don't get in trouble just because there's some silly personal detail you two never reviewed. Review major details of your life together, make sure she has answers to a variety of potential questions. If there's a potential problem you can foresee, try to be prepared for it. If you've been previously divorced, have originals of all the associated documents. Not to rude in the face of previous posters, but being from a high-fraud country is no reason to panic. It just means you have to prepare thoroughly and be extra sure you're prepared for the interview. The interviewer isn't out to "get you," they're just trying to ensure that you and your fiancé have a legitimate relationship. So prepare as much as possible, review all the potential questions you can find, and triple-check everything. You'll be fine; just be thorough.

I just left it at the top of the first line, and I think that ought to do it.

As for the pictures, I'd recommend having some from every year of your relationship. The ones from two years ago can be valuable in showing how your relationship has progressed until now. So maybe a good mixture from each year. Just corroborate them with receipts or passport stamps, if you have them, and you should be in business.

I imagine everyone did it a different way, probably, but I did something similar to you. My fiancé's address was five-ish lines long, so I just wrote, "see part 8" every time it was referenced. As long as you have some system of organization, hopefully they'll be able to figure it out. And as for pictures, I think it depends on how much other evidence you have. Boarding passes, receipts, passport stamps, etc are just as effective as pictures, so if you have a good balance of "hard" evidence, then probably you wouldn't need more than ten pictures or so. But, that being said, frontloading your case can make things go smoothly later on, so a good amount of all kinds of evidence might help down the road. Just don't overdo it--I saw a thread on here where someone had roughly 100 photos in their file, and that's just too much. The officer reviewing it needs evidence that you have a relationship with your fiancé, so however much evidence is necessary to tell that story.
And again, organization is probably appreciated by the USCIS officer reviewing your file, but I don't think having the photos out of order would disqualify your case. But the easier your case is to follow, the better.

Well, I guess it depends on the circumstances.  But given that you were deported previously, it might be more difficult for you than the average applicant.  It might be best to hire a lawyer at this point; there's a possibility you may still be able to enter, but with deportation, it's much trickier. This website isn't the expert on your individual case, of course, but maybe it'll help. Best of luck!

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-long-after-deportation-must-i-wait-before-returning-the-us.html

Hi September friends,

So, just for some brief explanation, I met my fiancé during my final year in college. After graduation, I worked temporarily as a waitress to make ends meet, until I was able to find a full time position. I recently received a job offer (yay!) which more than meets the income threshold as required in the proof of financial support. I start the position this upcoming January. My main concern, of course, is that the interview will be just shortly after that, and the Consular Officer might find it a bit odd that I just started the position which I'll be supporting my fiancé with.  I'd really rather not file with a joint sponsor, but would it be better to do so? I won't have a 2016 tax return from my new position, of course, but will a letter from my supervisor/HR certifying my pay rate be an acceptable substitute?

Thanks!

While I'm not from Cambodia, I do have some experience fighting with the "tea money" culture elsewhere in Asia. If your cousin is an American citizen, he could always try having the U.S. embassy put pressure on the local provincial government. If the "fees" being requested aren't standard, the Embassy could pressure the provincial government into compliance gathering the requested documents, but that's not always the case. And it may be best to tread lightly in that regard, because if the provincial government knows your cousin's partner is in the K-1 process with a foreigner, they might assume she can afford to pay more in bribes. If she has a Cambodian passport, however (which obviously she must, if she's traveling to Malaysia), you could ask the U.S. embassy if that could satisfy the proof of citizenship for the K-1 process. I'm sure they're similarly familiar with the "tea money" culture, so they might be willing to make an exception, given that some countries are more notorious than others for withholding documents.

It is possible that your tourist visa was rejected because the government suspected you would try to overstay your visa and perhaps stay in the country illegally. It might be wise to hire an immigration lawyer at this point, or--if possible--get married and apply for a spousal visa. It takes longer to bring a spouse to the United States than a fiancé, true, but it might bring more legitimacy to your relationship and make the process appear less fraudulent. If you do want to make another attempt at the K-1 visa, though, be ready to explain to the immigration officer right away why you failed to marry before. Perhaps include an extra paper in the I-129F application describing your reasons for not marrying before. 

Hi All,

So to offer a little bit of background, my fiancé is an Afghan currently residing in Tajikistan as a refugee. We submitted our I-129F in August and are currently awaiting our NOA2. In our I-129F, we'd originally listed Kabul, Afghanistan as the embassy through which we intended to file, because it was my fiancé's intention to return to Afghanistan before 2018, since the security situation was moderately better at the time of filing. However, security recently started to deteriorate again, and my fiancé's family is warning him not to risk going back just for the visa process, particularly with the increased possibility that we may face weeks or months of administrative processing, during which time he'll be stuck waiting, with the security potentially continuing to worsen. We wouldn't mind filing out of Tajikistan (well, actually out of Kazakhstan, since the embassy in Tajikistan is too tiny to process fiancé visas), but we just don't know how to alert USCIS that we need to change the embassy as well as the address listed for the beneficiary. Any suggestions?

Also, anyone else filed out of Almaty? Tips?

Thanks!

Thanks everyone! I may have him bring it alongside the affadavit of support for his interview when it comes to that point! 

Appreciate the support!