Ty/Ir

15 minutes ago, Greenbaum said:

Things like that happen all the time. You are in a normal path to a visa. Sit back and relax. You'll have your approve soon.

I hope so. I rely so heavily on this site and really take to heart the words of experienced members here but I've never heard of an RFE being issued and then cancelled so it sounded strange when the uscis staff told me that could be a possibility. 

Last week I called USCIS and was told that I had a request for evidence coming, but neither website indicated this. I called again a few minutes ago and was told that there was no indication of a request for evidence coming and that if there was I would see it. The guy told me it's possible that an RFE was drafted but then cancelled. I'm not sure what's going on there, or what to believe, but it is worrying. 😖

3 minutes ago, TandClaudia said:

Hopefully it's something that can be fixed pretty easily.  I've seen a few people who got an RFE for not checking a box and then getting it resolved quickly.

 

Did you have an complicated issues like a prior divorce, criminal history, or using an IMBRA website to meet?

 

 

No prior divorces, met online but on a free site not an IMBRA (did not it mention anyway). I have a very minor criminal history from when I was a kid all Class C misdemeanors which are the same level as traffic tickets.

I also called uscis this morning and found out that I have been issued an RFE. Neither website reflects this and I didn't receive an email for it but the guy told me it was issued on May 13. My understanding is that an RFE is right on the brink of denial. Now to try to avoid panic while I wait to find out what they want.

I'm in the same boat as you OP, early February noa1 and no signs of an noa2. 

2 hours ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

 for November 2018 the percentage is in line with July 2018

 

I wonder if this could be interpreted as people not updating their timelines. Thanks for the reply Dave👍

17 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

The NOA2 takes about 5.5 to 7 months. You're a ways away.

Are the people getting their NOA2s from January and now February just outliers or has the process sped up significantly? I'm also wondering if there is some factor, like the beneficiary's country, that influences this or if this is just the result of luck.

12 hours ago, payxibka said:

What makes an IMB is the matchmaking component

This is kind of of what I was leaning towards, well this and the pay-to-use component. The website I used was completely free and offered no match making services. Indeed it appeared the site was abandoned by its original administrators. My OP wasn't clear, but I was really looking for feedback on whether or not the omission of online contact in the i-129f being a problem. I appreciate the input everyone has given thus far.

I left the job end date blank and then physically wrote in "PRESENT" with a pen. I heard it is really bad to put in the date you filed because it can be interpreted as you dont have the job anymore. 

You are allowed to write on the form with a pen so I wrote "N/A" in a bunch of slots. 

10 minutes ago, payxibka said:

It asks for the circumstances of meeting,  which might include the where or how you made first con5

I just put that we met on 3 separate occasions and provided dates and locations. I wonder if I screwed my chances 😓

Was it wrong that I didn't mention that first contact was online? I have been reading that a lot of people do and I chose not to, it didn't seem relevant to the information they wanted.

Hello,

I initially contacted my fiance online approximately 2 years ago on an online dating site. The site was free and I am fairly confident that it was not an IMBRA, however, I made no mention of this in the i-129f petition. At the time I filed it the petition I was under the impression that USCIS was only interested in an in-person meeting,  so I just checked no for IMBRA and moved on. Both my fiance and I deleted our accounts on the free dating site and I have no correspondence to prove that we even made contact there. Am I likely to get an RFE for this, should I mention it, is it relevant? I'm not sure what I should do to prepare for any problems this could bring up.

Thank you

I haven't gotten a text from them since the one saying they received the petition. I wonder if that's a bad sign

I sent 30 screenshots of chats that related to everyday life things as well as upcoming trips/trips that just ended. I sent 12 screenshots of call logs, 1 per month for the past 12 months to show there is an ongoing relationship. Both of these are, in my opinion, just supplementary evidence. It isn't enough on it's own to get you approved but it probably helps establish validity to the relationship. 

One thing I will mention though is that everything in the i-129f form that referred to meeting your fiance indicated that they are concerned with an in-person meeting, not about first contact online. With this in mind I did not include any chats or call logs that occurred prior to the first in-person meeting. I don't know if that was the correct thing to do or not but I felt like it might confuse the petition if I included that. I am also not sure if we will mention it at the interview stage.

I copied the entire passport because I believe one of the requirements of filing the i-129f was to prove that you are a us citizen and one way to do this, as specified in the uscis instructions, was to copy the entire passport. 

If you plan to use a birth certificate you may not need to do the entire passport but I would still include the stamps that support your claim of having met within 2 years. I think stamps are hard evidence.

"Evidence of U.S. citizenship which may include any of the following: 
A. A copy of your birth certificate issued by a U.S. civil authority;
B. A copy of your original Certificate of Naturalization;
C. A copy of your original Certificate of Citizenship;
D. A copy of your Form FS-240, Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States;
E. A copy of your valid, unexpired U.S. passport or passport card issued with a validity period of at least five years; 
or
F. A statement executed by a U.S. consular officer certifying that you are a U.S. citizen and the bearer of a currently 
valid U.S. passport."

So those are the instructions. I feel like when I did it the instructions said all, but then again this is a new version that came up in March (I filed in February). It doesn't say "all pages" or "some pages" so I guess interpret it how you wish.

I put the patronymic name in the middle name slot. I hope that wasn't the wrong thing to do. Prior to meeting my fiance I didnt know anything about Slavic naming customs. However her passport had her name in English Letters as well as Russian letters so I knew the translation would be correct.

Edit: just to clarify my fiance absolutely has her patronymic name on her passport. Mine has my middle name on it too. From what I gather patronymic/middle names exist to serve the exact same function.

For the briefest flicker in time I had hopes that maybe the USA and Russia could take even the smallest step towards restoring relations now that the collusion narrative has expired. Then of course WaPo and NYT started writing about Russia sending arms to Venezuela immediately. I guess we'll be perpetual enemies after all.

Anyways, CNN should just go all in and just say Mueller is a Russian agent or compromised by a pee tape or something.

52 minutes ago, LizM said:

We had a VJ member (petitioner) who got denied at the very end of the K1 process after his fiancée had been to her interview, and was seemingly approved, but then while processing the visa they found out he had expunged records of what I think was an assault/battery years ago. That member had to scrap the K1, get married and start all over with a spousal visa. 

That's interesting that they could find an expunged record. The implication of expungement is that the records are completely obliterated. Perhaps this was actually a sealed record or dismissed or something? I attempted to collect records I had that were expunged but the court told me there was nothing to collect; it was a legal equivalent to the incident having never occurred. 

12 minutes ago, jc22 said:

Thanks for your reply, Tyler26.

 

I definitely will be answering yes that I was charged for simple assault. However, I'm just unsure of whether or not to respond YES to the question specifically about domestic incidents. Nowhere on any of the police/court documents does it say anything about domestic violence. It just says simple assault for all of them. 

 

 

Well the question that mentions domestic violence does so to the effect of "have you ever been arrested or convicted of domestic violence, x, y, or z." So since your docket says something other than the listed charges I'd answer no. I'm curious what other people will recommend. 

I answered yes to questions about a minor crime. There is a place for you to explain the situation at the end of the packet. If it were me, I would answer yes and then emphasize that this happened at 18 years old and it was with a brother. To me this sounds like just every day sibling turbulence and if you explain the situation then whoever is evaluating your petition will probably be understanding too. I can't give much insight into the process but if I had to guess they are really looking for things like wife beating, child abuse and elder abuse. Not teenage boys brawling. 

Of course you could always omit this incident and hope to God USCIS doesn't dig it up; they might not. But I can tell by the OP if you go for this option you will be stressed out for the duration of the process. Be sure to thank your mom for this potentially life-defining lesson.

Is there an option that doesn't include blacking out lines of text or submitting spicy conversations? I also used WhatsApp as the primary medium for communication. We have maintained daily communication for about 2 years and accumulated around 120K messages. I submitted about 30 screenshots with the I-129F dating back about 9 months from the time of submission. The screenshots were both from her phone as well as mine. Each screenshot had (I think) up to 10 texts maximum, assuming they were single lines, of course most had less. The screenshots were of ordinary everyday conversations and discussions about world events, travel plans for upcoming trips, and typical affectionate stuff (though nothing graphic or inappropriate). I also screenshotted some call logs that dated from February 2019 back to December 2017, even though I could have gone back to March 2017. I got the feeling what USCIS was really looking for was evidence of a sustained ongoing relationship. Supporting continuity might be more important than the content of the messages. We do have a bit of an age gap too (I'm 26M USC and she is 31 F beneficiary) but I've heard that age gaps aren't weighted so heavily.

7 minutes ago, payxibka said:

I am curious as to where is proof of engagement is required evidence for the petition?

My understanding is that the letters requested to indicate an intent to marry constitutes proof of engagement. That is precisely what an engagement is: an intent to marry. I can't remember whether or not these letters were required or if it was just something that was strongly recommended. In either case every material used to supplement the I-129f packet is meant to illustrate the authenticity of a serious relationship that will lead to marriage (an engagement). To be clear, since it looks like OP misunderstood my post, I did not participate in an engagement ceremony. I just proposed with an engagement ring. That said, I did look into engagement ceremonies and apparently they are a separate event from a wedding. Perhaps this will confuse the case and damage OP's chances of success but I don't know; someone more knowledgeable than me should be making that prediction. Anyways, I've never heard of "too married" anywhere outside of this site. So if OP is maybe-sorta-kindaish-married and would therefore be ineligible for a k1 visa does that mean they would need to get a divorce to prove they are 'divorced enough' to reapply for a k1? Or should they get all-the-way-married and apply for a spousal visa?

7 hours ago, SueSaed said:

Hi VJers,

 

I’ve been reading a few posts this evening and got a little nervous. As I am waiting for my NOA2, I’ve been reading that USCIS can see formal engagement photos as being too engaged or almost married. My fiancé and I got engaged in our Orthodox Church in Jordan. I sent a few photos with my petition and its on our FB. Of course I’m wearing a simple red dress.  Not white! I included a certificate from the priest who stamped it who blessed our rings, and he wrote the date, our names and that he commenced our engagement. Will this be a problem with USCIS? I’m so confused now! All we wanted was a beautiful engagement ceremony! 

When I proposed I gave my fiance a ring. I sent a picture to USCIS of us together that included her wearing the ring. To my knowledge this is typical of engagements so I didn't think proof of engagement would somehow work against us for a fiance visa that is literally predicated on engagement. The scenario you're describing sounds a little beyond what we went through but I will say that marriage has a legal implication in most countries. If you are legally married then this would be a problem for sure, but if this a ceremonious thing without an element of legality then I really don't understand why this would be an issue. You're either married or you're not; I don't understand the concept of being "too married" or "too engaged". Since when are there degrees of it?

Edit: To clarify I am not an expert and have no experience with this. This is just my opinion and the logic that I follow. It is possible, or even likely, that I am wrong and the posts of more experienced members with successful outcomes should be prioritized.

In some of my documents that I'm going to submit, my fiance used the "Mrs" prefix in her airline tickets. She's not married/never been married but I'm wondering if this error on her confirmation numbers is likely to trigger a RFE or otherwise delay the process and arouse suspicion. 

19 hours ago, AMS13 said:

Basically, we were engaged to be married and after a long long time waiting on Administrative Processing after the visa was approved (more than 2 years) with no hope for the visa to be issued, we decided to get legally married a few months back and stay in Egypt.

Sorry this unrelated question, but is a 2 year wait from start to finish the new normal going forward or were there some kind of unique circumstances that caused such a timeline?