EegretTenacious

On 4/18/2022 at 3:26 PM, Wayne- said:

In going through our journey,  we found out addressing each item on every "Suggested Evidence" list explicitly solved all problems.  For Example, we did a separate paper, explained and signed it like others have suggested for each item.   

    Photos - This is why we don't have photos xxx   

My impression is the first person that reads the files does not read anything, but they use the "suggested Evidence" as a check list, if you didn't supply all then they don't even ready anything.    

Thank you, I really appreciate it. Fingers crossed we're not aliens for not being obsessed with our own image. 

On 4/20/2022 at 6:21 AM, Maria1989 said:

Why would you not have one single photo of you and your fiancé together, that concerns me. 

You know it's so depressing. We took photos of each other, but we just didn't take selfies with eachother. We're two photo shy chubby people what's more to say. 

It really hurts seeing everyone pick apart my relationship and calling us weird  and saying they're concerned. Consider for one second what it'd be like to be in my shoes in an authentic relationship reading everyone practically criticizing you. How inconsiderate these comments have been when I thought I'd be getting help. 

So rude, pessimistic and unhelpful. 

I submitted additional evidence of purchases and more explanation. And we addressed in writing we didn't have photos of each other in the same picture from that time period. There's a receipt from us at the same place on the same date we found.

Honestly, if he didn't wanna meet me and be a fraud he could drive 2 hrs to the border and bluff instead of dropping 500 on a blue color salary to go to a boring state.  I feel like the desire and effort to spend an ounce of time with eachother with the chump change we had at the time is clear. 

I pray that they could understand and give us consideration. It'd be really sad to get rejected over only not having a selfie during a two year time period when borders were closed for half of it. 

Thanks for listening. Maybe. I'll be updating my timeline for anyone reading. But as someone whose genuinely going through this process honestly and legally,  I'm disgusted at these responses and the attitudes on this site.

1 minute ago, Mike E said:

I would get affidavits from people (preferably USA citizens) who witnessed  you two together in the statutory period. The occupation of the person would presumably carry weight.  For example someone who has a law license is among the least unlikely to commit perjury.  As would a police officer. 
 

You should assemble the list of US citizens who saw you together  and prepare affidavits for them to sign and date:

 

=========

 

To whom it may concern.  

 

My name is Kim J Smith. I live at __________.  I  am an employee of ____________.   I am a  citizen of the USA.  I was born on yyyy-mm-dd  in ________________.  My profession is _______________. 
 

 I have been a friend / relative / acquaintance/ coworker of C since xxxx-nn-ee. I have met C’s fiancé(e) K.   I attest that I have seen C and K together, on these occasions:

 

date / location / circumstance

 

If you have any questions about this statement, my phone number is +1 aaa-eee-pppp and my email address  is kjs@example.com 

I declare under the penalty of perjury under the law of the United States that the foregoing is true and correct.

Sign on
_(date) in
_(city and state)
Signature

 

=========

 

Thank you, I really appreciate it. I would go for that but unfortunately no one I know witnessed us or was with us, just knew we had been together.  

I think I have exhausted our options for what we could do, thank you guys for all the advice and pointers so far.

I'm gonna send what I got for the RFE, so his passport (with ID this time), our itineraries, statements, receipts, and a signed statement another person has suggested instead of a notarized affidavit. When I hear back I'll bump the thread for anyone else who got an RFE like mine and hopefully it's good news for everyone. 

17 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Really?  Because here's what you said --

 

 

How about dialing down the sarcastic and belligerent attitude?  People here are trying to help you and are spending time and effort to give advice for free.  That advice could be based on assumptions from similar cases and incomplete information as no one here can read minds nor have the clairvoyance to know all the details of your case.  Also, the advice that may not apply in your case, may be useful to others reading this thread and for whom it is not too late to avoid an RFE.

 

I didn't consider other people who might be reading this threat, I apologize.

But yes, my response you quoted is in the context of me being told that Canadian beneficiaries specifically require photographs, when, yes while it's encouraged you attach them, they are written as not required as a form of evidence. Many many people on here said they didn't include photos, as they are not mandatory, as long as you provide sufficient evidence because photos are not adequate evidence as is and prove nothing. You can lie about where and when a photo was taken. 

A highlighted screenshot of the guide I was referring to and clearly have read was condescending and unnecessary and it's okay for me to make that clear. 

6 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I spent months lurking on VJ on 2017 and 2018 before filing I-129F and digested the advice and and somehow never got the impression photos were useless evidence. This is what the K-1 visa journey guide says:

 

1.

Copies of all airline boarding passes, train passes, itineraries, hotel receipts, passport stamps (make sure you can read the dates on the stamps), and other documentary evidence that you have met within the last two years. You may want to highlight or place post-it notes indicating the dates and locations on the copies (to make the adjudication easier) for the person reviewing your file.

2.

Color Photo's of you and your fiance together. Make sure you write your names, date, and location on the back of every photo. Provide two to five photo's. If you only have a single copy of the photo, then make a color copy and send that. If it is a digital photo, have it printed at a local photo store such as Walgreens (if at all possible) or if not on a high quality printer. Place photo's in a plastic bag or photo sheet and label the sheet. Note that you may not receive originals of photo's back.

 

The emboldened stuff above is what I focused on. I created a passive PDF that had a cover sheet for each meeting: dates and location, followed by airline ticket receipt, and hotel reservation. 

For each meeting I included 1-3 photos. This allowed the adjudicator to correlate the photos with the meeting. Looking at our evidence, I see one photo of the two of us standing in the Roman Coliseum in the required two year period.  There were other photos taken together but the backgrounds could have been any city skyline, beach, or ocean as opposed to a distinctive land mark. 
 

.  

That's really, really cool, and I appreciate your help, but as I said before we do not have photos from that time period to give them, which is what my post is about. 

I cannot change the past. I am here asking for advice on how to proceed with responding to an RFE asking for pictures when we have none from that time period.

I'm getting frustrated because this is not the first time I've seen advice that's just "you should've" statements. That is not advice and needs to be filtered from these forums. 

2 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Except that VJ's K1 visa guide actually does say to provide photos to reduce the chances of getting an RFE -- https://www.visajourney.com/guides/k1-fiance-visa/

 

Yes I know it says to get photos. I can read, as I have been since I was taught. The condescending highlighted screenshot was 100% unneeded. 

This is the first time in my years of reading and participating on here have I ever heard of Canadians specifically requiring photographic evidence for the two year meeting requirement. Thanks.

1 hour ago, arken said:

Frequent traveling between US and Canada is so common and for business or leisure that USCIS sometimes wants photographic evidences of having met in person. There was a similar post few months back. Good luck. 

Good thing not a single user or moderator on this website put that in any of the guides and instead repeated dozens of times how useless photographic evidence is.

17 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

This is the reason you got the RFE.

That would be excellent if that's the case. Here's hoping. Thank you!

17 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

flight itinerarys don't prove a person got on the plane/ that's why we say boarding passes work better

the RFE is specific as to the dates they say March of 2019 to March 17,  2021 (2020 being a mess)

so,  when did u meet up? within that timeframe?

and no photos / not even selfie(s)?

is strange they way everyone uses the cell these days

 

Affadivats are almost useless unless USCIS says to send one

send the proof of payment for the hotel 

and the copy of I 94 and passport stamp(s)

Thanks for your advice!

Yeah boarding passes tend to be digital QR codes now and you can't access them once your flight departs. His passport stamps in USA should prove he did indeed get on the plane though, no?

And yes we met up Oct and Dec of 2019 and March 2020 right before the borders closed, but the March trip got nothing to show for it so I didn't bother including it. 

 As for the photo thing, neither of us are the type to take selfies or pictures of anything in general. But like I've said before it stung not having pics together when the borders were shut, so now we take tons like a "normal" couple but we're still just human beings you know. Some people are just not picture people and it's not unheard of for me to not actively plot an alibi when I'm spending limited time with my significant other you know.

20 hours ago, arken said:

Is your beneficiary from Canada?

Yes, he's a 6 hr drive away from me and 2hr from the border, but we put in money for flying here for convenience usually. 

3 hours ago, Mike E said:

Interesting.  We provided just hotel and flight reservations and photos. No RFE for more evidence of physical meeting. But we had met 12 times in the two years prior and I suppose USCIS knew it would be futile if they RFEd for passport stamps,  visas, airline ticket, and hotel receipts.  

Yeah we were expecting to meet up with each other more then Covid came, it's actually pretty easy for us otherwise. I figured since we saw each other at least once though it'd be enough to file.  

3 hours ago, chi6488 said:

If you met and have NO pictures I would be skeptical as well.  Nothing to treasure the moment??

 

 

 

That's just me.  Good luck

Yeah, we learned the hard way after the borders closed how much it stunk not having any pictures together. Now we have tons but that's after the cutoff, unfortunately. 

3 hours ago, Family said:

You don’t need to Notarize it, just add the “ Under Penalty of Perjury” . ONE STATEMENT signed by both is perfect. You can email it to him, he signs scans and emails it back., u sign and send. 
 

His signature is the MOST important and doesn’t need to be notarized.or even wet, but  your choice. You can literally just type what I wrote , both of you sign and it serves both as the Response / exhibits and Affidavit. 

I will give that a try, thank you! 

1 hour ago, Family said:

Based on what you sent ( solid evidence) they are fishing for fotos…so your response should be something like this

In response to RFE case# xx dated yy requesting the following additional documentation

: 1. Photos of both during the in person meeting 

2. Any other…

We are submitting the following evidentiary documentation : 

1. Declaration under penalty of perjury signed by both attesting to the in person meeting and that we did not have the foresight to take either selfies or arrange for photos during this trip. We are including photos taken at various other times we have spent time together. 
2. Any other..In addition to the evidence submitted at initial filing ( HERE LIST one by one what u sent), please find enclosed ( LIST one by one what you are sending) 

 

Executed and signed under penalty of perjury Xxxxx.  By both ( does not need to be wet signature unless u are both in same place

 

Hm, okay! I have an affidavit from myself typed up that I was going to get notarized. Should I have the both of us make the statement about the photos through an online notary since he's in Canada at the moment? 

Thank you for  your help! 

1 hour ago, Mike E said:

What evidence of meeting in the 2 year period did you provide?

Hotel itinerary and receipt, flight itinerary and receipt, fiance passport stamps. 

29 minutes ago, Loren Y said:

This looks like the standard RFE you get when you don't include evidence of meeting within 2 years of filing. As others have stated, passport stamps, boarding passes, visas, etc. that show you were in the same place at the same times within the 2 year period mentioned in the RFE. Photos like you said are pretty much useless, so concentrate on the good hard evidence.

I really hope that's what it is because we did send evidence, but I'm hoping it just wasn't explained thoroughly enough because I tried to keep it brief, assuming they didn't want to read paragraphs. Plus, I didn't include my fiances passport ID with his stamps we photocopied so that might've thrown a wrench in things too. 

Originally, we sent flight itineraries/receipts, hotel itineraries/receipts, and his passport stamps. Hotels were bought by me, flights were bought by him, and the dates and times on everything line up.  It's only his passport because he came and visited me in the United States at my home state. 

1 hour ago, Chancy said:

 

That's not what the RFE says.  It states: "Evidence may include...", not "must include".  What evidence of 2-year meeting did you include with the petition?  Strongest evidence are passport stamps, boarding passes, or any documentary evidence that you were together in person at a particular place and time within 2 years of filing.

 

We provided flight and hotel receipts and itineraries as well as my fiance's passport stamps for the original petition. Hotels bought by me, flights bought by him,  and the time and dates all line up 

For the RFE I'm sending bank statements showing the hotel purchases as well as purchases I made when he was here like for the parking pass at the airport when I picked him up and the security deposit for our reservations.  I'm also throwing in time stamped chat logs the days he came, his I-94, and his passport stamps with his passport ID because the ID wasn't included the first time.  Hopefully that's enough because we have nothing else from that time period. 

I attached a portion of the RFE and the evidence they requested. Our response is completed and I'm about to mail it, but I'm worried if what this letter means is they absolutely need pictures. We're sending additional evidence, but we feel blindsided being asked for these photos because we had always thought pictures with dates written on them are garbage and non-verifiable, so we don't have any from specifically the time period they requested, nor did we send any with the original I-129F packet. Has anyone else gotten an RFE like this?  Thanks all. 

Hello, 

I received an RFE for an official disposition of a possession ticket I received in August. Because the ticket was plead no contest and the fine was paid, it never got moved to the court (no case) and the only official disposition comes from the Infractions Bureau here, like with traffic tickets. They gave me the disposition and all the information I needed with a seal and everything, but it comes from the Bureau, not the Court. Is this okay? Should this be explained with my evidence? The court refused to write a letter that they would not have it. 

Thank you all again. 

2 minutes ago, Pinkrlion said:

Print your digital confirmations and receipts.  Copy your entire passport including cover, and then highlight the passport stamps.  Do you have receipts from buying food or souvenirs at the airport.  

Got it, attach them all together with a paperclip and have a reference page originally? Should empty passport pages be copied and how should they be copied, multiple pages per sheet?  

No only I have receipts from when he visited my country. He converted to USD cash but didn't save the cash receipts. 

Thank you for your help!

Hello All, 

I am wondering how I should present our evidence for meeting two years before our file date. I feel as though I reported it wrong or unreliably because what we have should have been sufficient, but we still received an RFE. We have hotel and flight itineraries, but how should we show that? There are no physical tickets, only digital confirmations and receipts. Previously, I screencapped the entire email or page that included name, card number, and location/time and put it on a word doc with other similar captures, like the cards used to pay for it. I also highlighted parts of the pictures, like relevant passport stamps on photocopies. Should we have not marked the pictures? Is there an "official" way to turn this evidence in?  I included a reference page with paragraphs for each piece, should the explanation be directly beside the evidence and not on a separate page? Any advice appreciated. 

On 2/22/2022 at 2:43 PM, Gary Rich said:

It's so strange that I'm reading this from you.. ( or more or less funny ) because not 2 or 3 weeks ago i add my my finance as a added user for my American Express credit card ( when i get there next month she will have it ).

But more importantly.. me and her was just talking about having a joint bank account as well. I guess the point to the story is that every little bit helps..

Do you have any advice for an international joint bank account? 

On 2/20/2022 at 1:26 PM, Marieke H said:

In addition to what has already been suggested, do you have any evidence of communication between the two of you about the visits? Text messages about places you planned to visit, about flights and hotels being booked, etc. This might add some credibility if the details line up with the boarding passes and hotel receipts. 

We do have that if that's something I could submit. 

11 hours ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

 

That seems ok.  Write a letter describing that trip. 

 

"On XX-Month-XX my fiance Jon Doe flew from City, Canada to Boston to visit me.  During that trip we stayed at Hotel Generic for X days.  Attached are his boarding passes, passport stamp, hotel receipts, and highlighted items from my bank statement for purchases made during that trip."

Yes, must've been not enough detail provided then. Thank you for the advice! I will update if all goes well.

11 hours ago, Mike E said:

the K-1 visa let’s you adjust status to get a green card after entering the USA and after getting married in the USA.  
 

Nothing stops you from getting married now, filing I-130 and then apply for a marriage based immigration visa.  

You needed evidence you met in 2 years before you filed I-129F.  You don’t have the evidence today.  

How many times does it need to be repeated that we have evidence of that time period. Just no photographs which everyone says aren't date verifiable anyways. 

I'm gonna end up making a new post cause this is the fourth time someone thinks I'm saying I submitted a $600 dollar form without evidence of meeting lol