biggish data

I paid for a service (RapidVisa), and we didn't list the page number, as they typically dissemble everything anyways, the packet the paperwork service put together just had an itemized list, it listed the item and when it's not an official document (like a form), it would list how many pages long it was, or how many items were involved.

Example:

Contents include:

Payment in the amount of $340 (1 Items)

I-129F

I-129F Supplement: Part 2, Question 34.a, explanation of meeting in person (2 Pages)

G-325A and passport style photo (Petitioner) (2 Items)

G-325A and passport style photo (Beneficiary) (2 Items)

Birth certificate/US Passport (Petitioner) (10 Pages)

Copy of Final Divorce Decree (Petitioner) (4 Pages)

Letter certifying intent to marry (Petitioner and Beneficiary) (2 Pages)

Proof of having met in person in the past two years (boarding passes, hotel and recreation receipts, pictures) (18 Pages: Boarding Passes - 2 pages, receipts - 5 pages, pictures - 11 items)

Proof of ongoing relationship (Verizon phone logs) (10 Pages)

G-1145

Do you think RapidVisa was worth the cost in terms of time/worry spared?

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-09-02 11:50:00

Thanks everyone!!

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-09-02 11:10:00

Thank you for the nice reply. That made me think of another fairly simple question - how do you physically assemble the packet? 3-hole punched in a card stock folder?

I also want to ask a very particular question I am trying to decide on:

For every single item, should I have a sheet with a large header stating what the item below is as a separator? For instance, sheets would be like this

(page 1) Birth Certificate Separator

(page 2) Front of birth certificate

(page 3) Back of Birth certificate

(page 4) Form G-325A - Petitioner Separator

(page 5) Form G-325A

(page 6) Passport photo of petitioner

(page 7) Form G-325A - Beneficiary Separator

(page 8) Form G325A

(page 9) Passport photo of beneficiary

Or should I just stack all the papers with nothing separating the items?

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-08-27 01:52:00

When I put in my proof of having met + evidence of ongoing relationship, should I put each thing on one page and list it on the cover letter? For instance:

Boarding pass - Beneficiary - Beijing to Denpasar

Boarding pass - Petitioner - Los Angeles to Denpasar

Photo 1 - Bali, Indonesia - 1/1/2014

Photo 2 - Bali, Indonesia - 1/1/2014

Hotel Receipt Bali, Indonesia, 1/1/2014

Letter from Beneficiary to Petitioner mailed 1/1/2014

Letter from Beneficiary to Petitioner mailed 2/1/2014

Call logs between Beneficiary and Petitioner

Selected QQ Chat Logs

etc etc for every single item?

and do I need to make a cover letter for multi-page items like the call logs?

Thank you

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-08-26 23:24:00

Color copies for K1 packet?

Should I make high quality color copies of my K1 visa packet, or just black and white? I am scanning the whole thing as a color PDF. Just wondering if I need to print it in color or not.

Thank you

Edited by I love San Diego, 24 September 2014 - 07:40 PM.

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-09-24 19:39:00

Question about call logs

Call logs are secondary evidence.
Boarding passes are most important.
Pictures are some what important.
I didn't include any calls in my packet, just a few screen shots of our what's app conversations.
Copy and paste is fine but it's probably easier to just screenshot and print.

Alright, I have the boarding passes and passport photos and hotel receipt and pictures together. I am planning to send this off tomorrow, so I am pretty excited.

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-09-28 18:02:00

Question about call logs

I use google voice exclusively to call my fiance. For the call logs potion of my K1 packet I simply copied several pages of logs into excel and formatted the logs into an aesthetically pleasing format and pasted them into a word document with an appropriate heading.

Is this ok? Or should I take screen shots of the google voice web page? It seems that to me that either one can be falsified or manipulated with some determination, so it is not necessary to take screen shots.

Any comments on this will be appreciated.

Thank you

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-09-28 16:31:00

That looks great!

I would assume this means that the street number is too long and you attached a separate sheet of paper. Right?

"I-129F Supplement: Part 2, Item 3.b. - Street Number and Name"

Yep, that's it. Some stuff wouldn't fit on the application.

Thank you

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-09-28 18:23:00

I'm a girl And cool! everything is in order then. Good luck on your visa journey!

Oh my! My apologies, I think I was a little TOO excited I did not even realize your name said "mrs"

Thank you ma'am!

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-09-28 18:05:00

So.. when you said "Notarized translation of Certificate of Divorce - Beneficiary".. (just making sure) you are sending copies of both right? The translated one AND the one in its original language?

Yes sir, it is a "whitebook" translation from china which contains the original, a translation, and a statement about the translator in chinese and english. Thank you for checking!

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-09-28 18:01:00

Hello again, I made a few updates to my K1 packet. Please review my cover letter list of contents and let me know if anything is missing or needs changing. Everything here is going in the packet, nothing more, nothing less, so if anything looks wrong please let me know!

Thank you!!

- Payment in the amount of $340

- Form G1145

- Cover Letter

- Form I-129F

- I-129F Supplement: Part 2, Item 3.b. - Street Number and Name

- I-129F Supplement: Part 2, Item 29.a. - Street Number and Name

- I-129F Supplement: Part 2, Item 32.a. - Street Number and Name

- Notarized translation of Certificate of Divorce - Beneficiary

- Form G-325A - Petitioner

- Form G-325A Supplement: Applicant?s employment last 5 years - Full Name and Address of Employer

- Passport style photo - Petitioner

- Form G-325A ? Beneficiary

- Form G-325A Supplement: Applicant?s residence and employment information

- Passport style photo - Beneficiary

- Copy of Birth Certificate - front and back - Petitioner

- Letter certifying intent to marry - Petitioner

- Letter certifying intent to marry - Beneficiary

- Proof of having met in person in the past two years

o Passport showing arrival and departure for China - Petitioner

o Boarding pass to Urumqi, China - Petitioner

o Photos together taken in Urumqi, China

o Boarding passes in both names showing travel to Beijing, China

o Boarding passes in both names showing departure from Beijing, China

o Passport showing arrival and departure for Indonesia ? Petitioner

o Passport showing arrival and departure for Indonesia ? Beneficiary

o Boarding passes in both names showing travel to Bali, Indonesia

o Boarding passes in both names showing departure from Bali, Indonesia

o Photos taken together in Bali, Indonesia

o Hotel receipt in both names in Bali, Indonesia

- Proof of ongoing relationship

o Google voice call logs

o Letter from Beneficiary to Petitioner

o Letters from Petitioner to Beneficiary

o Selected chat logs

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-09-28 16:27:00

Met a fiance Thru Craigslist

It certainly matters which is why they ask.

When question 34a asks where you "met" they mean when you met in person. The only time they want to know about how you first became acquainted is when they ask if you used an international marriage broker or not.

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-09-30 00:38:00

Met a fiance Thru Craigslist

It doesn't matter where you met really. I met mine on QQ :rolleyes:

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-09-29 16:56:00

When will I get the G1145 notice?

Do they send text and email? Or just text OR email?

Sometimes my phone does not get text messages (like when I need to confirm to sign up for something)

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-10-04 17:01:00

When will I get the G1145 notice?

we are on the same boat...they received mine wednesday as well...i started a thread for all k1 october filer (link below)..lets keep each other updated on there.

http://www.visajourn...r-20014-filers/

Alright I will join, this is pretty exciting. I actually had dreams that my packet had problems after I sent it off

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-10-04 11:07:00

When will I get the G1145 notice?

Hello, according to the tracking number my K1 packet was delivered to the lock box on Wednesday, how long after that should I expect the electronic notification?

Thank you

I love San Diego

Not Telling

2014-10-03 22:06:00

Original Signatures for Letter of Intent and G-325A

I can also attest that I did not have any problems having my fiance sign the documents that needed to be signed , scanned and then e-mailed to me. I was able to print them and submit them successfully. I did get an RFE for not having the letter of intent from the beneficiary though. So dont forget to have them both.

longtruelove

Female

Nepal

2014-04-16 17:03:00

How long to repsond to ~RFE

I don't know if different RFE have different time frames but mine was about 12 weeks from the date of the notice. The letter actually had a printed date by when I needed to have replied by. So yea about 84 days may be the standard time frame.

longtruelove

Female

Nepal

2014-05-13 21:40:00

The RFE Master List

my status was changed to

Request for Evidence Response Review

the day they got my response. I asked for confirmation of receipt from USPS. If I were you I'd be afraid they did not get it. Did you send it with the cover letter they sent it with. I hope you made a copy of it I'd send the materials they requested again if I were you.

longtruelove

Female

Nepal

2014-03-09 17:55:00

Yes, you can visit!

I thought I'll share my visiting story too!

I was reading all kinds of different stories about entering the US with a pending visa..good ones and bad ones

So I totally made myself nervous about the trip (was the first flight on my own because my fiance used to live in germany till april this year) and I collected everything that could be a tie to germany and a copy of the filed petition with me.

We have two dogs so I decided to take the small one with me that he can stay in the states with my hubby when I go back to germany.

My flight left on June 8

My POE was LAX and I was so nervous when I was standing in line.

Officer: Where are you going

Me: To San Diego. I'll get picked up

Officer: who are you going to visit

Me: my fiancé (I started sweating and my hands were shaking)

Officer looked at the paper you fill out on the plane if you have any goods with you

Officer: Wheres your dog

I picked his bag up and showed it to him

Me: Do you need his paperwork or health certificate (My head: shut up dont talk so much)

Officer: So why do you bring the dog? do you move here (laughing)

Me (my voice was shaking): No! I just wanted to bring him

Officer: AHA!

My face turned red I was supersweaty (totally stressed out)

Officer: So where did you meet your fiancé?

Me: In Germany

Officer: Was he in the Army or sth

Me: He worked on base at the CDC

Officer: How long have you known each other

Me: 2 1/2 years (and about to pass out)

Officer: How many days are you staying

Me: I don't know the exact number of days. My flight back is on august 23

Officer: when was the last time to came to the US and why

ME: September 2010 for ten days to visit my fiancés family

I was about to die and totally stressed out

Officer: left thumb...

stamp in my passport

I was so relived I was about to cry

At the end he was like: have a nice stay and you have to take your dog to exit C

He didn't wanna see anything. He was just asking a lot of questions (probably because of the dog)

And I definitely looked super funny.

I'm glad I was prepared and that I read so many stories about it.

teresajulius

Female

Germany

2013-08-26 17:05:00

Proof of Meeting in Person

Thanks so much, everyone! You are so awesome.

I am sitting here knee deep in paperwork trying to make sense of this and you all have helped me, and so quickly!

Sincerely,

~CaliforniaGirl

CaliforniaGirl

Male

Spain

2014-04-28 12:21:00

Proof of Meeting in Person

Hi, all,

I preparing the 1129F.

It wants proof of meeting in person in the last two years. My fiance and I have been together for 7 years.

Should I include proof from more than two years ago?

I have tons of things (stamps in the passport, board passes, photos, plane tix, etc) , so sending in evidence prior to two years ago isn't a problem.

Just want to know if I should send everything that I have.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

~California Girl

CaliforniaGirl

Male

Spain

2014-04-28 11:07:00

How to mail I-1129F

Hi, everyone,

Thanks for all your advice!

I mailed the package yesterday (April 29) via USPS first class (Priority Mail, comes with tracking and I paid extra for signature).

~Sincerely,

CaliforniaGirl

Male

Spain

2014-04-30 11:01:00

How to mail I-1129F

Hi, everyone,

Well, I have now put my application package together! Yeah, me!

The Visajourney guide recommends USPS with return receipt.

Do you still recommend this method?

Please advise me.

Thanks so much in advance!

~Sincerely,

CaliforniaGirl

Edited by CaliforniaGirl, 28 April 2014 - 11:00 PM.

CaliforniaGirl

Male

Spain

2014-04-28 22:59:00

Hi,

I mailed the I-129F on April 29, received NOA1 on May 7, NOA2 on May 30. So 23 days to approval.

It was very quick. I am very surprised how fast it went. But also, thanks to this website, I was well prepared.

CaliforniaGirl

Male

Spain

2014-06-04 12:30:00

UPDATE: I'm approved! I just went to the website and it shows approved! Evidently they mailed the letter on May 30, so I should receive the official notifiction NOA2 this week!

Thank you, Girl From Celebes, for the idea to go to the website!

Thanks to all!

CaliforniaGirl

Male

Spain

2014-06-04 11:50:00

Hi, everyone,

Thanks so much for your quick replies! And for the great tips!

Sincerely,

CaliforniaGirl

Male

Spain

2014-06-04 11:28:00

Hi, everyone,

How will they notify me of NOA2, by postal mail or email?

Thanks!

Edited by CaliforniaGirl, 04 June 2014 - 11:17 AM.

CaliforniaGirl

Male

Spain

2014-06-04 11:16:00

How to pay K-1 Visa Fee Madrid Embassy

Thanks!

CaliforniaGirl

Male

Spain

2014-07-31 22:21:00

How to pay K-1 Visa Fee Madrid Embassy

Hi, all,

I posted this in the embassy forum, but there isn't a lot of traffic over there, so I am also posting here.

What currency to use when paying the visa fee at the interview, - dollars or in local currency (euros)?

The embassy letter only said to bring the visa fee to the interview. It doesn't say how to pay it. The state.gov. web site says the K-1 fee is $240.

Thanks so much for any help with this!

CaliforniaGirl

Male

Spain

2014-07-31 22:04:00

Ok people, just talked to Marc Ellis two times today. He called me back from Ho chi Minch city, wow. He advised me with confident that he did not see any problem with my case (after he listened to my story and the timeline that I stupidly wrote) and that he has helped several cases just like mine ( I felt like a thousand pounds just got off me.) He also stated that the entire consulate knows exactly who he is and that they would know my fiance is one of his client since he will be writing a legal explaination of my timeline and put her name on the list of his client(?) The man sounds confident and knowledgable. Of course he will charge a fee for it. At this point, I am willing to go with Marc since he is over there and ready to step in should my girl gets a denial (even though he does not see it happens that way due to my personal background, job security, and our evidence of the relationship. By the way he said that the way to win is to stop the consulate from sending the case back to USCIS. Ke knows so much about the local culture and why I did what I did (married her in front of her family and friends and filed K1 sine I thought that I was not legally married to her.)
I just want to thank all for your support and understanding and I hope and pray for the wedding in America for both of us.
By the way, he requested that I should be there for the interview even though they, the consular officers, would likely not talk to me.
"Cam on" all gain.

Sounds like you're in good hands. Good luck!

Leon & Mylen

Male

Philippines

2013-11-15 21:04:00

Let me ask you something Amy,

How can the OP file for the CR1 when he isn't even married to his Fiance?

Are you advising the OP (which is not legally married to his Fiance at this time) to withdraw his current K1 petition, fly back to Vietnam, legally marry his Fiance, and wait in Vietnam at least 3 to 4 weeks for the Vietnamese government to issue them a legal wedding certificate, (which I can tell you first hand anything dealing with the Vietnamese police station you have to pretty much pay them a bribe to get it done quickly, otherwise he might be waiting two months for the marriage certificate to be issued). Then after he is legally married to his Fiance he would fly back home and file for the CR1 and start this whole process all over again?

If the other option risks being banned for misrepresentation, then yes.

Leon & Mylen

Male

Philippines

2013-11-14 22:14:00

We also had a large Vietnamese tea ceremony, (which for everyone not involved in a relationship with a Vietnamese citizen, "is not a legal wedding"). It is done so the family and friends are able to see the Vietnamese bride or groom get married.

Everything you did was pretty much the same as what I did, I did not obtain a marriage certificate with the Vietnamese government, and I also included photo's of the tea ceremony and the receipts from the tea ceremony in the K1 petition. The only difference is when I filled out my timeline I labeled the pictures and receipts "Tea Ceremony", not wedding. The US Embassy in Vietnam knows that this is the typical way that a Fiance of a foreign citizen does this, so that the family and friends are able to attend the wedding, since 500 Vietnamese citizens are not going to be able to get a visa to attend the actual wedding ceremony in the United States. It's all for show, not legal.

About a month before my Fiance received her packet 3 she went to the police station to get the certificate of never being married, along with her police background paperwork. Because your Fiance will also need to do this, she should be fine with having that certificate proving that she is not married when she goes to her interview.

I had made a mistake with my Fiances middle name because she has two middle names and I had gotten it backwards on the papers I sent to the USCIS, and once the embassy received our case my Fiance was able to contact them to have them correct it. So if you are concerned about what you have in your packet, you can always contact the embassy to have them adjust it. Or you could also contact an attorney to see what they think.

My advice is strictly just telling you how it went for me, and hopefully helping you rest a little easier. If you need any help preparing for the actual interview let me know and I could help you out.

My fiance and I did the same type of thing. We called it an engagement party, and it was a chance for her side of the family and friends to celebrate her moving here and getting married. I also think any pictures or evidence of this type of celebration is outstanding evidence of a genuine engagement. The mistake that the OP made however is calling it a marriage ceremony and wedding when including it as evidence. This discrepancy will need to get cleared up for the consul's satisfaction.

Leon & Mylen

Male

Philippines

2013-11-14 15:05:00

Oh. For sure. But if he's not legally married, he can't go for the CR-1 until it's made legal. A little bit rock/hard place.

Can we get this thread moved to region specific? I feel it needs local knowledge of marriage custom.

Although they are already through so far then I wonder if they'd do best to plow on with the K1 interview and legalise the wedding if they get denied to switch processes.

The problem I have with that solution is that they could place misrep on him if they find he was trying to enter on a K-1 visa yet they have this evidence he is married. So that's why I thought it might be best to prevent that by withdrawing and starting over properly.

Leon & Mylen

Male

Philippines

2013-11-13 20:45:00

The question is: are you currently legally married?

If yes: File the i-130 for CR-1
If no: Continue with I-129f for K1

It's not so black and white as this. He never legally married (or at least file it with the government there), however, he sent this with his K-1 petition:

"I wrote in my timeline that we were married in front of our family and friends and sent it in along with the usual wedding pictures, boarding passes from my trip to Vietnam, receipts from the hotel that did the wedding banquet.."

This, to me, would be a red flag for the embassy.

Leon & Mylen

Male

Philippines

2013-11-13 20:36:00

Also you will want to get the marriage registered there before you apply for the CR1.

Leon & Mylen

Male

Philippines

2013-11-13 20:04:00

So what I should do now? Is there a way to "refile" for a spouse? I thought that getting married in front of our relatives is the right thing to do, but not for the type of Visa I am seeking.

If you get married there before her arrival to the U.S., you need to petition for a CR1 visa (via an I-130). K-1 visas (and the I-129f petition) are for people who haven't been married yet.

So you will need to withdraw the current petition, if possible, and refile with the proper petition/visa. I am not sure how to do that once it hits the NVC stage, but others can probably fill you in on that.

Leon & Mylen

Male

Philippines

2013-11-13 19:56:00

So, to summarize:

1. You got married there, but didn't file it with the government there.

2. You indicated this marriage on your evidence in your K-1 petition, but not the application itself (declaring yourself as single).

3. Your K-1 was approved and is now at NVC.

If the embassy sees that you considered yourselves married, but filled the application as single, this may be a problem. May want to withdraw the petition, if possible, and start over with a CR1.

Edited by Leon & Mylen, 13 November 2013 - 07:52 PM.

Leon & Mylen

Male

Philippines

2013-11-13 19:50:00

Called my Senator's office - Didn't end well.

Sounds like the Texas senators are just like California's. They are probably up to their necks with immigration in those two states.

Leon & Mylen

Male

Philippines

2013-06-12 22:43:00