salisae

I am an american girl and have recently become engaged to my british boyfriend. He lives in London and we spoke of getting married on the phone so I haven't yet seen him to get an engagement ring but want to go ahead and start the paperwork since it is a long wait for the process to go through.

I keep feeling hesitant .. I don't want to miss anything or fill out any section incorrectly and further delay the process. Do I need to send photos? I haven't got pictures of plane tickets but I've got the data surrounding the flights.

I've filled out the I-129F Petition for Alien Fiance and am about to redo it because I heard answering none is better than n/a. Am I being paranoid? Also I am unsure of the fee required to get this processed.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

ian-mstm

The obligation is to demonstrate that you have met face-to-face at least once in the prior 2 years. You don't "need" photos... but absent other forms of evidence, they'll do nicely.


If a question is *not* applicable, then "n/a" is the correct response. If a question *is* applicable, then "n/a" is an incorrect response.


Not paranoid... but also, perhaps, not up to doing this on your own. Don't try to interpret the questions... just take them at face value.


The correct and current fee is *always* posted at www.uscis.gov.

Ian

salisae

How is this typically done? A lawyer fee on top of the application fee makes for a mighty hefty fee!

Bob

If you feel confident enough to do it yourself, you can do it yourself and save money, if you don't feel confident, then pay for a lawyer...you can always search around for charitable groups to see if a lawyer will do pro bono work....there's a list somewhere or there use to be on the uscis website.

salisae

thank you for your direction, ian! very helpful.

salisae

This is the best option to take, right? I read something about the immigration visa on this forum wherein we marry before filing anything and he spends the time it takes to process everything in his respective country .. thereby avoiding sitting around 6 months in the U.S. waiting to get a green card for working purposes.

Bob

you have a lot more reading to understand things.....a lawyer won't make the case go by faster, they will help prevent a return for further information and are invaluable if either of you have issues such as a criminal past or previous visa issues etc.

You can do the fiance visa or the marriage visa, either one will require time waiting around, the difference being one will be before you are married, the other after.

salisae

is there perhaps a link to some information to weigh the pros and cons of fiance or marriage visa?

Elvira

Have you read the Wiki stuff yet...

meauxna

Slow down for a couple of days before you rush your stuff to the mail. There are a few odd things on the forms (like the 'none vs n/a') where you can benefit from the experiences of others going/gone through the process already.

Have a read here: K1 Visa Flowchart and here: GUIDELINES FOR THE FILING OF THE 1-129F

There's links to the official pages you need, good checklists there and you can read around about the value of different types of evidence and what it is you need to prove in the petition.

meauxna

ha ha... yes
Understanding Your Options

Noorah101

The best option is the one that works best in your particular scenario. There are several factors to consider such as: Do you prefer being married in one country or the other? Do you prefer being separated as an engaged couple or married couple? Do you mind that he might have to wait 4+ months for work authorization? Do you mind waiting to start the process AFTER you get married, which will add time to the whole process (since you have to wait and get married first)?

They are just two different routes to the same goal...living and working permanently in the USA.

Rene

Just Jenney

One of the prerequisites to the K1 fiance visa is that you have been together in person at least once in the past two years. From reading your post, though, it's actually not clear if you've ever met your boyfriend in person. You mention getting engaged on the phone and that you don't have photos of a plane ticket -- you don't say if you've actually USED that plane ticket.

~ Jenney

salisae

We've spent a bit of time together throughout the last 2 and a half years .. going back and forth and spending time on holiday. I've got some of my tickets in the memory box and loads of photographs I was just wondering for his ticket since I don't have the actual printed out receipt if the data that he emailed me about his flight arrival would be sufficient.

Noorah101

You only need to prove you met once, so send whatever you have from any or all of the times you've met within the past 2 years, enough to show you met in person. It doesn't matter who did the traveling.

With my I-129F petition, I included photos of us together, a copy of my travel itinerary, a copy of the boarding pass stubs, and a copy of my passport showing entry and exit stamps as proof of us meeting in person.

Rene