featherB

(I tried to post this direct to the Usenet group first of all, but nothing happened... so apologies if it suddenly shows up over and over again, but I'd never used Usenet before so have no idea whether this is usual or not! Anyway, I'll try again on here and see what happens... I'm really, really glad I just found this forum...)

My fiance in the US & I have been blissfully unaware of the possible huge waits for visa processing up 'til now, instead thinking that we could apply when *we* were ready and have everything sorted out fairly quickly. Basically, I'm in the UK and hoping to get made redundant from my job, as the redundancy payment would come in useful - we thought that was the main thing we were waiting for, and then I delved a bit deeper into the whole visa-application process/wait times yesterday, and realised it's a lot less straightforward than we'd imagined. Oh dear.

So, we are (well, he is, obviously) going to get the I-129F form off, to get things rolling (or crawling, more like, by the sound of it), but we want to make sure that it's all done properly so that it doesn't end up coming back due to insufficient evidence/information/whatever. So, a few questions....

"Provide copies of evidence that you and your fiancé(e) have personally met within the last two years"

What 'evidence' is acceptable? I mean, we've spent plenty of time together in the last two years, but I'm not sure what would constitute 'proof' of that. We can prove that I was in the US and he was in the UK (well, I'm sure we could find some boarding cards, and print out flight booking confirmation things and suchlike) but that surely 'proves' nothing at all! If we get prints of photos of us together and include them, is that the kind of thing they're looking for? Not that there's any proof that the photos were taken within the last two years, as it never occurred to us to hold up newspapers as proof of the date! But seriously... is this the sort of thing they're after, because I can't think of much more evidence of us that we can provide!

"Provide original statements from you and your fiancé(e) whom you plan to marry within 90 days of his or her admission, and copies of any evidence you wish to submit to establish your mutual intent"

What does that mean, then? Do we both just write (or type) a statement saying "I, X, plan to marry Y, within 90 days of my arrival in the US" and so on? And again, "evidence"? I don't know what evidence we're supposed to provide - yes, of course we intend to marry as soon as we can, but how on earth do we prove that? I can't find any information as to the sort of information they want.

In the FAQs on the Embassy (in London)'s website, it says you can't apply for the I-129F while your fiance(e) is in the US. Do we have to take that totally at its word? I only ask because I'm going over for a visit in a couple of weeks, and will be there staying with my fiance for about 3 weeks - it would be much easier to get passport photos etc there, than to mail them to him and wait weeks for them to arrive. But having realised that we're facing a potentially very lengthy wait, we'd rather get the form off ASAP once I get there - they're not going to reject it based on the fact that I was over for a visit for a few weeks at the time the form was sent off, are they?! Surely....

Another question.... the USCIS website says that the I-129F should be sent to the service center in Nebraska - but I found the page where they list processing times etc, and the Nebraska service center had no mention of I-129F forms on it at all. After a lot of Googling I spotted a recent post on a messageboard saying that they're now being dealt with by California.... if this is true, is it just inevitable that we're going to face god knows how many weeks' extra wait because of this, or would we be better off just sending it to California?!

Sorry, so many questions! Last one.... could anyone give me even the roughest of estimates (if anyone has any recent experience, that would be great) as to how long the whole thing might take, from my fiance sending the I-129F to the place in Nebraska, to the Embassy in London issuing my visa? We've just let months & months go by thinking I'd be over there by next spring, and I'm now realising that might be incredibly optimistic - the thought that we could have got this whole process started months ago makes me feel sick!

So... any advice appreciated, and sorry for the huge, long post.

featherB

Ugh... sorry about the multiple posts - I can't work out how to get rid of the things.

Noorah101

Yes, boarding passes, itineraries, passport stamps, photos of you together, hotel receipts, credit card purchase receipts, for example.

Yes, exactly. Just a short statement from each of you - can be one statement signed by both of you, stating exactly what you said.


Yes, the USC can submit the I-129F while you are there in the USA. It's not a problem.

The USC must send the I-129F to the service center having jurisdiction over their place of residence. Later on, the petition might get moved around by USCIS, but you have no control over that. The processing times are not always updated properly, and sometimes forms and petitions are missing from their on-line information.

With a very straightforward case, you're probably looking at around 6 - 8 months...very rough estimate.

Best Wishes,
Rene

featherB

Thanks so much, Rene - we're only just starting to realise how much stuff there is to get our heads around - I've no idea how it managed to seem so straightforward when we've looked up information on applying for the visa etc before! Our case should (I hope) be pretty straightforward, but it's nerve-wracking nonetheless. We're going to get everything together for the I-129F and when I'm in the US in a couple of weeks (it'll be quicker to get a passport photo done there than to get one now and post it to him, I think), we'll make sure we have all the necessary evidence and he's going to fill out the form & send it all off ASAP.

There's a couple of other things that I've been worrying about and can't seem to find answers on (I am SO glad I found this site, though - this and VisaJourney.com are going to get us through some nail-biting stress over the next few months, I think!), but as they're not related to the petition in any way, I'll start yet another thread. Just the one, this time, as opposed to about 17 of them!

Thank you again... I was in a total panic yesterday after finding out about all the backlogs & delays etc, but am gradually calming down and realising that (touch wood!) everything will be ok... I suppose rather than kicking ourselves for not realising how long it would take before now, we should just be glad to have found out sooner rather than later!

featherB

Oh! Another question, that has only just occurred to me:

My fiance goes by a different first name to the one shown on his birth certificate/passport. There's nothing 'official' about it - it's basically the name he's been called ever since he was born, but when his mother went to register his birth she gave him a more traditional name - most confusing! So his passport/birth cert/credit cards/most official things have one name on them, but it's not the name I or anyone else call(s) him, and not the name he uses in his email address, or that he's known by at work, etc etc etc.

Is that likely to cause a problem, and if so... what to do about it? I'm so used to knowing him by 'his' name that I'm forgetting that half the evidence that he sends off with the I-129F is going to have a different name on it!

andrea874

Just do everything in his official name... should be okay I would think...

featherB

Most (if not all) of the evidence of us having met during the last two years will involve his 'unofficial' name though (as that's the one he's actually known by) - I mean, printouts of emails, letters, cards etc. Although I suppose this kind of situation must be quite common (well, not unknown, at least)... I guess I'm just finding things to worry about, 'cos I want to make sure everything goes smoothly!

Noorah101

It shouldn't be a problem. I think somewhere on the forms there is a place to list "any other names used", he can make a note of it there. Or, when listing his official name on the forms, he can put his unofficial name in parenthesis next to it.

Rene

Elvira

Somewhere on the forms you will be filling out there is a space for 'other names known by', or some such. You may also want to include an explanatory note somewhere in your package (though I would not bank on them reading it...)

I wouldn't worry - this kind of thing is not unusual. In any event, you'll be able to explain at the interview.

featherB

Thank you - and yes, I should stop worrying, as it's not *that* unusual and is easily explained!