Bobby

I first want to thank Alvena for her advice a few months ago. I asked her if I could
get a waver for not seeing my Colombian Fiancée because of the dangers involved with
traveling to Colombia. She told me to forget it! You will never get a waver! She also
could not understand two people wanting to get married when they had never met
before. With that I made arrangements to go to Colombia and I spent the first eight
days of July with my fiancée and her family in her home town about 3 hours north of
Bogota. I never once felt in danger while I was there but it certainly was an
experience for me never having traveled outside of the United States before. The
people I met in Colombia where absolutely wonderful and made me feel very welcome.
Yolanda (my fiancée), her three children and I had a wonderful and memorable time
together. I am so glad that I went and I now have some understanding of the culture
of the Colombian people. I formally asked Yolanda to marry me while I was there and I
have never felt so sure about anything in my life.

I now have all the paperwork ready to send in for the I-129F petition. The only thing
I do not have is a G-325A form signed by Yolanda. I have all the information filled
out but no signature. If I had been more prepared I would have brought them to
Colombia with me. It is amazingly difficult to get things back and forth to Colombia
despite the technological advances in the world. The mail is notoriously undependable
in Colombia and I have been trying for almost two weeks now to get these documents in
order. I have now scanned the documents and emailed them to her in the hopes she can
print, sign, and either scan and email them back to me, fax them, or send them in the
mail. She will keep the originals for her interview.

My question is, should I go ahead and send the application in without a copy of the
signed G-325A and if they ask for a copy of the signed one (which I should have by
then) send it to them? I am anxious to get the application in and get the ball
rolling. In the long run will the processing time be shorter to wait for the signed
documents or should I get the process going and then send the signed ones if
requested? I have read a lot of conflicting information on this issue. Some people
say that they will not need to see the signed G-325A until she goes for her interview
and others say there is no way they will accept the I-129F petition without her
signature on the G-325A. Any opinions on this issue?

Alvena Ferreira

Bobby wrote:
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I'd wait for the signed one...a couple of weeks now could save you 4-6 weeks later on
if they did not accept it and sent you an RFI. (requuest for further information)

Alvena
===
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice; this is my personal opinion, posted
for the purpose of discussion only.
===
K-1 FAQ: http://www.k1faq.com Timelines: http://www.wkh.org/ A great K-1 Site:
http://pages.prodigy.net/alixtcat/immigrat.htm Doc Steen's Marriage Visa Pages:
http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm
===

Diane M

I'd wait, personally. Eddie and I didn't both have letters of intent, since I didn't
discover that requirement until after he had visited and we had put together the
I-129f package, and i chose to wait until he could write and send me one. There was a
delay with the mail, and it added over 2 (very tense) weeks to our application time,
but I'm glad we did it, since we MIGHT have had a RFE if we hadn't. You are virtually
guaranteed to get an RFE if she hasn't signed the G-325a. Would it be possible for
her to download the forms from the web, fill them out, sign them, and then fax them
to you? They have to have fax machines in Columbia, and copies of originals are
acceptable for the I-129f. Those would probably be clearer than the ones you scanned
and sent, and she could just copy the information from your copies.

Diane M.

P.S. Aren't you glad you took Alveena's advice? I was just thinking about Eddie's and
my first visit tonight, and what we've been through since... it's been a long
trip, and it's not over, but I can hang onto the memories of being with him
while I'm missing him. It makes a difference. Also, I just visited his home for
the first time a few weeks ago, and I think it helped me understand what he will
be giving up when he comes here. For once, I think the INS made a rule that
makes sense.

D.

Bobby wrote:
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Bobby

I did wait and it did not end up being that difficult after all. I scanned and
emailed the G-325A forms to Yolanda in Colombia and she was able to print them out
and successfully fax them back to me the next day. My copy does not look the greatest
but it has her signature and she has the originals in Colombia where she will need
them for her interview.

I sent the petition express mail to NSC today with a return receipt. The petition
was heavy and ended up costing almost $20.00. But it is done now, and hopefully
correctly. And just in time for me to take my kids on a nine-day camping trip
without having to think about it anymore. I will keep you posted on the timeline
since I have not found many resources about K-1 visas for a Colombian fiancee.
Thanks for all your help!

Grinch

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I believe the G-325a's mailed to INS should be originals.

Grinch