Synthesis

I'm all in a panic now. I got some passport photos done with the three-quarters view; proclaiming them "good enough" I sent them to my fiance with the package of stuff for the I-129F...

...but now my dad says they're not perfect, and he's heard from someone who knows someone who says they have some special camera to take these U.S pics with...

Do I have to say to my fiance "hold it" while I go get yet another pic? How important is the pic? Will our petition get refused?

I'm all in a panic. I'm sorry I've been asking so many questions this week but I'm worried; it'll be costly in both money and time if the petition is delayed or refused. Not to mention the stress that this process is already causing me.

I hate these photo specs; they're way too precise. How did you people get yours done? Please tell me your stories so that I can take the appropiate action. I don't want to worry my fiance telling him to delay sending if I don't need to.

Thanks in advance for your help.

~Synth

Endymion

Hi Synth,

Have you checked out this link already?

http://k1.exit.com/aditspec.pdf

If your pics just match the requirements given here you will be okay... Personally I would not take the risk of sending supposedly *good enough* pictures in as you might risk an RFE for that... It's better to take a little time than to curse each other once the RFE is issued... (Been there, done that )

My story: I just went to a photographer, showed him the printout of the requirements and asked him to get the cheapest shots available... Other people I know went the DIY road and used a photo booth... I would just make sure that there are no shadows on the pics, no earrings or other "distracting" jewellery.

Just compare your pics with the specification- and see if you are in for a couple of new mugshots .

As for the rest of the process, I'd like to refer to good old Douglas Adams: "Don't Panic" !

Good luck!

Rebecca.

tbiller

Take it from me (as someone with 18 years experience as a professional photographer) that there is no such thing as this "special camera."

You can use any camera you like as long as the pix meet the spec. It's a right royal PITA but you can even DIY these in a photo-booth that allows you to preview the pix before you print them. Or as endymion suggests - check the link and/or find a smudge who can shoot to the spec. My wife was a studio photographer in Napa, CA and used to shoot these highly specified pix all the time with no problems.

Please don't get all in a fluster about this - it's easy to get this stuff sorted out.

Good luck with the petition - Tim

Synthesis

Hmm, I had seen the same specs but different... didn't have the box at the right... when I look at that, and it wants the head from the top to the chin inside that box... Mine's too small. I think I'm gonna go safe and get another one done. I'm gonna take this to a photographer, I've wasted £5.50 on photo booths already -_-;;

Thanks for your advice. You're right, "good enough" is not good enough. Getting the petition delayed will probably cause me a lot more grey hair.

And thanks tbiller for the advice about the "special camera"... My dad's hardly the most reliable of sources, everything gets lost when it goes through him because he doesn't understand what people say too well... But, I don't blame him, since hey, he got me to look at my pics again... and I feel now that no, they are NOT good enough.

And hey, Jason didn't seem to mind. In fact, he's given me a good few net huggles now I've told him I'm stressed about all this.

Thanks for all your help, guys. I'm going to go find a photographer tomorrow after work and show him these specs.

~Synth

Lindsey

For our petition I'm pretty sure we didn't realise they had to be 3/4 view
so we just sent in normal ones, although they were done at a photographer -
we got approved without any problems.

For my forms for the embassy (London) I originally sent in normal (not 3/4
view) ones done in a photo booth - realised after that they were wrong so
had some more done at the photo booth just in case - they never asked for
them.

We just applied for AOS, EAD and AP - we just took the photos, 3/4 view this
time, with our digital camera and resized them so they fitted the criteria -
so far they've been fine - I've got my EAD and AP without any problems.

It sounds like some people have problems though so if you're worried have
them done again at a photo place.

Lindsey




"Synthesis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I'm all in a panic now. I got some passport photos done with the three-
    > quarters view; proclaiming them "good enough" I sent them to my fiance
    > with the package of stuff for the I-129F...
    > ..but now my dad says they're not perfect, and he's heard from someone
    > who knows someone who says they have some special camera to take these
    > U.S pics with...
    > Do I have to say to my fiance "hold it" while I go get yet another pic?
    > How important is the pic? Will our petition get refused?
    > I'm all in a panic. I'm sorry I've been asking so many questions this
    > week but I'm worried; it'll be costly in both money and time if the
    > petition is delayed or refused. Not to mention the stress that this
    > process is already causing me.
    > I hate these photo specs; they're way too precise. How did you people
    > get yours done? Please tell me your stories so that I can take the
    > appropiate action. I don't want to worry my fiance telling him to delay
    > sending if I don't need to.
    > Thanks in advance for your help.
    > ~Synth
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Martin

5.50.....by the time you are done with the entire process you wish that was
all you wasted. Sorry but just a little frustrated with the BCIS.....as I've
been in the process since 1998.

Martin


"Synthesis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hmm, I had seen the same specs but different... didn't have the box at
    > the right... when I look at that, and it wants the head from the top to
    > the chin inside that box... Mine's too small. I think I'm gonna go safe
    > and get another one done. I'm gonna take this to a photographer, I've
    > wasted £5.50 on photo booths already -_-;;
    > Thanks for your advice. You're right, "good enough" is not good
    > enough. Getting the petition delayed will probably cause me a lot more
    > grey hair.
    > And thanks tbiller for the advice about the "special camera"... My dad's
    > hardly the most reliable of sources, everything gets lost when it goes
    > through him because he doesn't understand what people say too well...
    > But, I don't blame him, since hey, he got me to look at my pics again...
    > and I feel now that no, they are NOT good enough.
    > And hey, Jason didn't seem to mind. In fact, he's given me a good few
    > net huggles now I've told him I'm stressed about all this.
    > Thanks for all your help, guys. I'm going to go find a photographer
    > tomorrow after work and show him these specs.
    > ~Synth
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Folinskyinla

Hi:

As a general rule, the photos on the I-129F and the I-130 need NOT be anywhere near perfect. It is at the end of the line when they are doing the "I-89" form to prepare the actual green card that the photos have to be right on -- the machine that manufactures the I-551 cards can be picky. And it seems that that DHS is going over to their own "biometric" machines where they will do it for you. The electronic filing of the I-90 for a new I-551 does not require photos.

My understanding is that the photos on the PETITIONS is simply as a security measure to avoid the use of "ringers."

[BTW, no wild searches for the I-89 please. That is an INTERNAL DHS form to take the fingerprint and signature which, combined with the photo, prodcues the I-551 card].

Richard III

Synthesis -

As my old dad used to say, "Good enough never is". Of course he was a bit of a perfectionist and a freak in his own right, but in this particular case he was right. If you carefully read a few hundred of the thousands of posts on this forum you'll find that a significant number of the "problems" people post are the result of submitting packets that are "good enough" and they weren't. You don't have to be a perfectionist to understand that doing a good job of putting your packet together will SAVE you time, not COST you time. The packages that breeze through this process are the ones where proper attention to detail is paid right down the line. Sloppy work=sloppy results. If you aren't detail oriented, hire someone to do it for you that is. You'll be glad you did.

Richard III

Dante

I hate to sound like I'm advocating sloppy preparation, but for the initial petition I supplied photographs from a photo booth in which I just turned to the side a little, and for my interview I supplied a bunch of random passport photos I just had lying around. I suspect they'll get a little more picky when I try adjusting status etc. At the end of the day, the initial visa isn't granting you much - not residency, not employment rights...just the right to fly into the country! They're not so fussy in the early stages.

rob133

I was in America when we filled our I-129 and we went to an immigration photographer who advised that I needed to get 4 pictures done as they would all be required during the process of filling. At the time I thought she was simply making a bit of money out of us, but fair play I'll be using all four of them.

Glad to see they don't actually have to be up to much however, as if one of these pictures ended up on something I had to carry around as a form of ID I'd be worried....pictures taken on a wet and windy day after a 20 minute walk up the street tensd to look a little ropey to say the least!