Friday, November 11, 2011

K1 Proof of relationship

A number of people have asked me what I used for proof of relationship for the K1 visa application, so I thought that I would post up what I used.  In our case is was similar to the I-129 petition relationship proof that we used, when my wife put in the  I-129 application (although we probably gave the USCIS more than they needed at that stage).

Basically from I learnt, the standard proof of ongoing relationship that they would accept were things like photos of my wife and I together and together with family, postmarked letters and emails that we had exchanged, telephone bills that showed we had spoken over the phone, and flight tickets that showed we had visited one another.  You are allowed to censor out some of the more personal information from letters etc. I believe.

Anyway, the specific evidence that my wife and I used as K1 proof of relationship was:

Photos of us during a visit.  There was a photo of the two of us together, a photo with the two of us with my fiancee’s daughter, and a photo of my fiancé with me and my family.

The plane tickets that were used for the flights across the Atlantic, and also the ferry tickets that we used on a day trip to France together.

Some of the cards that we had sent to each other by mail – birthday and postcards.

Some printouts of emails that we’d sent each other.  Nothing too personal, of course.

Some printouts of MSN messenger and Skype conversations that we’d had together.

A phone bill to show that we had telephoned each other.  (Although that didn’t happen more than a few times as we generally used Skype to communicate, basically because Skype was cheaper and also we could use webcams, which is more personal).


UPDATE

I mailed my proof of ongoing relationship to the London Embassy, which was the correct procedure at the time, but I think someone told me that visa applicants now have to take their proof in by hand when they attend their K1 Fiance Visa interview.  The rules and guidelines can change at any time, so always double-check with the USCIS website to make sure that you are doing the right thing beforehand.

29 comments:

  1. The majority of proof is now sent when the I-126 petition is submitted, I believe. We used a visa company called Global Visa's and they had me submit all kinds of stuff to them prior to the petition submission. When I actually attended the interview at the embassy the they give you a of stuff that you have to take with you (not submit to the embassy beforehand or they will reject your application) This was not anything personal it was Birth certificates, decree absolutes if needed, police certificate, affadavit of support from your US fiance(e) and photographs of yourself for your visa. They did not ask for anything personal or for proof of relationship at the interview. The only comment that was made to me at the interview about our relationship was "Wow you guys have been together a long time".

    I believe from what I have read here and heard from other people that the process of visa allocation is perhaps evolving slowly, and there are probably no clear cut guidelines.

    One thing that is a must is that you need to ensure that you have 2 full clear pages in your passport when you attend your interview, otherwise although they can approve the visa they cannot take your passport away to get the visa printed into it outwith you first getting anew one and resending it to them. This happened to a girl I have met during the process and it mean that she had to delay her departure from the UK because she had to sort out the passport issue first then get the passport back to the embassy.

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  2. It will help a lot of people who wants to live there in USA they need to visit US Immigration for more info so it will be easy for them to have it.

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  3. Hi Paul. Myke here. I have a question in regards to "proof" sent for the I-129, and K1.

    I have collected emails, facebook messages, photos, flight details, trip details, cards, letters, family letters, and also written a description for each section stating how this cements our relationship.

    Which form is this sent with - the I-129, or the K1, or do I have to split it between the two.

    I am finding your blog very helpful. Thank you!

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    1. I think I had to provide some relationship proof for both. I used similar evidence each time, although I think it was overkill and more than I needed. Your list looks good to me. I wrote a personal letter too saying that I intended to marry my fiancee after I arrived in the US within 90 days which I sent with the I-129.

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    2. Hi Paul,
      When you sent the personal letter saying you intended to marry your fiancee did you get it notarized? would you advise to do so?

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  4. pls, give me a clue how to save chats and calls history from Skype. I am at that stage of gathering some evidence that our relationship is real. I have a lot of phone calls but dont know how to export the data so that the attorney can print it out and use it...
    Also, I managed by the way, but although I can see tha phone calls, there is no information that actually this is my skype account;/
    I am very frustrated and kind of desperate cause I love my man and I miss him but all this procedure is kinf of scaring me...with all this find this find thatm prove this prove that... pls pls help me

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    1. You could copy a phone bill, which should show international calls on it? Skype can be done if you have a few text conversations to print out. It does also show records of Skype phone conversations in your account, but it doesn't look very convincing if your Skype ID is "Pink Furry Bunny" rather than something resembling your real name.

      If you send each other cards, or letters, via snail mail you can used them?

      Photos of you together and plane tickets from visits are good, of course.

      It's maybe not proof as in court of law proof, but it shows you have made an effort.

      Don't get too worried, the rejection rate for fiance visas is very low.

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  5. Hello, I would like to know if I have to proof a certain length of time I know my Fiance. So far I've only have enough skype chat/calls dating back to one year, some photo with her during my visit in her country, and plane tickets and spend reciepts while I was living there with her for the past 30 days. She has a few Polaroid photos of us and majority of my other photos are on facebook. Would this be enough proof or am I just lacking proof?

    Ed

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    1. Those are the types of proof that I used. If you have sent each other any cards by snail mail, you might use those too?

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  6. Boring question alert: how did you actually physically put the evidence together? Like, are there any rules about whether you should staple it all together, or hole punch it or stick the photos down or keep them loose? I can't seem to find any guidance on that, and I don't want to annoy them by collecting it up in the wrong way.

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    1. It's a reasonable question. I always worry that something's going to get lost. I am not aware of any rules. I think have everything organized and secure in a folder. Keep backups of everything digital on a memory stick - scans, photos, etc. Email them to yourself too, or upload them, so that you can access them via the internet, if you need to.

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    2. Thanks a lot :) I'm doing just that with the back-ups etc. We've got a lawyer helping us, so I'm going to assume she'll be able to check over the way I've packaged everything up - maybe best that I just don't go too heavy handed with it so it can be re-bound up if necessary.

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  7. Thank you very much.i am having my fiance visa Intervew this months in two weeks and i am trying to collect all the proof. i and my fiance did a traditional wedding, so i have all the photos and the videos, letters we have been writing to each other, love cards, letters,cards and photos from my fiance's parents. and i have the ticket my fiance used when he was coming for the function. is that enough proof? please let me know if i need more and what i need.

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    1. I'm confused? Are you married already? Or do you still plan to go through a ceremony in the US?

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  8. Hello, thanks for ur informative blog regarding K1 visa... now I'm confused... my fiance filed for 1-129 petition for fiance last month, but he just send the form 129 only, a week after that, he received a notification receipt from the uscis, we used the receipt number to check for our status online and it's in initial review, it's 28 days now since he received the receipt... my question is: will uscis call my fiance to request for evidence or proof of relationship? Or will they just dismiss it as my fiance did not attached any documentation as as proof of our relationship along the form? Our relationship is solid, we have plenty of proofs to give them, but we thought that they will be asking that later on... thank u for ur time... I hope u can reply to my query,

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  9. Indah, I have the same question! We sent minimal evidence up front, just a declaration of the relationship. I keep reading he will be able to take more proof at his interview stage. Paul, any feedback for Indah and I would be greatly appreciated! I'm 2 weeks away from my 5 month waiting time, have not received NOA2 as of yet.

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  10. I think someone mentioned that the procedure has changed and you are expected to bring certain proof/documentation to the interview, rather than post it, as was the case when I did it. It might be worth double-checking this on a site like: britishexpats.com - which is very reliable, in my experience, for up-to-date info. This blog is a personal account of my experience, but some of the procedures can change over time.

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    1. Thanks for the reply Paul, it's truly appreciated.

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  11. Hi Paul, I just got an approval of my petition. I have a question regarding evidence of support, what did you present to the embassy to show that you will not be a public charge. Do i the petitioner have to fill out an Affidavit of support now or will that be during the adjustment of status and what did you present to the embassy regarding this?

    thanks.. will be awaiting a response. thanks for the blog the information has been so helpful

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  12. Hi my Fiance intends to petition myself.. and my children for a k1 visa also.
    He wants to just send in the petition form, yet I have read elsewhere that sending in the proof of relationship helps the process considerably.

    .I am living in the Uk currently.We met back in September, after having communicated for 7 months prior to that online
    We didn't know how things would work out and develop,we were just enjoying spending time together. Meaning now. after a year of knowing each other. We realise we should have taken more pictures,saved more receipts and the rest.
    As we want to start a life together. Is that lack of evidence going to present an issue?
    Of course I have the passport stamp,ticket details,emails back and forth. I call him through Skype sometimes,but due to the time difference and he is working a lot we try to catch up on Gmail webcam chat more often over a weekend, or simply exchange email . Can anybody advise on the info I have to send to my fiance to enable to K1 to be sorted for petition..even just the basic requirements? Thank you

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    1. You have described the sort of things I used as evidence. We used photos of us together and/or with family too.

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  13. Thank you Paul.I do feel I shoulder the burden of responsibility my fiance is quite stoic being Navajo and I have to explain many responses to him alongside the requirements of the Government in terms of how I represent myself with paperwork and the rest.I find it is much my burden to carry and feel quite alone with it in many respects..Much different from the norm almost..But we will get there in the end..the photo we have is but one, in the time we spent together he took all the photo's of me and we have but one month together, I am at loss of what to do to provide adequate documentation of "our time" it isvery much my responsibility.hard when I have two toher people in my life already to consider..but we will "get there" Thank you :)

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  14. My fiance lives in a border town in mexico. When I cross the border they don't stamp my passport. I only drive there so no airplane tickets. Im not military so I don't have orders. I generaly pay cash for everything down thereand never thought to keep a recipt. I submitted about 10 photos of us and family together, but I still got a letter stating they need proof that we have met. The letter says, the following DOES NOT constitute evidence of meeting, videos, emails, letters, phone bills, and greeting cards. My question to everybody is what else is left? What exacly are they looking for. Please Help

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  15. I am getting ready to file a K1 for my Turkish Fiance. I have read some of you go through agencies or get lawyers. Is the process difficult? I have just started reading up on the process. It's a little overwhelming.

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  16. Greetings, My fiancee is about to submit our petion to the USCIS, we have a picture of us together and my family during his first visit and 7 different times photos on his second visit. we had our traditional wedding ceremony here in philippines but we are not tied up with the government, because we plan to have another ceremony in the US and to make our make it legal their. we did the ceremony in the here in philippines for the benefits of my family because they will not be in the US for my wedding. question is, is this going to to be a problem on my USEM interview?

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  17. Hello Paul, my fiancée intends to petition me, he submitted the application tru online, he did it last week, but problem is we haven't meet in person yet, but I saved all the cards, emails, package with the address on it.. But I'm sure they will not approve it, since one of the requirements is that we met in person with in two years.. If ever my fiancée don't want to travel and meet me in person is there any other options on how I can get a fiancée visa? We're been communicating for 20 months already. I need your advice please.
    Thank you,

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hello Paul, my fiancée intends to petition me, he submitted the application tru online, he did it last week, but problem is we haven't meet in person yet, but I saved all the cards, emails, package with the address on it.. But I'm sure they will not approve it, since one of the requirements is that we met in person with in two years.. If ever my fiancée don't want to travel and meet me in person is there any other options on how I can get a fiancée visa? We're been communicating for 20 months already. I need your advice please.
    Thank you,

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hello Paul, my fiancée intends to petition me, he submitted the application tru online, he did it last week, but problem is we haven't meet in person yet, but I saved all the cards, emails, package with the address on it.. But I'm sure they will not approve it, since one of the requirements is that we met in person with in two years.. If ever my fiancée don't want to travel and meet me in person is there any other options on how I can get a fiancée visa? We're been communicating for 20 months already. I need your advice please.
    Thank you,

    ReplyDelete