I-129F Petition Application Process

My Fiancee Visa Road-map to become Mrs. Edmiston 


Our I-129F Petition Application Process 
    The US Citizen is the one to file the I-129F in the US

The ORDER of Documents as we assembled our I-129F Packet. 
(the red fonts are clickable and will take you to the website where you can find the form/ more info)

   

1. Payment as required by USCIS. Can use personal check so you can track the payment. Money Orders are also accepted. Fee $340.00. My fiance wrote a check. Make the check payable to U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  Always check the updated fee HERE.  (scroll down)

2. Form G-1145 e-notification of Application/ Petition Acceptance. You will get an email/ text when USCIS received your application.

3. Cover Letter. Include a description of what your are petitioning for (I-129F) and      table of contents.  Sign and date the cover sheet. The USC will sign the cover later     and dated.  Our Cover Letter  format:     To:    United States Department of Homeland Security                 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services                  Dallas Lockbox Facility

       Attention: I – 129F   
          2501 South State Highway 121 Business   
          Suite 400   Lewisville, TX 75067 
       
Dear USCIS Officer,  

Enclosed please find my Form I-129F, Petition for K-1 Fiancée Visa for (name of foreign fiancé) and supporting documents. 
  Contents: 

• Payment in the amount of $ 340.00
• Form G-1145 e-notification of Application/ Petition Acceptance
• Form I-129F
• I-129F Supplement: Part 2, Question 34.a, explanation of meeting in person
• Statement of intent to marry (Petitioner and Beneficiary), original and signed
• Proof of having met in person in the past two years
• G-325A and passport style photo (Petitioner), original and signed
• G-325A and passport style photo (Beneficiary), original and signed
• Birth Certificate (Petitioner), copy
• Divorce Decree  (Petitioner), copy complete set
• Annulment documents (Beneficiary), copy
• Proof of ongoing relationship (emails, social media posts, FB Mesenger messages, skype logs, Viber messages/ calls) 

    Sincerely,     

  Petitioner Signature over Printed name / dated  

4.	Form I-129F: Petition for Alien Fiance(e), Signed, wet signtaure .  Read the Instructions. If your fiance/e have children (21 years old and below) that will move with her/him to the US or will follow within a year, include their names on the I-129F form.
5.	Supplement to question '34.a' of the I-129F.  Signed, wet signature and dated. One page.
6.	Statement of intent to marry. From both the US Citizen and foreign fiance/e certifying  that both are free to marry and previous marriages has been legally terminated; and  the intent to marry within 90 days of entering the US. Signed and dated, wet signatures.
7.	Proof of having met in past two years. We attached evidence that I was in the US on the day that we met, plane ticket/boarding passes/ arrival stamp/ I-94, receipts from places I went to; plane ticket/ boarding passes/ arrival stamp when he visited me in the Philippines, photos on famous landmarks and sites and with labels and etc. I collage the photos, made notes on where and when it was taken and send to my fiance to print out. I lay-out everything on word file and he just need to follow the order of all documents.  Here are some sample photos we submitted:
8.	G-325A Biographic Information. Filled out by the USC, signed, wet signature and dated.
9.	One 2x2 photo of the US Citizen, white background.Write the full name at the back, put in a clear plastic sleeve and attached on a paper after the G-325A with label.    Photo of  "Petitioner Name" .
10.	G-325A Biographic Information. Filled out by the foreign fiance(e) signed, wet signature and dated.
11.	One 2x2 photo of the foreign fiance/e, white background.Write the full name at the back, put in a clear plastic sleeve and attached on a paper after the G-325A with label.    Photo of  "Beneficiary Name" .
12.	Copy of the Birth certificate (front and back) for the US Citizen or his Passport. Proof of Citizenship
13.	Copy of final Divorce Decree and my annulment documents.  Send all complete documents, if you have been divorced more than ones, attached all divorced papers. Not disclosing previous marriages (even if it was ages ago or by death) will result to a denial of K1.  We front-loaded our documents and attached proof of on-going relationship. These are not required but this will help in the initial review of your case. We are only dating for a few months when we got engaged so we attached these documents to show our continued commitment with each other.  Proof of ongoing relationship (emails, social media posts, FB Mesenger messages, skype logs, Viber messages/ calls). I screen shot most of it and arranged them by dates on a word file. I included a lot actually, thus our packet was like more than 100 pages.  Our I-129F Packet When completed, send it to:     USCIS Dallas Lockbox facility:        For U.S. Postal Service (USPS):    USCIS    P.O. Box 660151    Dallas, TX 75266    For USPS Express Mail and courier deliveries:    USCIS    Attn: I-129F    2501 South State Highway 121 Business   Suite 400   Lewisville, TX 75067
	All applications should be sent to this facility no matter where you are from. Everything was sent to my fiance via email and he printed everything in color and arranged according to my draft. I sent via Express Mail all other documents that needs my Original Signature.  We used USPS Express mail service and here is the timeline of our I-129F Packet:     8 August 2015 - Sent I-129F Packet thru USPS    11 August 2015 - due to SD satellite Postal Service, our packet was actually sent out    13 August 2015- NOA1  as per USCIS Case Status Check receipt notice sent (NOA-Notice of Action)   17 August 2015 - I -797C  Notice date    18 August 2015 - Email Notice that our case has been accepted and en-route to CSC for processing (my    Fiance if from Califonia). Depending on your loation, your application will be processed by a different    Service Center and processing times may differ. 2 September 2015 - APPROVED! (14 working days from receipt date)  5 September 2015 - Received printed NOA2    One down and off we got the next steps!
	IMPORTANT REMINDERS: All USCIS Forms should have wet signatures and dated.  Re-check the latest Forms on the designated website. They update the forms every now and then. Form have validity dates.  Re-check the updated fees  Make copies of the whole packet before sending them. Or save soft copies.  Don't send original copies when not asked, we did not send any original documentary attachments. All were copies and we did not received any RFE (Request for Evidence); RFE will further delay your approval. Check and double check your documents. A wrong form will result to a rejection of application.  A wrong fee will result to a rejection of application.  Create your packet for easy adjudication. I labeled our Packet based on the order of documents, I also made a footer on each page: Name of Petitioner and name of Beneficiary. Just in case a page was misplaced, it can easily be returned to the packet.  Note: This is based on my own personal experience, other case may vary. In this case I also made most of the research, lay-out, drafts and we emailed back and forth on what docs we need to fill-out.  Next step after the Approval:    1. After 30 days call NVC to get your case number.        Telephone No: 603-334-0888         They are open 7am to 12MN EST. I called them after 4 weeks from NOA2, I was in the   US then visiting. Called them at around 9:30am EST and was on-hold for maybe 15 minutes. I got my MNL number on the first call.  2. When you have your Case Number, you can now proceed to do DS 160 form, schedule your interview and do the Medical Examination. 3. When all is well with the Medical - last Step: The Interview at the US EMbassy. Here are my series of Blogs on the next Steps:   1. Medical Examination Requirements    2. Medical Examination Experience   3. Interview  UPDATE as of May 10, 2016:   Additional OPTIONAL CHECKLIST Ref:  http://www.uscis.gov/i-129f http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-129finstr.pdf http://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/fiancee-visa/fiancee-visas http://www.visajourney.com/

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How to Take your Fiancé(e) to the United States

My Fiancee Visa Road-map to become Mrs. Edmiston 

How to Take your Fiancé(e)  to the United States 

If your are a US Citizen and your Fiancé(e) is living abroad and you wanted to bring her/him to the US to get married and live here, this is the fastest way that you can bring her/ him to the US. 

File for a Fiancé(e) Petition. As of this writing, processing time from filing to approval is 4-6 weeks. If you continue with the whole process full time, your Fiancé(e)will be in the US in less than 6 months. Actually you can finish the processing in 3 months if there will be no problem in the Medical Examination and all her/ his legal papers are easily available. Considering our  timeline of approvals, I can finish everything and have my Visa in 3 months or less! Yes, it can be that fast. 

Eligibility Requirements

If you petition for a fiancé(e) visa, you must show that:

• You (the petitioner) is a U.S. citizen.

• You intend to marry within 90 days of your fiancé(e) entering the United States. 

• You and your fiancé(e) are both free to marry and any previous marriages must have been legally terminated by divorce, death, or annulment.

• You met each other, in person, at least once within 2 years of filing your petition. There are two exceptions that require a waiver. 

        1. If the requirement to meet would violate strict and long-established customs of your                or your fiancé(e)’s foreign culture or social practice.
        2. If you prove that the requirement to meet would result in extreme hardship to you.

Here are the steps that you need to do in order: 

1. File Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e). 

The link above will take you to the USCIS website where you can find the form I-129F and instructions to accomplish the form.  This is not the VISA yet, this is just the petition for your Fiancé(e), when approved your Fiancé(e) will apply for the K1 (Fiancé(e) Visa) in her local country. 

If your fiancé(e) has a child (under 21 and unmarried), a K-2 nonimmigrant visa may be available to him or her. Be sure to include the names of your fiancé(e)’s children on your Form I-129F petition.

My I-129F process and all the documents attached can be found here. These were what we did and we received our approval within 14 days from Receipt of our application. 

2. Your Fiancé(e) will file for a K1 Visa (Fiancé(e) Visa) on her local country

Fiancé(e) (K-1/K-2) Nonimmigrant Visas. The K1 visa is a visa for a fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen who will travel to the United States to marry  within 90 days and take up indefinite residence after marriage. K2 visas are for the Minor Children of the K1 Visa holder. 

The K visa does not automatically grant U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident (LPR) status to the beneficiaries. Those who qualify for K visas will be able to join their partners in the United States as a non-immigrant, without the potentially long period of separation during the petition process. Once married, they will need to adjust their immigration status in the United States to become lawful permanent residents.  

My K1 Visa Interview experience can be found here.  

Ref: 
http://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/fiancee-visa/fiancee-visas
http://manila.usembassy.gov/marriage-to-a-us-citizen2.html