What if we only video chat isn’t that meeting each other?

Meeting face-to-face physically, meaning being in the same room together, breathing the same air, not meeting online video chatting.

Whats does USCIS mean by the Two Year Rule:

Any US sponsor who has met a foreign Fiancee in person must not allow two years to pass if they desire to file the I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancee. 

If two years have gone by since the last meeting in person, both sponsor and beneficiary will need to meet again before they can file the I-129F Application for Alien Fiance.

Is there a rule on how long we should be together?

USCIS doesn’t have any set requirements on how much time a couple has to spend together in person, but they do have certain items that they would like to see to give them reason to believe that the couples really did meet in person.

Supporting Documents of a genuine meeting:

Records and Receipts are very helpful: A few of the most important items needed will be the sponsor US Passport stamped pages, trip itineraries, boarding pass stubs and photos of the couple together. 

Other items that will be used at the interview will be hotel receipts, transportation receipts, food receipts, gift receipts, terminal fee receipts, ATM Machine receipts, etc…

Couples are required to have sufficient documentation to fulfill the K1 Proof of Meeting in an effort to convince both USCIS and the US Embassy that the relationship is sincere and genuine and that you both are truly going to marry once the alien fiance arrives on US soil.

Meeting in person is a K1 visa requirement

Overseas Filipino Worker – OFW and even US Contracts Overseas is quite common.

Some couples have met in other countries where they both have worked and may have spent several months developing their relationship in that country while others have met online and then after so many months decided to meet in person in the Philippines.

Occasionally far and few in between does a couple actually meet in the USA, but there have been some Filipina who did manage to get tourist visas, or work visas, even student visas for the United States, but this is not something that one could count on very often.

It is much easier for an American to travel to the Philippines to meet his Filipina girlfriend than it is for her to try and come to the USA to meet him.

Anyone who thinks they can get a B1/B2 Tourist visa is greatly mistaken. Many have tried to fulfill the K1 Proof of Meeting part by attempting to get a tourist visa to the United States, but found out that the success rate is barely 5%.

Every year there are some couples for whatever reason that do not make pictures together or they just didn’t think it was needed only to later find out their application was rejected due to no pictures or very few pictures.

Did you, make the most, of your trip, or do you need to return because you and your alien fiance did not make couples photos?

Selecting your BEST Couples Photos for K1 Visa Processing. Usually USCIS likes to see at least 10 photos of the couple together.

Couples photos importance:

There should be a minimum of (10) color photos submitted standard size close to a 6×7 on glossy film, not printed from your computer but made at a photo outlet.

USCIS requires pictures of the couple without hats or sunglasses and preferably facing the camera. There is no need for making poses kissing, or hugging. They only want to see a happy couple together, you don’t even have to be touching.

It’s always best to send in a variety, like one at the Mall, another at the beach, at home, at a park, at church, on the front porch etc…

You want it to appear that you spent quality time together, so each picture should be a different setting, wearing different clothing, and holding each other’s hand in hand, arms around each other, her sitting on your lap, etc….

Full body shots are acceptable and close ups, but not to close where your faces look like a blur.

Please do not send in blurry pictures please print your full names on the back and date each photo also specify where the photo was taken at. If you said that your in the Philippines as part of your K1 proof of meeting, then show Filipino things like boats, beaches, malls, houses, in the background.

Things to Remember in the pictures you select.

K1 Proof of Meeting pictures:

USCIS Will Reject Poor Quality photos for these reasons below,

• Blurry, cant make out the faces.
  
  
• Over exposed, to much light on the faces.
  
  
• Other people in the pictures, and can’t tell who is who?
  
  
• Picture taken in a dark location and the faces are hard to see.
  
  
• One or both persons is wearing ball caps with bills or sunglasses covering the face.
  
  
• Smoking or drinking covering the face.
  
  
• Pictures that were photo-shopped, altered, copy pasted mismatching lighting.
  
  
• Photos printed out from your computer on regular typing paper, does not meet the USCIS requirement.

Select only good clear images without any cutting or cropping and USCIS does inspect your photos to see if any computer altercations have been done?

You don’t need to send pictures of kissing or anything that shows to much affection in them.

It is okay to wear sunglasses in some outdoor pictures, but try not to have too many pictures with sunglasses. USCIS wants to see the faces of both couples.

Also wearing different clothing  makes it look more like you spent quality time with each other. In the past we have had couples send to USCIS 10 photos of them together all taken in the same hotel room with the same background wall and this is not acceptable.

Sample photos

You can bring your digital camera or mobile device depending on its photo qualities with you to the Philippines and make hundreds of pictures with you and your Filipina  Fiancee together.

In some cases you may have a friend tag along or a family member to help take some whole body shots. Selfies are not really the best choice if you can avoid them, like I said USCIS wants some good proof that the couple really are in the said Country, so try to show some background of a mall, a beach a park a house.

Select 10 of your best photos:

The Philippines has many available photo stores that one can blue tooth, or insert a memory card or plug right into a computer and have your pictures developed pretty much all in one day.

Making hundreds of pictures can be time-consuming especially if you’re on a short visit to the Philippines.

So please make the best of your time and try to have someone take your picture with a different background each time, good lighting, different poses and different clothing on to make it appear that you both spent good quality time with one another.

Don’t be shy, make lots of PHOTOS!

Save any other photos that you don’t send to USCIS for the interview by placing them in a scrapbook.

K1 Proof of Meeting consultation can be arranged with our clients pre-trip planning is always the best way to prepare and get the most out of your trip.