Evidence of a bona fide Relationship is important at the fiance visa interview
I’m not going to run off a list of 100 different proofs you can use for your interview. Stuff like photos, text messages, phone logs, etc… (you can get that anywhere).
Instead, I want to show you why it’s important to have solid evidence. And it’s not enough just to be over-confident and declare “we’ve known each other for 15 years… isn’t that proof enough?”
Regardless of how confident you think you are going in, there’s reason to be extra cautious.
Let’s step back. Let me show you the numbers so you actually believe me.
Statistically speaking, lack proof of good bona fide evidence is the # 1 reason for fiance visa denial. Yes, the number ONE reason for denial (read how to prevent the # 1 reason for fiance visa denial).
So obviously, MOST people are doing something very wrong with their proof.
But WHY is that?
These are the four big reasons behind it:
● Officers are complete strangers
● Numbers don’t lie – statistics
● No guidance anywhere
● The officer gets what the officer wants
Overall notice–these problems have a central theme: they don’t tell us what they want. And they don’t how they want it.
Let’s go through these one by one.
.
Problem # 1 – They’re complete strangers
Every night after dinner, I sit down with my daughter to go over her homework. I have her to read extracurricular books (things above and beyond what her teacher assigns).
Now… here I am as someone who has no clue what she’s read, what the book’s about, or the characters in it. I’m totally unfamiliar with it.
When I ask her to summarize the book, it’s gets very confusing. She’s not thinking about my perspective — she jumps into random topics and whatever interests her most. She assumes that I know the story as well as she does. Children do that.
I’ve gotten so confused, that I told her that the next she reads a book, remember to start from the beginning and explain things that would make sense to me (step by step).
Consider your fiance visa case the “book” the interviewing officer has glimpsed but not read in full. By looking at your I-129F petition, a few sheets of paper, he/she is supposed to make a decision (approval or denial).
And therein lies the root of the problem. We (applicants) naturally assume that the officer knows as much about our case as WE do. Just like how my daughter imagines I know her book as well as she does.
So, K visa applicants get complacent and walk in with weak (too little or too much) proof without really considering the perspective of the officer (Notice: “weak” evidence is about quality not quantity).
The interviewing officer is a complete stranger to you and your case. The K-1 visa interview is an opportunity to present your case. Yes, they’ve reviewed your forms, your I-129F proof, your statements, etc. But they’re not “all knowing”.
They may have holes or misunderstandings especially if you didn’t do a good, clear job with your packet. It’s a failure to communicate clearly. That’s the root of the problem.
It all makes a lot more sense now, doesn’t it? Ever read stories of fiance visa couples and how they swear they’re a real couple, yet the officer didn’t believe them? Why is that?
I think a big part of it is because most of us don’t understand the perspective of the officer. On top of that, we don’t know how to present the case that would be clear, crisp and understandable to him/her — who is a complete stranger.
Think back to how my daughter explains her book to me. How clear was I about the story she read? Not so much.
And if we throw red flags into the mix of your k-1 visa case, it’s even more complicated.
Now, let’s be clear with one thing. Just because they’re complete strangers doesn’t mean they’re inexperienced. Officers have been doing this for years and years so they know most cases by taking a glimpse. However, for us, it’s important that nothing gets misrepresented.
The point is: make sure you don’t bring weak or irrelevant evidence assuming this “complete stranger” knows as much about your case as you do. And when you do present, make sure you have different mentality.
Because if the officer is even a little bit confused, they’re not afraid to stamp a denial across your application.
I hope you really understand this point as it’s the most important for you to prepare your proof of relationship. It dictates how you assemble your packet, which proof you hand select, and how you present them.
.
Problem # 2 – Statistics don’t lie
The second problem regarding proof of relationship is the manifestation of its importance — and also vagueness.
Like I’ve mentioned earlier, statistics prove that the # 1 reason for fiance visa denial is lack of convincing bona fide relationship evidence. It’s when you don’t clearly demonstrate that you’re serious. (Read fiance visa statistics 2019).
One reason for it is that we mistake quantity over quality. Meaning we often think it’s better to show more evidence rather than convincing ones.
A common example is how we proudly stuff our paperwork with tons and tons of text message screenshots or video call screenshots and so on. Or we think “I’ll show them that we’re really serious by printing a 1,000-page phone record log”.
Don’t do that. Those are low-stake and low-impact proof you should avoid overdoing.
Imagine: instead of telling me a coherent step by step version of the story, my daughter instead adds more words, however it doesn’t add more to my understanding. Rather than clear up confusion, it leaves me even further confused. Ironic, isn’t it?
Well, it’s sort of how your proof of relationship is like. The more low-value quantity evidence (the more “words”) you include, the more confusing it’ll become. In fact, it may even become suspicious where they think you’re compensating for something (red flag).
So, let’s not get trapped here. You must be conscious of what proof makes up your case. Quality is better than quantity.
Next point: the 221(g) is sort of a “catch-all” denial. It’s when officers give a denial for a variety of problems but they group it into this one item. So, it’s unfair to say that all 221(g) denials are due to lack of good POR. But it is fair to say that most of them are. But, stats aren’t available so this is an educated guess.
So take it for what it’s worth: proof of relationship is statistically the # 1 reason for fiance visa denial. It’s important.
.
Problem # 3 – They don’t tell us what they want
Sorry to keep going back to the example with my daughter’s story.
I realize the problem was that I didn’t tell her exactly how to explain the story. I mean if I had said “tell me from beginning to end how the story goes”, then it’d be a lot clearer.
It’s almost like what the US Embassy should do. They should tell us: “here’s what you must do and here’s how to do it”. That’d make things simpler for us, wouldn’t it?
I mean imagine that rather than having a generic instruction saying “present proof of relationship which demonstrates your bona fide relationship”, we get something concrete. Like for instance, bring primary evidence such as “a,b,c” and avoid showing us “e, f, g”.
Better yet, it’d be a dream come true if they gave precise instructions like “bring 3 pages of your Whatsapp… or bring 2 pages of this month’s phone record…” and so on.
But, of course they give no such instructions. So, on top of them being total strangers, we also don’t have any guidance on what they want.
And this is a huge problem. We have no clue what this particular Embassy considers “good” evidence. What they consider “useless”. We don’t even know what’s “enough” or “too much” for them.
We’re left to figure it out by ourselves.
● Should I have 2 pages, 20 pages, or 100 pages?
● Should I include this photo or not?
● Should I put this in front or keep it in the back of my packet?
It’s truly emotionally difficult. We’re anxious and stressed over our uncertainty.
In addition, there’s way too much opinions offered by other people. Everyone tries to help by offering their advice but it leaves us even more confused than before.
Ultimately, we run the risk of walking in to the K-1 visa interview with either too much, too little, or “not convincing enough” (which goes back to point # 2, statistics). You can read “how much proof of relationship is enough for my K-1 visa interview?”
Remember the problem is — they don’t tell us what to bring. In addition, there’s no guidance on how much or what exactly to bring.
.
Problem # 4 – the Officer gets what he/she wants
Imagine if I had scanned through my daughter’s book and instead of letting her talk randomly, I specifically asked her to summarize a particular chapter. Or tell me why character ‘X’ in her book did something.
Suppose I know the basics of the book and only want to know things that are holes in my understanding. Or things I’m interested in knowing more about. I may even ask her to forget everything else she was planning on telling me and just concentrate on one plot twist.
How could she possibly prepare for something like that?
Many fiance visa couples tell me their experience was just like that. The officer specifically asked for this proof, or that, or he/she ignored something and just wanted to know about something else.
That’s just how officers ask you to present your evidence.
In general, consular officers almost always dictate WHICH evidence and HOW MUCH evidence they want to see from you.
So on top of ALL the other uncertainty, every officer has a preference on what they consider “good” evidence, what’s “bad”, and what’s “enough” or “not enough”.
Some officers may see ONE single photo you bring in and be convinced. Others may see dozens but still scoff at what you’ve handed in. It’s different for everyone.
It’s hard to predict what your interviewer considers “good”, “bad” or “not enough”. It’s hard to predict “how much” you should bring in. It’s almost impossible to predict which evidence the officer asks to see first (and ignores everything else).
Starting to get the picture on why proof of relationship is such a tough task for the fiance K-1 visa?
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The four obstacles have a solution: present “every angle”
Remember the four obstacles:
● They’re a complete stranger – meaning they don’t know your case as well as you do
●Numbers don’t lie – statistics show this is the top reason for denial and we don’t appreciate the importance
● They don’t tell us what they want – it’s up to us to figure out WHAT to bring and HOW MUCH.
● The officer gets what the officer wants – every officer has a preference on different types of proof (or lack of).
The combination of these four factors mean we have to prepare in such a way that we have powerful proof of bona fide relationship at our fingertips in case we’re asked to present anything. That’s why it’s important to (1) prepare well and (2) present well.
More so, it can’t just be ANY evidence. No. It has to be strong. Things that can even crush red flags. Remember, 500 pages of text messages is weak evidence and will likely be ignored by the Consulate.
You can use my Fiance K-1 visa interview course to put together a proof of relationship packet that prevents the 4 problems we just discussed.
The solution is what I call “every angle”. It’s when you present every angle of your relationship with a good combination of primary and secondary evidence to convince them of your real relationship.
If the officer asks for photos: we have the best hand picked photos. If the officer asks for text messages: we have the best selection showing our seriousness to marry.
And while your standing at the interview booth presenting your case, you must be confident. The process of selecting proof, putting it together in a neat little package, and the skills to present it clearly at the interview is what I teach in my K-1 visa interview course.
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Recent Comments from readers…
Hola Prem, 05/02/2019 9:47pm
What is a Customer File Number???????? Where do I find It????
Is asking on the line: Customer File Number:____________________??
I checked with Internet Explorer and still the same!
In your K-1 course when requesting Tax Transcripts this line does not appear in your video instructions.
Maybe you can go and check on the web irs.gov and go to that page and maybe you can figure it out!!!!
Gracias and God bless you,
Eduardo
Hey Eduardo,
That sounds like an individual problem. I don’t think others experience it. I don’t see any problem like that when I log in. Are you sure you’re in the right location?
-Prem
Hola Prem, 05/02/2019
Hope all is OK.
I entered the IRS.gov to get my Tax Transcripts. Opened an acccount followed all the pages until the page that states: Get Transcript (below it states)
Select a reason you need a transcript: Immigration ( I wrote )
Customer File Number: ________________________ GO >
When I pressed GO it presented me with:
Return Transcript years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
1. I pressed GO again it shows me the same page with the Return Transcripts! Does not allow me to continue to get the Transcripts.
2. I’m not aware of any Customer File Number. If I need one where do I get one?
Please let me know how I can resolve this issue in order to get my Tax \transcrips.
I’m flying to Ecuador to be with my Fiancee to complete all documentation for her Interview.
As far as I can tell I’m not sure I can have acces requesting my Tax Transcrips from Ecuador since I will not have the telephone number which I open my account with the IRS. The IRS sends a tex message, IRS Password Service, with a security code in order to continue.
Write soon,
Gracias and God bless you,
Eduardo
Hey Eduardo,
I’m not sure what the problem is. It could just be a browser issue. Maybe Internet explorer is better to access it?
In any case, you’ve also got the choice to get the mailed version of the IRS Transcript. So, if you cannot get the internet version, try getting the mail version.
-Prem
Hola Prem,
Thank you so much for your most important information.
I forgot one question.
Can I use the form I-134 with dates 11/30/2016 that expires on11/30/2018
or
Form I-134 with dates 2/13/2019 that expires on 2/28/2021.
Gracias and God bless you,
Eduardo
Hey Eduardo,
You may use the older version of the I-134 before the date of 05/06/2019. After this date, they will not accept the older version. But to be safe, you can start using the newer version immediately.
-Prem
Hola Prem, Tuesday 4/2/2019
Hope all is OK with you and your family.
On February 11, 2019 we recieved an official letter from the “Çonsulado General de los Estados Unidos” based in Guayaquil, Ecuador and states that “This office is ready to continue with the processing of the K1 Visa case for the applicant mentiond in this letter” Pertaining to my Fiancee Laura Santa Urina Mantilla.
We are in the process of finalizing all documentations here in the USA and Ecuador.
I have some questions and concerns:
1. I want to go to Ecuador, at the end of this April 2019, to help Laura finalize all documents, accumulate more primary evidence and to accompany her to the interview. I know I can’t be present in the interview but just as support. Or should I wait until we have an interview date and then go to Ecuador with a one way ticket since we don’t know our return date back to the USA?
2. We don’t have an interview date. How long after we request for an interview does the Embassy take to issue an interview date?
3. We don’t have a set wedding celebration but we do want to get married soon after her arrival to Albany, NY USA. I have the marriage application papers to fill out when Laura is present in City Hall. We can reserve a date for us to get married in City Hall but we need a date!! Can I use any of the marriage application papers as primary/secondary evidence? Should Laura mention that we don’t have a wedding date and that we are just going to get married in City Hall.
4. We are planing to spend 3 nights in Bethel, NY as a mini Honeymoon on August 15, 16, and 17 2019. Is the 50th Anniversity of the original Woodstock Music Festival. I bought tickets for each night concerts and lodging. Can I use this as primary/seconary evidence?
5. Can I use tha same Affidavit of Witness that we used for the I-129f for the K-1 visa process?
6. Can we use any of the official documents used in the I-129f for the K-1 Visa?
7. My annual Gross Total Income based on my 2018 Tax Return is $77,581.00. Based on the 2018 Minimun Poverty Limits at 125% at $20,575.00 for 2 people, I meet the requierments. My question is that if I need any other proof for my case?
8. Under Domocile Requirements, should I state that I return to Ecuador every year to vacation anywhere from one month to six months since I been retired since 2013? My official Permanent Residance is in Albany,NY. USA. I also have my seasonal part time soccer coaching job every August to October with the City School District of Albany. I retired from this School District in 2013.
9. Once the K-1 Visa is approved, does Laura have to buy a round trip ticket or a one way ticket from Ecuador to Albany, NY?
10. In reference to not to become a Public Charge in case of a medical emergency when Laura is in the USA, what can I do? I have read that in case of an emergancy, is not a Public Charge, is this correct? But now that Laura is going to be in the USA, What do I do? Should I buy health insurance for her? If so, when? Before I leave for Ecuador or after our return?
11. If her married name changes, what happens to all her official Ecuadorian documents? What happens to her Ecuadorian Passport here in the USA? We don’t know when she will get her Permenant Resident Papers. Can Laura return to Ecuador once she obtains it? Can Laura return to Ecuador in a family emergency before or after she gets her Green Card?
Please write back soon.
Gracias and may God bless you and your family,
Eduardo K. V-S
Hello Eduardo,
Thanks for sharing your concerns. I’ll answer your questions here:
1. The timing of the interview is difficult to predict. However, in most cases, if the applicant is approved, then they usually get their visa about 1 week after the interview. If you really want to plan the flight back, you can safely say 2-3 weeks after the interview is the time to fly back. But that’s always based on a lot of factors.
2. It’s hard to predict when they’ll give you an interview date. After you pay the visa fee, you can check the online schedule at USTravelDocs or AIS (depending on which one you use). In most cases, it’s anywhere from 2-4 weeks from the date you access the system for scheduling.
3. No, don’t bother using a marriage application as proof of your intention to marry. They may not consider it useful and you’ll be wasting your time preparing it. I suggest you don’t waste time on this, but the choice is yours if you want to do it. Also, regardless of where you want to get married (even in city hall), it doesn’t affect your visa process or Adjustment of status.
4. Yes, you may use future plans of travel/honeymoon as evidence of your bona fide intentions to marry. However, some of these things officers don’t look at or even ignore. You’re free to bring them along as additional proof, however, you should keep focus on the big items I discuss in the course you’re taking. Remember the primary/secondary evidence? Future plans are good for that but tickets to music festivals… not too sure. You can bring them as secondary evidence, just in case.
5. Yes, you may use the same affidavit of witness that you had from the I-129F. But remember, I mention in my course that these things sort of become secondary evidence to the officer after he/she has seen what you’ve frontloaded. So, don’t stress yourself over bringing this SOW, it’s not as important to present at the interview. It’s important to use it to frontload your case (which you already did).
6. Yes, you may repeat the official documents that you used in the I-129F.
7. For the I-134 Affidavit of Support, when you get to that part of the course, you’ll see that I have an extensive 4 hour in-depth discussion on how to prepare for all scenarios. If you’re well above the minimum required, then tax documents become most important along with the cover letter. Be sure to follow the I-134 checklist — it will help you immensely.
8. No, for domicile, it’s only if you live there for good. Routine vacations don’t count. You don’t have to prove domicile, in fact, because you’ve already proved it with your documentation. I don’t think you have to worry about this or bring any additional proof.
9. It doesn’t matter what ticket Laura buys to come here. I suggest you buy a one-way because remember the K-1 visa is single entry, so it’ll be useless to try to travel back because she won’t have her permanent residence at that point.
10. Unless she has severe medical conditions right now, you don’t have to worry. As you’ll see in the course, the medical public charge is only if she’s in heavy need of money for medical treatment. If she’s fairly “healthy”, then her medical exam will show her so. The officer isn’t likely to pick on that for public charge. If you explain it further, I will discuss it in more detail privately. You also don’t have to buy her health insurance as of yet. When she arrives in the US, you can do that.
11. If her legal name changes after marriage, that makes it her official name. Her passport will need to be updated. You will get in touch with the Ecuadorian Embassy (in the US) and submit evidence of the marriage and legal name change. They will update her passport and send you a new one. Her Green card, permanent residence, and all her official documents will have her new legal name on them after marriage.
In terms of traveling outside the US, your fiance can travel freely as long as she has an EAD/AP or Green card. You can read all about it here: https://www.visatutor.com/how-soon-can-i-travel-work-after-entry-on-a-k-1-visa/
On average it takes roughly 6-8 months after filing the Adjustment of status to get an EAD/AP card or GC.
Eduardo, for any additional questions, you can post them here, or in the course, or email me directly.
-Prem
Dear Prem,
I couldn’t find your e-mail anywhere so I will leave a comment!
You may not remember, but you had helped me a couple weeks ago with my questions about the I-134 and gave me great advice.
My fiance had his interview yesterday and it went so smoothly it was unbelievable. The entire interview process totaled to about an hour and a half, which was a lot quicker than expected!
All the interviewer asked was how we met and where I worked now, and he was apparently super friendly and relieved that my fiance spoke English.
I just wanted to thank you for calming my nerves and your website really helped me navigate through a lot of my questions.
My fiance will be coming in 2 weeks i can’t wait and I just wanted to take the time to thank you Prem.
Judy.
Hey Judy,
That’s wonderful news! congratulations. And I’m thrilled that my website was helpful in getting your fiance approved and you enjoying the journey. As you’ve exemplified, sometimes it becomes very important to learn / educate yourself so that you can calm your nerves. That’s part of being prepared. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Also, I’m starting to encourage everyone to post their questions on the website, rather than emailing, so others can also see and benefit from the knowledge.
-Prem
Prem K,
In May of 2018 I filled out and submitted my 129f after reading a substantial amount of information on a number of websites. Primarily however, I read yours more than others. What did I learn?
I worked in Government service for nearly 20 years in an IT role, I served as a Public Safety Systems Administrator. Over those years I learned a lot about how to deal with people, and in this case, I used my experience with other Government Officials and what they look for in the areas of service they are involved in.
After reading the many pages on your website, I pretty much had a good idea what to expect . . . but low and behold, I was in for a really big surprise.
First: In preparing the I29F, I spent considerable time preparing the document to answer the biggest questions that might be asked by an embassy official. Who is this guy, who is his girlfriend/fiance, why do they want want to get married, and what proof can be provided to show this is a legitimate relationship.
With that in mind, I prepared everything . . . most importantly the two visits I made to her country, the stamps in my Passport, boarding passes, etc. But I appreciated something that you pointed out in one of your web pages. “An introduction letter is not required, but can be beneficial”. (Not sure that is an exact quote, but I remember the point. So I wrote one . . . enough detail to be convincing without being a book that an embassy official would likely not want to read because of the length.
Surprisingly to me, the I29F was approved in five months to the day.
Then we prepared for her interview . . . not only did we work hard to be accurate with the DS-160, but my fiance worked very hard to make sure she had ALL her documents in order, along with a substantial number of pictures and communications to aid in proving our relationship.
The interview was scheduled . . . and the nerves began to shake. Both of us were nervous, but even though I felt we were VERY well prepared, my fiance was very nervous on the interview day. I mentioned something to her that I felt was very important. When she approaches any embassy personnel, smile. SMILE! And she did. She said that each person she approached had a stern look on their face, but once they saw the smile they began to smile. She had three contacts. The first person accepted the confirmation letters and medical document. The second official verified that she knew my address, both of my physical address and then my mailing address. (She knew them without having to look at a piece of paper.) Then the third and last official sat her down and asked her ONE question. “What does your petitioner fiance do for a living?” She explained that I had just retired, and then explained what I did for a living as a Public Safety System Administrator, and that I cared for the IT needs of a 911 center, Corrections facility, County Sheriff’s Department, and other municipal agencies. She knew distinctly what I did the instant she was asked. The official smiled and said “Really? Well that is very interesting! Thank you for that information, you are approved.” My fiance was just blown away, no other documents were required, no proof of relationship asked for, nothing! Then my fiance did did one last thing that I asked her to do . . . She informed the embassy official that I, the Petitioner, wished to thank them for all the work that they do, and to Thank them VERY much for providing her the Visa for US. The official got a BIG smile on her face and told her that we were both very welcome. And the interview was over. Five days later my fiance received the packet by courier . . . and now I have all the plane tickets to travel to her country and visit her and her family for three weeks. Then I bring her home.
Thanks for the information you have on your website . . . I feel a little guilty that I got all of this pretty much “for free”, but wanted you to know that I personally very much appreciated what you have made available.
Ryan – Milwaukee Wisconsin
Ryan,
Thanks for sharing this insightful story about your fiance’s approval. I can see how your preparations went a long way in getting her approved. I mirror your advice about putting focus on the I-129F petition. This is a key document, that if you get right, it opens up a huge opportunity to have such a great experience like your fiance did.
You thought about the petition process the correct way. It must be along the lines of: “How would I convince a total stranger (gov’t official) that we’re got a genuine case and want to get married”.
You brought up a very important point about the proof of relationship and how the officer didn’t even ask for that. This happens when officers are already convinced of your legitimacy. Again, this happens because you put together an exquisite I-129F packet to front load and persuade them.
In any case, thanks for sharing and I’m delighted that my website was your primary source of preparation. Please help spread the word so others can also benefit the same way you did. Also thanks for the services you’ve provided to the public in your career, I hope you enjoy your retirement. Congratulations.
-Prem