I got a phone call today from a person asking for help. He said his I-129F K-1 Fiancee Visa Application was denied and he wanted to know what he could do.

Note: I had never talked to him before, he was not my client.  None of My Fiancee Visa Preparation clients have had their applications denied.

In his case after his fiancee attended her interview, they were notified that the Manila consulate wanted additional information.  They wanted copies of travel itineraries, emails, photos.

Some were provided. The Fiancee had a second interview. The I-129F Fiancee Visa petition was denied as the consular officer suspected the relationship was not Genuine.

Some applicants think petitioning for a Fiancee Visa is like getting a drivers license. You just fill in the blanks, pay the fee, get your photo taken and done.  This is not the case for petitioning for a Fiancee Visa, the process is closer to applying to get into college.  In addition to filling in the blanks, there is also the ESSAY question, where you must convince the reader you are worthy.

The essay question for a I-129F (which is not officially asked on the forms but had better be answered in full if you want the petition to smoothly navigate the system) is:  "Is this a genuine, bone fide relationship between two people who sincerely seek to spend their lives together in marriage?"

When I help prepare a Fiancee Visa K1 petition,  usually the final package contains about 100 to 150 pages. We devote at least half of the tabbed sections, and half of the pages to answering the "is this genuine?" question. The answer starts with a two page letter that describes the relationship, its history, present and future. I help my client write his letter. We try to cover the following points:

• Describe the history of your relationship.
  

• include, details of the courtship? Frequency of contact etc.
  

• How did you come into first contact with your fiancée?
  

• Describe the nature of relationship?
  

• Why did you choose your fiancée?
  

• What features, attributes do you find most attractive?
  

• What are your plans for the future with your fiancee?
  

• What are your plans for the wedding ceremony?
  



• What are plans for honeymoon?
  

• What are your plans for establishing a household?
  

• Where do you plan to live after marriage? – what kind of house, where, buy rent location and so on.
  

• What do you expect to happen within a year of marriage?
  

• What do you expect to happen after 5 years of marriage?
  

• After marriage, do you have plans about work for your spouse?
  

• Are you planning a family?
  

• Plans for vacations together?
  

• Plans for social, hobbies, educational interests?

Then in addition to this letter, I have my clients provide supporting documents, such as:

• Photos of the couple together

  

• Travel Itineraries

• Passport Visa Stamps

• Telephone Bills

• Copies of Emails/Letters/IM's

• Hotel Receipts

• Engagement Announcements

• Engagement Ring Receipt

The objective is to fully dispel any doubt that the reviewer may have that the relationship is genuine. Once convinced that the relationship is real, the petition should move along smoothly.  Details on how to apply for the I-129 petition and how to demonstrate the genuineness of the relationship are also discussed in detail in the Fiancee Secrets eBook Chapters "Documenting the relationship" and "Letter to describe the relationship"

In the case of the caller, he was given the choice to appeal the decision or start over.  If it was my petition, and my relationship was genuine, then I would do the work I should have done in the first place. I would put together a clean, compelling package that included a detailed two page letter on the relationship, plus all the relevant supporting documents I could find. And I would file attach this package to the appeal request.