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The I-129F is the official form that the U.S. citizen uses to petition to allow the foreign citizen fiancé(e) into the United States for the express purpose of marriage i.e. on the K-1 Visa.
This is something the American fiancé(e) can do early in the process. Kate went to a local records office to obtain her long form birth certificate. She had to provide identification and pay $10. Contact your local office to find out the details. The birth certificate was certified at the office, but Kate also went to the city office to get a Notarial seal, and then sent it to the Department of State in Albany, New York, to get an Apostile Seal. Together these cost $15, in addition to the original $10 for the birth certificate. Kate obtained these seals because she thought she would need them if her BC was going to be used abroad, but in the end Clem wasn’t even asked for the certificate at his embassy interview. It might have been a waste of money, but it gave us peace of mind. Check with your local offices to see what advice they have.
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Alien Documentation and Information Telecommunication System (ADIT) photos, somewhat like passport photos but with certain specifications (like a slanted view of the face, not a straight-on view) are needed for the I-129F, the K-1 interview, and other parts of the immigration process, so we bought several copies. We did this on December 4, 2002, during Clem’s last visit before moving to the U.S. We went to a Ritz Camera in a mall. We had brought the M-378 with us, but the photographer said she didn’t need it. We got eight photos each, and we decided not to wear glasses (we both wear them). This was a controversial issue on the alt.visa.us.marriage-based newsgroup, but finally we decided to just take then off for the photos (we also had to make sure all of the hair near our right ear was behind it, so the ear was entirely visible). Oh, and we had to hop on one leg when they were taking the photo, as well. Okay, maybe not 
. Kate only needed one photograph for the I-129F, but we got eight of hers anyway. The cost was $26.70 (showing up on Clem's credit card bill as £17.51). Kate included one of herself and one of Clem in the I-129F, and gave the rest of Clem’s to Clem (and one of hers) to bring back to England for the K-1 interview.
In order, we sent these materials to the Vermont Service Center (we probably sent more than required, but we felt it was better than not sending enough). On the bottom of each page (except forms), Kate wrote "ORIGINAL I-129F SUBMISSION", printed her full name, and signed it.
See this for BCIS tips on how to assemble your petition.
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We filled out most of the forms together, during Clem’s visit in December 2002. Here are some things that worked for us:
On the envelope that contained the fee (the very first thing in our petition), we wrote "I-129F fee, $110." On the envelopes containing each ADIT photo (which Kate stapled to normal size sheets of paper), we wrote "Photo Enclosed" and the name of which one of us was shown in the photo inside.
There has been debate on whether to include the FC-029, which states: "Copies of documents submitted are exact photocopies of unaltered original documents and I understand that I may be required to submit original documents to an Immigration or Consular official at a later date." We decided there was no harm in including it, so Kate signed it and dated it, and printed her name.
We have provided examples of ways to fill out some of the forms.
So what are ACCO fasteners? We found out that the then-INS recommended fastening the petition together with these two-prong fasteners. Kate had to go to one other office supply store until she found them at Office Depot (their own brand of fasteners called Prong Paper Fasteners). The box says: 2" capacity with compressors (5.08cm) and 2-3/4" centers between prongs (that's 6.99cm). The box had 50 fasteners, unfortunately, but was only $2.69. We punched two holes in the tops of all our materials (we had to adjust a three-hole punch - okay, Kate’s dad did it) for the petition and fastened them with the metal fastener. Don’t staple the pages, put them in sheet protectors, or put them in a 3-ring binder. ACCOs seem to the best. When we put all of the pages together, they become just a big stack of paper. So, we numbered the pages - not all of them together, but in segments. For example, the group of printed-out emails were numbered "1 of 5," "2 of 5," "3 of 5" and so on.
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Some parts of the I-129F required us to compose things, not just fill out forms. We included the following original materials in our petition:
It is hard to differentiate between the required proof of meeting in the last two years and the evidence of a valid relationship, since a lot of the evidence will serve both purposes.
We sent:
Kate sent the petition to the Vermont Service Center on January 14, 2003. She put the petition materials in a special 3M padded envelope she had bought at a supermarket (Wegmans, to those in the Northeast U.S.) - it was supposed to be resistant to ripping or tearing, and to water. It was expensive, but Kate didn’t want anything to happen to what we had spent so much time and effort on! We decided not to do "Signature Required" or registered mail, or return receipt, because we didn’t want the petition to get delayed at VSC. Kate sent it by Priority Mail ($4.55) with Delivery Confirmation ($0.45), for a total cost of $5.00. She was then able to check the delivery status online or by calling 1-800-222-1811. It was delivered on the 16th.
This is a great page from the USCIS on how to assemble and mail your petition.
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The I-129F is the first in a long line of steps to naturalization that’ll cost you significant amounts of money. These are our costs for the I-129F Petition only (not including Clem's costs for the actual K-1 visa).
On Monday, January 27, 2003, we received our first NOA in the mail from the INS. Notice of Action forms are always Form I-797C (regardless of what the action was). Our first NOA was dated January 21.
It included our:
It read:
Return to top of page"The above application or petition has been received. It usually takes 15 to 21 days from the date of this receipt for us to process this type of case. Please notify us immediately if any of the above information is incorrect.
We will send you a written notice as soon as we make a decision on this case. You can also use the phone number (802) 527-4913 to obtain case status information direct from our automated system 24 hours a day with a touch tone phone and the receipt number for this case (at the top of this notice).
If you have any other questions about possible immigration benefits and services, filing information, or Immigration and Naturalization Serfvice forms, please call the INS National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283. If you are hearing impaired, please call our TDD at 1-800-767-1833.
If you have access to the Internet, you can also visit the INS at www.ins.usdoj.gov. Here you can find valuable information about forms and filing instructions, and about general immigration services and benefits. At present, this site does not provide case status information."
Kate checked the case status online on February 7 (and called the automated service to make sure, after re-checking the online status a few times on the phone with Clem) and found out that our I-129F was approved. One big step was over. The online case status said: "On February 5, 2003, the appropriate American Consulate or port of entry was notified by cable, telephone, or fax of the approval of this case." The first NOA’s estimate of 15-21 days was just about right. At the time, many people were being approved quickly at VSC too. Within four months, Clem had to have his interview at the consulate, then the visa is good for entry within six months after he gets it. On February 10, Kate received the second NOA in the mail.
It included the same data as the first NOA, and read:
Return to top of pageNotice Type: Approval Notice, Valid from 02/04/2003 to 6/03/2003. Consulate: LONDON
"The above petition has been approved, and forwarded to the listed consulate. The consulate has also been notified by cable. Please contact the consulate with any questions about visa issuance, or if you would now like them to forward the petition to a different consulate. The petitioner can also file Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, with this office to request that we notify another consulate of the petition approval for visa processing purposes. THIS FORM IS NOT A VISA AND MAY NOT BE USED IN PLACE OF A VISA.
When the person this petition is for enters the U.S. based on this visa, he or she will be admitted for ninety (90) days in order to marry the petitioner, and based on that marriage file for adjustment to permanent resident status on form I-485. The marriage and filing of the adjustment application must both occur within 90 days. The form to apply for adjustment can be obtained at any local INS office or INS forms center. Please attach a copy of this notice to the adjustment application when you file it.
If the petitioner and the fiancé(e) do not marry within these 90 days, status will expire, and he or she will be in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act if he or she does not depart. An extension cannot be granted. It is requested that the petitioner inform his or her local INS office if he or she determines that the marriage will not take place within the 90 days period. Please attach a copy of this notice to any correspondence about this case."
The I-134 Affidavit of Support, is not required at this point, but it is a good time to begin thinking about it. The I-134 is to show you will prevent the immigrant from becoming a public charge. Basically, you show that you can support your fiancé(e). Kate asked her father to be a co-sponsor (the co-sponsor fills out his/her own I-134) and he agreed. At the time, she did not have a full-time job, but by the time she sent in the I-129F, she had a full-time salaried job and could qualify on her own. If you need a co-sponsor (you need to make 125% of the poverty level for a family size including you plus your fiancé(e) (and any children). Therefore our "family size" was two.
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Updated 20 December 2003.
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