Expert Tip # 2

Don’t try to get a waiver to avoid the requirement to meet your Fiancee in person. Unless it is incontrovertible that you are not physically able to meet her, attempting to avoid the meeting reflects poorly on whether the relationship is truly sincere. The Fiancee Visa eligibility rules require that you have met your Fiancee in person within the two years prior to your filing your application. The regulations provide a loophole allowing a waiver to the physical meeting. This waiver has been written to allow couples with special circumstances to skip the meeting, specifically if the meeting will cause “unusual hardship” or violates strict cultural or religious practices. If your religion arranges marriages and the bride and the groom are not allowed to see each other till the wedding day, or if you are in an iron lung, then by all means apply for the waiver. However, hating to fly or not wanting to pay for a plane ticket or having a busy work schedule will not result in the waiver being granted. Remember, USCIS needs to be convinced of the seriousness and sincerity of your relationship in order to approve the visa application. One expects a sincere suitor eagerly anticipating spending his future life together with his Fiancee to not miss any opportunity to meet and be with her as early and as often as possible.