The new USCIS G-325a has been released with technical flaws. This error may cause thousands of petitions to be bounced back to their petitioners

USCIS just released an updated version of its G-325A. This is the biographical information form, that has been used for many decades and is used in conjunction with MOST petitions filed at homeland security, including but not limited to Fiancee and Spousal visas.

The new form Revised: 06/12/09 does not ask any new questions. The only slight modification is that the styling is slightly more modern. As questions have not changed in many decades, previous versions are acceptable.

Whoever got the contract forgot to check his work. For instance, there are 8 data fields where a petitioner types dates, 6 of 8 will always be illegible when printed. I spoke with USCIS. “No problem, the petitioner can hand write in the dates”. I know a lot of people, who after they carefully type the correct date in a fillable form, will not be checking to see that what they typed did not print properly.

A bigger issue is the print settings themselves. The original G-325 was a multicopy form that had carbon paper, or its equivalent so that the petitioner got 4 copies. Each copy identical except for its designation at the bottom of the page (1) Ident. ,(2) Rec. Br. , (3) C. , or (4) Consulate.

Earlier online pdf versions automatically printed out the 4 copies with the four unique identifiers at the bottom of the page. USCIS requires all four signed pages whenever the G-325A is submitted. Since carbons were always provided, or the online forms did this automatically, USCIS instructions rarely refered to the G-325A in the plural. Instructions always simply stated “file the G-325A”. The underlining assumption was that all four copies constituted the form.

The latest version forgets that 4 pages are required and only prints one page. That is all well and good if only one page was required. Or if new instructions told users to print the form out four times. But that knowledge is not shared.

How many petitioners will without specifically being instructed to, send in four copies of this new form?.

Too Few.

How many petitions submitted with only one page of new G-325a will be rejected.

Too many.

I reported this issue directly to USCIS. I hope they take action before too many new applications are delayed.

For help in filing Fiancee or Spousal Visas visit
http://www.fianceevisaservices.com

There you will also find free downloadable copies of USCIS
including the new G-325a Rev: 06/12/09 (which I don’t recommend using) and the previous acceptable edition
G-325a Rev: 07/14/06 which I use and recommend you use until the technical problems are corrected.

Tags: g-325a, USCIS forms

The most common reason Fiancee or Spousal Visa petitions are rejected is that Immigration is not convinced the couple have a genuine “bona fide” relationship.

There are many ways to prove the relationship, photos, phone bills, emails, log files, on and on.  Some couples though don’t really think about saving this “paper trail” until they are just about ready to file their I-129F or I-130 petitions.  By then it is too late. And they may end up rejected due to lack of planning.

I put together a Youtube video that teaches how to prove you have a genuine relationship. It speaks directly to couples who are applying for Fiancee or Spousal visas. And tells them what documents and proof to attach to their K visa petitions.

I think that a new couple who has just found each other, should ALSO  view this youtube lesson, so that from the start of their relationship they will know what is needed later on, and so can  save from the beginning, what they should have later.

For example:  Proof that the couple has regularly communicated with each other  is essential. What about the couple that uses Instant messenger every day, but never turned on “logging”? What proof do they have?  NONE. !

If they turned on LOGGING, they could print out a page, or pages that show each and every time they communicated, when they logged in, when they logged out.  It is not necessary to show the words of each conversation,  but is extremely valuable to show the frequency and dates of the conversations.

The same applies for telephone bills or logs.  It used to be that everyone got a regular phone bill each month, that showed the numbers called and the duration of each call.  Now there are ways to save money by buying pre-paid phone cards or joining discount calling services. Some keep track of your calls, and you could print out statements to prove your calls.  But many clients use prepaid phone cards, which don’t provide you any record at all!  The time to choose  a service that provides you a record of you calls, is  at the Start of your relationship.

If you are  starting a relationship, or still looking, take a minute to watch this youtube video on “How to prove a genuine relationship for the Fiancee or Spousal visa”.  You will be much better prepared in case you find you life partner and hope to live together in the USA.

Of course if you have already found your partner and are applying for a K-1 or K-3 visa, use the suggestions shown on the youtube video to make your petition more believable and thus help to ensure  a happy ending to your visa application.

For more information on Fiancee or Spousal Visas visit FianceeVisaServices.com

Tags: bone fide relationship, consular interview, genuine relationship