When you get all your information together, you are ready to assembly your INS application package. The package should include:

' A cover letter listing the documents that are included in your package

' Completed Form G28 Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative, if someone is assisting you with your visa application

' Your personal letter requesting a fianc' visa that briefly states how you met your fianc' and your understanding and intention to marry her within ninety days of her arriving in the US.

' Completed Form I-129F Petition for Alien Fianc'

' Completed Form G-325A Biographic Data Sheets (four for you, four for her)

' Completed Form I-864 Affidavit of Support

' Supporting documentation such as tax returns, bank statements, brokerage statements, phone logs, photographs, et cetera

' Proof of your US citizenship and copies of the relevant pages of your passport (information page plus pages with visas to CIS countries)

' Certified copies of birth certificates for both of you. Certified copies of divorce decrees, death certificates, or annulment decrees if you or your fianc' have been previously married. Your fianc' will need certified translations of all these documents into English as well.

' Letter from your employer

' Letter from your bank

' Letter from the person who will be marrying you (priest, rabbi)

' One proper visa picture of you and your fianc' taken within thirty days of your application.

All of these forms and letters must be dated within ninety days of the date your application is submitted.

General tips on assembling your package:

If your package is bulky (it should be if you are doing it right), use ACCO fasteners with two holes punched in the top to hold your paperwork together and so documents don't fall out of the file and get lost.

Use tabs and fasteners to separate and label each form or document.

Do not send original documents! They may be lost and will not be returned. Always send copies of original documents.

Submit as complete a package as possible. The INS officer and US embassy personnel should be able to process your application with the documents provided to them by you.

Keep copies of all applications and documents submitted. Do not assume that INS or US embassy personnel will have complete access to all of your documents. If officers have to find or review prior documents or files, your case may be delayed substantially.

You will need to submit a complete packet for each application and process. One complete packet will be submitted for INS processing and another complete packet will be submitted to the US embassy where your fianc' visa will be processed.

Application for Form I-129F Fianc' Visa Petitions must be filed at one of the INS Service Centers located in the United States. Your petition cannot be processed at an INS office overseas. To find out where to file your application go to the INS website.

There are four service centers in the U.S. Send your package to the service center for the state where you live. See the INS map on the INS website.