Cody

Thanks for your help!

I'm in the process of helping my brother fill out the I-130 form for his spouse in China. As far as I know, she doesn't have an English name, and her name is printed in Chinese characters on the marriage certificate. How do I fill out the I-130 form for her name and address? Do I have to get them translated? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

My wife satisfied none of the requirements above. She was satisfied with her ten year green card and did not want to get citizenship. To make matters worse, she refused to work and doesn't really have any work credit. After our divorce, I'm sure that there will be at least two years of alimony payments. Does the I-864 mean that I will need to continually support her for the next ten years while she gets a job? How is it enforced?

I recently discovered that my wife is cheating on me after seven years of marriage, and I need to get a divorce. I remember signing an affidavit of support when applying for her visa back in 2004. I may have filled out another affidavit of support when applying for her green card, but it was so long ago that I don't remember anymore. Does anyone know how long the affidavit of support is enforcable? Will I still be on the hook even after we are divorced, or can I just move on with my life?

My wife, who is living with me in Pennsylvania, wants to open a bank account for her mother in China. She wants to be able to add a hundred dollars per month to the account and give access to the funds to her mother. Are there banks that operate in the United States and China, where an ATM card would work in both countries?

I have a friend from China who married an American and arrived in the United States a year ago. She is a good girl, but married a guy who is emotionally abusive and a real jerk. When she was unable to live up to his unrealistic expectations, he decided to divorce her. She received the divorce papers yesterday, and broke down in tears. He is trying to bully her into returning to China by threatening to withold any support unless she leaves the country. Furthermore, he told her that she will never get her ten year green card because they are getting divorced. Is this true? If he divorces her, will that prevent her from getting her ten year green card? Will she be forced to return to China?

My wife immigrated from China five years ago. When she first arrived, she spoke almost no English at all. Today, her language skills have improved and she can easily engage in a casual English conversation. She has tried different jobs over the years, but they were all minimum wage jobs. She eventually became discouraged with each one and quit. Ultimately, she wants to earn a college degree or some sort of certification... anything to help her earn a decent wage. Finances are really tight in our one income household. The problem is that she is probably reading at a 5th grade level, which is a long way from what is needed for college or even to earn a GED. So I have several questions: 1. Does she even need to get a GED, since she completed two years of college in China? If not, how do we get her credentials transfered and recognized here? 2. How do I get her speaking, reading, and writing skills quickly up to par? Is her dream of getting career training or attending college even reasonable? 3. What are some possible careers for someone with limited English skills? Does anyone have a success story to share? Thanks!

Wouldn't your wife's father-in-law's brother be your uncle (your father's brother)? Good observation. It's kind of tricky. My wife's father-in-law is not really her father-in-law. He is more of a live-in boyfriend with my mother-in-law. However, he has lived with her for so long that my wife considers him to be her father. So in reality, there is no legal connection between me and this guy. For the sake of simplicity, I'm calling him my "wife's father-in-law's brother".

My wife's father-in-law's brother wants to visit the United States. Since he can't find another sucker to fill out an affidavit of financial support, he has turned to me. Of course, my wife wants to help out her uncle, so I have no choice. So I have a few questions: 1. What form do I need to fill out to support this guy? 2. I don't really know or even trust the guy. If I fill out an affidavit of support, what am I liable for? He is only planning to come for a few weeks, and I am pretty sure that he will leave. However, I don't really know what his intentions are. He says that he is here to visit his mother in California, who can't support him because she is on welfare. But the guy is a schemeing rat... so he could be doing something illegal for all I know. If he screws up, can I get in trouble? 3. Has anyone else experienced pressures from your Chinese wife's family? As soon as I married her, all of the relatives line up for favors. It's so infuriating. Unfortunately, I don't have a choice in this matter. Either I support the jerk or I alienate my wife's entire family... which is not an option because she is very, very close to them.

My mother-in-law in China wants to visit to see our newborn baby in Pennsylvania. She will be here for about three months, and I started wondering about health insurance. Is health insurance really necessary if she only plans to stay for three months? If so, are there any reliable health insurance companies that sell policies to international visitors?

My mother-in-law from China wants to visit to see our new baby. Does anyone know how long it will take and how much it will cost to get a visitor's visa?

When my wife came to the U.S. four years ago, she could not speak any English. Today she can carry out a basic conversation with anyone, and she has no problem communicating with others on a day to day basis. She can even read and write on a sixth grade level. While she is pleased with her accomplishments, she really wants to go to college. What are the best resources for developing college-level English skills?

My wife has been in the U.S. for three years, and she has developed the ability to carry out basic conversations in English. However, she decided that she wants to earn a GED and go to college. To achieve this, her English skills will need to improve dramatically. She will need to be able to read and write at a college level. Are there any books, videos, CDs, or online resources that you could recommend?

When my wife arrived three years ago, she could not speak any English at all. After about a year, she could carry out a very basic conversation, so she decided to get a job. She applied at Target, but was rejected because of her weak English skills. Then she applied for a job at Subway, and took the position for $5.15 an hour. She worked there for three months, but didn't like the prospect of making minimum wage. So we tried something different. We contacted a temporary staffing agency, and they found her a job at a cosmetics factory for $9 per hour. She spent her day putting labels on bottles of make-up. From that job, her English skills improved enough to take a job at a before/after-school program at a nearby school district. This job paid $12.70 per hour, and it has really helped her to improve her language skills through interacting with elementary school children. Today she is motivated to attend college, although her English is only at a basic conversational level. We picked up a book on 6000 essential English words for her to study, and she plans to tackle 10-15 each day. With some effort, her dream of going to college may come true.

The truth is that people on both sides have the potential to be dishonest. We live in a cold world, where everyone is out to get what he/she can get. Everyone has motives... and it's not always love.