marends

Thanks, Randy. We'll see who else chimes in here. Fortunately, pushbrk on VJ has already begun replying to my post. He usually has some good tips.

does the medical condition need to be "life-threatening"? Fortunately for Tracy, her condition is *not* life-threatening. Do you remember on what grounds that IR-1 member was denied? Did that member apply for a medical B-2? Cancer seems pretty serious to me. It doesn't make sense why the consulate would deny that. Perhaps that member couldn't show how treatment would be paid for (i.e., the member would become a public charge to the state if admitted)? No, sorry for not being clear there. Her husband was living with her in Fujian province, and (I think) the cancer was in remission, so there was no hurry, and no B2 application. They did need a co-spanosr. Being from Fujian, the consulate suspected fraud - even interviewing them in separate rooms My point was that even with her medical condition, they received no special consideration from GUZ. Hopefully, you'll get a better reception. yea, I'm aware that there will be no special consideration for expediting the CR-1. We're ready for the long wait for that and have no intention to push it. We just need to know if we are allowed to apply for the medical B-2 simultaneously while the CR-1 is processed. Tracy is already on my medical insurance in the U.S. as my wife. I own a house and can pay her medical expenses, so none of that should be a problem. I think we just need to overcome the assumption of immigrant intent.

does the medical condition need to be "life-threatening"? Fortunately for Tracy, her condition is *not* life-threatening. Do you remember on what grounds that IR-1 member was denied? Did that member apply for a medical B-2? Cancer seems pretty serious to me. It doesn't make sense why the consulate would deny that. Perhaps that member couldn't show how treatment would be paid for (i.e., the member would become a public charge to the state if admitted)?

The B-2 definitely would not be for tourism. My wife has been hospitalized in Beijing for the past 6 months. Her condition is serious. She's been in three different hospitals in Beijing and has had 5 different Chinese doctors whom have tried different things to help her, with little success. We're beginning to lose faith that the Chinese medical system can help her. We've been consulting with U.S. doctors who are experts about her condition, and we can get letters from these U.S. doctors who would agree to treat her. We also need to get a letter from her current Chinese doctor recommending that she be treated in the U.S. I know we'll have to overcome the assumption of immigrant intent. Do you have any advice about how to do that? We're already married, and we've already applied for a CR-1, so she *obviously* has immigrant intent. I would assure the consular officer that Tracy would return to China after her medical treatment to finish the CR-1 process. All of her family is there, but she doesn't own a house, she does not currently have a job, and she currently doesn't even have an apartment (she moved out of her apartment when she was hospitalized because it was pointless for her to continue paying rent while she was in the hospital). I just needed to know if it was indeed possible to do both a B-2 and CR-1 at the same time. From your reply, I guess the answer is Yes, it's possible? At this point, I would appreciate any advice you might have about how to overcome the assumption of immigrant intent. Thanks.

My wife is Chinese. We recently applied for a spouse CR-1 and submitted our I-130. We've received NOA1 and are waiting for the petition to be approved. Is it possible to get a B-2 medical visa while the CR-1 is being processed? We have all possible supporting evidence for the medical visa. We don't want to cancel the CR-1 if it's possible to do both at the same time. I've posted this question also on VisaJourney. Thanks.

Thank you all for the replies. I appreciate it. The consensus seems to be the CR-1.....both here and on VisaJourney. The difference in processing times might be one month. But, yes, I know that everyone's situation is special. For us, that one extra month might be important (for medical reasons). We still have a couple of weeks to decide. For now, the next step is to get married....which will happen within the next two weeks. Very exciting times.

The K-3 does seem to appear to be faster. Thanks. I've already been to China twice in the past couple of months, and I'm going again next week (at which time we plan to get married in Ningbo).....and then another trip is scheduled for the end of January, and then in March.....etc. We both like the idea of already being married while waiting for the next visa approval.

My Chinese fiancee and I were previously approved for a K-1, but unfortunately she couldn't come. We got a 6-month extension, but still she was unable to come (family issues). When we requested a second extension, Guangzhou said "Sorry, you'll have to apply for a new visa." So now we've decided to just get married in China, and we're debating whether to do a K-3 or a CR-1. Question: Which is faster to gain entry into the U.S.? I understand that we'll have to adjust status, etc., with a K-3 once she's here, whereas adjustment isn't necessary with the CR-1, but for us the extra time once she's here for AOS, green card, SSN, etc., doesn't really matter because we'll at least be together for all of that. The most important thing is to finally be together as soon as possible. So which is faster for entry, a K-3 or a CR-1? Many thanks. I'll also post this topic on VisaJourney.

just wanted to let you know that (unbeknownst to my wife) i didn't submit any photos with our cr1 package. we got our approval with no problem. of course she intends to bring many photos with her to the interview. wedding photos and photos of us together on our trips. i wouldn't worry about it too much. my wife worries much more than me, but if you read the directions and provide exactly what they ask for, you have no reason to be denied Thanks very much mikeleighb. It seems to be the consensus that wedding photos aren't mandatory, but we'll still try to submit some if we can. I'm just glad that submission of the I-130 doesn't have to wait.

Thank you very much for the reply. The photo-studio wedding photos are a good idea (I hadn't thought of that). At a minimum, we'll also have probably a small celebration with some of Tracy's extended family (cousins) and friends.......just not a full-blown traditional Chinese wedding/banquet (at least not right now). I suspect that her immediate family will change their view eventually. I just don't want it to hold us up on submitting the I-130 application.

My Chinese fiancee Tracy and I will get married soon in China. We want to know if wedding photos (friends and family, red table cloths, etc) are absolutely necessary when submitting the CR-1 petition. Her immediate family completely disapproves of her moving to America, and we're not sure whether there will be a big wedding celebration. Is it okay if we simply have the marriage certificate? Be advised that I've traveled to see her in China 9 times over the past 2 1/2 years. We already applied, and she was APPROVED, for a K-1 fiancee visa back in June 2007. Unfortunately, because of her family problems, she couldn't come on the K-1. That visa expired on 12/31/07. She requested an extension, and GUZ approved a 6-month extension to June 2008. Unfortunately, her brother DESTROYED her U.S. visa and passport in June, just before she was ready to come. We contacted GUZ and told them the situation and asked for another extension and visa reissuance. They told us to put the request in writing. We submitted this 2nd extension request to GUZ in July 2008. GUZ denied it in August 2008. They said they would grant only one extension, and they suggested we apply for a new visa. So now, Tracy and I are ready to just get married in China and do a CR-1. We have abundant proof of the relationship dating back to April 2006, including proof of 9 trips (the most recent 3 weeks ago), photos, telephone bills, emails, letters, etc.........and soon a marriage certificate. Is this enough to begin the process for a CR-1? I very much hope wedding photos aren't going to be absolutely necessary.