AmericanWoman

OK - when submitting this, should I include the cover sheets (one at front, one at back) or just the transcript itself? Do I need to supply any explanation of why this is dated as being sent to America when I was in Asia, or can they at least figure that part out??? :-P Thanks AW

I just called the IRS, they have my 2008 tax transcript available now, but can only fax it within the U.S. I had it faxed to a mail place where I get my mail, they scanned it and sent it to my email, and I can print it out from here. Will that be acceptable? Thanks AW

Great post, thanks! Regarding #8 for the petitioner - this may be a stupid question, can you file taxes for your fiancee or only SPOUSE? Just curious as tax time is coming up...thanx AW

Rob&Jin, how many trips did you have to see her and when you sent in your initial I129f, did you include proof at that time? Thanks :-) AW

oh p.s. I did hear one sucess story from a guy who sent in lots of emails and chat logs BUT he also explained in 1 or 2 sentances what each one was about in a summary page. Like email 1: My email to Ling about my next trip to see her. email 2: her response to me about could I bring her some face cream from American. email 3: my email to Ling about her brother's heart problem, was he ok? ..... etc etc. Just a thought. :-) AW

Two thoughts, one to respond to the OPs original question, and one regarding divorce. To you, regarding chat logs: I am not expert, certainly, but I have READ a lot about this process and am especially attracted to threads regarding who gets blue and who gets pink and WHY. In my opinion - chat logs and emails mean nothing and VO's don't want to read them. They can be forged and faked. Although when I filed I had over 400 emails and DAILY chat logs with my SO, I did not print out even 1. Instead, I took a digital capture of my email inbox, where it showed his emails to me and my emails to him. And a digital capture of my chat log, showing daily chats. I added a note in my petition - if you need to see these emails or chats, don't hesistate to ask, but due to the amount, I don't want to bury you in paperwork. And I concentrated on other forms of what VO's consider "real proof" - plane tickets, travel documents, ATM receipts, charge card receipts, and of course photos. We'll see how it goes, but think if you were the VO and you got 100 pages of someone's chat, would you really want to read that? As far as divorce - I think it's a lot more significant in this case that you divorced another Chinese woman and not that you were simply divorced. There is a HUGE percentage of us who filed the I129f immediatly after divorce (me included). Are there any other CFLers who got pink first time around but filed their I129f immediately following a U.S. divorce? Good luck to everyone! AW

Good point... I worry too much. I know I am a paranoid nervous wreck. I can admit that. there really ISN'T a reason, I have done above and beyond (proof wise, time spent together, visits, travel together out of the country and more) 95% of people in this process. If they don't approve my petition, they won't approve anyone's. I just need some faith and confidence. You are right, asking questions won't change anything now...There is nothing more I can do... maybe that is what is hard to accept - that this isn't under my control any longer. *control freak alert* All I can do now is WAIT and pray. I am just a woman in love who doesn't want to live the rest of her life in Asia. Best wishes to everyone and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and your loved ones. *hugs* AW

The reasons for denial often have nothing to do with legal reaons, it seems that many times the reason is extremely subjective. We had a member refused a visa, the verbal explanation was the couple was too young to get married, but bonafide relationship was the explanation. This was not the judgement of the USCIS, US Government or even DOS, it was the idiocy of one visa officer in GuangZhou who by all rights should be a candidate for retroactive birth control. WOW. Intense. Yes, heard one story about a denial based on: The woman was too ugly, no man would love her!!!! Can you believe a V.O. said this to her fiancee's face?! And in my case, a lawyer that I didn't hire told me the opposite, told me (in his exact words) "You are too good looking, no hot white girl would choose a short, skinny asian man for real." NICE. VERY NICE. Can I kill him? I think I told this story already but it STILL irks me. grrrrrrrrrr.... How old was this couple you mention, if I may ask? AW

No No and No.

Does anyone happen to know the legal reasons to deny a visa? Obviously, not proving a bonafide relationship is first and foremost. Not making enough money is another. Criminal record. Anything else? Can a visa be denied for any reason or is there specific denial reasons? Just curious if anyone knew... sometimes this whole process seems so subjective! Thanx AW

My guess is they don't believe you speak Chinese fluently enough in which to communicate with her. Even if you have been in schooling for years, that doesn't mean you can actually speak and understand the language. I am in a similar situation as you, I speak the language FLUENTLY, although I am a caucasian American. My man doesn't speak much English either. I would recommend that you send in a DVD or videotape of you speaking Chinese or upload a clip of youself on a website. That is what I did. Hope it is enough! How fluent are you? Good luck! AW

I met my man on the net BUT not through a dating site or personals site. WOO. That is one you don't hear everyday! He didn't even believe I was a female OR an American, he thought I was one of his friends playing a joke on him because our personalities were THAT similar. I wish I could go back in time and have saved every conversation...*sigh* AW

No immigration skeletons, but a few red flags... recent divorce stuff with weirdish circumstances. However, my proofs are huge - a lot of time spent together and many trips to see him. AW

Thanks everyone for being so welcoming! I appreciate it a lot. Everyone tells me I worry too much...but the horror stories are, well, horrible! :-P You wouldn't believe the evil, discriminitory things I have heard (or maybe you would!) but they are just everything from racist to superficial to personal attacks on how we look. ARGH!!!! Ultimately I don't care what they say but I do worry that kind of thinking is also in the minds of the consulate and I can't live without this man. I guess we are all the same boat here. :-) Right now I am in Asia (it's 1am and I am up stressing again, hihih) but I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally don't want to live here. I "interviewed" my man a few hours ago and he gets so nervous answering in English that he looks like he is lying. ARGH, again! :-P Any advice you all have in this process is much appreciated! I have read all the guides (probably read too much, in fact) and I can't do much more than tell the truth and show the proof and see what happens. I just feel so helpless in all this. I never knew true love could be this stressful! :-P American Woman

I guess I didn't mean "white", I meant more like "not asian" hihihi I know some American born asian women marry men from Asia, just wondered if there were non asian women besides me. Glad to hear I am not the only one ... had a lawyer in the states give me a hard time about "white girls don't marry asian men for real" isn't that special? So I am officially a stress case at this point, because this man is my soulmate. American Woman

Since it has been bothering me.... am I the only white American female filing for an asian man or are there others out there??? American Woman

What is the average wait time for receiving NOA2. I am at 2 months since getting NOA1 and getting worried. Please can you guys tell me your wait time? Thanks, newbie here! American Woman