Henry and Mei

Good luck to you tomorrow, Howard... I know completely the complexity of your case, so I wish you such good luck. You got me interested in going to China to find Mei and I am so blessed and wish you the same... Tell them how it is... Henry

Bill, Thanks so much for the email and pic of Li Hong, she looks amazing as usual especially holding the Congrats letter. Sounds like you did not interview? And if you can send me a copy of the RFE to my email. I drop in here occassionally to see the goods news and of course with this process the sometimes horror stories. Mei and I both work a lot and I know you both travel a lot, so if you get close to our area come for a stay or we can travel and see you if in the area. Guessing you are still in Callie, but I was a little confused on the Kansas mention. You both were a great meet during our K-1 interviews in the land of GUZ. That went smooth so I was not expecting any hiccups here....but here always seems less tedious and easier to solve and we are with our wives anyway. Time well spent to keep it that way,,,, Congratulations from South Texas. Henry

Congratulations. One of the main advantages/reasons of being able to call USCIS is to be able to talk to someone about your case. Something you cannot do online... So yes, if you are only checking status, the online info will most likely match. Although my experience is that we were approved several days before our online status was updated.

AWESOME....Way to hang in there. Hope your wife gets to be with her daughter and she is recovering nicely. God speed.

Go for it, Bill. It was a hike for us to go early, but read many doing it for AOS. Since they already have your money again for Bio, get it out of the way, if close and convenient for you. Still keeping the light on for you and really like your new ride...like to take a photo alongside my Vette I bought when in the Navy at Pensacola. Very close in color... Good luck and Mei says Hello to Li Hong

Yep thinking same thing, they totally choked today. Finally checked into this thread, since dyed in the wool Cowboy basically since birth, but it is what it is....and the Cowboys home record is embarrassing in such an expensive house that Jerry built, so feel sorry for you Bill fans. I will never forget watching the Bills playing the then Houston Oilers and were getting whipped and I was hoping the Bills would score to keep it interesting being a playoff game. I think the Oilers scored 3 pts and lost miserably....sometimes tough to be a Texan football fan....miss the Boys of Ole...

I am sure you know this but M = 6, S = 7 and C = 2. Then the 10 numbers...

We did not need AP and filed past 6 months out of status. AP is meant to be faster when filed at the same time though. But the GC trumps AP, so yes, GC and not a long wait. Thank you USCIS. Good luck!

When I first called I was a little surprised and stumped too when the AVR asked for the receipt number. I was thinking numbers and not letters and numbers or possibly her A #. But I typed it in and it worked. We just finished this process and in a surprising 2.5 months from submission to approval -- your mileage may vary. And as I am sure Dan knows the link he provided to VJ shows that some cases that are transfered to Cali are then sent to the local office of the petitioner for interview. The ones shown of course were successful. Good luck! Henry

Yes, David, my case was a K-1. But with all the discussion of EP, which is a choice, how does it compare to snail mail? My case was approved in 7/09 and even then the CR-1s were making great strides and I remember at least a couple of cases making it in at 8 months. Snail mail has not changed. The only difference is that the EP process has been added. From my perspective, if I had to file an IR-1 tomorrow, I would do it with snail mail from what I have seen and read. No big advantage with the EP process and I am fairly certain the case load for petitions has dropped significantly since my K-1 visa appproval. Less cases should make everyone in the pipeline now move faster provided you are on a good path with good petition preparation and presentation. If no one knows then no one knows, but I am not seeing anything amazing right now going EP even though NVC is doing their best I am sure to make it efficient. For my time and effort I am just saying I would go snail mail. If there are cases to prove at least a 2 to 4 month difference then I might think otherwise. Just not seeing it is all I am saying. And if it was 8 months for CR-1 with snail mail when I was going K-1 I would think that process is still the same and possibly faster. Just thinking.

The EP is for CR1 only. SO it's overall time from over several years has gone from about 12 months to 6-8 months. One could do snail mail if they want (maybe those without scanning and PDF capabilities)... but most are doing the EP method. In the past, NVC could take 2-6 months depending on how fast or slow people sent the mail and then waiting for replies on the next step. One can now get through NVC in 3 weeks if they stay on the ball. Also, you now get the interview date from NVC... it does not go to GUZ and sit in 'customs' for a month. As well, NVC gets a copy of the notarial chinese translated papers instead of the medical staff collecting it (although it does get turned in as originals at the interview). So there has been a few changes to the process. Besides simply interested we will be petitioning my wife's mother down the road. So EP was coming of age as I was finishing. How about IR-1s, if I remember correctly they were included also? So my main question if you are willing to humor me, since there should be enough data points now....which is faster provided you are diligent...snail mail vs EP? I thought I was going to be seeing a big difference, but I think both average out about the same. Plus for me anyway, I have been scanning and sending PDFs for over 10 years, but I would much rather run the parts of my package I can thru a copier than my scanner....just thinking And as a side note, before EP I saw how the CR-1s were catching up with the K-3s and I am sure most now do not even bother sending in the K-3. I was watching this trend and yes it was before around a year or more for the CR-1s, but I watched that change during my process and becoming closer to 8 months. If I remember correctly David you are looking at 8 months. So I know there is much ado with this EP stuff, but generally I am seeing 8 months like your case, which was also the case when I was finishing with snail mail. And you would guess that NVC would be now even faster and the process is more streamlined, but looking at the cases here, I simply notice little change in speed. But maybe someone will set a speed record, but I would also think with the economy struggling as it has been since I completed my process, there would be far less petitions. But of course I am guessing that could be checked out as well and maybe the trend is more contrary to the economy... If I had known this would have happened sooner, I would have definitely gone CR-1. I even encouraged my friends that were following my K-1 process to jump ship and go CR-1. They stayed the course though and successful K-1s. We just have to endure more processing and expense, which personally for me is not a big deal, but simply wiser now to go CR-1 I think.

I have been gone a little while, but has all of this changed???? The standard plus or minus a few days was P3 to P4 close to 3 to 4 weeks. Then P4 to interview is very close to a month... I always remember guys trying to calculate the windows of opportunity, but for the most part when I studied the numbers the above was very close. And I did not bother, but some guys really trying to be slick and shave a week to 10 days would have their ladies print out the P3 from online and once they had notification that GUZ sent, they would mail in. And they would save a few days. Personally, I like to have the documents in hand. There are others things to rush and worry about if you must. Yes things have changed. This is electronic processing at the NVC.....all done by email and no snail mail. Since you have to opt in, I am guessing that some are still doing snail mail. Still not seeing how EP is any faster??? Mine took with snail mail -- 6 months from submission to visa and if I had been able to go through Cali then it would have been closer to 5 months....How are you guys now doing???

I have been gone a little while, but has all of this changed???? The standard plus or minus a few days was P3 to P4 close to 3 to 4 weeks. Then P4 to interview is very close to a month... I always remember guys trying to calculate the windows of opportunity, but for the most part when I studied the numbers the above was very close. And I did not bother, but some guys really trying to be slick and shave a week to 10 days would have their ladies print out the P3 from online and once they had notification that GUZ sent, they would mail in. And they would save a few days. Personally, I like to have the documents in hand. There are others things to rush and worry about if you must.

When I was going through the process California was 1 month faster almost to the day than Vermont. My case went through Vermont and we still beat the average by a bunch back then with a 183 day visa process. Not sure what it is now with EP. And back in the day when I got started K-1s out ran the CR-1s by a bunch. Now you are better off going CR-1 unless you want to be married here. Of course, you can ceremonies in China and here if you go the CR-1 route. Heck, if for some weird reason our AOS got messed up, it would still be cheaper and faster to the 10 year card going the CR-1 route. And looking at your case, which looks really short on time and for some reason bombs out then you might seriously consider the CR-1 route, but I think your ages may help. Good luck!

Right off the current I-864 Section 25: 25. Federal income tax return information. I have filed a Federal tax return for each of the three most recent tax years. I have attached the required photocopy or transcript of my Federal tax return for only the most recent tax year. (Optional) I have attached photocopies or transcripts of my Federal tax returns for my second and third most recent tax years. Each of these have check boxes by them. You can check one or even both. As we have been discussing, GUZ wants all 3 years. Just a cold hard FACT. And yes, by all means have available at interview. And if you check the first box, you are saying that you filed the last 3 years, so with all the checking GUZ does, not a surprise to me anyway, that they ask to see them. And the I-864 is for the married folks, but for petitioners including sponsors like me having a fiancee and not using the I-864, since we use the I-134 and is a lot less stringent, we still at GUZ HAD to show all 3 years. Since I am still editing my post, I saw Carl's post. We know that GUZ asks petitioners of both wives and fiancees for all 3 years, BUT I do not see anywhere, where it asks for all 3 years for a I-134 especially if you look at the form. Makes me want to look at other Consulates...maybe As far as stateside, when applying for our AOS I only sent my 2010 Federal Tax return, which made my 2009 return look pitiful including my 2008. So I waited to file my 2010, so unlike at GUZ, I did not want/need a co-sponsor, since looking at my current tax return and my assets I felt/hoped I would be fine and I was. Personally, I want my butt on the line financially, if things here fall apart and not for someone I care about to worry with. Life is all about choices....but at GUZ, they want all 3 years.......do your best or you may see delays... Good Luck!

It's a trip watching thee gals talkin' 200 milers an hour when they get together, or on the phone with each other...a guy needs gan bei just to try and keep up with the action. Green card? I don't know why they call it that...I feel like I've got a dang axe hangin' over my neck. tsap seui We've had a lot of fun with that card. Isn't that the truth. And what is also amazing about this is that a lot of the times they all are talking at this speed. My wife has been doing massage with a couple of ladies and sometimes they come over and spend the evening/night. They never stop talking...simply amazing And I thought I talked fast. When I was at the AF Academy, I was also on the National Debate squad. They would record our debates and also time how many words we could say in a minute. There were different time limits on each "speech", but I would average around 350 words per minute gusting to 400. Many times these gals surpass that...and for hours Makes you think how much time they spend talking about us....scary stuff Oh and thanks, Dan. After reading the info, I do remember something about this. So Thanks and a good read. Wow another $1225 for fast employment processing...and a nice guarantee of 15 days...wow...no wonder, they do not do this for family based although I do not think many would pay, but who knows

See Tsap, I knew we had things in common. It has only been a couple of days now, but I too have a photocopy of her GC above my computer. I pay homage to all the effort to achieve. And yes, someday I may curse that card, but until then I hope we all live the dream! Good luck to you! And you ever make it out of the cool Mountains and head to the hot Mid-coast. Give us a ring and we can share a beverage of choice as I slow cook a brisket and watch our wives in action. Get a lot humor just watching her in ACTION! Gan bei

Thanks, Tsap. With all the possible hiccups, it never really seems real until it is in your hands. I am surprised that the card did still have Green on it. And I figured there was a catch on the Expidited service. Thanks for letting me know, so I did not waste time pursuing. Thanks again....until later Henry

Returned home to find Mei's GC in the mailbox. For data points: Filed 6/09. NOA date 6/13. RFE 6/27. Called and replied 7/10.Original biometrics 7/08 moved to 7/22. Transfered to CSC 7/27. Approved 9/01. NOA date 9/13. Received card 9/17. So I am pleasantly surprised that the process took 2.5 months with a couple holidays, RFE and moved biometrics date. What I guess can skew things is I noticed something about Expedited Service. I did not research or pursue, but I am sure anyone using that service would pay more and have a faster result. What really surprises me is that I checked the USCIS site everyday and I thought/read and which also makes sense to me is that each time a case is handled/touched the bar code is scanned and which automatically updates the site. But that did not happen in our case. Of course, I have read before that the updates don't come. But I do not understand why? You would think they would scan and the scanned result would be tied to the update site. And Marc, you maybe able to see the touches/updates better than I. So unless you talk to someone that can see the status of your case, it may already be approved like ours and soon you will be notified...keeping my fingers crossed for you both. So obviously, our case was decided on 9/1, but I did not see anything until 9/14, saying card in production with an NOA date of 9/13. A little puzzled but feeling fortunate. Go Marc and Rosie!

And a little more insight for you, Ning before I retire. The very first time I went to ACH, I was next to an ABC (and meeting his beautiful Chinese wife downstairs) that told he made over $120K/yr. His wife was given a BLUE due to financials. On his tax return he had an additional $10K that in the eyes of GUZ was not accounted for. He told me it was a return on one of his investments. I remember writing about this when I first joined, but I remember he had been waiting a long time for a response -- several months, which I felt was harsh. And he explained it well to me and had documentation, so I hope he was successful, but I never read his case here. So that leads me to another case... As I spent more and more time learning as much as I could about this process, I discovered fraud cases that did receive visas and I mentioned this also when I joined. But here are the nuts and bolts of one case. He (American) was appproached from a rich Chinese family here and was paid around $8k to marry their daughter and get her a visa. He did not love her. But did it for the money and got her the visa. You may know your own stories. Their job is a difficult one and unrealistic to expect perfection. I retire with Good Luck! Henry

And like Randy was trying to explain to you, the income yardstick is only part of the equation for financial support. You would have to be following this site for awhile to know that just because you make X amount of dollars for income, you are not necessarily in the clear. If everything was so cut and dry in the visa process, this would all be done on computers. I like possibly Randy feel you let some things slide in your packet. And having third party help maybe contributed. Just an impression, but no one is perfect and not is this process. Being prepared to submit current paystubs, letter of employment, having a sponsor's packet available are all things you can be doing/thinking/preparing for. Probably you are done with submissions, but preparing for possible outcomes is about the only thing you can do now until you receive a response from GUZ. And just because you're married does not mean "bonafide". Plenty of stories to go around of fraud Chinese marriages to Americans. If my memory serves me correct they asked for more transportation/travel information, which again makes me question how you prepared and presented your petition. You may not agree with GUZ, but keep your focus off GUZ and more on getting your wife here. Good luck!

Nope, on the blue sheet, it only says "Provide 2008 2009 income statement or personal circumstance letter" I've included personal circumstance letter explaining why I did not have those 2 years filed, as well as current tax return and letter of employment. Also, where does it say income for one year is not enough to qualify under net worth requirement? It is like we have said before, you simply need to wait patiently, but should be fine. You failed to turn in the documents and/or explain why you did not submit documents. And for some reason or maybe you did not send enough transportation information, which should be tied in with the communication, entertainment, travel and expense reports. How you do it is up to you? Rationally, you would think, the better the presentation, the better the result. But of course, not always. Just do your best and then don't look back! Simply, you should be fine unless there is something in the background checks. Otherwise, it is a case of not submitting documents. And you have to wait....like they tell you...patiently Every case is different, so data points don't really tell a whole lot. Your projected wait is at least a couple of months. Hopefully, less....good luck

And another side note and not that it makes a difference, but it might. I really break down these processes. And for the AOS, it is rather less complicated than the K-1 visa. Keep it simple and accurate. Give them what they want and how they want to see it. Make it organized for THEM! I build coversheets, overviews and contents listing and well defined dividers. Does this speed things along? I don't know. I am guessing these employees are fairly sharp and well seasoned. Heck, this is what they look at every day. So if you can really break it down and have in a very logical and labeled manner, it might speed things. But I am sure you put a lot of effort into yours as well. Henry

I was stating my opinion. The consensus seems to be that front-loading the petition is the best way to ensure the information is in front of the VO at the interview. Unless the resume somehow established the bonafides of the relationship (i.e. you met professionally first) I doubt a resume would be given much more than a glance for the I-130 approval and would have no bearing. When it comes to the interview, the resume would be six months to a year old so they likely would ask for an up-to-date one at that interview if they wanted one. I agree have an up-to-date resume for the interview, I don't see the purpose for the Petition Approval in 99% of cases. I simply/strongly disagree. We are talking about painting a picture for the VO. The required documents fill in the basic blanks. When you develop a well thought out EOR, timeline, photo gallery, communication and travel together and yes, a well thought out resume that can show so much to a VO. Like we talk about put yourselves in the VO's shoes. A resume shows a lot more than professional background. Take the example of a second wife that depends on a husband married to another Chinese woman to support her. How is her resume going to look? Might need a lot of sugar coating to hide the possibility that she is looking for another free ride on an American ticket. We are talking picture here. If they really need an SAO that is fine, but a VO can look at a decent resume to help make their decision. We update EORs, timelines, photos, communication and you name it before the interview for our 5 minutes of fame. I had a fine print, 2- page detailed EOR that I had the Vice Consul notarize and she read in 20 seconds and we then discussed it. She did not miss much. Make it concise and accurate. Among other things I was an Intelligence Officer in the Navy as one of my colateral duties. So I can say my training is geared to see indescrepancies, but simply someone that looks a critical documents everyday can readily pick up things that are not in order or as they may seem.

"As for the resume, GUZ asks for more than a standard resume. It is closer to a Curriculum Vita that an academic prepares including a work plan in the US and any foreign travel. So if you do any foreign travel between filing the initial petition and the interview the resume is out of date. There is also no indication that the SAO can be initiated by anyone other than the interviewing VO so frontloading it with the initial petition serves no purpose. I would just make sure you have it ready for the interview." I understand that. But how many fiancee/wives are doing foreign travel during this time? And I am just giving advice. Every petitioner does his/her own thing. And has to live with it. Call it luck or whatever. Or call it lack of preparedness. I am not here to judge, just saying what worked for me. I cannot see how a detailed resume front loaded for the VO serves no purpose. And yes, if you are going to send a resume - put some effort into it. Otherwise, you might as well stick with the G-325 and hope they can figure out her past/your past and present from that document. And Ning I have to agree with you in the sense that it has been reported here before that the beneficiary had the proper paperwork, but could not find it or not in an efficient manner. We as petitioners are never there, so how can we say and/or how can we help? My Only thought on this is that I wished petitioners were allowed to be with the beneficiary. Right now that is not allowed at GUZ, so you have to prepare and do the best you/she can. That is why I like the folders organized in detail. And known like the back of your hand. If the VO knows it better than you/she does, then there is a problem IMHO.