Pete Shaolan

My Mistake! My petition was approved on Sept 28. I think I was half asleep when I posted. So its been 2 weeks after the email said my NOA2 was mailed out.

I received an email confirmation of my K1 approval on May 28 but have not yet received a mailed copy of the NOA2. Should I contact Vermont or wait?

Has this question ever been discussed? What is ones status in our governments eyes if you have a marriage license from China and are waiting for the interview. Take this further. What if the process ends with a white slip that says "not a bonefide marriage."? Interesting question I thought.

Fantastico

Can anybody tell me why I have to pay an additional fee of $340 to reactivate my I-130 when its already been approved? Thats considerably more than the original petition cost. All the CIS has to do is send a notice to the NVC. What am I missing here?

I have asked for more specifics of the interview. I'll post them at this thread when I get them. I have also emailed NVC how to reactivate. The website say responses take 5-7 business days. How can anything be that slow?

I have made 3 trips in a 14 month period. One possible problem could be an age difference. Another could be she is divorced, was seperated 7 months prior to my first trip and only made the divorce official less than 2 months before my trip after I confirmed my trip plans. 5 months is a long time. I could wait till she receives her forms to file. The K-3 NO2 I received states the original petition(I-130) is sent back to the NVC.

In a recent email from Lawyer Peter paget, he suggested beggining a new petition before the case is reviewed by USCIS. In my case I only need to reactivate the I-130 that is on hold. After I am notified that the case is being sent to Guangzhou, I am considering getting an apartment and live there with my wife untill the interview. Every Monday I will attend the ACS and let the VO I speak with know of my continued presense, week by week, VO by VO, and of my sincereity in our relationship. My name will become known for my persistence. Perhaps I may chance upon the VO that presides over our case. One drawback is I do not know the specific reason/s for the denial. But it could no longer be said our relationship is not solid or sincere if that is what "not bona fide" means. What do you think?

Mr. B******, You faxed documents have been gone over by me. I noticed the refusal and return decision was made on September 6 th. That almost certainly means the case file has been returned to the USCIS in the States. If that is the true situation, you will have to deal with the USCIS in the United States. The IV unit here in Guangzhou will not recall the case to Guangzhou. What will happen in the U.S. and what can you do? The system to deal with return cases is set up, so you will get a notice from DHS indicating whether it intends to revoke your petition or not. If it intends to revoke, it will give you notice and time to file rebuttal evidence. If USCIS decides NOT to revoke evidence and arguments, it will send the file back to Guangzhou for the IV unit to reconsider (this reconsideration by the IV unit is no automatic approval.) If the USCIS finally decides to revoke your petition, you can appeal that decision to the courts. Notwithstanding all of the above, you can now make a decision to do something else, to avoid those negative decisions, you can it just file another petition and avoid the times loss following that procedure. If you file another petition it will cost you another fee and will subject you to the same issues you now dealing with, but you might get through the procedure faster than dealing with the refusal and revocation process. Peter Paget

Is it just me or doesn't this have the earmarks of 3rd party interference? I have no previous marriages so I don't think this is the case here although my wife is divorced. I also considered that there is an age difference although I am very young looking for my age. This could have contributed to a confluence of potential problems in the VO's opinion.

Your wife's VO wouldn't happen to be a white 60's something American female would she? I have entertained similiar thoughts. Sometimes I wonder if certain white American female VO's develope a personal resentment after seeing one American male after another choosing a Chinese wife.

Any suggestions for lawyers. The name of the lawyer I spoke to at the consulate was Peter Paget. What's the word on him?

Your denial in the past was for income . This has been clearly taken care of? Maybe you are still fighting this problem without knowing it. It had been taken care of and I had not considered this to still be the problem as it was not mentioned in the white slip. You may be right as the VO could be using the nebulous and all encompassing phrase called "bona fide" to mask her doubts that otherwise could not be justified by the evidence made available to her.

With so much recent good news having been posted here, I hate to be a downer and bring up a failed overcome. On Sept. 6th my SO and I picked up the response to the overcome evidence submitted 2 days earlier. Received the white slip that basically said we did not have a bona fide relationship even though I had included in the evidence the proof that I was present for the overcome. At the advice of the resident lawyer operating out of the main floor, I attended the American citizen services the following Monday. The VO was extremely cordial, understanding and even apologetic for the process. After explaining my situation and questioning if the VO thought this was a fraudulent marriage, he checked the case on his computer and said it was not the case. All he could find is it was not bona fide but he could not see any specific reason given. I can only speculate that the main reason if they be more than one is my SO had never made a concerted effort to learn English and therefore in the VO¡¯s mind, how could we have a true relationship if we cannot communicate. Well I decided that this VO¡¯s mind is not going to change by simply holding the case at the consulate so I am allowing the process to continue hoping that when the case is reviewed by a new set of eyes back at the USCIS they will question the lack of specificity of the decision. If the decision is not reversed, I still have the option of appealing. So that¡¯s where I stand. Three trips and $10,000 dollars later. I have not seen any discussion on this stage of the process so any advice or experience will be appreciated. Our names by the way are Guizhen(means precious) and Peter. Thanks.

Just a little helpfull info. When I went for the ACH (American Citizens Hour) None of the security were familiar with that name and sent me back and forth. Say you are there for the American Citizen Services. Get a number at window 18 and sit down untill your number is called. No need to fill out the papers given at window 18. The number call is not sequential but is divided into different catagories which are then sequential. When your number is called go to the window directed. Just ask question or state your problem. The employees appear to be friendly and in my case even sympathetic and apologetic. I was able to get a specific answer involving my case. Just be tactfull and diplimatic.

I called the National Visa information call center in China to set up an overcome date for my wife. I was given a date and time. My wife says she did not receive an appointment letter so I called the center again and was told that no appoinment letter is sent out for an overcome and all my wife needs to enter consulate to drop off evidence is a confirmation number(which I was given) and her passport. Yet when my wife called consulate, she was told to first drop off evidence and then a date will be given. Whats the correct info? The date is Sept 4th and I'm leaving Aug 31st.

I will use the co-sponser option as advised in this thread. My father who will be my co-sponser is retired. His social security income is not included on his income tax return. Is there any problem with the VO accepting this additional form of income?

A tax transcript would be simpler but it would still show the same apparent lack of income to the casual observer as the return I submitted. I say apparent because the numbers are there if one knows what to look for. Its probably futile so I will definitely include the co-sponser this time. Is a tax script certified by the IRS? I understand about showing the lack of income and as you have a co-sponsor lined up this is probably your easiest route to get the visa completed. Tax transcripts from the IRS do not need to be notarized and are accepted at face value without certification. My advice for quick and easy overcome concerning income is to show the tax transcripts only and have a co-sponsor. You want them to look at you and say "too poor" and look at the co-sponsor and say "this is good" and give the pink slip for a visa. Submitting the real estate at this time could trigger them asking for a certified appraisal of all properties which would cost you both time and money, time being the critical item here. When you file for AOS and submit the I-864 you can try the listing of assets and all, but she will be in the US at that time and you will have more time to help them understand your financial situation. You need to verify there are no other items listed on the blue slip, many times the VO will check off more than one item and our darlings will often fixate on what they believe to be the most important or sometimes the first item. You want to be sure to address each item requested. As for the phone call to schedule the submission of overcome documents, it would probably be best to have your wife call for this. They have very few English speakers at the call center and with her calling you have better opportunities at getting someone on the phone to schedule the appointment. Too late. I already called. 3X. Each time I got someone who spoke good English. The new date is Sept. 4 . The first time I paid online my computer showed an error from the windows pop-up blocker so I paid again for 8 minutes. But when checking emails it went through so if anyone who needs 8 free minutes I'll give you the pin number. First come, first served. PM me.

pb115, did you document using the income method or the assets method? Throughout this whole thread, it is still not clear to me if you used the assets method. If your tax returns show a net loss each year, then you better be properly documenting with the assets method, as your income is indeed negative. Or, alternatively, you can submit a co-sponsor at overcome as many have advised. The burden really is on you to show/prove to the VO that you're capable financially. It's not the VO's job to be a forensic accountant or tax attorney and dig very deep into your tax filings to understand your financial picture. Good luck on the overcome. Yes I showed both income and assets. I thank everyone for your sound advice.

So David, do you think I should bother with another more simplified explanation from my accountant. I assume your answer would be no.

The key for him would be to demonstrate that he actually has assets that he can draw from. I think the income thing may be a lost cause, since it's negative. My accountant drew up a list of properties and the net value to no avail.

The key for him would be to demonstrate that he actually has assets that he can draw from. I think the income thing may be a lost cause, since it's negative. I had the accountant draw up a list of the properties and the net value. I guess the VO wasn't phased by it.

The VO's are not tax accountants and complex tax returns can cause problems. They are instructed to look for numbers on a tax return at a specific place and if it's not there they request more info. Your objective here is to get the visa as easily as possible. So I'd suggest ordering tax transcripts and submitting them instead of a tax return and using a co-sponsor. You can obtain a transcript by calling (800)¨C829¨C1040 and they usually arrive in less than 10 days. You want this to be a simple overcome. Avoid listing assets or real estate, they can cause requests for appraisals. When you submit, provide your I-134 with 3 years tax transcripts as well as an I-134 from your co-sponsor. I'd recommend 3 years tax transcripts from your co-sponsor as well. A tax transcript would be simpler but it would still show the same apparent lack of income to the casual observer as the return I submitted. I say apparent because the numbers are there if one knows what to look for. Its probably futile so I will definately include the co-sponser this time. Is a tax script certified by the IRS?

Thanks DZ, You cleared this up for me. Either of us can make call.

The instruction sheet is the key. It is not contradictory. Don is never contradictory !! If they allow a by mail response, it will be indicated as such, on the instruction sheet. If not, then like most here in your situation have done, you must utilize the phone pay line, and be patient to obtain an appointment date for the overcome submission of required documents/proof by your SO. Good luck to you !! I think everyone may be right here but not seeing the confusion pb is having. I think he may be confused as to who physically makes the actual phonecall, him or his SO. I could be wrong though. Yes Dave, When I make the phone call, do I make the appointment at that time or just request an appointment?