I love Sunshine

I had a similar situation when I filed. I divorced recently, and even though my ex came here on a K-1 visa many years ago and had paperwork on her A number, she refused to give it to me, despite being ordered to do so by the judge. What I did follows what Jim suggests. I called the USCIS before I filed my initial K-1 application and they suggested I put 'unknown'. I also put 'see attached' and attached a short letter with my I-129F. In that letter, I put all the information I did know about her, a copy of the marriage certificate and divorce decree, her social security number, and approximate date of filing, and the approval came relatively quickly. I agree with those that say honesty is the best policy from the beginning. You would hate to saddle your poor SO with having to face an interview and potentially have to explain situations such as this -- she will be nervous enough as it is.

Rahm30, Congrats! I, along with Illinoisdave are all on the same timeline. I'll be watching for your future posts as I am sure Dave will be also. Good Luck! Clayton Me too. Double Ditto! Good luck to all of us. I think I'm in the same batch as the rest of ya'!

I agree with you Randy. That is why I'm hoping they will share things that cannot be scammed easily, such as previous divorces and so-forth. I completely understand how GUZ must sharpen their game constantly. However, setting expectations for CFL'ers in the process and allow them to be proactive about obstacles is one important part what this forum is about.

Thanks to both of you. It will help all of us know who gets the "fast lane" interview and who gets the slow lane interview stuck behind the turnip truck!

Hi Jeff, The feeling must be exhilirating to know she passed! Congratulations! By the way, I'm trying to understand better who is getting the shorter interviews. Did either of you have a divorce in your past? A big age difference or any potential financial issues? Were there any potential issues that could have brought additional attention during her interview? Sorry to be so inquisitive. Please be general in your responses or PM me if necessary -- I'm just trying to understand how some people fly through the process and others seem to be on the slow train.

Heather, I can only imagine your frustration... If it is any consolation, many of us here would love to be in the situation where we are stranded with our SO. Let us know how everything turns out and what you end up doing. I guess your husband is too big to fit into your suitcase Wish you luck in resolving this predicament.

Congratulations, Dan! Let us all know about her views as a new arrival. What does she find different about the life here, what are her views of life in America? Hope she adjusts well and likes the life here!

Hi Clayton, I got my P2 approval yesterday, so I am in the same boat as you are. The tax transcripts will show the total income you earned in a typical year. If you were married before and filed together, it will not show if you earned most of it or if your ex-wife did. So the W-2s will show what you earned of that total income. If you filed single, no need to worry about this. I have heard it is good to have your I-134 signature/notarization date closer to the interview date, since it is a reflection of your income status. To get this now might be too early. I will probably get mine after P3 is returned by my SO.

That is excellent news! Congratulations! Anything interesting from the interview that you can share with us?

Bill, All of us here can understand you are frustrated. I would be also if I was in your situation. It seems most people get overcome appointments about 2 months after their initial interview, and by calling the number that requires a pin (and your money). The frustrating thing about that number is, sometimes when you call them, they will say there are no overcome appointments available, so you must call back again and again. Looking over other posts, it seems they fill the first-time appointments first, then the overcome appointments get what is left over (others please correct me if this is not true). Was she asked for anything that she was not able to provide that should have been with that original packet? It seems from what is on your blue slip, and from the questions here, he is questioning your domicile for some reason. Any other CFL'ers know why this would be questioned? Which part of China is your fiancee from? If she is from Fujian and some provinces around this part of China, there is more fraud, and they tend to be more careful. Did he review the documentation she submitted before handing her the paper? Firstly, many people who are denied initially are approved during their overcome appointment. As painful as it seems, the best advice is to give them exactly what they ask for. And you must use that number to reschedule an appointment with them. Yes, and you might have to try several times to get that appointment, so be prepared for this. Look at other posts and you will see that others had this happen to them also. This request from them seems to be bizarre but is more and more common. It is very reasonable that you wouldn't have this information. After all, when you divorce, your lives separate. And 16 years apart is long enough for this request to seem irrelevant to your current relationship. Others mention that people who are divorced get additional scrutiny, but those who are divorced more than once get more than others, it seems. If at all possible, I would suggest in your case to be there with her during her next interview, and possibly attend the American Citizens Hour on Friday afternoons at the consulate if at all possible. They can answer your questions directly. I wouldn't hire anyone. But I would encourage you to attend American Citizens Hour sometime before your interview. If you can show respect to them at that time (I know it seems difficult to do this now), they can give you answers that can help your case. And, after you are together, this episode will be only a distant memory.

Has anyone had an income below $40k, but above the poverty threshold, and been: 1. blue slipped for this very reason? 2. been specifically asked to get a co-sponsor? 3. not been asked by the VO for financials at all?

Ovahimba, the time to fall asleep is when she goes into laborious detail about the wedding plans.

Congratulations! Does your SO remember any of the unusual questions that were asked of her that were not ones we normally hear about? Your case seems to be one that many of us can learn from. Tell her great job with getting the pink!

A great feeling, no doubt! Congratulations!

I can only attempt to imagine your feelings of unhappiness and disappointment. I know some others will give you some links to some lawyers, and maybe one of them can go and get more information or give you better odds as to whether they can help you. Is there anything from the questions your Yun was asked that would indicate an "area" he was concerned about? Can you remind us what the blue slip requested after Yun's previous interview in March? The people here at CFL are great to lean on during trying times like these. I hope you can get the support you need here. And we all hope you will find a reason soon!

Please keep in mind that laws differ by state, and the general advice given here might differ in your state. The burden of paperwork is on you. In other words, you must show a paper trail showing assets didn't get comingled. If you had a bank account with $500,000 in it prior to marriage, and you and her both used this as your joint account, you have comingled money, and she can claim half of it -- yes, even the money you had before being married. If you kept separate bank accounts, and didn't use anything in these accounts for community debts or community items, the advice given above is correct in common law states (mainly states in the western US). The paper trail is the key, and the burden is on you to show they are not comingled.

I will take a slightly different perspective than the others have taken. I was married before to another girl from Asia and wished I had signed a prenup with her. (She was not Chinese). First of all, your bride-to-be is coming to a new country and there is a rather big unknown associated with this. My ex changed dramatically after she came to the USA, and sadly this had an impact on the reasons for divorce. She a number of problems that didn't surface until after we were married. Also, it didn't help that she got close to a number of bitter divorcees who had married and came to the US, and were living comfortably on their divorce settlements. Second of all, I was only slightly older than my ex, but very different in terms of our earning abilities. I was made painfully aware of this in divorce court how contribution into the marriage matters very little. I have confidence that many women are not like my ex. Most women in China want love, not an escape from a bad previous life in her country like my ex wanted. Prenups can be written in many different ways, and they are not "all or nothing" papers. First, there can be a sunset clause in them; for example, saying that after 10 years of marriage, the prenup conditions are null and void. Or they can be removed in a gradual way. Second, they can be written to protect your assets coming in to the marriage, not the assets you accumulate. So it gives you incentive to get rich together. Third, they can protect assets you may want to pass on to your children from a previous marriage. I know there will be others to disagree with my advice. It is a very uncomfortable subject to bring up. My SO offered to sign a prenup after seeing the pain involved with my divorce; this made me see that what she wanted in the relationship for the right reasons. I am not sure if we will eventually sign one, but her offer to sign one made me see that she is genuine.

With regard to the tax transcripts: My ex-wife and I filed jointly in 2005 and in 2004. Will the tax transcripts show this W-2 information, such as which of us made what income? I made more than her in previous years, but I understand that W-2s do not show up with the tax transcripts.

Doing a search for past postings, I see rarely a week goes by without questions about the I-134 being asked, so let me ask a few I didn't see posted recently (if at all): 1. I know a letter from my employer, along with prior tax filings and paystubs can be requested by the VO during the interview. I own a small business and am the one who signs the paychecks. Therefore, would most likely be the one to write such a letter, unless I ask an employee to do it (we are small enough where I must cover many functions). Will it seem odd to say that "The salary for Mr. X is $x,xxx per month. Signed, Mr. X"? Any advice on this? 2. Also, with regard to minimum salary requirements, do you know which number they use to determine the minimum? AGI? I worked much of last year in China, took several months off to scout out some businesses in the US, then purchased my business. My China salary was not stellar, but much of it is tax-free due to me being out of the country for over 330 days. According to the following prior postings, there seems to be an unwritten $40k per year rule: http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17651 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23806 3. I know none of us really know the inner workings of GUZ, but does anyone have a story to tell where their income was, say, only $25k or $30k, and they didn't get blue-slipped, weren't required to show additional assets, or need a co-sponsor? 4. Finally, in previous postings, I did see there are few people who had a lower income than this magic $40k but didn't come across a case where someone had a lower income but substantial assets -- it seems an appraisal of real estate might be requested in a blue slip. Any cases of this? Or any cases of people successfully having low income and substantial assets and not getting blue slipped? Can 401k statements be used to satisfy this asset requirement? Thanks in advance!