frank1538

Hearty congratulations.

You may be right, but it might be a Pyrrhic victory to come to the US on a K-4 and then age out or have the visa expire (even with extentions) before a valid I-485 was filed. Assuming GZ will actually issue the K-4, the best case scenario might be one where the mother's LPR status is achieved before the daughter turns 21 so that she can file the I-130/I-485. To me the government's position that apparently requires an immigrant visa petition to be filed for the K-4 as part of the AOS process just rubs me the wrong way in view of the fact the K-2ers don't have to have filed for an immigrant visa to adjust status. Chalk it up to bad law I guess.

I may have provided erroneous information and for this I apologize. For whatever reason, I was assuming that you got married before your daughter turned 18. If she was already 18 then there may be a problem. The problem is that it may still be the government's position that an immigrant visa petition must have been filed for the daugther which the US citizen cannot do unless the marriage took place before the daughter turned 18. Take a look at http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11771 for some more information on the issue.

First, you cannot go after a K-1 not that you are married. You must stick with the K-3/CR-1. Second, fire your lawyer if your daugher is not married. A K-4 is available to your unmarried daughter up to age 21. This is from the USCIS website http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/hdiknonimm.htm and is the source of tywy's post: Who is Eligible? A person may receive a K-3 visa if that person: has concluded a valid marriage with a citizen of the United States; has a relative petition (Form I-130) filed by the U.S. citizen spouse for the person; seeks to enter the United States to await the approval of the petition and subsequent lawful permanent resident status, and, has an approved Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiance, forwarded to the American consulate abroad where the alien wishes to apply for the K-3/K-4 visa. The consulate must be in the country in which the marriage to the U.S. citizen took place if the United States has a consulate which issues immigrant visas in that country. If the marriage took place in the United States, the designated consulate is the one with jurisdiction over the current residence of the alien spouse. A person may receive a K-4 visa, if that person is under 21 years of age and is the unmarried child of an alien eligible to be a K-3. Your lawyer may have confused the K-3 with the CR-2 where the rules are different.

Assuming it's not a "sensitive" occupation like nuclear physicist or covert agent, I'd go with her current occupation - after all it's just her intended occupation. Employment letters of invitation won't be needed. I don't see a need to reference the EAD since it's not job specific. Jingwen didn't plan on working when she came to the US, so we used something like "none at present".

I think you're probably right about the phone logs. A lack of supporting documentation usually results in a "blue slip" rather than a reccomendation to USCIS to revoke. Yep, I'm guessing that something else tripped the switch. Unfortunately, JamesBDennis is in the dark, but I hope he can get some concrete answers from the consulate before the files leave China.

I've linked people to this site before to help them pass the time: http://www.lares.dti.ne.jp/~yugo/storage/monocrafts_ver3/03/ Good luck.

Thanks Lee. Jingwen absolutely refuses to go to the first level ESL class, but I have a sneaking suspicion that she may be forced into it if she wants to be naturalized after 3 years of residency. Besides, my step son just bought a new old car and the clunker that he wrecked a number of times, I mean learned to drive in, is now sitting on the street. Jingwen is talking about finally getting her learner's permit so I can teach her to drive the jalopy. She can take the test in Chinese, but I've told her that she'll still need to be able to read the road signs to drive.

I used the FC-029 during the AOS process. It's an old probably obsolete form that was used when USCIS (then INS) was switching over to allow ordinary copies of documents rather than originals or certified copies. I didn't bother during the I-129 process since virtually all of the documents (birth certificates, etc.) were originals or certified copies, and I made up my own certification for the copies of the tax returns that went with the I-134 rather than using the FC-029. Since it is an USCIS form, I didn't think would have done any good when dealing with the Department of State.

25 days is fantastic for any service center west of VSC. I'd probably wait a couple of weeks before I started pestering NVC. Even then, the best you can probably hope for is an acknowledgment that the files have been received and the namechecks are in process. I would be tempted to start calling them a a regular basis after they've had the files for a month or so. On one particular day, you'll get the goods news that the namechecks have been completed and the files have been shipped off to GZ. Then you can pass the time tracking the delivery through "customs delay". For all intents and purposes, you're finished with USCIS until she arrives in the US. From here on out, you'll be dealing with the mighty Department of State. Good luck for the rest of the journey.

Let's all be honest here. Most of us Americans can afford to ante up a little to help our SO's defray the visa related costs, and most of us have. I did the same thing. Costs related to interpreters, birth certificates, police clearances, visa fees, medical exams, transportation, etc. do mount up and can become expensive for a single Chinese woman who may be supporting herself, her children, and her parents. For me, it wasn't a question of whether I should. Since we were ceremonially married while in China, to treat Jingwen as other than my wife (read sharing expenses) would have been just plain wrong. Adding a few extra bucks to "modestly improve her circumstances" and her mom's was a voluntary thing born from love. As to Mike's last comment, I agree. I guess keeping up with the Chens or Hans or Jones is a commom human foible.

It's the language part (reading and writing) that scares Jingwen. She has had a really tough time with the language and after almost 2 years in the US, has a spoken vocabulary of only a few dozen words. So, when she heard about being able to do away with the English part, she got real excited. It is still hard for her to understand that dealing with the US government isn't like in China - pay someone a few bucks and voila, problem solved.

Jingwen's English progress is slow, but she's beginning to catch on: Whose = who de. We both had a good laugh.

Jingwen has expressed an interest in becoming a naturalized citizen, but has always been concerned about her English proficiency, some level of which is required for naturalization. I have always told her that she will need to be able to read and write a little English to become a US citizen, unless she waits for the "old person's exemption" (no English test and civics test in the language of her choice). Lately, Jingwen has been talking to some of her friends about naturalization. In a fashion similar to some of the mis-information out there on other boards, she is being told that she doesn't need to know English to become a citizen. One friend told her that all she needs to do is to pay a certain lawyer in San Francisco a certain fee, and the language requirements will be waived. Maybe I'm naive or uninformed, but I've never heard of this, so I thought I'd seek the collective wisdom of the membership here at CFL.

I really don't know the answer, but I probably would use a common sense approach and provide the preceding 12 months of statements, if needed. I say "if needed" because the general consensus is that you don't need to provide proof of assets if you have sufficient income (as verified by the employer letter and tax return) to qualify. Some people go ahead an provide the asset information just to be safe.

Welcome Van. You'll find lots of good info here. David makes a good point. If the consulate doesn't have your SO's address in Chinese, chances are they'll use the petitioner's (your) address. You might want to verify her mailing address with the consulate. Otherwise, you might be running around like a headless chicken about P4 time. Good luck

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but DS-230 Part II is not needed for K-3. K-3 is a non immigrant visa, and the actual visa application is the DS-156 and DS-157 (supplemental form). The DS-230 Part I is used only to provide biographical information. Part II is not used.

Assuming you were using USPS Express, and the delivery has made it to China, go to China EMS so you can track it the rest of the way. http://www.ems.com.cn/ems/English/index.jsp Every now and then a phone call to EMS will help speed the package to its final destination.

Welcome to the family. It's a pain to have to try to factor taxes in when getting married. Do what you think is in your best interests (emotionally and financially). Enjoy the holidays with your new family and worry about AOS and the next phases after you guys get married. In other words, HAVE FUN now that they're here.

Welcome to America Shaoying. I know the Zhanjiang to US trip is a looooog one, but I also remember the excitement (or maybe it was fear ) that Jingwen and the kids showed when the first entered the US. Take a breather and enjoy the holidays. You guys deserve it. If you wife needs another Zhanjiang woman to explain how it really is, have her call Jingwen.

Good news and congratulations. Finally finished with USCIS? http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/24.gif Now that's a good one. Unless she becomes a US citizen, USCIS is your buddy for life.

Thank you for adding a personal touch. Happy holidays to you and yours.

Thanks for the detailed information. The interview sounded a bit deeper than some I have heard about. Your wife handled it very well. When I write Chinese, Jingwen can only laugh and my stroke sequence. Sounds like you've mastered the lao gong technique.

Wonderful news. Turn it around quickly so you can get in the interview queue. Good luck.

Looks like the consulate is issuing a notice of intent to revoke the I-129F petition. In doing so, the consulate is supposed to have sufficient evidence such that its position would likely stand up in court. Take a look at http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegram...grams_1415.html Pay particular attention to this section: "...posts seeking revocations must show the "factual and concrete reasons for revocation." BCIS has asked us to remind consular officers that revocation requests must provide solid, factual evidence of fraud or misrepresentation, evidence that is likely to stand up in a court of law. In the case of sham marriages, for example, 9 FAM 42.43 N2.2 notes that BCIS requires at the least either documentary evidence that money changed hands between the petitioner and beneficiary or factual evidence that would convince "a reasonable person" that the marriage was entered into solely to evade immigration laws. Without such evidence, BCIS will be unlikely to obtain a petition''s revocation if a petitioner chooses to contest a notice of intent to revoke." If the consulate is following the rules, it should have something concrete in its possession that it believes warrants revocation. In my view, you should be entitled to know this now, before the case is sent back to NVC, and this is where a good lawyer might be able to help. Once the files are returned to the US, they will likely enter a deep black hole in terms of time, so I would make every effort to try to keep the files at the consulate in an effort to resolve the issues quickly. Good luck.