keelec

Ross, Good luck with everything. Look at the residency requirements for "Direct Consular Filing".... I think you have to be in China for a period of time, and have a valid work visa in China. If you don't qualify for the CR1 for some reason, then consider getting married in Hong Kong. It is supposed to make some things with the K3 easier. As far as assets, $50K may be a little short. Your "income" must be 125% of the Federal Poverty Level, see the following: http://travel.state.gov/povert.html If you base it on assets, then you take 1/5 the value of the assets and add it to the income. For $50 Assets, then you can use 1/5 or $10K. According to the table, for 2 people, 125% --> $15,150. Thus, you would need to demonstrate an additional $5K in "income". If you can't make the income requirements, you can have a co-sponsor, for example, a parent who can fill out the I-134 / I-864 (sorry, I'm not sure which form you will need). Best of Luck, Clifford

Carl, Have you looked for Web TV over the internet? If I remember right, you aren't stuck in the dialup-darkages (like me). Here are a couple of websites that I found with a brief search (before WebSense at work shut down my browsing). I don't know how they work. http://www.webtvlist.com/pages/station.asp...ive+Internet+TV http://www.tvstreet.com/chinesetv.htm ----- Clifford ------

Actually, I was surprised to discover that my shoes had 1/4" x 4" steel stiffiners in the soles. They passed airport security, X-Rays and all without a single comment I bet there are many "correctional institutions" in the USA which could provide adequate training of other creative uses for those stiffiners. Of course, I feel safe to know that my shoes were X-Rayed ---------------------------------------- How are we checking for "real" plastic guns and ceramic knives? ----- Clifford ------

I have never tried it, but I think somebody was saything earlier that there was a way to have the computer generate the connection. Look at the posting: http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=4514 ---- Clifford ------

a2396 Best of luck with finding your wife and resolving the issues. If you resume communication, a trip to China to meet the family should come soon. Somehow, even though Irina's parents and I only shared a few common words, language just didn't seem to be a big issue. Our hearts go out with you, Clifford

Ummm, I think the medical can also be done anytime within 6 months, or perhaps a year of the interview. Of course, there is your stuff too DS-230, Financial stuff, letters of support, and etc. If you are planning on traveling to China for the interview, these may not be an issue. But, if you are planning on mailing them, perhaps one should start early (at least, the "Super Express" mail from the USPS which costs an arm and a leg normally takes over 2 weeks to arrive in Russia). Doesn't the DS-230 expire this summer? Will there be a new rev out soon? Good luck with everything, ----- Clifford -----

Well, It seems as if my biggest problem is that Irina is already homesick, and she hasn't even left Russia yet..... Perhaps that is a bad sign. Long_Strider's comments were very good. We'll see once Irina arrives, but I think the best way to combat homesickness will be to always look for fun and interesting activities for us to do together, as well as things for her to do alone too. School, ESL, etc. Irina is young enough that I think she will enjoy some "theme parks"..... Maybe she won't want to try "Mr. Freeze" Anyway, we definately have a lot of touring to do together in the USA. ----------------------------- Oh, one other thing that wasn't mentioned. I've been a single "bachelor" for far too long. I've gotten used to working late at night. I have nothing to go home to other than an empty house (ok, full of "stuff", but nobody else). I have promised myself that I will find a way to get home for dinner EVERY NIGHT. I don't care about how much "homework" I have to bring with me. Perhaps I can even start waking up earlier in the mornings.... 4 AM to do "night" stuff in the AM??? No matter what, I will try to dedicate some time to "family" stuff in the evenings. While there may not be a cure for homesickness, building a "NEW HOME" may help. ------ Clifford ------

I do believe that fingerprinting and other physical tracking methods are a good idea, especially for countries with a high terrorist risk, and perhaps also for countries that have high illegal immigration risks. Fingerprinting and photos are the best way to combat these issues…. Bust a Chinese restaurant for illegal aliens…. Fingerprints would show immediately if a person overstayed a tourist visa, or skipped out on a fiancée visa. Big Brother is just around the corner…. Most states now have drivers licenses digitized…. If not already, how long until those will be put into a national searchable database? I would be surprised if by 2020 (or perhaps sooner) all credit cards don’t require a physical verification…… Perhaps even drivers licenses…. Social Security Cards? Once they add fingerprints to drivers licenses and social security cards, Big Brother will have that information. 1984 is coming…. perhaps a few decades late, but it is coming. NO PLACE TO HIDE. However, I also believe the visa procedures put into place by the USA show pure folly. Why should it take a year and a half to determine whether or not to grant a visa to Irina? Could she possibly pose even a slight security risk to the USA? In theory, if she was married with Russian children, she would have been granted a visa on the spot, over a year ago. I haven't made it to China yet, but I find the Russian visa requirements to be quite a hassle. If I lived in Washington DC, I could actually get a visa in a single day (for a price). Here are the steps for a tourist visa: - 1) Purchase plane ticket and have “itinerary” before applying for the visa. - 2) Pay someone on the internet $20 for “visa support services” - 3) Buy supplemental health insurance (I’ve elected to only purchase “in-network” services here in the USA). - 4) Mail my passport to the Russian Embassy (something I hate doing). - 5) Get the visa. - 6) Every place one goes, the passport/visa has to be registered. Apparently there can be problems if the place one is staying is unable to get the proper paperwork from the group where the visa support was purchased. Russia does have multiple entry business visas which might be a bit better for some things, especially if one has to come and go a lot. And, apparently the Russians are more interested in collecting the revenue than verifying that the business is “legitimate” Anyway, I find the visa requirements are always a big hassle. I wonder what the world would be like if airlines operated like busses…. Climb aboard, if you can find a seat, then you can go. Arrive at the destination, and swipe an ID card, and go about one’s business without further hassles. Anyway, I don’t think the fingerprints are the issue. But overall the general hassles with the visa process. I am glad to hear that some countries (China, Brazil, and others) are actually beginning to bring this to EVERYONE’S attention. ----- Clifford -----

Ummm, I think the answer is that most Americans have forgotten how to walk If you can't do it driving a Monster SUV, it is not worth doing. And, so many cities discourage "Cruising" At least in Europe, the center of town is always a social / meeting place for pedestrians. A high population density and limited urban sprawl contributes to this, but there is more to the openness of strolling through the city center that many Americans have lost.

Ok, Reading post #2 from a2396, apparently he never met the parents. In the USA, "young" couples occasionally elope, or otherwise just get married without the blessings of the parents. Apparently something similar was done in this case. However, that may not be done very frequently in China, even among Chinese couples. I think pursuing a marriage without the parent's blessing would be risky at best. It is especially convoluted that the man never met the woman’s parents, but supposedly gave them a substantial amount of money for the privilege to marry their daughter (through her, of course). The money (and perhaps a diamond ring) were readily accepted, by her, without interaction with the parents. I find it EXTREMELY strange that any parent would actually accept money / gifts for a marriage without meeting the spouse. One of the topics that came up recently was how to tell that a person is serious about a relationship / marriage (considering the 1+ year commitment just to get a visa, and demands on both individuals in the relationship during that period). While it is difficult to tell, one thing that seems to be very important is that the "fiancée / spouse" not only wants to introduce the American Boyfriend to meet the family, but INSISTS that one meets the entire extended family (parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc). Number ONE on our agenda once Irina gets to the USA is to meet my parents & my brother, his wife, and daughter. If this woman was Russian/Ukrainian (), everyone here on the board would have jumped on the SCAM bandwagon. The same is likely true for the occasional Chinese woman. How much did A2396 pay which was supposed to be given to the parents for the marriage? Are you sure this money went to the parents, rather than being kept by the woman? Say a 1 yr salary for a 20+ yr old woman is about $1K. I have no idea what was actually paid to the “family” for the marriage privilege, but if it was on the order of $5K, that wouldn’t be a bad SCAM to walk away with (and hunt for another “American” willing to do the same thing). With 2 or 3 “marriages” a year, and one could live quite comfortably, especially if each of the American Fiancées and Spouses were willing to give additional support on the order of a few hundred dollars a month. As other’s have mentioned, I think it would be worthwhile to track down all of the information that A2396 has about his spouse. If it seems to be adequate, then go to China and find her. At the very least, this would help provide some closure to the relationship. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok, some notes about my relationship with Irina (Russian) that may be relevant. We started writing to each other Fall of 2002. She hadn’t actually told her parents that she had joined an International Dating Agency at the time. We scheduled to meet for our first meeting in Egypt. Prior to the trip, she HAD to talk to her parents and tell them where she was going and who she wanted to meet. I would not have invited her to Egypt if I had believed that her parents did not know about the trip. I wrote a letter to her parents, and had it translated. They were surprised, and perhaps a bit hurt that she wanted to date men outside of Russia, but consented that we could meet. One of her aunts actually accompanied her to the Moscow airport. As we talked about Fiancée visa paperwork, she made me promise that I would come to Russia to meet her family before she would come to the USA. Last fall, I had a good time when I met her in Russia, and they all treated me with respect (despite a relatively significant age difference). I can’t say that the wait for our visa hasn’t taken a toll on both of us. A month ago, Irina unilaterally decided to break off the relationship. I have finally gotten in touch with her again, and was able to talk to her on the phone. More than anything, she is just worried, and afraid of giving up her family, her brother and sister, and all that is familiar to move to America with me. One of our biggest issues was a communications breakdown. Getting her back on the phone so we could both hear each other’s voice, and discuss our issues helped significantly. However, before everything is “OK”, we have to figure out a long-term resolution to our communications issues. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Irina and myself, I believe that A2396 should have insisted on getting consent from the parents, and meeting them when he was in China (and getting married to their daughter). And, of course, one needs to be able to rationally discuss the concerns or both partners. If not, misunderstandings can creep in. she could just be afraid of the future. Good Luck with whatever happens, Clifford

I have been wondering how many people have applied for tourist/visitor's visas for relatives to visit this year (or late last year). How many have been accepted? How many have been denied? A few details and comments would be nice. (1 parent, 2 parents, siblings, age range, etc). Oh, how long did it take to get the visa from time of application? Thanks, Clifford

P.J. Congratulations on the forward progress on your visa. Hopefully everything will be finished in a few months (maybe an interview mid-summer). Best of luck, Clifford

I would have to say that the "Missing Wife" has chosen to terminate the relationship. Unfortunately, she told you that there were difficulties without coming out and saying "I want out", and working through the details. Perhaps she was scamming you.... Money for marriage ---> Goodbye. However, I have to believe in the better nature of people, and assume that she went into the relationship with good intentions, but later realized she had made a mistake. I do think that it is a bad sign to actually be physically in China, but not ever meet the parents. That is something that the American Fiancé/Spouse should always insist on as introducing one to the family is part of a long term commitment. If I met a woman and decided to get married in Russia, Ukraine, or China, I might even consider inviting my parents to come from the USA to the wedding. I couldn’t imagine having a wedding where here parents weren’t invited. With the K1 visa, I was even hoping that once Irina got her visa, I would have been able to schedule a wedding date and invite her parents over for the wedding. Another "couple" on the Candle has been going through a similar situation where the parents were against the marriage. You might want to read the story and some of the comments (begun by a Chinese woman). http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....f=2&t=4663&st=0 You might try sending her an e-mail or talking to her some. If you want the marriage, go to China. Find your love. Talk to her, and meet the parents. Hopefully you have enough contact info to find her again. If you think there is no hope, then figure out how to do a divorce or annulment. A good divorce attorney should help you work through the steps of filing the paperwork without contacting the woman. I do wonder a bit whether you could simply ignore the marriage since it was done outside of the USA (assuming you don’t plan to marry another Chinese woman). However, as I believe Tony pointed out, simply ignoring it ever existed could come back to haunt you if your “wife” ever tried to lay claim to some of your assets or your life insurance benefits in the future. Perhaps the US INS will eventually get enough information to bring up foreign marriages on a routine namecheck ------------------------ If you do decide to date another Chinese or Foreign woman, then, if you are not planning on living in the foreign country for an extended period of time, I would recommend considering applying for a K1 Fiancée visa, and bring her to the USA before marriage. The application process is very similar to the K3 processing you use if you are married, perhaps even a bit simpler. And, of course, insist on meeting the whole “extended” family It is still a tremendously hard situation if everything crumbles halfway through the K1 Fiancée process, but perhaps not as traumatic as what you have been going through. ----- Clifford -----

Did you meet the family in China? Did you ask the parents for permission to marry their daughter? Did you have a ceremony that they were invited to? I also find it strange that she would disappear like this in China. Although it is not unreasonable that she is "avoiding you". As I have discussed with some people in this forum, I was engaged to a woman in Russia. When she stopped writing to me in January/February, I asked the introductions agency in Russia where we met to find her. I had her address, her parent's address, and the phone number for an aunt/uncle, and they were able to locate her (some was from our I-129F/G325A app). If Chinese is an issue, perhaps someone on this board would volunteer to call her parent's house and talk to them on your behalf (or help you with a 3-way call). Talk to a lawyer if you decide to get a divorce/anulment. Perhaps an anulment would be better if you should choose to remarry a chinese woman and apply for a K1/K3 visa in the future (because if the marriage is anuled, legally it never existed). Did you file the INS Paperwork? If you did, then perhaps you would have to mention the anulled marriage in the future. Anyway. I know that it is not uncommon to get a divorace in the USA without getting into contact with the Ex, although I am not sure of the exact procedures, and waiting periods. I think you are supposed to put a notification advertizement in the newspaper or something like that. But, I would recommend going all-out trying to find her including possibly a trip to China before you try the divorce/anullment without her. Best of luck, and our hearts go out to you, Clifford

Oh, I lost track of them..... Now how many more for a couple more Blue Thingies????? Oh, you aren't telling me that this system was only designed for 1K posts...... What hapens with Eric & Mick hit 10K?

$55 increase over WHAT????? The $110 initial fee + $55 The $100 interview fee + $55 The ??? Medical fee + $55 The $300 AOS fee + $55 What other fees where there? A Per-Munchkin Fee?????? What about the denied visas for family members in China? Ok, If we take the $110 initial fee, add 50%..... Does that mean we get a 50% improvement in service.... I.E...... If it is a 15 month process to process a SIMPLE visa application, it might be cut down to 10 months????? Or, does it go the other way.... Adding 50% MORE time.... A 15 month process suddenly balloons to be a 22 month process Oh, And what about the plans on changing all the customer service numbers to 1-900 numbers?????? Oh, Boy, you tell how excited I am to dive back into the fray ----- Clifford ------

James & Veronica, Best of luck with a speedy application. It has been a few months since I applied. However if I remember right, the I-129F was combined and had information for both people. You also have a copy of the G325A for each individual (in quadruplicate). On yours, put your information. On hers, put her information. Her current address would be the answer to your question about addresses outside of the USA. What Carl was refering to is that the INS can get very picky about using "N/A" versus "None". Applications have been rejected for putting "N/A" on the lines for previous spouses, and I believe also fore writing N/A for previous work experience. Generally it is ok to put "None" in those cases. ---- Clifford -----

Patrick, You might consider flying to China to be with Li and give her some support through these next few weeks. Perhaps you could talk to the EX together. Try to be nice first and show your good side and the good family the kid will be in. If that doesn't work, then go for the lawsuit. Perhaps just starting the process would be enough. Even if it takes a while, it will be shorter than waiting 8 years to see your stepson again. ----- Clifford -----

Carl, Is the letter in English? Have Bing type the letter for you, scan it, or perhaps try taking a still picture of it with her web-cam. It sounds like the fees add up quickly. Best of Luck, Clifford

Patrick, If the son was 16 or 17, I would say that he should finish school in China then come here at age 18. However, 10 is too young. You have to find a way for him to accompany the wife. I think the best option is for your wife to swallow her pride and go visit her ex. Take $1K or $2K or whatever seems appropriate. Let him know that he has two choices, either take the Grand now, or he will be expected to pay 7 yrs of back child support, and he will have to support the child for the next 8 years while the child waits until he is 18. Ask him what is best for his son and how he wants the son to remember him? Play it like a Poker Hand. She can never leave the son behind, but NEVER tell the ex that. ----- Clifford -----

I forgot to ask, how old is the son?

Patrick, What a horrible mess. Have you called Linda Donahue to ask about the Form OF-169 that states that a passport is not required? Can you go to whoever issued the original birth certificate and ask for a new copy? In the USA doing so is generally a relatively easy procedure. Somebody needs to talk to the EX and ask what he wants..... Would he be materialistic enough to think $1K or $2K would satisfy him to give up his custody rights (be careful that he doesn't ask for $50K). Never ask your wife to choose between you and her child, that would be BAD. Best of Luck, ----- Clifford -----

Carl, Sorry to disappoint you, but I have found lots of references to the letter, but I am having troubles tracking down the actual letter. "Appointment letter for immigrant visa applications (OF-171)" It seems to be some kind of a checklist for your wife. Here is a Dutch copy of the letter: http://www.usadutch.com/of171.htm The Chinese letter is likely similar, but I would imagine a few details have been changed as the letter appears to be location dependent.

Good luck getting through the metal detectors at the airport!!!!!!!!

I had understood it as Yoyo had to merely defend her Master's Thesis at the end of the semester, and then would be finished. If the end is very near, it would be best to stay in China until the process is completed, or apply for the AP as soon as possible. ----- Clifford -----