keelec

When it comes to the US Immigration system, PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE. Apparently GZ has fallen behind once again. And thus delays waiting for interviews are once again approaching the absurd. However, with time, the wait will reach an end. While the chances of getting additional delays in the wait as well as pink and blue slips at the interview still remain high, the chances of an outright denial are very low. Hang in there and you will get your visa. One side-note that unfortunately may be a bit late for you. K3 (and maybe CR1) interviews are done in the country where the couple is married. If a couple is married in Hong Kong (or just about anyplace other than China), the interview is scheduled quicker even if the woman is from mainland China.

Be careful with your choice to go 100% CR1. In theory everything should fly through and you would be queued up waiting for the P4 while everyone else is still waiting for the P3. However, the wait at NVC is certainly longer for CR1 than it is for K1/K3. If you send the application to a service center that is reasonably fast with the I-130 (VSC, and maybe CSC now), then you might do ok. In theory, if all goes well, the wait for a CR1 should be about the same as a K3. We had one member of the Candle who had the P4 and interview scheduled for a K3 visa. But, the CR1 information arrived just in time that they were issued the CR1 visa. However, we have also had a couple of applicants that went with a CR1 application and had to wait between 1.5 and 2 years for the visa. Send a PM to Hypoclear, and he will give you the inside scoop on what happened to him and his wife... (with a little bitterness mixed in). Good Luck,

The bigger question is: If there is a FIRST Namecheck. Then what is the necessity of a SECOND Namecheck? I guess if the immigration process has already stressed the FBI's ability to do Namechecks to the limit... then why not double the workload and see if one can bury them :D

Quite a while ago I did a poll about how long the visa process should take... 24 hrs, a few weeks, or a few years. I was somewhat surprised by the consensus that 6 months for the whole process would be appropriate. My K1 - I-129F was 6 months at NSC (including a RFE for putting N/A in for names of previous wives.... I've never been married, and am not currently married). The total time before the scheduled interview was 18 months. Unfortunately, I am not the only one on the Candle with 1+ year wait. Mark (hypoclear) did a CR1 (I-130 only) through VSC, and still had over a year and a half wait for the visa. Apparently prior to fall 2002, there used to be a practice that if the FBI namecheck did not produce negative results within a month or so, the visa process was pushed forward. Now there is no time limit on the step. Essentially the limitless wait now affects the whole process. Good Luck for a speedy visa.

Mengxin, Are you saying that your I-130 flew through CSC in only 5 months? WOW You certainly have made it into the FASTLANE!!!! Good luck with the rest of your application. Remember, you won't need to wait for GZ to make your P3. Proving that you are a USC... I thought it only needed either a copy of your birth certificate or your passport. You mean that your lawyer missed that?????? Of course, I am also amazed like you, you have a social security number, you have been paying taxes all your life, paying into social security, and the US asks for more proof that you are a USC. I guess you could be an illegal alien who is paying taxes... but then again, how do illegals get legal social security numbers in their own name? Obviously you should be able to produce a copy of your passport, but I hope the government uses the resources that they have available to them. ----- Clifford ------

Fortunately, very few visas are "DENIED". Most of the people can get the necessary information in a month or so and the visas are approved. For example, Carl had to fly to China and spend about $1K. However, his wife got the visa and they two of them are now "Living Happily Ever After". ----------- This is the US Government. If they have concerns, why can't they make requirements that would help prevent fraud: 1 - If fraudulent tax returns are a concern. Get a "Real Transcript" from the IRS, and compare that to the one that the fiancée brings in. Does the US scan the "original" returns? It would be pretty hard to forge a scanned copy without having had the "original" that was submitted (if you still submit in hard-copy like I do as well as keeping copies of the ones submitted to the IRS). 2 - Want to verify a continuing relationship. Require the US Citizen to bring fiancée/spouse into a US Embassy anywhere in the world sometime after the K1/K3 was submitted, and at least a month before the interview. One would then meet the man AND woman. Verify a real copy of both of their passports. Stamp the fiancée’s passport, and take her fingerprints in the presence of the USC. Double check the fingerprints at the interview and again at the POE. Do new US passports have the same "biometrics" that the US is requiring other countries to provide? If the USA has biometric passports and the American Citizen is holding the passport in a US Embassy, it would be pretty hard to falsify the passport 3 - If the interview is an important step of the process, how much would it cost to do ½ hour interviews with both the petitioner and beneficiary present? Maybe hour long interviews, half with the petitioner and beneficiary together, half with them separate. An extra $50? Anybody here willing to pay an extra $50 for better, more accurate interviews, and perhaps shaving 6 months off of the process? 4 - The USC not in China? Conduct a phone interview with a verifiable callback number registered in the USA to the USC at a verifiable street address (maybe caller ID would also work). Or, better yet, require the USC to come in person into an INS office or Consulate somewhere in the world for an interview. 5 - Terrorist activities a concern? Start biometrics EARLY so that info could be added to the namechecks. If recruiting labor is an issue… set the fees and wages right, and there will be no problem recruiting help. What happens to the $500 or so that are paid in fees anyway? If Fraud is the problem, the US Government should figure out what they need, and fix the problem rather than taking a year to do a 5-minute cursory review of the documents and basing decisions on "instinct".

Calaf&Turandot, Welcome to the Candle. Hopefully you will not only find frienship and support here, but perhaps you will learn something that will help with the immigration process. First you need to figure out what your application is waiting for. Is it just queued up waiting for an interview date? Has it been referred back to the USA for a second FBI Namecheck? Call DOS using the numbers above. Make sure that they tell you what the delay is. Send me an e-mail or a PM and I can send you some contact info for the FBI which may help a bit. Good luck,

P.J. Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been a long road for the two of you. ----- Clifford -----

As many of you know, I managed to find a woman who was "using" me, and ended up cheating on me. We patiently waited 18 months for her visa interview to be scheduled. I faithfully waited. She did not. After 18 months, she chose not to go to the interview and admitted dating another (Russian) guy while we were waiting for the visa. I have no idea what would have happened had the wait been shorter. Perhaps our government helped show me what was truly in her heart. Yet, I can not accept that as a justification for the delay. Distance makes things hard. One things that became a major issue for us was the difficulty with communication. Perhaps I will write more later.

Sorry to hear about all of this. Ok, he probably has a safe-deposit-box somewhere. Or, he has everything in an office desk in the house. Did he update his will? Does he have a life insurance policy? Who is the beneficiary? Keep in mind, even if the wife is not specifically listed in the will, she may still have certain rights granted by the state. She may be elegible to money that was earned while they were married. She may also be able to keep his house even if not specifically listed in the will. Or, part of his social security / retirement funds. She should find a good lawyer. Are his parents still around and able to help? How old are the children? Can they help with legal issues? She should not take every thing for "face value". It is possible that a judge would even overturn a will if it is obviously outdated. My warm thoughts are with her, ---- Clifford ----

Craig, If you applied for the visa in the USA, then the GUZ number is assigned at the NVC in the USA. You are past that stage now, but is is generally helpful to get the GUZ number from the NVC. I believe that numbers greater than 500 (for the middle 3 digits) are assigned at NVC. Numbers less than 500 may be reserved for direct consular filing in China. In your case, you have 634. So, 634 - 500 = 134. 134 div 30 = 4.5 Since you don't count the first month, that puts the number being assigned sometime in mid-May (which you expected). ----- Clifford ----

I had the formula for MOS and GUZ numbers down earlier. Now I am trying to remember them from memory. I think it was: LIN/WAC/CSC numbers: The middle 3 digits are the number of working days since the beginning of the 4th quarter (October 1) MSC numbers: I believe the middle 3 digits were the number of calendar days since the beginning of the 4th quarter (October 1). MOS/GUZ numbers.... These are assigned shortly after your case gets to NVC. Take the middle 3 digits, MOD 500 (subtract 500 if above 500). This was the number of days since the beginning of the year. Anyway, it has been 6 months since I have thought about this, but I think it was correct. Now, some of these could also be estimates. I think someone suggested that it could be calcuated on 30 day months or something. ---- Clifford -----

I like the way you think, Clifford. Unfortunately the part about it making sense would obviously be a deal breaker. Perhaps this is a bit late, however, a second office sounds better than just adding more windows in the existing office. I don't know much about the Chinese geography. As I understand it, it is a country as large as the USA, maybe even bigger. I couldn't imagine living in Oregon, and having to take a bus to Washington DC just for an interview. Then being told to go home and come back a month later What would be a good place for a second consulate to help process the immigrant visas? Bejing? Somewhere else? What about doing a letter writing campaign to the Chinese Ambassador, senators, etc suggesting opening a second immigrant visa office to help take some of the load off of GZ, and provide better service to one of the largest countries in the world (talking about land mass) ----- Clifford ------

Wouldn't it make sense to split the visa section and send half of it to Bejing, or another Consulate/Embassy? ----- Clifford -----

P.J. My quick and dirty formula for converting C to F and etc in my head is: F = (2 * C) + 30 C = (F - 30) / 2 However, if you want to be precise, you must use: C = ((9/5) * F) + 32 F = ((5/9) * (F -32)) A temp of 37 would be "normal" (98.6) Your temp of 38.3 is about 101... enough to be very unpleasant... not bad enough to head to the hospital. If you hit 39 (102.2)... start considering seeing a doctor. If you ever hit 40... (104)... then you had better head to the hospital. Good luck and I hope you feel well soon. ----- Clifford -----

If she can stand to go through the INS.. and then marrying someone for a SCAM.... She could sure hand a baseball bat to someone and stand there and take it... then hobble down to the nearest clinic. ------------- Oh... Also check everything that you both have access to (credit cards, bank accounts, etc). Maybe even close all of your bank acounts and re-open new ones in case she has managed to swipe a checkbook or a few checks. If you have mutual credit cards. Either take your name off of them, or close the accounts. Change the keys on all of your locks. Do you have a long distance calling card that charges to your home phone? Video store rental card in both your names? Hmmm... Even if you only have $50 in a Bigzoo account... don't give that to her either. Good Luck, Clifford

Apparently that is not entirely true. I presume that Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was passed to protect women from being forced to live in abusive relationships with no way out. Thus, by claiming violence (false, or perhaps true, we don't know), then this woman is hoping to fall under the VAWA, and get a visa granted to herself. Now that she is IN the USA, she may be able to avoid deportation while applying for other types of visas. ----- Clifford -----

I've never been to China. But, I tend to do 2 things when traveling internationally. 1 - I wear a thin fanny pack inside the clothes with most of the cash, travelers checks, and etc. 2 - I select 1 or 2 credit cards for the trip. Anything else is left at home. I also send an e-mail to my parents with both the credit card number, as well as the 1-800 number on the back of the cards. If something bad happens, I will contact them and they can figure out how to get the thing cancelled. Ummm... Hopefully they can remember my birthday and my mother's maiden name. Might as well also include your passport number and any other vital info in that e-mail. ----- Clifford ------

I am not sure about timing. I believe that the K1 fiancée visa requires that the beneficiary MUST marry the petitioner (which was done in your case). In theory, it can not be used to marry someone else. Find out if that requirement changes after the initial marriage and filing the AOS. Also, look in to the differences between a divorce and an annulment. It may be possible that even the INS would look at the two processes differently. Of course, if one would hurt your wife’s case more than the other, then it is likely that she would already know what is best for her, and insist on that alternative. Reading one side of the story, this whole thing smells like a scam. However, realize, of course, that some people do truly have a change of heart after marriage. Perhaps the two of you did not “really” know each other before she came to the USA and you got married. The abuse thing could even be “saving face” in some strange sense. The way to really see what was in her heart. Offer her a divorce and a 1-way plane ticket back to China so that she can return to her family for support after the failed marriage. If she accepts the plane ticket, then this was obviously a big misunderstanding. However, if she refuses the plane ticket, then it would sound MUCH more suspicious. She could also feel too embarrassed to return home to China after saying goodbye to all of her family and friends and heading off for her new life in America. Or, if you are more “devious”, offer her a round trip ticket to use while she is sorting things out, then cancel the visa support while she is out of the country. I believe that if you cancel the AOS, then the AP would be meaningless. But, of course from what I have heard, I am sure she is smarter than that Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about “Life after K1”. Thus, I am not certain whether the AOS interviews require both people to be present, or if a single person could do the interviews alone. I would think that it would be a poor choice to allow this to drag on longer than absolutely necessary. One thing to keep in mind. She may be entitled to half of your net income (including investments and retirement) for the period that you are married. End it SOON. Good Luck, and best wishes. ----- Clifford ------

It has been years since I've lost any luggage. I am continually amazed at how much luggage that gets handled and so rarely does it get lost. The first time I had luggage lost, was in 1987. I was coming home from Italy. They had the old type of string-tied luggage tags. Apparently the tag fell off of my bag, so someone in baggage handling just found a tag that had fallen off of someone else's bag and tied it on mine. Thus, rather than going from JFK to Eugene on United, my bag ended up heading off on Delta to California. The bag showed up about a week later (thanks to having my address and phone number written on a tag on it). If I hadn't had my address on it, there would have been no way to ever find it. On my next trip to Italy, they lost my bags going. Thus, I arrived with only the clothes on my back. Fortunately, they found the bag within a few days and I just had to make an extra trip to Milano to pick it up. Many of my recent trips have been direct flights, point to point where it is much more difficult to loose the bags. Unfortunately that may be changing as there are fewer direct flights originating in St. Louis. I like the Russian airports. You take all the bags through security. Then you head off to check in and get the boarding pass and turn in the bags. Each flight has it's own line for the boarding passes. Thus, the bags for each flight should be able to all stay together (thus it is much harder to loose anything) at least on the leg originating from Russia. ----- Clifford -----

Anne, Here are some notes that P.J. put together about a year ago. They seemed to be very complete. I know that some of the applications have been recently updated. I haven't reviewed the new applications yet (that will come later). I believe that the 3/4 frontal picture has been replaced by a "full frontal" picture. I.E. You now look at the camera, rather than looking away from it. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=7&t=3609

Steve & Anne, Some couples who have used lawyers in the past swear by them. Some who have used them swear at them. Many couples who have not used lawyers think they are a waste of money. Many things depend on your time / financial situation. A good lawyer will charge around $1,000 for putting together your paperwork. But, even lawyers make mistakes. And the lawyers really can not do anything to speed up the process. That $1K could easily buy an extra trip to China. And, of course, the more the two of you are actually together, the better the application will look (not to mention preserving your sanity). There are many free resources that you can use. People here on the CFL are always glad to answer any question that you might come up with. Of course all our answers are "opinions", but the collective group of several dozen active members have a lot of experience with the process. And, there are always your congressmen and senators who are supposed to help if you run into problems dealing with government agencies. --------- One other note. There is a rather large group of Candle for Love members living in the Northwest. I have managed to meet a couple of them who seemed to be very kind. Perhaps some of them actually live north of the river. Look at some of these topics: What happened to the Oregon Topic http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=3561 Oregon... How about another get-together http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=5275 Oregon Get Together http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....=ST&f=15&t=5697 How many members living in Oregon http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=5&t=6006 Good Luck to both of you, Clifford

I have heard that excessive writing to your congressman can cause GZ to become irritated and cause excessive delays. I have never figured out what happened to cause an extreme delay with my case in Moscow. Before joining CFL, I had been under the false impression that getting an online note from BCIS-Nebraska saying that cases like mine would be processed in ”70 to 90 days”… then 6 months later getting another note that said , "YOUR CASE HAS BEEN APPROVED" actually meant something. So, I scheduled a trip to Russia after my case was approved at BCIS. Then a couple of weeks later when I got the paper confirmation stating that there would be another 2-4 weeks at NVC, I started realizing my error. A month and a half later as I was heading to Russia, there was no progress on my case at NVC so I contacted my congressman for the first time. And, when I got to Moscow, I also contacted the Embassy. Within a week after contacting my congressman, the application was sent on the slow boat to Moscow, and later I discovered that it had arrived in Moscow the day before I returned to the USA. Well, my case got stuck in Moscow for an additional 8 months before the P3/P4 (10 months for the interview). (Moscow uses a single combined P3/P4) Did I piss someone off?????... I don't know, I always try to be polite to EVERYONE. Before I finished, I contacted 2 representatives and 2 senators, a Visa Liaison at DOS, and eventually sent a Fax to the FBI. Only after stewing for 8 months, the P3/P4 was sent and the interview was scheduled. ---------------------------------------- Ok…. So the advise is. Try to find out the “norm” for processing times. Only contact your congressman OR SENATOR when your case significantly deviates from the “norm”. Probably everyone should contact their congressman at least once to convey to them your pleasure about having a whole year of your life wasted by US Government red tape….. And how much you are looking to the next 5 years of red tape after the K1/K3 visa is granted.

Don't anticipate that the INS will read anything other than what is on their official forms. But, try to explain too. Try to be as unambiguous as possible with everything. And anticipate the INS to get it wrong anyway. Talk to Mick sometime. I believe that GZ sent his P3 to the wrong address (sent it to the USA when he was in China) which ended up costing him over 6 months additional waiting. But, If you want the INS to send your mail to a PO Box, figure out how to fill out the forms with your mailing address bing a P.O. Box without representing that you are living in a PO Box. ----- Clifford ------

Well... You can get mail forwarding services which will give you something that looks like a real street adress. However, remember the general rule... NEVER LIE ON YOUR INS FORMS. Too many people learn to regret it later. How would you explain that you live in Vermont (or anywhere on the East Coast), but actually work in the midwest or West Coast? Telecommuting? Would you also need an East Coast Cell Phone? What about those pesky things called the 1040 forms that you have to turn in later? Doesn't the government already have copies of the "real" ones? Fall 2003, one CFL member reported actually having the FBI stop by his place of work (rare, but it has happened). I wonder if there are any women who try to document a "fake" relationship without a real man. At least a PO box requires someone to actually pick up the mail. A mail forwarding service could potentially send the mail anywhere. ----- Clifford -----