lichenrachel

I filed my AOS with Notarial Certificate of Birth and just got a RFE requesting for the original birth certificate... Arbitrary change of rules by USCIS again?

I filed for AOS 2 weeks ago and got my biometrics appointment letter 1 week ago and was happy that everything seemed to finally go well. However, yesterday Request for Initial Evidence appeared in our mailbox, requesting for "a copy of the applicant's foreign birth certificate issued by the appropriated civil authority" and its translation. I have submitted my Notarial Certificate of Birth (the White Paper) with my application, under the impression that the white paper is all they need. I browsed others' posts here, and many indicate for Chinese citizens, submitting the Notarial Certificate is sufficient. On visajourney.com there are people who have been requested the birth certificate in foreign language but no one is Chinese. Now I am confused... Are they asking for my original birth certificate in Chinese? The problem with my original birth certificate (medical certificate of birth)in Chinese is that it only has my mom's name on it... No name of me or my dad... (sounds totally legit, I know) Apparently that is how birth certificates looked like 20 some years ago! I am going to call USCIS on Monday to ask for some clarifications and I might have to ask my parents to get notarized affidavits stating they are my parents... good times... Anyone here had similar problem with Notarial Certificate of Birth?

Hey guys, Just want to give an update on my case and a sort of closure to this thread. I passed the second interview in December and arrived in the States in January. We already got married and are moving onto the AOS process. (Hooray) I apologize for not posting sooner but the second interview was quite an agonizing experience and I was not sure how to summarize it. The interview was long and the VO asked a lot of harsh and interrogative questions and acted extremely condescending. I felt humiliated throughout the interview, although later I realized it might just be some kind of pressure interview techniques he was trying to use. I did not give up at any moment of the interview and fought back every absurd assumptions and concerns the VO had in mind. Anyway I am glad the whole thing is over (for now) and I am again together with my husband. There are people who have been put into similar situations and have asked us for help and suggestions. Since each case is unique I am not sure how much our strategies can apply to other people's cases. However, if you happen to get a white slip that you don't deserve, be sure to get your senators and representatives to write to GZ requesting a supervisory review of the case. That seems the only way that might work to keep the case in GZ. Wish everyone luck and happiness. Thank you again for your help.

Anyone knows whether you get a different visa officer in the second interview or not?

I agree. We DIYed everything from the beginning and the USCIS processing went very smoothly with no delays. Got P3 in less than 3 months. Having an experienced immigration lawyer does help though. If I knew the whole thing can turn out to be this tricky and ugly, I would have hired one from the beginning, not to let him/her handle our case entirely, but have him/her as our consultant in need.

I apologize, but that is 100% bull excrement. We KNOW of recent VOs that were removed from their positions because of receiving financial incentives from outside people. We KNOW of people here who's relationship has existed in limbo for YEARS, and that have been denied multiple times. Their relationship is OBVIOUSLY not fraudulent but they are denied. There is no guarantee of any kind of justice in this scenario. In my opinion the statement should be: 1) Consider how to avoid becoming visible. 2) Hide in the masses and be as unremarkable as possible 3) If there is anything remarkable about your situation, kill it in America by including it on the application, and even this is dangerous .. better rules #1 & 2 I agree, there is no system working in Guangzhou, they pull numbers out of a hat and someone gets a Visa. This consulate constantly craps all over USCIS decisions with no justification. They constantly hide behind "non bonafide" BS and have to answer to noone. The only point I will agree on that Bullmastiff made is yes China is a high fraud country, but why? Maybe because the consulate allows it to happen with all their back door dealings zero accountability to anyone. Scott@Hong: Not-topic-related: I love your profile pic:) You look such a beautiful couple.

Ugh... Someone teaches me how to multiquote... I am not sure I really know... most likely reason is that I am using marriage to get immigrant benefits, as stated in my original post. I am going to focus more on the love and emotional side of our relationship and I am bringing many affidavits our parents and friends wrote in support of the truthfulness of our relationship, along with other updated evidence. "Are you financially more affluent than your fiancee ??? " Not really. We are both the only child from typical middle class families. If calculated in USD, his family is more affluent than mine. "Do you think possibly that the officer saw you potentially using your fiancee as a stepping stone ??? either with his knowledge or without ." I don't think my fiance is so stupid that he can't tell I am using him as a stepping stone or let me use him that way. The VO might see it that way though, I don't know. I will be more cautious and observant in the second interview. If he ever implies that way, I will try very hard to fight his false assumptions. However if he is already biased that way, I assume it would be pretty hard for me to change his mind. "I am sure the system works ; if you are innocent you shall prevail at the end ." Not sure I agree with you on this one. The K1 visa system doesn't work IMO. Taken into consideration how soon the petition expires (4 months, right?), there is basically no way to appeal through USCIS. White slip is death sentence in most cases.

Yes I am aware that it is going to take longer if we apply for spousal visa now since he just returned to the State. I just hope they give me a chance to explain and clear whatever doubt they have in mind about the truthfulness of our relationship this time. And hopefully they will assign a different visa officer to me. Just don't give me a white slip again without telling me why or letting me explain.

Yep, not a very experienced lawyer, K-Visas seem to have the highest denial rate of the visas because it is easy for the consulate to toss the "bona-fide relationship" denial. As for the logical approach it would have been to marry in China, and file petition directly in the consulate since it sounds like US Citizen lived in China more than 6 months, it IS the quickest, and least expensive of the routes. K-1 has the EXPENSIVE adjustment of status in the USA, which now costs: $1070 Costs involved: K-1: I-129F: $340 Consulate: $350 AOS: $1070 ($1763) CR-1 I-130: $420 NVC I-864: $70 (Not charged when DCF) Visa fee: $400 ($355+$45) ($820) DCF And yes, we are getting married in China and applying for spousal visa if I get denied again (knock knock).

Yep, not a very experienced lawyer, K-Visas seem to have the highest denial rate of the visas because it is easy for the consulate to toss the "bona-fide relationship" denial. As for the logical approach it would have been to marry in China, and file petition directly in the consulate since it sounds like US Citizen lived in China more than 6 months, it IS the quickest, and least expensive of the routes. K-1 has the EXPENSIVE adjustment of status in the USA, which now costs: $1070 Costs involved: K-1: I-129F: $340 Consulate: $350 AOS: $1070 ($1763) CR-1 I-130: $420 NVC I-864: $70 (Not charged when DCF) Visa fee: $400 ($355+$45) ($820) DCF God damn the inexperienced lawyer who charged us $150 consultation fee for nothing... We were overly confident the first time round. We just thought "wait for 6 months and be reunited in the States? Sure, no problem." We didn't even think as far as the adjustment of status and the green card. We just assumed as long as we are together again in the States, we will figure out the rest from there. And you bet the K visa is more expensive. Since we hired a lawyer after the denial (from "one of the best immigration law firms in the nation"), we paid $2000 flat fee (plus another $150 consultation fee) for fighting the denial and keeping the case in GZ. The lawyer we have now is very nice and helpful and we don't regret hiring her at all, but we think the main reason that kept our case in GZ is the help from senators and representatives. Anyway, money is not the main issue now. If everything works out fine this time, I am willing to give the lawyer (or better, the God) $500 (or however much the God reasonably asks for) as bonus.(just kdding:))

I know I am extremely fortunate in this case and I am very very thankful. (Although I am still pissed at GZ for the previous denial) They asked me to go back anytime between Mon and Wed for fingerprints and will schedule the interview for the next day. I will probably go back in about two weeks when I have all the renewed evidence ready. I wish you good luck at your interview. With GZ it's all about luck. They can speculate and conjecture any reason under the sun to deny someone. Lots of us get caught up in their speculation and conjecture....and others pass on through. It's not how well you represent yourself at the interview or how much evidence you have to back up your bona fide relationship....it's just plain ol' luck. tsap seui Yes. I know if I had been just a little bit luckier I would have got the visa the first time with no problem. I saw so many "if your relationship is sound, they will never deny you a visa" kind of talks and I thought there is nothing to be afraid of and I was not nervous at all before the interview. I visited the US twice for student conferences when I was in college and I got my visas in 1 minute. I never thought it could be a matter of luck until I got rejected the K1 visa. Thank you for your wishes, tsap seui. I am going to the Lama Temple to pray tomorrow:)

I saw that post when I was crazy searching for remedies after my visa was first denied. I gave me a little bit of hope but since it is a spousal visa it is not exactly my case. I didn't realize the fiance/marriage visa would be this complicated at all. My fiance would definitely defer law school for a year to wait until I get the visa if we knew it was going to be this hard. We both thought I would already be in the States by now. With all due respect, I think the whole process is ridiculous and the immigration system is broken. I feel I was already sharing more than enough in front of a stranger about my private life and I felt totally humiliated and victimized when I was denied such a basic human right to be reunited with my loved one and accused of faking a marriage to go the States. It is very ironic that in the immigration visa interviewing area, they have portraits of human rights activists and minority leaders hanging on every wall. Done complaining.

I know I am extremely fortunate in this case and I am very very thankful. (Although I am still pissed at GZ for the previous denial) They asked me to go back anytime between Mon and Wed for fingerprints and will schedule the interview for the next day. I will probably go back in about two weeks when I have all the renewed evidence ready.

We were about to get married in Beijing when we consulted with a US immigration lawyer (probably a not very good one. We are using a different lawyer to handle our denial though). He suggested K1 over marriage visa because he said it is faster and safer. We had very little knowledge of this sort of things so we followed his advice. From our analysis with our lawyer, we think I fell into two trap questions at the first interview. First, he asked "is there any other reason for you to go to the States?". I interpreted it as "is there any other reason besides marriage" while he might be asking "is there any reason instead of marriage", I said "of course my principle reason is to get married to my fiance. Any other reasons?...I also like the American culture, so it won't take me too long to get used to life there. There are also good education opportunities. I have a very comfortable life in Beijing. If not for joining my future husband in the States, there is no reason for me to abandon everything here." Then I mentioned I would like to go to grad school when I go to the States when he asked me "what is your plan when you get to the States?". We think the CO might have concluded that I am going to the States to pursue other immigrant benefits (school, career, or whatever he thinks), which is very insulting to me. Education is very important to me. Even if I don't get a job afterwards, it is important for my personal development and most importantly for the education of our kids in the future (when we have kids). All I tried to do at the interview is to prove that my fiance and I have long term life plans in the States and I won't become a public charge and I will lead a meaningful life there. I realize maybe I was being too candid with the visa officer who I should have treated more like my enemy:) Anyway, those are the two questions that might have showed red flags. But I still don't think it justifies a denial. There were other 30+ not related questions and all the evidence we showed. ANYWAY, I AM very grateful for the second chance and I am working on strategies to overcome last denial. We put A LOT OF efforts into keeping the case in GZ and basically used every resort we had. My fiance had to juggle the heavy workload of law school and my visa denial and it has been really difficult and exhausting for him. I am just trying to see if anyone has been through this got his/her denial overturned. (Though it seems like no one here has had the same second review thing.) I did get several responses on the Chinese versions of Candle Love ("immigration visas to the USA through marriage" forum). Some said they got a "second interview" notice after submitting additional materials after a blue slip, but only to be told "you visa is denied" in face. No interview questions at all. Though it is not exactly the same as my case, it does sound really scary. Sorry if I am writing too much here... I have had this discussion many many times with my fiance and our lawyer. I just want some outsider's opinions on it. Also my fiance's finals are coming up for the next few days, I'd rather not keep distracting him too much now. Thank you again for everyone who shared their suggestions here.

Hey everyone, this is my first post here. Never thought I would need to post a "help!" thread here because my fiance and I were so confident that we would get a visa. (I am the Chinese beneficiary) Until I was given a white slip after a super long interrogating interview in early November...My fiance and I and our families were shocked and devastated. So was everyone who knows us. My fiance and I met in China and lived together in Beijing for almost a year until he decided to go back to the States for law school and we decided to get married. It is the first marriage for both of us. I brought book-thick evidence to the interview and was asked more than 30 questions. I was denied the K1 visa on the ground of "non-bona fide" relationship by a hostile visa officer. With tremendous help from my fiance's senators and representatives and our families and friends, we succeeded in keeping the case in GZ and I was given a second chance to go for another interview. I have been searching for K1 visa second interview cases on the internet but haven't found any. I am wondering whether anyone here has had experience with that and is willing to shed my some light on how the second interview works. I have heard encouraging things like they are not going to be as tough on the second interview but have also heard about a case where the beneficiary was given another white slip after a seemingly unreasonable first round denial. I don't think we can afford another denial. The whole visa denial mess has been so mentally and emotionally exhausting, for us and for our families. It will be a real shame to have him quit law school to come to China to marry me and delay our futures because of an arbitrary decision made by GZ. We are doing everything we can to make it work this time. If you don't feel like commenting openly, you are welcome to PM me. Many thanks in advance.