Jaseball

Whoops. Yes it is removal of conditions. I sent them a ton of evidence. All the things you pointed out as well as pictures with family and friends for the past few years. In fact, I even sent in my wife's mother's passport and visa because she has been visiting us the past few months and included those pictures as well. I have no idea why I got this request for more information. Guess I'll just dig up more bills and resend stuff in as requested.

Not sure how to address this issue. I based my ROC package on the pinned topics on the forum. We received biometrics appointment and went about 2 weeks ago. Today I get this blue page from USCIS asking for more information showing joint ownership of property, insurance, and financials. The problem is for the past few years we have been living at the poverty level. I've only managed to land contract and temp positions and my wife has worked a few months as a care provider for the elderly. Since she has arrived we have not been able to afford medical or life insurance. Basically we've been living off savings, sold off investments, and being as frugal as possible. Our residence is owned by my family, so we pretty much live here as caretakers with no rent or mortgage. Most bills with our home address are in my name. We have a joint savings/checking account, she is on my main credit card and both of us also have solo savings accounts. Should I just write a letter and resend more bills and information as per the request or should I send it in and then ask for an info pass appointment? It was a struggle just to manage the filing fee for Removal of Conditions and to travel for the second bio. I thought we would be called in for an interview again, just like we did for the 2 year green card, but instead we get this letter. What do you all feel is the best way to approach and solve this situation? I realize that the lack of rent/mortgage and lack of health insurance are valid concerns for USCIS, but if we paid for health insurance for all this time we would be on the streets, just like if we had a large mortgage or rent payment it would be the same deal. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated as usual. Thanks all.

Nothing like paying an 'expert,' or attorney who couldn't find his own butt while sitting on a toilet. When I started this entire process I always figured nobody would care about the process as much as I would and the $3000 retainers and such some of these people were asking for would just about cover the actual filing fees. Everyone here is right. Fire the guy for being an incompetent POS and document it in a written communication. You guys should be fine and you are 100x better off spending the time and effort just looking through threads here and doing the work yourself. Figure it this way. No one else will care as much. Nobody else will do as much due diligence. You have to not only provide the pictures, documentation, tax records, form information, income and asset information, and other leg work, so what exactly does an attorney do in this scenario? Collect all the work you put in and hopefully file the right forms on time? The only time I would think an attorney is worthwhile in immigration is when deportation is possible, USCIS or other government agencies are messing up big time, you are stuck in limbo in GUZ, and even in these extremes I think 95% of the time you are still better off doing it on your own. Sorry to hear of the mess up by the lawyer, but I'm not surprised at all. Best of luck and best wishes.

Congrats man. I've been out of the loop for some time here, but I could have sworn you were well on your way long before I started my process. We had to wait 2 years for the K1, but that was 2 years ago and the wife and I will have to go for the 10 year green card soon. Regardless I am happy you both got approved and it was a very long time in coming. Best wishes!

Saw all the damage and destruction on the news and hope anyone in those areas stays safe. 300+ people killed in minutes and billions in damage as people have their entire homes just swept away and a lifetime of memories along with it. At the same time we have this 24/7 coverage of an 80 million dollar+ "Royal Wedding," where you have this extravagance and such being constantly replayed over and over..... It just doesn't make any sense to me.

Thanks guys. I know I can always count on fast and correct answers regarding this sort of stuff from folks here.

We're in the same position too and need to get ready for the 10 year green card soon. So sick and tired of all these filing fees, documentation, fingerprints, and other stuff related to just being with my wife.

It's been awhile. My wife and I are trying to obtain a travel visa for her mother to visit and spend a few months here in the US. From the past few years of reading the forums I've found this process isn't exactly easy and USCIS seems to think every person traveling from China over here plans on staying forever. Our situation is as follows. 1) I'm not employed full time. I have some well paying contracting jobs, savings, and investments I can tap, but I don't have a stable income stream and we're just managing to hold on while looking for work. 2) My wife isn't pregnant, so there isn't a new baby or pregnant wife where having her mom here to help would make sense. 3) The mother in law has my brother in law in college, owns property, has her own older mother to take care of, and has many ties to China. 4) The mother in law has decided to use some sort of preparation service to help with applying for the visa. They want my tax returns, SS# of my wife and I, passport information, I-94 - pretty much everything. As someone who already had his ID stolen I really don't feel comfortable digitizing and sending all my details to someone I don't even know. I may as well apply directly and send the information over myself to USCIS just like I did for the K1 visa. I just don't believe any Chinese business will secure my information or provide the correct services. Would like to see what everyone else thinks. Guess that is all for now. In all honesty I'd rather send my wife back to China for a few months and save myself this headache.

Areas such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, or other coastal or large cities were already up to our prices years ago for luxury items like hotels, fine dining, alcohol, and as others have said the real estate in those areas were also very much inflated and have been going up. China real estate is going to pop sooner or later, just like the US. May take 10+ years but it is going to pop. The gap of the have and have nots in China is even worse than here. Most of us met our partners where? Over the internet, in a major/modern urban area in China, through friends, chance meeting, etc., but in almost all cases we met through modern means and met someone who has access to the internet, phone, etc. Large parts of China are just uninhabitable and there are other large areas where people barely scrape by and the idea of electricity, cars, computers, etc., is totally foreign, so perhaps 10% or less of China is really what we see in the news. We're also just talking out of our ass. We're the ones who sell our TBills, other secured/unsecured debt, CDO's, and insurance products to China and then complain. If their currency get's valued at 40% more than now, does that mean the jobs our corporations sent over all of a sudden come back here? I don't think so. I wouldn't worry about China inflation. It get's bad there the government will crack down and put up huge tariffs, restrict consumption, sieze private troves of the 'rare,' items, and do all they can to curb the problem, just like they did with the pork shortage 2 years ago. I'm not a fan of Communist or Socialist societies, but you can't argue that that these types of societies protect their own first and can act very fast. We just talk a bunch of bullshit, let more and more years pass as the problem gets worse, and then the people who created and prospered from the problems retire and leave the mess for someone else to deal with.

Hey Folks, been awhile. I'd add that perhaps 10-20+ years ago it would be beneficial to come to the states and start a life, but right now we're at the start of a pretty crappy economic climate, with 2+ ongoing wars, escalating costs in all aspects of life, and many other negative factors. Guess it is the same in many other areas of the world, so there are no easy escape areas. I just don't feel running away to the US and going through the entire process is the same rosy prospect as before. As for love and knowing.... There is no end to how you really know and as long as you breathe your relationship, feelings, and the entire situation will continue to evolve with changing economics, the introduction of new people or ideas or environment. Losses from death, a new child, existing children, illness, or other major factors will all change the existing situation. All you can wish and hope for is to remain true to yourself and to give your best to your relationship and come what may. I'd also trust your gut if your gut has been dependable in the past. It's pretty hard for someone to look into your eyes and have that glow and pass on a feel of happiness when they can barely stand you. There is a pretty large gap between a scammer and someone who really loves you that should be pretty obvious.

Email is a good one, especially if you can both write in Chinese as well as English. Internet cafe's are all over China, so sending regular email or better yet, screen capturing video conference sessions is good. I don't think they ever asked me how I paid for airline tickets. I just kept boarding passes in my name, train tickets, etc., etc. Pictures are great too with different clothes, locations, dates, especially in different areas of China. Phone calls can be tracked by calling cards that record call from/too, date, duration or by your normal phone records showing outgoing calls to China phone numbers. Don't worry about the blue. We got a blue slip for past Communist Party Membership and it delayed us 6+ months, but it was overcome.

Did the OP say they did not send in Tax returns, W2, bank/finance records and the statement that he was currently employed before he lost the job? If not, then this is going to come up no matter what and he'll need a joint sponsor. In our case I sent the financial support docs in July 2008. Found out I was going to lose my job in Oct 2008. My fiancee's second interview was around December 2008. They didn't ask if my employment status had changed and we didn't volunteer that information. The right tactic is always to just answer truthfully whatever is asked, but never volunteer any information, especially if it is a negative. After getting the K1 visa and entering into the US we got married after 60 days or so. I was hoping to find a new job before filing for AOS and was really worried about her being granted the 2 year conditional. I even posted here about joint sponsors and asked family and friends to help me sponsor my wife and was shocked and had several people flat out turn me down in being a joint sponsor. It made me realize if I ever needed a kidney or something I was probably screwed. To be honest, that was one of the most painful experiences during this entire process and ever now, months later I'm still pissed when I seriously think about it. I filed AOS by myself and used unemployment income, current savings, investments, etc., as my backing. We were actually called in for a face to face interview, but the lady said we looked fine and we passed AOS without a joint sponsor. I do agree with the others. You really don't want your fiancee to come here and realize you are out of work and didn't tell her. In fact, you're far better off telling her and seeing if she is supportive or has a fit. My wife knew a long, long time ago when I first suspected I may lose my job, so she knew what to expect.

We were in GUZ around this time last year for our interview and it took quite awhile to get the date as well. It was actually our second interview after a 6 month delay and then they delayed us again in order to have her do the fingerprints again. Still, being together waiting was far better than being separated by thousands of miles.

For our case I just did not feel comfortable getting married in China and then risking the process, so a K1 was the only way I wanted to go. Couldn't imagine being legally married and separated for 1+ years waiting for a visa not counting trips I made to visit or to have her former party membership or some other issue happen during the wait to prevent her from entering the US. Another bonus for me was we were committed to each other and had the time to know each other even better during the long wait for the K1. I disliked the 90 days limit. We had very little time to prepare for our wedding, adjust to living together, getting her used to changes to being in the US, meeting family and friends in person, etc., before we were married.

I just followed the FAQ here as well as several posts in this forum listing out exactly what others included in their packages.

I think it's too late if he missed the original interview date. It says right on the letter that missing the first interview date could result in significant delays in processing, if I remember correctly. Everyone else is also right about leaving for China. Even if she has AP granted her status isn't secure and going back to China without a green card can be problematic on getting out again or getting on the plane.

Always nice to hear another who overcame a blue slip and managed to bring over their fiance/e. Best wishes, congratulations and just bask in the feeling of being together. It's been almost 1 year since I have been together with my wife and every day I am thankful to have her with me.

I remember the hardest part was being at the airport in China headed back to the US. The ride to the airport, eating Chinese airport noodles, and the minutes counting down until boarding. After a farewell kiss I started walking, looked back, waved, and kept on walking. Being back in the US I just put my effort into work, saving cash, communicating, and making sure we did all we could to make the visa process as smooth as possible. It was back when USCIS raised fees and were swarmed with applications and our process was just incredibly slow. I think you made the right choice in coming back on time as was told to your employer. You need to get your sleep schedule back on track, save up cash, keep up the communications and just prepare, prepare, prepare. Try to hold your emotions in check and only express the positives. I'm sure your fiancee is very perceptive and if you feel and show happiness it also makes her wait easier.

Does China face more challenges or do we face more challenges in the next 10 years? That's a straight forward question. In my opinion? We face far more challenges in the next 10 years. Hell, right now we have democrats trying to pass a 2 trillion dollar 'health reform,' bill and the craziest part is they catered to the insurance companies, yet the insurance companies STILL spit in their face. That right there is already a huge challenge we face. Not to mention 2 ongoing wars, insurmountable debt, worthless yet insanely expensive college education, shrinking middle class, ongoing economic crisis, jobless people, aging baby boomer population, dying domestic car manufacturers, etc., etc. Call me insane, but I'd rather deal with China's problems.

I love what I believe the US stands for, but there have been way too many instances and situations where the politicians, insurance companies, lawyers, extreme liberals/conservatives, etc., have really just screwed with the entire ideal of our country. Having China holding 3 trillion of our debt and needing the world to continue to buy our debt to run the next 3 generations of American's into debt into further debt is insanity. Sure China exports, but that means they have a strong manufacturing base - something the US decided to give up for the 'high paying service industry,' jobs. It also means for decades China let companies like GM, Pfizer, Ford, All Clad, IBM, Dell, etc., etc build factories, showed them processes, provided technology, training, etc., and just patiently learned and stored this information. So many American's think Made in China is just tainted lead based paint toys, bad baby formula, cheap clothes. Well, they have that stuff, but they also have the high tech, heavy industry stuff too. Sure China will be hurt as US consumers cut back. People without jobs here, who have suffered 20-40% drops in both housing and investments, who have had pension funds suffer massive losses, who may get screwed yet again with ever increasing health insurance, education, and other costs won't be able to go into easy debt or take out equity to buy some of the stuff China and other nations produce. Still, the US isn't the only market place. We were just a large population of people willing to go into debt for a bunch of stuff produced by other nations and believed things would never change. Other nations are diversifying out of the dollar. OPEC wants oil to be removed from the dollar. We don't have strong inflation yet, but it's coming. Our government continues to write checks we can't afford, covered by paper money hot off the presses. They can tax us at 100% and we'd still be screwed for decades. Sure, it may not be China's decade, but it sure as heck won't be ours either. We really need to wake up and see the hole we are in and worry about our own problems. Pointing a finger and speculating about China is useless.

Yeah, I've gotten 3 visas in the last 2 years, but have gone directly to the Chinese consulate in SF in person. Never had any problems and got the visa within 24 hours and picked up my passport.

Ouch, 5 days? I can't say for sure, since I've never read any situation like that.

They still control 94% market share on PC's. Apple can be a very profitable niche company with mainstream hits like the IPhone and ITunes, but that's it. Been using Apple since the Apple II, Mac SE, etc., from the very start, so I am not a Microsoft fanboi. Just from a practical IT standpoint they are still the leaders; at least for now.

Oh I agree, but the irony is the IPhone and Apple aims at being trendy, different, cutting edge, which is why you have people who adopt Apple tech early. However, with massive success and such a popular device you get to the point where it is far more likely to find someone with an IPhone than without, so other brands and devices that are not as common actually stand out because they are not a dime a dozen. I remember setting up a personal IPhone to read our company's exchange mail for a friend. The guy didn't even know you could access work email through his phone. Being able to slide your fingers to switch photos or menu's, having a nice large screen, and being able to take a (non flash) photo was enough coolness for him. The smartest consumers are the ones who know what they need, think about features they may want, examine the market for the best device filling those specs, and then do a cost/benefit analysis to pick the most effective device. Often times the most popular, expensive, or newest device isn't the one most suited for the user.

Been using Windows Mobile for years and although it is annoying and buggy it was also there years and years before the IPhone. I personally think the IPhone is 'cooler,' and is a much better designed product with a far nicer user interface and experience. The problem is the business world still runs on MS OS's and Office as far as most end users are concerned, so Apple needs seamless integration with Exchange, Office docs, etc. It's an interesting time for Microsoft. Google is a huge powerhouse in search and is expanding into several other areas. Apple is the clear winner with the IPhone, ITunes, and is geared towards the people who believe they are trendy (at first) but then other people jump on because Apple does offer some cool things. I'm using an HTC touch pro. I'm sure hardware-wise it could easily run Mobile 6.5, but 6.1 is fine for just about everything.