Tom R

But the original issue of the visa was per he single status; if the consulate knew that changed they might be inclined to change their presumption on 'intent'... so the issue one is faced with is how far do you go to conceal the change in her status from the consulate, POE, customs, etc ? (Rhetorical, and no real answer being sought-just provoking some thought here). As well, if they go through customs, I would assume they go to the window together for checking their documents. If they are asked the simple question of how do you know each other, etc... we're back to how far does someone go to concealing their status... So, she could be coached to simply go through customs alone in the visitor side and not in the citizen side (with USC). Well, she's not going to try to conceal the fact that she's married from the consulate. She will be stating that she's married when she fills out her form for renewal...hopefully that doesn't affect her chances of approval too much. ? She will be going to the states this year on her existing visa, so there won't be the status change this time on her visa, but next year she'll be going through on her hopefully renewed visa with the status change. Also, we won't be going through customs together as we will not be travelling together. Any more suggestions on plan of attack here or any issues anyone foresees are much welcomed. Thanks, Tom

1) Ok, what about a possible denial at the POE next year when she's entering, if she get's her renewal? 2) She will have renewed her visa by then and will have a married status at that point. We've read that her being married to a USC might be cause for a denial at the POE and the immigration officers there don't spend any time asking questions. She feels that if given the chance she could convince them that she's not a risk to stay in the country for longer than she's supposed to but she says that she's not sure that she'll get that chance. She's a little worried about this. Should she be? 3) Are there any precautions to take? 4) Any documents that she should have with her that would help her case if needed? Thanks, Tom

Thank you all again for the responses. Especially dnoblett. They've been very helpful. Unfortunately I have a few more details and questions : ) I hope it's ok including these in this thread. I tried to update the tags at the top of the page to include the B-2, not sure that I can.?. Anyway, here they are: 1) She still has a valid visa that was issued to her before we were married, the one she got last year in order to go to the USA to take the Barr exam. She is planning a trip to the U.S. at the end of October to take an Ethics exam for passing the Barr and plans on entering on her existing visa. I looked at her passport and under visa type it says: R B1/B2 Not sure what that means. Is it a B1 or a B2? She thinks it's a B-2. Don't know if it matters. 2) Do you see any problems with her passing through immigration on her existing visa in October? I've heard that she might be denied at the POE b/c she's married to a USC? Is this a possibility? 4) If there is a problem there, what can she do to prepare for any questioning or hang ups at the POE? Any material/documents that she should carry with her? 5) Also, is it possible that she just renew her existing visa by visiting the CITIC bank and filling out a DS-160? Then she'll be good for next year too? 6) or because of the change in her marital status is she SOL in renewing her existing visa? Thanks again, Tom

Thank you, and yes, that's the plan as long as she's able to get a B-2 visa to allow her entry next year. It's really a must for her. Keeping our fingers crossed.

Thanks for the quick responses, guys. So, would it be best to only file the I-130 and not even worry about the I-129F? What about the fact that she doesn't plan on moving to the U.S. for another couple years? Only plans to visit. Will she be ok with the I-130 (CR-1)?

Hello again, CFL, I have some questions for all of you here on this great site. Hopefully you can lead us down the right path. My wife(Chinese citizen) and I(American Citizen) were successfully married in China on May 20. I'm currently still in Shanghai, where she works and resides, on my multi-entry L visa visiting her and will be here for another couple of months. We were thinking of starting the visa process and then we decided to wait since she plans on staying here in China and working for another couple years. Now we've changed our minds again and she wants to get going on all of it since she'll need to enter the states next year to get sworn in for the NY Barr. We've heard that it'd be tough for her to get a tourist visa being married to me so we're going to apply for the K-3. I guess the thing that concerns me the most is the fact that she doesn't plan on moving to the U.S. immediately after hopefully getting approved so I'm a little confused as to the best course of action here and what to apply for. So my questions are: 1) Should we apply for the K-3 non-immigrant visa since she won't be moving to the U.S. just yet? 2) If so, I understand that involves filing the I-130 and the I-129F. Should I apply for those ASAP? Also, how long after I apply for the I-130 should I wait to apply for the I-129F? 3) Does the K-3 visa approval require her to enter the U.S. within a certain time frame? 4) Does the front-loading start here with these two forms or does that start later on in our process? If so, will I need multiple copies of everything? As in copies for each form and then copies for her and I to keep for interviews? 5) I guess we'll wait to file for her permanent resident status since she won't be moving to and staying in the States the majority of her time just yet. Is this ok? I'm not really grasping how everything works yet or the order of things. She thinks we can look into most of this later but I'd like to get a grasp on what we're going to need to do in the coming steps. Any help on these issues will be greatly appreciated. My wife wants to just get going on everything right now and I'm a little leery from some of the horror stories I've read on this forum. I want to make sure we're doing this the correct way for our situation and at the correct time. Any extra advice or issues that you foresee here is welcomed. Thanks, Tom

Turns out that we're just going to go to Yantai to get married after getting my single certificate at the US consulate in Shanghai. Everything should be very easy this way. Thanks for all of your help on this subject.

Ok, I think I'll call the Consulate in Shanghai to be sure. Thanks, guys.

So, is it possible that Shanghai's marriage registration office only accepts the single certificate acquired stateside? It seems that maybe Shanghai's requirements are different than most of China. That being said, I would much rather get it in China, just want to be sure that it would be accepted.

I found this list for marriage in Shanghai online. Is this outdated? My concerns are #'s 3 & 4 under foreigner requirements regarding the cert of marriageability. http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/phpbbforum/procedure-for-marriage-in-shanghai-china-t8799.html I'm a US citizen, she's Chinese and is going to change her hukou to Shanghai. Hopefully this won't take long. Anyway , I have a couple questions: 1) Do I need both 3 and 4? I was thinking it was 3 OR 4. Is this written wrong? Hopefully it's out of date. 2) is #4 correct in saying that one must live in China for 6 months to be able to obtain this at the consulate in shanghai? 3) If I'm able to get my single cert in Shanghai at the consulate, will it be acceptable for marriage in Shanghai? My Fiancée read somewhere that it needed to be the version from the states(#3). 4) Does anyone have a list that's current? Thanks in advance for any help