samcmac

Thanks guys. "insure" was in the first version but excised from the new one, and I changed the wording in the last paragraph of draft 2 to be something closer to what Randy suggested, less heavy on the legalese. As for Daniel's comment about making the letter from the both of us, jointly, that kind of complicates the whole thing in terms of perspective and pronouns, and I think it would make it sound less emotionally engaged. Maybe it's ok if I keep in my wife's voice but say at the end that we're both signing it? Something like this: In signing this letter, my husband and I also understand that we are ensuring that my family will return to China in a timely manner, as per the itinerary we’ve included. And then, obviously, we both sign the bottom. I'm going to have my mom fill out an I-134 today. Should she also write her own letter? And is there anything else we should consider adding to the application? So far we have this letter, a detailed itinerary, and the (pending) I-134. Lastly: I wanted to just mention that my wife's family doesn't really speak any English. (I speak enough Chinese to communicate with them well enough.) I'm a little nervous about this because everything seems to say that the interview will be in English. Is this any kind of issue -- as in, does this also have any kind of negative bearing on their approval chances? Not that there's really anything we can do about it... Thanks.

Thank you Randy. I have looked through that thread and gotten some ideas, so here's draft 2 of my letter. I have also changed it so that this is from my wife, instead of me, because that seems to make more sense. Any further feedback on this, from anyone, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Candlers! Draft 2: United States Embassy XXX Visas Section Consulate address Subject: Insurance of Visit Visas (B-2) for My Mother, Father, and Grandmother To Whom It May Concern: My name is [WIFE'S NAME], born [DOB]. I attend college in the U.S., where I have lived with my husband (who is a U.S. citizen) with permanent resident/Green Card status since [DATE]. My husband and I married when he was working in China; he petitioned for CR-1 status for me and we now live in [PLACE]. We left China not long after we were married, and we have never had a wedding ceremony — we decided we would do so at a later date, after having more time to plan. This winter, my husband and I settled on a date and place for our wedding: [WEDDING DATE], at my mother-in-law’s home ([ADDRESS]). (Included with this letter is a copy of the wedding invitation we have sent out to all of our guests, along with some documentation that shows the preparation that’s gone into the ceremony.) All of us would very much like my family to attend, so I am writing this letter to request B-2 visas for their visit, which is planned for [DATE] to [DATE]. I’m requesting B-2s for my mother, [MOM'S NAME], born [DOB]; my father, [FATHER'S NAME], born [DOB]; and my grandmother on my father’s side, [GRAN'S NAME], born [DOB]. They will stay with my husband and I at my mother-in-law’s home. My mother-in-law, in fact, stayed with my family during her trip to China, in 2014, to visit my husband and I, when we were still living there; she is happy to be able help introduce them to her country, in much the same way as my family did during her visit to China. Along with this letter and the wedding invitation, I am providing a detailed schedule of my family’s trip, including arrival and departure dates and cities. This is to clearly show what their plans are, and that they will be returning, in a timely manor, to China. To convince you of this, I want to explain that my father has worked for over twenty years at the same job, as an [JOB]. My mother is retired, and my grandmother is unemployed, but both have houses in their names. My father, mother, and grandmother are happy with their lives in China, and will return to them when this trip to the U.S when this trip is over. Further, I am signing this letter with the full acknowledgment that I am responsible for making sure my parents return to China at the end of their trip, and that it is legally required of me. Thank you for your time, [WIFE'S NAME]

Hi Candlers, Been a long time. I was last here in 2014, seeking advice on how best to go about securing permanent resident status for my wife. We are now happily living in the U.S. together, her with permanent resident status, and I am very grateful to the Candle community for the assistance they provided during difficult times. Now, I find myself about to embark upon a new visa journey, and anxious for help all over again. While my wife and I have been legally married for nearly two years now, we have never had a wedding ceremony; we wanted to wait until such a time where we would have the best chance to have both our families in attendance. Well, we've set a date: August 20th of this year, here in the U.S.. Now we're sincerely hoping that my in-laws, and my wife's grandmother, will be able to attend. This means that three of my wife's family members will be applying for B-2 visas, and will be giving our wedding as the reason for their visit. Now, most of the documents for this they'll be preparing themselves, but my wife and I will be providing at least two important pieces for their application: 1.) A wedding invitation 2.) A formal invitation letter addressed to the U.S. consulate. As for the latter piece, I've looked at various examples, and I've attempted a first draft of my own—which I'd like to present for the hivemind here to critique as best they can: US CONSULATE XXXXX Visas Section Consulate address RE: Invitation Letter and financial responsibility affidavit for US Visitor’s Visa for: [APLICANTS] To Whom It May Concern: I, [MY NAME], born [MY DOB], am a U.S. citizen. I am legally married to a Chinese citizen, [MY WIFE'S NAME], born [MY WIFE'S DOB]. [MY WIFE'S NAME] lives with me at [OUR ADDRESS] with U.S. permanent resident status. The two of us have not up until this point ever had a wedding ceremony; instead, we decided to wait until we had the best chance of getting both of our families together. Now, we have set a date: Our wedding ceremony will be on August 20, 2016. It will be held at my mother’s house [MY MOTHER'S ADDRESS], as the wedding invitation that is included with this application indicates. As such, we would very much like for the applicants listed above — my in-laws: [APPLICANTS' NAMES AND DOBS] — to be granted B-2 visas so that they may attend our wedding. During their visit, the applicants will be staying at my mother’s place of residence, located at [MY MOTHER'S ADDRESS]. All other expenses during their trip, including but not limited to the expense of travel to and from the United States, will be covered by the applicants themselves. I will, however, insure [APPLICANTS' NAMES] timely return to [APPLICANTS' ADDRESS]. Should you have any further questions for me about this letter or anything else pertaining to [APPLICANTS' NAMES] B-2 visa requests, please do not hesitate to contact me at [MY PHONE NUMBER] by phone or [MY EMAIL] by email. I sign this document in awareness of my legal liability for failure to comply with any of the terms I have stated or in the case that any information given is incorrect. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I appreciate your approval of this application. Sincerely, [MY NAME]

Now that I've gotten The Official Congrats Fanfare from Randy I KNOW this shit's legit

Hey everyone, Proud and relieved to say it: My wife was approved for her visa today, after almost exactly 1 hour from the time she entered the embassy. Her appointment was at 9:40 AM. Quick review of our timeline. We got married on our 1-year anniversary, August 18th, 2014. I DCF'd our CR-1 petition in Guangzhou on September 23rd. Almost exactly 2 weeks later, the petition was approved (though we didn't realize at first, because the email saying as such went into my junk box), and we set an interview appointment for November 20th. That gave us enough time to go to Shanghai for my wife's medical exam and go back to Shanghai to pick up the results (it's insane that they don't just mail those back, btw). We arrived at the embassy later than I wanted to -- about 9:00 AM -- because my wife has a nasty cold and had difficulty waking up in the morning. It didn't really matter much though, because there was no real line to speak of. People just gathered around the gate entrance and grumbled about until their time was called. The guards called "9:40" at about 9:25 (cuz why not) and my wife heard it before I did because I was talking to some old woman about her case, and she scrambled right to the front and got inside before I could even give her a kiss for luck. She waited in the line on the other side of the gate, and I plopped myself down on the small wall that runs parallel to the embassy gate, aside some nervous looking Chinese women. I put on my headphones and tried to concentrate on the new Rick Ross album, which is strong but not a scratch on Mastermind from earlier this year fwiw... At exactly 9:45 I watched my wife get to the front of the line and enter the building. And so I sat impatiently for the next hour with only the sounds of Ross's larger than life coke raps ringing in my ears to keep me sane. Finally, 10:45 rolled around, and just as I was thinking she might be coming out soon, there she was, strolling down the walkway leading out of the embassy, smiling and waving and I know this woman well enough to know everything went as we'd hoped and expected it would. And that was that. Here's the info she gave me about her experience: First she was instructed to give the documents to a Chinese man at the window, where she hit a little speed bump -- the man asked if I lived with my grandparents, who are the ones offering their financial support for this application, and she wasn't quite sure how to answer, because I don't, but they do live in the same general area as my mom. Anyway, the guy apparently was a bit frustrated and said something to the effect of, "You don't understand the question." My wife then went to the second floor to pay the visa fee, where she ran into another small issue: She had only 100 kwai bills and the fee for the visa came to 2,015 kwai. The Chinese teller she needed to pay was apparently frustrated that my wife had no smaller bills, and ordered her to find some from someone else in the room. Thankfully, a man simply gave my wife the 15 kwai she needed, and the fee was paid. Back upstairs, my wife waited for her number to be called so that she could have her interview. Interestingly enough, she was asked a lot more questions than I thought she would be: Who is John? (My grandfather proving the i-864 financial support form)What does [John] do for work?What is your husband's name?What does your husband do for work?Did you meet your husband in Shanghai?When did you meet each other?When did you get married?How old are you?How old is your husband?What language do you speak with your husband?Does your husband speak Chinese?Have you ever been to America?Are you a member of the Communist Party?Do you and your husband have a baby? Whew. She conducted the interview in English by the way, and says the man was "normal," not nice, not mean. After that was all done, the interviewer gave my wife a white sheet of paper, and told her, "Your visa is approved!" She then, at my request, asked the man when she could expect to have her passport and visa back? He informed her about a week and a half to two weeks, and that the CITIC bank we selected would contact us. (On the paper, it says they will email us, not call, so that's interesting.) And just like that, we can finally leave China; be home for Xmas. The end. Unless anyone has any questions? S. Whoops, forgot something. So of all the stuff we prepared -- relationship affidavits from friends, a photo album, copies of the WeChat/Facebook records we prepared for my petition, my passport, a copy of my wife's resume, probably other things I'm forgetting -- none of that was asked for. All that was asked for was the i-864 forms, the attached tax info for those forms, the sealed medical report, and the white books. S.

Update: The wife and I arrived in Guangzhou today. We're staying at the Yangs hotel. Our room is quite nice, though the price is a little steep (320 a night), so we may move tomorrow. I'll try and give a more detailed rundown on our stay later. Anyway, our interview is on Thursday, and we think we have everything ready -- like really ready. At the suggestion of Mr. Yang, I rewrote a statement on my current employment (or lack thereof) and our plan for the future, which is heavy on the concept that my grandparents will be supporting us (they are joint sponsors) until we find employment of our own. This is because first priority for both of us is getting back in school. I didn't want to go into too much detail about how my wife's parents' plan to funding her education Stateside and how I have funds set aside for college as well. I tried to just stick to the party line: We will work and support ourselves, but my grandparents have signed on to take responsibility, and demonstrated the necessary income. Hope that's enough. My family, and us, just so want us to get home, and going home for Xmas would be an especially nice gift. Hope the interviewer is feeling the holiday spirit. Or better yet, hope our case is solid enough that he/she doesn't even have to be. S. EDIT: Oh, also, 2,000 kwai is more than enough to take into the interview in terms of paying whatever fees, yes?

OK, our interview interview is in less than a week. This is a complete list of things we have assembled for it, down to every little item. If anyone has any other last minute suggestions / changes for this package, please let me know, I would be eternally grateful. Not passing this interview, while I'm sure many people feel this way, would be devastating for us. We're broke and need to get back to my family. 2x passport-sized photosPetitioner PassportBeneficiary Passport, with free space for visaCopy of Beneficiary PassportCopy of Appointment email​Copy of email announcing we're eligible to make an appointmentCopy of Beneficiary's resumeBirth certificate original bookBirth certificate English translation + white bookPolice certificate + English translation + white bookMarriage book English translation + white book2x marriage book originalsMedical examination sealedPetitioner i-864 Petitioner 2013 tax return: 1040 Petitioner 2013 tax return: 2444-EZPetitioner 2012 tax return: 1040Petitioner 2011 tax return: 1040Note explaining income status of petitionerJoint sponsor i-864Joint sponsor 2013 tax return formsJoint sponsor 2013 social securityJoint sponsor birth certificateJoint sponsor's spouse's i-864Joint sponsor's spouse's 2013 tax returnJoint sponsor's spouse's certificate of naturalizationSmall-sized photo album with most photos labeled: place, people, dateChronology of relationship typed, inserted in front of photo albumCollection of tickets bearing petitioner and beneficiary's names/IDsCollated paperwork offering evidence of Facebook/WeChat conversationsCollated paperwork with more photos each meticulously labeled and dated3x signed sworn affidavits from friends One thing I haven't printed yet is ANOTHER copy of the DS-260 confirmation page. We already mailed one to the consulate from a CITIC bank but it states here that one should be brought to the interview: http://ustraveldocs.com/cn/IV%20Instruction%20DS-260%2007222014.pdf S.

After a big hiccup involving back taxes and i-864s I didn't know I needed that nearly caused me to commit seppuku (sorry, wrong country), I think I'm back on track with this. Here's my updated list: Copy of Immigrant Visa Instructions emailCopy of Appointment Confirmation emailBeneficiary's passport (+ my passport just in case)2x Beneficiary passport photosCopy of Beneficiary birth certificate (White Book + English Translation)Copy of Beneficiary's marriage certificate (White Book + English Translation)I-864 from Sponsor/Petitioner (me), attached to 3 years of tax returns (2011 return statement; 2012 1040 form; 2013 1040 form plus 2555-EZ form)I-864 from Joint Sponsor (my grandfather), attached to copy of birth certificate, 2013 tax return, SS Benefit Statementi-864A from Grandmother, attached to copy of Certificate of Naturalization, 2013 tax return, SS Benefit Statement, W2Small photo albumBeneficiary's resume in EnglishMy wife will go and get a new version of her police record certificate tomorrow. We will do her medical exam on the 10th of this month. The only thing else would be affidavits from friends/relatives. Does that really just have to be like a signed letter describing their relationship to us, or is there more to it than that? - Sam

OK, think that covers it. Thanks!

OK, I just have one last question for this form, I think: How do I fill out line 11a.

also, would I fill out Part III of the 2555 with the 10 days I was in the US, or no? I ask mainly because section © indicates "days in U.S. for business," and I was not there for business, unless changing my visa category qualifies as "business." Needless to say, I made no money during those 10 days either -- though I did lose a whole lot of it.

"The physical presence test is based on the 12-month period from:" Ok, so obviously the first date will be "February 17, 2013" but what about the second date? It says in the instructions not to put "continued" so I can't put "present," it needs to be a date. Since it specifically designates a "12-month period," I'm wondering if it should be "February 17, 2014," or should it be, say, today's date, or a date just before my wife's interview?

Hey guys, In the never ending saga that is my wife's CR-1 interview preperation, I'm now filling out my i-864, something I didn't realize I would have to do since I have my grandfather's i-864 joint sponsorship form (and my grandmother's i-864A). As usual, I'm confused some about what to check and what to fill out and what not to, but let's start with an easy one: Part 3, item 1: I am sponsoring the principal immigrant named in Part 2. Do I check "Yes" or "No," considering I do not at all meet the income requirement for this. No notes "Applicable only in cases with two joint sponsors," which is confusing because I guess I have 1 joint sponsor (my grandfather) plus the i-864A (my grandmother). - Sam

I'm instead calculating the physical residency from June 11th, 2013 to June 11th, 2014, because I was in China during that entire time. The issue with calculating it starting in Feb. 17th is that I don't then pass the Bonafide Resident test.

Hey guys, So as I've posted before, I'm preparing for my wife's CR-1 interview just weeks from now (Nov. 20th). I have just about everything ready, and I'm using a joint sponsor (my grandparents) for the financial support requirement. But I've recently learned that, despite using the joint sponsor, I need to fill out form i-864 myself, as the petitioner. So my problem becomes that I didn't file taxes for the last two years. For 2012, it's no big deal -- I was still in the U.S. for that entire year, unemployed, so I just filled out a standard 1040 and will attach that to my i-864 with a note explaining that I was in school that year. For 2013, I was in China -- i arrived in China and started work in February (on a tourist visa, eep). I worked for the entire year (I stopped working in June 2014), and my income, as calculated, was roughly 68,000RMB. I know I need to fill out another 1040 for 2013, and I know I need to attach to that either a 1116 or a 2555-EZ. I think it's the 2555-EZ that I need. I finally found the 2013 2555-EZ (thanks, Daniel), and am now struggling to fill it out. Line 11a of 2555-EZ in particular, at the moment, is confusing me: "List your tax home(s) during 2013 and date(s) established." I don't know if i fill out with like the countries listed and the dates I was there in parenthesis after or what, and of course the instruction PDF for 2555-EZ doesn't list anything about line 11a. I arrived in China on Feb. 17th of 2013. I was on a tourist visa until I returned to the U.S. from June 1st—June 11th to get my work/Z visa. I returned to China on June 11th of 2013 and from then on to this day I have remained in China. If Randy is out there, I could really use your help with this damn form! - Sam

Hey folks, We're speeding right along in the CR-1 process. We DCF'd in September and got our i-130 approved in early October, now my wife has made her interview appointment for November 20th (her medical exam is Nov. 10th). We used an agent up until now, at my wife's behest, but the agent wants another 4000 kwai just to "prepare" my wife for the interview, and I'm putting my foot down there. We've done the work, and I think we're ready, but I still would like to go over some things with the board, and make sure. I'm primarily using this link as a reference: http://ustraveldocs.com/cn/IV%20Instruction%20DS-260%2007222014.pdf So... - Confirmation of DS-260 -- got it - original of Wife's Passport, plus my passport -- got it (I'll be in Guangzhou with my wife for the interview) - Wife's two 2-inch photos -- got it (don't need my passport photos, right?) - Certified copy of wife's birth certificate -- got it (doesn't need my birth certificate, right?) - Certified copy of wife's marriage book -- got it (doesn't need my marriage book, right?) - Police certificate -- we have this from attempting a tourist visa back in June, so it should still be valid yeah? - Medical exam sealed report thing -- pending - Court and Prison records -- none needed - Military Records -- none needed - Evidence of Support details: We have my grandfather as joint sponsor (I have no income), so he filled out an I-864 and USPS'd it to us along with copies (not originals) of his birth certificate, his 2013 tax return, and Social Security Benefit Statement. My grandmother, who he lives with, filled out an i-864A. She's from England and became a U.S. citizen in her teens, after marrying my grandfather. She provided me with her Certificate of Naturalization (dated 1937, wow that's old!), and copies of her 2013 tax return, Social Security Benefit Statement, and 2013 W2. - Evidence of relationship: We have a small photo album with pictures of us together and with her family over the course of the last year and a half. At the time of petitioning we submitted a detailed record of Skype, We Chat, Facebook, photos, etc. - My wife's resume -- got it (doesn't need my resume, right?) - Visa Extension notice -- none needed - Records of previous immigration proceedings -- none needed, assuming we don't need records of previous non-immigrant visas that have been denied (there's 1 of those) - Proof of investment funds -- none needed (we are... so poor) - Translations -- all done, certified, stamped, blessed with the blood of Mao - Visa application fee -- not sure, actually? - also, copy of the email sent to us from the embassy that said we could make an interview appointment, and copy of the interview appointment confirmation page -- got both Thanks, and sorry this is covering ground covered before, but y'know, just wanna get our case specifically right. - Sam

We got our email today! We're officially in Step 2. For those counting, it took exactly 2 weeks and 1 day from the time of our petition filing in Guangzhou. So, our agent was actually pretty much dead-on when she estimated 2 weeks! Color me surprised. Now we just need to fill out this DS-260 thing and submit a couple other docs; she needs to go for her medical, and wait that out; and then we need to make our interview appointment (we've got all the docs ready for that, including apps of support). Looking like our hopes of being home for Christmas are that much closer to a reality! Plan to write up our process in more detail when it's all said and done. Pretty easy/fast so far. For now, quick question re: medical exam. When my wife (gf at the time) did this for her Canadian student visa (which was denied) earlier this year, they told her to go to a specific hospital in Hangzhou, and she did. Will the US Embassy instruct similar you imagine? We're in Zhejiang, fairly close to Hangzhou. Hope we don't have to go to far.

my visa is up february 20th. it's a 6 month visa issued at the PSB after I got married. they were grouchy about giving it to me and wouldn't give me any straight answer about renewing it. but they did make it very clear i wasn't allowed to work while i'm on it. i'm living with my wife's family, and they love me and are very supportive of us, and understand that i can't work. but still, we're growing restless. we've been at this since june in some form or another -- first attempting a tourist visa, then a student visa (which still frustrates me to no end that she didn't get), and now this one. it's also frustrating that the agent has insisted that she's very sure we'll have a response in 2 weeks. i wanted to believe her, but with some distance from our meeting (we went to her office when we were in Guangzhou), i recognise it isn't true. why would she say such a thing, i wonder? anyway, we'll just hope for the best i guess. and really hope that this at least resolves before my visa expires -- or really before chinese new year.

Hi, To be more specific: I filed a i-130 petition in Guangzhou for my wife last thursday. It was her choice to use an agent for this process -- one based in Guangzhou -- though I'm sure I could've done it with you fine folks. The agent gave a very different answer to us re: wait times pending approval than the embassy did, though the embassy guy I spoke to tended toward dodging any direct answers to my questions of this nature. Anyways, the embassy guy said he had "heard" that the low end of the wait time for i-130 approval was "about 4 months." The lawyer, in great contrast, assured us we would have an answer in "two weeks," that at the moment application volume is low and that she does this so often that she's very aware of how long these things are taking right now. Personally, mentally, I've been splitting the difference, roughly, and assuming it will take about 1-2 months. That seems to be what most of the literature I've read has suggested, anyway. I'm just curious, since you all have been really helpful in the past, if anyone has current info on this, and could ease my anxiety-ridden mind a bit. I know all this is gonna take some time, I know that no one knows exactly how much time -- but any wisdom at all is appreciated. I had really hoped we'd be able to leave by Christmas, or at least New Years. It's, again, something our agent assures is possible. I imagine it's not likely, but having some kind of general time frame would help us plan our future a bit. For instance, I'm still not working. (On that last point, I'm here in China currently on a Q1 visa. I haven't been home to the US for over a year, and I haven't worked for the last 4 months because of my visa status, save some tutoring. This shouldn't be an issue for the public charge portion of the DCF process, however, since my grandparents have already filled out the applications of support as our joint sponsors, and their income fits the requirement.) S.

Well, I'm married now (!!!). After the hectic-ness of last week -- with the run to Shanghai, an endless wait at the embassy (6:00AM - 1:00PM), the marriage itself, and the usual bullshit given to us by the local PSB (they sent us to the police station nearest to her residence to get a form from them approving my residence at her parents' house, then they sent us to the police station nearest to my old apartment to get my original residence information, then back to the PSB where they asked my wife to scribble down a letter of invitation for me because, as the cop put it, "i think you need that, i think it's the same as a tourist visa as it is for a marriage one") -- we're gonna take a breather at home for a week. we get my passport back in 2 weeks, hopefully with a six month visa (with the 90-day exit/entry requirement), then i have to change my residence AGAIN (to my wife's family's house, because my old residence info will have finally expired by that time), and finally, we'll start work on her immigration. So, quick question: Should we definitely use an immigration lawyer? I paid 900 CAD to an agent to help with her Canadian Student Visa, which was denied, so I'm feeling a little burned by the process. But if you all think it's 100% necessary, then I will be hiring an immigration lawyer (we'll just need to decide on if we should get someone local or based in the U.S.). I have a friend that just went through this, for Canada, and he did use a lawyer. It took him 6 months; I'm hoping we can be home for christmas... It begins! - Sam

So in Beijing you don't need to get the Single Affidavit translated after receiving it from the consulate? I'm going to Shanghai's US Consulate tomorrow to get mine and I was told I must get a certified translation of the document to provide to the marriage bureau. Also, it seems it's impossible to get the translation done in less than 3 days, which will mean we're cutting it close -- my Residence Permit expires on the 25th of this month. I think we'll have enough time though.

We're hoping we'll get to the States by December, then we can spend the spring with my family and look at college options (probably Boston and New York) and apply. So hopefully by September of next year, she'll qualify for the state colleges.

One other question: If we register to get married here, where do I go to get my marriage visa? Can I do that at the PSB or do I have to go to Shanghai?

Oh I forgot to ask about the marriage itself. In terms of doing that, my understanding is I must go to the U.S. Embassy (is Shanghai ok?) and get proof that I am single. Then can we get the marriage document in our own city?

Hi guys, So it looks as if, having been deeply frustrated with most student visa processes, we are going to attempt an immigration procedure. So I would like some advice here. My girlfriend and I would get married and then start filing, unless there is a general feeling on this board that newly-married couples have considerably less chance to be approved for immigrant status. The processes I've been looking at are DCF and K-1. These two seem the most promising. I am in China now, and will hopefully be getting my visa renewed for at least another month or two, so we would get married in that time, and then choose one of these processes, or another if it's suggested here. The general response from agents/lawyers I've spoken with in the last week is that the wait time for American immigrant visas is not especially lengthy, not like Canada. I've been quoted between 3 and 6 months, which is reasonable. What appeals to me most about this option, however, is that proving our relationship to a consular office seems an easier task than for my girlfriend to prove that she intends to return to China after studying when she fully intends to find a job and work overseas (or we'll marry, or both). I have copious pictures of the two of us from the last year, visiting Hangzhou (at the West Lake), HeFei, Shanghai, living in our own city, and visiting with various members of her family. I have Skype and Weixin logs, and I'm hoping that I can explain my girlfriend's previous visa attempt (a tourist visa in June of this year) and her overall intent to attend school, which is my intent as well. My parents will provide sponsorship for us, and write letters offering emotional and financial support while we are in school. (In reality we will work, though.) Alternately, we'd be willing -- more willing, in fact -- to try the K-1 visa, but at least one member of this board suggested that the approval rate for the K-1 might be down recently, which makes sense. I'm trying to think if I'm forgetting anything else I could provide you all with, but I think that's it. So what do you guys think?