newguy47

I would like to second Doug's perspective. You should get married when you and your lady choose to. However, the adjustment for the Chinese lady is very major. I am happy my girlfriend has a tourist visa. She came over in October and there were some things she didn't like such as my house in the country and the food here,etc. The happy 1950s to 1960s life thing speaks to me. I think it was a good thing that my girlfriend is able to think about what she wants in a way that incorporates an understanding of what life is like here in the states. There is much of value that a person gives up when transitioning from China to the states that goes beyond transitioning from the familiar to the new. That being said, you may have described things to her in such a way that it is similar to actually being here to some extent. I just remember how shocked my girlfriend was that cities like San Antonio and Corpus Christi are "boring." To her, a city of a million people initially isn't a city until she sees superhighways similar to what she saw in Beijing.

I will add that I do not think she will go stir crazy. She didn't like my small town, so we looked all over Texas for a place I might stay within my state pension system and work. She seems to have changed her mind at least temporarily about the little town. We will see. But the town has a college right next to my place of work. And she has worked as a translator in the past. She is in the process of adding Spanish to the other four languages she can speak. The college offers courses in Spanish, and it is located in Texas, where Spanish can be practiced. She also helps with a family business and can do that from the states since some of their customers are here.

Randy W., You are right. Her visa also has B1/B2 printed on it to the right. Hers looks very much the same except for nationality of "CHIN" and "F" instead of "M." I have a picture of it. Which came in handy when we visited Brownsville and came back through a border patrol checkpoint. She had left her documents in the small town where I live but they verified who she was and let us pass. At this point, she was here with me for a week and a half and spent the rest of the 15 promised days in New York seeing the Statue of Liberty and many other tourist sites. We have many photos of tourist sites including the beach, NASA, the San Antonio river walk, and photos from the Tower of the Americas. Plan is for her to return to China for 2 months (she left Halloween day) and then return to the states when she can and stay a while next time. The first time, she was given 6 months' stay. Most folks seem to get 6 months the first time. Hopefully with the short stay they will extend that to her again. We are asking on the China forums also how long it is safe for her to stay. I will tell her you folks think we could do 6 months then 2 or 3 months in China for her and another 6 months here. I appreciate the information and the feeling of solidarity on this forum.

MikeandRong, The first trip will only be for 15 days because that is what we promised in the letter to the Visa Officer.

Beachy, I appreciate your perspective. The visa is actually a tourist visa, which is of course in the same category of nonimmigrant visa. I am happy for you and your wife. The story of the people of your acquaintance is inspiring. She is very scared of losing the visa. There are Chinese forums about visa issues as well. And she has been told, the first time, stay only the duration planned. Which we were going to do anyway because I think we must keep our word with the officials. After that, she thinks she needs to stay out a couple of months then can return for maybe a month or so. Of course, document seeing tourist sites each visit. Does it make a difference that this is a tourist rather than a visitor's visa?

Greg D, I would very much like to see the CCP background check questions you guys wen through 2 months ago.

Maybe I am not familiar with these stereotypes and cliches.... I am always willing to accept enlightenment. My letter of invitation read by the visa officer invited her for 15 days, so we have decided that her first stay will be limited to those 15 days. That makes us pack a lot into a short time, but even if a longer stay is granted at immigration, the whole thing will possibly be reviewed later. And the more straightforward we said this and that is what we did the whole thing is the better things may be for us in the long run if things continue to work out. Does anyone know if bio engineering is regarded as sensitive technology for CCP immigration purposes? My gut tells me it would not be. Hard to tell how many of the applicants had a bona fide relationship, but the published rates for Guangzhou spousal visas do not approach 95%. She intends to leave the states after coming here. And we promised she would. So, she will. Without any marriage at least this first time. We really do need to know each other better than we current do.

Congratulations!

The folks who work with Cherry Blossoms (not where we met, just one of many resources I have used to meet many people and finally find my girlfriend) advertise a 95% success rate for a K-1. There is an attorney with that services. Maybe I would call the service when the time comes to think seriously about this. I do not presently intend to marry her but I think we will probably get married. Not sure if that makes sense. Maybe I should say the intent is to figure out where the relationship should go for both of us. I made no representation one way or another regarding marrying her in my letter to the Visa Officer. She made the representation only that we would not use the nonimmigrant visa to marry "soon" during her interview. Not sure what "soon" means, but I think the law would usually give the word its meaning to a reasonable person providing the answer she provided, which was "no." As far as I know, neither one of us intends to marry at this point until we get to know each other well over a period of time. However, she is definitely a potential marriage partner for me. I just need to continue getting to know her. The tourist visa obviously extends for a period beyond the usual meaning of the word "soon." I was not looking for approval. I know from reading this forum how difficult it can sometimes be for folks to get even their spouses and long-term fiancees to the states. I intend to comply with all relevant laws and not commit fraud of any kind. I really appreciate the recommendation to contact an immigration attorney. You are right that this is what should be done. I suppose that people with the blessing to already have a tourist visa for each person maybe don't wander into the forum too often.

Greg D, I don't know from what portion of my post you inferred that I intended to break any law of any country. If I said or implied that, please point it out to me if you have time. Such is not my intention. In terms of gaming the visa, my sole intent is to maximize her time in the states with me without making the folks at the point of entry annoyed or set a short time. We never intend to be in an overstay situation either in China or in the states. My notion of gaming the system is acting within the law to maximize one's happiness. In the visa situation, they usually will initially set 6 months is what I have seen. But using all six months seems to possibly be problematic. So, how long is too long? And low long should she stay out of the states before seeking re-entry? At this point, I basically would like her to be here all the time she can without having too high a probability of annoying one of the immigration officers. We have many pictures, including at tourist sites in two different metropolitan areas of China. If the CCP delay is down to a month and a half, that is not too bad. There is a spreadsheet elsewhere on the forum that shows depressingly long numbers of days, but it may be old. I think I saw something on visajourney. You didn't come on too strong at all, and you seem to sincerely wish me well, which I appreciate. You are right about the initial stages of the relationship. And we will get to really know each other better before getting too serious. There has been and will be no deception with respect to any visa I or the lady has sought or will be seeking. I hope folks are aware of the potential consequences of deception.... I don't really know how to comment about a "vibe" but can certainly respond to specific questions. ------------------------------------------- dnoblett, I definitely got the DCF thing wrong, then. She stated to the interviewing officer that she did not intend to get married "soon" after arriving in the states on the B-2. So, we will need to do that. Of course, we just met mid-July so from a practical standpoint we need to get to know each other better anyway. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I think you were saying that maybe the second or third time she comes to the states on the B-2 which is at least six or so months for its being granted then potentially if all is well a marriage could happen and that would not be viewed as some sort of misrepresentation or deceit? After all, the visa is 10 years. One would think the longer the time is from issue the worse the argument would be that the B-2 was misused as an immigrant visa. Thank everyone for comments thus far. I don't know if the title of the post can be changed by someone else to reflect "Tourist Visa" as I tried after posting and could not.

Sorry. I meant tourist visa rather than visitor's visa in the topic title.

I have known my girlfriend for nearly two months now. Due to some minor orthopedic problem that afforded me time off, I was able to travel to China and meet her in July. After I got to know her in July, we attempted to get her a tourist visa at the Chengdu Consulate in August. No dice. And the letter from me I think actually hurt. She was told to seek a K-1. We hired a visa agent. They told us Guangzhou was a better place to try for the visa but gave us a low chance of success due to folks already knowing she has a boyfriend in the states. I wrote a totally honest letter to the visa officer. She was coached from training with the hired agent but also totally honest. She is very attractive and under 30 years old. She was awarded the 10 year multiple entry tourist visa. I would be happy to provide more details to anyone who wants them including the name of the agent assisting us. I have her QQ. But the purpose of this post is not to plug her business other than to share information if specifically requested. It is to ask folks very experienced with this how things work from here. I realize this is a much better place than some folks who struggle for a year or more to be with a spouse or loved one(s). But I need to know, are we basically golden with six month visits interrupted by visa runs (as we financially could do that) until marriage and DCF or until K-1? I obviously need to know my girlfriend for a longer period of time before marriage, but will there be problems with re-entry if she stays in the states for long periods of time? We essentially promised the visa officer that we were certain she would return "on time," and we intend to keep that promise. There is no reason for us not to. How long do we need to wait for her to revisit the states when she returns? Days/weeks/months? Is this the kind of thing that should be scheduled around something like their Spring Festival? Basically, with a tourist visa, what is the level of scrutiny for re-entry if you leave within the time given you the prior time you entered the states? I am sure someone on this forum knows the answers to these questions. My trips to China seem to get easier each time on the Chinese side as I guess they see I have entered multiple times without causing any trouble. I am not sure if that will happen for her in the states. In terms of a potential K-1, we have only one issue, but it is potentially very much a delay problem. Like other ladies mentioned here, she was a top student in university and rewarded with the honor of being invited to join the Communist Party of China. She has been only a rank and file member with no participation beyond helping talk about how to spend resources to benefit disabled or elderly persons in her local community. If things should progress, what would be the better course of action: K-1 or on a subsequent entry marry in the US and apply for what folks here call DCF with the advantage that she would already be in the states? Would they revoke the tourist visa when such an application is made? She doesn't like the fact that the US taxes citizens on all global income, and I am not so sure how much she wants citizenship or a green card. Any advice from persons here with more wisdom and experience that I have would be much appreciated.