xiaofeizhu

Hey Tsap! Long time no see...I've been super busy with work and school, but I am glad that I come back to see your good news! It is great that things are moving along and that your liason is being and not hehe. It is also great to see that you two have almost been married for 2 years...IR-1 means no removal of conditions...you will be free from the government (mostly hehe) once you get into the country!! I am, as always, here on your sidelines, cheering for the day you, your lil rabbit, and your son will step onto US soil once again!!

We did receive a reminder about one month before the 90 day window, but like others have said, do not count on it.

We sent two affidavits as well. One was from my mom stating that we are living with her (and my dad) and that she attended our wedding in Japan, etc. The other was from my aunt who lives near the university and my hubby parks his car at her place and walks to school so she sees us all the time. We were going to get my friends/his friends/my coworkers who all know about our relationship, but we felt that these two covered it significantly. When we got the RFE they mainly wanted to see our finances co-mingled and proof of co-habitation, so we did not send any additional affidavits. I think two is sufficient as long as there is a clear demonstration of how the person knows you/your wife and how they know you are a bonafide couple. Good luck!

I am sorry to hear about your troubles. Take some time to read others' stories...there are some good stories, and there are some bad stories. I cannot say that I know what it feels like, but I do know that many on this board do know the feelings you are experiencing and hopefully some of them will come along with better advice as to what you should do. We are all at the mercy of GUZ and all of the other people involved in the immigration process, and I am sure it is very frustrating to see you wife in this situation. If I am correct, all you really can do right now is wait. I know this is not the proactive approach you are probably hoping for, but with these things, sometimes it is all you can do. If you feel your wife was treated unfairly or discriminated against, it might make you feel better to put in a complaint or something, but you may not want that on your "record" (assuming that it will end up there). All of us believe that the love we have between our spouses/future spouses is true, and in your case, and yes, it seems unfair that we need to prove it to someone who may or may not believe us. However, this is a good time to "improve" your love in the eyes of GUZ. Visit her if you can, and try to do things to show that you are a bonafide couple. Any true bonafide couple on this board will not let GUZ come between them. Last of all, be there for you wife. I am sure she feels guilty or that she did something wrong, but she is not to blame, so make sure you are even more supportive of her during this emotional rollercoaster. I truly hope that you two are able to overcome this speed bump and I know that your love will help you make it through. I know this post was not much help, but I hope that it helped you feel better even in some small way.

You can check out my thread for some ideas of what we went through, but I will re-cap it for you. We didn't have many documents because both my husband and I are still students, and we are living with my parents, saving money for a down payment on a house until we graduate. Anyway, We did get a RFE for the I751, but in the end we just had to send in more of the same types of documents. So basically, we submitted 2 affidavits, one from my mom and one from my aunty stating that we were a "real couple" and that we were living at my mom and dad's house while going to school. We submitted tax transcripts for 3 years showing that we filed joint, copies of our life insurance policies showing each other as beneficiaries of each other (later submitted bills for the life insurance as part of the RFE), bank account statements (about 4 for every year since he entered the US), copy of my 401k showing him as my beneficiary, copy of our car loan, insurance cards (requested as part of the RFE), and bills for our car showing both of our names. I think that if your wife is on the mortgate that's good. I wouldn't really worry about the money because our bank accounts were pretty low as well. On our second round, (for the RFE) we submitted copies of our pay stubs to show our joint address. The one thing that I believe about the process is not to force it. Don't change all of your documents now, (this is just my opinion) because I would think that would be suspicious because it would seem like you were just changing it for the I175. I think you should be fine. Don't stress it too much...I think this is what I did.

Thanks for all your tips, guys. Santa came early, dressed up as a postal worker and hand delivered my hubby's 10 year green card!!!!! :D :D For those of you who remember my previous posts, you all know what tonight is going to be like LOL. Thanks to everyone who helped us along the way, I love you guys!!!!

I know this, and believe me, I cannot wait to have children. The thing that is frustrating for me is that we have neither children or a mortgage because we are trying to be responsible and not take on more than we can handle. It is sort of ironic that we are being put under the microscope because we are trying to make sure we can fully support a mortgage and child before taking on either or both. Because both of us are still students, although we make enough money to survive because both of us are working full time, we have decided not to have children or buy a house until one of us (me) graduates and gets a "real" job. I tried to be responsible, but maybe if I had to do it, I would have just had a kid and put them on welfare. Haha.

My husband and I did a DCF in 2008 and we had no problems until our recent RFE for our removal of conditions. However, that was probably my fault, and that is another issue. Like Don said, DCF has an increased chance of success, and it is a great chance for you to improve your language skills and deepen your relationship. If it is possible for you, I really recommend it. Living in China helped me to understand how my husband must feel at times since I was in a place where he knew everyone/everything and I knew no one/nothing, and now the tables are turned. Only point of caution is the one that Don noted as far as your petition is concerned. Anyway, if you decide to go this route, let me know if there is anything I can help you with. Best of luck!

Thanks Dan. Did this as you suggested and I was able to pull our case up. Unfortunately it has not been updated since July 13 when they received the petition. I guess I will just have to wait it out... Thanks to everyone for all of your support. I am sure everything will be fine, I just want it to be over with already so that I don't have to think about it!

Is the Big Island one of the islands???

So I am still waiting for the response for our submission of additional evidence. It arrived there on Monday, and so I am guessing they need more time than that. I tried to call and use the automated system and also tried online, but both systems say they cannot find our case based on the number I gave them...does this happen to anyone else? I used the number on the RFE...

Congratulations!! I have been following your posts and I am truly glad that all of your turmoil is over (or is just beginning...muahahaha mop slaps, here they come!) This is a great finish to everything and while it was close, 48 hours?!, I am sure it will be such a blessing to be able to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas together!! So super excited for you two, best wishes and I think this means Santa is skipping your house this year...you already got your present, and what a fine present indeed!!

You think you have problems? Try being on the other end...trying to get your Chinese hubby to spend a great deal of time, effort, and cash getting you a ring...when you work at a jewelry store!! Ok, now to be serious. When my hubby and I first married, we got both of our rings for like $500. At that time, hubby said, "don't you want a bigger ring?"...I cheesily replied that all I wanted was to be with him. Now that we have been together for a while, I sometimes wish that I had taken him up on the offer for a bigger ring. I have looked at buying several rings in the $6,000 - $10,000 range, and yes, I love them and I would love to have one on my finger. BUT! (You had to know there was a but coming!) I cannot find a ring that goes well enough with the ring that I have, because as small and unassuming as the ring I have is, I just cannot even think about being with out it. In other words, despite the fact that I want a new ring, it has not been the money that has prevented me from getting one, but the sentiment. On the other hand, I got my hubby a new tungsten ring, and he loves it. He benched his old ring like an injured football player and never thought about it twice. Although I was the one that bought him the new ring, I have to admit that I was kind of sad that he could replace the original ring so easily. The whole point of what I am trying to say is that rings (and any material thing, really, for that matter) have no actual value outside of maybe monetary value. And even at that, it is people who place value to these items. In our cuture, we treasure them and many of us want to (and want our spouses to) wear them as a sign of our connection to each other. However, I will give you a true story about a customer that I had at our jewelry store once. A woman came in on the cruise ship, and stopped in our store with her husband. She had on a rock, and when I say rock, I'm talking about something in the 6 or more carat range, probably. We always try to complement our customers' jewelry, and her ring was such a looker that I drooled over it, and my co-workers joined me. Boy did I make a mistake. She looked like she was about to cry, and she asked me if I was married (looking at my $300 ring...) I told her I was. She asked me if I was happy. I paused, and told her that dispite the difficulties that my hubby and I sometimes face, I am extremely happy and I would not trade my husband for anything in the world. She looked at me, and at her ring, and it just so happened that my hubby came into the store with an iced tea for me while on his way to work. At this point, the woman is practically crying, but she is doing her best to hold back. After a brief exchange, my hubby left. She again looked at her ring and told me she would give this ring, and her hundreds of thousands of dollars of other jewelry for just one day of what she just witnessed between my husband and me. In other words, the ring, and all her other jewelry, meant nothing because the meaning behind them, and the relationship they represented, meant almost nothing. Your wife may not want to wear the ring for whatever reason. It may be a cultural thing, or it may be a "her" thing. Like I said before, people place value on items, and we perceve things to mean things that the may or may not mean. I am sure that your wife loves you, and she probably shows it on a daily basis. Likewise, I am sure that you love your wife and try to show it on a daily basis. I may still be that naive girl that didn't need a big rock, and just wanted to be with the man she loved, but I believe you will be much happier thinking about how much you mean to each other rather than about how much the ring means to you, and about how little it seems to mean to her. Just my two cents

Sorry for my late response, but as you all have suggested, make sure she does not sign the warning notice. I have had several jobs involving cash drawers. The first one, we all had our own drawers. At the company I am currently part-time at, there is only one cash register, so there are at least 2, sometimes 5 people all using the same drawer. One time, the drawer was $1,300 short! It was a check, and everyone blamed me for it and they were going to write me up. They used the excuse that "it could NEVER be 'Tina' because she has been here for 10 years". Well, guess what..."Tina" put the check back into the customer's bag, and we are not like Wal-Mart or other stores that give the checks back! I never agreed to sign the paper because I knew it was not my fault. She may be embarassed, insulted, and mad, and I don't blame her. The concept of face comes into play, I am sure, but please advise her to go back to work and keep being a good employee. Then, let her call HR, maybe you, or someone that you know, can help her if her English is very bad. National origin, as was mentioned earlier, is a protected category. We just had a 2 hour long training on harassment. She can sue both the manager and the company for unlimited damages. If the manager knows anything about the laws, he/she will know that this means that the manager will have to pay (in addition, most likely, to the company) from their pocket. Even if they declare bankruptcy or try to evade, the debt to her if she wins a lawsuit will be forever until it is paid in full. Furthermore, the law also protects her because she does not have to talk to her manager about it and can go directly to her HR department to file a complaint. Even more, if HR does not handle the situation in a prompt manner, that is also covered by the law, and she can sue the company for not investigating the matter in a prompt manner. Have her file a compaint ASAP. Tell her not to quit and to be strong because like others have said, they will most likely view her resignation as an admission of guilt. HR needs to be involved. If they are unwilling, then this can be grounds for a lawsuit. Best of luck, and let us know if there is anything we can help with.

Hi there, I truly understand your frustration. My hubby never applied for a visa while we were in Japan, and then after being married, we applied for a B2 to attend my sister's graduation. He was denied, barely even interviewed. The interview ended after "Are you married?" "yes, my USC wife..." "Sorry denied". This was in Japan, and we tried to prove no intent to immigrate by showing his certificate of university enrollment, a letter from his boss, a letter from my sister's school to state that she was scheduled to graduate, copies of our rental agreement, copies of our bank account, etc. We were still denied, due to intent to immigrate. Kyle had a good situation, where he was able to get his wife's B2 before they were married and they followed the terms of the visa. It can be very frustrating, but keep trying, submit as much as you can...and hope for the best. If we would have done it again, I don't even know what else we would have included...but I do know that is is possible. Don't lose faith. In the end, my family came to both Japan and China to visit him and to meet his family. We are hoping to bring his parents over next year, and we want to bring them over before they both retire so that they have strong ties of work. Best wishes.

Congratulations and best wishes!!!

Sounds like you guys are moving along, congratulations! Can't wait to hear that she has the visa in hand!

Congratulations! Now you can relax for a while...when it comes to USCIS anyway

When I first moved back, I bought a Scion TC. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it!!!! It was one of my favorite cars ever. It handled well, and things were great with it. I just traded it in for a Scion xB, which I love even more (and is more practical for a family life, once you start thinking about that!). I do miss the full glass top, and opening it to catch the breeze, but the xB is more practical. The tC handled well for me, and it was sporty. My friends had a few complaints when they had to ride in the back, but it is much roomier that most of the sporty cars out there. It was a 2006 and I truly do miss it at times. My hubby's first car was a 2007 Honda Ridgeline. He is sooooo spoiled, but actually, his friend from China (super rich) was going back and he sold it to my husband for $17,000. That was the best present I ever bought him, but $h!+ we are still paying for it through the nose. I really wanted to buy him a beater, but he promised that he would keep the truck for like 10 years and it was in excellent condition, so I couldn't resist a juicy offer. Hubby got his license in March of 2009 (we came back to America in July 2008). He passed both the written and driving on the first try, which surprised me. (Think, hey DMV lady, I know how he really drives, apparently you don't!!) After like one week of having the car, he got into a semi-bad accident in the Wal Mart parking lot. Luckily, it was not his fault. A car reversed into him while he was going up one of the rows. I nearly got hit, but luckily it was in the back portion. $10,000+ in damages, but at least the other guy had insurance (he was crazy, just to let you know, my friend who worked with him in the Safeway pharmacy said he got fired like 2 weeks later for playing with the cheese which then spoiled lol). A few weeks ago, he backed into a mail box, and there is now a hole in his bumper, which he is going to fix tomorrow. $1,300!!! He wouldn't even let me fix my car when it was hit and run in the university parking lot, but that car is his baby so what can I say...... He drives tour vans part-time, and he got into one accident at the volcano which was his fault, and he was charged with failure to yield. He said that the oncoming car was flying at probably 80+ mph and the entrance to the volcano is kind of near a blind curve, so I wasn't too mad at him for that. He also has failure to stop at a stop sign ("babe, the cops were hiding in the tree!") and he just told me he got a speeding ticket at the volcano (didn't tell me for like 1 week...he was scared lol). These have all been with the company vehicle, and I keep telling him he needs to seriously watch what he's doing. It will be an experience of a lifetime for you to teach your future bride how to drive. LOL. I taught my sister how to drive, so it wasn't that stressful for me, but there are times when I definitely wanted to ring his neck! I wished that hubby started out with a smaller car to begin with, but since he drives the tour vans anyway, the truck is no problem for him. A smaller car is good to start. I still get nausea when I ride with my hubby (he does a lot of breaking and accelerating) so I mostly drive when I am with him. He does fine on his own, but he still gets lost from time to time in my small town. He either calls me or he comes home and starts over LOL.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I will work on getting it all together and sending it out later this week. I have until November 23.

Thank you so much! I kind of feel she won't have too many issues since her child and hubby will still be in Japan, but you never know!!

Okay guys, I need your help once again. Hubby is in a panic (and so am I) because we just recieved an RFE for our I-751. They requested evidence for showing co-mingling of funds as well as communal residence. I honestly submitted all that we have for evidence on the first round. For co-mingling of funds, I will send more bank statements from the past two years. For communal residence, we do not have any bills or deeds or rental agreements because we are living with my mom and dad. I showed proof of our life insurance policies, and I will also include bills for those as well. I will also add extra copies of my loan documents and the car registration (we do not have the title, because the car is on leinhold by the bank). What else should I do about this situation? I am seriously worried about this. HELP please!!! -Erika

That should have said F1, student visas for academic study is F1, not J. My bad. Thanks. Getting a sponsoring institution will not be the problems so much as the other things that I am concerned about. I hope the baby and husband in Japan proves no intent to immigrate...

CONGRATULATIONS!!! It is great to hear that you finally got the visa. What a relief it must be. Let the real mop slapping begin!! HAHAHAHA. Enjoy and go study! I should be studying too!

Hi all, My sister-in-law (hubby's sister) is interested in applying for a student visa to study English in America for about a year. She is currently living in Japan and is married with a young child (2 years old). She was working in Japan, but she quit her job for personal reasons. Many of the jobs that she has applied for required at least minimal English and she speaks no word other than "shopping". If she were to come over, her husband and baby would stay in Japan while she studies here. Have any of your spouses' families applied for student visas? What kind of problems have you all encountered/what are the potential issues? How does my husband's immigration affect her chances of being approved? Will she have a difficult time proving that she has no intent to immigrate? Other facts that might help you all are that she is 31 years old, has been married for about 3 years, has lived in Japan for about 7 or 8 years, she speaks fluent Mandarin, Mongolian, and Japanese, graduated from college in China and graduate school (law) in Japan. That's all that I can think of right now. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!