Blue Slip

[esun41]

Now that I am over the intial shock and have shed a few tears, I am ready to tell our story

 

Talked to Lucy at 8 PM Pacific after she received a blue slip for denial.

 

Many items were checked on the documents in which she had sent to me by Yahoo. I have the print outs in front of me and these are the reasons given.

 

"Further consideration will be given after presentation of..."

 

1. Who wrote the emails which are supposedly from the petitioner?

 

(I wrote those emails and had the English translated into Chinese alphabet using Alta Vista Babelfish so Lucy could read in both languages and help her understand my messages)

 

2nd page;

 

Correspondence:

 

8. Records of telephone contact made by the petitioner.

 

Statements:

 

9. A detailed statement, written by the petitioner, describing the evolution of your relationship, how met, when started dating and when-why became engaged.

 

11. A statement, written by the petitioner, listing every trip he has taken to China. Explain how time was spent together. List dates and events. Who arranged trip to China, purchased plane tickets for him etc...

 

Travel:

13. A notarized copy of the petitioner's passport pages clearly showing Chinese visa and entry and exit stamps.

14. Evidence of the party that purchased your petitioner's plane tickets he used to visit.

 

Page 3;

 

Residency:

 

19. The consulate has insufficient evidence about the residency of the following people marked with an X. Petitioners ex-spouse and your ex-spouse were both X'd

 

As you can see, it did not go well and she was scrutinized deeply. Either she was not carrying all the evidence I had sent her (and I sent her boxes of stuff) or she was in a panic after her VO could not speak Chinese.

 

I am so hurt and angry right now... after all these success stories I have been reading on this site...

 

Lucy was approached by a lady named Tammy after she left the consulate who offered her legal services but told Lucy $4000 USD to get her visa. This is for another post for another time. I just told Lucy to get back to Nanning and we will deal with this in an appeal after I compile all the necessary items the consulate is requesting.

 

I guess my natural reaction to all this would be WHAT WENT WRONG?

 

Any comments are welcome but would prefer if you PM'd me or send me an email. We really could use some help here.

 

Eric (esun41)

[Mengxin]

#19 is the show stopper.

19. The consulate has insufficient evidence about the residency of the following people marked with an X. Petitioners ex-spouse and your ex-spouse were both X'd

 

They want to know where he is and penalized you for it. They will make your SO get a current photo of him with a newspaper to prove he is in China. Or even a letter from his employer. This has come up before. Somebody can find that string. It was about the same time Alex's interview was.

 

It was Micheal that had a similar situation.

Edited September 27, 2005 by Mengxin (see edit history)

[warpedbored]

OK Eric. Now is the time to take a deep breath and relax. I have been where you are and know exactly how you feel. You can get through this. We will help you through it. First and foremost tell Lucy to not show her papers to anyone unless it is an atorney you have both agreed to visit. There are rumors that someone in the consulate is on the take and tied to some of these vultures that approached her outside. They are extortionists. Now calmly go back over the list and make a new list of what they want. The passport page with visas stamped is easy to do. You only need prove you have met at least once in the last two years. Write a nice letter to the VO explaining how and why you tranlated the emails. Do not get confrontational. Like Don told me in my crisis, "use a lot of mouthwash to get the taste out of your mouth while kissing their a$$. " The Xs for the ex is confusing. Do they mean she checked the wrong boxes or what? Regardless if they want to know where he is and make sure they are not still together working a scam give them what they want as best you can. Gather letters from folks that know you as a couple and submit that too. It may be a good idea to jump on a plane and go over there to help your SO through the overcome. Nothing says "I love you" like going to China to do battle with the powers that be. Good luck and remember we are here for you man. You can get through this.

[Zingaro]

I'm really sorry to hear about your blue slip. But I'll second the advice already given to you in this thread. First, take that deep breath and regain your composure. Tears and anger and frustration are a natural reaction, but none of that will improve the situation. On the contrary - they will make it more difficult to navigate the maze.

 

It's not clear from your post what evidence your SO brought to the interview, whether she was asked for any of it or had an opportunity to present it. It really helps to bring far more than you think you need, but the trick is to organize it so that your SO is completely comfortable with it so she can pull out any document requested.

 

Some of the reasons for rejection make no sense - such as the authoriship of your emails. Many couples email each other, and I have not seen any question about email authenticity to date.

 

My guess is that the address of your SO's ex is the real red flag from GZ's viewpoint. So it's up to you and your SO now to answer that question, and to build a more convincing case of the reality of your relationship.

 

Organize your overcome information point by point, clearly labeled for each point. You'll probably need some cooperation from your SO's ex to help prove that he is still in China. It might be helpful to offer him a little money for his cooperation "to cover his expenses" and to show your and your SO's gratitude.

 

But avoid the 'visa agencies" in GZ at all costs. They are expensive, ineffective, and many of them are total scams. You really are better off going it on your own, and with all the support and guidance the veterans here at CFL can offer.

 

I'll also second the recommendation that you go to GZ for the overcome appointment. You can help your SO organize the paperwork, rehearse with her, and help her relax. That is so very important.

[warpedbored]

If you feel you need an attorney I would recomend you contact King. He is an american lawyer practicing in GZ and a long standing member in good stead on this site. You can find his contact info in the links and resources forum.

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

This is precisely the sort of treatment that is best defined as harassment. The immigration system is there as a filter to keep out what it deems undesireables. Our future lies in the hands of those that have the option of saying yes or no to whether our loved one will be with us or not. There is little we can do, and when setbacks happen it's just like taking the wind out of your sail. It's hurtful, discouraging, and damned depressing. In many ways we all feel it when another of our members has this experience.

 

You have been presented a significant hurdle that can be overcome by evidence. Because your relationship is a real one you can amasse your repsonse. As has been suggested here being organized and straighforward is your most powerful tool. Stay focussed on your objective and don't let 'em see you sweat. You can do this. They gave you an itemized list of the overcome evidence you need to present. I'm guessing that you have most of it already, that which you don't have you can compile. There are many good minds here that will help.

[jim_julian]

#19 is the show stopper.

19. The consulate has insufficient evidence about the residency of the following people marked with an X. Petitioners ex-spouse and your ex-spouse were both X'd

 

They want to know where he is and penalized you for it. They will make your SO get a current photo of him with a newspaper to prove he is in China. Or even a letter from his employer. This has come up before.

157075[/snapback]

It is not obvious to me why the consulate wants/needs to know where an ex-spouse currently is if the standard evidence of divorce is presented thus establishing that each party is free to marry.

 

Can someone please shed light on this aspect?

[warpedbored]

#19 is the show stopper.

19. The consulate has insufficient evidence about the residency of the following people marked with an X. Petitioners ex-spouse and your ex-spouse were both X'd

 

They want to know where he is and penalized you for it. They will make your SO get a current photo of him with a newspaper to prove he is in China. Or even a letter from his employer. This has come up before.

157075[/snapback]

It is not obvious to me why the consulate wants/needs to know where an ex-spouse currently is if the standard evidence of divorce is presented thus establishing that each party is free to marry.

 

Can someone please shed light on this aspect?

157087[/snapback]

It has happened before. Occasionally the VO suspects the beneficiary is marrying the petitioner to get to the US where they eventually divorce the US citizen and bring the ex husband over. Seems far fetched to me since it would be years before the ex could rejoin her. Sometimes it seems they just want to see how many hoops you are willing to jump through to get her over here. A cruel test of sorts.

 

For those of you new here in my case they wanted me to make a video speaking and writing Chinese. An impossible request. I flew to China and made a video with my wife speaking English instead. It worked.

 

At least in this case the requests are do-able. Something raised a red flag for them or maybe they have to throw a few denials in there now and then to keep us off balance. No one really knows the inner workings of GZ. All you can do is prepare the best you can and hope for the best.

[david_dawei]

I am very sorry to hear of this happening to you two Eric...

 

Clearly, the VO is questioning the relationship (as opposed to questioning a document for being old or missing info).

 

In the FAQ Interview, section II is about fraud avoidance, etc... This section was meant to try and help us understand what the VO is looking for. The issue of the 'ex-spouse' residency is been an issue in the past as well.

 

If you read the FAQ close enough, you see that divorce, by either side, sometimes causes some scrunity; more so if the beneficiary is divorced with child. WHY? The VO wants to be assured that the beneficiary "ex" and child are not in the US, and the beneficiary is simply trying to get united with them in the US...

 

1. Was the english and chinese in the same email, and it is clear that the header states the email is from your email account and dated, etc? You can get it notarized as yours.

 

8. Provide telephone records.

 

9. Easy to provide.. I'd get it notarized. (I submitted this as part of the original "intent to marry" writeup).

 

11. Provide this.. I'd get it notarized as well... do you have receipts for anything while you two were together in China? A trip you took ?

 

13. If you decide to go to China, wait till you are in china to get a notarized copy of the passport so they can see you are in china !

 

14. How did you get them? Get whatever documentation you can...

 

19. Provide something that proves the residency of the "Ex"...

 

This all can be overcome.... keep your head up.. encourage your SO.. I agree with Carl, go to China if you are able..

 

Best to you two..

[esun41]

Weird thing...

 

Last night during the little sleep I was getting... I dreamed that I was carrying Lucy around like a little baby and taking care of her every need and want...

 

I have all the things requested by the VO or have easy access to them. My only concern now is getting Lucy to carry her load. It appears that she 'Dropped the Ball' during the interview and didn't carry out the 'PLAN' as we had prepared.

 

My emotions are in check as of now. I appreciate and am so thankful for the many friends and concerned CFL'ers I have here to pick me back up.

 

I will fight the fight and bring her here!

[frank1538]

Eric, this will all end favorably despite the fact that GZ is making you jump through more hoops. Keep a level head.

 

As to "what went wrong", let me play a scenario. Before I do, I want to make it absolutely clear that I am not suggesting or insinuating anything. In reading your past posts, it is clear that a valid relationship exists, but GZ has been known to tag a case every now an then for an in-depth review.

 

Let's say GZ suspects a scam. What could have caused this?

 

Sometimes, it's third party gossip. Remember some of your previous posts?

am a bit leary of 001 because of one of those incident email's I received from a person who had a 001 account address. The email basically stated my SO was scamming and I needed to be aware

Not that I have had a person try to contact the Guangzhou consulate but I have received emails and a telephone call from an 'ex-friend' of my SO. This person and my SO were extremely tight the last time I visited Nanning. They spent quite a bit of time together and even discussed with me the possibility of going into business upon arriving in the USA. The woman has since married a man from San Diego which is an hour drive from me down I-15. She arrived to the USA in April and from the opinion of my SO, is extremely jealous of my SO and her feelings towards me.

Here is a funny thing that happened to me... I received an un-specified email ending with 001.com.cn not to long ago. The email pretty much encouraged me to re-think my decisions but did not get into specifics about my SO or myself... It was pretty generic and not degrading.

 

Maybe, the service Lucy used is less than reputable:

The person who has helped my fiancee and many other Nanning ladies

My fiancee has been told to know my parents names, my siblings names and my childrens names.  My SO knows much about me... my job, my state of residence, etc... I thought it was strange for her to tell me she needed to know my parents names but we practice anyway.

 

So, let's say somehow a red flag was raised. Can you understand why GZ would want more information about the e-mails, telephone records, and travel? Without a red flag, none of your posts and none of what most of us post here would take on any added significance. But, once a red flag is raised, everything we all post could be interpreted as corroborative.

 

If GZ suspected that someone else was writing the emails, say an ex-spouse, knowing where the ex was would be important. Consider this quote:

My SO calls me Laogong all the time, she says it means husband. I call her Laopo because she tells me it means wife

If GZ has already become suspicious, seeing a bunch of e-mails between "husband" and "wife" might just add fuel to the fire.

 

Again, if a red flag has already been raised, GZ might want to know who was making all the travel plans:

Lucy has a friend who is connected to a international travel agency in Nanning

If GZ thought that all the travel arrangements were being made in China, they want want some more information related to this.

 

So, here you are, having done everything that you could, and GZ still wants more. No use in arguing with them. Give it to them in spades. Prove to them that gossip or some jealous person cannot and will not stop you and Lucy from being together.

[david_dawei]

Eric,

 

Don't worry about who did or didn't do what.. or who dropped any ball.. From the day you meet, there is ONE effort and and ONE desire to be together... Looking forward to hearing you are together soon !

 

 

Added: Great post Frank.. 'third party' may be at work to some degree...

Edited September 27, 2005 by DavidZixuan (see edit history)

[BuffaloPaul]

I think Frank may have hit the nail on the head. The good news is that if you persist, I think there is good data to show you will get the visa. One important thing I think will be for you to be in GZ the next time she goes there.

[Guest Gene]

I am very sorry Eric that they picked you to put through this. You have the advise from the experts here, they are the best and compare to none.

 

Get everything together, take a big bottle of mouthwash with you, and get over there to bring her home

[pkfops]

Not much more to add.

 

It seems they pick on those with a divorce.