Applying for a Fiance Visa and Terrified

[ryleeys]

Okay, I'm an American living in Guangzhou and about to start this journey. I'm not at all looking forward to it. Frankly, I just wish I could go for an interview with my fiance and be done with it, but nothing is ever that easy.

 

The first set back was that the consulate in Guangzhou gave me information and forms that were outdated and invalid. Am I the only one less than thrilled with their service?

 

The big point for me is that I've heard this process will take anywhere from 4 months to 2 years. Quite frankly, I'm not sure if I can make it in China for 2 more years (I've been here for 1 now). I haven't adjusted well and last night I had a panic attack at the thought.

 

Here's my first question, is it faster to get married in the States or in China (she's from Guangzhou, so at least there wouldn't be any trips to a home province). I understand that answers come only in generalities, but I appreciate any guidance you have.

[Guest pushbrk]

Okay, I'm an American living in Guangzhou and about to start this journey. I'm not at all looking forward to it. Frankly, I just wish I could go for an interview with my fiance and be done with it, but nothing is ever that easy.

 

The first set back was that the consulate in Guangzhou gave me information and forms that were outdated and invalid. Am I the only one less than thrilled with their service?

 

The big point for me is that I've heard this process will take anywhere from 4 months to 2 years. Quite frankly, I'm not sure if I can make it in China for 2 more years (I've been here for 1 now). I haven't adjusted well and last night I had a panic attack at the thought.

 

Here's my first question, is it faster to get married in the States or in China (she's from Guangzhou, so at least there wouldn't be any trips to a home province). I understand that answers come only in generalities, but I appreciate any guidance you have.

194295[/snapback]

Here's an example. If you've never been married before, you can...

 

1. Go into the GUZ consulate, sign an affidavit of single status.

2. Pay $30 and walk out with a certificate of marriageability.

3. In the same building get that certificate translated and notarized in an hour or so.

4. That afternoon, go to the Guangzhou marriage to foreigner office, apply for and receive a "marriage certificate".

 

If you've been married before, you'll need a certified copy of your divorce decree.

 

You are now married.

 

However, you are still in China and your now "Wife" has no visa to travel to the USA. Once married, you can file for a CR1 immigrant visa as a Direct Consular Filing. This tends to be the fastest overall track to a visa for your SO.

 

Of course, your SO will need to get her papers in order regardless of which route you take.

[frank1538]

Welcome to CFL where all the women are good looking, the children are above average, and the men show certain preferences for sheep or goats.

 

You're fast realizing that governmental information and assistance is not the best in the world, but don't let that stop you from realizing your goals.

 

If sounds like you may have three choices:

 

1. Get married in China. Assuming you have the requisite resident status in China, you should be able to file for an immigrant visa (CR-1) through the consulate in Guangzhou. This allows you to bypass the stateside filings and can shave several months off the entire process.

 

2. You can see if your SO can travel to Hong Kong. If so, getting married there allows you to file for a K-3 visa for processing in Hong Kong. You'll still have to file the I-130 for the CR-1 visa which will process through Guangzhou, but I believe having Hong Kong process the K-3 visa rather than Guangzhou should shave several months off the entire process as well.

 

3. You can file for a K-1 fiancee visa. Of the three options, this is probably the slowest, but if you can't do 1 or 2, it may actually be faster than having to file for the CR-1 or the K-3 stateside and processing through Guangzhou.

 

Confused? Fuggetaboutit. You'll have plenty of time to sort things out.

[philb]

welcome to CFL.

 

while 4 months seems very, very optimistic, 2 years is more the exception; GUZ seems to be speeding up- however I am over the 1 year mark since intial K-1 filing.

 

Pull up a chair...and find out about sheep and goats...oh; and buy some cheetos.

 

Phil

[Dennis143]

Welcome to CFL where all the women are good looking, the children are above average, and the men show certain preferences for sheep or goats.  

194320[/snapback]

Thank you, Garrison. Maybe, we should change our name to the Chinese Home Companion.

[ryleeys]

Of the options available (I'm on a Z visa, the new ones have residency permits built in)... will any of them get me and the little lady back to the States by the end of September?

 

 

Also, does her employability in the States affect the visa processing? She's got a master's degree in Music Education and is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, English, and Russian.

 

 

(P.S. Sorry for asking newbie questions I'm sure you've all heard before)

[Mick]

Of the options available (I'm on a Z visa, the new ones have residency permits built in)... will any of them get me and the little lady back to the States by the end of September?

 

 

Also, does her employability in the States affect the visa processing? She's got a master's degree in Music Education and is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, English, and Russian.

 

 

(P.S. Sorry for asking newbie questions I'm sure you've all heard before)

194354[/snapback]

Sorry to say that I don't think employment skills will speed up the process one iota. My wife was highly educated and highly employable. The powers that be paid no attention to that.

 

I think Frank laid out your options pretty well in the above post.

 

I lived in China for five years and waited out our visa for a long 19 months back in 2001-2003. Things are much faster now, but the process can, indeed, be agonizing. Which ever option you choose, you will need patience as to the wait, tolerance as to government screw ups and a healthy dose of of optimism, no matter how long it may take.

 

I would suggest that you do your best to adjust yourself to life in China, even though it may be difficult. Granted, some things are hard to deal with, but, overall, being with your loved one beats waiting by yourself at home. Also, the fact that you were together in China for so long goes a long way toward convincing the visa officers that your relationship is a legitimate one. When my wife had her interview, the first thing the VO said was that he was surprised that we had been together in China for so many years. He approved the visa without looking at any of the paperwork, at least while she was there. (He may have looked at it beforehand).

 

I know things can be exasperating but hang in there. You have some critical choices to make as to which route to take. I wish you the best in any case. Candle is a great place, not only for information, but for support and friendship.

 

Welcome!

[jemmyell]

Of the options available (I'm on a Z visa, the new ones have residency permits built in)... will any of them get me and the little lady back to the States by the end of September?

 

 

Also, does her employability in the States affect the visa processing? She's got a master's degree in Music Education and is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, English, and Russian.

 

 

(P.S. Sorry for asking newbie questions I'm sure you've all heard before)

194354[/snapback]

Hello,

 

Welcome! And don't let these guys scare you. The sheep thing is not at all serious (except for Trigg).

 

You are definitely in the right place for newbies. There is much information in the FAQ sections both here and at VisaJourney.com

 

I do recommend that you use the fillable PDF forms instead of hand-writing. BUT you have some reading to do before you get to that stage.

 

-James

[Trigg]

You think your scared now!!! Just wait until she gets here!!!

Welcome to the candle!!!!!

 

Trigg

[david_dawei]

Filing directly to GUZ

 

As Frank points out, you can file to this consulate and the only timeline I have for DCF through GUZ is 6 months:

 

Guangzhou Examples:

 

(6 months)

11-30-04 DCF Guangzhou

12-0x-04 P3 received

12-0x-04 P3 returned (except checklist)

01-0x-05 P3 checklist returned

04-2x-05 P4 received

06-01-05 Interview (Passed!)

 

 

You would still need to get married, file the petition, and then sail through the process fairly fast to get to the US by september... while maybe not impossible, not sure I'd put money on that.

 

 

Your wife's employability

 

I agree with Mick that her education/employment ability will not do anything to speed up the process.

 

And while 9FAM 40.41 (Public Charge) has some language in it about "Employment Offers" and "Prearranged Employment", I don't think any of these apply to her case as a beneficiary of a CR1 visa... she'll most likely have to depend on your sponsorship, and a joint one if you don't qualify alone.

 

Forms

Don't worry about the forms.. just use what they give you or you can download newer versions. Most likely they are still handing out from the stacks of paper on hand..

[ryleeys]

Another option is that she and I could move to Korea. I lived there for a year and enjoyed myself quite a bit. I dated a Chinese teacher when I was there, so I know there's work. Plus, in Korea I can actually make a fair chunk of change, as opposed to China, which seems to have set out to financially ruin me.

 

 

I know that things from my end would be roughly the same... but any idea how complicated it would make it for her to do the Chinese end from Korea?

[Katrina]

I'm not a very experienced member but I think the problem would be before the interview you need to get copies of birth certificates, police certificates, ect. from yous SO's hometown. These are only good for a certain amount of time. I might be wrong, and one of the other members could chime in here and tell you exactly but I think those are good for a year after you get them. But, I'm really not sure so I hope some other members can tell you exactly how long these documents are good for. I wish you good luck though.

 

And, I too am ready to leave China. I understand how you feel. The one thing that gets me through everyday is I know I am lucky to be here with my husband. There are many others on this website that have spent so much time away from each other. I really count myself lucky that I am with my husband everyday during this process.

[ryleeys]

Being with my fiance helps, but not as much as for my American friend who lives with her boyfriend / future fiance.

 

My fiance is pretty traditional and doesn't want to move in with me yet for various reasons. Partly as a traditional thing and partly to spend time with her parents before leaving China.

 

However, she works all day and I work 6 days a week with classes in the evening. On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday... it's a crapshoot for me to see her. On Wednesday and Friday, I can usually meet her for 20-30 minutes for dinner between the end of her day and the start of my class. Saturday and Sunday are so far good, but I'm about to start having classes on Sunday for 8 hours. So all in all, I don't get to see her as much as I'd like.

 

The things we do for love, eh?

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

Being with my fiance helps, but not as much as for my American friend who lives with her boyfriend / future fiance.

 

My fiance is pretty traditional and doesn't want to move in with me yet for various reasons. Partly as a traditional thing and partly to spend time with her parents before leaving China.

 

However, she works all day and I work 6 days a week with classes in the evening. On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday... it's a crapshoot for me to see her. On Wednesday and Friday, I can usually meet her for 20-30 minutes for dinner between the end of her day and the start of my class. Saturday and Sunday are so far good, but I'm about to start having classes on Sunday for 8 hours. So all in all, I don't get to see her as much as I'd like.

 

The things we do for love, eh?

194664[/snapback]

So, after reading some of the suggestions you've received in this thread, have you made a decision on how you intend to approach making a more permanent bond between you and your partner?

[ryleeys]

Before I make a final decision, I'm going the guanxi route, Americana style.

 

My great uncle used to work in the Library of Congress as some kind of China expert. He lived in China for 15 years and has extensive connections at both the State Department and the Chinese Embassy. So, I'm gonna see what he's got to offer on the situation (Of course, it's my mom that says he's got contacts and she's an art teacher - i.e. nutty - so who knows!).