Interview Results - Advice for Others - Thoughts

[Guest Rob & Jin]

OYE!!! More forms......

 

 

Thank you....

 

Yep lots of them B)

[Jaseball]

Do you think they already knew of her CCP membership ? seems odd the VO just kinda threw it in at the end

 

If so it was probably a good thing she answered as she did.

 

did you tick yes on question C of GNI-2 ?

 

 

 

 

Yep. The communist party is considered totalitarian, so she did say she was a member. I think there was something she filled out that specifically asked about CCP membership.

 

She could have 100% truthfully said 'no,' but even then the follow up question would probably have come. In that case, maybe going the route she did was the best move, especially since her verbal answer would not have matched her answer on the paper form.

 

All I know is we were 100% truthful, didn't play word games, and got the blue slip. Once I can clear all this up, get my girl here, and start the rest of the payments, processes, etc., while she is with me it will hopefully be much easier.

[jim_julian]

Best wishes for a short wait and a successful outcome. You may want to pay particular attention to how your intended feels in the aftermath and be alert for any misplaced guilt feelings on her part.

[Aiwen & Jim]

Sorry to hear this Jaseball. Hopefully you can overcome quickly.

 

Good Luck!!!

[homersimpsons]

I see other people have their passport notarized, that isn't necessary,right?

[Jaseball]

I see other people have their passport notarized, that isn't necessary,right?

 

 

Only document I had notarized was the I-134.

[carl.hops]

Thanks for the support and well wishes. The good thing is our blue slip is just an automatic review and will probably be sent back to the US for a review and more detailed name check of her in China.

 

We don't have the nightmare situation of getting all the work done, trying to find a translator, getting the letter notarized, etc. Her being out of the party and having the official paperwork already done hopefully saved us this head ache.

 

Also, hopefully the process just continues on right after the interview, since there is no lag time of us trying to collect more evidence/paperwork, getting it back to GUZ, and then having the information move out again when they check it.

 

It will just be hard for her to make another trip to GUZ to pick up the visa, but that trip should be happy and she should be excited instead of worried and nervous.

 

She said the CO was a Caucasian, brunette, lady who was very pretty and kind. I was hoping we wouldn't get some bitter, nasty, person who was having a bad day/week/month.

 

If not for the outdated law on the books I am 95% sure the CO would have issued the visa on the spot, but her hands were tied.

 

And it must be a good relief to have heard the VO say that she thinks she should have the Visa.

[xiaofeizhu]

Sorry to haer about the blue. I hope everything goes well and that you have a quick wait. I'm sure you and your fiance will come through with a visa soon!

[Bill & Angel]

We had our GUZ interview on the morning of May 12.

 

[snip]

 

The CO asks the dreaded, "Are you a communist party member?"

 

 

I've read a lot about this dreaded question, which does seem to come up often enough. This prompted me to talk to my fiancee about this, especially since she had a government job. Oddly enough, she told me she was the only one in her department that was not a member of the CCP. When I asked why she did not join, she said it was because she didn't want to pay the dues. This made me laugh.

 

Good luck with the final outcome. May 12 was the day I returned from my 5th trip to China, and while I was there, we received email notification of our NOA2 approval. We are also lined up for a GUZ interview. You got your NOA2 on 11/29 with a 5/12 interview, so that would indicate perhaps a 10/15 interview.

Edited May 14, 2008 by Bill & Angel (see edit history)

[aicecream]

I am so sorry about the blue. Wish you the best luck on the rest of the background check.

When I was applying for the first travel visa I had the background check too because of my job, that took only 1 month. I hope you will hear something soon.

[Yuanyang]

Sorry, this too shall pass, as they say. You have been delayed not denied.

[Brian & Kathy]

I was looking at the timelines and was surprised to see you got blue! Very sorry to hear about this. I can understand how heartbreaking it is.

 

The good news is, that it should be streight forward and simply a matter of time. While the idea of not being able to do anything is difficult, it should simply be a matter of some additional checks until she has the visa in hand.

 

Best of luck to you, and a speedy resolution to the blue.

 

Brian

[michaelt]

We had our GUZ interview on the morning of May 12.

 

My fiancee was nervous, but prepared and over these past months I have told her what I expected. Told her a white slip was the worst as far as I can tell because that is saying they doubt the validity and true nature of the relationship. Blue slip would be bad, but then again there are many different blue slip reasons and delays.

 

The first test I believe begins when they ask if they can speak English or just Chinese. My fiancee answered in English and was sent to a brunette CO who asked her one sentence in English and then spent the rest of the time speaking in Chinese. My fiancee says the CO's Mandarin was slightly better than my own.

 

The crazy thing was they never asked about my ability to speak Mandarin, how we communicate, etc. They seemed to assume because my fiancee could speak English that is what we used. If she could only speak Chinese I'm not sure how they are supposed to find out our Mandarin or native language proficiency because we are not allowed to go in there with them.

 

The notarized I-134 and your backup proof is a major factor here. This packet has to be really thorough and detailed. Our government really just wants to check to see if the immigrant will become a state burden. That is a primary focus. I had 3 years tax returns, 3 months pay stubs, employment verification letter, and everything for this part neatly detailed out.

 

Have your passport with your fiancee or if you are not there, have all pages of the passport photocopied. Heck, bring a photocopied version to give to them even if you do have your original there. They wanted to see where I traveled, when, and also questioned my fiancee about my visits to Taiwan. Why I was there etc.

 

Do write a letter explaining your relationship development from the time you filed the I-129F to the time of the interview. Mine was not notarized, but I did sign and date it.

 

Most questions focussed on basics revolving around my work and family. Where did I work? Where did I go to school? Where does my father live? Do I have brothers and sisters? How old are they? Where do they live? What sort of work do I do? How did we meet?

 

The CO asked if we had photos together, so my fiancee handed over the album and it was flipped through quickly. The entire time the CO is checking the computer, stamping papers, etc.

 

My fiancee offered to show the CO other evidence (I told her not to volunteer anything and just sit back calmly and smile, but she didn't remember or got excited)

 

The CO didn't want or need to see anything else. Our QQ online pictures, 10 months phone records, email printouts, hand written letters, photocopies of her letters and postmarks I sent back, were never even looked at or touched.

 

At this point I believe we had it. The visa was ours.

 

We didn't have the additional scrutiny of divorces, children, past criminal records, or things of this nature.

 

What we did have was she joined the Communist party during the middle of her college career.

 

The CO asks the dreaded, "Are you a communist party member?"

 

This is where my fiancee made another mistake. She had stopped paying dues and had officially withdrawn from the party. I told my fiancee to say "No," to this question and to see if they would ask the follow up, "Were you ever a communist party member?"

 

She said she was no longer a member, but was before. The CO then asks when did you get out. My fiancee then offers her letter of why she joined and why she left as well as the official withdrawl form, but at that point there was no way to avoid the blue slip.

 

I told her if she saw a white or blue slip to ask exactly why we were being delayed or denied and to ask what steps we had to take to overcome or seek a change.

 

The CO flat out told my fiancee that she felt we qualified for a visa, but it was US law to delay the visa for additional checks in this situation and there was nothing she could do. She said my fiancee had to wait for 3 months and should hear back from GUZ to come and pick up the visa, but to contact them if there was no word after 3 months.

 

My fiancee then asked if we needed to prepare overcome documentation or do anything more. The CO told her we had done enough, they had what they needed, and to just relax and wait for them to contact us.

 

Overall I'm proud of my fiancee. She was heartbroken and in tears, which was really heartbreaking. I told her for a blue slip this was the best we could hope for because there is nothing more we have to do, except wait. A white slip could have been far more trouble.

 

In the back of my mind I wished she had honestly said,"No," to the communist party question and seen if we could have skirted by and remained 100% honest.

 

I don't think her volunteering our letters, emails, and other evidence mattered, but I think sitting back smiling, relaxed, and being excited is best and not volunteering stuff they do not ask for.

 

If your other half is a party member I think writing the reasons down and formally withdrawing before the interview is best, but my girl really gained no benefits from membership, wasn't in a government job, etc., so leaving the party before the visa is issued made no difference to her, but I think it did help us in the interview.

 

If we get her visa within 90 days or before, then everything is fine and still works within our time frame. There is no overcome for us to perform like some of the other folks I have read about. I think they just need to check back stateside and run another name check on my fiancee and hopefully the visa will be issued.

 

Wish me luck everyone. I know there is still a chance I could be stuck in limbo for a long, long time, but hopefully I can post about us getting the visa soon and be of some help to others who are going through this process.

 

Any questions, comments, or concerns posted I'll try to answer.

 

Best wishes to everyone and hopefully pink slips for the loved ones on the first pass for everyone else. This china K visa process is way, way, way long enough without additional delays.

Sorry to hear about your trouble but am confident this will all work out fine in the not too distant future. Hang in there and please keep us all posted. Good wishes going your way!

[Jaseball]

Hey Everyone-

 

Haven't posted since the blue slip and now it has been almost six months. It has been about a 1.5 year total journey from initial application until now.

 

Yesterday my fiancee told me she had a package from GUZ. Luckily the package just said her visa is ready for pick up in GUZ. It's strange, but instead of the elation I should feel I'm sort of numb and in a bit of disbelief.

 

I mean, I'm very happy, but this entire process took so long. I remember other people who had the communist issue who went far longer, were in limbo for years, or who were flat out denied, so I should be happy because right from the start I sort of knew we would be blue slipped and I knew 6 months in additional review would be considered pretty fast.

 

So, now I have to work out logistics and prepare so many other things. Hope everyone has been doing good.

[chilton747]

CONGRATULATIONS JASEBALL!!!!!! B)