Met my fiancee before my divorce was final

[Michael & Susan]

I am wondering if the fact that my fianc¨¦e and I met and vacationed in China for 43 days before my divorce was final will raise a red flag when I submit my K1 petition or at the consular interview in Guangzhou? (I have been separated for a year but waiting to finalize my divorce while trying to sell our home to split the profit).

 

I have several photo¡¯s of my fianc¨¦e and myself together in all the cities we visited plus the usual evidence of meeting in person and showing an ongoing relationship e.g. copies of airline boarding passes, train passes, itineraries, passport stamps, Yahoo voice logs, emails, chat logs, letters, poems to each other, credit card statements of purchases made in China, as well as airline tickets back to China in January 2009 to visit her and vacation in Shanghai.

 

Is there anything else I should do to avoid any problems?

 

Any comments or suggestions are welcomed.

 

Thank you in advance.

[Guest WenDylan]

What is the timeline of when you met your fiance online, then met in person? This may be a big red flag.

 

On the petitioner¡¯s side, here is a brief and, by no means, complete list of reasons I have seen used to justify the return of family-based IV petitions and K petitions to DHS.

 

 

 

1. A very brief courtship followed by a plunge into matrimony;

 

2. A marriage ceremony arranged only a short time after petitioner arrives in the beneficiary¡¯s country and they meet for the first time;

 

3. No common language;

 

4. Petitioner resides with family members of the beneficiary in the US;

 

5. Petitioner is employed by or has a business relationship with a relative of beneficiary;

 

6. Petitioner submits phone records that show he uses a residential phone number that is listed in the name of another person.

 

7. US divorce followed very quickly by an engagement to foreign beneficiary is often a red flag for consular officers.

 

8. There is little or no documentary evidence of the relationship prior to the actual engagement.

 

9. Long gaps of time between the petitioner & beneficiary being together in person.

 

10. Failure to disclose previous marriages;

 

11. Failure to disclose previous petitions filed on behalf of other beneficiaries.

 

from... http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=454417

Edited December 15, 2008 by WenDylan (see edit history)

[Michael & Susan]

What is the timeline of when you met your fiance online, then met in person? This may be a big red flag.

 

On the petitioner¡¯s side, here is a brief and, by no means, complete list of reasons I have seen used to justify the return of family-based IV petitions and K petitions to DHS.

 

 

 

1. A very brief courtship followed by a plunge into matrimony;

 

2. A marriage ceremony arranged only a short time after petitioner arrives in the beneficiary¡¯s country and they meet for the first time;

 

3. No common language;

 

4. Petitioner resides with family members of the beneficiary in the US;

 

5. Petitioner is employed by or has a business relationship with a relative of beneficiary;

 

6. Petitioner submits phone records that show he uses a residential phone number that is listed in the name of another person.

 

7. US divorce followed very quickly by an engagement to foreign beneficiary is often a red flag for consular officers.

 

8. There is little or no documentary evidence of the relationship prior to the actual engagement.

 

9. Long gaps of time between the petitioner & beneficiary being together in person.

 

10. Failure to disclose previous marriages;

 

11. Failure to disclose previous petitions filed on behalf of other beneficiaries.

 

from... http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=454417

 

We met online in early July, 2008 and then in person in September 15. We got engaged in October while touring Beijing and had an engagement party in her home town of Yuilin with her family and friends.

[jhammer]

I am wondering if the fact that my fianc¨¦e and I met and vacationed in China for 43 days before my divorce was final will raise a red flag when I submit my K1 petition or at the consular interview in Guangzhou? (I have been separated for a year but waiting to finalize my divorce while trying to sell our home to split the profit).

 

I have several photo¡¯s of my fianc¨¦e and myself together in all the cities we visited plus the usual evidence of meeting in person and showing an ongoing relationship e.g. copies of airline boarding passes, train passes, itineraries, passport stamps, Yahoo voice logs, emails, chat logs, letters, poems to each other, credit card statements of purchases made in China, as well as airline tickets back to China in January 2009 to visit her and vacation in Shanghai.

 

Is there anything else I should do to avoid any problems?

 

Any comments or suggestions are welcomed.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

I am in the same boat, brother, and I have met others here in the this same situation. Since I am relatively new, I won't have your best advice entirely, but, stay tuned as I hope to have an interview date in late Feb.

 

Here is what i did with my I-129F K1 application. I paid particular attention to any related evidence as to my place or residence through my separation. I submitted

1 copies of payments to my divorce attorney,

2. copies of utility bills from my apartment

3. copies of utility bills I got from my X that showed only her name from the house I used to own :-)

4. my apartment lease showing me as a tenant

5. A detailed timeline of my relationship with my Fiancee , which had an addendum section explaining my relationship with my ex-wife, basically the dissolution time-period, which covered things like counseling interventions, lawyers meetings/ payments, move out, and new life and all with cited documents to back that timeline up.

 

I figure how could it hurt to carefully document the truth ? It always could, but I had some advice on sites like this along the way. You know what was most interesting after I documented that though ?

 

My Fiancee's reaction. She was genuinely proud of my work and confident in things she would have had no other way to see hard evidence of.

 

The things you mention, I am / have been doing also. I don't think there's any way this isn't a red flag, so taking care of it in the original application I sent to USCIS I felt was best as according to the law, information included and approved by USCIS/ homeland security, in the visa application process is not supposed to be re-adjudicated, only new information brought to bear, although I see you are not submitting to a service center, so...

 

Best of Luck to you, and definitely be sure your SO is fully in the loop to all these details - that works on multiple levels.

[rogerinca]

I am wondering if the fact that my fianc閑 and I met and vacationed in China for 43 days before my divorce was final will raise a red flag when I submit my K1 petition or at the consular interview in Guangzhou? (I have been separated for a year but waiting to finalize my divorce while trying to sell our home to split the profit).

 

I have several photo’s of my fianc閑 and myself together in all the cities we visited plus the usual evidence of meeting in person and showing an ongoing relationship e.g. copies of airline boarding passes, train passes, itineraries, passport stamps, Yahoo voice logs, emails, chat logs, letters, poems to each other, credit card statements of purchases made in China, as well as airline tickets back to China in January 2009 to visit her and vacation in Shanghai.

 

Is there anything else I should do to avoid any problems?

 

Any comments or suggestions are welcomed.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

 

No. Not unto itself.

 

This is common here.

 

My ex dragged out our divorce too, for her financial benefit. I had met my Lao Po one year after I filed for divorce and separated; and over one year before it was finalized.

 

Moreover, we married very soon after the divorce was finalized.

 

I fully explained in my I-130 and I-129F filings, and not one question in this regard, at interview time this past June.

Edited December 15, 2008 by rogerinca (see edit history)

[Guest WenDylan]

We met online in early July, 2008 and then in person in September 15. We got engaged in October while touring Beijing and had an engagement party in her home town of Yuilin with her family and friends.

I would suggest to make as many trips as possible and spend as much time as possible together prior to the interview. That will help ease some of those red flags down I think. From reading those experiences of people who have been through this situation, that is the one thing I would advise. I think you are quite on top of things! I wouldn't recommend a bunch of short trips though, make some lengthy excursions!

[rogerinca]

We met online in early July, 2008 and then in person in September 15. We got engaged in October while touring Beijing and had an engagement party in her home town of Yuilin with her family and friends.

I would suggest to make as many trips as possible and spend as much time as possible together prior to the interview. That will help ease some of those red flags down I think. From reading those experiences of people who have been through this situation, that is the one thing I would advise. I think you are quite on top of things! I wouldn't recommend a bunch of short trips though, make some lengthy excursions!

 

 

Why is that ???

 

It worked for me, just fine.

[Guest WenDylan]

We met online in early July, 2008 and then in person in September 15. We got engaged in October while touring Beijing and had an engagement party in her home town of Yuilin with her family and friends.

I would suggest to make as many trips as possible and spend as much time as possible together prior to the interview. That will help ease some of those red flags down I think. From reading those experiences of people who have been through this situation, that is the one thing I would advise. I think you are quite on top of things! I wouldn't recommend a bunch of short trips though, make some lengthy excursions!

 

 

Why is that ???

 

It worked for me, just fine.

Every case is different, just a recommendation. I would certainly do it if I had the money and the time off!

[Michael & Susan]

We met online in early July, 2008 and then in person in September 15. We got engaged in October while touring Beijing and had an engagement party in her home town of Yuilin with her family and friends.

I would suggest to make as many trips as possible and spend as much time as possible together prior to the interview. That will help ease some of those red flags down I think. From reading those experiences of people who have been through this situation, that is the one thing I would advise. I think you are quite on top of things! I wouldn't recommend a bunch of short trips though, make some lengthy excursions!

 

 

Why is that ???

 

It worked for me, just fine.

Every case is different, just a recommendation. I would certainly do it if I had the money and the time off!

 

Thank you for the recommendations and yes I plan to make as many trips as I can to be with my fianc¨¦e.

 

Guess I have some more work to so before I submit my petition though.

Thanks again.

[jhammer]

We met online in early July, 2008 and then in person in September 15. We got engaged in October while touring Beijing and had an engagement party in her home town of Yuilin with her family and friends.

I would suggest to make as many trips as possible and spend as much time as possible together prior to the interview. That will help ease some of those red flags down I think. From reading those experiences of people who have been through this situation, that is the one thing I would advise. I think you are quite on top of things! I wouldn't recommend a bunch of short trips though, make some lengthy excursions!

 

 

Why is that ???

 

It worked for me, just fine.

Every case is different, just a recommendation. B) I would certainly do it if I had the money and the time off!

 

I believe the red flag is to check for immigration fraud, and that being the case, if you document enough, and the other surrounding evidence, such as your income, and a lot of other things all add up to you not being a likely recipient of a payoff, then the question may still apply to your SO - is she being the player - and as mentioned above, having some time before you actually engaged should help, and also, you are Fiancee visa, not married yet, so I think that helps, and what region of China she is from will also factor in the redness of the flag. I found a most incredible woman near Inner Mongolia of Han background and am incredibly lucky in all respects, not to mention she is only one inch shorter than I at 5'10. Sorry, I couldn't help myself, Im less than 12 hours from boarding to go see her for the 4th time.

[rogerinca]

We met online in early July, 2008 and then in person in September 15. We got engaged in October while touring Beijing and had an engagement party in her home town of Yuilin with her family and friends.

I would suggest to make as many trips as possible and spend as much time as possible together prior to the interview. That will help ease some of those red flags down I think. From reading those experiences of people who have been through this situation, that is the one thing I would advise. I think you are quite on top of things! I wouldn't recommend a bunch of short trips though, make some lengthy excursions!

 

 

Why is that ???

 

It worked for me, just fine.

Every case is different, just a recommendation. I would certainly do it if I had the money and the time off!

 

Thank you for the recommendations and yes I plan to make as many trips as I can to be with my fiancée.

Guess I have some more work to so before I submit my petition though.

Thanks again.

 

Nice photo of you two on the Great Wall !! Lao Po and I visited the Mutianyu section of the Wall last year. It was an emotional experience.

 

Multiple visits add to your knowledge and understanding of one another. It makes the transition and adjustment so much easier upon her arrival in the US. I speak from my personal experience. Our transition has been very much seamless, since her arrival in early June. I attribute this to the fact that our relationship was deeply established prior to her arrival, as well as establishing those important 'bona fides'. Moreover, her immediate family had grown to know me and gained confidence in our relationship as well. B)

Edited December 15, 2008 by rogerinca (see edit history)

[Guest WenDylan]

We met online in early July, 2008 and then in person in September 15. We got engaged in October while touring Beijing and had an engagement party in her home town of Yuilin with her family and friends.

I would suggest to make as many trips as possible and spend as much time as possible together prior to the interview. That will help ease some of those red flags down I think. From reading those experiences of people who have been through this situation, that is the one thing I would advise. I think you are quite on top of things! I wouldn't recommend a bunch of short trips though, make some lengthy excursions!

 

 

Why is that ???

 

It worked for me, just fine.

Every case is different, just a recommendation. I would certainly do it if I had the money and the time off!

 

I believe the red flag is to check for immigration fraud, and that being the case, if you document enough, and the other surrounding evidence, such as your income, and a lot of other things all add up to you not being a likely recipient of a payoff, then the question may still apply to your SO - is she being the player - and as mentioned above, having some time before you actually engaged should help, and also, you are Fiancee visa, not married yet, so I think that helps, and what region of China she is from will also factor in the redness of the flag. I found a most incredible woman near Inner Mongolia of Han background and am incredibly lucky in all respects, not to mention she is only one inch shorter than I at 5'10. Sorry, I couldn't help myself, Im less than 12 hours from boarding to go see her for the 4th time.

Well have a safe trip! I am stuck at work. B)