K-3 or CR-1?

[Ying 'n Doug]

Ying and I were married in Chongqing on the 30th of April. It was one of the happiest days of my life.

 

After Ying's K-1 Visa was refused in early February ("no bona-fide relationship") we did a lot of soul searching and shared a lot of feelings about what kind of flaming hoops we were going to have to jump through to ever be together (Thank God for Skype!)

 

I believe our visa was refused because I had only made one trip to China. Shortly after my first trip to China I had herniated three disks in my lower spine and spent the next 14 months developing a new and highly practiced appreciation for pain. I continued to work as best I could (terrified that the visa might be refused if my income dropped!) but it was the wrong thing to do. By Jan 2009 I was almost paralyzed from the waist down. Then, on Feb 2, we got the news that Ying's visa had been denied. Those of you who've been there know the anger and frustration. Those of you who haven't probably can't really imagine it.

 

So - we've now been accused of attempted visa fraud. It's kind of like "weapons of mass destruction" isn't it? It doesn't really matter what the facts are. If you fit the secret profile - you're GUILTY!

 

Ying (bless her heart) helped me very much to discharge much of the anger. I asked her very bluntly about how sure she was about wanting to marry me - given that it might take years before we could finally be together without a cloud of bureaucratic mosquitoes harrassing us - and mentioning that we might even have to move to some country other than the U.S. to finally be together in peace.

 

We're bonded for life. It doesn't matter what obstacles we have to overcome now - we'll do it.

 

So I jumped into a program of physical therapy suggested by a Mexican doctor (my doctor here said it would not work) and by mid-April I was walking pretty well again and Ying and I planned our marriage.

 

Armed with a generous supply of pain pills I made the trip to China. We met in Guangzhou, where we got a marriageability affidavit at GUZ. I went to the "American Citizen's Hour" to see if I could get any information that might help us. The visa officer I talked to was very courteous and empathetic, but basically could not tell me anything of immediate use and encouraged us to "keep trying" (easy for them to say!)

 

We had the Chinese civil ceremony on April 30th and then had a lovely traditional wedding and party for family and friends on May 8th ( the Master at Ying's temple said it would be a very auspicious day for us to be married).

 

The visa refusal has been one of the most bitter mis-treatments I've ever had at the hands of my government, but it has had the effect of bringing Ying and I much closer. Discussing our thoughts and emotions across the language barrier really motivated us to learn each other's languages. Her English (and my Chinese) improved tremendously as we struggled through that. She has been a real trooper through the whole thing. Her reaction to having my government spit in her face was forgiveness, understanding and an unwavering attitude that "we will get through this together". If I had any doubts that she was the one I would want to spend the rest of my life with, they are all gone now!

 

I was able to spend three weeks with Ying this time. My back problem healed tremendously under her care and the care of two Chinese doctors she knows. My time with my family in Chongqing was the best medicine. Leaving was so tough. I know it is not acceptable to show unpleasant emotion in public in China, but I cried most of the way from Chongqing to Guangzhou, where I got my connecting flight back home. A Chinese woman who sat next to me on the flight tried so hard to console me, bless her heart.

 

So now it's time to run the gauntlet again. My last experience with filing (for the K-1) was done with a lawyer and I think what I paid him was pretty much a waste of money. I didn't know about CFL then. Now that I do, I'd very much appreciate the views of you who have actually made it through this maze. CR-1 or K-3 - Which one should we apply for? I know there are some real advantages to the CR-1 (no AOS and all that nonsense and less expensive). I am most concerned about which will be shorter. We just want to live our lives together in peace. I can go to China for two weeks or so every 4 or 5 months now, but that is no way to have a family life.

 

Also, are there any tricky ramifications now that we've been refused a K-1? The refusal letter said that is was going to be returned to USCIS with a recommendation for revocation, but we've had no further communication on that score and, of course, GUZ won't tell us anything at all.

 

Any advice? Thanks so much in advance. If I'd only known about CFL when we started into this, I probably wouldn't be writing this today. It's time to take another whack at this tarbaby, but we'd sure like to do it right this time.

[Guest Pommey]

keep a eye on your mail box, if you do get any correspondence on the K-1 respond to it (if it asks for a response).

 

good luck.

[HKG]

This is a mix bag of understanding at least for me it is,. If you are denied for a K1 and marry and apply for CR1, the denial of the K1 will show for the CR1, unless before the interview for USCIS gives you the opportunity

to respond to the K1 denial, rules in your favor and sends it back to the Consulate, but suppose they do not give you the opportunity or rules against you, quite possible the CR1 will be denied also. These are my thoughts.

[Guest Pommey]

if you never hear anything on a returned K-1 then it will expire, no hard finding of fraud is recorded.

 

If you receive a letter from USCIS saying they have received it back, then chances are it will be reviewed and as such wont expire. If they send you another letter saying you have 33 days to respond and you dont, then you will receice a hard finding of fraud.

 

Thats my take on it, the Ellis island thread has a detailed explaination of the process and legal aspects of it.

 

if your CR-1 interview happens before either then again there is no hard finding of fraud on file.

[BrokenHeart]

I understand exactly how you feel. Read my time line, i shake my head everyday. My wife of over 2 years wants to get a divorce and set me free. I have a CR-1 in play now, i got the bill for the $400 and have not paid that, and i am just thinking, I do not want to go through another " not a bonafide relationship " of course you will never know the real reason, that statement is just so they dont have to tell you anything and it is so wide open for interpetation.

 

Good luck to you, i wish the both of you best in your endeavor.

[joejoefta]

Sorry to hear about your K-1 and I know how it feels (been there). Congratulations to your marriage. For my K-1 case it was refused for section 221(g) for not a bona fide relationship on August 21, 2008 and received a notice for review from USCIS on March 18, 2009. After the refusal of K-1 I did the same as you (got married) but I also temporally relocated to Beijing and in March 2009 I filed a I-130. Anyway, you can gauge how long it will take you if you file a I-130 from my thread which I started when I filed.

[Guest jin979]

Sorry to hear about your K-1 and I know how it feels (been there). Congratulations to your marriage. For my K-1 case it was refused for section 221(g) for not a bona fide relationship on August 21, 2008 and received a notice for review from USCIS on March 18, 2009. After the refusal of K-1 I did the same as you (got married) but I also temporally relocated to Beijing and in March 2009 I filed a I-130. Anyway, you can gauge how long it will take you if you file a I-130 from my thread which I started when I filed.

 

 

hope your watching your mail at old address in USA about K-1

[joejoefta]

Yes, that is still my permanent address.

[dnoblett]

keep a eye on your mail box, if you do get any correspondence on the K-1 respond to it (if it asks for a response).

 

good luck.

True, there were two VO's at GUZ consulate that were excessively using that excuse to deny MANY K-1 visas, they have since been removed per another posting, and I read a post where petitioner got mail from USCIS allowing them an opportunity to over come.

 

I suspect that USCIS will be sending you a letter that you will need to respond to before moving on. If you don't respond to the revocation of the K-1, you may have problems later when interviewing for a different visa.

 

Post about the VO's being let go.

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...c=36804&hl=

 

Post about USCIS letter about denied visa.

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...c=36794&hl=

[chilton747]

I went through what you did. We got married after a denial and applied for a CR1. You can see in my timeline what we did. We did not want the K3 specifically because we did not want any other government interference with our lives. I purposely dragged out filing for the CR1 so we would have a good shot at an IR1. Just as you said, my wife and I were bonded for life so we used common sense and went for the IR1. We had no problem with the extra wait as the payoff was definitely worth it.

 

Good luck!!