Starting down the visa road.

[sichuan red]

Hello everyone. I just wanted to say that my fiance and I are have just submitted our information to our attorney. I'm not sure when our application will get submitted but it should be within the next few days. Hopefully the attorney front loads my application with all the info I have provided.

 

A little bit about us: We met online and after two months I visted for 10 days in mid August. We got engaged and had a small banquet with her family. I came back and we began to collect our information. I have now provided the attorney with everything we could. I am returning for another 10 day visit in a week and a half. I did provide proof of my non-refundable ticket for my second trip to the attorney to include with the application. Honestly, I'm nervous and hope that everything goes smoothly for us.

Edited September 16, 2010 by sichuan red (see edit history)

[david_dawei]

Welcome to CFL.

 

Unless you really know the process well, your not going to be aware of a number of issues in this process; dare I say that the lawyer may not really either since the US consulate at Guangzhou is a little like California; sometimes your not sure it's part of the US

 

There are plenty of stories of using lawyers; honestly, some are not so good and in some cases they appear to actually slow things down since your petition is just one of many they juggle. Nobody would take care of your petition like you would. For that reason, I would try to understand the process as much as possible and keep an eye on your case based on the expected timeframes you learn here. I would also ask him to be able to review the entire package before it is sent in; before that, understand what is required and recommended for petitions based on your situation.

 

Now, let's talk about your situation: You meet a very short time and then went to china and then got engaged and then want to file. This is of course permissible but the lack of 'time' is sometimes look down upon by the consulate; they deal with 100s of cases a day and what is unique about your case that makes it look better than another?

 

In my recommendations, the factors you should be pondering for what to submit are based on issues like: Time. how you meet, her city, her age, both your marital past, any children, communicating with a common language (ie: her english), etc. IMO, these are some of the basic issues which cause problems. Many years ago, lack of english was a big issue; then it seemed to generally go away as a big concern to the consulate; it now appears to be back as an issue in the last year.

 

The one recommendation I would make to you is to NOT file until you come back from the second trip. Proof of your ticket to go to china doesn't mean you went; tickets can be changed for a fee, so I would consider that ticket 'empty evidence'. Given you have another trip scheduled so soon, waiting to file adds a little 'time' to the relationship. As well, you'll have some more varied pictures to submit (I recommend only about 12 pictures but they should vary and be informal settings since natural pictures are best; you control the pictures to send but they should convey the happiness you guys share.

 

good luck.

[sichuan red]

Hello David and thank you for the reply.

 

I have lurked and followed this board since July of this year. I think I have read almost every post for the last two years. Additionally my fiance and I both read the 001 board.

I have gleaned a lot information and have become well versed in the process and the issues. I am by no means an expert, nor do I claim to know everything about this. I am but just one of many trying to make sure they have everything right in order to get the love of their life to be with them.

 

My use of a lawyer for this process is only to handle the paperwork and double check what I am submitting to make sure I don't miss the obvious. I made it very clear to the lawyer that nothing leaves their office without me seeing it first. Right now the office is currently reviewing my information and I don't expect them to be finished until Monday. Having followed other peoples cases I understand the timelimes and have created a tentative mapping to keep on top of the process. One additional thing I did was present to the lawyer all of the possible "red flag" items I could think of so that they could address them with information I have provided.

 

I realize that the time issue is the biggest red flag that we have. Other then pictures showing acceptance by her family, I do not know how make our case unique. Here is the info for your issues list:

 

Time: June 26, 2010

How we met: Online Dating site.

Her City: Deyang (North NorthEast of Chengdu)

Her age: 42 (I am 53)

marital past: She has been divorced since 2008. I was seperated in Feb 2010 and divorce finalized mid May 2010 (I provided my ex-wifes information).

Children: she has a son 19 year old (He does not want to come to the US), I have two married children

Communication: She has limited English and is taking lessons, I can read and speak some Mandarin (I wrote her a short letter in Chinese a week ago. My writing is terrible) We use a translation tool to assist us as we need it.

 

That's a good point on waiting to file until after my return from this visit. I will get my fiance to suggest the idea to me.

We already have some very good pictures that were taken with friends and family and also on outings that we took. This will give a few more from a different timeframe.

 

 

 

How does it look to GUZ when my second visit is so close to my first one?

[david_dawei]

I'm a little curious how she much she knows of the process and how she came to know the 001 board? And her willingness to separate from her son is a bit interesting.

 

Second: Why not just marry her in china and then file? Your going back so soon and marrying is an obvious thing to do to prove your relationship is different. To not marry on such a quick second trip when you have not even filed would make me have some questions. Like, why do the two of you avoid marrying for the sake of a fiancee visa?

 

So, your second visit is a very good thing; while not marrying is not really a flag on it's own, it goes into the mix of issues that a VO would notice.

 

You don't need to provide your ex-wife's info unless you had filed for her; What you should submit is HER ex-husband's info... that is what GUZ worries more about.

 

Your short timeline, starting from the separation of your previous marriage to soon-to-file is a small concern, as well as her lack of english.

 

Of course, this is all just my opinion.