B2 visa for my wife

[chobagui]

I know this site deals primarily with immigration visas but i hope you might weigh in with opinions/comments on this particular subject.

 

I've worked/lived in China for 4+ years. Lived with my Chinese g/f-fiance for that entire time, first in Qingdao and now in Quanzhou (fujian province).

 

Sarah has applied for a B2 visa twice now (Beijing office) since we've been together and rejected both times. She doesn't have a lot of strong ties here....she's divorced, her teenage son lives with his father in Jilin province. We own no property here, she doesn't have strong employment history but she was gainfully employed at the time we applied. The main tie here was our relationship and our jobs and that I lived here and had work/resident visa etc so she would come back here with me. I just wanted to bring her to meet my family on one of my home leaves. They barely looked at her application the first time....second time around they refused her in part because of our relationship (which we emphasized more that time). Needless to say it was a humiliating experience for her and it's taken me a lot of persuasion to get her to try again.

 

This time around, we're married now......just registered the marriage in Jilin province a week ago. I am hoping that this might help matters as I'd like to bring her back to meet my family this Christmas. We're both middle aged. her son lives with his dad my kids live with their mom in California. I have no home/domicile in the States at the moment. We have no intention to immigrate at this time. My employment is here, we live in an apartment rented by my company. I have a work visa. We've got some money here but admittedly not a ton of it. no property....really, the primary tie is my employment here (she's currently not working). we're just honest folks wanting to take a vacation together and tired of being apart when i go back to see my kids. we live in china and plan to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

 

So we'll try again in guangzhou this time....which seems to be a bit easier than Beijing. I'd appreciate anyone chiming in and letting me know whether you think we have even a snowball's chance in hell of getting one this time around. Any advice, opinion, comment or cheerleading would be appreciated. Also, any links to other websites that might deal more specifically to people's experiences with getting B2 visas from China would be welcomed.

 

At some point it will be time to return to the states and we'll go the legal immigration route. for now, she'd just be delighted to visit even once and finally meet my family.

 

thanks!

 

regards

Will

[dnoblett]

They treat ALL visa petitions as if there is immigration intent it is nearly impossible to get a visitor visa when married to a US citizen, that alone is strong intent, the reasoning is: "what's to stop the visitor from entering the US and not returning and then filing to adjust status?"

 

Some reading:

 

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/iv_faqs.html#G8

http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_2173.html

[amberjack1234]

They treat ALL visa petitions as if there is immigration intent it is nearly impossible to get a visitor visa when married to a US citizen, that alone is strong intent, the reasoning is: "what's to stop the visitor from entering the US and not returning and then filing to adjust status?"

 

Some reading:

 

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/iv_faqs.html#G8

http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_2173.html

Yep what Dan said. If they even suspect that you even exist in this world she can pretty much forget it. The best and probably only way is to apply on her own without any mention of you what so ever but it is to late for that now. I did read a case that was just like your case that was approved on the second try. He was a english teacher there and married a Chinese girl. I don't know much about her ties to China but they did know about him. They were not married the first application then got married and filed again and the second time was approved. This guy was on Dave's ESL Cafe forum about a year ago.

 

One of our moderators got a B2 for his wife but was very careful in doing so. He was teaching english in China at the time.

 

Having said that I still would not get to excited about getting a B2 just that there is a glimmer of hope there.

 

B2's seem to be a touchy subject here as well because it is somehow viewed as a means to circumvent the system to get your lady here to the US. I am sure that it is done just for that purpose too.

 

I am sure that you already know that if it is done for this purpose the Chinese national stands a better that average chance of being deported if caught. It's not worth it. I know that you and your wife only want to visit for the holidays and will return afterwords but they don't look at it that way as Dan said.

 

Larry

[dnoblett]

They treat ALL visa petitions as if there is immigration intent it is nearly impossible to get a visitor visa when married to a US citizen, that alone is strong intent, the reasoning is: "what's to stop the visitor from entering the US and not returning and then filing to adjust status?"

 

Some reading:

 

http://guangzhou.use...iv_faqs.html#G8

http://travel.state....grams_2173.html

Yep what Dan said. If they even suspect that you even exist in this world she can pretty much forget it. The best and probably only way is to apply on her own without any mention of you what so ever but it is to late for that now. I did read a case that was just like your case that was approved on the second try. He was a english teacher there and married a Chinese girl. I don't know much about her ties to China but they did know about him. They were not married the first application then got married and filed again and the second time was approved. This guy was on Dave's ESL Cafe forum about a year ago.

 

One of our moderators got a B2 for his wife but was very careful in doing so. He was teaching english in China at the time.

 

Having said that I still would not get to excited about getting a B2 just that there is a glimmer of hope there.

 

B2's seem to be a touchy subject here as well because it is somehow viewed as a means to circumvent the system to get your lady here to the US. I am sure that it is done just for that purpose too.

 

I am sure that you already know that if it is done for this purpose the Chinese national stands a better that average chance of being deported if caught. It's not worth it. I know that you and your wife only want to visit for the holidays and will return afterwords but they don't look at it that way as Dan said.

 

Larry

I think in Kyle's case his wife had visited the USA a couple times before they married so had no issue with B-2 visa, and later they filed for a spouse visa DCF in China. Edited November 10, 2010 by dnoblett (see edit history)

[bullmastiff]

They treat ALL visa petitions as if there is immigration intent it is nearly impossible to get a visitor visa when married to a US citizen, that alone is strong intent, the reasoning is: "what's to stop the visitor from entering the US and not returning and then filing to adjust status?"

 

Some reading:

 

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/iv_faqs.html#G8

http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_2173.html

 

Yes, in a sense , it'll be mostly rejected . If you have the money to throw it away, give it a try, why not ? Don't expect much , though.

You do have some reasoning though . You aren't qualified to sponsor her ( I 864 ? ) for immigrant visa because you are not a US resident .At this time, she's not able to immigrate into the US due to your circumstance .ie. China is your domicile essentially. Perhaps, she may want to present this fact . Her tie to China is great. You are in China and working /living in China . You have no jobs, no residence ,etc.... in the USA .And you are the bread winner , not her , so she 's not going to go to the USA and go underground.

[chobagui]

thanks for the replies folks.....i understand all the points about rejection and intention to immigrate, etc. the visa reading is pretty clear. i am looking at it now like Bullmastif. i live here, no domicile or job stateside, we're married and together so that is the compelling reason to return. i guess we can just hope that they'll give her a chance to present this to the VO. she speaks good english.

 

i was down in the GZH office a couple weeks ago to get my certificate of marriage eligibility. wanted to stick around for the US citizen visa hour and it seemed like things were much more relaxed at the interviewer windows. my strategic thinking is she comes down on a Monday, do the afternoon session....dawdle until she's one of the last left at the end of the day. nab a male VO (her other two times rejected were matronly looking female VOs who clearly discrminated against her) and hopefully not being pressed for time he might actually look at the app and talk to her....maybe even feel charmed and friendly and more disposed to believe her.

 

can anyone comment on the general disposition of GZH Visa Officers? especially in comparison with Beijing or Shanghai. any tips for getting a word in edgewise for her own defense? if she goes on a monday afternoon i can actually get in the office by claiming i'm there for the US Citizen hour....would they allow me to come to the window if she pointed me out?

 

well, it's just a short flight from here....couple hundred bucks...worth the effort i think. you can't win the lottery if you don't buy the ticket, right?

 

thanks again, i'll let you know if we were successful or not.

 

regards

will

[dnoblett]

thanks for the replies folks.....i understand all the points about rejection and intention to immigrate, etc. the visa reading is pretty clear. i am looking at it now like Bullmastif. i live here, no domicile or job stateside, we're married and together so that is the compelling reason to return. i guess we can just hope that they'll give her a chance to present this to the VO. she speaks good english.

 

i was down in the GZH office a couple weeks ago to get my certificate of marriage eligibility. wanted to stick around for the US citizen visa hour and it seemed like things were much more relaxed at the interviewer windows. my strategic thinking is she comes down on a Monday, do the afternoon session....dawdle until she's one of the last left at the end of the day. nab a male VO (her other two times rejected were matronly looking female VOs who clearly discrminated against her) and hopefully not being pressed for time he might actually look at the app and talk to her....maybe even feel charmed and friendly and more disposed to believe her.

 

can anyone comment on the general disposition of GZH Visa Officers? especially in comparison with Beijing or Shanghai. any tips for getting a word in edgewise for her own defense? if she goes on a monday afternoon i can actually get in the office by claiming i'm there for the US Citizen hour....would they allow me to come to the window if she pointed me out?

 

well, it's just a short flight from here....couple hundred bucks...worth the effort i think. you can't win the lottery if you don't buy the ticket, right?

 

thanks again, i'll let you know if we were successful or not.

 

regards

will

Hey you can always hope, but even with poor domicile, they can always think that you will easily re-establish domicile once over in the USA.

 

Anyway, their are two different groups of visa officers at the consulate, ones that work for the IV (Immigrant visa unit) and the others that work for the NIV the NON Immigrant unit. For the most part the experiences have been with the IV officers, a few posts about a parent applying for and receiving visa to visit the USA and even in this case the reviews are mixed.

 

Again we hope you have good luck.

[amberjack1234]

Good luck to the two of you. Please do let us know how things go. The more we learn about the results that folks receive the better we can answer other peoples questions later on.

 

Larry

Edited November 11, 2010 by amberjack1234 (see edit history)

[Kyle]

I think in Kyle's case his wife had visited the USA a couple times before they married so had no issue with B-2 visa, and later they filed for a spouse visa DCF in China.

One visit prior to marriage - two visits after marriage. Obeying the terms of your first B-2 make consecutive B-2 attempts a cake-walk. Proving that the wife would return to China, the first time around was the most important thing. During her second and third B-2 attempts, they didn't even make Jingjing interview (Beijing). She simply rode the train up to Beijing and gave her finger prints, left her passport, and turned in her paperwork. That was it - passport w/ visa was mailed back to her via EMS. Edited November 11, 2010 by Kyle (see edit history)

[xiaofeizhu]

Hi there,

 

I truly understand your frustration. My hubby never applied for a visa while we were in Japan, and then after being married, we applied for a B2 to attend my sister's graduation. He was denied, barely even interviewed. The interview ended after "Are you married?" "yes, my USC wife..." "Sorry denied". This was in Japan, and we tried to prove no intent to immigrate by showing his certificate of university enrollment, a letter from his boss, a letter from my sister's school to state that she was scheduled to graduate, copies of our rental agreement, copies of our bank account, etc. We were still denied, due to intent to immigrate. Kyle had a good situation, where he was able to get his wife's B2 before they were married and they followed the terms of the visa. It can be very frustrating, but keep trying, submit as much as you can...and hope for the best. If we would have done it again, I don't even know what else we would have included...but I do know that is is possible. Don't lose faith. In the end, my family came to both Japan and China to visit him and to meet his family. We are hoping to bring his parents over next year, and we want to bring them over before they both retire so that they have strong ties of work. Best wishes.

[amberjack1234]

Well it seems that the only way for a young Chinese lady/woman (especially younger that 35) to get a B-2 visa is to apply for it on their own and never ever mention the fact that she/he even knows anyone in the US. Of course she/he will need to have strong ties to China and perhaps a boss that does a great deal of business with large companies in the US certainly don¡¯t hurt. Have him make some contacts on her/his behalf. Then of course there is the illegal way.

 

The problem here is that once someone comes here for information they have already thrown the monkey wrench into the plan and have already told about their existence and their relationship with the Chinese lady/man. That¡¯s the death sentence for a B-2 visa. Having said that this plan should only be used in order to have the girlfriend or fianc¨¦ come to the states to visit family of the US citizen and should never ever be considered to circumvent the immigration process. In which case one could be deported. Certainly not worth that.

 

Larry

[Lee VD]

Well it seems that the only way for a young Chinese lady/woman (especially younger that 35) to get a B-2 visa is to apply for it on their own and never ever mention the fact that she/he even knows anyone in the US. Of course she/he will need to have strong ties to China and perhaps a boss that does a great deal of business with large companies in the US certainly don¡¯t hurt. Have him make some contacts on her/his behalf. Then of course there is the illegal way.

 

The problem here is that once someone comes here for information they have already thrown the monkey wrench into the plan and have already told about their existence and their relationship with the Chinese lady/man. That¡¯s the death sentence for a B-2 visa. Having said that this plan should only be used in order to have the girlfriend or fianc¨¦ come to the states to visit family of the US citizen and should never ever be considered to circumvent the immigration process. In which case one could be deported. Certainly not worth that.

 

Larry

 

Thats what we did, we left me out of the discussion entirely, including at POE. She was visiting for tourism during her breaks at the university. She got letters from the university supporting this but they were never asked for. We were smart and renewed her B visa right before I filed the I-129F but even after filing she had no problems at POE. Of course the major factor was her previous J1 that gave her a prior good record.

 

I imagine what would happen if she were denied now and we tried to renew her B visa. She would probably be shut down for good! As a backup I considered getting her a visa to Canada, getting her an apartment, and periodically visiting her there. She did apply for a transit visa through Canada and got it but had to go through the same forms and application procedure as for a visitor visa including getting a letter from the university. I wonder with the succesful transit visa in her record if that would ease a visitor visa there.

 

 

On a side note, the immigration process to Canada is very different with a point scoring system based on education, skills, and cultural assimilation that qualify you for immigration! So they are happy to bring people in who will enhance their society Note that knowing English is a major requirement (and you take a test) but knowing French too is a big point gainer as well.

[dnoblett]

One more note, if you do try for a B visa do so BEFORE you attempt to petition for a K-1 or CR-1 visa, a pending immigrant visa has the effect of displaying immigrant intent and kills any attempt to get a tourist visa.

 

Also, the reason for getting a tourist visa is to tour the USA, NOT to visit boy-friend's family, this too shows possible immigrant intent.

 

8. Can I travel to the United States while my application for an immigrant visa is being processed? If you intend to take up permanent residence in the U.S., you are required to wait to travel until you have been issued an immigrant or fianc¨¦/e visa. However, if you wish to make a temporary visit to the United States, at the end of which you will return to your permanent residence abroad, you may be eligible for a tourist (B2) non-immigrant visa. To receive a B2 visa, you must prove to the interviewing officer that you do not intend to immigrate to the U.S. until after completing the ongoing immigrant visa process. For obvious reasons, this is often a difficult thing to prove.

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/iv_faqs.html#G8

 

 

 

[bullmastiff]

One more note, if you do try for a B visa do so BEFORE you attempt to petition for a K-1 or CR-1 visa, a pending immigrant visa has the effect of displaying immigrant intent and kills any attempt to get a tourist visa.

 

Also, the reason for getting a tourist visa is to tour the USA, NOT to visit boy-friend's family, this too shows possible immigrant intent.

 

8. Can I travel to the United States while my application for an immigrant visa is being processed? If you intend to take up permanent residence in the U.S., you are required to wait to travel until you have been issued an immigrant or fianc¨¦/e visa. However, if you wish to make a temporary visit to the United States, at the end of which you will return to your permanent residence abroad, you may be eligible for a tourist (B2) non-immigrant visa. To receive a B2 visa, you must prove to the interviewing officer that you do not intend to immigrate to the U.S. until after completing the ongoing immigrant visa process. For obvious reasons, this is often a difficult thing to prove.

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/iv_faqs.html#G8

 

For the 1st time , better of to join a group tour.

again, all of these mean some one with big pocket , not typical Chinese.

[amberjack1234]

One more note, if you do try for a B visa do so BEFORE you attempt to petition for a K-1 or CR-1 visa, a pending immigrant visa has the effect of displaying immigrant intent and kills any attempt to get a tourist visa.

 

Also, the reason for getting a tourist visa is to tour the USA, NOT to visit boy-friend's family, this too shows possible immigrant intent.

 

8. Can I travel to the United States while my application for an immigrant visa is being processed? If you intend to take up permanent residence in the U.S., you are required to wait to travel until you have been issued an immigrant or fiancé/e visa. However, if you wish to make a temporary visit to the United States, at the end of which you will return to your permanent residence abroad, you may be eligible for a tourist (B2) non-immigrant visa. To receive a B2 visa, you must prove to the interviewing officer that you do not intend to immigrate to the U.S. until after completing the ongoing immigrant visa process. For obvious reasons, this is often a difficult thing to prove.

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/iv_faqs.html#G8

Dan you are the person that I respect and appreciate the most on this forum but I have to add to your post. B-2 visa's are not just to visit the US for purposes of tourism. They can be used to visit members of family, businesses that your Chinese company has an association with or even friends. As it says in your own post in Paragraph 8.

 

"However, if you wish to make a temporary visit to the United States, at the end of which you will return to your permanent residence abroad, you may be eligible for a tourist (B2) non-immigrant visa."

 

It don't say that it has to be for tourism. Just that you may be eligible for a tourist visa.

 

My wife came here on a B-2 for business reasons to visit a company in America that had an office on the same floor as her company in China and her company in China did several billion dollars worth of business with this company in America. Through the help of her boss and the boss in America (writing her an invitation letter) they got her a multiple entry B-2 visa for 12 months. She came here and stayed for about 4 months then returned to China for 9 months. During that time she came to see me in the US twice and I went to China twice to visit her before she came here permanently.

 

The secret is to do what you say that you will do and honor your agreement to return to "your permanent residence abroad". This will insure that the next person that her boss helps out will present a positive impact on whether or not they will issue a B-2 for someone that he has recommended.

 

Yes, I did not think that I could stand it when she left but I knew she was doing the right thing for herself (face), her boss and her country. I realize that not all are this honest but sometimes being honest and have honest influential friends can help.

 

Larry

Edited November 17, 2010 by amberjack1234 (see edit history)