just starting

[david_dawei]

1. His birthdate now raises the bid of a K1 idea... If you did not have any problems in filing till the interview you could likely get the step-son to the US with mom. Filing for the visa as married means you need to wait a few months (ie: waste a few months) and you'll have to be very precise about your filing and doing the electronic processing... Of course the drawback to a K1 is you do not get married sooner but later... her emotions on that change would dictate if this was a good idea or not; There is always opportunity cost!

 

2. Getting a single status through the US is a waste of time... always better to get a single certificate in China... lesson learned from not asking here earlier. No blood, no foul.

 

3. The tax issue is a bit convoluted based on timing of your filing and getting to the US.... but if you marry and then file your options are:

a. Filing "married, separate returns" as you don't need anything from her and IF she is not in the US, you can't get her to sign any potential refund as she is not in the US to establish herself on your bank account. But you can file at the same time of tax filing for a Tax ID #... and then later you can adjust your previous years taxes.

b. As you approach filing time and it is clear she will not be here by filing time, file for an extension when time comes to assume she will get there a few months later... but if there is some problem in the process and she is clearly not going to get to the US for the refund check signature, then follow plan "a".

 

Forget the idea of filing taxes as proof of relationship... that does not really prove anything. Use other 'proof'. The good news is that you can wait till close to tax time to really decide what to do... so, IMO, put this on the back burner for later decision-making.

 

Welcome to CFL

[Randy W]

It seems like your options are for the most part good. The student visa approach is good, as is K-1/K-2. The only hurdle for a student visa is getting accepted to an American university which will issue the I-20. You seem to have a better idea than we would about his prospects there.

 

Sounds like your momentum is in the direction of getting married and the student visa. Best of luck to all.

 

For the W-2's, of course, the Chinese don't issue one, but you can ask. Their taxes are deducted automatically from each paycheck, so there's normally no paperwork there. If they say no, there's an IRS form you can use for when you are unable to obtain a W-2.

 

When you use the Foreign Income Exclusion, it allows you to exclude her income - but there is an alternate method of figuring the actual tax which ends up deducting her tax, but as if in a lower bracket. In other words, you still pay some tax on her income if you have U.S. income. More information - http://www.chinafamilyvisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2886&view=findpost&p=39162

Edited June 28, 2012 by Randy W (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

This is your decision point, you could file an I-129F now for a K-1 and get a K-2 for son, if timing is right most likely you would get a visa interview sometime December or January, fiancee and son come to USA, and you marry shortly after in February or March, and file AOS paperwork for wife and step son before son turns 21.

 

The other option is stay the course you are on, and only get a visa for wife, and son may apply for a F1 student visa after a school accepts him in the USA, student visa allows visiting the USA for education, however cannot remain long after graduation.

[Doug]

I would file joint on taxes, and did. I had her sign the 1040 even though it was not filled out, on a visit to China.

 

I never did get any amount from her on earnings. What ever it was wasn't much anyway.

Edited June 29, 2012 by Doug (see edit history)

[tsap seui]

Thanks for all of the replies and the help. Future step-son will turn 21 on April 9, 2013. If all the paperwork is done, we will marry the first week in August. He has had plans for a few years to come to the US to attend a university. Right now, he plans to take the proficiency examination this Fall. Perhaps the best course would be for him to get a student visa. At the moment, he thinks that after getting a degree in the US he will return to China.

 

Thanks for the way you laid everything out fidel. You anticipated my questions, posting the info while I was writing my last post.

 

Are you serious about the avidavit of single status tsap seui? The wedding registry might reject an avidavit from the Chinese consulate in the US and demand that the US consulate in China provide one? We will be marrying in Wuhan and there is a US consulate there. At least the travel time to go there won't be long if it proves necessary. I'll try to maintain patience, tranquility and a sense of humor. It's become very obvious that I will need all of them.

 

A few questions concerning filing a joint tax return. (Good advice for proof of relationship) Do the Chinese have something similar to the US's W-2 form? What paperwork will be necessary for filing a joint return when married to a foreign national? Obviously, my significant other won't have a social security number. Are there resources available to help with information with filing?

I am very serious about that buddy. I wouldn't waste my time and energy getting it done in the states. We have read of many who did that then go to the marriage bureau only to find the bureau wants one from the local consulate and will not take one from the Chinese Enbassy in the states.

 

You're close to the consulate in Wuhan, save the trouble and go there.

 

If you marry in China and file taxes before she has her interview she will need an ITIN number (since she has no SS number). They are easy enough to get but can take some time. I think an IRS office in Texas issues them. Search ITIN forms on hte IRS site and you can download the forms you'll need. I just made a PDF file of the form and and e-mailed it to my wife to get her signature in one of those many computer stores in China, They printed the copy with her signature, put it into a PDF file and e-mailed it back to me. Was no problem and it's great evidence to file married/joint.

 

Good luck

 

tsap seui

[Ryan H]

We will be marrying in Wuhan and there is a US consulate there. At least the travel time to go there won't be long if it proves necessary.

 

I obtained the single status affidavit stateside and the marriage bureau in Wuhan where my wife and I registered for marriage accepted it. One thing though, they did send us to a translator of their choosing to have it translated.

[antryg]

We will be marrying in Wuhan and there is a US consulate there. At least the travel time to go there won't be long if it proves necessary.

 

I obtained the single status affidavit stateside and the marriage bureau in Wuhan where my wife and I registered for marriage accepted it. One thing though, they did send us to a translator of their choosing to have it translated.

 

That is good to hear. Were you able to find out which translator they wanted you to use before you went to the marriage bureau?

[Randy W]

One thing to be aware of is that China is heading more in the direction of officially authenticated documents. An officially authenticated document begins with a notary seal. Then the notary seal is authenticated by the state's Dept. of State. Then THIS authentication is authenticated by the Chinese consulate with jurisdiction over the location where the original document was issued. In other words, they MAY (now or in the near future) require that it be authenticated in the states.

 

This is the procedure we are being required to follow for our marriage certificate - the Chinese translation we obtained in China is no longer adequate as of this year.

 

I'm not sure if this would be the case for the single certificate, since it's not issued for use in the U.S. The stateside process is identical, however.

[cjr818]

I had a notarized and certified single certificate from my state's registry of vital records. It was not accepted so we had to go to theYS Consulate in Chengdu to get one. I really don't see much point in it though. The consul asks you to swear under oath you are single and intend to marry said significant.

 

If one was to commit fraud, the applicant already knows they are doing something wrong. Also another thing I noticed after I got my damaged passport replaced, I could have brought that to the consulate to get a new single certificate and register a new marriage in Chongqing where we registered our marriage.

[tsap seui]

Ya know, when I got my single certificate at eth SHenyang consulate, they never even asked me to see my divorce papers, just pay the loot, raise your right hand and say the magic words, here's yer certificate. Life is such a hoot. The more officious and complicated it gets the dumber and stupider it gets.

 

I remember walking into the Shenyang consulate and just like with the consulate in Guangzhou I started hereing the words to the song...."clowns to the left of me, jokers on my right, here I am stuck in the middle with you". LOL

 

tsap seui

[cjr818]

I guess they haven't figured out that loophole yet. It's obviously flawed, the single certificate process.

[antryg]

Since I started the process of getting the single certificate, they've changed the process, guidelines and of course the cost. My fiancee talked to the marriage bureau in Wuhan and they said that they will accept the certificate from the consulate stateside. If they decide they don't like it with 3 stamps (notary, secretary of state, consulate), I'll just add another stamp to the collection once I'm in Wuhan.

[Randy W]

Since I started the process of getting the single certificate, they've changed the process, guidelines and of course the cost. My fiancee talked to the marriage bureau in Wuhan and they said that they will accept the certificate from the consulate stateside. If they decide they don't like it with 3 stamps (notary, secretary of state, consulate), I'll just add another stamp to the collection once I'm in Wuhan.

 

Exactly - a little bit of legwork before you leave MAY save you a MAJOR headache if you get there and discover that it now requires the Dept of State and Chinese consulate certifications.

 

Again - as of THIS year, this is the process they are going to with other legal documents - we haven't heard back yet on whether it's required of the single certification.

[antryg]

Today I left at 3:30 AM, drove for 4 hours to my friendly neighborly Chinese consulate and waited an hour for them to open so that I could get my single status authenticated. It turns out that I'm incredibly stupid. When I was making photo copies of everything, I took the staple out of the sec. of state letter attached to the document. That meant that they wouldn't process the document. Now I have to do another letter, notarize it, send it to the sec. of state office and then take everything back to the consulate.

 

The lesson I've learned from this is never unattach anything. I'm sure that in ten years this will make an incredibly funny story. Today I'm just very tired and disappointed.

[dnoblett]

Welcome to dealing with Chinese burocracy it can make you crazy.

 

Is why most simply visit the US consulate in China, can do this by planning a long layover when arriving in China, Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou.