Start to finish in 100 days

[Guest jayandsylvia]

Top ten things you need to have to ensure a speedy and successful visa application process

 

1. Legitimate American marriage

A. Both are about the same age

B. Internet dating was not involved

C. Knew each other intimately before marriage

D. Marriage based on love and not convenience

E. Couple found each other and were not introduced for marriage

F.Couple can show mutual intersts

G. Couple have lived with each other more than six months

H. Romance. Americans like romance.

 

2. Both the husband and the wife have the ability to contribute financially

 

3. All paperwork is completed and honest

 

4. Visa application started after couple six months after marriage

 

5. Shortcuts were not taken in previous visa attempts

 

6. Pictures do not appear staged

 

7. A need for US residence is expressed (Not good enough to just say you want to go back to the states to find a good paying job)

 

8. A plan for life in US

 

9. A realistic knowledge of US culture and lifestyles

 

10. A loving relationship

[Orrin]

Pretty insightful. You obviously have experience with the system

 

Only 2 points from our experience contradicts what you have mentioned.

 

1.) I met my wife on the internet, and

2.) I'm 22 years older than she.

 

Other than that, you're pretty accurate.

[natrigon]

Top ten things you need to have to ensure a speedy and successful visa application process:

 

Alternate List #1:

 

#1 Don't live in a state that uses the Texas Sevice Center

#2 Don't fall in love with a Chinese or Russian woman

#3 Don't expect the written timelines to be accurate

#4 Don't expect following directions given to be the best way nor accurate

#5 Don't expect to speak to any government humans without knowing the secret code

 

#6 Don't expect any direct answers from emails or faxes

#7 Don't expect to know which to use: N/A or None

#8 When they screw something up don't expect an apology

#9 Don't ever make a mistake without getting back in the end of the line

#10 If you are fully prepared don't expect them to look at anything

[se_lang]

Sounds to me like jayandsylvia was denied a visa either that or a troll trying to stir up emotions,maybe he should go talk to Mr. Abby

[chinadave2001]

100 days? yeah right.

[Bryan_Qunying]

The 100 days must be the Conservative account of the time spent on the phone, talking to various BCIS officers (giving the same "I don't know") answer or transferring you to the next department or person with the same answer, writing a government official, .... I know I must have left something out ..... http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_13_1.gif http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_2_204.gif

 

Ooohh! .... I'm sorry! ... The topic was 100 Days, http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_1_127.gif

[keelec]

I certainly believe that those that have been married for 2+ years (and have been together for "most" of that time) should get some special treatment. In fact, I would think that those that have had a marriage that has endured for 2+ years should be able to get a visa within 24 hrs barring some significant risk to the USA. I.E. If you married a 30 year old Iraqi man, perhaps the wait could be a couple of weeks.

 

Otherwise it is very difficult to quantify a relationship. If one person met their loved one in a bar in Beijing, got drunk that night, one thing followed another and they were EXPECTED to get married...... Does that make their relationship any more valid than mine? I met my fiancée on the internet. We started writing because we shared many common interests. Some of the little things really make her special.

 

"Knew each other intimately before marriage"…. What does that mean? I thought it was considered immoral by Catholics and many other religions to "Know each other intimately before marriage"….. Maybe that brings us back to the idea of a drunken couple that were expected to get married because of their actions in a drunken stupor…. Yep, that qualifies.

 

Staged Pictures???? Ok, we have 2 people and 1 camera…. How does one get both people in the pictures (to show that we are together as well as just having fun) without "staging" them?

 

I think this brings us back to the question of quantifying a relationship. We can put two couples next to each other. If we have a paper checklist to quantify a relationship, everyone will fail on some points, and win on other points……

 

Well, that would be everyone except for my parents who are one of the rare American couples that lived in the same small town, met in high school, birthdays 10 days apart, waited until college to get married, have now been together for over 40 years now. Everything is shared in their lives.

 

But, most international relationships are not like that. There can be age differences, income differences, (weight differences), language barriers, and a host of other things that could look bad on paper, yet not have any bearing on the ultimate outcome in the relationship. I would hope that most relationships would grow over time. Many things can even change in the year and a half between sending in the intial application to BCIS and hopefully receiving the visa.

 

Romance. Americans like romance.

 

That is a good one….. What does that mean?

 

I can just envision the interviewers at the consulate with their romance scale…… Unfortunately, perhaps I don't have a romantic bone in my body!!!!!

 

Does that mean that there is any less love? That I can't share spectacular beauty beyond imagination?

 

Relationship scores belong in Cosmo magazine, and not in the US Government. The job of the US Government is to protect the people. If there is no (apparent) risk to the US population as a whole and the relationship meets general basic guidelines, then there should be no other concerns by our government.

 

----- Clifford -----

[keelec]

Oh,

 

I had a good idea.

 

I think we should judge the relationships by the size of the rock on her finger.

 

The wait should be inversly proportional to the size of the rock.

 

If the rock is bigger than the finger.... Well, it should be the same as having a visa. One should be able to show the rock, and walk onto the plane.... and on down from there.

 

1/4 ct..... Well, that is looking at a year, at least.

 

Cubic Zirconium..... Worse than lying on the application!!!!

 

no rock..... BAD NEWS!!!

 

----- Clifford -----

[se_lang]

Oh,

 

I had a good idea.

 

I think we should judge the relationships by the size of the rock on her finger.

 

The wait should be inversly proportional to the size of the rock.

 

If the rock is bigger than the finger....  Well, it should be the same as having a visa.  One should be able to show the rock, and walk onto the plane.... and on down from there.

 

1/4 ct.....  Well, that is looking at a year, at least.

 

Cubic Zirconium.....  Worse than lying on the application!!!! 

 

no rock..... BAD NEWS!!! 

 

----- Clifford -----

Well I am in trouble.

Lets see by the American standard I am supposed to spend 2.5 months pay on a ring. I told my MM this and that it would also buy a small car she said she wants the car instead. This is why she is special, yes she likes her fashionable things but she is practical first.

[tparrent]

How the heck are you going to fit the car on her finger??????

[warpedbored]

Sounds to me like jayandsylvia was denied a visa either that or a troll trying to stir up emotions,maybe he should go talk to Mr. Abby

do you think he might have a sister?

[Bryan_Qunying]

Oh,

 

I had a good idea.

 

I think we should judge the relationships by the size of the rock on her finger.

 

The wait should be inversly proportional to the size of the rock.

 

If the rock is bigger than the finger....  Well, it should be the same as having a visa.  One should be able to show the rock, and walk onto the plane.... and on down from there.

 

1/4 ct.....  Well, that is looking at a year, at least.

 

Cubic Zirconium.....  Worse than lying on the application!!!!  

 

no rock..... BAD NEWS!!!  

 

----- Clifford -----

Well I am in trouble.

Lets see by the American standard I am supposed to spend 2.5 months pay on a ring. I told my MM this and that it would also buy a small car she said she wants the car instead. This is why she is special, yes she likes her fashionable things but she is practical first.

If the rock is to indicate how one gets a visa, then my wife would have been here several days before we met. My wife has a size 3 1/2 finger. A diamond "Chip" is bigger than she is ....... Just kidding ! My wife is very small and a ring of any size looks enormous on her. http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/11/11_1_117.gif

[Orrin]

Clifford makes some very good points. The single, most important factor that the VOs are concerned about for a visa approval is the validity of the relationship. Everything else is secondary to that. Certainly, there are other factors such as minumum requireded income that must be satisfied by supporting documents such as the AOS, but these are mere go/no-go "check boxes" in the whole process. It doesn't matter if you meet the minimums by 5 cents or a million dollars. As long as you meet the minimum requirements, you're "golden" on those counts. This was told to me face-to-face by the VO that handled our petition in GZ.

 

In our case, my wife and I had been living together in China for over two years, and married for fifteen months when I filed the I-130. She received the approval for her IR1 visa 10 days short of our 2nd. wedding anneversary. Had it not been for the fact that I had delayed sending back the required P3 documents, and had to get a cosponsor to meet the AOS requirements, our case would have been completed in about 5 months, instead of the actual 9 months that it took.

 

Indeed, our case was a bit different than most that I read about here. Since I was working in China, I held a "Z" visa and a resident's permit (green book). This allowed me to file the I-130 directly with the GZ consulate. Therefore, I didn't have to endure the long delays that many are experiencing by having to file with the various INS centers here in the US. This probably saved us at least 6 months in processing time.

 

I guess that the bottom line is this; If you want to get your wife's, or fiance's visa approved as quickly as possible, make sure that you accurately complete all of the required documentation, and, most importantly, DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO PROVE, BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, THE VALIDITY OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP.

[Orrin]

Don't know what happened. I hit the space bar, and my message was closed out.

 

If proving the validity of your relationship means that you must make and additional trip to China, DO IT. If it means putting a rock the size of a locomotive headlight on her finger, DO IT. If it means printing out all of the emails you've exchanged, and/or saved ICQ conversations, DO IT. "Lead Pipe Solid" prooof of your relationship will turn out to be the single most important factor in getting her visa approved as quickly as possible.

 

Best of luck, and keep slugging.

 

Orrin and Kellee

[keelec]

Should the US Government be in a situation where they judge the validity of a relationship (by "paper" standards), and based on that choose to deliberately sabotage certain relationships?

 

----- Clifford -----