How do I help my Chinese girlfriend get to the US?

[HouseOfBurgesses]

Hi Everyone,

 

Here is my story: I met my current girlfriend while we were in graduate school in the US. We started dating in graduate school. Basically, if she didn't maintain a 3.0 GPA average, she would be academically dismissed. For two semesters, her GPA stayed at 2.85 so the University dismissed her. In dismissing her, her student visa was revoked and she was forced to return to China. This has been brutal.

 

So we are going to see if things can work long distance for a while and then seek out paths for her to come to the US. She is from a pretty wealthy family from what our Chinese friends in graduate school have said. We are open to any visa type or whatever path necessary. I am willing to marry her in China if that is necessary. Basically, I would like her to be here with me while she looks for a job in the US. She is an experienced finance professional in China. From what I understand, it is easier to find a job in the US if the company is not required to provide sponsorship.

 

Basically, I am in a situation in which I really don't even know what questions to ask or what to do. This whole thing has really been a hard pill to swallow. We talked about me going to China, but I am not going to be an English teacher and I don't speak much Mandarin. I work in Corporate Tax so I think the opportunities are fairly bleak for my situation.

 

Any advice/input would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you in advance.

[dnoblett]

You had 3 options, option 1 is no longer available.

 

1) You could have married when she was here on a student visa or even shortly after it was revoked. and filed to adjust status, this option ended once she left the country.

 

2) Since you have met in person you can file an I-129F for a K-1 fiancee visa, this has to be filed sometime within 2 years of her leaving the country.

 

3) You can go to China and get married, and then file an I-130 for a CR-1 spouse visa.

[Randy W]

 

. . .

 

2) Since you have met in person you can file an I-129F for a K-1 fiancee visa, this has to be filed sometime within 2 years of her leaving the country.

 

. . .

 

 

The requirement is that you must have met in person during the two years prior to filing - this does NOT have to be during the time in the U.S. Assuming you visit her regularly, this will not affect you.

[phyrwrks888]

Hi Everyone,

Here is my story: I met my current girlfriend while we were in graduate school in the US. We started dating in graduate school. Basically, if she didn't maintain a 3.0 GPA average, she would be academically dismissed. For two semesters, her GPA stayed at 2.85 so the University dismissed her. In dismissing her, her student visa was revoked and she was forced to return to China. This has been brutal.

So we are going to see if things can work long distance for a while and then seek out paths for her to come to the US. She is from a pretty wealthy family from what our Chinese friends in graduate school have said. We are open to any visa type or whatever path necessary. I am willing to marry her in China if that is necessary. Basically, I would like her to be here with me while she looks for a job in the US. She is an experienced finance professional in China. From what I understand, it is easier to find a job in the US if the company is not required to provide sponsorship.

Basically, I am in a situation in which I really don't even know what questions to ask or what to do. This whole thing has really been a hard pill to swallow. We talked about me going to China, but I am not going to be an English teacher and I don't speak much Mandarin. I work in Corporate Tax so I think the opportunities are fairly bleak for my situation.

Any advice/input would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance.

 

#3, if it is possible for you to go to China and get married there. That may not take very long. Don't do all the things the sites say to do about verification of marital status. My experience, after have gone through that (ie: going to the State offices to get a notarized doc saying I was single/never married. It was not 'honored' in China) It would be wise/helpful to stay in China for 6 months or more. This tends to simplify the I-130 process. They seem to give credence (positive credit?) to the fact,that the two of you have been 'together' and it is not an impulse. Your application process could take 3-4 months instead of 10-12. You could return to the US and wait or try to do it all while you re still there. Finances may dictate a version you will create as you go along. You will need to get your visa in the US and then apply for a new one in China. At the local 'Alien registration office' of the police. This is really easy and not mentioned much, but I have done it and been able to get a 6 month visa. And another 6 month visa, after that. Your passport needs to be current, of course and not expire while you are here (there) or you will be going to a US consulate to get your new one. That gets more complicated. Their appointment system is a bit of a pan, but if you want to get married and bring her to the US, you will be willing to 'invest' your time and energy. How important is it to you? And her? You should look at the I-130 forms and see if you can do all of it. Look at the Financial Support forms. They are critical. I am in China! I have been here for six years. I even taught English for a while. The commute to the province capital was not pleasant or that easy and I quit. The town/city (four million people) we live in has very few foreigners and even less need for English teachers. Most of the people here would go to Beijing to work and never consider English or going to the US. We plan to apply for the I-130 in the next year. I took my wife to the US for two months in 2014. She likes it and has decided that it is preferable to staying here. She is willing to work in the US and is studying English. One advantage of the I-130 process: she will become a citizen and get a green card in three or four months after she arrives and is 'logged in'. She will be able to work. Look at the list of forms needed and what is required. It is an option.

[Mick]

As has been said, the I-130 and CR 1 has the advantage of her getting a green card upon arrival in the States (citizenship comes later). If you go the K-1, she will have to go through Adjustment of Status, which can take over a year in some cases. The downside of the CR 1 is if she is denied the visa, your options are limited. However, if she goes the K-1 route and is denied the visa, you can always go to China, get married, and apply for CR-1. Either way, this process can take awhile and great patience is needed. The suggestion of going to China to stay for awhile is a good one. I lived there for over five years and learned so much about my wife's culture. I loved it there. At least, that is one option to consider. Best wishes on success in all this and welcome to Candle.

[dnoblett]

As has been said, the I-130 and CR 1 has the advantage of her getting a green card upon arrival in the States (citizenship comes later). If you go the K-1, she will have to go through Adjustment of Status, which can take over a year in some cases. The downside of the CR-1 is if she is denied the visa, your options are limited. However, if she goes the K-1 route and is denied the visa, you can always go to China, get married, and apply for CR-1. Either way, this process can take awhile and great patience is needed. The suggestion of going to China to stay for awhile is a good one. I lived there for over five years and learned so much about my wife's culture. I loved it there. At least, that is one option to consider. Best wishes on success in all this and welcome to Candle.

 

Another upside on the CR-1 spouse visa is since it gets a green-card upon arrival in the states, your spouse could immediately start looking for or take a job, whereas a K-1 fiancee is not work authorized, they need to first marry and then file to adjust status, and wait months for work authorization "EAD" or Green-card in order to take a job.

[Randy W]

 

Hi Everyone,

 

Here is my story: I met my current girlfriend while we were in graduate school in the US. We started dating in graduate school. Basically, if she didn't maintain a 3.0 GPA average, she would be academically dismissed. For two semesters, her GPA stayed at 2.85 so the University dismissed her. In dismissing her, her student visa was revoked and she was forced to return to China. This has been brutal.

 

So we are going to see if things can work long distance for a while and then seek out paths for her to come to the US. She is from a pretty wealthy family from what our Chinese friends in graduate school have said. We are open to any visa type or whatever path necessary. I am willing to marry her in China if that is necessary. Basically, I would like her to be here with me while she looks for a job in the US. She is an experienced finance professional in China. From what I understand, it is easier to find a job in the US if the company is not required to provide sponsorship.

 

Basically, I am in a situation in which I really don't even know what questions to ask or what to do. This whole thing has really been a hard pill to swallow. We talked about me going to China, but I am not going to be an English teacher and I don't speak much Mandarin. I work in Corporate Tax so I think the opportunities are fairly bleak for my situation.

 

Any advice/input would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you in advance.

 

 

#3, if it is possible for you to go to China and get married there. That may not take very long. Don't do all the things the sites say to do about verification of marital status. My experience, after have gone through that (ie: going to the State offices to get a notarized doc saying I was single/never married. It was not 'honored' in China) It would be wise/helpful to stay in China for 6 months or more. This tends to simplify the I-130 process. They seem to give credence (positive credit?) to the fact,that the two of you have been 'together' and it is not an impulse. Your application process could take 3-4 months instead of 10-12. You could return to the US and wait or try to do it all while you re still there. Finances may dictate a version you will create as you go along. You will need to get your visa in the US and then apply for a new one in China. At the local 'Alien registration office' of the police. This is really easy and not mentioned much, but I have done it and been able to get a 6 month visa. And another 6 month visa, after that. Your passport needs to be current, of course and not expire while you are here (there) or you will be going to a US consulate to get your new one. That gets more complicated. Their appointment system is a bit of a pan, but if you want to get married and bring her to the US, you will be willing to 'invest' your time and energy. How important is it to you? And her? You should look at the I-130 forms and see if you can do all of it. Look at the Financial Support forms. They are critical. I am in China! I have been here for six years. I even taught English for a while. The commute to the province capital was not pleasant or that easy and I quit. The town/city (four million people) we live in has very few foreigners and even less need for English teachers. Most of the people here would go to Beijing to work and never consider English or going to the US. We plan to apply for the I-130 in the next year. I took my wife to the US for two months in 2014. She likes it and has decided that it is preferable to staying here. She is willing to work in the US and is studying English. One advantage of the I-130 process: she will become a citizen and get a green card in three or four months after she arrives and is 'logged in'. She will be able to work. Look at the list of forms needed and what is required. It is an option.

 

 

 

To get married in China, you WILL need the "single affidavit" - it is not only honored, it is REQUIRED in China even though under our laws, you do not need to PROVE that you are single. You can get it either stateside, through the Dept. of State and authentication by your Chinese consulate, or in China, by going to one of the American consulates there - either way, it must be authenticated, either by both your State's Dept. of State AND the Chinese consulate in the U.S., or simply by the American consulate in China.

 

Yes - living with your fiance in China will increase the likelihood of getting the visa. If you decide to do this, your Chinese visas (once in China) can be handled by the local PSB Entry and Exit Bureau, after registration of your residence with the local PSB.

[warpedbored]

Welcome to CFL. The best place on the internet for information on getting a visa to the US as it pertains to China.

 

The decision of K-1 or I-130 is a personal one. I frown on recommending one over the other. An evolution of relationship letter is a good thing to file with either. I think the fact that you met in the US and had a relationship prior to her returning to China weighs heavily in your favor. If you are leaning towards marriage obviously the sooner you can get there the faster she can come here. If you can't possibly get to China for a few months you have the option of filing K-1 immediately. K-1 tends to be slightly faster but not significantly. I-130 is less expensive and no adjustment of status is necessary once she gets here. The savings of the I-130 could be negated by an extra trip to China to get married. Either visa expect a wait of 10 months to a year. The fastest visa of all is DCF. This would require you moving to China and getting married there. Getting a work permit to live there can be tricky but doable. It can also be complicated by income requirements that may make a co-sponsor necessary. DCF generally takes 4-6 months. As others have pointed out one advantage of K-1 is if you're denied you have the option of going to China to get married and starting over. There are no do-overs for an I-130. You have to fight it out to the bitter end and it can take years. I seriously doubt this would happen to you. As I said the fact that you had a relationship in the US before she returned to China weighs heavily in your favor. Unless there are some extenuating circumstances such as overstaying her visa or getting arrested of course.

Good luck on your journey. We're here to help you with the process and the wait.

Carl

[HouseOfBurgesses]

Hi everyone! This is the original poster. I have some updates and some additional questions. I could really use the help.

 

My girlfriend ended up getting accepted to another program and was able to extend her I-20 through February. Now she is facing having to go back to China again. We plan to get married because we really are ready at this point. We wanted our marriage to be pure and we're ready to be married faithfully now.

 

Does anyone know how the process will work after we get married. She is here in the US on a Student Visa. I assume we will adjust status.

 

Does anyone have any knowledge of this?

[dnoblett]

Hi everyone! This is the original poster. I have some updates and some additional questions. I could really use the help.

 

My girlfriend ended up getting accepted to another program and was able to extend her I-20 through February. Now she is facing having to go back to China again. We plan to get married because we really are ready at this point. We wanted our marriage to be pure and we're ready to be married faithfully now.

 

Does anyone know how the process will work after we get married. She is here in the US on a Student Visa. I assume we will adjust status.

 

Does anyone have any knowledge of this?

 

Yes adjustment of status.

 

A requirement is one spouse needs to be a US Citizen.

 

You will file an I-130 along with an I-485 together, also file an I-765 for work authorization and I-131 for advance parole document just in case wish to travel while the I-485 is processing, traveling out of country without AP-Document will forfeit the pending adjustment of status.

 

A detailed guide to this. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

 

I advised a couple student visa adjustment of status cases.

[Randy W]

 

Hi everyone! This is the original poster. I have some updates and some additional questions. I could really use the help.

 

My girlfriend ended up getting accepted to another program and was able to extend her I-20 through February. Now she is facing having to go back to China again. We plan to get married because we really are ready at this point. We wanted our marriage to be pure and we're ready to be married faithfully now.

 

Does anyone know how the process will work after we get married. She is here in the US on a Student Visa. I assume we will adjust status.

 

Does anyone have any knowledge of this?

 

Yes adjustment of status.

 

A requirement is one spouse needs to be a US Citizen.

 

You will file an I-130 along with an I-485 together, also file an I-765 for work authorization and I-131 for advance parole document just in case wish to travel while the I-485 is processing, traveling out of country without AP-Document will forfeit the pending adjustment of status.

 

A detailed guide to this. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

 

I advised a couple student visa adjustment of status cases.

 

 

 

Just to be clear here - have her STAY in the U.S. after you are married in order to file the I-130 and I-485 together. If she leaves the U.S. to go back to China without a visa to come back, she will have to await the I-130 processing and apply for an Immediate Relative visa, which can take 4 months to a year.

 

If you want to get married in China, that's fine, as long as she can still get back in the country on her current visa.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Randy W (see edit history)

[HouseOfBurgesses]

Thanks for all the help everyone. Just a crazy question. If we file this paperwork ASAP, she is allowed to stay in the US as it is pending, right?

[dnoblett]

Thanks for all the help everyone. Just a crazy question. If we file this paperwork ASAP, she is allowed to stay in the US as it is pending, right?

Yes, will be allowed to stay with this pending.

 

I would file an I-765 along with this, this will produce an EAD card which will serve as evidence of legal presence.

 

And again do not attempt to travel out of country while this pending without an AP document from filing the I-131

[HouseOfBurgesses]

 

Thanks for all the help everyone. Just a crazy question. If we file this paperwork ASAP, she is allowed to stay in the US as it is pending, right?

Yes, will be allowed to stay with this pending.

 

I would file an I-765 along with this, this will produce an EAD card which will serve as evidence of legal presence.

 

And again do not attempt to travel out of country while this pending without an AP document from filing the I-131

 

Thank you for your help!