Marry or Fiancee Visa?

[Darling]

Good afternoon. My intended asked me which would better to marry in China or come to the US via the 129 visa and marry in America? I could not give a definite answer to her. Any suggestions?

[dnoblett]

Best advise is to make at least two trips over there to visit before deciding to tie the knot, doing so on first trip can be a red flag and sometimes results in a denied visa at the consulate

As for denials K-1 tends to get denied most followed by CR-1 filed in the states, and then rarely denied is a Spouse visa filed in China while living overseas.

As for filing costs, K-1 tends to be the most expensive for fees from petition filing through getting a green card after marriage, CR-1 is less.

Another consideration, CR-1 spouse gets green card status the moment they enter the USA which allows work and travel, K-1 is non immigrant and has to wait for work permission after marriage to be able to work, and travel is also restricted.

One up side to K-1 is if it is denied, many simply go to China and marry, then file for a spouse visa. If a spouse visa is denied, there is no redo, need to fight the denial.

[Greg.D.]

Either way, she should make at least one visit to here to know what this place and the people are like in order to know if she wants to live here. It's quite a bit of pressure for that smallish 90 day visa window.

[dnoblett]

Either way, she should make at least one visit to here to know what this place and the people are like in order to know if she wants to live here. It's quite a bit of pressure for that smallish 90 day visa window.

Yes, historically this was not an easy option, it use to be quite hard to get a B-2 visit visa, many denials, however lately the odds of getting one is much higher. B-2 would allow her a longer visit.

 

One warning don't treat a B-2 as a K-1, using it for marriage then adjusting status, using a B-2 with intent to immigrate is fraud, and can result in deportation.

[newacct]

Does she have a child between the ages of 18 and 21 who wants to immigrate to the US? If so, definitely fiance visa.

[Randy W]

Does she have a child between the ages of 18 and 21 who wants to immigrate to the US? If so, definitely fiance visa.

 

 

These are often DECLINED because of a potential K-2 close to 21. This happens BEFORE P3, and before any indication has been made as to whether the K-2 will even be pursued.

 

The petition is simply returned to the NVC with no explanation.

[Darling]

She does have a daughter who is 14 now. Their plans are to let her daughter finish school in China. Her grandmother plans on taking care of the child during this time.

[dnoblett]

She does have a daughter who is 14 now. Their plans are to let her daughter finish school in China. Her grandmother plans on taking care of the child during this time.

Then either option is ok, if marriage occurs before her 18th birthday, you would qualify to file a petition as a step parent later on.

[Dan777]

Good afternoon. My intended asked me which would better to marry in China or come to the US via the 129 visa and marry in America? I could not give a definite answer to her. Any suggestions?

 

I went to China to get married. To get married there I had to get a piece of paper that proves you are single. This was not easy to get. I have been married a few times and had to get legal documents about the divorces, send them to the secretary of state in the state I was living in to get notorized, Sent that bunch to The Secretary of the US (good old Hillary signed them) and also to the chinese embasy. I got lucky and a company sent the paper work in and to the Chinese embasy. Then I flew to Guangzhou and went to the US embasy and with my wifes chinese cards I got the elusive single prove paper I took to get married. My wife wanted to get married in China is why I did it that way. I know two people who got married here. Either way I suggest you meet her first if you haven't already done that. And be prepared to have a controlling wife! I love watching the show 90 day fiance but I know they make more drama than need be. One thing about getting married in China it took a very long time to get my wife's visa. This website helped me as it seemed to take forever but was most likely as long as most people, maybe a year. I tried to get the 10 year green card myself but ended up paying a lawyer as they said they did not get enough info and I sent in a ton. I hired a lawyer for the paperwork to get my wifes visa and was glad I did as it was a lot of paperwork on both our parts. I think either way be prepared to wait and send in a lot of paperwork to people you can not communicate with until they decide to communicate with you.

[tsap seui]

In our case I tried a k-1 visa which after a bit over 2 years of waiting got denied. I went to China and married the girl. It was very easy to get the "non-married" or "single" certificate in China at our local US consulate office. I took in copies of my two divorces to the consulate, swore that I was single and I got the non-married certificate. No problem at all....much easier than doing it in America.

 

In 2006 through 2011 we really had no option for our women to get visitor visas for our girlfriends or wives to come to America. If you can get her a visitors visa these days then fly her over here after you make the first visit to see her in China. Let her see for herself (and I am very serious here) that the streets in America are NOT paved in gold, and that one hundred dollar bills DO NOT grow on our trees here. Plus, she'll get to see where you intend for her to live.

 

My advice...get married in China then make a CR-1 application for her.

 

CR-1 applications are for people that have been married less than 2 years when they go to their interview.

IR-1 applications are for people that are married two years or more.

 

Your wife will get a 10 year green card if she has been married to you 2 years or more when she enters America on her CR-1 or IR-1 visa. If you have been married less than 2 years when your wife enters America on her CR-1 visa then she will get a 2 year green card which will have to have another application to turn it into a 10 year green card after she has been in America for 1 year and 9 months.

 

We delayed the timing of my wife's interview so that her CR-1 application ensured that we would be married more than 2 years when she entered America; giving her a 10 year green card with no more dealing with the gol'damn American government for almost 10 years..

 

Good luck with your decision and with the process. I hope your lady gets to come visit America before you make an application for her. America is not the Nirvana that many Chinese folks dream that it is.

[wawster]

I also married my sweetie in China. Everyone has their own opinion, but for me, the K1 visa was too risky. The process was less expensive overall, but it took longer for a CR1 than a K1 . My wife has a son that was 17 at the time, and this was no problem during the process to include him.

 

The single certificate is fairly easy for most. The process is hard to understand at first, but many visa services can help guide you through it. Basically, it is a notarized affidavit that you are single, with attachments of any past divorce decrees, and this is sent to your secretary of state, who stamps it with a seal, and sends it back. This is then brought to the Chinese consulate, who authenticates it with their own seal. Then you're good to go. The process varies a little from state to state, but that's the basics.

 

I agree with others that if possible, bring your intended bride here to visit for a while. In my case, my wife was not able to visit ahead of time, and she has adjusted very well. Incredibly well, actually. That being said, it's a big culture shock for your bride-to-be. And there ARE many misconceptions about life in the US. My wife is from a smaller city, and all of her friends are still convinced that we are fabulously wealthy, and we just hide it.

Be prepared for a wait. The average CR1 process takes about a year, if all goes well. For my wife and I, it gave us time to get things in order, but it was still a test in patience. For others, like tsap, it took much longer. Murphy can and does exercise his will.

 

Best of luck with your decision, and if you need guidance or assistance, the folks here at Candle are always ready and willing to help!

[Randy W]

 

Good afternoon. My intended asked me which would better to marry in China or come to the US via the 129 visa and marry in America? I could not give a definite answer to her. Any suggestions?

 

I went to China to get married. To get married there I had to get a piece of paper that proves you are single. This was not easy to get. I have been married a few times and had to get legal documents about the divorces, send them to the secretary of state in the state I was living in to get notorized, Sent that bunch to The Secretary of the US (good old Hillary signed them) and also to the chinese embasy. I got lucky and a company sent the paper work in and to the Chinese embasy. Then I flew to Guangzhou and went to the US embasy and with my wifes chinese cards I got the elusive single prove paper I took to get married. My wife wanted to get married in China is why I did it that way. I know two people who got married here. Either way I suggest you meet her first if you haven't already done that. And be prepared to have a controlling wife! I love watching the show 90 day fiance but I know they make more drama than need be. One thing about getting married in China it took a very long time to get my wife's visa. This website helped me as it seemed to take forever but was most likely as long as most people, maybe a year. I tried to get the 10 year green card myself but ended up paying a lawyer as they said they did not get enough info and I sent in a ton. I hired a lawyer for the paperwork to get my wifes visa and was glad I did as it was a lot of paperwork on both our parts. I think either way be prepared to wait and send in a lot of paperwork to people you can not communicate with until they decide to communicate with you.

 

 

 

Like wawster and tsap have stated, only the visit to the consulate in China was necessary - they will issue the single certificate while you wait, sometimes even without divorce papers.

 

- OR -

 

You may go through the stateside procedure ahead of time through the mail. You mail the paperwork to your STATE's Dept of State (the U.S. Dept of State is NOT part of this process). Then either you or your representative (e.g., a visa service) must take this certified form to the Chinese Consulate for certification for use in China.

 

A sample single certificate from the Houston consulate, which includes addresses for the Secretary of State of each state in their district - http://houston.china-consulate.org/visa/english/marriage/jh.htm#aoss

 

or from Visa Express - http://www.visaexpress.net/china/singlestatus.htm

 

The Secretary of State verifies the notary seal on your single statement - the Chinese consulate then verifies the Secretary of State's signature with its own seal which explains the purpose of the document in Chinese.

 

Either way (stateside, or from a U.S. consulate in China), a certified single certificate should be acceptable. However, there is occasionally confusion at the marriage registration bureau about which they will accept.

[dnoblett]

Correct, states department of state, not the US department of state, only exception is if you live in Washington DC, then it's the US DOS.

[chilton747]

In our case I tried a k-1 visa which after a bit over 2 years of waiting got denied. I went to China and married the girl. It was very easy to get the "non-married" or "single" certificate in China at our local US consulate office. I took in copies of my two divorces to the consulate, swore that I was single and I got the non-married certificate. No problem at all....much easier than doing it in America.

 

In 2006 through 2011 we really had no option for our women to get visitor visas for our girlfriends or wives to come to America. If you can get her a visitors visa these days then fly her over here after you make the first visit to see her in China. Let her see for herself (and I am very serious here) that the streets in America are NOT paved in gold, and that one hundred dollar bills DO NOT grow on our trees here. Plus, she'll get to see where you intend for her to live.

 

My advice...get married in China then make a CR-1 application for her.

 

CR-1 applications are for people that have been married less than 2 years when they go to their interview.

IR-1 applications are for people that are married two years or more.

 

Your wife will get a 10 year green card if she has been married to you 2 years or more when she enters America on her CR-1 or IR-1 visa. If you have been married less than 2 years when your wife enters America on her CR-1 visa then she will get a 2 year green card which will have to have another application to turn it into a 10 year green card after she has been in America for 1 year and 9 months.

 

We delayed the timing of my wife's interview so that her CR-1 application ensured that we would be married more than 2 years when she entered America; giving her a 10 year green card with no more dealing with the gol'damn American government for almost 10 years..

 

Good luck with your decision and with the process. I hope your lady gets to come visit America before you make an application for her. America is not the Nirvana that many Chinese folks dream that it is.

 

Amen my brutha! Excellent advice!

Edited October 26, 2016 by chilton747 (see edit history)

[Dan777]

 

 

Good afternoon. My intended asked me which would better to marry in China or come to the US via the 129 visa and marry in America? I could not give a definite answer to her. Any suggestions?

 

I went to China to get married. To get married there I had to get a piece of paper that proves you are single. This was not easy to get. I have been married a few times and had to get legal documents about the divorces, send them to the secretary of state in the state I was living in to get notorized, Sent that bunch to The Secretary of the US (good old Hillary signed them) and also to the chinese embasy. I got lucky and a company sent the paper work in and to the Chinese embasy. Then I flew to Guangzhou and went to the US embasy and with my wifes chinese cards I got the elusive single prove paper I took to get married. My wife wanted to get married in China is why I did it that way. I know two people who got married here. Either way I suggest you meet her first if you haven't already done that. And be prepared to have a controlling wife! I love watching the show 90 day fiance but I know they make more drama than need be. One thing about getting married in China it took a very long time to get my wife's visa. This website helped me as it seemed to take forever but was most likely as long as most people, maybe a year. I tried to get the 10 year green card myself but ended up paying a lawyer as they said they did not get enough info and I sent in a ton. I hired a lawyer for the paperwork to get my wifes visa and was glad I did as it was a lot of paperwork on both our parts. I think either way be prepared to wait and send in a lot of paperwork to people you can not communicate with until they decide to communicate with you.

 

 

 

Like wawster and tsap have stated, only the visit to the consulate in China was necessary - they will issue the single certificate while you wait, sometimes even without divorce papers.

 

- OR -

 

You may go through the stateside procedure ahead of time through the mail. You mail the paperwork to your STATE's Dept of State (the U.S. Dept of State is NOT part of this process). Then either you or your representative (e.g., a visa service) must take this certified form to the Chinese Consulate for certification for use in China.

 

A sample single certificate from the Houston consulate, which includes addresses for the Secretary of State of each state in their district - http://houston.china-consulate.org/visa/english/marriage/jh.htm#aoss

 

or from Visa Express - http://www.visaexpress.net/china/singlestatus.htm

 

The Secretary of State verifies the notary seal on your single statement - the Chinese consulate then verifies the Secretary of State's signature with its own seal which explains the purpose of the document in Chinese.

 

Either way (stateside, or from a U.S. consulate in China), a certified single certificate should be acceptable. However, there is occasionally confusion at the marriage registration bureau about which they will accept.

 

 

All I remember is how stressed I was and how hard it was. Wife and her friend were telling me I needed to go to Washington DC to file and also to the Chinese consulate there. (Like the days of missed work and cost would be easy). For all the trouble I went through I remember looking at that single piece of paper with the seal thinking how much trouble I went through for one sheet of paper with the seal on it. I keep telling myself I got to stop getting married! Four years of marriage has not been easy but all the trouble I went through makes me want to stick it out. Your comment sounds easy but this website really helped me as I did not quite feel alone going through the process. Would I recommend getting a Chinese wife? Somedays yes and somedays no, ha ha.