Introduction and Tax Return question.

[Jason+Joanna]

First and foremost, I would like to formally introduce myself. I met a really sweet, kind, caring Chinese lady living in Shenzhen, China in May. I decided to be somewhat gung ho and take a chance and visit her in China in June. I can honestly say that was the best decision I could have made. She was better in person then I could have expected. I also have to thank her for my first international trip by myself. It was a very good learning experience. I look forward to doing more! Since I came back, we have been corresponding by phone calls and by email. She is currently in her home province getting her notary birth certificate, police certificate, certificate of being single, and her passport. On my end I am gathering all the necessary materials to begin the process. It seems I am at the very beginning of the process that could take as much as 10 months (or more).

 

Now for my question, I am gathering my tax returns for the past three years for the process. I have 2001, and 2002 – including all the schedules and such.

 

Question #1: Can I just submit a copy of my W-2s and the 1040? Or do I also need to copy all of the schedules, and other fun stuff?

 

I only have W-2s for 2003, which brings me to

 

Question #2: Can I ask the IRS for a transcript of my year 2003 taxes (this has most line items). Or do I need the exact copy (has everything including W-2s).

 

Thanks in Advance –

 

Jason

[Guest Gene]

Welcome Jason

 

Congratulations on meeting the Love of your life.

 

Have her get her Birth certificate, notorized and translated, actualy have her get three you will need them and it will be cheaper to get them all at once. Get the passport. Get the single certificate notorized and translated. Forget the police certificate for now it will expire before you need it, have her get that after the file is approved by NVC and sent to Guangzhou.

 

You can get transcripts from the IRS at no charge, but be careful or you will get to far ahead of your self, you will probably need your 2004 taxes. I have already gotten two proof's of employment and will probably need to get another because if the time frame. Some of this stuff is only good for six months.

 

What step are you at with filing?

[Jason+Joanna]

I am at square 0 right now. Just preparing the 129-F. I thought the police certificate, single certificate, and notary birth certificate are all considered good for 1 year. Also, I am having her get translations. I asked her to get copies, and she said that she had some done.

 

So, the transcript is acceptable ? Do I need to submit anything other then the 1040 for my taxes that I do have ?

 

You may be right about year 2004 taxes, I usually file in Feburary.

 

 

Thanks -

 

Jason.

[Jeikun]

Notary birth certificate will be fine. Police Certificate and Single certificate are technically good for one year, but GZ requests they be no older than 6 months and may reject them if they are any older.

 

- Jason

[Guest Long_strider]

Jason,

 

The notarized birth certficate with English translation is not time limited so that you can obtain it any time. As others have suggested obtain at least three copies with the English translation. She will need them once in the US to assist in obtaining things such as SSN and other things.

 

The police certficate and single certificate should wait until at least you obtain the Notice of Action Number 2 NOA2) or possibly later.

 

She should have a current passport.

 

 

Regarding taxes, transcripts are fine. Or you can use only the two pages of 1040, the additional attachments are not really necessary. I chose to have my copies notarized, attesting to there being a true copy of the original. Others may suggest that notarizing is an overkill. (but what the heck, it is a relatively easy thing to do and can't hurt.)

 

Expect the process to take at least 12 months. If it goes quicker, consider it a gift. With the expectation of 12 months from the beginning, it may help the waiting and lessen the frustration with the ups and downs of the process, and the unknowns...

 

Wishing both of you good luck in the process.

 

long_strider

[Guest Gene]

The notorized and translated birth certificate is good forever, get three originals not copies of originals. I think the single certificate is good for six months and I am pretty sure the police certificate is only good for six months.

 

I have been told the IRS transcripts are OK, that is what I am using. But you will not need them until interveiw time.

 

Also if you make enough money to support your family above the government poverty levels that is all you will need to prove is your income.

 

IRS transcripts, Letter from your employer and maybe a couple of pay stubs.

[Mengxin]

Heads up, for my wife to get her passport, she was refused right away. When she explained she was getting married to an American, they told her OK as long as she had a letter of intent to marry from me.

 

The certificate of single status required 4 notarizations, not 3.

1. Local (mailboxes ect., store) notary.

2. County clerks office (has to be the same county as the previous notary)

3. Sec of state

4. Chinese embassy

 

Financial Info

uschinak1

Visa Journey

uscis.gov/fianceapp

129F

Info on mailing USCIS

Mailing Tips

k1fianceevisas

k-1

myfianceevisa

 

Speaking for myself, I regret hiring an attorney. There is plenty of info on the web as well as people willing to share there own experiances right here.

Welcome to Candle.

[cosmiclobster]

Hi Jason and Joanna

Welcome to the Candle for Love!!

Many of us are in the same boat. My sweetie and I met online around thankgiving and I was in Shanghai Jan 14!!

We use Yahoo and MSN to communicate and there are also phone cards to call china (2 cents a minute) that have the ability to keep a printed record of your calls. Those will help to prove that you have a bonafide relationship. I hope you took plenty of pictures of the two of you together! That also helps. There are many ways to prove that you are financially solvent enough to support her and you. You wont need that until the end of the process. If your Service Center is Vermont, the entire process could take 8 months or so, otherwise a year is likely.

Good luck!

[frank1538]

It'll be a while before you'll need tax information - might want to wait a bit. You'll have plenty of time later.

 

Jingwen, my wife, obtained all of the documents early on in the process, but she had to get an updated police certificate. Her "single certificate" was actually her divorce decree which stated that she had not registered a marriage since her divorce. Make sure she gets several copies of these documents with English translations from the notarial office. You may need them when she arrives in the US.

[warpedbored]

Ditto on all the above except you don't need 3 translated notarized copies of the birth certificate. You can keep the original and send photo copies with the I-129F. Just make a statement that they are authentic copies of the originals. If you want to spend the extra money for them go ahead but technically it's not necessary. Some people feel it gives them peace of mind for fear of an RFE. I submitted photo copies and they were accepted no problem. Wait until she gets P-3 to worry about tax returns single certificate and police check. You will have time.

[mari]

I'm getting pretty confused here. I thought the consulate will keep only a copy of the original birth certificate, and I don't understand why if the consulate states clearly at their website that the police certificate is good for one year, will they change the rules subjectively from case to case. Frank, how old was Jingwen's police certificate when she was told to get a new one? Did they said this to her at the interview? Another question: you mention that the divorce decree was enough to prove that she had remained single, when did she obtained the divorce decree? My point is that if the consulate wants to make sure that the beneficiary has not got married since his/her last divorce, they should ask for a certificate of single status as much updated as possible. My fiance just obtained this single certificate from his hukou, and he mentioned that his divorce decree is good to evidence his marriage, divorce, and even the birth of his only child. Do you think this will do it? I want to make sure that we have all the required documents at the time of the interview and all the documents needed in USA.

[Jason+Joanna]

I took a look at the US Consulate in Guangzhou website FAQ, according to the information they have posted:

 

What's the period of validity for medical reports and notarial certificates?

 

Notarial birth certificates, marriage certificates and divorce certificates have unlimited validity. Medical reports, notarial single certificates and police certificates are good for one year from the date of issuance.

 

 

The FAQ is located at:

 

http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/guangzho...u/iv/kvfaq.html

 

It seems that it would be at least safe to say that these documents would be acceptable as long as the interview is within the 1 year validity period.

 

I thought it would be a good idea to collect as much as possible for the process, because of murphies law. It kind of a good think, since I thought I had my 2003 taxes saved and printed

 

Jason.

[mari]

Welcome to the candle Jason, I think you should give priority now to the documents needed to submit your I-129F, the tax returns are not needed until later (to accompany the I-134 affidavit of support at the interview). I sent a copy of my fiance's passport, notarized birth and divorce certificates at the time of filing the I-129F. It's not a bad idea for your fiancee to get the rest if she is getting all these at her hukou now, but be prepared to tell her later to get some of them if they had already expired. Just make sure that you read carefully the instructions for filing the I-129F and if you got any questions you better ask them here, I'm sure you"ll get the right answers. Issues like placing a "N/A" instead of "None" in the forms can easily delay your case, just to give you an example, so concentrate for now in the evidence and info needed to file your application. Good luck and congratulations on finding the right girl.

[Guest Long_strider]

Our single certficate and police certificate were 11 months old at the time of the interview. GZ accepted these.

 

long_strider

[Jason+Joanna]

Thank you all for the great information. I am ready to move forward with what needs to be done and formally being this process, so that I too can post wait times