[MrZonaCat]

I have a couple of questions of for anyone who has ever been to Guangzhou for a K-3 appointment. How much is too much? by this, I mean, I have an inordinate amount of paperwork showing that my wife and I indeed have a REAL MARRIAGE based on REAL LOVE.

I just went through my long distance call logs. I have 149 pages of phone call logs dating back to April 2008. My Yahoo Instant Message chats (from April 2008 to Sept. 2008) number over 1,600 pages! We have over 700 pictures and also an 80 minute wedding video from my one month in Kaifeng when we got married last September. We have used SKYPE video (webcam) chats since our marriage a year ago.

I am 51 years old and I have never been married or engaged before. She is 36 and was married one time over 4 years ago.

Are they looking for a small representative sampling? Like maybe 5 pages of Instant Message chats per month, prior to us getting married?

We have endless documentation of our correspondence. We probably spend more daily time together online than most married folks do IN PERSON.

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT? The documentation from when we met online (April 2008) until we got met and married (Sept. 2008) on my 51st birthday? Or the documentation AFTER OUR MARRIAGE (after September 2008) until the present moment?

The only negative (maybe in their eyes) might be my current job status. In early September I quit a very low-paying job to go into business with my Stone Mason friend. But my first week, I injured my wrist so since September, on paper, my financial situation looks bad due to a lack of recent financial stability.

My mother has agreed to to sign whatever forms on my wife's behalf. What does this entail? Being a co-sponsor of a I-134? What does she need to do?

I know of a good commission sales job I could probably get this week... will this help my cause even though I might not have enough income documentation prior to her Guangzhou interview?

I have no idea what to expect. All I know is that my wife and I are indeed married and definitely in love and we deserve to be together. My elderly parents would love to meet their one and only daughter-in-law.

What are some of the reasons that have caused some people to be denied a K3?

Anyway, back to my original question.

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS TOO MUCH DOCUMENTATION?

A sincere thank you to anyone who provides a sincere answer to any of my questions.

Thanks again,

Mark in Arizona

[justashooter]

i would focus on the wedding pictures, especially those including her family. pictures from the trip in different situations and clothing are also important. a timeline of your relationship in outline form on a single page is good as a cover. educating your wife about your American life so that she can speak with complete knowledge of your life (current and history) is more important. she has to look like she knows you, and has a plan for her next life in USA.

[lostinblue]

Yes there is such a thing as too much. One of the main things they look at is it a bonifide marriage. Wedding photos are needed. Photos of the family and you go over well. A few photos if you have them of former trips to see the family. Don't go overboard with all the printed papers. A few every month would be fine. How is her english? If need be she can do the interview in chinese.
http://www.cflgaller...Index_New2.html
this is a good site if you have not found it by now. scroll down to the interview section.

http://www.cflgallery.com/ the home page for dealing with china. many questions can be answered there. use the search.

[endoftheroad]

I have a couple of questions of for anyone who has ever been to Guangzhou for a K-3 appointment. How much is too much?

The FAQs at China Family Visa (CFV) are more updated definitive, and the people there are veterans. Usually a lot safer than the quite snippy CFL.

Try:
http://www.chinafami...hp?showtopic=69
http://www.chinafami...p?showtopic=112

Off the top of my head; pictures, bank info, leases, and anything else that shows your lives intertwined is great evidence.

This post has been edited by endoftheroad: 03 November 2009 - 10:22 PM

[MrZonaCat]

justashooter:
i would focus on the wedding pictures, especially those including her family. pictures from the trip in different situations and clothing are also important. a timeline of your relationship in outline form on a single page is good as a cover. educating your wife about your American life so that she can speak with complete knowledge of your life (current and history) is more important. she has to look like she knows you, and has a plan for her next life in USA.
__________________________________________________
lostinblue:
Yes there is such a thing as too much. One of the main things they look at is it a bonifide marriage. Wedding photos are needed. Photos of the family and you go over well. A few photos if you have them of former trips to see the family. Don't go overboard with all the printed papers. A few every month would be fine. How is her english? If need be she can do the interview in chinese.
http://www.cflgaller...Index_New2.html
this is a good site if you have not found it by now. scroll down to the interview section.
http://www.cflgallery.com/ the home page for dealing with china. many questions can be answered there. use the search.
___________________________________________________

endoftheroad
The FAQs at China Family Visa (CFV) are more updated definitive, and the people there are veterans. Usually a lot safer than the quite snippy CFL. tongue.gif good.gif
Try:
http://www.chinafami...hp?showtopic=69
http://www.chinafami...p?showtopic=112
Off the top of my head; pictures, bank info, leases, and anything else that shows your lives intertwined is great evidence.
____________________________________________________

Thanks so much to everybody for your kind help. I shall look at all the links and heed the wisdom of everyone's collective advice.

Thanks again!
Mark in Arizona

[Darnell]

In addition -

REVIEW THE I-130 Instructions , specifically the stuff about proving up a bonafide marriage...
Here's what I did - http://www.visajourn...h...t&p=3324240

I also recommend an 'Evolution of Relationship Letter', Notarized, to be submitted on Interview Day.

On the Affadavit of Support - provide 3 years of tax info...

Good Luck !

[Darnell]

PS - GUZ has been dinging people recently on communication issues - ie - Does she speak English or do YOU speak Chinese ??

Also, if she has a child, is good idea to prep photo sets of the child with the mother from birth to current age (or be prepared to get a DNA test after a blue slip ).

Here's a recent K-1 interview result (blue slip) from Nov 2.
Denied... Said we needed 3 years "CERTIFIED tax forms" from my CO-SPONSOR... this tax form is a 4506 form which takes 60 days to receive for the irs. Nobody every said any thing about having this form. My lawyer said I only needed one year from my co-sponsor. Now after waiting 216 days for our interview we have to wait even more. I am FURIOUS about this..!!! if I would have known that, their was even a slightest chance of being asked for 3 years CERTIFIED copies of tax returns from my co-sponsor I would have ordered them long ago... now were f--ked for who knows how long???

This post has been edited by Darnell: 04 November 2009 - 02:32 AM

[MrZonaCat]

PS - GUZ has been dinging people recently on communication issues - ie - Does she speak English or do YOU speak Chinese ??

Also, if she has a child, is good idea to prep photo sets of the child with the mother from birth to current age (or be prepared to get a DNA test after a blue slip ).

Here's a recent K-1 interview result (blue slip) from Nov 2.
Denied... Said we needed 3 years "CERTIFIED tax forms" from my CO-SPONSOR... this tax form is a 4506 form which takes 60 days to receive for the irs. Nobody every said any thing about having this form. My lawyer said I only needed one year from my co-sponsor. Now after waiting 216 days for our interview we have to wait even more. I am FURIOUS about this..!!! if I would have known that, their was even a slightest chance of being asked for 3 years CERTIFIED copies of tax returns from my co-sponsor I would have ordered them long ago... now were f--ked for who knows how long???

Darnell, thanks for your two replies. They are a reminder to us to leave no stone unturned.

BTW, I speak very little Chinese. As for her English? Our Instant Message chats from April 2008 to October 2009 serve as proof just how far she has come. The chat transcripts also show that we truly care about each other as evidenced by our numerous attempts to make even the most trivial of points by using BABELFISH translation also, since my return to Arizona, on October 2008, we use Skype video chats. Anyway, her English is not great, but in my opinion, in such a short time, she has come a long way. My mother who recently spoke to her on the phone also was blown away at how much her English has improved.

Sadly, it seems that reading chat transcripts are not that used as a determining criteria. If they were, there would be nary a doubt that our love and marriage is real.

It is okay though, we have over 700 pictures to choose from and from what I have been told, pictures do count for a lot.

BTW, a few humorous tidbits about using Babelfish as a means to translate. I always do a double translation (English to Mandarin back to English) to test the accuracy of a translated phrase. About a year ago, I said, "You are my destiny."

But, it come back as, "you are my doom." Not exactly a compliment, is it? Now, Babelfish has it right (they are constantly improving and honing their translation database) and "You are my destiny," does indeed come back as, "You are my destiny."

But last week, I came across the best and funniest yet!

"You are a living doll," came back (after translation) as: "You are a survival puppet."

Too funny. Anyway, thanks again.

Mark in Arizona

[justashooter]

"survival puppet", now that's funny, mark.

one thing i forgot to mention is that you should send a simple family tree of your relationships, up, down, and sideways. it should include names, dates of birth/death and cities currently lived in, and occupations, with phone numbers if possible. this can be done in outline or "tree" format, for visual effect. family connectedness is very important to chinese.
.
your sweetie should know and have a simple printed outline of your family history, in general. she should be especially well informed about any earlier marriages you have had, and any children you have. she should be able to discuss the reasons for the ending of any previous marriages and the disposition of the children. she should also have name, address, current marital status, and contact info for any of your ex-wives to prove they are truely seperate.

she needs a detailed personal history of you, including info regarding place/date of birth, address, education, employment history, current salary, assets and creditors accounts, hobbies, the car you drive, your religious affiliation, a brief description of the town you live in, etc. you should attach pictures of you, your immediate family, your house and neighborhood, your workplace and friends, your car, etc. this sounds like a lot, but it's something she needs to make a decision to marry you, anyway.

printing of text and color photo in china is much cheaper than it is here, and it would cost $25 to send her these docs, so size the pics to 100kb and send it in a series of e-mail files with each smaller than 2 GB to her if you can, and be sure she prints it out and organises it in a file folder. this will win big points with her if she is traditional chinese culture. transparency in family relationships is expected, and respected. she will share the dossier with her family (if it is favourable) to gain their suport and respect.

many people have been blue slipped for not having this kind of info. she needs to know about it, and have it handy for reference. she should set up an organised file folder with tabs to keep all of this reference documentation in so that it can be easily paged, and needs to demonstrate to the CO that she has this info.

[endoftheroad]

............about using Babelfish as a means to translate.

我使用 http://fanyi.cn.yaho...m/translate_txt ----- Babelfish China

[MrZonaCat]

"survival puppet", now that's funny, mark.

one thing i forgot to mention is that you should send a simple family tree of your relationships, up, down, and sideways. it should include names, dates of birth/death and cities currently lived in, and occupations, with phone numbers if possible. this can be done in outline or "tree" format, for visual effect. family connectedness is very important to chinese.
.
your sweetie should know and have a simple printed outline of your family history, in general. she should be especially well informed about any earlier marriages you have had, and any children you have. she should be able to discuss the reasons for the ending of any previous marriages and the disposition of the children. she should also have name, address, current marital status, and contact info for any of your ex-wives to prove they are truely seperate.

she needs a detailed personal history of you, including info regarding place/date of birth, address, education, employment history, current salary, assets and creditors accounts, hobbies, the car you drive, your religious affiliation, a brief description of the town you live in, etc. you should attach pictures of you, your immediate family, your house and neighborhood, your workplace and friends, your car, etc. this sounds like a lot, but it's something she needs to make a decision to marry you, anyway.

printing of text and color photo in china is much cheaper than it is here, and it would cost $25 to send her these docs, so size the pics to 100kb and send it in a series of e-mail files with each smaller than 2 GB to her if you can, and be sure she prints it out and organises it in a file folder. this will win big points with her if she is traditional chinese culture. transparency in family relationships is expected, and respected. she will share the dossier with her family (if it is favourable) to gain their suport and respect.

many people have been blue slipped for not having this kind of info. she needs to know about it, and have it handy for reference. she should set up an organised file folder with tabs to keep all of this reference documentation in so that it can be easily paged, and needs to demonstrate to the CO that she has this info.

justashooter,

I really appreciate the the added info. Admittedly, I am somewhat overwhelmed by the inordinate amount of data to prepare so that my wife will, hopefully, have no preventable snafus in her Guangzhou appointment. This is the first I have heard of the family tree. It is funny... today I asked my parents details about their parents birthplace and birth date details and they were, for the most part, vague, unable to tell me many details. Thanks to an Aunt on each side of the family who have both done basic ancestry searches, I was able to gather at least, some data. All but one of my grandparents were born in the 1890s. I was shocked that my parents (both in their 80s) did not even know the wedding dates of their own parents. Clearly, I am a mixed mutt. With roots from everywhere. From Guaymas, Mexico to Copenhagen, Denmark. Anyway, I am hopeful that a family tree is acceptable that begins with just my Arizona-born (both in the late 1920s) parents? If not, than I really doubt I can swear to the 100% accuracy of the dates of every grandparent's timeline.

Again, my biggest concern is how much of a determining factor (relating to the I-134) my present job status and financial state will be in my wife being issued a K3 Visa? I did land a great sales job (commission) TODAY with unlimited potential but with her interview less than two weeks ago, "in their eyes," it (potential earnings) probably means diddly-jack, yes? IF my Mom's data on the I-134 (she is willing to sign as a co-sponsor) meets and/or exceeds their requirements, will this be enough to offset how I look on paper right now at this moment?

Thanks again for everyone's help. BTW, if the K3 Visa is issued, I am assuming that a one-way plane ticket for my wife is okay? I realize that on a K-1 Visa, a R/T airline ticket would be required but with a K3, a one-way airline ticket is okay? If all goes smooth, I would be picking my wife up at LAX on New Year's Eve. Many years ago, I wrote a short story/script that ended with the main character meeting his soulmate at LAX on New Year's Eve. How ironic is that?

endoftheroad, I appreciate you fixing the BABELFISH link that I alluded to.

Mark in Arizona

[endoftheroad]

IF my Mom's data on the I-134 (she is willing to sign as a co-sponsor) meets and/or exceeds their requirements, will this be enough to offset how I look on paper right now at this moment?

Yes.

if the K3 Visa is issued, I am assuming that a one-way plane ticket for my wife is okay? I realize that on a K-1 Visa, a R/T airline ticket would be required...

Why would either require a RT ticket? My K-1 girls are getting a one way ticket. They won't be going back to China for a while. It doesn't save us money so why get it?

This post has been edited by endoftheroad: 06 November 2009 - 05:33 AM

[endoftheroad]

BTW MrZonaCat, are you enjoying your interaction with VJ? If so...........

[MrZonaCat]

BTW MrZonaCat, are you enjoying your interaction with VJ? If so...........

Yes. I am very pleased with VJ. I am getting the timeline started. Thanks.

Mark

[endoftheroad]

BTW MrZonaCat, are you enjoying your interaction with VJ? If so...........

Yes. I am very pleased with VJ. I am getting the timeline started. Thanks.

Mark

Very cool. In your profile settings you can set "Country of non-US Fiance / Spouse / Family Member" and then it will show the Chinese flag thing.