Just starting K-1 process

[Bogy 0]

Hello everyone,

I'm a USA citizen and my fiance lives in Foshan, China. We have been in constant contact since Dec 2008 and I have traveled to China (once per year) to see her (average visit length 10 days per visit). I've even met her mother (on my first trip) and this past June (2010) my mother came with me to meet her. Boy, that was strange!

Anyway I have some basic questions with respect to the i-129f, here goes:

1. Line #10, is requesting a certificate number and place of issue, does this apply to me, I was born in the USA and have a birth certificate, but there is no number on it. Yea, I may be that stupid but I really do not want to mess this process up! To error on the side of caution!

2. Line #18 "Describe the circumstances under which you met". We met on an online dating site,

2.1 Should I write the name of that site in this box? Or just say we met on the Internet?

2.2 What other information should I include, in other words is this where I write about our plans for the future and the trips I've taken to China?

2.3 Do I reference supporting documentation here as well?

Thanks so much!

Bogy

[baron555 934]

Hello everyone,

I'm a USA citizen and my fiance lives in Foshan, China. We have been in constant contact since Dec 2008 and I have traveled to China (once per year) to see her (average visit length 10 days per visit). I've even met her mother (on my first trip) and this past June (2010) my mother came with me to meet her. Boy, that was strange!

Anyway I have some basic questions with respect to the i-129f, here goes:

1. Line #10, is requesting a certificate number and place of issue, does this apply to me, I was born in the USA and have a birth certificate, but there is no number on it. Yea, I may be that stupid but I really do not want to mess this process up! To error on the side of caution!

USCs don't have a number. Put None. Always follow the Example Forms.

2. Line #18 "Describe the circumstances under which you met". We met on an online dating site,

2.1 Should I write the name of that site in this box? Or just say we met on the Internet?

No, how/when/where did you meet in person, not how you met not in person. Only in person within the last 2 years.

2.2 What other information should I include, in other words is this where I write about our plans for the future and the trips I've taken to China?

Check out the China regional forum since there are many Embasssy-specific requirements and hurdles you will have to overcome. I think front loading the petition is warranted.

2.3 Do I reference supporting documentation here as well? Yes

Thanks so much!

Bogy

[Bogy 0]

Baron555 Thanks for the info.

An additional question, for anyone:

Has anyone used easyfiancevisa.com? After much reading on this site, I'm totally daunted by this task and think it may be better to have help.

[baron555 934]

Baron555 Thanks for the info.

An additional question, for anyone:

Has anyone used easyfiancevisa.com? After much reading on this site, I'm totally daunted by this task and think it may be better to have help.

Most folks here do not have complicated immigration cases and most folks here have no problem Reading the Guides, following them to the tee and using the Example Forms also. It is not so terrible a process.

If you use an agency or lawyer, know that you will still have to do all the legwork, generate all the documents and evidence, they will add time to the process since they have to wait for your documents and then assemble them and send them in, and they WILL separate you from some of your money.

Your biggest challenge is not the petiton documents but knowing what you need to do to get through the China Embassy; they are notorious for being difficult.

[Bogy 0]

Most folks here do not have complicated immigration cases and most folks here have no problem Reading the Guides, following them to the tee and using the Example Forms also. It is not so terrible a process.

If you use an agency or lawyer, know that you will still have to do all the legwork, generate all the documents and evidence, they will add time to the process since they have to wait for your documents and then assemble them and send them in, and they WILL separate you from some of your money.

Your biggest challenge is not the petiton documents but knowing what you need to do to get through the China Embassy; they are notorious for being difficult.

Yes, I realize I will need to do all the legwork, and it's not so much the standard paperwork or the gathering of information, but more, the supporting documents. Do I really need to send a 100-150 page presentation? What and how much needs to be included? I have 3 years worth of emails, most discussing general stuff like the weather, and what we did on the weekend, all the lovey stuff people talk about, seriously, how many emails do I need to include, and phone records (again years worth), and photographs (I have about 100 of us together). No where have I been able to find a guideline or recommendation or even an outline on this. This is what's really freaking me out.

I don't mind paying for help as long as it's helpful, but I don't want to get ripped off either. I've read sooo many horror stories, and I really don't want to add mine to the list!

China Embassy, yea that's another bag of worms I'm worried about.

Two years ago my finacee tried to obtain a visitors visa, but was denied, she didn't have sufficient reason to return to China, and she said the guy was very mean to her; I've also read the consulate in China is, shall I say, not so nice.

[Operator 1,927]

Yes, I realize I will need to do all the legwork, and it's not so much the standard paperwork or the gathering of information, but more, the supporting documents. Do I really need to send a 100-150 page presentation? What and how much needs to be included? I have 3 years worth of emails, most discussing general stuff like the weather, and what we did on the weekend, all the lovey stuff people talk about, seriously, how many emails do I need to include, and phone records (again years worth), and photographs (I have about 100 of us together). No where have I been able to find a guideline or recommendation or even an outline on this. This is what's really freaking me out.

I don't mind paying for help as long as it's helpful, but I don't want to get ripped off either. I've read sooo many horror stories, and I really don't want to add mine to the list!

China Embassy, yea that's another bag of worms I'm worried about.

Two years ago my finacee tried to obtain a visitors visa, but was denied, she didn't have sufficient reason to return to China, and she said the guy was very mean to her; I've also read the consulate in China is, shall I say, not so nice.

Bearing in mind that I only submitted my pettition a couple of weeks ago I'll tell you what I sent based on the advice I've recieved here. I sent two photographs per year of our relationship (total of six) as proof that we have met personaly in the past two years. I also sent twenty pages of emails from over the past couple of years to prove an ongoing relationship. I sent an evolution of relationship statement as supplement to question 18, which is basicaly a narative of how we met and all the visits we've made back and forth since we met, also copies of her visas with entry and exit stamps and copies of boarding passes.

I agree that front loading the pettition is a good idea when dealing with the consulate in Guonzhou and bringing additional proof of the ongoing relationship to the interview is key. Phone records, chat logs, additional emails and the like are helpful. In all my package was 52 pages but it hasn't been tested yet. I followed the guides here and asked lots of questions and I feel very confident with what I sent.

Good luck!

[LDG 2]

Guangzhou can be scary, however my wife had no trouble at all at the K1 interview. To be honest, I was worried. My wife's English is limited and i had only been to China once before her interview. We had plenty of evidence but I didn't go overboard. I submitted about 8 photographs of us together. My flight boarding passes, train tickets, travel itinerary as proof of having met. A few emails and a few printouts of MSN video chat with our faces and some text showing, i also printed just 1 page of chat for each month since we met online. Also a phone call log for the previous 3 months, and a couple of copies of letters we wrote each other.

That was about it as far as evidence, the rest was all the required documents which if you follow the instructions closely and the VJ guide you will have no problem. Once you get the petition approved, start practicing interview questions and make sure she knows all about you. Interview will go well as long as they don't have any reasons to suspect fraud.

edit: as far as the website question, if it's a dating site, i wouldn't worry about it. Don't fill it in, I just wrote a separate 1 page letter explaining how we met and how we communicate, about my trip and our time together and how we became engaged. Be sure to label the letter Part B Question 18 supplement

Edited November 4, 2010 by LDG

[Bogy 0]

Guangzhou can be scary, however my wife had no trouble at all at the K1 interview. To be honest, I was worried. My wife's English is limited and i had only been to China once before her interview. We had plenty of evidence but I didn't go overboard. I submitted about 8 photographs of us together. My flight boarding passes, train tickets, travel itinerary as proof of having met. A few emails and a few printouts of MSN video chat with our faces and some text showing, i also printed just 1 page of chat for each month since we met online. Also a phone call log for the previous 3 months, and a couple of copies of letters we wrote each other.

That was about it as far as evidence, the rest was all the required documents which if you follow the instructions closely and the VJ guide you will have no problem. Once you get the petition approved, start practicing interview questions and make sure she knows all about you. Interview will go well as long as they don't have any reasons to suspect fraud.

edit: as far as the website question, if it's a dating site, i wouldn't worry about it. Don't fill it in, I just wrote a separate 1 page letter explaining how we met and how we communicate, about my trip and our time together and how we became engaged. Be sure to label the letter Part B Question 18 supplement

First I'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions, it really does help!! Keep them coming, especially those with experience dealing with consulate in Guangzhou!! Very helpful!!!!

LDG, Congratulations on your fiancee's approval!!! About how long did the process take for you?(start to finish) I don't know how long you two communicated prior to your visa approval but as I already stated we have a 3 year relationship and thousands of emails. After reading and reading and reading posts on this form... I was think about including about 2-3 emails per each month of communication, that would equal about 108 emails and about 3-4 photos of us together during each of the three trips I've made to China and several months of phone logs. In your (and anyone else's opinion) is it necessary to provide monthly email printouts for each month dating back 3 years? Or should I focus on the last, say 2 years? I guess more is better in the end, so it's probably a stupid question.

[garfield529 47]

I would have to pull out my archived files at home, but I have my cover letter from when we filed and I think it can give you a good starting point for the process. I will post it here later tonight. I would HIGHLY recommend doing this process yourself as long as there are no BIG immigration issues (she has multiple children, you have been married to multiple foreign woment, ect). America is a great country because we have the right to succeed or fail under our own hand. Don't give someone else your hard earned money to do something that just requires a little homework and grit. Take time and read back through the posts here on the China forum. I know, it SUCKS to spend so much time wading through a lot of silly questions and comments from members, but you can learn so much from their mistakes and problems. Seriously, spend that money on your girl or something that you need for your life together and get to work on this petition. WE CAN HELP YOU. Got it brother??

[FawkThisSite 13]

USC's DEFINITELY have a number on their Birth Certificate. What are you talking about?!

[LDG 2]

First I'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions, it really does help!! Keep them coming, especially those with experience dealing with consulate in Guangzhou!! Very helpful!!!!

LDG, Congratulations on your fiancee's approval!!! About how long did the process take for you?(start to finish) I don't know how long you two communicated prior to your visa approval but as I already stated we have a 3 year relationship and thousands of emails. After reading and reading and reading posts on this form... I was think about including about 2-3 emails per each month of communication, that would equal about 108 emails and about 3-4 photos of us together during each of the three trips I've made to China and several months of phone logs. In your (and anyone else's opinion) is it necessary to provide monthly email printouts for each month dating back 3 years? Or should I focus on the last, say 2 years? I guess more is better in the end, so it's probably a stupid question.

Our whole K1 process took just under 5 months and she had visa in hand. Check out my signature to get an idea. My petition was actually processed pretty quick stateside, it kinda slowed down once the case got to Guangzhou (dept of state). Took a month for my wife to get "packet 4" and another month just waiting for the interview date. We used this time to practice interview questions and get her feeling confident about the whole thing. She wasn't getting a whole lot of support from friends and family. Alot of people felt she would be denied.

You seem to have a strong enough case, much stronger than I did. I only went to China once before petitioning and known her for almost 2 years. Our time together consisted mainly of daily video chat and phone calls. Emails not so much since we chatted everyday.

Some may say we got lucky, since I only went to China once before petitioning and only known her about a year, as well as her English not being so great (but good enough for me). Actually i studied Chinese a bit and had my Chinese professor write a letter about my progress and how well I was doing. My wife brought this to the interview and the officer read it, along with my EOR letter (evolution of relationship) explaining how we communicate and spend our time together.

In Guangzhou it's all about proving you two can communicate well and have good solid evidence that you're serious about the relationship and indeed plan to marry out of love.

So far you haven't mentioned anything that could potentially be a red flag.I think 108 copies of emails is a bit excessive. Honestly maybe one for each month is enough, maybe even 1 every 3 months just to show how far back the relationship goes.

[Bogy 0]

I would have to pull out my archived files at home, but I have my cover letter from when we filed and I think it can give you a good starting point for the process. I will post it here later tonight. I would HIGHLY recommend doing this process yourself as long as there are no BIG immigration issues (she has multiple children, you have been married to multiple foreign woment, ect). America is a great country because we have the right to succeed or fail under our own hand. Don't give someone else your hard earned money to do something that just requires a little homework and grit. Take time and read back through the posts here on the China forum. I know, it SUCKS to spend so much time wading through a lot of silly questions and comments from members, but you can learn so much from their mistakes and problems. Seriously, spend that money on your girl or something that you need for your life together and get to work on this petition. WE CAN HELP YOU. Got it brother??

Garfield529,

Wow a copy of a cover letter would be great!! It would give me a good idea if how to word and format my letter!

Again, thanks to everyone for all you comments and help! I've decided to take the advice given and how spend the money on a lawyer or other service and try it on my own.

The only issue I can think of is my recent divorce date, which was 9/17/10, however my ex and I have been separated for a well over a year now. We were separated before, she left me for another man That didnt work out for her and she ran into financial trouble so I let her move back in till she could save up some money and get her life straight. That took about a year and she moved out back in May 2009. I actually came into contact with my fiancée during our first seperation. So I guess my case isn't cut and dry, it's actually quite complicated.

Well, only time will tell!

[garfield529 47]

Garfield529,

Wow a copy of a cover letter would be great!! It would give me a good idea if how to word and format my letter!

The only issue I can think of is my recent divorce date, which was 9/17/10, however my ex and I have been separated for a well over a year now.

I promise that I will pull that file, it is on my portable HD, and get it posted asap. As far as the marriage issue, I was also separated from my ex-wife for a long time but due to issue with the kids the papers were not filed until after I had already met my fiancee. As terrible or ironic as this sounds, we filed the K1 petition the day after we had the certified copy of the final divorce decree in hand. This gave us no troubles, only that GUZ was very upfront about asking if she knew that I was still legally married when our relationship began. The most important thing is to be upfront, honest, and clear with the consulate. You might have little embarrassing things from your past, but they WILL know and your girl BETTER know or you will feel worse having to explain to your fiancee why she is stuck in China because you hid something out of pride. I will repost soon!

[Bogy 0]

I promise that I will pull that file, it is on my portable HD, and get it posted asap. As far as the marriage issue, I was also separated from my ex-wife for a long time but due to issue with the kids the papers were not filed until after I had already met my fiancee. As terrible or ironic as this sounds, we filed the K1 petition the day after we had the certified copy of the final divorce decree in hand. This gave us no troubles, only that GUZ was very upfront about asking if she knew that I was still legally married when our relationship began. The most important thing is to be upfront, honest, and clear with the consulate. You might have little embarrassing things from your past, but they WILL know and your girl BETTER know or you will feel worse having to explain to your fiancee why she is stuck in China because you hid something out of pride. I will repost soon!

Believe me, she knows about the recent divorce date. It’s a sore subject but she also knows I’ve been fighting in court with my ex for a long time too.

On a side note, I was going to have my mother also write a letter, since she met my finacee this past June during our trip to China... Hell, I don't think it will hurt being that family is very important in the Chinese culture. I would also think a letter from my mother stating she approves the woman, marriage and her plans for the wedding would help. Oh yea, my mother is going to plan my wedding... she is super excited! Question, would it be a good idea to have these letters translated into Chinese or is sending them in just English ok?

Thanks for helping me out with the cover letter example!

[garfield529 47]

just a quick reply, GUZ will care more about her family's opinion than yours. I is important to have some pics with her family if this is possible. The converse is true when you are applying for AOS, the officer will want to see pics of your wife with family members and also in places that they can tell are local. They will also want to see those original pics from China with her family as well, since this helps to provide the proof that you really do spend time together and that both families are aware and involved in the relationship. You can translate them, and in my case I have written letters to my in-laws and they care less about the content of the letters and more that I took the time to carefully write the letter in Chinese.