Reaffirmation of Approval for BOTH the I-129F and I-130...

[UrbanOptimist 0]

Thank You for changing the font to normal!

The thing about visa journey, is allusion is all well and good, but if you want definitive answers you need to state definitive facts.

IF you would still like our help i how to deal with the interview, listing 1-5 of the reasons would be very helpful.

Most of us use VJ as a pseudo-interview. You cannot allude in the interview, so let us help you here (if you want it).

I do appreciate your candor and sincere help. But what I find most demoralizing is... like when I just explained the biggest reason (of the five) in the Visa denials the "HAS NOT BEEN BACK TO CHINA SINCE THE WEDDING," reason, even though I made a compelling case in my rebuttal, the line from pushbrk:

You seem to be full of what a Consular officer is likely to see as "excuses" for not visiting your wife. Just how much time have you spent together, during how many visits? When was the last one? When will the next visit be?

This really stung hard. Saving a family member is an excuse? Even this past few days, I have had serious family drama in helping my mom. Getting the medications in order, trips to the Doctor, I mean serious time and energy that has been emotionally draining. I just think it heartless (ice-water in the blood cold) to disregard ones parents AT THIS PERIOD WHEN MY HELP IS SO NEEDED. My efforts have made a huge difference.

Again, I do stand by stance in another post:

If you meet a multi-millionaire and you ask him how he acquired his riches and he says, "Well, I simply bought Bowflex stock in the mid-1990s when it was selling for 7 cents a share on the Toronto Exchange and I sold my stock when it peaked out at $45.00 a share (after several splits) on the New York Stock Exchange. Of course, this is a great story to hear but seriously, just how REALISTIC is it to just tell others to just DO THE SAME?

Of course, I could have been a heartless person (not in my nature) and bail on my mom and go off to China to strengthen our case by being with my wife.

I am going to be in Guangzhou this time around as I know it is important to be there for the Interview. My aunt in her 70s is willing to drive across Tucson and fill in for me (lately, I have been far more than AM caregiver) for maybe two-weeks at the most.

But will a TWO-WEEK VISIT (given the obvious hardship) be the clincher? WILL TWO-WEEKS MAKE A DIFFERENCE? TIME IS LIKE MONEY. Two-weeks, two visits and two-hundred dollars to a man at the nadir of cash flow and who has no extra time is every bit as important and valuable TO HIM as TWO-YEARS, FIVE VISITS AND 200k to man who has unlimited time and money.

My wife is from China where family is important and being elderly is not a bad and ugly thing. In fact, in China, being old actually holds some reverence. But I am going to China! I know I have to. OF COURSE I WANT TO SEE MY WIFE. We have waited so long!

But it does seem so wrong to use my NOT BEING BACK TO CHINA (during this time I have been here being the ideal son helping mom through a very arduous time) as a big reason as to dub our relationship as non-bona fide.

Anyway, I am making arrangements to be there. I do not know when the interview will be.

But for someone to simply label me as "full of excuses" is so off-the-mark and so wrong (callous) on so many levels. Through all of this, my wife has stood by me, never complaining. She knows what I am going through. She wants so much to help. In her culture, my Mom is her Mom just as her mom is my Mom. But if I mention any of this, it probably looks like I want my wife to help out. I have never asked this of her! Of course I do not want my wife to be burdened with helping my mom. Especially, her first months in America. But she really is the kindest, most noble soul. I have told many people; "She really is the kindest and best human being I have ever known."

Ultimately, the degree of her help will end up being making a healthy dinner that we can bring over as they live a mere four-minute drive. "To an outsider," this might look bad. But the reality is all of us having a healthy dinner is what family is all about. And to my mom, eating healthy Chinese food (vs American junk food, the PM caregiver's comfort-driven) is the difference between six-months and six-years. I kid you not. Why do you think I am cardio-vegan? I have seen excess bad food kill so many family members (way too soon) I have lost count.

Kind of like a guy who has had a dad die from lung cancer or emphysema chooses not to smoke.

Well, at least now you know why I use third-person examples. SPEAKING REAL-TRUTH seems to not matter to "outsiders."

I can only hope that if a consular officer reads my painful narrative, they will have at least more compassion and heart than pushbrk. No offense to him, I know he was being sincere and telling it like he sees it from the consulate's eyes.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Do you want the glass is half full response or the glass is half empty response?

I don't think Mr. P was being hash, he responded to what you had stated in your post as to being the reasons why you couldn't perform concert actions to enhance the outside viewer outlook of your relationship with your marriage. Yes you have a lots of reasons as to why you couldn't achieve what was necessary to help enhance the validity of your marriage, but no responses to illustrate what you did to correct the insufficient actions.

Good luck on the rest of your journey.

[Darnell 8,479]

if yer still at one visit, after all of this silliness from USCIS -

get someone to loan you the money, and

--hire a temp caretaker for your mom

--you go to china

nowish.

Don't go the two weeks prior of the interview date.

[UrbanOptimist 0]

Do you want the glass is half full response or the glass is half empty response?

I don't think Mr. P was being hash, he responded to what you had stated in your post as to being the reasons why you couldn't perform concert actions to enhance the outside viewer outlook of your relationship with your marriage. Yes you have a lots of reasons as to why you couldn't achieve what was necessary to help enhance the validity of your marriage, but no responses to illustrate what you did to correct the insufficient actions.

Good luck on the rest of your journey.

Thank you for the "good luck." All I have done to rectify this reason given for deeming our relationship "non bona-fide" is to take a two-week trip when I find out the 2nd interview date.

As I have tried to explain, IT IS THE BEST I CAN DO. The hardship factor on a scale of 1 to 10 is an 11.

But I just hope they understand that a second trip, even if for just two-weeks is just as hard (if not harder) as for a man with limited resources as a man with unlimited resources (time and money) who makes four trips in two years.

I hear endless stories of people with lawyers and money always, ALWAYS PASSING. As if the amount of money spent is an exact gauge of love.

If money spent were an accurate gauge of eternal soulful love, then Hollywood would not have such an inordinately high divorce rate.

[UrbanOptimist 0]

if yer still at one visit, after all of this silliness from USCIS -

get someone to loan you the money, and

--hire a temp caretaker for your mom

--you go to china

nowish.

Don't go the two weeks prior of the interview date.

Gulp. So now you are changing your earlier post, when you said "she will pass this time?"

JK.

So on this note, I must ask:

WHAT CARRIES MORE WEIGHT AND HAS MORE IMPORTANCE?

Who the consular officer will be?

How long my trip is?

Also, I was told that my being there WHEN SHE HAS HER INTERVIEW is of paramount importance? Now, you are saying coming ASAP is MORE important?

I am even more confused...

BUT HERE IS THE BIGGEST QUESTION...

Because my "Notice of Intent to Revoke" got reaffirmed, doesn't the Consular Officer have to read WHY? I mean if my 587 pages had compelling EVIDENCE to make them REAFFIRM their initial decision, it would seem that the consular officer should at least be obligated to read my EVIDENCE?

And if they are too busy to read evidence that can make or break a family's life, don't they at least have to read my OPENING STATEMENT and CLOSING ARGUMENT of each of the five rebuttals? It would seem in fairness THEY SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO AT LEAST READ THAT MUCH.

[TBoneTX 46,082]

Friend Optimist,

Succinctly, and ideally without an accompanying opus, if you want people to be able to help you here: What are the other four reasons?

Succinctly: Heed pushbrk and Darnell. They know what they're talking about.

[pushbrk 13,105]

Friend Optimist,

Succinctly, and ideally without an accompanying opus, if you want people to be able to help you here: What are the other four reasons?

Succinctly: Heed pushbrk and Darnell. They know what they're talking about.

And succinctly....

No, you will never know who the Consular officer will be but expect it to be somebody different than the first time.

No, they do not have to read ANYTHING from your rebuttals and will likely make no effort to do so if it's a book instead of a paragraph or two.

Time spent together is the MOST POWERFUL evidence of a bona fide relationship.

Long periods, like yours, of NOT being together become the most damning evidence that the relationship is NOT bona fide.

If you want meaningful help, provide the wording the Consulate used in the original denial to describe the "five reasons" you've so far only alluded to. Don't give us YOUR interpretation or rebuttal, just the wording the Consulate used. We've seen your rebuttal.

For clarity, I didn't label YOU as anything. I spoke frankly about what, in my significant experience, I thought a GUZ Consular officer would think of your reasons. If you didn't understand the difference then, understand it now.

You've only been to China once. When was it and for how long?

Edited April 2, 2011 by pushbrk

[sachinky 465]

Let me ask you again.

Reasons why the visa was denied the first time:

1) Pictures look posed.

2) ?

3) ?

4) ?

5) ?

Edited April 2, 2011 by sachinky

[Amy and Nick 37]

I agree that we still need to 5 reasons to see what you are up against.

You are not answering the question, instead writing flowing narratives of how hard your life is. No matter how sorry we feel for you, this is not going to help you get your wife here any quicker.

You have written paragraphs and paragraphs, but you WILL NOT have the chance to do this to the consular officer. You need to start writing facts and asking for responses.

You say one of the reasons you were denied was because you have not visited enough. So go visit. It doesnt matter your excuses for not doing this, but at some point, if you want approval, you must do it. Work out the logistics, and go.

Now, what was number 2 in the list?

[Darnell 8,479]

WHAT CARRIES MORE WEIGHT AND HAS MORE IMPORTANCE?

IMO, frequency and duration of visits to China, from initial I-130 submittal to interview date.

IMO, 3 to 5 'over the years' should suffice for you.

It's ok not to 'hang' with my opinion - but

you can have 'it' - good, fast or cheap. pick 2. The one you didn't pick? It's opposite will be the thing to 'add in' to make life nirvana.

If you get hedged up about all this - hey - come join us over at http://www.chinafamilyvisa.com - lots of pointed China folk there... ask yer questions, post yer missives - h3ll - even write some blog space...

Edited April 4, 2011 by Darnell

[pushbrk 13,105]

IMO, frequency and duration of visits to China, from initial I-130 submittal to interview date.

IMO, 3 to 5 'over the years' should suffice for you.

It's ok not to 'hang' with my opinion - but

you can have 'it' - good, fast or cheap. pick 2. The one you didn't pick? It's opposite will be the thing to 'add in' to make life nirvana.

If you get hedged up about all this - hey - come join us over at http://www.chinafamilyvisa.com - lots of pointed China folk there... ask yer questions, post yer missives - h3ll - even write some blog space...

The OP is officially on my "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" list until I see a succinct list of the five reasons.

[JoannaV 174]

I hear endless stories of people with lawyers and money always, ALWAYS PASSING. As if the amount of money spent is an exact gauge of love.

If money spent were an accurate gauge of eternal soulful love, then Hollywood would not have such an inordinately high divorce rate.

The government does not care about love, only money. Love cannot be measured but money can. In order to succeed you must understand that money is the issue. Of course many USCIS and Embassy employees do care about helping US citizens bring their loved ones home, I'm not saying they don't. But money is the guiding force, whether seen or unseen, behind the policies, procedures, and outcomes. Also, it is not regarded as a right to be with your spouse but a great privilege that you must earn through your tears, toil, and (you guessed it) money.

It may be that to increase your chances of success it would be better to go to China now for a two week visit and then, if you do not feel able to go for another long visit, just fly over for the day of the interview. (Which I understand would involve you being away from home for longer than a day.)

For each of the five reasons for denial write a succinct (accurate, brief, clear) rebuttal with a short but clear summary of the evidence you have to rebut it. Provide the evidence. Have major evidence, and also extra minor supporting evidence. You can have a truck load of evidence if you want, but ensure that the most important pieces are available to be presented to the Consular Officer. Understand that even if anyone could read your msn chat logs and be 100% convinced of your relationship, there is no guarantee that the Consular Officer will look at them, or be convinced by them. You need to have available whatever evidence they want to see. (And it may be that all they want to see is that you have visited China another time, unfortunate and illogical but there it is.)

[Andy and Ping 1]

Your case sounds almost EXACTLY like mine. My Chengdu, China wife and I met online in February, 2008. In June, 2008 we met in China and were married two days later in a government office. That was my first mistake. I should have waited and visited her a few more times before we married. My second mistake was not having an official wedding ceremony. There are reasons for this. Her parents did not want her to marry an American. They arranged her first two marriages, which both failed, and they wanted her to marry a nice Chinese man from their hometown. She did not tell her family that I was in China, and did not tell her family we were married until after the fact. Another mistake was that we did not have a common language. I did not speak much Chinese and she spoke almost NO English.

I filed the I-129F AND I-130 for a K-3/K-4 in late September, 2008. Her interview was in July, 2009. She failed. I was, also, told we did not have a bona fide marriage. Looking back on it now, I can see why they thought that. But I was naive and thought the US government should automatically bring MY WIFE to the US. WRONG !!

We have waited and waited. Our case was approved after we filed an appeal, and after I sent about 800 pages of documents to the USCIS. Our case was forwarded to Guangzhou, China (GUZ). We expected a second interview in March, 2010, but the State Department pulled our case back to the States for further review. In the meantime, no one at the USCIS or the NVC said they had our paperwork. Our case was just lost in the ether somewhere. We waited and waited. Each time the waiting period was over, and we still had not heard anything, I had to call Customer Service and have a special yes-we-are-slow-and-your-case-is-outside-of-normal-processing-times number. I called the Customer Service number innumerable times. I tried to get my Congressman's office involved, but they were absolutely NO help. Finally, in early April, 2011, the State Department sent the letter saying our marriage did not appear to be bona fide, and my wife's visa would be rejected unless I could disprove the three things listed on the blue sheet in GUZ (no common language, no trips to China between our marriage and the filing of the i-129F/130, and some other lame reason which I've forgotten). Like you, I spent every waking hour buying two-inch binders, printing papers, gathering ALL of our chat records and emails. When I was finished, I had 38 pounds of paper, three-hole-punched, separated into sections, each section easily identified, and an index in the front of each of the SIX two-inch binders.

At the beginning of this week, I received two emails saying our cases (I-129F and I-130) had been "reaffirmed". Now, I am waiting for a letter in the mail, hopefully stating what I need to do next. I had filed an I-129F AND an I-130 because in 2008, the USCIS was SO FAR BEHIND on immigrant visas, this was supposed to bring my wife to the US faster. So, which route should I take now? Do I even have an option at this point? Should I just stick with the CR-1/I-130 route? Is there ANY chance that they will approve her visa without a second interview?

If I could give anyone advice on marrying ANYONE in another country, it would be the following things:

1. Don't get married on your first visit, no matter how lonely you are or how much you love your wife/husband.

2. Take as many trips as possible to see your SO (Significant Other), even if it's for two weeks per year.

3. EACH of you needs to learn some of the other's language, if you don't speak a common language. At a minimum, the foreign person should learn English.

4. Take hundreds of pictures and set the camera to record the date on EACH picture.

5. Get married in an OFFICIAL wedding, and make sure you take pictures of your SO's family's smiling faces at the ceremony.

6. Save EVERY chat record, email, receipt for gifts, airline stubs, travel itineraries, tickets to tourist traps, etc, etc. They will help prove that you have spent time together. Anything with your SO's name on it will help.

7. Save your paycheck stubs, bank statements, and money transfer receipts.

When you send your initial I-129F or I-130, "front-load" the case with all of the above listed documents. Don't assume that you're just going to send "representative" pictures and emails, like I did. They need to see it ALL. The more pounds of paper you send, the better off you will be.

I have been to China a total of four times now, each visit lasting three weeks. If four trips to China, about 1500 pictures together, and 38 pounds of paper don't prove that our marriage is bona fide, something is SERIOUSLY screwed up with the State Department and the USCIS. I hope this helps anyone else. I wish I had known this three years ago. My wife would be here now.