My wife's interview today, not good.

[Casprd 167]

The thing that jumped out from the OP was the "I guess they want you to be divorced for more than a year before you re-marry"

IMO this is the crux of the problem. A big red flag in many countries, including China is a recent divorce for one or both of the parties, especially the beneficiary. A common visa fraud is for one or both people to get divorced, go through the process and then after the beneficiary arrives and is a permanent resident to get divorced and remarry their original spouses. Not saying that is the case here, but that is something the VO's are very aware of. Everything they are asking for is typical of the VO questioning the bona fides. The plus is you got a blue slip and not an outright denial. You don't need an attorney I think but you need to be very meticulous in providing the things asked for. If at all possible try to make the trip to be with her when she goes back to the consulate. By all accounts, Guangzhou is one of the Embassies where this does play a role in the decisions.

[Robby999 1,024]

It looks like they are real curious about when you actually were divorced and when you and your present wife started dating/communicating. They sometimes have questions if you are still legally married to one woman and dating/communicating with another woman! I am not saying this is the reason, just that it could be some of the problem perhaps. Good Luck

[bobbyA 20]

The thing that jumped out from the OP was the "I guess they want you to be divorced for more than a year before you re-marry"

IMO this is the crux of the problem. A big red flag in many countries, including China is a recent divorce for one or both of the parties, especially the beneficiary. A common visa fraud is for one or both people to get divorced, go through the process and then after the beneficiary arrives and is a permanent resident to get divorced and remarry their original spouses. Not saying that is the case here, but that is something the VO's are very aware of. Everything they are asking for is typical of the VO questioning the bona fides. The plus is you got a blue slip and not an outright denial. You don't need an attorney I think but you need to be very meticulous in providing the things asked for. If at all possible try to make the trip to be with her when she goes back to the consulate. By all accounts, Guangzhou is one of the Embassies where this does play a role in the decisions.

It looks like they are real curious about when you actually were divorced and when you and your present wife started dating/communicating. They sometimes have questions if you are still legally married to one woman and dating/communicating with another woman! I am not saying this is the reason, just that it could be some of the problem perhaps. Good Luck

I have to disagree that recent divorce is a problem speaking from personal experience.

I mailed off our k-1 petition the same day my divorce to my ex-wife was finalized, and 4 months after my fiancee's divorce was finalized.

I have to give my wife (then fiancee) credit for her preparation. One of the things she did was printed out a photo I sent her of the house I bought for us. When the VO asked her where my ex-wife live, she told the VO my ex-wife lives in city X and I live in city Y, and she pulled out the picture of our house and said to the VO, "this is the house my fiance bought for us in city Y." The VO continued asking how is my ex-wife doing after the divorce, and my wife was able to tell the VO that my ex-wife is doing fine because she has family around her, etc.

I think many factors come into play and everything has to add up to tip the scale in the favorable direction.

[pushbrk 12,898]

I have to disagree that recent divorce is a problem speaking from personal experience.

I mailed off our k-1 petition the same day my divorce to my ex-wife was finalized, and 4 months after my fiancee's divorce was finalized.

I have to give my wife (then fiancee) credit for her preparation. One of the things she did was printed out a photo I sent her of the house I bought for us. When the VO asked her where my ex-wife live, she told the VO my ex-wife lives in city X and I live in city Y, and she pulled out the picture of our house and said to the VO, "this is the house my fiance bought for us in city Y." The VO continued asking how is my ex-wife doing after the divorce, and my wife was able to tell the VO that my ex-wife is doing fine because she has family around her, etc.

I think many factors come into play and everything has to add up to tip the scale in the favorable direction.

Consular officers consider the totality of circumstances in every case. Yes, rest assured that a recent divorce is a "red flag" but that doesn't mean THAT single red flag will cause a denial, whether blue/soft or white/hard. The blue slip indicates to me a series of concerns that led to the blue slip, requiring a well crafted series of responses to overcome.

[Haruki 0]

Thank you for all your responses. I believe I know what I need to do. 1) Type up some drafts to organize the statements. 2) Collect my bank statements to show I paid for my own airfare, all the Western Union transactions, purchase of a passport, visa, etc. 3) Contact my US Senator and let him know. 4) I need to return to China, take some new photos, and perhaps make some videos of me and my wife with family there. 5) Then make an appointment for ACS to hand-deliver the listed items to an officer, if possible.

[Haruki 0]

BTW, before leaving Guangzhou, my wife had met a legal assistant, through a recommendation. Her name Eunice You.

[Ryan H 3,812]

BTW, before leaving Guangzhou, my wife had met a legal assistant, through a recommendation. Her name Eunice You.

She is Marc Ellis' associate in Guangzhou. I have heard nothing but good things said.

Edited December 21, 2011 by Ryan H

[Haruki 0]

She is Marc Ellis' associate in Guangzhou. I have heard nothing but good things said.

Wow! That's good to hear. The Yang's recommended her. Thanks Ryan!

[Darnell 8,478]

I like Eunice a lot. Really.

[Darnell 8,478]

Holy Mother o God.

Yer on the hook buddy -

this is a step away from 'the kiss of death' as they really think you not have any bonafide relationship with your wife. Plus there's at least (IMO) two other red flags tied up in all of this

1. arranged marriage (not that common between Anglos and Chinese)

2. little to no 'down time' between divorce finalization and next marriage.

I'm gonna make inline comments below. My apologies for the late-ish-ness of my reply - I've been super busy with work, and I think your issues require some pointed response. Happy to have Pushbrk punch holes in my premises, below, as well. [vetting is cool]

To be precise, this is we received:

It’s blue cover sheet stating:

yay, this is a blue slip, not an outright denial

Dear Immigrant Visa Applicant:

The Consulate is unable to issue you an immigrant visa because according to the section of the Immigration and Nationality Act listed below; you are currently ineligible:

(A checked box) 221(g) (lacking Documents/Further Processing)

(A checked box) For information and steps you can take to overcome this decision, refer to:

(A checked box) the attached sheets

Further consideration will be given to your visa application after you obtain and present the documents on the attached sheets and/or the following:

(Handwritten) - photos of applicant and daughter since childhood

she got this because she wasn't ready to show it at the interview. When applying for a derivate visa for a child, this seems to be 'required' these last few years at GUZ IV. A pictorial timeline, if you will, from the time of birth till yesterday. IMO, a big problem with producing this is that USUALLY photos are done during CNY, when all of the family members are together. Usually, they have been apart for 50 weeks of the year, coming together for 2 weeks during CNY, then scattering again. It may be that the grandparents have these photos, over the years, it may also be that the child's father has them. She'll need to produce them, or face the possibility of a DNA test - is the child really hers, or no?

The following pages are white and the checked boxes are:

A detailed statement, written by the petitioner, describing the evolution of your relationship. Be sure to, at the very least, explain how you met, when you started dating, and how, when and why you became engaged.

ya - that's the big EOR - my example is over at http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=260331&view=findpost&p=3995116 Note how I put it together, with internal references in the 'short version' to named documents covering bits in detail. You don't have to use this same format, but that's the format I chose ages past

A statement, written by the petitioner, listing every trip s/he has taken to China to visit you and explain how you spent your time together. Include dates and locations. Explain who arranged his/her trip China, purchased his/her tickets and who accompanied him/her.

this should be very straight forward. Practice a bit, starting with a list of dates, a date per line, with the biggest event on that date. Then make another list, listing more events that occured on each date. Finally, covert the list into narrative form, writing paragraphs. Include your final version of the event list with the narrative. Do note that they are suspect of who paid for the trips inside of China, thinking the parents are paying you money to take their daughter. No, I'm not kidding.

Explain in detail your relationship(s) with your ex-spouse(s), explaining how you met; whether you filed an I-130 petition for this spouse; how long you lived together before separating or divorcing (give dates and locations); how many children you had with this ex-spouse and who these children currently live with; and why you got divorced.

(Checked) Petitioner’s ex-spouse(s)

(Checked) Your ex-spouse(s)

blah. OK - they want the above on both of you. Be specific on how much time you spent apart from yer ex after seperating and subsequently filing for divorce, with an emphasis on the longish amount of time required from initial FILING to final DECREE issuance. On you specifically, though - did you include the entire divorce decree (which should list about half of what they're asking for] or just the final summary page? Just asking - some states (not Texas) issue both things.

For her, it should be really straightforward, a timeline of sorts, with the major causes and reasons listed (sorry, when it say's 'Your ex-spouses' they do mean her, not you

A notarized copy of petitioner’s passport pages clearly showing Chinese visa and entry/exit stamps. Copy the entire passport, even if some pages are blank. Properly notarize each page as seen and compared to original by notary. All entry and exit dates must be legible.

this will be straightfoward, but long. Make a BLACK AND WHITE copy set, not a colour copy set, on these. A bank officer of yer favorite branch bank will do the notary work for free; yes, even 'each and every page' . You can make a 'signature block' contain the verbiage they are asking of/for the notary, cut it into a rectangularly-shaped box, and place it under each passport page on the copy machine platen / glass, then bring it all in to the bank, already prepped for the seal/signature/stamp

Photographs taken of you and your petitioner together since you first met. Describe as much relevant information as possible for each submission, such as all individuals in photos, dates, locations and photographer. Label photo albums with your case number and name.

Photos of your wedding ceremony or celebration. If you did not celebrate, or you celebrated but didn’t take photos, submit a credible explanation.

whew. I pray you two took many photos together, and photos of her family WITH you two, as well. We have a lot, I have cause to provide a lot, as well

Thanks for your responses. I'll start getting the photos re-printed, get started on a stronger EOR statement, a statement about my trip to China, show I paid for my tickets and visa, a statement about my exes' and have my wife draft one for hers and have it translated at the Civil affairs office. I guess I supposed to mail it all to her and she mail it to Guangzhou? Should I be e-mailing the consulate? Not sure.

[Haruki 0]

Holy Mother o God.

Yer on the hook buddy -

this is a step away from 'the kiss of death' as they really think you not have any bonafide relationship with your wife. Plus there's at least (IMO) two other red flags tied up in all of this

1. arranged marriage (not that common between Anglos and Chinese)

2. little to no 'down time' between divorce finalization and next marriage.

I'm gonna make inline comments below. My apologies for the late-ish-ness of my reply - I've been super busy with work, and I think your issues require some pointed response. Happy to have Pushbrk punch holes in my premises, below, as well. [vetting is cool]

Thanks Darnell.

[Haruki 0]

Holy Mother o God.

Yer on the hook buddy -

this is a step away from 'the kiss of death' as they really think you not have any bonafide relationship with your wife. Plus there's at least (IMO) two other red flags tied up in all of this

1. arranged marriage (not that common between Anglos and Chinese)

2. little to no 'down time' between divorce finalization and next marriage.

I'm gonna make inline comments below. My apologies for the late-ish-ness of my reply - I've been super busy with work, and I think your issues require some pointed response. Happy to have Pushbrk punch holes in my premises, below, as well. [vetting is cool]

hmmm. You have been talking to Eunice perhaps? Wikileaks?

[Darnell 8,478]

loko, if Eunice told you the same thing, then guess what?

she just vetted my stuff

Eunice and I not talk at all about cases...

and we only talk about MY case, ages ago.

We not share info, ever, on stuff she's working on.

[Darnell 8,478]

---

basically, i went over

--total contents of the blue slip

--line items on the blue slip

and applied 'what I know' to your specifics.

Don't take it as gospel, get some other input, ya?

I am a 'gister' - a level II Mentat, just a junior jetboy -

but

you need to address this 'in the totality of the circumstatnces'

paying particular attention to detail on

each line item.

[pushbrk 12,898]

---

basically, i went over

--total contents of the blue slip

--line items on the blue slip

and applied 'what I know' to your specifics.

Don't take it as gospel, get some other input, ya?

I am a 'gister' - a level II Mentat, just a junior jetboy -

but

you need to address this 'in the totality of the circumstatnces'

paying particular attention to detail on

each line item.

Great response by Darnell. If it sound similar to what Eunice said then you have it from three of us. Fortunately, this is a soft (blue) denial. Don't skimp on your response, as soft can become hard, if not handled with great care.