DCF Guangzhou Process

[givionte 138]

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to put that email notification form on my long checklist for later this year.

 

Hope for all the best in your interview today, and I loo kforward to your update!

[OliverBa 61]

Ok, so interview is done and I’m just gonna call this interview “pre-RFE” stage or RFE stage 1. The reason I’m saying that is because they(two consular officials) asked a whole bunch of questions and took an hour and a half, and basically when I left, they told me they would be sending me a letter asking me to submit some affidavits to them which at that point would be RFE. 

 

I really had no idea what this interview would be about and a lot of the questions seemed like questions they would ask in the second interview with my spouse, they were fishing questions to test if we were really married like:

 

when is his birthday?

when did you meet?

who proposed to who and when?

was the marriage consummated?

are you the father of any children?

what kind of razors does he use to shave with?

where do you keep the dirty clothes before you wash them?

where did you spend your wedding night? 

Last week was thanksgiving, what did you two do? Did you have turkey?

Do I think he is only marrying me for a green card?

Has he ever given me money? 

Would I marry someone, even just a friend, to help them out to ge them a green card?

 

So they asked me these questions first, then they had him come in after me and me leave and they asked him the same questions (which I found out after the interview from my husband that we said the same answers to the everything except the laundry and who proposed to who and when. I told the truth that my dirty clothes are everywhere, and he always picks them up and washes them for me, he said they were the washing room, which isn’t true but he thought it would embarrass me if he said that haha...about the marriage proposal I honestly don’t remember, I told them I don’t remember if either one of us ask the other, we just kind of knew that’s what we were going to do, that from the first night we might, we were very serious about each other and our future relationship. My husband said that I asked him the first or second night we were together...I don’t recall that but maybe haha)

 

Anyway, they had a lot of questions and wanted explainations on how we got married, and they said they were wondering how it was done since he nor I were physically present in DC when the ceremony took place, so I had to explain how that was done and give them info on the app we used and the wedding officiant and they already had pictures of screenshots from the livestream of the wedding the ceremony that took place in the bar at the same time. And basically he said they would send me the letter requesting I send them affidavits from other people including the wedding officiant. So I’m going to have my sisters, brother, 15 of my friends, 10 of my students, my manager, the owner of the bar, 5 of my work colleagues, to all write an affidavit since they were at the wedding either in person or saw it live-streamed and I will send all of those to them. May be overkill but gotta get it done, I’m ready for this to be over. 

 

Let me know now if you guys have any questions

[OliverBa 61]

Finally back home and just going over everything again in my head seeing where we could've done better. Getting the affidavits ahead of time would've been good, as well as have the screenshots showing how we met also would've been helpful, bu I think given our situation, this pre-RFE and the upcoming RFE would've happened regardless because they seem to want more proof that we are 1. Legally married, and 2. Not just friends trying to help each other out I guess. So by having this pre-RFE, the consular officer told me specifically what they needed, which is very helpful, in that i know exactly what we need to send them as opposed to having to guess. All in all, I would call today a win. I'm going to start requesting the affidavits from my friends and family and students and everyone, so they are ready to be submitted as soon as I get the letter from the embassy, which he said I would receive soon. One step closer! Love will prevail!

[Jorge V 195]

Thanks for the update! As you mentioned earlier, it may be because of your proxy marriage certificate filed in DC. I haven't seen many DCF cases from China but I don't recall ever reading anything like this for any USCIS field office, so that's gotta be it. For reference, during my wife's interview at the embassy (which only she attended), she was only asked 2 questions, "who is your husband?" and "where is he now?". The entire interview lasted about 3 minutes and most of that time was due to the officer looking over things on their computer.

 

Anyway, keep us updated on your case! This is definitely a good data point for future Guanzhou DCFers.

Edited November 29, 2018 by Jorge V

[givionte 138]

Interesting, thanks for all the updates.  It does indeed seem there were questions about the legitimacy of your marriage.  It seems you are doing the right thing now preparing documentation of your relationship.  I imagine once you gather what they want to see they'll be satisfied.  It's hard to predict what they will want, I think it's better to over-prepare than it is to under-prepare, especially with DCF's that process much faster here than in the US.  The good news is you had a real interview, so you could gather a sense of what they are looking for.

 

Anyway, Keep us updated!

[OliverBa 61]

Distraught and having a panic attack at the moment. I received the letter they said they would send me. I open it and it says “Intent to Deny”, it was 3 pages long and in a nutshell they say they don’t believe my marriage license is valid or recognized by the issuing authority and are requesting that I get proof from the Superior Court of DC Marriage Bureau that my marriage license is valid despite the fact that he and I we not in DC for the marriage ceremony. I want to scream and punch walls! I don’t know what to do and I have 33 days (until January 5th) to send them my new evidence or they will deny the application. What the F***! 

[givionte 138]

Sorry to hear that.  Well, don't panic just yet, as that won't do you any good.  Contact the courthouse your marriage was registered in, and inquire how to get proof the marriage is valid and registered in DC.  You'll likely need to get it notarized, and bring proof of the proxy service used,  along with receipts of transactions.

 

If you can get the proof from court, you will be ok, which should be no issue if your marriage was processed correctly.  It seems their only issue is the fact they don't think your marriage license is valid, which is concerning.  You need to get that looked at regardless of the immigration outcome, but the courthouse will certainly be able to help you.

[OliverBa 61]

3 minutes ago, givionte said:

Sorry to hear that.  Well, don't panic just yet, as that won't do you any good.  Contact the courthouse your marriage was registered in, and inquire how to get proof the marriage is valid and registered in DC.  You'll likely need to get it notarized, and bring proof of the proxy service used,  along with receipts of transactions.

 

If you can get the proof from court, you will be ok, which should be no issue if your marriage was processed correctly.  It seems their only issue is the fact they don't think your marriage license is valid, which is concerning.  You need to get that looked at regardless of the immigration outcome, but the courthouse will certainly be able to help you.

I'm planning to call the court on Monday, or Tuesday our time. I just don't know how they are going to give me proof. I'm sure in their system, it shows we are married. The consulate in Guangzhou is questioning how can our license be valid if we both were not in DC at the time the "ceremony" took place and they want me to have the superior court basically put in writing that "even though they were not physically in DC at the time, we still recognize their marriage license as valid." How the heck am I going to pull that off? I've never heard of courts doing that. I mean I can get the license certified and notarized and all that, but I don't think that would satisfy the consulate. I'm so upset. I don't know what to do and time is ticking. Part of me is thinking we need to find some place to go get married in person. But that's difficult as we are two guys, and no neighboring or close by country to China, will allow us to get married. Which leaves western countries. Considering my husband's country of origin, I'm sure he would probably get denied for a tourist visa from most of the countries, just as the American embassies in China denies 90% of Chinese people's tourist visa applications. It's like we are stuck. The countries he could travel to easily, we can't get married in; the countries we could get married in, his application would get denied. Which then leaves America, but if I do the K1 visa route to get him there, as his tourist visa application would most likely be denied, that would take a year and a half! And how can I do a k1 (fiance) visa when we were are already married in DC?!!? Like why does it have to be so difficult! 

[givionte 138]

Have a read over this.  This from the I-130 instructions also causes me some concern. 

 

Quote

 

Who May Not File Form I-130?

4. A husband or wife, if you and your spouse were not both physically present at the marriage ceremony, and the marriage was not consummated.

 

 

   I would also get in contact with an immigration lawyer with knowledge of proxy marriages to check the legality, but only until after you contact the courthouse and they can provide proof the marriage was recognized.  There seems to be some debate whether even a single or double proxy marriage would be recognized by the USCIS as a legal marriage for immigration.  Based on your comments in the past the marriage was obviously consummated, so I wonder if there is confusion or misunderstanding a lawyer might need to help them clear up.  Regardless, it seems you will need the courthouse records signed/stamped, and provide any and all proof of the ceremony and your current living situation.

 

Wishing the best of luck to you all!

[OliverBa 61]

I called and spoke with the court, we are not legally married since we were not in Washington DC when we got married. Our marriage license is invalid. So we are back at the starting line. Hopefully this can serve as a warning to others who use similar services as we did to get married. It’s NOT legal. Don’t do it. I’ll be back to update this thread when we figure out what we are going to do and resubmit our application to Guangzhou again. Love will prevail!

[Jorge V 195]

10 hours ago, OliverBa said:

I called and spoke with the court, we are not legally married since we were not in Washington DC when we got married. Our marriage license is invalid. So we are back at the starting line. Hopefully this can serve as a warning to others who use similar services as we did to get married. It’s NOT legal. Don’t do it. I’ll be back to update this thread when we figure out what we are going to do and resubmit our application to Guangzhou again. Love will prevail!

Wow, that's crazy. Good thing with DCF is that you found out early instead of 10 months from now.

 

With this marriage service, did they flat out lie to/scam you? Or was it a misunderstanding of what their service entailed?

[OliverBa 61]

4 minutes ago, Jorge V said:

Wow, that's crazy. Good thing with DCF is that you found out early instead of 10 months from now.

 

With this marriage service, did they flat out lie to/scam you? Or was it a misunderstanding of what their service entailed?

It's definitely flat out fraud. Not only to clients using their service, but they are also defrauding the Superior Court of DC by signing the marriage license and thereby affirming that they physically officiated the wedding of these two people who were physically in DC. I'm 100% suing them. All these couples who got married through them have no idea that they are not really married. God forbid something happens, or a Will is contested 40 years from now and come to find out your husband or wife is really just your boyfriend or girlfriend and isn't entitled to anything you have or can't make medical decisions on your behalf. It's ridiculous and gross negligence.

 

Now whether or not this company is aware they are committing fraud, I don't know. They may think as long as you have the marriage license, everything is fine. Or that it's 2018 and via the internet is the same thing as being in together in the same place. But that's not how the court sees it and ignorance of the law is not an excuse, especially since the person who owns the company, also is the wedding officiant, and thereby should know the law and their requirements for officiating a wedding. Just as a Notary knows they are not allowed to notarize a contract between two parties when neither party is present, no identification for either party is given, and they received the contract via fax from some other country. On paper, the notarized contract looks valid and maybe it can be used to defraud other people, and they could even get that notarized contract Apostiled by the US Secretary of State's office for international recognition and use. But in actuality, that contract isn't enforceable, especially if it was contested in a court of law. Who would be responsible? The Notary Public who knowingly broke the law and defrauded the government by using their notary seal fraudulently and the government entrusted that notary public to follow the law, and therefore the government apostilled a false and unenforceable contract. The marriage license is the same thing. The court gives the license to the couple after the application is submitted, and the officiant to whom the power to officiate a wedding was given to them by the court, signs the license thereby affirming that the wedding took place, they officiated it, and both couples were present. The court then stamps and legalizes the license as valid. But it really isn't because the entrusted officiate defrauded them.

 

I'm calling a lawyer in a few minutes to get the ball on that rolling. In other news, we have initiated plan B and we will be traveling to Denmark in a couple of months, god willing, and will get married there and come back and start the process all over again in March.

 

To be continued ....

[givionte 138]

Sorry to hear the bad news, definitely fell for you both that you were misled and perhaps defrauded.  I just want to note, be sure to withdraw your petition, do not allow them to deny your petition first if there is still time remaining.  That will help down the road should you refile why it was withdrawn, and can prove you were defrauded.  Keep any and all evidence of the marriage fraud, so that should the issue be noted by a future officer that you are able to explain you were misled, hence withdrawing your application as soon as you realized you and your spouse's error.

 

Best of luck wherever you go, thank you for sharing your story, as difficult as it may be, I hope others will learn from it.

[Mr. Data 26]

I just want to chime in to this thread to mention that I recently completed the DCF process at Guangzhou in full (visa in hand now) and I'd be happy to answer any questions that anyone has. I really relied on lurking here and other places online for guidance on the process, so I'm eager to help others as well. 

[Mr Genuis 91]

4 hours ago, Mr. Data said:

I just want to chime in to this thread to mention that I recently completed the DCF process at Guangzhou in full (visa in hand now) and I'd be happy to answer any questions that anyone has. I really relied on lurking here and other places online for guidance on the process, so I'm eager to help others as well. 

Okay. So please i would love to know your timeline especially the documents you submitted with your first filling of te i130. Thanks