How much is sufficient evidence? help!

[vertex32 0]

I just got back from visiting my mom’s family in China (January of 2009). I am now engaged with my oldest cousin’s adopted daughter. We did not officially start talking about getting married until recently due to recent events that happened during my visit and the fact that she is now 18 years old. I have known her for awhile now, and have actually visited her and my family in the summer of 2005. I have my passport to prove my trip to China in 05 and some pictures. She is in fact my family, but not blood. What are my odds of me getting her a K1 visa to come over to the U.S. so we can get married?

Edited February 18, 2009 by vertex32

[Dakine 26]

I just got back from visiting my mom’s family in China (January of 2009). I am now engaged with my oldest cousin’s adopted daughter. We did not officially start talking about getting married until recently due to recent events that happened during my visit and the fact that she is now 18 years old. I have known her for awhile now, and have actually visited her and my family in the summer of 2005. I have my passport to prove my trip to China in 05 and some pictures. She is in fact my family, but not blood. What are my odds of me getting her a K1 visa to come over to the U.S. so we can get married?

You'll have to go back again as you are required to have met personally within the last 2 years. If you do so be sure and take LOTS of pictures with you, her and her family!

What? She was 14 when you met her?

[pushbrk 13,965]

I just got back from visiting my mom’s family in China (January of 2009). I am now engaged with my oldest cousin’s adopted daughter. We did not officially start talking about getting married until recently due to recent events that happened during my visit and the fact that she is now 18 years old. I have known her for awhile now, and have actually visited her and my family in the summer of 2005. I have my passport to prove my trip to China in 05 and some pictures. She is in fact my family, but not blood. What are my odds of me getting her a K1 visa to come over to the U.S. so we can get married?

You'll have to go back again as you are required to have met personally within the last 2 years. If you do so be sure and take LOTS of pictures with you, her and her family!

What? She was 14 when you met her?

Sounds like they were just together in person last month. If so, the meeting requirement is fulfilled. However, marrying a family member, even if not a blood relative will subject you to more scrutiny of the relationship bona fides. Generally, visits are the best evidence but in this case those could be somewhat discounted.

[vertex32 0]

I just got back from visiting my mom’s family in China (January of 2009). I am now engaged with my oldest cousin’s adopted daughter. We did not officially start talking about getting married until recently due to recent events that happened during my visit and the fact that she is now 18 years old. I have known her for awhile now, and have actually visited her and my family in the summer of 2005. I have my passport to prove my trip to China in 05 and some pictures. She is in fact my family, but not blood. What are my odds of me getting her a K1 visa to come over to the U.S. so we can get married?

You'll have to go back again as you are required to have met personally within the last 2 years. If you do so be sure and take LOTS of pictures with you, her and her family!

What? She was 14 when you met her?

I have plenty of pictures with her and family, I just recently got back from China. What I'm asking is, what are my chances of my application for a K1 visa being approved?

[pushbrk 13,965]

I just got back from visiting my mom’s family in China (January of 2009). I am now engaged with my oldest cousin’s adopted daughter. We did not officially start talking about getting married until recently due to recent events that happened during my visit and the fact that she is now 18 years old. I have known her for awhile now, and have actually visited her and my family in the summer of 2005. I have my passport to prove my trip to China in 05 and some pictures. She is in fact my family, but not blood. What are my odds of me getting her a K1 visa to come over to the U.S. so we can get married?

You'll have to go back again as you are required to have met personally within the last 2 years. If you do so be sure and take LOTS of pictures with you, her and her family!

What? She was 14 when you met her?

I have plenty of pictures with her and family, I just recently got back from China. What I'm asking is, what are my chances of my application for a K1 visa being approved?

Now is the best time to start thinking in the right terms. As a US Citizen, you will never appliy for a visa. In your case, you will petition for your loved one to be given the privilege of applying for a visa. The chances your petition will be approved are virtually 100%. However, the issue of a bona fide relationship will be dealt with by a Consular officer in a visa interview with your fiancee. Fake marriages arranged to obtain an immigration benefit for a family member are a very common form of fraud. As such, convincing a Consular officer the relationship is bona fide, particularly in Guangzhou, can be quite difficult indeed.

You would be wise to check out the China specific support available at http://www.candelforlove.com We're here to help to, of course.

Nobody can tell you what will be enough evidence of bona fides to convince a Consular officer. If it were me, I'd show evidence that clearly indicates the couple traveled far from the bride's home, together for multiple days preferrably on an actual honeymoon. Almost any other visit unless quite frequent, could be discounted severely as to evidencing a bona fide relationship BECAUSE she's a family member. You'll also need to document who is buying the tickets for your travel. Unless the expenses are clearly both affordable for you and you have direct evidence they were paid with your own funds, that could be a major issue as well.

While you are certainly qualified to file the petition and get it approved, I'd plan at least one more visit where you and your fiancee travel together away from other family members for several days. If, in order to do this, you would need to first marry, then do that and file for a spouse visa instead of a K1. For marriage in China, you would need to wait until she's 20.

[Sinergy 3]

I just got back from visiting my mom’s family in China (January of 2009). I am now engaged with my oldest cousin’s adopted daughter. We did not officially start talking about getting married until recently due to recent events that happened during my visit and the fact that she is now 18 years old. I have known her for awhile now, and have actually visited her and my family in the summer of 2005. I have my passport to prove my trip to China in 05 and some pictures. She is in fact my family, but not blood. What are my odds of me getting her a K1 visa to come over to the U.S. so we can get married?

You'll have to go back again as you are required to have met personally within the last 2 years. If you do so be sure and take LOTS of pictures with you, her and her family!

What? She was 14 when you met her?

He just got back from seeing her...his meeting requirment is fullfilled, no need to go back again to see her unless he just wants to.

[vertex32 0]

I just got back from visiting my mom’s family in China (January of 2009). I am now engaged with my oldest cousin’s adopted daughter. We did not officially start talking about getting married until recently due to recent events that happened during my visit and the fact that she is now 18 years old. I have known her for awhile now, and have actually visited her and my family in the summer of 2005. I have my passport to prove my trip to China in 05 and some pictures. She is in fact my family, but not blood. What are my odds of me getting her a K1 visa to come over to the U.S. so we can get married?

You'll have to go back again as you are required to have met personally within the last 2 years. If you do so be sure and take LOTS of pictures with you, her and her family!

What? She was 14 when you met her?

He just got back from seeing her...his meeting requirment is fullfilled, no need to go back again to see her unless he just wants to.

There is no intention for me to fake the marriage. I am ready for the next step to bring her over so we can get married. I am just worried that I can not provied enough evidence. I only have my passport to show proof of my trip back in 2005, I have pictures, passport and receipt of airline ticket for my recent trip last month as proof. I had no intention of falling for her until my trip was over and everything became clear to me. I do intend to be with her at the interview if we get that far, but I am afraid that if she gets denied the K1 visa that it will somehow hurt my chances when she is old enough to get married to get her K3.

[HWANG0926 0]

Why wouldn't you have enough evidence? You just need proof of meeting & proof of an ongoing relationship. As long as you two are continously keeping in contact and you can prove that when you submit yout initial I-129F documents.

Here is what you need to prepare:

Cover Letter for I129F

Fill out the I-129Form

Provide proof of any termination of previous marriages

Bio g325a forms for you and your fiance signed & dated

Proof of your U.S. Citizenship

Intent to marry (one from you ) and (one from your fiance)--Signed & Dated

Proof of have meet eachother in the past 2 years. ( you just need to submit pictures you took with her) and airline ticket receipts etc...

Proof of an ongoing relationship ... emails, letters, phone bills, etc...

I don't see why you can't start your I-129F submission.

[lucyrich 20]

I am afraid that if she gets denied the K1 visa that it will somehow hurt my chances when she is old enough to get married to get her K3.

In order to apply for the K-1, she's got to be free to marry. When you say "old enough to get married to get her K-3", I don't know if you're talking about a legal age requirement, a cultural one, or some sort of personal standards, but regardless, she shouldn't apply for the K-1 until she's old enough to marry and ready to marry.

If she is denied a K-1 visa, then it will most definitely make getting a K-3 visa more difficult. Not only will she have to overcome the problem that caused them to deny the K-1, but there may be additional issues. See this link.

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0323-ellis.shtm

Best bet: choose a route and stick with it. If they start to deny it, appeal and get them to issue the visa. Don't give up.

As far as what's enough evidence, nobody can say exactly. There are two separate issues that must be proven. One, for the I-129F petition, you've got to prove that the two of you have met in person within the two years before the filing date of the petition. Boarding passes, passport stamps, and a photo of the two of you together are usually enough for this point. Second, at the interview, she's got to prove the relationship is bona fide and not for the purpose of gaining an immigration benefit. The amount and nature of evidence required to prove this point varies widely. But most of this evidence for the second point is presented at the consular interview. It may help to discuss with others who have gone through your consulate to see what their experiences were. And it will also depend on how "normal" your relationship appears, compared to the cultural norms of the country where she's interviewing.

[pushbrk 13,965]

I am afraid that if she gets denied the K1 visa that it will somehow hurt my chances when she is old enough to get married to get her K3.

In order to apply for the K-1, she's got to be free to marry. When you say "old enough to get married to get her K-3", I don't know if you're talking about a legal age requirement, a cultural one, or some sort of personal standards, but regardless, she shouldn't apply for the K-1 until she's old enough to marry and ready to marry.

If she is denied a K-1 visa, then it will most definitely make getting a K-3 visa more difficult. Not only will she have to overcome the problem that caused them to deny the K-1, but there may be additional issues. See this link.

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0323-ellis.shtm

Best bet: choose a route and stick with it. If they start to deny it, appeal and get them to issue the visa. Don't give up.

As far as what's enough evidence, nobody can say exactly. There are two separate issues that must be proven. One, for the I-129F petition, you've got to prove that the two of you have met in person within the two years before the filing date of the petition. Boarding passes, passport stamps, and a photo of the two of you together are usually enough for this point. Second, at the interview, she's got to prove the relationship is bona fide and not for the purpose of gaining an immigration benefit. The amount and nature of evidence required to prove this point varies widely. But most of this evidence for the second point is presented at the consular interview. It may help to discuss with others who have gone through your consulate to see what their experiences were. And it will also depend on how "normal" your relationship appears, compared to the cultural norms of the country where she's interviewing.

In China, a woman must be age 20 before marrying. So, if the K1 visa is denied, they'll have to delay any further action until they can marry in China.

He has enough evidence of meeting to get the petition approved. Getting a visa issued to a fiance who is a cousin's adopted daughter, in China, is another matter altogether. They'll need evidence of a bona fide ongoing relationship. That evidence needs to be the result of actually carrying on a bona fide relationship that can be clearly and irrefutably demonstrated. That's harder than in sounds, in China, with a relative but it CAN be done.

Remember, petition approval is the easy part.

[Sinergy 3]

I just got back from visiting my mom’s family in China (January of 2009). I am now engaged with my oldest cousin’s adopted daughter. We did not officially start talking about getting married until recently due to recent events that happened during my visit and the fact that she is now 18 years old. I have known her for awhile now, and have actually visited her and my family in the summer of 2005. I have my passport to prove my trip to China in 05 and some pictures. She is in fact my family, but not blood. What are my odds of me getting her a K1 visa to come over to the U.S. so we can get married?

You'll have to go back again as you are required to have met personally within the last 2 years. If you do so be sure and take LOTS of pictures with you, her and her family!

What? She was 14 when you met her?

He just got back from seeing her...his meeting requirment is fullfilled, no need to go back again to see her unless he just wants to.

There is no intention for me to fake the marriage. I am ready for the next step to bring her over so we can get married. I am just worried that I can not provied enough evidence. I only have my passport to show proof of my trip back in 2005, I have pictures, passport and receipt of airline ticket for my recent trip last month as proof. I had no intention of falling for her until my trip was over and everything became clear to me. I do intend to be with her at the interview if we get that far, but I am afraid that if she gets denied the K1 visa that it will somehow hurt my chances when she is old enough to get married to get her K3.

sure thing, however i was sticking up for you

[vertex32 0]

I just got back from visiting my mom’s family in China (January of 2009). I am now engaged with my oldest cousin’s adopted daughter. We did not officially start talking about getting married until recently due to recent events that happened during my visit and the fact that she is now 18 years old. I have known her for awhile now, and have actually visited her and my family in the summer of 2005. I have my passport to prove my trip to China in 05 and some pictures. She is in fact my family, but not blood. What are my odds of me getting her a K1 visa to come over to the U.S. so we can get married?

You'll have to go back again as you are required to have met personally within the last 2 years. If you do so be sure and take LOTS of pictures with you, her and her family!

What? She was 14 when you met her?

He just got back from seeing her...his meeting requirment is fullfilled, no need to go back again to see her unless he just wants to.

There is no intention for me to fake the marriage. I am ready for the next step to bring her over so we can get married. I am just worried that I can not provied enough evidence. I only have my passport to show proof of my trip back in 2005, I have pictures, passport and receipt of airline ticket for my recent trip last month as proof. I had no intention of falling for her until my trip was over and everything became clear to me. I do intend to be with her at the interview if we get that far, but I am afraid that if she gets denied the K1 visa that it will somehow hurt my chances when she is old enough to get married to get her K3.

sure thing, however i was sticking up for you

Thank you all for your help. It looks like I will wait my 2 years and go back to China to marry her. I do not want any complications when I apply for her K3. Any advise on the documentations/proof that I need to save when I do apply for the K3?

[Dakine 26]

Your age may be a factor also. How old are you?

[pushbrk 13,965]

I just got back from visiting my mom’s family in China (January of 2009). I am now engaged with my oldest cousin’s adopted daughter. We did not officially start talking about getting married until recently due to recent events that happened during my visit and the fact that she is now 18 years old. I have known her for awhile now, and have actually visited her and my family in the summer of 2005. I have my passport to prove my trip to China in 05 and some pictures. She is in fact my family, but not blood. What are my odds of me getting her a K1 visa to come over to the U.S. so we can get married?

You'll have to go back again as you are required to have met personally within the last 2 years. If you do so be sure and take LOTS of pictures with you, her and her family!

What? She was 14 when you met her?

He just got back from seeing her...his meeting requirment is fullfilled, no need to go back again to see her unless he just wants to.

There is no intention for me to fake the marriage. I am ready for the next step to bring her over so we can get married. I am just worried that I can not provied enough evidence. I only have my passport to show proof of my trip back in 2005, I have pictures, passport and receipt of airline ticket for my recent trip last month as proof. I had no intention of falling for her until my trip was over and everything became clear to me. I do intend to be with her at the interview if we get that far, but I am afraid that if she gets denied the K1 visa that it will somehow hurt my chances when she is old enough to get married to get her K3.

sure thing, however i was sticking up for you

Thank you all for your help. It looks like I will wait my 2 years and go back to China to marry her. I do not want any complications when I apply for her K3. Any advise on the documentations/proof that I need to save when I do apply for the K3?

Guides and FAQ, here and at http://www.candleforlove.com for more China specific support. I wouldn't bother with K3 though. Just take the CR1 route. CAUTION. Going through the motions of marriage in China do little to show a bona fide relationship. You'll still be facing all the same problems you have now. If you must marry before spending time together away from family though, I would wait and take the spouse visa route.

[vertex32 0]

Your age may be a factor also. How old are you?

I'm 29 years old