Denied

[Zedayn 485]

If you or somebody did it in that way, you are just lucky. We should not try to confuse people at the forum. If you go to the USCIS website or any formal website it is required translations be made for "Official Traslated" and certificated the translated's signature. "Lucky" mean some people just find an officer that doesn't know how interpretate and apply the formal requirement Could you image if anyone could made the translation?????????.

Any translation does not need to be by an "official" translator. Any one who is fluent in both languages can certify the translation is accurate. From the USCIS website (http://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-and-fees/general-tips-assembling-applications-mailing):

Please submit certified translations for all foreign language documents. The translator must certify that s/he is competent to translate and that the translation is accurate.

The certification format should include the certifier's name, signature, address, and date of certification. A suggested format is:

Certification by Translator

I [typed name], certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and ________ languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document attached entitled ______________________________.

Signature_________________________________

Date Typed Name

Address

You only need to include the above statement on your translated document.

[I love San Diego 18]

I also am china and had a divorce certificate. She had to get it from the gong zheng chu - this is the only one that will be accepted. A US-based translation company is not the same, it must be from the gong zheng chu.

[Pitaya 2,576]

I also am china and had a divorce certificate. She had to get it from the gong zheng chu - this is the only one that will be accepted. A US-based translation company is not the same, it must be from the gong zheng chu.

Agree. The US Consulate in Guangzhou (GUZ) has a very definite idea of what type and manner of document(s) they will accept.

http://ustraveldocs.com/cn/K1%20Instruction%20GSS%2007102013%20%20with%20new%20address.pdf

My wife had no problems when she provided the Notarial Certificates (AKA - White Books) versions of her and stepson's birth certificate, her divorce decree, letter from stepson's biological father allowing US immigration, with their successful K1 and K2 visa applications.

In the US, we have also used White Book Notarial Certificates of birth certs, stepson's middle and high school transcripts, in order to obtain WA state ID cards, community college admission.

YMMV,

Hopefully you can promptly rectify this issue.

祝你旅途的移民。

(Good luck on your immigration journey.)

[sohnievan 1]

After 5-1/2 months of waiting we have been denied. I don't know what it could be, just have to wait to get the hardcopy to know the reason. Our love is strong, this is just a bump in the road and I'm prepared to fight for my baby.

Sorry pal to know this, but could there be a way out to appeal. Do let us know what they have to say.

[Ming 1]

I know the feeling, too. We got denial back in 2008 because of lack of bonafide marriage. Our case was sent back to states (USICS). We have to submit more evidences to USICS. USICS approve the case again and sent it back to Guangzhou for a 2nd interview which she passed. Now she is a US citizen and we have 2 sons (3 yrs old and a 6 months old). Do not give up! Good Luck!

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

Fired my useless attourney. She has no idea what she is doing and refuses to do any research needed and even got rather ugly in an email when I said that I was disappointed in her. What a joke.

Hired a new attourney licensed in both China since 1994 and my state in the U.S. Since 1999. Bonus points for being from the same Chinese Provence as my fiancée and speaking the same dialect. She knows the Guangzhou consulate very well and the things that can go wrong. She brought up so many things we had not considered. That is extremely useful and worth it's weight in gold. My fiancée, I and the new attorney skyped for an hour this morning and went over the options and details. This woman knows her stuff. For that she is expensive but you get what you pay for and I want a piece of mind the second time around. I was not hoping to wait another year but that's life I guess. With divorces, kids, and other issues it is a little mess but we won't give up.

[pfrederiksen 22]

Is she a member of the Communist party? Has she worked directly for the government? That can cause a denial.

Edited November 6, 2014 by pfrederiksen

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

Is she a member of the Communist party? Has she worked directly for the government? That can cause a denial.

We were denied at the I-129f petition stage. Communist party affiliation is not inquired about until arriving at the interview in (on a pre-interview questionnaire in China) Guangzhou at the consulate and then again when filing for Ajustment of Status. USCIS will not adjucate that matter and puts it in the hands of the consulate at that later stage. So to answer your question, no, that was not the reason. We submitted my fiancée's divorce documents to my lawyer who felt it was not her job to check that they were the correct documents as required by USCIS. We were then issued a RFE for the correct document. For a second time the lawyer sent the wrong document and so we were denied. The lawyer felt it may not be the right documents, but refused to ask a more experienced colleague or do any resarch into what was the correct Chinese divorce document, blaming me for giving her the wrong paper. She is history now.

[Pheebs1201 269]

Fired my useless attourney. She has no idea what she is doing and refuses to do any research needed and even got rather ugly in an email when I said that I was disappointed in her. What a joke.

Hired a new attourney licensed in both China since 1994 and my state in the U.S. Since 1999. Bonus points for being from the same Chinese Provence as my fiancée and speaking the same dialect. She knows the Guangzhou consulate very well and the things that can go wrong. She brought up so many things we had not considered. That is extremely useful and worth it's weight in gold. My fiancée, I and the new attorney skyped for an hour this morning and went over the options and details. This woman knows her stuff. For that she is expensive but you get what you pay for and I want a piece of mind the second time around. I was not hoping to wait another year but that's life I guess. With divorces, kids, and other issues it is a little mess but we won't give up.

Sounds like a plan! good luck!

[pfrederiksen 22]

We were denied at the I-129f petition stage. Communist party affiliation is not inquired about until arriving at the interview in (on a pre-interview questionnaire in China) Guangzhou at the consulate and then again when filing for Ajustment of Status. USCIS will not adjucate that matter and puts it in the hands of the consulate at that later stage. So to answer your question, no, that was not the reason. We submitted my fiancée's divorce documents to my lawyer who felt it was not her job to check that they were the correct documents as required by USCIS. We were then issued a RFE for the correct document. For a second time the lawyer sent the wrong document and so we were denied. The lawyer felt it may not be the right documents, but refused to ask a more experienced colleague or do any resarch into what was the correct Chinese divorce document, blaming me for giving her the wrong paper. She is history now.

Wow! I'm surprised they just wouldn't send another RFE saying that you didn't send the right one.

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

Wow! I'm surprised they just wouldn't send another RFE saying that you didn't send the right one.

I know, right? Any other people would have called and said "Hey bro, we need this something something from somewhere somewhere". The denial felt like a cold slap in the face. But it needed to happen I guess, that lawyer was useless and even refused to help at the phase between NOA2 and Adjustment of Status, offering no help at all with the consulate. She basically said "fill out these papers, pay me $1400, write another check for the USCIS fees and I'll write a cover letter and buy the stamp".

Edited November 6, 2014 by Mike and Yaoling

[Butterfly307 77]

Fired my useless attourney. She has no idea what she is doing and refuses to do any research needed and even got rather ugly in an email when I said that I was disappointed in her. What a joke.

Hired a new attourney licensed in both China since 1994 and my state in the U.S. Since 1999. Bonus points for being from the same Chinese Provence as my fiancée and speaking the same dialect. She knows the Guangzhou consulate very well and the things that can go wrong. She brought up so many things we had not considered. That is extremely useful and worth it's weight in gold. My fiancée, I and the new attorney skyped for an hour this morning and went over the options and details. This woman knows her stuff. For that she is expensive but you get what you pay for and I want a piece of mind the second time around. I was not hoping to wait another year but that's life I guess. With divorces, kids, and other issues it is a little mess but we won't give up.

Just a question, have you ever thought about filing for another I-129F petition without a lawyer? Most people don't have a lawyer, in my opinion they are expensive and a good amount of them is money hungry, plus the forms are not that difficult to fill out and gathering the required docs isnt that hard either if you read the all the guides and look at the example forms here on visajourney.

[d3adc0d3 186]

Just a question, have you ever thought about filing for another I-129F petition without a lawyer? Most people don't have a lawyer, in my opinion they are expensive and a good amount of them is money hungry, plus the forms are not that difficult to fill out and gathering the required docs isnt that hard either if you read the all the guides and look at the example forms here on visajourney.

^ This.... very much this.

I recommend checking out RapidVisa, they have an office directly in China, and are familiar with the chinese embassies/consulates. Its much cheaper than a lawyer, and as long as your case isn't particularly complicated (criminal record, overstay ban, etc). RapidVisa should be plenty. It's about $375 to use their service and $425 (I think?) to use their service AND have a specialized immigration attorney look over the petition to make sure everything is in order. They kicked back some of my evidence before because it wasn't the right "kind" (e.g. my divorce decree vs divorce certificate).

Their Chinese office is here:

Sui Wah Building, No. 172 Morning Star Road

Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District,

Guangzhou, China 510623

So they'll be able to help you without costing you thousands.

[nitsirk7562 82]

At this point, I think hiring another lawyer is a great idea. She sounds really knowledgeable. She'll be worth it just for peace of mind. Sure, it's easy to do the forms on your own, but with a denial under your belt, I'd definitely bring in a good lawyer.

Good luck, this is just a speed bump. You'll make it past this mess and forget all this nonsense in time!

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

Just a question, have you ever thought about filing for another I-129F petition without a lawyer? Most people don't have a lawyer, in my opinion they are expensive and a good amount of them is money hungry, plus the forms are not that difficult to fill out and gathering the required docs isnt that hard either if you read the all the guides and look at the example forms here on visajourney.

Great question.

Originally I planned to do it all myself. My fiancee is always on my case for being wasteful (sorry I'm an American ) so she thought there was no need for a lawyer. I did some research from this site and many others and had it 99% together when I ran into the Chinese mailing address thing, the Chinese home address thing, the forms just made me not feel 100% that I was doing it right. I worked hard all of my life and now make great money and the legal fees were just a small thing in my opinion, what was most important was to not get a denial letter. So I hired a useless lawyer without researching the right lawyer for our situation...

(Chinese baby facepalm)

We have some issues that can cause problems for K-1 once we hit the consulate, leaving us no room for appeal and another 6-8 months wasted It's risky and I don't want to waste more time. Going for a spousal visa on the other hand gives us more options if things get hairy at the consulate.

Besides, we have not met in a year now and any excuse to go to China is good enough for me. Marrying my baby in a couple weeks from now is icing on the cake. Leaving my new wife behind in China is going to suck though.

This time I have an attorney that can explain things in her Chinese Henan Dialect and it is just so much smoother having an experienced lawyer in our corner this time. My baby speaks English well 99% (I changed her British accent closer to my South Louisiana accent), I have learned a little Chinese (working on it) but there are still little pieces here and there that need a little explaining sometimes. Having the attorney that can speak to us on Skype in both languages gives us a feeling that we are not alone in this, it is buying a piece of mind and that is worth it to me when I am looking at another year of waiting.

It's a tough decision, but money is not an issue and I'm trying to leave myself options at later stages in the process, and I miss my baby.

Edited November 6, 2014 by Mike and Yaoling