TheanneAndRicardo

Those are all solid answers. I think your case helps as in most cultures having the ceremony in the bride's hometown is preferred and in this case that means the US. The more you can look at this objectively with a skeptical eye, the more likely you can address any potential concerns.

My guess is you will be fine and as I said, be paranoid and be prepared.

Great! I would really like to thank you so much you have been more than helpful! We won't be starting the process for a few more months but I'm glad to have all these details straight before Ricardo goes to China so he is as prepared as possible once he gets there. THANKS AGAIN!!!!

Anything you need to have translated from Chinese to English. You need to have done at the China Notary. Once your fiance is in China, a Chinese friend can help.

See this entry : http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/228853-notarial-birth-certificate/page__p__3552037#entry3552037

I am not trying to scare you but these are the questions I have that may or may not be an issue at the interview. Like I said be paranoid, be prepared, and hopefully you get a quick five question interview and approval.

You say you have been together five years. Do you have a religious reason why you can not just go to City Hall/JP to get legally married? A separate religious ceremony or party can be held whenever you choose. How hard would it be to get married in Chile? Is he able to get a visa to the US? Could you get married while he was in the US, he exits the US and you pursue a CR-1. Just so you know, it would not be that difficult to get married in Hong Kong or mainland China when you go and visit him. Address this in the EOR statement

Also any previous marriages on either side? If so any overlap between that relationship and your relationship now? Or any previous immigration petitions?

I think we can address all those questions. Can you let me know what you think of my answers (from the point of view of my fiance who will be interviewed):

We don't have specific religious reason to not get married in City Hall/JP. In fact, we will probably have a small ceremony in the USA before the actual wedding. But for my fiancee, it is very important to have her close family at the civil ceremony. She is her parents only child and very much wants them to be present. Due to health issues, it would be very difficult for her mother to travel out of the country for a civil ceremony elsewhere. My family in Chile is small and we plan to invite them for the official ceremony after the small ceremony. It would not be hard to marry in Chile, however as I mentioned it is very important to my fiancee to have her family present. I have been granted a tourist visa that is valid for multiple entries for ten years and have visited my fiancee twice on this visa with no problems. I don't want to get married in the USA without the appropriate K1 visa, so I wouldn't get married in the USA and then leave. If I am granted a K1 visa will be able to been with my then wife while we await the AOS, instead of having to leave her.

How does this sound? I will definitely put something like this in the EOR

This is the first time hear this! (Basura lo que dice este tipo). I know that people come to the states, marry an us citizen and then apply for AOS.

One thing for sure if you apply for AOS, your husband should stay here until he gets his papers, to avoid any inconveniences, as the visa may get voided.

I know I "could" do it but I don't want to if not is not the legal, appropriate way. I was just curious if after having married legally in the USA could we then apply for the aos on the next visit with a tourist visa. But after reading posts here and doing my own research, that is clearly not the case.

Other suggestions and thoughts

1. Yes, Guangzhou is a high-fraud consulate but the typical fraud they are looking for is Chinese women possibly defrauding American men (though to be fair this is not the only type of fraud going on).

2. Do you know what type of visa your fiance will be on in China. It is a student visa or residence permit? He may need to prove residence in China. Shenzhen is right next to Guangzhou but is also right on the border with Hong Kong. There is a separate Hong Kong consulate but you have to be resident of Hong Kong or Macau. Guangzhou may want to see evidence of Chinese Mainland residence. You might want to send an inquiry here: http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/immigrant-visa-unit-question.html and explain your plan to see what they might require.

3. Make sure you write an EOR (Evolution of Relationship) Letter detailing the history of your relationship and explain why you want to get married in the US. Your case is certainly atypical for GUZ but many GUZ watchers think they can be tougher on K-1 than CR-1 and want to know why you didn't get married.

4. The other advantage to Shenzhen is there is a large foreign presence and so places like the Police Security Bureau when it comes to the police report will be easier to deal with. Yes, he needs one from Chile as well and it needs to be less than a year when he interviews.

5. When it comes to GUZ, it is better to be over prepared than under prepared. Don't take the bona-fideness of your relationship for granted, be a little paranoid and you should be fine. That is why you need to front-load all your evidence with the petition.

Wow thanks so much for such detailed answers! I really do appreciate it.

1) I plan to go visit him in China while he is there, probably before we start in the application in a few months. Would that help as evidence if I have my boarding pass from that stay?

2) He will be on a student X visa. He will have to apply for a residency permit 30 day after entering the country, no? So this should give him residency in mainland China. Though he may visit Hong Kong, he won't be a resident there. I will check out the website thanks!

3) will do!

4)That's good to know. Will we have to have the criminal report translated from Chinese to English?

5) I think we have a lot of good evidence (ie boarding passes of trips we took together, him visiting me in the states, my chilean and student visas in my passport, my expired chilean national ID, pics to support all this) so I will make sure to include EVERYTHING possible!

If it weren't for the fact that it is very important to me that my family be at the wedding, we would probably just get married and apply for the CR-1. It is true, but does that sound like a valid reason for GUZ?

Thanks again for all your help!!!

I don't believe you have cause to be worried; I think that it isn't so much the bonafide-ness of your relationship when it comes to the Guangzhou consulate, but more of the consulate's strictness. But in general, if the couple is truly bonafide, they do not need to fear or worry, but to have faith and confidence that they will be approved.

Great. Thanks so much for your help!

If high fraud is the reason I'm not too worried. We met in person while I was studying abroad and have been together 5+ years and have many ways to document our relationship (or does this not matter and I should still be worried?) Thanks!

Well, Guangzhou (China Consulate that handles all K1/CR-1) can be a tough nut but other non-Chinese have successfully gone that path.

Some thoughts:

1. Is your fiance fluent in English? GUZ only does interviews in Chinese and English.

2. Generally, GUZ sends everything by EMS (equivalent of USPS Express in the US) which is pretty reliable. He doesn't have to use his dorm if he can find a friend. I don't see this as a huge issue.

3. How well can you document your relationship? Is there a reason why you want to do K-1 rather than get married and a CR-1? Frontload your petition with all evidence of your relationship, it helps when you get to GUZ.

4. Make sure he has all of his documents translated into English before he leaves Chile. This will be diificult in China.

5. He will likely need a police report from China, this is addressed on this forum.

6. Where in China is he going? Hopefully Beijing/Shanghai/Guangzhou - that will be easier.

thanks for such a complete answer!!

1) Yes he is fluent in English

2) Good to know. I was worried about the mail system in China

3) We have been together 5+ years and have pics, boarding passes, emails etc to prove it. We also lived together in Chile for two years and have a lease/bills with our names on them. We would like to do a K-1 because we want to get married in the US. He doesn't have much family and I do, so we would like to get married here to have all my family present and just fly over the few family members he has.

4) Sounds good. We were planning on doing this

5) I will look for that post. He will also need one from Chile I am assuming?

6) He will be living in Shenzhen. That isn't terribly far from Gaungzhou right?

What specifically makes Guangzhau so difficult?

Thanks again for such as complete answer!

Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you but that part doesn't apply to you as you will be living in the U.S. when you file and your income will count towards your affidavit of support.

great thanks again!

Yes, both are spousal visas. As to the differences between the two, click here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/69148-what-is-the-difference-between-cr1-and-ir1/

All the best!

thanks!!!

I am not sure about the difference, but I do know that the K3 visa is basically dead right now; the CR1 or IR1 visa is the one to apply for.

ok thanks! so both the CR1 and IR1 are spousal visas yes? What is the difference between the two? pardon my ignorance and thanks for your help!

You can get married on the K1, but if he leaves before receiving AP then it will a waste and you will need to go through the CR1 route.

Why not just marry and apply for the CR1?

Exactly what is the different between a CR1 and a K3 visa (if any)?

Thank you all. I didn't think it would work but wasn't sure. Thanks again for such speedy replies!

Hi All,

My fiance (chilean) and I (US citizen) want to apply for a K1 visa. However, after we get married here in the US, he will have to leave the country for work reasons. Currently he has a tourist visa. 1) Will his tourist visa be nullified by him applying for the K1 visa (and hopefully receiving it?) and 2) If not, will he be able to re-enter the US on his tourist visa and then apply for the adjustment of status? Finally, should we just wait to apply for the fiance visa until he will be able to live here permanently? The thing is we just want to get married. We've been together 5+ years and would prefer not to wait any longer, but at the same time we want to go about this in a legitimate way, as to not have trouble in the future. Any advice is warmly welcomed! Thank you!!

Theanne

PS The VJ community is the best! Have gotten such great advice here and I'm so glad I've found this site!

I don't think the OP is asking about DCF. Also it is worth mentioning that it is possible to file a k-1 while living abroad, it just creates complications with the affidavit of support, which can be overcome with the use of a co-sponsor in most circumstances.

But I believe the OP will be living in the US and it is her fiance who will be living in China when she files the K-1 petition. I think she is just new to the process and therefore mistakenly wrote that she will be sending the petition to China rather than to the lockbox in the US which will then be forwarded to her service center and eventually end up in China.

VJ K-1 flowchart

Yes, pardon. I am new to this! I will be filing in the USA and my fiance will be living in China. I would just like to have his interview to take place in China. What type of complications with the affidavit of support could this create (or other complications for that matter if you know of any?) Sorry for the confusion! And thanks for the advice

Hi All,

My Fiance and I are planning to start a petition for a K1 visa soon. He is from Chile and I am a US citizen. He will be living in China and have temporary residence there for about a year starting in March 2012. I was informed that we can petition in China at the US embassy/consulate being that he will be a legal resident of that country. I was wondering if anyone has done this before and if there are any tips/advice? My main concern is that he will be living in a dorm and I am worried about the mailing of official documents, etc. Is it possible to buy a PO box in China to have the forms sent to? Generally speaking, how is the processing of K1 visas in China compared to other countries? Thanks so much for any advice!!

Theanne

Hopefully someone comes along that knows about China and can answer this. If not, I would post this question in the China forum on this website. We have quite a few informed members with spouses from that country. You could also google and check the Chilean or U.S. embassy's website in China for some more information... but I would assume (although you should not take my word for it) that if the student visa allows you to legally live in China that that can be used to request for the interview to be at the embassy in China.

We included the request in the cover letter of our initial I-129f packet. We said something along the lines of "since the beneficiary is legally residing in the UAE, as evidenced by the copy of his residency permit included in this packet, we request that his interview be at the U.S. embassy in Abu Dhabi. That was all we said and his stuff was sent to Abu Dhabi and we had the interview there.

Thanks again soo much for the info! I did find that the Student Visa in China will give him a residency permit and we can use this. Thanks again. You really don't know how much easier this will make things for us!

Hi Theanne!

I just wanted to offer you another suggestion, if your fiance is going to have legal residency in China you can request for the interview to be there and then you don't have to worry about address discrepancies. You could look into the process for both embassies on here and see if one might be better for you than the other (Some embassies seem to have different requirements or tend to be tougher than others). My husband and I were living in a 3rd country when we went through our visa process. He was able to interview at the embassy in the country we were living rather than having to go back home for his interview. It was much easier for us to do it that way. You should decide what works best for you and your SO but know that he has the option to interview in China as long as he can prove legal residence there.

Good luck!

Oh and one last question, how do you go about requesting to have the interview be in the country of legal residence? Would we then put his home address as being in China and all the paperwork will be sent there (ie notification of interview date, etc) THANKS AGAIN!!!

Hi Theanne!

I just wanted to offer you another suggestion, if your fiance is going to have legal residency in China you can request for the interview to be there and then you don't have to worry about address discrepancies. You could look into the process for both embassies on here and see if one might be better for you than the other (Some embassies seem to have different requirements or tend to be tougher than others). My husband and I were living in a 3rd country when we went through our visa process. He was able to interview at the embassy in the country we were living rather than having to go back home for his interview. It was much easier for us to do it that way. You should decide what works best for you and your SO but know that he has the option to interview in China as long as he can prove legal residence there.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for the info! He will technically be there on a Student Visa. Do you know if this counts as legal residency or not? It will be a visa for a 1 year period. Again, thanks soooo much for the info I had no idea this was possible!

Hey All,

I have a kind of complicated question. My fiance and I are planning to apply for a K1 visa. He is from Chile and I am a US citizen. He will be traveling for work to China for about a year. He is self employed (small company owner) and will be living in China for business purposes. We would ideally like to start the K1 application process while he is still in China and time it so that when he is ready to return to Chile, he will have the consulate forms about to arrive and he will have little time to wait for the interview (so about 2 months or less before the interview.) Our problem is with filling out the I-129F form. It asks for a home address, and we were planning on putting his company address, since all his official mail is sent there anyway. But on the G-325A form (biographical info) we must list his residence within the last 5 years. At the time of our filing is current residence will be China. Would having his home address on the I-129f form be in Chile and his last current address be in china on the G-325A form cause us problems? If so, is there a way to have a home address be different from mailing address? I know this is a weird question so any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Theanne

Great will do thanks!

Hi All,

My fiance and I are planning to start the K1 visa process. My fiance is from Chile but will be out of the country on and off for the next year (traveling for work to China). We plan to start applying for the fiance visa towards the end of his stay in China. This shouldn't be a problem correct? As long as he receives mail from the Embassy stating what forms he needs to bring to his interview and when his interview is? He will have a mailing address in Chile and someone to collect his mail for him. We were thinking of starting the visa process 3-4 months before he is scheduled to be back in Chile. Is this crazy??

Thanks!

thanks so much!!!

Hi All!

I had a question regarding the translation of certain documents to English. Does this need to by done by a goverment certified translator and be notarized etc., etc.... or is it okay to just have a professional translator do the translation? Any advice regarding the translation of documents for the K1 visa will be greatly appreciated! (FYI the translation is from Spanish to English)

Theanne

It is smart to bring proof of strong ties to Chile,

Letter from his employer stating when he starts working again

Lease of the house

Return ticket

A copy of your I-129F packet and NOA-1

I traveled 2 times to the US when waiting for our I-129F Petition and had no problems, when you come prepared you should be fine

Thanks so much everyone! Very helpful info. I'm so glad I found VJ!

Yes he can travel. Just be advised that there is no guarantee CBP will grant him entry.

Thanks so much! Do you by any chance know how great the risk is?

Hello,

I am a American citizen and my fiancé is Chilean. He already has applied for and received a tourist visa (multi-entry) valid for ten years. He has travelled to the USA twice on this visa. We will soon begin the process of applying for a k1 visa and want to know if he will be able to visit me during this process on his tourist visa? It is not our intention that he wait for the K1 visa in the states, but that he is able to spend a few weeks in the states with me at different points of the process. Thanks for any info!