Casprd

How can I include my daughter in tax file this year, she is a US citizen living foreign country with no SS number?

If she is a US citizen then you need to look in to getting a SSN for her. Does she have a US passport?

Yes, they do lose things (it happened to me).Even if you'd gotten notice of the RFE on the website, you still would have had to wait for the hard copy to find out what it was about, so nothing really to complain about there. And you've only been waiting a couple of months overall, so you should really unbunch your panties over this small blip, since there will no doubt be much more frustration to come on this long journey.

Seriously this is not helpful at all. Anyone who has been through this situation knows how frustrating and stressful it is. Telling someone they have nothing to complain about and to "unbunch your panties" is just rude and callous. The OP is asking for help and suggestions, not condescending comments.

It is so beyond ridiculous the amount of unchecked power the consulates have in these decisions. Congrats to both of you

So sorry to hear this and unfortunately for you now there is some cleanup in the process. If you aren't going to move forward with him, then you need to make sure he removes the fiance petition. It will eventually die on its own, but down the road if you start the immigration process with someone else this petition will come up again. Keep any letters, emails, text messages explaining why you didn't follow through on this petition so there aren't any questions if you start another petition later.

Hang in there. So much better to learn this now than after you arrive here.

Wow, hard to believe I've been away from the forum for almost two years. We could have filed in June but waited a few weeks to get everything together. Just sent the package off this week and now reading the horror stories about VSC. Wife has a trip home planned for September so I hope we can get the response letter and the bio metrics soon even if the removal of conditions takes much longer.

Even without the K-1 pending, to get a tourist visa especially for a single woman is incredibly difficult. Keep in mind that the VO's at the consulate are instructed to treat everyone as an intending immigrant. You have to show very strong financial and family ties to your home country in order to be approved. For my wife's sister to visit she won't be able to bring her 6 year old son with her because that would eliminate one of the strongest ties back to her home.

On a different note, I don't know how it is now, but when we started two years ago, applying for a tourist visa while a K-1 was pending caused problems in the K-1. A lot of that was country dependent but you have to keep the end goal in mind. Is it worth risking anything in the process if it may impact getting the approval of the K-1.

Can't emphasize enough to never ever ever lie at the poe. Having said that there is no requirement to volunteer information either. Bring proof of ties to HK and don't pack things that would make it look like you're going to stay. Should be fine but yes you never know.

The affidavit of single status can usually be found on the embassy website, but it is just a somewhat generic letter that states you are single and eligible to be married. You will need to have it notarized and depending on the country you may need an apostle of that notary (a certification from the state secretary that the notary is valid) Then it will probably need to go to the consulate for the country you are dealing with for certification. That's the process for Oklahoma and China. It may be different for India but there should be instructions on the Indian Embassy website.

Been a while since i've been on the forums. Thanks to all the great advice we got before we managed to sail through the process with very few bumps and a lot of stress. We're getting ready to start the ROC process and I'm curious if it would cause any problems or red flags if I were to change jobs during the process. We're not planning on moving as we know that can cause confusion and lost documents.

Anyone been in this situation and changed jobs during the process?

thanks

That would depend on what A and B are.

I'm guessing Assault and Battery which regardless of the circumstances is going to be viewed in a very negative light. IMO it won't make much difference whether the case is closed or still pending in the court system. It will come up in the review of the N-400. I have seen instances of people getting denied and even getting their citizenship revoked for lesser charges. Not trying to cause any panic but I think this is one of those cases where you need to consult an immigration attorney.

Oh, can you cite some authority for that. I think I may take issue with that one.

There are many cases where a mother in law is denied a visitor visa to come and "help" with a new baby as this is seen as providing child care services which are generally paid for. Volunteer work is generally allowed, but what you are talking about isn't volunteer work. While it may not cause any problems with her status, as many others have said, it is not in any way grounds for an expedite. Unfortunately the OP seems to be looking for the answer that he wants to hear rather than the answer that is correct.

I think the question is are you only allowed to get married in the US. Short answer is yes. The K-1 is a one time entry visa so until she adjusts status she can not leave the country and re-enter. If you don't get married in the US (or a US territory) then she would have left the country and then you have to start over with a CR-1 visa. I would be hesitant to even go to a US territory for a marriage as I have heard of issues coming back for people who have not adjusted status yet.

yep there is nothing to prevent you from getting married here then starting the CR-1. You may want to get all the papers together and have everything ready to go and as soon as you get married send the package off to at least get teh ball rolling.

if you look at the Embassy review section you will see write ups with the typical questions that people were asked as well as other info about how the process went.

No worries about getting married in Buffalo. They don't really care where you got married, just that you are legally married (and both were eligible to get married) Give it about 7 to 10 days to reach NVC then start calling to get your new case number. I believe Canada has EP, but in any event, you need to get the new case number, then pay the fees (IV and AOS) and then send in your stuff. From the time you send in all of your documents, assuming you don't forget something, it will take about 30 days to get the NVC approval and have the case forwarded to Canada. (time frames are based on China EP so it may be faster or slower in Canada). All in all, your in good shape for a july wedding reception.

The information about the congressional inquiry is a bit misleading. I don't think that is applicable for your petition. Likewise, the infopass info is a bit misleading as you always have he right to make an appointment for information. You just may not get any good information.

what you can do is have your congressman or senators office make a request. There is a liaison in their office that specifically deals with immigration issues. I would go to your senators website and look there. They will have either a form or a link to a form that is the authorization for them to make an inquiry on your behalf. Fill this out and fax it to them and then follow up with a call the next day to explain everything. Their liaison will then call the USCIS and get an official response (which will be similar to what you were told). But it at least gets the ball rolling and the liaison will likely tell you to give it 30 more days at which time you already have them involved so you can follow up and hopefully get better results.

And never under any circumstances respond to a question about your Fiance with "I don't know" Mostly just relax, be confident and as relaxed as possible. The VO will be watching your demeanor as much as listening to your answers. Smile when you walk up and be pleasant.

Good Luck

My wife speaks good english, worked in the UK for 10 years and went to school. She actually is often smarter than me in many things, so it should be no problem reading the case box and tabs.

About passports, I am sure you are allowed to still send the US passport out to a travel visa center to get certain visas sometimes. I wont send it.

If you can't make it then send her a notarized copy of the bio page of your passport. It wouldn't hurt to get this certified by the nearest Chinese consulate as well.

As for iwaiting's comment. This is Guangzhou and it is a huge plus if the spouse is at the consulate and a huge minus if they aren't. Yes we can't go in to the interview but they can and most often do ask where the spouse is and in Guangzhou it always helps to be able to say they are waiting outside.

If the consulate allows it I think it won't hurt, but in most cases they won't allow someone to accompany you to the interview.

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.

To answer your basic question, yes it will be trouble. Not only with immigrations, but now you have committed tax fraud and potentially identity theft, not to mention fraud against your employer (don't be surprised if they throw you under the bus rather than take the rap for hiring someone illegally). Even if you didn't say you were a USC, the employment application probably asked if you were allowed to legally work in this country

Bottom line is yes it can come up and there is nothing you or an attorney can do about it. Even if you somehow sneak past the adjustment of status, things like this don't go away and it could be years down the road when it catches up with you. Maybe you'll be lucky and it will be after the statute of limitations runs out on the IRS and identity theft problems, but it never runs out for immigrations stuff. The whole "of good moral standings" comes in to play and by using a fake social security number you have not lived up to this.

As for the "anyone can have the same name as me" part, that just doesn't fly. The chances that someone has the same ssn that you used and the same name are zero and yes your name is certainly in the system now.

Now for the preachy, it's too late but I'm going to say it anyway part of my post. Money being tight is no excuse. the fiance(e)/spouse visa process is not cheap and anyone who enters in to this should and generally does know it ahead of time.

Advice. Not really anything you can do but ride out the process and live in fear of being deported for the rest of your life in the US, or start making plans for you and your husband to move to your homeland and make a life there.

Ok, I'm almost done with electronic processing and I just paid my IV bill tonight (waiting for that to process and getting the rest ready).

I have the DS-230 package mostly done except for a couple of things:

Hukou translation - all that my wife got translated in the white books contains information about her and her father only - as in, the householder is her father, and it has her relationship to him. Nothing about her mother - the NVC website says that the translated information that is submitted needs to have information about her too. The wife originally went in and requested to get the translation done for 'immigration' reasons. Did she make a mistake here?

Passport page- just the first page right? Anything need to be translated here? I would imagine not...

Additional documents for Guangzhou: http://travel.state.gov/pdf/pk3_supplements/GUZ-SUP-MULT-0004-0904.pdf

When does that get sent in?

Passport Bio page is all that is needed. As for the Hukou being translated I'm not sure where you got that information. For the CR-1 at NVC, we sent Her birth certificate (translated), the police certificate (translated) and her passport bio page along with the DS-230 (sign first part don't sign second part) And of course the I-864 packet and all the financial info. If you're doing EP for a CR-1 then there isn't really a packet 3. Did they send this to you or did you pull it from a website?

Hi bestofboston! The fact is she really doesn't intend to immigrate, she only wants to come visit! It is so unfair how the system works, it just pisses me off to see how many people come and overstay, staying illegally and causing this frustration to people like our mothers and loved ones that only intend to do things right.

The system is what it is because so many people have taken advantage of it. Every time someone comes on a tourist visa and gets married then adjusts status and stays, it adds another rung to the ladder that those of us who follow the rules have to climb. I think the only way that will change is if they change the laws so you can't adjust from a tourist visa. Be that as it may, as others have said, all you can do is wait and try again. I will however disagree that the invitation letter harms your case. Everyone I know who has had a relative come to visit has sent an invitation letter. Likewise people who have come on tours get invitation letters from the tour company. The invitation letter, if well written can help and certainly won't hurt.

For 2012, as long as you have your ssn and are married, you can just file regularly as Married and separate or married and joint (check both as it can make a difference in the tax bill/refund).

The credit card is just that and won't affect taxes. it will work anywhere in the states.

as for the canadian taxes, someone with experience there can help you better. I would be making a (most likely wrong) guess. :-)

I will echo what others have said. You have served your ban, but be prepared to be questioned about the overstay and the subsequent visa petitions. Depending on what country you are coming from, the relationship evidence needs to be between excellent and rock solid. No matter what anyone tells you, this WILL be an issue. It won't by itself result in a denial but if anything else is out of order coupled with this it could very well lead to problems.

Some things you didn't touch on which will have an impact on the decision. Did you leave on your own or as part of an immigration proceedings. If the later, did you self deport or were you deported. These will all have an impact as well.

Stay strong and no matter what, but upfront and honest with the immigration's people and I think everything will work out for the best. Don't get discouraged by the roadblocks and delays that will pop up. In the end it will all be worth it.