Sam and Fen

Thank you! Can anyone reading this who has been in the States for more than, say 10 years, tell us if the homesickness ever goes away completely?

I have been here over 20 years and counting.

The first few years I was miserable and wanted to go back home. Now 20 years later I am glad I did not. This is my home now.

Congrats! I would wait until you have the Visa in hand before you book her ticket.

Thanks for the input guys! I will be flying from a local airport (no international flights) to PVG (shanghai). I'd love to take the business class one day when I have lots of $$$ Haha. Hopefully I can find some good deals. I have never heard of Cathay Pacific. I can only find AA, United, Delta, Korean Air on kayak and some other major flight search engines.

I have never flown Korean but I have heard a lot of good things about this airline.

Proof of co mingling of finances as proved by joint accounts (bank and credit card)/lease/mortgage is a very important part of I751.

IMO if you do not send these in you will get an RFE asking you to provide these documents.

I flew Cathay Pacific last Feb. The food was the worst airline food I have ever had. When arriving in HK I couldn't even make it to the bathroom intime, if you know what I mean. :-( It was just as bad on the return flight.

I'm going Singapor Airlines this time.

I have never understood why Cathay Pacific is one of the five 5 star airlines of the world.

Just your GC and Passport and a lot of Cash for shopping.

Nope. Emergency medicaid is available in all states (NY included) to everyone regardless of status. Regular medicaid is not. You can also get medicaid coverage if you are pregnant irrespective of your status.

"Medicaid coverage is available, regardless of alien status, if you are pregnant or require treatment for an emergency medical condition. A doctor must certify that you are pregnant or had an emergency, and you must meet all other Medicaid eligibility requirements."

Sorry but I disagree. I know quite a few people illegal and GC < 5 years on regular Medicaid in NY so I know for a fact it can be done.

Legal Permanent Resident Holders do not qualify for federal means-tested-benefits until 5 years have passed, from green card first issuance date.

Hi Bucky. I think that is state dependent, for example in NY you can get MedicAid irrespective of your status.

Well, I mean I considered that. But since she posted this so early on after his refusal to do so, its not enough to substantiate a VAWA claim.

If she chooses to remain with him, and like the above posters mentioned, she becomes in essence a 'house-slave', a victim to his abuse because she has no privileges and no freedom to work or drive and is subject to extreme stress not knowing if or when she will have status. Yes that will take an emotional toll on her and she can develop anxiety and depression and qualify for VAWA.

So in essence she would have to remain--->become a victim--->file for VAWA. As is stands now she is not a victim and she can not file a VAWA claim simply based on the fact that he refused to sign the 864, as she has not become a victim yet.

I can not in good conscience advise anyone to remain in a bad situation and allow themselves to become a victim to abuse simply to obtain a GC.

I am not an expert on this but the way I look at it is..I leave my country , my job, basically everything I know and come to the other side of the world and marry some one hoping we can build a life together. When I come here my spouse refuses to grant me legal status and instead decides that I live as his slave or go back to my country where I might not have a future since I left/sold/quit everything to come here.

I think a good lawyer can make a case of mental abuse. JMO, maybe I am wrong, wont be the first or the last time.

You need to reevaluate your relationship.

What hes basically saying is I am not committed to you. I am not willing to sign my name on this line, Id prefer to wait a year or two and see how things play out and then if I still like you, perhaps then I'll commit. That is simply unacceptable.

You entered into the marriage in good faith, you left your home in China. You moved across the world for him. And he wants a year or two to see if its going to last before he makes a possible future financial commitment to you?

He obviously cares a great deal about himself and his financial future. And hes clearly not going to risk it by signing something for you, until hes sure. Is that how you married him? Under the impression lets try this out? Or did you think this was it, were both in this forever starting now?

Im really sorry that youre going through this. You need to have a serious discussion with your husband about his commitment level to your marriage and if you cant resolve it to your satisfaction then its probably best to separate. You would have no choice but to return home, because the only way to adjust status on a K1 is to file through your spouse or through a VAWA abuse claim and your husbands refusal to file an 864 is not abuse.

I agree with this except refusal to file an I864 does constitute mental abuse and you should have no problems filing for a GC on your own as you entered this marriage in good faith.

No, he is too young by Ukrainian law. He needs to be listed in his mother's passport as he is. Non Issue.

Thanks. I stand corrected.

Here's some thing I found from Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_passport

International Passports are issued only to citizens aged 18 and older (16 and older in case of permanent foreign residency). Prior to that age, Ukrainian citizens can get a Travel Document of a Child (PR type) similar in appearance to the passport. It is valid for 3 years, and has only 8 pages. In some rare case Ukrainian citizens are allowed to have International Passport before the age of 18 or 16, but it also is valid for only 3 years. If a child holding Ukrainian citizenship has been adopted by a foreign citizen — he or she may get regular International Passport, which is valid for 10 years, just as for adults, instead of getting Child Travel Document.

The short answer is no.

The only way you can get an exception to the rule is if you can prove excruciating circumstances or because of religious beliefs that prevent a meeting in person.

Are you talking about before they leave the USA or returning from Kiev?

Before they leave the US. I am assuming he has a Ukrainian birth certificate.

They should be able to get a Ukrainian passport for the 2 year old from the Ukraine Consulate/Embassy.

Do you guys have any preference of airline company? I have used Delta and United, Delta was better. But that was more than 3 years ago...

My preference has always been Asiana via Seoul, one of the best I have ever flown. I have also flown Cathay Pacific and it was pathetic and my wife also felt the same way when she took Cathay on this trip.

Send her three years of tax returns or transcripts for the interview or go to a IRS office to get what you need. Review the guides/WIKI and USCIS site directly for requirements. You need the required documents, see other cases here on VJ. Know the answers to everything a married couple should know, see the reviews and similar time lines. Also read this: #4 What to do if one has no W-2 or US tax records for CR1 interview in China?

From the China Portal.

Whatever he said. . Good Luck with the Guz-stapo.

I have used flychina.com in the past. My wife is in China right now and we paid abut $1145 from JFK-HKG-GUZ and back. This time we got a good deal on Farestore.com. A few other sites to look at are uschinatrip.com and vayama.com.

Goodluck.

The 2 year card is a "conditional" card designed to prevent fraud.

You will have to file an I751 - Removal of conditions to gather and prove that you are a true married couple and submit proof of commingling of finances like joint accounts, lease etc.

If she divorces you, she can still file an I751 on her own with a waiver.

If no I751 is filed and she is still in the country she becomes out of status (illegal alien) and is subject to deportation.

No, you do not need anything to get a stamp put in your passport except the extension letter and the GC.

We did this without any issues.

A good read:

A recent discussion on this topic

It is very common for mail to sit in the mail room for a while before it is opened and delivered to the correct person.

You just have to be patient even tough it is frustrating.

Try emailing the consulate.

If I remember correctly it was in 1970 that the Indian Government made it mandatory for the registration of Births and Death's.

If your fiancée was born prior to 1970 then you need to have two persons older then you fiancées mother provide sworn affidavits on stamped paper saying that he was born on date and his parents are (their names).

If he was born after 1970 I am not sure if the Consulate will accept affidavits as there should be a record of his birth at the local municipality. The affidavits might be acceptable if you can provide a document from the municipality of his birth that they can not find a record of his birth.

Just not sure of the 1970 date, just check into that.

Do you mean that since we disclosed those incidents in the I129-F, GUZ cannot use this as a reason to deny issuing the visa?

That is how I understand it.

If USCIS did not have a problem with those incidents and approved the K1 then GUZ can not use that against you, but GUZ seldom follows the law.

I am in no way an expert on this topic so hopefully some one like Darnell (Hey Bucky) will be able to shed more light because in this case POE denial and tourist Visa denial are part of DOS and not USCIS so not sure how that would work.

It was some time ago, so perhaps not as bad as you put it below.

POE denial Feb 2011

Visitor Visa denial Apr 2011

K1 petition filed Feb 2012

I also went to visit her multiple times since then.

In our petition, we were able to submit an explanation of those incidents, and we got the NOA2 without any hiccups.

Of course in the interview, my fiancee was never given a chance to bring this up, let alone explain it.

After conversations with more than one lawyer, I understand that while it may rise some eyebrows (hence the AP), as long as they are not saying she defrauded VOs (which none of her paperwork following those incidents says, and she certainly did not) she should not have a problem getting a K1, regardless of the timeframe between visa/POE denials and the petition filing. I hope those lawyers were right.

I have to see if I have a condensed version of her interrogation at POE in Feb 2011. It was quite lengthy.

If you included these incidents in your K1 filing with USCIS then DOS (GUZ-stapo) can not use that as an excuse to deny the petition at least that is what the law is.