Shosetsuin

Everybody, Im still working on planning my trip back to the states and recently learned from 001 that my son needs the same yellow(orange) little immunization booklet that my wife had to get when she was getting the medical check before her interview (CR-1). Anybody know the procedure for this? Just curious...couldn't find anything about it on the site. thanks, nate&molly&nicholas

Katrina, Congrats! I'm was in the same boat...I've just been waiting to get the visa so my wife and I could go back (and our son!) Now we can and we will celebrate her birthday (cinco de mayo) back home! Of course, we plan to come right back to China after that...but its the idea that counts! Congratulations again! nate&molly&nicholas

Hey all, Now that my wife has the visa and we are ready to head back, there comes more trouble, this time from the Chinese gov't side. For those that dont know the story, my wife and I have been married for several years, and in the process of waiting for her CR-1 visa to go through, our son, Nicholas, was born. Now we have everything we need, and want to leave. It seems, however, that the Chinese gov't doesn't recognize children born here, naturalized by the American Consulate, and holding American passports. We went to the PSB here in Shenzhen and they gave us some craziness about going back to my wife's hometown to get a Chinese passport for our son. Of course that was out of the question. We then called the American Consulate and were told that we needed to get an "exit permit" for him to leave. I also requested they tell me in Chinese so that the PSB here in Shenzhen would know exactly what we needed. The Chinese is 离境证 (pinyin: li3 jing4 zheng4). Once we told this to the people at the PSB they then told us they could take care of it for us. THIS IS ONLY WHEN WE SAID WE NEEDED THIS THING EXACTLY IN CHINESE! We had to bring the following things to the PSB and they it went quite smoothly. Here is the list of things they requested: -my US passport, my son's US passport, my wife's passport -my 'Z' visa -my health report that I was required to get for work (orangish/red booklet) -my residence permit (green booklet) -my wife's Shenzhen residence card (we live in Shenzhen) -our son's birth certificate -our marriage certificate -4 2" white background pics of the child. They also wanted several copies of many of these things, so it is best to make many before you come. After we spent the morning there they approved our "exit permit." They told us that we could pick it up the day after tomorrow and that it would be good for 15 days. We then said that was too soon and they expanded it to 30, they wouldn't, however, to any longer than that. Ok...just wanted to share my experience here with you all so that anybody going through the same ordeal can make take control. nate

What can i say? You were right!

Congrats!

We arrived at 7:15, my wife was finished at 12:00. Only about 5 hours, not bad. She got up to the window as was asked the following questions: When did you meet your husband? Where does he work? Looked at a few of the docs we prepared...and that was it. Visa approved. I would like to thank all those who have posted and all the support that was given. Good luck to all those still waiting. Also, Thanks to Chad, Randall, and the guy with the Brooklyn accent for keeping lively conversation as we all waited for what we have waited so long for. Thanks all! nate, molly, nicholas

Congrats! Jesus Christ I hope my interview goes that smoothly. I have a bad feeling about this. nate

Let me relate my situation. I first came to China on a student visa...left the school I was in to be with the person who became my wife...bought tourist visas for about 2 years, and worked...finally found a legitimate job and became z visa...was able to start processing visa for wife, and now we have the interview on mar 9th. It is very possible, and as far as I am concerned, quite easy to change a tourist to a working visa. The hard part is finding a company that will sponsor it. The classic thing here in shenzhen is that every school/training centre/company will offer you a working visa, but none ever come through. It can also be really trick trying to find a good legitimate job. I would recommend trying to find something at home first, and then just come in that way. I just got lucky! Regardless, it can be done. In South China they seem to be really lax about the rules. I accidentally let my tourist visa expire for a month once and I didn't get into too much trouble! nate

Thanks for the comments everybody...now my wife can rest a little easier. Still she is nervous as hell...but I guess that is to be expected.

Hey all, My wife were just reading through posts and she is dying to here some opinions on whether or not there will definitely be a translator available for the interview. We only communicate in Chinese and she is really starting to worry about having to handle it in English. Anybody have a concrete answer on this? nate

Dear all, I just want to send out my deepest thanks to all those here at CFL. I haven't been here long and don't post often, but I still feel that this is one of the most helpful, positive, interesting, and downright awesome web communities around. It's just like a big family! With that said, I have a final bout of questioning I'd like to send out before D-day, so here it goes (I apologize ahead of time for the length): Background I am getting a CR-1 visa and have been working on it since my wife and I were married in Nov. 2003. I live in Shenzhen and have for the past 3 years. I now have an 8 month old son, Nicholas, and have bought a place here (paid one year of a 15 year lease). Questions 1. We have prepared everything for the medical exam, which my wife will do this Thursday. (oops...not a question) 2. For the interview we have prepared the following things: -AOS info (I-864, I-864a, tax returns for 3 most current years for joint sponsor) -Domicile info (letter from joint sponsor, my father, claiming our relationship and my intent to move to his address; driver's license with parent's address, letter from a old friend of mine offering a job when I get back) -Photos (tons of photos of my wife and I, many with our baby) -joint bank acct statements, joint ownership of our house (in china) Now: For the I-864 my biggest concern is that I have no tax returns. I know that joint sponsorship is the ticket, but my job here in China is enough to meet the requirement. In light of that should I add that on the I-864? It is a Chinese company with no ties to the US. I also pay tax here, not in the states. It seems to me I should leave that blank and just go with complete support from my joint sponsor (aka my father). For domicile: I am thinking I should leave anything related to our property here out as it shows that we are somewhat tied to China. Any opinions on this? It seems our son should be a major point as we want him to go to school in the states, but how can we show that when he is 8 months old? He already has his American passport by the way. I'm gonna cut it off here and call this part I. Please add any opinions that anybody might have! Again, thanks for being so damn great everybody. (sorry for the poor organization...ive been reading over tax info for the past 3 hours) nate

This might be a stupid question, but... I have been reading what everyone wrote and im starting to feel more and more nervous about the AOS stuff. I was under the impression that i would prepare the information and just bring it to the interview....is this wrong? My interview is Mar. 9th... I am also getting a CR-1 visa...could that influence it? I'm still nervous because as far as my job, taxes, property, etc. its all in China! nate

Dear all, I emailed the Consulate yesterday to confirm that they had received my new address, and they emailed back saying that they have, and that I an interview date would be set soon. I took this as incredible news and so called my wife to tell her. The result being that she had just received a package with our interview date! Mar 9th! This is great news, but now we are thinking about how to tackle this interview. First off, my situtation is different than most here as I live in China and have since 2000. We are applying for the CR-1 visa. Here are some other special details: 1. I have been working a steady job here in China since the beginning of 2004. In light of this I am not sure how to handle the AOS stuff. I haven't worked in the US since 2000 and so I have no recent tax records or anything like that. I haven't worked or done anything there to pay tax! I have, however, been paying tax here for the past few years. How would this reflect on my AOS? 2. Our son was born last June. He is now 8 months old and already has his American passport. I am thinking that this will help a ton in validating the relationship between my wife and I. 3. My wife doesn't really speak English, but I speak Chinese. I have heard other people needed to prepare videos and stuff like that. Does anybody have a definite bit of info on this? We also have joint property here in China, lots of home movies that we have taken with our son, and tons of pics. 4. We are planning to head to the states after we get the visa, but then come back to China after a month or so (as soon as we can get the process started in the states) as my work and our house are here (shenzhen specifically). I've heard this isn't a problem...again, im not sure. ok...im so excited that we are going to have a chance to go back. I personally haven't been back in the states for about 3 years and I am ready to take a break from China's little annoyances. Thanks all and im happy the wait is finally over. Congrats to all those who have received their p4s and let me know if anybody is going to be in Guangzhou around Mar 9th as I will certainly be there. nate

oops..just a little correction. I said we sent in p3 stuff mar 2004. I meant to say mar 2005!

Hey everybody, I don't know if anybody remembers me from almost a year ago, but I had a few posts then. anyhoo. I live here in China (Shenzhen) with my wife. We got married in November of 2003 and started processing her visa shortly after that. In March of 2004 we received the P3 stuff and sent it in a few days later. Since then until now we have heard nothing from them. I bought phone cards from the CITIC bank and called the visa information hotline, but they just told me that they are still doing the name check? Has anybody heard a similar story? Waiting a year for the namecheck to clear for a CR-1 visa? Please let me know if anybody has some extra background for this situation. On a lighter note, my wife did give birth to our son this last June. He is now over 6 months old. nate

Richard, Thanks for pointing out some of the faults in my timeline..I just posted it and I know its missing some important info. I am getting the CR-1 visa, and I think that everything is done in Guangzhou. If I understand correctly I will need to do the I-864A because I don't think that my income and tax record alone will be enough to show support. Thanks for any other comments you can offer. nate

Hello everybody, Sorry to be posting something that I should probably know by now, but... I just received the P3 information, and I want to send it off as soon as possible. The problem, as it was with the I-130, is that I am afraid what they wrote in the instructions and what they really want are different. Here is what I am going to be sending back them. 1. The typed up supplemental information sheet which includes my wife's GUZ number, visa category, name in Chinese, name typed in Chinese (standard telegraphic code?), current mailing address in Chinese, and date of marriage. 2. The checklist titled "instructions for immigrant visa applicants." Signed and dated. I have all the information they ask for, except the complete preparation of the I-864. I am in the process of getting all my tax returns and such. 3. The DS-230 part 1 form filled out with my wife's information. Is this right? If I understand correctly, then the I-864 and applicable support, I-864A, all the background information (police records, birth certificate, marriage certificate, translations), passports, photos, videos, etc will all be asked for at the interview. This also includes the receipts for paid fees, the medical exam results, etc. Is this all correct? I feel like I am missing something, but want to avoid any possible problems. Thanks, as always, for any help that anyone can offer. nate and molly

bejingjenny, Thanks for the post. I have added my very simple timeline. We don't have an interview time yet as we haven't yet sent the P3 back. I had talked to the ACS at Guangzhou about what to do when our baby is born. They said it is a very simple process, I just have to go to the consulate with my wife and baby; bring all documents such as birth certificates, etc; bring proof of residence in the United States for a period of longer than 5 years (college transcripts); and my passport. If I supply this information then they will automatically issue a passport for our baby that day. The problem is that lots of the P3 forms ask for all family members, and it is incredibly likely that before my wife has an interview the baby will be born. I am guessing that since our baby will be an american there is no need to include him/her on any forms. But then again, I don't know. The form that I need to do is the I-864. I am just curious on whether my status here will be enough. I think you are right though in that it is best not to mention to the consulate that we plan to stay in China. Thanks, ps...my wife's due date and yours are frightfully close together! Molly is due on July 3rd, but the doctors think it might be a little earlier. how exciting. nate

hey everybody...i havent posted in awhile, but I thought it was about time as I just received the P3 stuff from Guangzhou. Questions: 1. My wife will have our baby in the time between the P3 being sent off and us getting their reply (her due date is june 20th). I am not sure how the consulate is going to handle this situation, any advice on the best way to handle this? 2. My wife and I are applying for the visa (cr-1) but we are going to be living in China. We just put the down payment on our new apartment and want to stay here, but have the option to go back to the states when the time comes. We plan that after she gets the visa we will go back to do the paperwork there and then come back. The problem is that for the AOS will they look at my salary here without looking at my financial situation in the states? I have been in China, off and on, for the last 5 years, and the last work I did in the states was a coffee shop. The job I have now though is enough to support us and should meet the requirements of the AOS (i make about 21,000 RMB a month) and we have a little money in the bank, as well as the house. Does anyone know if this will cover it? Will I have to get someone to help me cover the support? any advice is more than welcome. and thanks as always. nate

I just today bought a place here in Shenzhen. It was a headache. message me and I'll fill you in Tony... nate

Molly and I are also CR-1. And we finally, after a year got our damn P3. nate

my house here in shenzhen uses the shower/toilet deal. And before I lived here I was living in a school that only had squatters..so I got plenty of experience with that. It also had to be flushed with a hose...it had no flushing system other than that. nate

this is a visa question of a different nature, and one that I should know the answer to since i live here, but... I have a friend coming to visit for a couple of months and I am trying to figure out the best visa option for him. option 1 is for him to buy a visa in Hong Kong when he arrives next month. That will cost him about 160 USD and last him for six months. Does anyone know if you can buy a visa at the border when you cross? I know there are like 30 day tourist visas, which would be best for him because he will only be here for 2+ months and he could just walk back across the border from shenzhen to Hong Kong every thirty days. Does anybody know anything more about this or have any good suggestions? Thanks, nate

I sent in some extra documents that the Consulate had requested on Nov 28th. On Nov 29th the letter was confirmed as having been signed for. Two weeks later I get a letter from the the Guangzhou DHS office telling me that they have not received my letter and that I am now over the 30 days and that if I don't turn the information in then they may cancel my petition. So I first check to make sure the letter actually did arrive. According to the EMS service they say it did. Regardless I gather all the documents again and take another day off of work so that I can go to the Consulate. Of course at this point I have already used all my days off so I am losing a day of pay. I get in and, luckily, am first in line to talk to the DHS lady person (1:45 PM)...My first question is how in the hell they could lose my letter. Her answer, of course, is that they didn't lose it. She told me that she was just looking at it and that, and I quote, "We don't send out emails!" I showed her the photocopy of the email and she said she didn't understand how that could happen. I say great..thanks for wasting so much of my time and money...and leave. Today I get to work and I just got an another email from the DHS office saying that I am still missing some documents and that they recieved my letter. The funny thing is that this email was sent at 1:31 PM...15 minutes before I was there talking to the lady! The real infuriating part is that the things they list that I hadn't turned in are the EXACT things that I had turned in. They just listed them again and didn't give any details as to the things that I had turned in. This basically means that I need to go AGAIN next week to tell them that I have turned those things in at which point I am sure that they will tell me they already have them....christ.... There is backlogs...and there is mistakes...but cmon...this just seems like simple human error to me. Any opinions? ps...at least it wasn't a completely wasted trip..i did manage to get some pages added to my passport. nate

I am 24 (25 next month) right now and my wife is 28. She is currently about 3 months pregnant with our baby. We weren't exactly planning on it, and suffice to say I feel a little bit young to be a father, but I still feel great about it. I think that you can ask yourself your whole life if you are ready or not. After all, I strongly believe that a large percentage of children are born when their parents aren't "ready." I have a stable job, though I might be changing and my wife doesn't work. I am confident, however, that we will find a way to make it and will be able to fully support our child. I just think its a frame of mind. The financial stability question will always be there...no matter how much you make, you could always have more to provide better... nate