Paladine

I was in the same situation, this is the letter I wrote: I, XXX (SSN: XXX, US Passport Number: XXX), did not file a 2003 Federal Income Tax Return. According to IRS Publication 501, Table 1, ¡°Filing Requirements Chart for Most Taxpayers,¡± a single person under 65 only needs to file a tax return if gross income was more than $7,950. I was an XXX earning XXX a month during 2003. Total earned income for 2003 was XXX. Total unearned income for 2003 was XXX. Total gross income for 2003 was XXX, less than the $7,950 minimum to file a tax return. I went to get it notarized at the consulate, but they said that it was not necessary. My wife handed it in at the interview, along with my 2002 and 2004 tax returns. No problem.

I'm planning my trip home with my wife from Guangzhou to New York at the moment and we are thinking of stopping over in South Korea for a few days. Flights through Korea on Korean Air and Asiana Airlines seem to be relatively inexpensive. I've read previous posts about people successfully transiting through Korea, but not stopping over in Korea. On the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Website and on the Korean Ministry of Justice Website, I read that Chinese Nationals normally need a visa to enter Korea (and from talking with travel agents, obtaining an individual visa is difficult), but if the Chinese National is headed to the USA and has a valid USA visa, they can enter Korea visa free for 30 days. Has anyone tried this before? I was looking up the fare rules for Korean Air and Asiana Airlines and they allow a stopover in Seoul for a small charge (HKD600 for Asiana Airlines). http://www.mofat.go.kr/me/me_a008/sme_b032...1013_11257.html http://www.moj.go.kr/HP/ENG/eng_03/eng_306040.jsp (look under exceptions) If this is true, it would be a great way to get in some inexpensive traveling before heading back to the USA.

Since I live in Guangzhou, I filed directly at the Guangzhou consulate. I filed on 11/30/04 and I received NOA 2 days later. On the NOA, it said the I-130 was approved 12/01/04 and was being sent to the Guangzhou Immigration Unit. I received my P3 a day or two after the NOA. When I filed, I asked the woman how long it would take, and she said it would only take a couple of days to get to the Guangzhou Immigration Unit. I think it only took Beijingjenny a week or two after filing in Beijing (correct me if I'm wrong). I'm not sure about other people's time lines on here. Since you have not even gotten a NOA, sounds like there is a delay at the Shenyang Consulate. If they had a problem delivering it to your address (goes via EMS), the post office should have called you (provided your phone number is correct). I would try to contact the Shenyang Consulate to see if they have approved it yet. Or, at the very least, how long it takes to approve I-130s. If that doesn't work and you live nearby, you could just drop by and ask. Hope you get it soon!

I believe only the visa unit is moving to Tian He. ACS (American Citizen Services) and DHS (Department of Homeland Security) will continue to be on Shamian Island. It seems to me that you are going to have to do separate notarizations. You, as an American Citizen, will be able to notarize the document at the ACS. In order for your wife to have her signature notarized, she would have to go to a Chinese Notary. Unlike American Notaries, Chinese Notaries don't just notarize any document, only documents they can certify as being true. You may be able to notarize the documents together in Hong Kong.

Sorry if this sounds cruel to those who have been waiting for a visa for a long time, but we actually got our visa earlier than we expected/wanted. We filed directly at the consulate in guangzhou (you need to file at your nearest us consulate/embassy). From initial filing to visa in hand was about 6 months. I was planning on working in China until 2006, but now that my wife has her visa, we found that we need to go to the US sooner. After you get the visa, you have 6 months to go to the US. Then (correct me if I'm wrong) it is unadvisable to stay out of the US for longer than 6 months (risks being denied re-entry if they think you are permanently residing outside of the US). I have heard of people postponing their interview after they have been scheduled an interview, but we didn't want to mess with that. If you are sure you want to stay in China until next year, I would suggest not starting until about 7 or 8 months before you intend to immigrate to the US. Otherwise, you might be "forced" to leave China earlier than you had wanted.

My wife's interview started off in Mandarin (the VO was a Chinese looking woman). She didn't even know it was the interview until she asked. After a couple of questions, my wife asked if she could continue the interview in English (seemed the VO was a little upset and surprised about this). My wife observed that she might have been the first of the day to use English during the interview. She heard all the other interviews being conducted in Chinese.

My wife just recently went through this, so I'll post my experience. My wife went to the non-Shamian hospital. She was then informed that she needed to have injections done (Not sure about the requirements of these injections. She is CR1 and was told she needed them, at least the first of a set of three injections. The subsequent injections can be gotten in the US.). The only hosptial that does the injections is the one on Shamian. So she had her body check at the non-Shamian hospital, and then she went to the Shamian hospital to have the injections. But here is the kicker. When she went to the Shamian hospital, they told her that she needed several additional tests that the other hospital did not give her as well as some type of additional certification paper that they were also going to charge her money for. She went back to the non-Shamian hospital and they said, "Of course those tests are not needed and that additional certification paper is not needed by the US, only a China thing. If the consulate changed their requirements, of course they would immediately be informed of the new requirements." So she did not do the extra tests or get the additional certification paper. She had her interview and passed. Hopefully she'll have no problem at the border with the body check she got. I haven't read any posts here lately about people getting rejected at the border because of a body check originating at the non-Shamian hospital. I believe there are other posts that I have read here before about the Shamian hospital ripping people off. But even they rip you off with extra tests and extra certifications, it's only a matter of a few hundred yuan, but it's the principle that counts, right?

Just wanted to add some useful information. I went to notarize my documents at the US Consulate yesterday. They said that because the documents were needed for a visa, that it was free. I notarized some other documents at the same time for a different purpose and it cost $30 per notary. They also told me only the I-864 form has to be notarized, not tax forms, bank statements, or any other supporting financial documents. FYI: American Citizen Services Unit is open Monday-Friday 10-12pm, 1:30-3:30pm

The employer takes care of obtaining a work permit (z-visa) and a residence book. Usually takes 2-3 weeks including a medical examination. As soon as you get a residence book, you can file DCF and immediately leave China if you want (although you might face penalties if you are tied into a contract). As a small note, DCF can only be done for a spouse, and it is an immigrant visa (CR1). You can not do a K visa DCF.

Hi, I'm a long time reader, but haven't posted anything before. But thought I'd share some past experience about DCF. We filed DCF because we both live and work in Guangzhou. We filed directly at the Guangzhou Consulate. You need to file at the consulate/embassy that has jurisdiction over your area of your residence. When I first got there, they kept on sending me different places because no one seemed to have heard of DCF. You need to go to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the second floor (next to American Citizen Services (ACS)). Also, I could only file Tuesday or Thursday afternoon (if I remember correctly). You do not need to wait 6 months after you get your residence book. I only had my residence book for a few weeks before I filed. And I know people who filed the day after they got their residence book. Oh, let me add a simple timeline.