CR1togo

Randy, the list I posted was from "our side of the pond". Talked to the wife and the niece DID take the college enrollment paper (and others from CN) to the interview. Niece's interview was 3 questions: 1) Q: "Purpose of visit"? A: "Tourist visit ONLY with my aunt and uncle." 2) Q: " Do you have a letter of invite?" A: "Yes. Here it is" Niece as instructed handed VO BOTH the letter of invite AND the "open letter to consulate" posted above. 3) After VO read the letter of invite and about half of the above letter she asked Q: So have your parents been to the US?". A: "No, but my grandparents have. I have copies of thier visa from before". "I won't need to see it. You're approved" Visa is multi visit/one year.

I'm almost in shock. Our 24 year old niece was approved for a B-2 visa yesterday in Shanghai! I figured approval chances were worse than a snowballs slow flight through Hades (especially without either her mother or grandfather accompanying her). She is a student (2nd year of a Masters degree) without any assets, siblings or job- fully dependent on her parents. Other than school there's not many ties to the community to ensure her return to CN. Copy of my cover letter follows. From: Xxxxxx & Yy Yyyyyy 33 Main St. Anywhere, USA 01110 March 15, 2012 Re: Tourist visa issuance for Ms. Ff Ffff I have invited my niece (Ffff) to visit us in the U.S. as a reward for completing her bachelor degree at Shanghai University (July 2011) and being accepted into the Master’s program. I hope she can visit for a period of about 60 days during her summer break from university. All expenses will be provided for her trip by us including her RETURN TRIP to China. The purpose of this visa is solely as a TEMPORARY tourist visa and I state that UNEQUIVOCALLY it is NOT an attempt to immigrate to this country. I (Xxxxxx) regretfully, was unable to fly there for her graduation activities last year as I was undergoing vast amounts of medical tests for liver cancer. Diagnosis, while not cancer, was several hemangiomas on my liver and kidney stones. Long air flights are out of the question. Originally, we wanted Ffff's grandfather (Hh Hhhh- that already visited the US in 2006) or Fffff's mother (Hh Gggg) to accompany her to the U.S. (Both have solid financial ties to China). Unfortunately, her grandmother now has advanced Alzheimer's disease. Ffff's mother took an early retirement from her Government job to assist her father (Ffff's Grandfather) as joint caregivers and cannot leave China at this time. I understand that the visa applicant must establish ties to their home country so they will not overstay their visa and return home. As she is a student she may not have a great amount of assets but her mother (Hf Gggg) and father own their own home in Shanghai. They are Ffff's source of both familial and sole financial support. Additionally, her ties to China include her total dedication in obtaining her Master’s degree. Ffff will be returning after her visit to resume her studies. She is already enrolled in the next semester. She has extremely strong family ties to her parents and maternal grandparents (especially her sick grandmother). She has other social commitments that she intends to keep such as afterhours calligraphy classes that she has been doing for 11 years. I have sent her various documents establishing the relationship of her being our niece, some documents that show our financial status is able to cover her trip. I can be contacted by email at anybody@yahoo.com or 800-111-1111 THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your consideration! I made out I-134's for both my wife and I and attached COPIES of tax returns, W-2 and 1099's, year end pay statements Copies off the internet of both my and my wife's bank and stock acct's. Copy of wife's US passport & Natrualization cert. Birth cert. (to tie my wife to her sister (by common parents) and thereby the niece) Copy of the "Family Composition" form submitted to Gz. for the wife listing both her sister and niece Copy of her grandparents B-2 Visas from when they visited in 2006 Pictures of me, wife and niece at several different functions I had my wife label the various papers in Chinese. Lastly (but IMPORTANTLY), a few nights before the interview, my wife conducted a simulated interview by videochat. When asked "would you like to move to the US?" the niece was sloooow to respond- "maybe later". She got schooled in being polite but quick, decisive and firm. Hope this helps someone out there.

trivial point: Is the new consulate the same with teller windows? acw

P-4 (for CR-1) said to bring ALL items listed on the OF-171, an I-864 was one of the items on this list. As we had gone thru NVC I sent the email to GUZ for clarification that David referenced on the second post. acw

Hank, Your timeline indicates I-130/CR-1. Your wife will get a "green" LPR card in the mail. Advanced Parole is appliciable to the "K" visas not the CR-1. acw

This info went out of date on Oct. 1, 2003-i.e., physicals to get married, permission from parents to marry a Laowei. acw

This statement is also misleading, also was the writer implying (other than DCF pets.) that fianicial data was needed to SUBMIT the initial appl.? 1) K/I-129F visas, NORMALLY need an I-134 at time of interview. (they do the I-864 at AOS in US). 2) CR/IR-1/I-130 at NVC, I-864 is REQUIRED!!! Filed with NVC BEFORE the petition is reviewed, then sent to GUZ. 3) CR/IR-1/I-130 DCF I believe you will find the I-864 is again REQUIRED. I don't personally known of a DCFer that has NOT turned one in. acw Edit: #3) DCF I-864 should read .... turned one in 'at/or by time of interview' acw

Nygatl: Alec will be doing a direct Consulate filing HERE of the I-130 leading to a CR-1 visa- not a K-3. A lot faster than doing a K-3 thru the states. acw

?? um.. Not sure I understand.. you mean a K2/K4/CR2 who will travel with K1/K3/CR1 to US?? I have a section in the FAQ about separating the packets for a child (those that follow will have separate passport) and then there are some child who can be on same passport as parent if leaving at same time... Maybe more can chime in on this , or clarify. Your S/O will be given a large x-ray at the medical- it is NOT sealed in the same packet as the other medical info- the x-ray is quite large (approx. 14" x 18") They tell them at the medical to be sure and take it to GUZ. LIKEWISE the visa package from GUZ (for POE) has a sheet with it that is entitled: "IMPORTANT IMFORMATION". It addresses hand carrying the x-ray and presenting it to the nice immigration inspector- again in large letters "DO NOT PLACE YOUR X-RAYS IN YOUR LUGGAGE." Prior experienceS (ex, step daughter, brother-in-law and MANY others I knew) with the immigrant visa process have yet to find someone that wants to see it at the consulate or POE. Don't know if anybody has needed it for AOS though. I won't swear the seperate PP isssue is true for all catergories of family "K" visas as we are CR-1 but what I have from NVC and GUZ indicates seperate PP's. I seem to think some others here (and at VJ) of the K visa catergories have also reported that they needed seperate PPs for the child(ren). I known what DOS web site and the 9 Fam say but GUZ seems to follow it's own rules on some issues. Question here: Where would they put the child's visa- in the mother's (father's) PP??? acw

David, They BETTER have the P-4 interview letter and their passport to gain entry. Someone here described entry w/o interview letter- it took a few hours additional. Medical Packet including that useless BULKY Xray neither GZ or POE will look at? At GUZ I believe you will find that dependents can NOT travel on their parents PP. They must have a seperate PP from what I have heard (despite the indication of family travel somewhere on the consulate site). Another remainder, Have S/O take his/her official Chinese ID card to later pick up the passport w/ visa in it at China Post. acw

Debit cards are generally cheaper than using a "straight up" credit card. W/ a credit card, you would pay a fee to get cash here (in China), then YOUR card server would generally charge you a cash advance and/or monthly fee. Using a credit card is MORE difficult here also to pay for goods and services. The Visa CHARGE CARD here is NOT as readily accepted. I've only be able to use mine at MAJOR hotels and a FEW LARGE department stores like on Nanjing ST. here in Shanghai. I have even had some of them either outright decline an process an American Visa card or not get it to work- THEN we used the bank debit card w/ visa logo to pay. acw

Yes. acw

Certainly it may be easier that way for some- we preferred to have it over and done with and eliminate the sweat factor. Actually I TRIED to start this early (before we got her P-4) to spread out her shots- too many roadblocks! Also on the money side, you will incur extra hotel and meal costs in GUZ. acw

I did ask GUZ- they referred me to the pay for service visa information line here in China. Incidentally it's a Shanghai phone # I believe. acw

(This may apply to debit cards now) but it was a problem w/ my MBNA issued Visa card. After 1 purchase here (China) they "froze" my card to ALL purchases- even in the US last year. Give 'em a call before you leave, and maybe renotify them upon return.

Regularly use both WAMU and B of A in Shanghai (also I have used them in Qingdao and Bejing) for two transactions of RMB2,000 per day (that's using B of C & B of A atm machines). Only problem I have had is with ICBC- limit of ONE RMB1,600 withdrawl only. acw

We explored this issue to "spread out" the vaccinations. Too many roadblocks and extra fees without having a P-4 in hand. Ultimately we just had them done in conjunction with the medical in Shanghai. For a CR/IR-1, the shots (if required by the International Care Center) will have to be completed to get the medical signed off. In other words, get P-4, go to the medical, they will direct you to the International Care Center for vaccinations, they *seem* to determine and administer the shots, do issue the travel cert and yellow international shot record, go back to the medical and get final sign off. I will note that at least in GUZ you can use them for BOTH the medical AND vaccinations (one of two authorized medical locations)- most other locations they are seperate facilities. acw

David, They appear to be CR-1 to me- I-130. No P-3. No I-134, I-864 done at NVC. Vaccinations REQUIRED for CR-1, but not "K" VISAS (K-1,2,3,4). Sorry Hank I stay out of timelines- see either the member "Timeline" posts for projected P-3/4 times or individual members timelines posted. acw 135230[/snapback] seems a little more confusing now.. but since it is a CR-1 (I-130) what specifically are the requirements once the case is sent to GUZ? 135547[/snapback] For CR/IR-1; (Don't know if you want to rewrite a specific section or incorparate it into the existing FAQ's). Simply delete the P-3- it is done at NVC not GUZ. P-4 has all the required info for the medical and shots (a little blurry perhaps). Indicate I-864 for CR-1. Vaccinations ARE NORMALLY REQUIRED for all immigrant visas (except maybe asylum, newborns, pregnant women). They (initial shots) must be done to get the physical signed off for CR-1 (at least here in Shanghai). acw

That's our sentiments and experiences too. Went to her registered hukou, requested PC, they checked the computer and gave us a paper, took it to the hukou, they prepared and translated the cert w/ wording "no criminal sanctions in China as of" date.) I believe there is even a post about someone's PC that did NOT say "in China", they were concerned yet passed the interview! I have seen others report attempts to obtain certs from: 1) All places they have lived in China and/or; 2) try to obtain them at a hukou where they live VS. their registered Hukou. They wasted a lot of time spinning their wheels! Just talked to the wife also- it is believed that IF you commit a crime OUTSIDE your hukou area the PSB will report such to your hukou. They have the Chinese National ID card with that person's unique number (which also lists your original hukou) and some of the newer ID's are being digital encoded. acw

Label with the gold colored fish? Arawana brand (not sure of the spelling though). Probably the cheapest grade of their "mixed" vegetable oil. Found the odor unpleasant when cooking w/ it. Kind of curious what it is make of. They also produce several types- mixed, soybean, sunflower etc. Also found about 70-80% of the cooking oils here have BIG English lettering as "Soyabean" or "Corn" oils. Then discovered that the fine print was indicating they were JUST BLENDED with such and no percentages of soy or corn oil content nor the remaining type of oils were listed-acw

There are some older posts concerning DCF here. I am sure you can file at the consulate in Chengdu (IF you have a China Resident Card). I believe it must be in person- it *may* then go to the Embassy in Beijing (someone from a Shanghai DCF reported this in their case-prior to GUZ) and FINALLY all DO in fact go through Guangzhou for the interview. In addition to searching this forum for "DCF", there is a list of FAQ's Davidzixuan has posted. Oh, WELCOME to CFL Alec and Elf!!! acw

Here at the Shanghai International Travel Center it seemed that ALL (w/o shot records) got the TD primary, MMR and Varicella. Those 19? and under got the additional Hep. A and those 60 and over got the Pneumococcal. We compared notes with several other groups- including a number of children and two over sixty- at the International Travel Center (where the shots are determined/given in two trips here). Whether they are medically appropriate or not as Steve indicates- especially the Hep.A one- that is the standard practice over here. acw

We are CR-1 therefore we had no choice but to get them here. I mentioned the basic three in the Shanghai medical post that seem ALMOST mandatory for her age group. Despite been CR-1 and having her shots I offered up some thoughts based on what I have read about the US Civil Surgeons (AOS Forum) and the WIDE price variances and some that try the complete physical routine. Also medical coverages/enrollment periods can and do vary widely- NOT a black and white/one size fits all type of answer for non immigrants. acw

Thanks, Calr This was a test, Though my desxyalar went away. acw

Thanks for the link, David! Carl, I agree for the K visa people- IF you have statesides medical that covers it. Also I've seen people having problems getting the medical coverage lacking a SSN #. Likewise, in our case, we would be waiting until "open season" to enroll in Dec. Effective coverage Jan. 2006. acw