Jocelyn

Thank you Randy W! I know Susanna will be grateful for the support!

Susanna Wickes, a master’s student at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, is seeking intercultural couples who use Mandarin and English for communication to participate in a simple online survey. It takes only about 5 minutes and is available in English and Chinese. (Note that only one person from the couple needs to do the survey.) FYI, here’s some background on the project from Susanna herself: She’s really keen to recruit more couples of Western men and Chinese women to her study, so hope some of you can get involved! FYI, you can also learn more about the study in this interview with Susanna for The Beijinger.

Does anyone have confirmation that this is true?

@warpedbored, glad you found the link interesting -- though I can understand that, like yourself, some men might enjoy the mystery of women. ;-) @Dennis143 glad you enjoyed the link!

I found an interesting website the members here might enjoy reading, called love love china. It was interesting to read the Chinese woman's perspective on dating, including how to impress her, what not to do and more. I suppose a lot of what she writes could be covered in this site, but still, it's useful to know that Chinese women are out there blogging, to help foreigners who fall in love with them.

Seconding warpedbored on the hassle of going to the consulate in person. But then there's the issue that you also have to pick it up in person after it is done (in other words, they will not send it to you by mail -- they have no such service). Things get even worse b/c of how the Chinese govt decided to set up the districting. For example, I live in Idaho now, and our consulate is in Washington DC -- I still can't understand how that makes any sense, but I've learned not to ask. So, if you don't have the consulate in town, you'll have to get yourself there, and either stay to pick it up, or get someone to do it for you.

Got this note from mychinavisa.com: Looks like, if anyone needs a visa now, you'll need to plan ahead.

He wasn't, so I can't really speak to this. But if he was, you should be able to provide some kind of evidence that explains he did so for work or some other superficial reason. You'd probably need to do a search here or ask other people b/c I don't know exactly what you'd need.

Hi cguo7, I DCF'd, and I'd add that, to prove domicile, I just showed my bank statements from an account in the US for the past year, plus plane tickets back to the US on visits home. I did include a letter about our plans once we returned, but they never asked for it, so it wasn't really an issue. I was working at a corporation in China back then, and I didn't have any "guarantee of work" back in the US. But I did show I got a salary here and bank statements from China to show I was financially able to support my husband. I guess this is probably too late, but hope it helps.

My pleasure David! BTW, I forgot to mention...I went with the regular turnaround service for mychinavisa.com -- which was really extremely fast IMHO. So, if you decide to go through them, unless you absolutely need the visa within a few days, save your money and choose the regular, 4-day turnaround. It's still fast enough for most situations. Also, I submitted a copy of my e-ticket in the package.

How difficult would it be to get a 1 year, 2 entry visa for my first tourist visa? Christopher That's not difficult at all. A one-year multiple entry visa is pretty basic, from what I understand. It's only when you're trying to get a 2-year multiple entry that things are not as guaranteed. In fact, mychinavisa.com automatically gets 1-year multiple entry visas for all US passport holders:

Great news! I got my 2-year, 90-day multiple entry visa! I promised I'd post with the details about where I got it, and what I submitted...but it's great to see that other people (mikepellicore) were successful too! After some shopping around, I decided to go with mychinavisa.com -- in Houston, Texas. Besides my passport, I enclosed a letter stating why I wanted the 2-year multiple entry 90 day visa, along with copies of my husband's passport, our marriage certificate (the little red book one from China), and copies of my previous China visas and entry/exit stamps in and out of China. It was probably overkill, given what mikepellicore described...but on the other hand, I wanted to make sure the evidence was overwhelmingly in my favor, in case there was any doubt. I was also extremely satisfied with mychinavisa.com's service. They sent me an e-mail upon receipt of my materials (April 2), and I got the visa just a half hour ago by FedEx. I was surprised by how fast the turnaround was! Maybe things are loosening up at the consulates, post-Olympics? Whatever it is, things are looking good if you want to go for a 2-year, 90-day multiple entry.

Thanks guys! Bert Jie-Lin, Craig and Mingjun, thanks for sharing the info on 2-year multiple entry. It's actually a bit confusing at times, because different sites seem to say more or less about the requirements for it. Take for example what I heard from mychinavisa.com when I asked about it: I had seen the information you mentioned, Craig and Mingjun, on the 2-year multiple entry. Thanks for reminding me of it. Bert Jie-Lin, I checked out Cibt, and here are their requirements for 2-year multiple entry: The eligibility seems to vary from provider to provider, so I'm never quite sure if I'll get it. But I figured, since my husband and I are going to be going back every year (he's doing research there in the summer), it would save money to try and go for the 2 year. At the very least, I've been the recipient of many (around seven, including 2 within the past five years) Chinese visas, and lived there for a long time, so I'm going to give it a shot. I figure if they fail, I'll just get the 1-year multiple entry instead. I'm still deciding who to go through to get my visa, but I'll let you guys know who I end up choosing, and if the 2-year application is successful (along with what I submitted to get it).

Thanks so much for the answers guys! That's great to know that if you choose an agent, you can go through the consulate they have the relationship with. Sounds like there are some great agents in the DC area too. Strange about San Fran Consulate and their unwillingness to give out anything more than 30 days...but anyhow, I will be sure to avoid it.

So, I'm getting ready to get my Chinese visa to go there this summer for a trip, and I'm wondering -- is it a problem to get a visa through a consulate that technically doesn't have jurisdiction over your state? I ask b/c, from the comments on this forum, it seems like there are some super agents who go through Houston (and I REALLY need a good agent b/c I'm trying to apply for a 2-year 90 day multiple entry), but in fact it's Washington DC's consulate that has jurisdiction over my state. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!

My husband also found iflychina.net -- they have a lot of agents there w/ really good rates. He bought from Saloman Travel, but there were a number of them whose prices were just as close, so you can save easily $50-$100 or more just by calling around -- even if you're going for summer travel. Tell your wife to contact the agents with the ÔÚÏß״̬ on the page I linked to -- the ones on the 2nd page are rather non-responsive.

Thanks Joanne...always good to hear from someone who's come back from the trenches, literally.

Congratulations!

How wonderful Joanne! Congrats to you! Nothing better than seeing so many CFL approvals recently.... B)

Seems like you've hit most of the main points down there.... One thing though, you can file for a K1 visa using DCF as Amber did -- so DCF doesn't mean you have to get married in China. Of course, it will be a lot faster if you get married in China b/c you won't have to do AOS when you arrive in the US. Also, something some of us touched on before, seems that DCF is the fastest when you file it in Beijing or the BJ consular district. Both beijingjenny and Lourose had their I-130's approved after two weeks or so of filing. But I filed on January 4 in Shanghai, it didn't actually arrive in BJ until January 20 and I didn't get my NOA until April 5.

If you're a vegetarian like me (or just want a change of pace), you might want to check out a few of these places. For Indian food: Jewel of India Apparently they were the first indian restaurant in Guangzhou. Although not strictly vegetarian, they have a plethora of choices for any non-carnivore. The bengan bhartha should not missed! Address: 30 Tiyuxi Lu, Tianhe, Guangzhou (ÌåÓýÎ÷·30ºÅÌìºÓ¹ãÖÝ) Tel: 8559 3882 Getting there: It's about a 20 minute walk or so from Tianyu Gardens (where the US Consulate is). You just walk south down Tiyu Xi Lu -- it is close to the "Tiyuxilu" Metro stop as well as the "Tee Mall" shopping area. Meal for two (not including drinks): about 160 - 180 RMB For Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurants: Ximenkou (Î÷ÃÅ¿Ú£© Metro stop is the unofficial "veggie restaurant hub" -- thanks to the proximity of Bright Filial Piety Temple (¹âТË£© Just get off at Ximenkou, walk north down Guangxiao Lu(¹âТ·£©until the street dead-ends at the temple. Right around the temple are three veggie restaurants. We tried two and both were a hit: Shui Yun Tian £¨Ë®ÔÆÌ죩is on your right if you're standing in front of the temple. If you get there between 11:30 - 1:30, you can enjoy their buffet. All you can eat for 22 RMB. But don't forget to clean your plate...any offenders will be charged accordingly for the leftovers. I guess explains the preponderance of chubby monks supping there that afternoon! Whether you choose the buffet or dishes, you won't leave disappointed -- or hungry, for that matter. Shang Shi Zhai (ÉÏÊ¿Õ«ËØʳ¹Ý) is literally right next door to Shui Yun Tian, so don't get confused. This place is housed in a two-story building to the left of the market entrance and is almost a museum of all the great Buddhist vegetarian restaurant kitsch. But the service floats high above the chanting in the background and perhaps it's the friendly smiles -- more than the mantras -- that bring people back. In all of my over five years in China, I have never encountered such responsive and thoughtful service. We didn't even order anything super-extraordinary (just some dim sum, an herbal soup, simple green vegetable) but were really WOWED by the food. Only drawback -- they allowed a few folks to smoke in there, despite the numerous "NO SMOKING" admonitions on the walls. Address: Ô½ÐãÇø¾»»Û·38ºÅ(¹âТ˲ࣩ Tel: 8108 0385

Agree -- do another one. Nothing worse than having to spend more time with GUZ just b/c you don't have all of the documents available.

I thought I'd give you all the whole lowdown on John's interview...and a few things we learned in the process, issues more specific to DCF cases (especially those folks who have been in China for a while, like myself). John went in after four security checks. After his name was called, he went up to a window. They (someone who was not the VO) asked for his I-864s (mine and my father's), and asked a couple of questions including "have you ever left the country?". They write down the answers and give it to the VO -- I imagine it saves the VOs time and gives them a feeling for the case before they begin questioning. John also got fingerprinted and paid the 3,078 yuan fee in the consulate. Then they called his number and he went up to the VO for his interview. His VO was a man over thirty with a long face, dark brown hair. John said he looked almost Brazilian. John (smiling): Hi. (in English) VO: (also smiling): Hi. May I see your passport? (in Chinese) (John purposely takes out my passport first....he doesn't outwardly mention "my wife is waiting outside for me" but leaves no doubt about it by the gesture. After putting my passport down, then he takes out his and hands it over to the VO) John: May I put my documents here? (in English) VO: Sure. (in Chinese) VO: You can speak English? John: Yes. (then the VO continued the questioning in English) VO: How did you meet? John: We worked together at XXXX in 2002. I am a translator, she is a copywriter. She proofread my translations. VO: How long has been in China? John: More than five years. VO: Where will you live in the US? John: Here is the domicile evidence. Do you want to see it? (we prepared a folder of evidence to prove my permanent residence is in the US). VO: Yes. (VO studies the documents). VO: Who is (my father's name)? John: Her father. VO: Can I see your pictures? John: Yes. We got a lot of pictures. Here are just some samples. (VO looks at them...gets to the birdwatching ones, VO stops) John: Birdwatching. (VO smiles) VO: When will you go to the US? John: The end of this year. VO: Your visa is approved. John: Thank you! VO: Qing man zou. John noticed, before the last question, he took out the approval slip. We organized the documents by putting them in clear folders that were open on two sides, making it easy for the VO to pull out documents. Each folder had a list of contents. And I stuck tabs on to the folders so that John could easily find the folder he needed. He carried the evidence plus X-rays in a sturdy plastic bag. BTW, should note that the pictures requested in the P3 packet (sideways pictures) were NEVER used. Seems to me I wonder why they ask for those pictures...kind of a waste of money. I think GUZ should update their forms if they aren't going to use them. Issues to note: Recently we were told that quite a number of DCF immigrant visa applications were denied. And worst is that after resubmitting overcome evidence several times, they still could not get visas! Apparently, the American spouse -- in these cases -- in general had been in China for a while, had a profitable/steady job, real estate in China, and probably the SO had a fairly stable situation as well. I guess when the VOs see this sort of situation, in their minds they see it as "no reason to immigrate" and will sometimes deny on those grounds. I guess the thinking is you are already together and have a good life/future in China. So a couple of things you should keep in mind: --> You'll probably be asked something to the effect "Why do you want to go to the US"? It's a good idea to show the emotional reasons as well as evidence that you the American spouse will do better/have a better work situation in the US. They can especially understand emotional reasons, for example that your family misses you. Having a family member as a cosponsor is good to back this up. --> I had already prepared a folder with a detailed statement about my plans to start a business -- along with evidence showing that I was indeed making steps towards this end. Your SO might consider actively mentioning it to the VO and asking if he would like to read it -- as acknowledgment of perhaps a major question in their minds. If you don't plan to go into business like I am, I think job offers/discussions of jobs and proof thereof would also do just fine. The point is just to show that you will be successful (perhaps more so) if you go to the US. Make sure your SO knows your plan and can answer questions about it. The VO didn't ask but John was prepared. --> It seems that the aforementioned DCF couples who were denied visas probably didn't pass the "domicile" test -- to prove that your primary residence is in the US. I prepared a folder specifically for this evidence. It included an Affidavit from my father attesting to our relationship and the fact that our residence will be at his home when we arrive; a copy of my voter's registration card (showing the same address as my father); a copy of my driver's license (also same address as my father); one of my plane tickets back home and a copy of my frequent flyer's log showing all of the trips I've made back home; e-mails discussing my trips back home. I think that's about it. P.S.: David, are we going to get a DCF FAQ out there? I think some of this information would be really helpful on it. Let me know if you need someone to help out with it, I'd be glad to lend a hand.

Li and Larry, I would concur with the others here about the documents -- GUZ needs fresh copies of the single/police certificates. Same goes for financial information. Also...don't get them done when you get the P3! What most seem to do here (which I didn't b/c I joined CFL later) is just send in the P3 checklist saying they have all of the documents ready ASAP. If you send yours in late (as we did) your interview will be scheduled that much later. Ours was delayed by two months b/c we waited for a month to send back that checklist. For more details, just check out the P3 and P4 FAQs in the links/resources section. It's the pinned thread at the top of the forum.

That's so wonderful! Such a quick resolution to a denial...congratulations and wish you both a happy life together!