Jatuke

Congrats to another happy couple!

How many different house register booklets are you registered with? You know those red booklets that lists your name and your family's names that lived at a residence. Similar to what Dave said, it all depends on how many times/booklets you registered either with the local PSB/office for the cities that you resided in. If you didn't register in a city, then you won't need a record for that city. My wife lived in different cities for more than 6 mos, but she never registered with the local PSB or never registered for a new household registry. My wife only had one police certificate, and it was accepted.

Are you applying for the AOS, I-485? If so, you have to have your own notarized I-864 along with the notarized co-sponsor I-864 and submit both with the I-485. Guangzhou doesn't handle I-864s or I-485s. Which stage are you at in the process?

Yes you can, just go to http://www.immigration.gov It needs to be notarized. As for risk, there can be many factors, which should be only private to you. Ask your father why it's a risk.

I agree with Mick, I firmly believe in the theory that pre-screening does take place with CO's before they conduct interviews. That's why it's vital to submit tons of evidence when you first start this process. I just submitted whatever they required; I didn't go overboard. But, I believe for future applicants it's better to go overboard because of the pre-screening. Then again most people on CFL are far past that stage, so it's vital to continue building solid evidence. If you have photos with your fiancee's parents, that will be very effective, and calling and getting through to a Consulate clerk will earn you points as well. I believe these two factors contributed to a suprisingly short interview for my fiancee. BTW you mentioned that you don't use your long distance company to call your fiancee. Then what do you do use to communicate with her? Does that medium have any evidence of communciation that you can print out and have a hard copy of? I printed out a stack of my onesuite.com call list, but the CO never looked at it.

Pimsleur English for Mandarin Speakers - it's a CD audio course for about $150 online.

FYI. Well OF has sent some annoying PMs to me.

The new annex of the Victory Hotel on Shamien Island, where GUZ Consulate is located, is good. Room on their top floor for 230 yuan. There's a hospital 1 block away from the hotel and they finished the exam in an hour. The Consulate is about a 5 minute walk from the hotel. In short, stay at a hotel on the island. Everything is there: hotel, hospital, and most importantly, the Consulate. There's not many scenic spots in Guangzhou. I do recommend the Night Zoo which is a 45 minute bus-ride away. The major shopping district is Beijing Lu. Try the "yum cha" in GZ. I miss China...

My only addition is to your #2 2. What is the trick in getting through GZ? The trick is to persistently dial from 14:00-16:00 Beijing time until you get through to a clerk. Forget emails and faxes to DOS. If you want to move your case, set aside 2 hours and dial like crazy until you get through. Once you got a clerk on the other end, don't let him/her off the hook easily. Good luck. Hang in there.

Wow what a story It just re-enforces the fact that it will help a lot if the U.S. petitioner is at the interview, in case anything happens. We encountered a similar situation at GZ airport when this young idiot clerk claimed that the picture on my wife's visa didn't look like her. He even asked if my wife can speak the Wenzhou dialect, because he claimed that he can, which was b.s. I was pissed when he was "testing" her, who is he to "interview" my wife. I went off on the clerk and the check-in ladies and they apologized. Anyhow, she's here and that's all that matters. Congratulations on getting through the recent ordeal. P.S. although it was a bad situation, I had a vivid image of your story in my head because I was at GZ, and I can picture it. It's always interesting to hear other couples' experiences here on CFL.

We had 3 copies prepared, and GZ took one at the interview. I have one for the I-485 and I believe the other one will come into use later in the I-485 process.

Same situation with us. We went to the local police station and they processed all of the documents that we needed, including birth certificate, proof of residency, police record. My wife didn't have an actual birth certificate, so they took the household register that is in a red booklet, and created a notarized and translated document stating when and where she was born. Inquire with your wife's local police office, or PSB.

Very nice! We're still working to reach the stage when I start to teach wife about driving and getting a permit.

I still stress people to call GZ persistently until they get through during the 2pm-4pm time slot. This is the most effective way to "move" your case. It worked for us.

Congrats! Welcome to the club!

Thanks Don.

San Fran man, my last post was not directed at you personally. English is not your native language apparently (speaking of "short-sightedness!) and i wanted to be sure you knew i wasnt criticising you. Good luck.

Talking about "short-sightedness", why get into a relationship in which you need to worry about a pre-nup, or false love? Pre-nups apply more heavily towards the argument of "being starry-eyed" and a false sense of a valid relationship. Pre-nups and divorce rates are mainstream in American culture, but that's not to say that those concepts don't exist in Chinese culture. Why do you think the U.S. Consulate makes this such an ordeal process? Research before you embark on this journey; take a Chinese culture class, or go to China and live there. See the bigger picture first.

There's another one...

Some couples will make it, some couples won't. We can tell the ones who will make it and the ones that won't.

Standard passport size photos, with a full frontal facial shot. Any photo shop in the world can take these standard passport size photos for you. Don't get the 3/4's shots, because we stuck those on the forms, and they sent my then-fiancee out to retake the full frontals at the photo shop across the Consulate.

PJ, You should definitely consider staying in China more than just one month, in order to get the full flavor and the true experience of China. That's just from my experience. Before I went to China to teach English, I didn't think I'd last a month, but I stayed for a year, and I wish I could've stayed longer. If you have the opportunity to experience China for a long period of time, take advantage of it. Thanks for hosting this site, and its creation. Good luck and have a blast in China. P.S. how about using a free hosting service, like freewebz, and URL forwarding?

According to the SS website, a K-1 visa holder is authorized to receive a SSN. The length of receiving it, I dont know. From their site: http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cf...hZ2U9MQ**&p_li= Question I have come to the U.S. to marry my boyfriend. My immigration document shows “K-1.” How do I get a Social Security number so I can work? Answer The “K-1” symbol on your immigration document means you are the fiancé of a U.S. citizen and are authorized to work.

Mick is right, you will not be able to go in. I even flashed my passport, thinking I was almighty, but they had me wait outside with the other spectators. But, the moment of waiting and anticipation is worth it. It was a great experience. Get there early, because it won't be just a "drop-off". Your wife will actually enter and line up with the other beneficiaries that day.

English translation is required.