bleowheels

That has been the standard. Now there is possibly one catch I ran into flying United/Air China out of China. At check-in the ticket agent informed me they could only check luggage for a maximum of 3 flights with their system and I would have to collect my luggage at my 3rd stop and re-check it to my destination. So I had them check the luggage to LAX and rechecked it for my final destination since I had an 8 hour layover. As this is your first trip I might recommend packing lighter than you normally would. I found that 3/4 of what I took was never worn, although Shanghai might be a different story. My 3rd trip consisted of a small carry-on. For the most part clothing in China is very inexpensive if you find you need something more and shopping in China is an excellent way to spend time together. 195206[/snapback] Thank you for your suggestions. I tend to be a notorious overpacker. My trip is for ten days so I must remember to take just enough but not too much.

My wife took about an hour to be process as a new immigrant arrival, they processed all visas together, and the plane was ahead of schedule so they were not prepared for us, and we were the only flight at the time.We then picked up our luggage then proceeded to customs. I feel we were fortunate to be ahead of schedule since they made a mistake and gave me the wrong boarding pass for my next flight. 194754[/snapback] I too have a question regarding port of entry and traveling to and from China. I am making my first trip to China later this month to see my girlfriend. I will fly from Sioux Falls, SD to Denver, then to San Francisco and then to Shanghai. And it will be the same cities on the return flights. My question is: 1. When I check my luggage in Sioux Falls, is it good until Shanghai or will I need to claim it in San Francisco and recheck it before departing for China? and upon returning to San Francisco from Shanghai, 2. Will I need to pick up my baggage in San Fran and recheck it before departing for Denver? I have never travelled internationally and I don't want to look like a lost little child. Thanks in advance for your knowledge. 195103[/snapback] You will collect and recheck your baggage at each POE, so in your case, SFO on both legs. Arriving, first you'll get past passport check, then you pick up your luggage. Departing, you check your luggage and then get your passport check. You might want to search on I 94 threads for information on how to properly fill those out. They can be a bit confusing. 195107[/snapback] If he is ticketed though the airline will handle the luggage to China and he will need to collect it before Chinese customs. Neither TSA or US Customs requires this. Now if he is not booked from start to destination, then he would need to handle the luggage in the middle. On the return he would collect to go through US customs and re-check it as he leaves customs. A USC does not completes an I-94 as this is for non-US Citizens visiting the US... 195110[/snapback] I am flying United Airlines all the way from Sioux Falls to Shanghai. And I am flying United Airlines from Shanghai back to Sioux Falls. So as I understand it, once my luggage is ticketed originally in Sioux Falls, I won't see it until I arrive in Shanghai. There I will collect it and proceed to China customs. Correct? On the return then, I will check my luggage in Shanghai, collect it in San Francisco, proceed through customs, recheck it and see upon my return home.

My wife took about an hour to be process as a new immigrant arrival, they processed all visas together, and the plane was ahead of schedule so they were not prepared for us, and we were the only flight at the time.We then picked up our luggage then proceeded to customs. I feel we were fortunate to be ahead of schedule since they made a mistake and gave me the wrong boarding pass for my next flight. 194754[/snapback] I too have a question regarding port of entry and traveling to and from China. I am making my first trip to China later this month to see my girlfriend. I will fly from Sioux Falls, SD to Denver, then to San Francisco and then to Shanghai. And it will be the same cities on the return flights. My question is: 1. When I check my luggage in Sioux Falls, is it good until Shanghai or will I need to claim it in San Francisco and recheck it before departing for China? and upon returning to San Francisco from Shanghai, 2. Will I need to pick up my baggage in San Fran and recheck it before departing for Denver? I have never travelled internationally and I don't want to look like a lost little child. Thanks in advance for your knowledge.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Knowing that this has happened before and that you had no problem puts my mind at ease. The agency that I went through told me the same thing about the date of birth and passport number. They also sent me an email answer, upon my request, stating, "This is something that happens quite often. Two years ago, the Chinese Consulate would correct it by issuing a new visa. They stopped doing that since then because they have had an understanding with Chinese customs that misspelled names is not an issue. As long as it is a misspelling, not an entirely different name, you will have no problem entering China." and they also wrote, "Unfortunately this is something that does happen from time to time. The Chinese Consulate uses a scanner, so are we told, to scan your passport information. Somehow, the scanners they use have difficulty differentiating some letters. If you look at the misspelled letters, they do somewhat look alike." This agency did write that they will fax me a copy of the statement from the Chinese consulate regarding this issue if I call them during business hours. And, I did email the consulate as Frank suggested as well.

Thank you for your advice and suggestion. I will do that.

I just received my first chinese travel visa. I went through an agency because of my location (south dakota). When I recieved my passport back with the Chinese travel visa attached, my last name was misspelled. It is just one letter in the middle of my last name. I called the agency back and the gentleman there said it was ok since my passport number and birthdate were correct. Has this happened to anyone here? If so, how were you treated at customs? The man at the agency said this happens often and that the consulate does not issues corrections for name misspellings.

Also, is it allright to use a highlighter to highlight the phone number on the records or would any of you advise against this? My phone records are quite extensive and I would just like to my calls to China to stand out.

put "deceased." That's what I put. 182570[/snapback] Thanks for the information. I will do that.

When filling out the G-325A form, it asks for parents names, birthdates, etc. It also asks for place of residence. Her father is deceased. How should I answer that? Should I put "deceased" under place of residence? Or "N/A"?

Thanks everyone! I will make a note of all of this.

Thanks again. I will get all of my forms from there from now on. 182122[/snapback] I was a lot happier using the fillable forms at http://www.visapro.com/ Just look for the "download forms" down the right side of the page. What makes it nice is that for the G-325a you fill the form in one time and the other three copies are populated with the same information. Also, if you make a mistake before you print, you don't have to start hand printing again etc. Go ahead and print extra copies of the completed forms while you're at it. 182124[/snapback] I will take a look overthere right now. Thank you. I can't stress enough how helpful you all are.

Thanks again. I will get all of my forms from there from now on.

Yes, there is supposed to be 4 pieces in the G-325A: 1) Ident. 2) Rec. Br. 3) C. 4. Consul You fill out one set of 4 for yourself, and one set of 4 for your fiance. The original G-325A comes as a carbon copy, so you just write one time, and it imprints the other three. I didn't use the imprint copy. I used the PDF copy, which automatically fills in the other 3 sheets based on what you put in the first sheet. Very handy, as I only had to fill it out once. Sorry, I really forgot where I downlowed the PDF from. Perhaps someone else here knows. I found it by accident before. 182116[/snapback] Thank you very much for the information. I ordered and received a hardcopy manual from usimmigrationsupport.org with forms. As I check that website again it states "An independent organization". I guess I just learned a valuable lesson.

I have read many times that I am to send in one I-129F form and 4 of the G-325A forms. When I received my K-1 Fiance(e) Visa infomation and application manual, there were only two 325's in the manual. Am I missing something here? Also, which one do I (the U.S. citizen) complete? They are slightly different at the bottom. One states: "(1) Ident." the other, "(2) Rec. BR." I am a bit perplexed. I have looked at the sample forms from Visa Journey and It shows four pages. However, my booklet only has two. ???

I went to PRC goverment translator in Chengdu. In most major cities there are many of these services. Prices depend on your bargining skills Time for Me: 1 week to have services performed. Cost: Paid approx $25.00 USD, but I could return to get other documents for reduced cost, since they kept translation on file. Typing: If I wanted to have people recognize it as an offivial document, and wanted to avoid questions at GUZ, I WOULD! Notarization: IMHO, a notarization is a notarization. I had mine done in China. I wanted to have the translator and notary in the same hemisphere as GUZ was located. Just is case they wanted to see if they were "real" or not! I should also point out with the notarization I would have had to do, I would have lost my shirt with notarization, copying and then shipping back to China. IMHO, have it done in China! 182025[/snapback] Thanks to all of you for the information. You are invaluable.