Lee VD

... and this was during another time, some darker days in the recent past when these things were more common. It is through the perseverence of him and others like him that have managed to start cracking the concrete wall that has been a barrier to those in love from being together and made it a little better for those today.

Haven't we seen cases of people recently being able to react quickly and get GUZ to reconsider before sending it back and then granting a 2nd interview? Conjencture: It seems that if someone is savvy enough to properly rebut before it gets back to USCIS gets their attention and avoids the roundtrip processing with USCIS on all that, which for some reason, in some cases they have been interested in avoiding. Why they would do something logical for once is beyond me...

CCP did come up again at our K1 AOS to GC interview. It was mentioned as a formality, like it had to be asked, but she just gave her standard response consistent with her letter and it wasn't an issue. She had a bigger problem answering the first question.. "What is your name?"... She just got married! She was confused!

Thats fantastic! I remember that happy time myself!! We were down to only about 2 days before she had to fly, so it was quite the nail biter.

They have been pretty consistent of late on this, so it won't be too much longer. We went through the same thing and best is to just accept it as a given part of the processing time.

It took us 20 days to get ours! So, odd things can happen... just have to sweat it out and check EMS every day. Sometimes the package shows up before EMS even shows it in the system.

She had a J1 previously from being a visiting scholar in the US for a year. She then applied for a B visa and got it without a problem. We did get some help with the university where she worked writing a letter stating she worked there and they expected her back after her visit. After one year, she renewed it (which can be done through the mail with no interview) right before we filed the I-129F so it would be good during the year of processing. She has no problem at POE's. Basically, if she got a visa before through work or study, its a piece of cake to get a B visa. If she has no prior history, its nearly impossible to get a visitor visa. Bogus stuff... I am starting to see more press now about how many hundred of millions of dollars the US is leaving behind in potential tourism from China and other countries because they are so stingy giving out visitor visas.

Any action by your congress-critters?

Good for you!! But everytime I hear about this new send back procedure, I grumble curse words because just last year they made my wife fly to GZ, didnt tell her she would have to turn in papers, wait 2 days, then pick up her pink slip before she could go home. She had to buy two extra nights of hotel at rack rate and clothes for nothing... They had just started the new turn in papers process 2 days before interview, hadn't made any notification , and applied it to call backs as well for no purpose.

My wife went through SF. I told her to go to the new immigrants line but noone was there so the line watcher told her to just go in with the visitors... so, it seems those lines arent used..

I mean just the SAO part. The H1B as a limited number available, so some people wait years until they can get a "slot". You don't have to deal with THAT thankfully! This also holds up J visas which is a problem for those trying to start classes and potentially being late for those. You can read about all these complaints on Visa Journey!

It's funny they have been asking for more resumes recently for even non-technical folks. I am thinking they may have gotten in a little trouble for not doing the SAO checks on technical folks since they haven't been asking for resumes. How would they know if people had technical backgrounds? So, they may have some in-house screening to check resumes for tech backgrounds that the VOs can't do on the spot. If no tech background found, your AP may end soon, Those with tech backgrounds need to go through the SAO check but its not like a CCP check. Its the same kind that delays a lot of H-1B visas for the folks coming from India. "There are various types of SAOs, usually named after various animals, with two named after legendary characters. As of August 2006, these included Visas Mantis (potential illegal transfer of sensitive or dual-use technology,[7] introduced in 1998[8]), Visas Bear (for foreign government officials, representatives to international organizations, and their families), Visas Donkey (name hits, certain nationalities), Visas Merlin (for refugees and asylees), Visas Eagle (certain nationals of Cuba, China, Iran, Russia, and Vietnam), Visas Condor (certain nationalities, introduced in January 2002[9]), and Visas Hawk (for immigrant visas). There are also other types of SAOs used for notifying the Department of State about visa issuance and that the applicant will be traveling to the United States: Visas Horse (diplomatic visa holders of certain nationalities) and Visas Pegasus (officials of Commonwealth of Independent States)" I think I heard the check for those with tech backgrounds would be the Mantis check. I would think the CCP check is the Eagle check. The "name check" for when you submit the application may be the Hawk or Donkey check? The "average" time to do a check is reported by the State dept to be about 2 weeks, but I am sure it would vary on the type of check. There are one or more people in the back office of the consulate which submit and monitor the SAO replies to get the application back into the processing stream once the check is complete. The NVC doesnt have visibility or won't tell you where it is in the process (SAO complete, but processing at consulate...), at least I wasn't successful.

We tried to focus most on SF since that is our designated consulate based on our address. DC somewhat recently discontinued mail back service (for Visas at least), directing you instead to 3rd party services. What we had most trouble finding on this was mail IN service. Not all consulates provide much info on their web sites on this name change process so it may be possible but require inquiry. I tried emailing Chicago to ask them if we could mail this in: "Is it possible for her to mail in the application, passport, her green card, and other supporting documentation to have this processed? I understand she also needs to provide a return overnight address label. If so, can you provide the detailed instructions so she can do this?" and their reply was: "You need to apply the Name Notation for your Chiness passport. " Umm... not very informative

All taken care of! We sent out the packet to SF consulate: - Application - Visa Photo (note their weird size requirement) (they dont use it, unknown why they want it, records only I guess) - Passport (+ copy of first page and last US visa and I-94) - Green Card (+ copy) - Marriage Cert (+ copy) - Name Change Court Order (+ copy) - $10 fee + $5 mailback fee (one money order) - Pre-paid return addressed Express Mail Envelope We sent it Priority Mail delivery confirmation but got tracking info along the way. We did Express Mail back for the extra security, tracking, and peace of mind since we were out of town and had a mail hold on. All our original docs came back. We got back home yesterday and got the envelope back. It took about 5 business days for them to process and send back (they promise 7-10). They took a page to put a machine printed message saying the bearer of the passports name is also spelled "new name" with the red stamp in it. It will make life much easier being able to book tickets or match against documents with BOTH names being represented in the passport. (Note: Our case was complicated by the fact she changed her FIRST name as well as her last name) Note, from our research it seemed that only the SF consulate provides this mail back service (although another member reports Chicago will do it upon request)

There was a recent case of CCP with only about a 30-60 day turn around but typically it runs about 3 months as it did for us. Please report back how long it takes so we can get another data point! At the 3 month point if you haven't heard anything, start calling the NVC every week.

Nice to hear! We are still fuming for when my wife had to go to Guangzhou for the call back to present nothing and not notified that they were implementing the new intake/later interview process and that she would have to go through that, extending her visit 2 days. She had nothing to present, and no reason to re-interview.... and THEN then held the passport for 20 days before putting a visa in it. Should have all been able to be done through the mail. She just told me that VP Biden just said during his visit to Sichuan province that the US would be improving and accelerating the visa process for Chinese citizens. We shall see... or is he just referring to recent micro-improvements?

Yeah, I figured out the authentication thing... they left the addendum process ambiguous in the instructions, hence our question. We finally got an email answer: one word "correct"... essentially "yes, to all of the above". So its good to know we can just mail in and get mail back service. We have other minor complications with the airline regarding using her maiden name on the ticket. She has high status on United along with me and they can't put her FF # on the reservation if the name doesn't match so her status doesn't get recognized which has various effects including being able to clear on business class upgrades I will be sponsoring for her. The airline also required paying a much higher fare to just get the chance to upgrade so we need to have her status on the reservation to not waste that extra money. So we want to book the ticket under her new name which will require the addendum. We plan to get the packet sent out by Monday to SF.

Ok, this is getting crazy. We are trying to get in contact with the SF consulate visa/passport office: - No response to two different email addresses they give on their web site, one just bounces. - No answer on the phone line during the hour they give when you can call, after no answer it rolls over to a full mailbox. - Tried to fax but fax number is disconnected, found another fax number by googling and that was also disconnected. She is trying the main line and calling other random offices to get in touch with a human... She just did get someone but he just sent her to the visa line and email address (he was new...) We just want to confirm if mail IN service is OK for the name change addendum. The FAQ says mail in is NOT allowed for visa or passport renewals but is allowed for authentication, and gives instructions.... no mention of addendum. If we don't hear back by end of the week we will just try and send and see what happens.

We have decided to go ahead and get this done. My wife said that the SF consulate hints that they do process this through mail (even mail-in) but they don't give complete instructions so she has been trying to call them during the one hour per day telephone call window yet she just gets voice mail, so left a message. I suggested we just use a visa service but she seems convinced we don't need to and can send in directly, so we are checking into that. We can't send it in though until after next weekend because we are going to Canada again and she needs her GC. The main complication we are having is that by using her old name on the plane ticket it causes other complications with the airline, so we want to get the name change addendum in the passport so we can use her current name on the ticket. Lee

What makes me feel uncomfortable is her having to send in the mail her passport and original GC, fear of it getting "lost" somehow... We are looking for an opportunity to stop by and do it in person (in SF or DC) but it takes 4 business days to process so likely will have to be mailed back as well. Our designated consulate would be SF but I hear from others it really doesn't matter which consulate you go to? We do pass through SF, DC, and Houston on occasion...

If you have an immigration visa in process it shows "intent to immigrate" so immediately shuts you down. I think there is a place on the B visa application where they ask you if you have any relationship ( married or fiance' ) to someone in the U.S. so I think they look at that to trigger a potential denial. We avoided that problem by renewing her B visa right before we did the affidavit for the I-129F declaring our commitment to marry. That allowed her to visit during the year it was in process. Even when she came through POE she was honest saying that she had a K-1 in process and was following the legal process (when asked "who are you here to visit?"). The CBP agent was pleased she was following the legal process and said "good for you!", so they didn't have any concern at POE she had an immigration visa in work. But she was able to get a B visa easily due to a prior J visa and no overstays.... and once you have a B visa, a renewal is an easy mail-in, no interview, process. If no overstays you are pretty much guaranteed a renewal. It's that initial B visa that is so hard to get. China has officially complained to the U.S. that they make it too hard for Chinese citizens to visit and the U.S. promised to improve it. It seemed to get better for a little bit then went right back the way it was.

My wife is worried that she needs to get a name change addendum added to her passport since she became aware of such a process through the consulate. She is worried that on exit from Chinese immigration that since her green card is in her married name and does not match her passport (first name and last name changed) it will cause trouble. (They will check her green card to ensure she has entry clearance to U.S.). She has a legal name change court order and marriage certificate but she is worried that if she does not go through the name change process through the Chinese consulate she may have trouble. What have others done? Was this needed? We had been thinking to not bother until her passport comes up for renewal in 2017. Lee

They actually read your letters?! Amazingly fortunate! Congrats!

Just horrible... completely inconistent and arbitrary determinations... what is the justification for these denials? Just a general directive to decline all visitor visas with no prior US visits or business reason?

Did we ever hear back from her as to how it went on the 11th? I don't think so... am curious... If memory recalls, they got blue for a Singapore Police certificate so the lack of frontloading didn't seem to be an issue. Ugh. Its always something, huh! Great that it's an easy overcome! Sure that was them? Checking her post history, she posted nothing after the 10th.