rogerinca

Mike, I know they have changed the day of the week and the time of day for the ACH, a couple of times now, in the past three years. I do recall, however, that when I last attended, the time had been changed to later in the afternoon, from the previous time I went there. Here is the link and the currently posted info, from the USCONGUZ website: http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/citizen.html To be safe and since you are in town, you might give them a call and double check what is on their webpage. Mike, I found another link from a previous post of mine on this subject: I would just call in your morning (Monday) and double check. Rog

I guess this is not about an ACH? The ACH's are on Mondays, as you state Mike: General Information American Citizen Hour American citizens are not permitted to accompany NIV applicants (friends, relatives, employees, etc.) to their interview. Instead, if they have general non-immigrant visa questions, they are encouraged to speak to an officer during American citizen hour, which is held each Monday afternoon from 3:00 - 4:00 PM in the NIV waiting room. Please note that specific case information cannot be shared nor can a case be pre-adjudicated. I looked through the entire USCONGUZ website, and there are no mentions of a 'Reception' on May 8th. The only thing I could find which is even close, is held on a Thursday. It is called a Weekly Forum: American consulate ON-GOING ACTIVITIES (All events are free of charge) WEEKLY FORUM Building Toward A Sustainable Future (Apr 2 - Apr 30, every Thursday afternoon) April 2 launches a new Weekly Forum series examining environmental and energy issues. We look forward to your joining us to learn more about the United States and to share your viewpoints. Venue Public Affairs Section Office, 3rd Floor Garden Hotel (unless notified otherwise) 花园酒店三楼美国领事馆文化处多功能会议室 (另有通知除外) Time Video Screening 2:30 to 3:30pm Lecture & Discussion 3:30 to 5:00pm

I take it you are speaking of the American Citizen's Hour (ACH) ? Most here, including myself, have taken this opportunity to introduce themselves to the Consulate representative, get entered into the data base as being present in GZ; then asking any questions that might be unique to your specific case, or issues that you might be concerned about regarding your case. I had a question or two about my stepdaughter. Also, a general question or two, about the process. This is also a good opportunity to get a 'feel' for the 4th floor coffee shop area and the 5th floor interview area where your fiancee will be at, later on. Moreover, it is an opportunity to visit with others in your same situation. On my first visit to ACH, there were five CFL members present, as I recall. Get there a little early, as the line can get long, and then you may be delayed in filling out the question form at the first window you line up for, prior to waiting for your assigned number to be called. This is my direct experience attending three ACH's at the Consulate in Guangzhou. Best of luck.

Mike, I had the same problem. I have always had AT&T and could not get customer service in the US, from Guangzhou. Maybe you can give all your info to a trusted family member in the US and they can make this change in your plan for you, from the US side. I, too, had an unlocked AT&T phone and then I got the international plan for about less than five bucks a month. Not a lot of savings over some calling cards, but it helped. What I would do with the unlocked phone, is switch out my US sim card, for a local GZ sim card, for regional calling in China. Then back to my US sim, for calling home and checking messages etc. Best wishes on all your efforts there. Rog

today was your turn.... how did it go? My MSC numbers are still not there LGR< I guess I'll just latch onto your thread.. The bio appn't went very well today. It was scheduled for 11:00, and I left home early, to avoid a traffic surprise along the way (one hour trip). We arrived at 9:50 and I went in and told the security official that we had arrived and asked if they could take us early? He replied, sure, come on in. Showed him the passports and the NOA's and filled out the two forms. They called my daughter first, and then 5 minutes later called my wife. I sat and watched as they did the EFP's and then the photos, both were done about the same time and we were out of there at 10:30 a.m. The security guards and the bio-techs were all very nice and low-key. Very quiet and not very many people in our time slot. Nice modern building, easy to find and parking right close to their front door. Had Dim Sum and tea nearby in downtown Sacto, then hit the Chinese food store before heading back home. I am glad this is out of the way. I just checked and only the MSC #'s for the I-765's are loaded into our portfolio. The I-485 MSC's are not there yet; but I expect they should be soon, now that the Bio-Met is completed.

today was your turn.... how did it go? My MSC numbers are still not there LGR< I guess I'll just latch onto your thread.. The bio appn't went very well today. It was scheduled for 11:00, and I left home early, to avoid a traffic surprise along the way (one hour trip). We arrived at 9:50 and I went in and told the security official that we had arrived and asked if they could take us early? He replied, sure, come on in. Showed him the passports and the NOA's and filled out the two forms. They called my daughter first, and then 5 minutes later called my wife. I sat and watched as they did the EFP's and then the photos, both were done about the same time and we were out of there at 10:30 a.m. The security guards and the bio-techs were all very nice and low-key. Very quiet and not very many people in our time slot. Nice modern building, easy to find and parking right close to their front door. Had Dim Sum and tea nearby in downtown Sacto, then hit the Chinese food store before heading back home. I am glad this is out of the way.

Yes, as Randy and Dan state and as has been discussed here a lot in the past months: This is from the instructions for the support form: You must provide either an IRS transcript or a photocopyfrom your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year. If you believe additional returns may help you to establish your ability to maintain sufficient income, you may submit transcripts or photo copies of your Federal individual income tax returns for the three most recent years. I went ahead and included the full three years, even though I far exceed minimums, and with W-2's attached to each Form 1040.

how does your argument for not learning the language of the country you live in really add anything useful to her position in china now ? She's a friend, I was just cheering her up !! Humor is good for the soul.

Chris, sorry I missed this when you first posted. While I don¡¯t feel qualified to provide you with a personal experience answer, my street instinct and advice would be that you learn the Chinese equivalent words for ¡®f..k-off' !! Never back down from someone like this. Remember, you are not only an ABC, you are a So-Cal girl!! Also, hope all goes well with your process. We look forward to visiting with you guys for lunch, when you and Lao Gong return to your current home in Sacto. Your husband can talk to my wife in perfect Mandarin or Cantonese, and you can talk to me in perfect English. BTW, my nephew (my older brother's son) is married to a highly educated (civil engineer) first generation ABC, (age 34) and she can't speak much Chinese either. Further, my niece (my younger sister's daughter) is married to an OTB, Chinese, and his English is crap, even after 15 years here.

They want a photo copy of the front/back of the I-94 card when submitting the I-485 package for AOS. And yes, the I-94 is date stamped at the POE, and stapled to the passport, next to the US entry visa. As far as additional evidence of status/relationship, this has been reported other threads within this forum in recent weeks/months. I included our joint IRS Form 1040's for previous three years, joint phone, electric, gas, utility statements, medical and dental insurance ID's and statements, daughter's school ID and grade reports, and multiple photos of us together as a family, for multiple months, in multiple settings, here in the USA. I also added (not required) an updated Evolution of Relationship/Marriage statement.

I was thinking about you guys today ! You're married 2.5 years, this should sail right through. Our I-765 MSC's loaded in the system (portfolio) last week, but not yet on the I-485 MSC #'s. Tomorrow !!

You have some good advice here from others, on how to approach this issue. Wow, this is really too bad. I am so amazed that this could happen, all while using an attorney who (I assume) specializes in immigration law and does this for a living. How do you miss filing the entire second I-130 package for the child !!?? You would think that this attorney would have some ¡®checks¡¯ and/or case file audits in place, to prevent this sort of thing from happening. The timeline on all of this is not real clear in your post, however, you would think that when that NOA-1 or for sure when that NOA-2 did not show up for the child, an alarm bell would have gone off in her office. Furthermore, I notice in your timeline, you had an RFE out of the CSC. Was this due to [another] oversight on this attorney¡¯s part?? This is too bad; I really can imagine the frustration you feel in this situation. This person should be doing whatever it takes to fix this for you and to ensure the process moves forward as expeditiously as possible. I hope you got a partial refund out of this. Best wishes and good luck for a swift resolution !!

Congratulations !!!!!!!!!!! Sounds like you guys had it all in order, by the way the questioning went and your success at the conclusion. Best wishes !!!

thats your normal response to anything i post, thanks for your insightful input Roger First, this is absolutely without foundation. Next, you missed the point and the humor of the specific post.

I think the next step, is this thread will most likely be shutdown. Life is just a series of re-runs.

Chris, I agree with what the others say here. Even though it was a year ago at this time, our P-3 to P-4 time was 31 days. Although, it seems the norm may now be faster this year. I also think you should do the long distance call to the DOS number, as soon as they open in the morning. I started calling there each morning when I figured I was about two weeks out. They will have the latest updated info as soon as it is entered into the big computer by the staff at GUZ. As I recall it was 0830 EST, when they open, so that will be 12 hours difference for you. If you wait until later in the morning or afternoon their time, you might end up on hold for 15 to 20 mins. I would watch the clock and get into their system right at 0830 and maybe only be on hold for 1 to 5 mins. Some have reported here in the past that the info from that China based VIS system is not always the best source. The holidays may have slowed them down a little, I know that happened last year too; and I was also on the edge, just waiting for the word !! You will be fine and should hear very soon now. Best wishes, we look forward to seeing you here in Sacto' after you are both together !! Roger

Yes, it is the visa type. On ours, I put K-3 Visa for my wife and K-4 Visa on my daughter's form for I-485.. The expiration date is the date on the US Visa attached to her passport....Issue Date on the left and over to the right, Expiraton Date. Both of ours were 06-01-10. For a K-3 and K-4, the expiration date on the visa is the same as the one on the I-94. However, they are asking about the visa date, not the I-94 date. Best wishes. They seem to ask about the I-94 and Current status expiration, which would be the date on the I-94. Visas must be used before the expiration, but the status extended by the visa expires on the date on the I-94. That's what I was wondering.... Does it matter that the I-94 has expired? That was my concern: I didn't want to cause problems by entering an expired date.... So is it the Visa or the I-94....? Again, the specific answer to your original question is: Status: Your visa type. Expiration date: The date the visa expires. For this question on page #1, of the I-485, they are not speaking to the I-94 !! If you are K-1, then put K-1. Then enter the expriation date of the K-1 visa. Simple. I just filled mine out last month. I did not get an RFE.

It was a year ago, but I checked the Circling GUZ thread, and found a post from me on 05-01-08 #915: I had my wife include a pre-addressed label with our P-3 package. Please note, she still has not received the P-3 from GUZ. We returned our download package, with our own EMS label, as soon as I saw the P-3 was generated in the DOS system. We may have P-4 before we have the GUZ version of the P-3 ?? I remember I generated a lot of discussion around this time, with thoughts of maybe just guessing at the time the P-3 would be issued and jumping the gun (within the process) so to speak, based on other members timeline experiences; however, I decided that this would not be responsible, given the possible negative consequences. Therefore, I did the next best thing, as outlined in my post last year...I used the USCIS downloadable forms, had them all ready to go and had Lao Po mail them just as soon as I gave her the go ahead, which was the moment we showed up in the DOS system as having the P-3 issued. This was my direct experience, and all in all, it turned out well, and I had the interview date earlier than most had predicted.

Yes, it is the visa type. On ours, I put K-3 Visa for my wife and K-4 Visa on my daughter's form for I-485.. The expiration date is the date on the US Visa attached to her passport....Issue Date on the left and over to the right, Expiraton Date. Both of ours were 06-01-10. For a K-3 and K-4, the expiration date on the visa is the same as the one on the I-94. However, they are asking about the visa date, not the I-94 date. Best wishes.

It was our direct experience (about this time last year) that the P-4 and the actual interview date were both issued/realized, exactly 31 days from when the P-3 was received by my wife, who lived in GZ. I started calling the D.C. number (Mike provided in his post) every morning, starting about two weeks after the P-3 was returned to GUZ. I called first thing in the morning, right at the time the call center opened, otherwise I would be on hold for 20 or more mins later in the day. It was such a happy day, to hear the woman tell me that we had our date set.....and even earlier than most others had thought. I will never forget the feelings of that period of time.

Well, the woman at USCIS was correct, the two Bio letters were mailed and they arrived at my PO Box today. They were both mailed within the normal time frame, but it was the postal service which caused the delay. Normally it is two days from Sacramento to Chicago, as was with the NOA for I-485; however, it was five total days from post mark in Chicago to arrival at my post office this a.m. We had a lot of heavy rain the past two days and this may have caused the delay in making air connections with the mail. So, all is on track and well within the ¡®norms¡¯ for this stage of the process. And yes, I think it is now the norm for it to take a couple of weeks or more for the data entry folks to get caught up with the work load, and get these entered into the online system. I am just happy that they are handling these files so quickly at the inception of the process. Also, if Charles reads this¡­.The ¡®A¡¯ number was listed on both NOA¡¯s for Biometric appointment. It is labeled ¡°USCIS A#¡± and then the number is shown, starting with the alpha A09-------. This is the same A number that is on the NOA for I-485. My wife and daughter¡¯s A#¡¯s are sequential, which tells they were processed together, at the same time, as I had hoped for. I am assuming the 09, indicates the year of the number series? And back to the thesis of this thread, I think these folks are all overworked and somewhat stressed, by stressed out callers/customers; therefore, a little courtesy and politeness and kindness, goes a long way with respect to the level of service you get in return IMO. The first guy I talked to could have just told me..."hey wait 30 days and call back if you don't get it by then." Instead, he forwarded me to a real agent at the CSC, who could access the real computer, and see all that was going on, even the date of the scheduled bio appointment !! Just an observation for others who follow.

Mike, I am happy things are well for you two !! Enjoy your time in the PRC !!! BTW, there is no 'A' number on our K-3 or K-4 visa either; just the control number and the actual visa number with no letter attached. Nothing on the visa matches the 'A' number found on our NOA for I-485, which starts with the letter A.

I just got off the phone with the NCSC office in Washington, as I had a question on the status of my AOS processing. My receipt of a biometrics appointment letter seemed to be running a little late, as compared to most others who have recently filed the I-485 for AOS. Therefore, I was a little concerned that something had become lost or misplaced. First, I got right through without any hold time. Next the male agent I spoke with was very understanding and very courteous. He was unable to pull anything up in ¡®his¡¯ system, and told me he would have to transfer me to another unit to assist me further. He did tell me that from what he could see on his computer, there were no issues or problems with my application. He transferred me and after about a 30 second wait, a woman with a Hispanic accent came on the line. I briefly explained my concern and she said she understood and asked for my receipt numbers. I gave her my wife¡¯s receipt number first and after supplying some other ID info, she asked if my wife could come on the phone, so she could verify with her. I had my wife come to the phone and she was asked her name and DOB. I then got back on the phone. The agent told me ¡°your wife sounds so sweet,¡± I told her she definitely was. She then told me that sometimes it take a couple of weeks or more for me to be able to ¡®see¡¯ the file info on-line at the USCIS website. She then told me that I should be receiving the biometrics appointment letter soon. She said ¡°I cannot see any issues or problems with your case.¡± Then she asked me to wait for a minute while she checked another area of the file. After a minute she came back on the line and told me that we had been scheduled for the biometrics appointment later in the month and she provided the date and time. I then asked her about my daughter wherein she pulled her info up too and advised me that the date and time was the same for her as it was for my wife. She told me not to worry, that I would be receiving the appointment letter in the mail any day now, and again repeated that there were no issues with our applications. I thanked her for her help and professional attitude in assisting me. She told me that I came across to her as a kind man, and that she very much appreciated the way I interacted with her. I asked her where she was and she said she was at the service center in Los Angeles. I did not get any run-around, nor just a generic answer to my questions/concerns. Both agents were responsive and accomodating. Just wanted to post this and maybe off-set and balance some of the negative we often read here.

I wouldn't be so quick to take the credit. More like our 'fee' dollars at work....for those of us who have previously paid them.