yangxifu

Thanks, Randy! We have high hopes of this ending in a 10 year green card! Well... maybe "ending" is not the right word since there is still citizenship to attain if my husband decides he wants it. We're just so excited that we're so close to attaining all the physical and mental security that comes with permanent residence, most importantly knowing we will be able to grow old together and raise our daughter together BTW, Does anyone know if during the AOS (from K-3) interview husband and wife are interviewed together or separately? Also, is it true that the interviewers often ask very personal questions?

Yep, K-3 applies for EAD when filing for AOS, the EAD makes a good ID. Also can use the EAD to get SSN, and then in all states use EAD and SSN to apply for a State ID like a driver's license or learner's permit. He hasn't needed it for anything yet. So far everywhere has just accepted his passport as proof of ID. Makes sense since he is technically sill a Chinese citizen and non-immigrant. We want to get him a driver's license, but can't until he gets a SSN which they won't give him until his EAD is approved. We did apply for EAD when we filed for AOS, but it hasn't been approved yet. I'm surprised because I thought the whole point was that it was supposed to be faster than AOS.

My husband's AOS interview is coming up fast. 1. He doesn't speak any English, just Chinese. The interview appointment letter says he "should bring an interpreter". We're wondering who will the USCIS accept as an interpreter. Do we have to pay a disinterested 3rd party to do it or can it be a friend or relative? Better yet, will the USCIS allow me (the wife) to be the interpreter? Note that because I learned Chinese informally I don't have any credentials that support my language proficiency. 2. Just want to clarify about required ID. The appointment letter says that every adult "must bring Government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license or ID card". I assume "government-issued" isn't referring exclusively to U.S. government-issued ID, right? In other words, his Chinese passport is fine, right? 3. Our daughter (17 months) is an American citizen. USCIS doesn't require her to attend the interview. But, will USCIS allow her into the interview with us? We prefer to bring her with us as proof of our relationship and because we don't have anyone that can babysit her for us. Has anyone brought their nonAOS-seeking child to the interview before. Did it cause a negative reaction? Thanks in advance for the help and info. We are sooooo glad to have found this site to help us for the AOS! Wish we had found it when we were working on the visa.

Great! So I guess I'm ready to mail this thing and get things rolling. Thanks again for all the help

My mother whom we are currently living with is providing the I-864A. I believe parents qualify to use the I-864A, right? She is acting as joint sponsor, but, as I understand it, because we reside in the same household she is allowed to fill out the simplified/shorter form (I-864A) instead of the more complicated/longer I-864 form. Thank you for your feedback... the links were very helpful!

May 6, 2010 RE: Immediate Relative (Spouse) Family Based Adjustment of Status Application Applicant: Name Married Name on Date A#: Number Address: Place Entered USA Date Phone: Number Dear Sir or Madam: Enclosed please find the following documents in support of NAME¡¯s AOS application: 1) Form I-485 2) Check #XXXXX for $1010 (I-485 filing fee and biometrics fee) 3) Copy of passport (biographical page, entry stamps, signature page, and K-3 Visa) 4) Copy of NOA2, I-797, approval for I-130 5) Copy of I-94 (front and back) 6) Copy of birth certificate and certified translation 7) Certified copy of Marriage Certificate 8) 2 Passport photos 9) Form G-325A 10) Form I-693 in a sealed envelope (Part 1 Information About the Applicant, Part 2 Vaccination Chart, and Part 5 Civil Surgeon¡¯s Certification as medical exam was done overseas on 12/7/2009) 11) Form I-864 (US Citizen Spouse) Proof of Citizenship and ID (U.S. birth certificate) Copy of 2007 W-2 (Please note U.S. Citizen Spouse does not have 2008 or 2009 W-2s as she was working abroad.) Copy of 2009, 2008, 2007 U.S. Federal Tax Returns 12) Form I-864A (Household Member Sponsor) Copy of Identification (U.S. Passport) Proof of Joint Residence (Utility Bill ¨CSponsor; Bank Statement ¨C U.S. Citizen Spouse) Copy of 2009, 2008, 2007 W-2s Copy of 2009, 2008, 2007 U.S. Federal Tax Returns Employment and Salary Verification Letter 13) Form I-765 14) 2 Passport photos 15) Copy of passport 16) Form I-131 and supplement Part 7 17) 2 Passport photos 18) Copy of passport 19) Copy of I-94 Sincerely, Name Enclosure(s) I'm especially concerned that I might be missing some supporting evidence regarding the I-765 or I-131 even though I already double checked the instructions that go along with those forms. Your help is always greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

To clarify: He needs tested for TB and Syphilis? But this would have already been done during his medical exam in China, right? Thanks for all of your help during this process!!

Sorry this is so long... just trying to give some background. Question is in the last paragraph. My husband had his first series of immunizations in China in Jan. 2010. They gave him shots for Td, MMR, and Varicella, as those are the only immunizations the doctor said he required on a K-3 visa. They gave us a record of the immunizations in a yellow book (International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis). Ok, so now I'm preparing his AOS paperwork and know that he's overdue for the next shots in the series. After researching on CFL about where to go to get the best price, I've scheduled an appointment for him for tomorrow at a local community health care center that will give him the immunizations for free. I also got a list of Civil Surgeons (I must admit that I'm quite intimidated by all the horror stories I've read on here) that I've been calling for a few days now to try and locate someone who is willing to just fill out the I-693 Parts 2 and 5 as I've already filled in Part 1 for a reasonable price. I finally found a civil surgeon that will just transfer the immunization records, but he seems to think that my husband is required to get immunizations for TB and Syphilis. This is new to me. Is it true? If so I would like to get the immunizations done tomorrow at the free clinic rather than at the civil surgeons office. Also, as I was researching required immunizations for AOS, I came across something that seemed to say that a TB skin test was required as a part of the medical exam. Note my husband already had his medical exam done in China within that last 6 months and no problems were found. This means he isn't required to get any TB shots, right? I didn't find anything about Syphilis.

Thanks for clarifying. Someone else is sponsoring my husband using an I-864 because I just moved to the States with him form China and haven't found a job yet. There income is enough to qualify to support him, but do I still need to fill out an I-864 because I'm the immediate relative spouse?

My husband can't speak/read English so of course I filled out the I-485 for him (along with every other document he ever needed to fill out in English . But now, I'm on the last page and not sure how to proceed with the signing of it. In the past, I've always had him sign the forms after I fill them in. Because of the wording of the I-485 Part 5 I'm not sure if I should do that this time. Although, my husband and I communicate solely in Chinese, I'm not a professional interpreter. I don't consider myself fluent in Chinese, especially as regards a super accurate translation of government documents. Can I just leave all of Part 5 blank and sign my own name in Part 6 as the preparer of the form? What are your recommendations?

Is filing the G-28, as a spouse/sponsor still an option? It seems that the G-28 form has been updated eliminating the "Other" field, thus allowing only lawyers and (how was it worded... leaders?) of certain organizations to utilize it. Any insights?

What if the birth certificate and marriage certificate are in Chinese? Is a regular photocopy of a certified English translation acceptable or should the original certified English translations be sent?

Hey, just wanted to post a quick update to the original post. We entered the U.S. about a week ago using my husband's K-3 visa (Issue date: xxx 2010; Expiration date: xxx 2010-- aka 6 month validity). When we entered the U.S. my husband's I-94 form was secured into his passport and stamped with a new xxx 2012 expiration date-- aka 2 year validity! In conclusion, it appears that the "enter by" date for the K-3 might be shorter than originally issued, but the actual validity of the visa, as far as duration of stay, continues to be 2 years. Hope this helps the next generation of K-3 petitioners.

I 2nd the "dual citizenship isn't a possibility in China" info. I would also add that as this site daily reminds us, getting a long term US visa for loved ones is usually a very long and difficult process whereas it is very easy to get Chinese visas for loved ones (though admittedly the length of the visa can vary greatly between 3 months to 1 year) My baby was also born a year ago in China (Feb 22- I can hardly believe it!!!), and we waited until she was 3 months old to make the trip to Beijing (the nearest US embassy to our residence) in order to do a report of birth abroad. We got a passport for her at the same time and a SSN so I can claim her on my taxes. Next, we had to go to the local (local to where the baby was born; not local as in her parents hometown) PSB with her US passport in hand to file for her exit visa. We had some difficulty getting this due to the particularly locality and the extreme uncooperativeness of the PSB (in the end a red envelope greased the sticky wheel and we were able to get the exit permit). The exit permit had a validity of only 3 or 6 months... I'll have to check which. If we let it expire we would have to return to the local PSB (again, local to the birthplace of the child) to get another one. We were told by our local PSB that in order to renounce her Chinese citizenship, we had to take her back to the U.S. specifically, and that she would not be allowed to reenter China until doing so. However, we heard from others that any country would suffice, so we exited to Hong Kong where we very easily got her a Chinese L visa (for visiting relatives) and then reentered China. The embassy in Hong Kong insisted that they could only give her a 6 month visa, but that it could be renewed within China. I have heard from another Chinese/American couple living in China with several children that these L visas (for visiting relatives) can not be continually renewed within China. I think she said the limit was 3 before having to return to your home county to renew. Personally, we haven't gotten that far yet... my baby's 1st Chinese visa expires next month and we are moving to the States before that. Also, I was thinking that if you didn't already file for a report of birth abroad, then you may be interested in the following. I believe the longer you wait the more difficult it is to get a report of birth abroad. When we filed (our baby was 3 months old) the Consulate website didn't say that any proof of relationship was required other than our daughter's original Chinese birth certificate. So we didn't bring any. Both of the parents and the child are required to go to the consulate for a short interview in order to get the report of birth abroad. When we were interviewed, the interviewer made a comment about my husband not speaking any English... might have just been off the cuff, but it felt like a strike against us. Then he asked to see proof of that I was indeed our daughters birth mother. I handed him the birth certificate. He asked me didn't I have any other proof. I said that the website didn't say I needed to bring any. (And I was thinking, "Do your really expect me to show you the scars!?") So he asked me to describe in some detail the birthing experience. I think I might have been a little too detailed 'cuz he handed the cert over pretty soon after that. Anyway, I guess my point is that Americans adopt Chinese babies and the longer you wait to get a report of birth abroad the harder you might have to work at convincing the consulate that you not trying to pull a fast one to speed up adoption. Best of luck to you!