frank1538

The A number or Alien Registration Number is the number assigned by USCIS usually once it has taken favorable action on an alien's file. For many, it will first show up on the NOA2 when the I-129F is appoved and may eventually find its way onto the I-94 when the alien first enters the US and will definitely end up on the alien's green card. The A number is an 8 or 9 digit number starting with the "09" or "9".

I assume you are already married, and the K-1 has long expired so you are now waiting on the AOS to process. If this is the case, I would advise against her going back to China without advance parole. Absent advance parole, she'll likely need another visa to enter the country, and she may be deemed to have abandoned her AOS. Depending on your area, AP can process relatively quickly, maybe 1-3 months, and there are provisions for expedited processing. I doubt that your situation would be one that USCIS would favorably expedite. So, I would check the processing dates for where you would file and see if there's enough lead time. If so, it may be worth a shot. Is is possible to sign the papers long distance, either by having the papers sent here or her providing a power of attorney or the Chinese equivalent to a trusted friend who could sign there on her behalf?

Typically, police clearance certificates are obtained where the houkou (family registry) is maintained and cover all of China. PS. Never take my word as the final word.

Welcome to CFL. As Tony linked, the normal length for expiring documents is one year, but a lot of people start to feel nervous after six months and go ahead and get fresh documents just to be safe. After waiting almost a year for the interview, some folks just don't want to tempt fate. I was among those and got updated documents. You don't need to get the employment letter translated since it's already in English. However, other documents written in Chinese will need a certified translation. I'm sure Phil was referring to the other documents. Good luck.

You're on your way. It'll be one hell of a ride. Good luck.

Looks like GUZ has updated its website: http://guangzhou.usconsulate.gov/index.html I haven't checked to see if the information is same.

I always found DOS to have reliable information. I often heard good news from DOS before I'd get an e-mail from GUZ. GUZ didn't have the telephone service when I was going through the process, but I'd bet their access to information is somewhat limited, designed to placate callers, and is more directed at providing general procedural information (do I need to file this? etc.) than timely case specific information.

You and Li have the patience of Job. I hope that GUZ tries to speed things up for you tow. Best of luck.

Congratulations on the P4. David hit the nail on the head. Just to reiterate what he and romantic said. You will need to complete the I-864 irrespective of you income/assets, but it sounds like you'll be needing a joint sponsor as well. As far as return travel to China after your wife enters the US, pay some attention to the length of travel limitations that might require a re-entry permit.

Congratulations and best wishes. If I remember correctly, since you got married in Hong Kong, you'll be able to do K-3 through that consulate rather than GUZ- much faster.

Sounds like an RFE. Maybe they couldn't figure out what to do with the pictures that you subsequently sent and just tossed them. RFEs can be misleading because they often list everything that could be sent. You sometimes have to interpret the actual request to determine what it is that they are actually looking for.

Can't say I've seen this happen before. I will say this though. Unlike some consulates/embassies, I have always found the Chinese consulate to be very responsive to e-mail inquiries. I once applied for a visa and the bank employee forgot to sign the bank check covering the visa fee. I dropped the consulate (Houston) an e-mail and asked if they would hold the application until I sent another check rather than returning the entire application. This was before we had to apply in person or use a service. The consulate was quick to respond and very accommodating. You might try sending them an e-mail and asking them.

As Jesse's link shows, most reported denials of K-1 petitions by USCIS deal with the "having met your fiancee" requirement. At the consulate level, there have been a few denials (not "blue slips") related to the actual visa itself. Most are "lack of bona fide relationship" based. A couple of CFLers are working through the process related to attempts by the consulate to return the files back to USCIS for revocation of the original petition.

yes so in short from what I read. Once my SO has us Citisenship then she can file a N-600 for her daughter that is bellow 18. 193044[/snapback] That's the way I read the law. Technically, citizenship is automatic (don't have to even file for the certificate of citizenship): http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_448.html "...Q: Will a child who has met the requirements of this new law need to apply for a passport from the State Department or a Certificate of Citizenship from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in order to become a citizen? A: No. As soon as the law's requirements have been met, the child acquires U.S. citizenship automatically without the need to apply for either a passport or a Certificate of Citizenship. "

Assuming your SO and child arrive in the US on a K visa rather than a CR/IR visa, both will have to go through AOS. Just because the parent gets a green card doesn't mean the child will automatically get a green card. A separate application and possible separate interview will be required. Your SO can apply for citizenship after three years of legal permanent residency: http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/Special.htm#spouses Your SO's child over age 18 can also apply for residency after five years unless the child falls under a special rule: http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/general.htm If the special rule applies, a child's citizenship is automatic provided the child meets the conditions outlined in the application for a certificate of citizenship: http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/N-600.pdf Here are a couple of more links dealing with children and citizenship: http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/faq.htm#q24 and http://www.paulmedved.com/DynamicContentPage.shtml

Jingwen is not a big fan of American food but last night, I sauteed some shiitake mushrooms in olive oil (I would have preferred butter, but she won't touch it), garlic, a touch of parsley, and sherry. She gobbled up more than her share, noting that this was not American but Italian food.

Congratulations!!

Man, you're really rockin' and rollin' for a CR-1. Congratulations. And just think - no AOS when she gets here. Best of luck at the interview.

You've touched on a little known area - "head of household" for married folks, and the IRS is right is saying that even though you were married, you might fit the head of household category. Here's some additional guidance on the subject: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#d0e2164 There are three requirements that must be met in order to file as head of household: 1) you have to be unmarried or considered unmarried; 2) you have to have paid more than half of the costs of keeping up your home; and 3) you have a "qualified person" who lived with you for more than half the year. The first requirement (unmarried or considered unmarried) is where an alien spouse figures in. This is what Pub 501 says: "...Nonresident alien spouse. You are considered unmarried for head of household purposes if your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the year and you do not choose to treat your nonresident spouse as a resident alien. However, your spouse is not a qualifying person for head of household purposes. You must have another qualifying person and meet the other tests to be eligible to file as a head of household." Assuming you meet the other requirements, you are right in running the numbers both ways to see which produces the best answer. I agree though, if the numbers are about the same, I'd prefer to go to an AOS interview armed with a joint return.

That sounds very promising. I wish you and Ying the best.

Just to add a little confusion. When my step son get his Welcome to America letter (post approval), he also got two notices to schedule biometrics. I call USCIS on this, and the representative said to wait to see if the green card came in a couple of weeks. If it arrived, he said to assume the biometrics notices were not needed. Well, the green card arrived, but I didn't want to screw things up with not scheduling the biometrics within the 84 day time-frame stated in the notice. I called again and worked my way through the maze until I was able to talk to someone who was familiar with the AOS process. He told me that CSC (where the AOS files ended up) had a number of input errors which generated bogus biometric notices. With the A number in hand, he was able to confirm that my step son's biometric notices were among the bogus ones. He again re-affirmed that my step son did not need further biometrics since he already received his green card. I guess the lesson in all of this is that it sometimes makes sense to check to make sure the biometrics are really needed. The representative did say, however, that sometimes, proper notices do go out after the interview or even after the approval in instances where previous biometrics did not "take".

So much the better. In reading USCONGUZ's post, I would conclude that the consulate won't - not 100% sure, but sure enough. Please remember, though, that this is a public forum.

I tend to agree that K-1 shouldn't be included, but I don't know for certain. Again, the principal question is whether the US would contact the employer, and it seems the likelihood is low. The more I think about this, the more I feel that the real issue may be with the Chinese government rather than the US government. Is it possible that China might attempt to block an emigration from China because the applicant is in a sensitive position? If the possibility is real, then jean-charles raises a legitimate question - should his fiancee quit now while it's still early in the process? Unfortunately, I doubt if USCONGUZ can give much guidance on this question.

When I posed the question, I was thinking of those sensitive areas (primarily technology or military) where additional inquiries might be warranted. Take a look at this link: http://www.greencardlawyers.com/answers_fo...ritychecks.html : "...Visas Mantis: Technologies with Possible Military Use The Visas Mantis security check is used when potentially sensitive technologies are involved in your visit, work, studies or research in the United States. This check is used when you are involved in any of the 15 categories found on the Critical Fields List (CFL) of the State Department¡¯s Technology Alert List (TAL)." Whether such an additional inquiry is used for K-1 applicants or also involves checking with the employer is unknown, but my sense from reading USCONGUZ's post is that checking with an employer is very very rare.

That's wonderful news. Good luck to you both.