yanglan

I had also heard of someone filing in Shenyang and having it forwarded to Beijing. Since I was living in Shenyang at the time I would have preferred not having to travel to Beijing to file, so I contacted both offices directly and was told that it could (would?) not be done and to file in Beijing.

Have your wife call the examination place. The process has been updated and it would be best to get instructions directly from one of the workers. She will have to visit their website and fill out/send a document to them via email.

Not really surprising, tbh. The vast majority of passengers on every flight I've taken between the US and China have been Chinese. It makes sense that airlines which cater to them specifically would have more success running additional flights.

Got it. I paid the fee back in April so we should be good on that, I just wasn't sure what he was talking about regarding the "1 year" thing. If that "Registration number" is the "A-Number" than it must be an "A" not "H" he wrote by the stamp. So since we've got the green card and SSN stuff out of the way, are there any other important things we need to do now that the lady is in the states?

POE: We arrived at JFK airport to a fairly long "Visa" line which I was told we needed to wait in. Kinda surprised there was no fast track for US citizens. With a couple hundred people in front of us and 6 officers working it took ~1 hour for our turn. The officer was very nice and simply opened our package and checked through it for all required stuff (nothing more than a cursory check). He gave my wife's visa a purple stamp and wrote "IR1/H(or maybe A)#######(Her "registration number" from the visa)" We were pretty burned out at this time so I didn't quite follow what he was saying, but I think it was something like the stamp was good for 1 year and that the green card would be arriving for us in ~7-8 weeks since NY is a very busy port. I don't remember him saying anything specific about the green card, am I right to assume it will be good for 10 years? Also, is the # he wrote with the H (or A I'm assuming here) her "A-number"? SSA: When we arrived I talked with an officer there about whether we actually needed see someone from the SSA or not since I had selected to receive a SSN after arrival on the visa application. He said that to be safe we should fill out an application and talk to someone. It took about 20 minutes before we were called up. The worker, again very nice, took my wife's passport, asked her a few questions, and told us her SSN would be arriving in 7-10 days. He didn't mention anything about the visa application.

The 787 sounds nice! I've been aboard the 777 between JFK>PEK and PEK>LAX(or SFO) with Air China for the past few years and the addition of power outlets for every seat is a massive improvement for international flights. Wifi sounds even better, any clue on how much that costs? Knowing AA I doubt it's complementary.

Yes, we saw AP before Issued as well.

Don't worry if the CEAC/ustraveldocs websites seem a little wonky with your wife's passport status over the next week or so. It will be very clear when the visa has been printed, mailed, and ready for pickup.

I think the situation that you're dealing with, and the circumstances of the "other guy" you brought up in your first post, are so vastly different that there's really no point in trying to compare. It seems incredibly unlikely that you'd be able to get a tourist visa for your second Chinese wife who you are in a long, drawn out process of immigrating with her daughter.

I'm still not following how any of this applies to the scenario you posited earlier. Why would a couple with a legitimate relationship do *anything* that could potentially harm that relationship's future in the US? Ah, well in this case you are falling into the two categories of your post which I did not reply to. It may very well be true that it's a fool's errand trying to get a B2 in this situation. In fact, I'd imagine that for *all* visas, relationships involving a husband in the US and a wife in China are scrutinized far more than relationships where the couple is living together. Whether that's right or wrong, it makes sense from an anti-fraud point of view. Can't argue with you there. Having to go through the immigration process with my wife has pushed me much further to the right on the topic of illegal immigration.

What do immigration requirements have to do with applying for a tourism visa? The last 3 points seem irrelevant. I'm not following how this factors into the equation. What benefit is there to concealing the marriage? I spoke directly with our local Consulate General about this very issue and he was clear that if you are a married couple you should not be hiding this fact under any circumstance. Instead you should provide a clear timeline of the trip on her DS-160, include that you will be traveling with her ("Persons Traveling with You"), and list yourself as the "Preparer of Application" with the same address as the wife. This should make it obvious to the consular official that you are residing in China with your wife and that the trip is legitimate. After that it's up to your wife to present the situation as convincingly as possible during the interview. ("You" above refers to the American husband) This is exactly what we did to get my wife her B2 the first time around. Obviously there are no guarantees, but I can't understand how anyone would risk their wife's future immigration by trying to pull a fast one on the State Department. P.S. It's possible I misunderstood exactly what SloppyZhou was talking about but I felt the need to stress the importance of doing things "by the book" in regards to successfully obtaining visas (tourism and immigration) for legitimate couples. Don't do anything that risks your future!

"My understanding that it's almost impossible for an American man, especially one who is living in China to procure a tourist visa for a woman he married in China. Especially when she's never had a previous visa to the USA, and even more when the American man's only domicile is mommy, who live's in the USA." This was exactly my situation when my wife got her first B-2 tourism visa. We made it clear that the visa was to visit my home for the holidays and that we'd both be returning to China after they were over. My wife had almost no assets and an entry level job as we were both in our mid-20s.

Correct, this is the exact process my wife went through. I'm not sure why Kevin's wife didn't have to pay the fee.

Just updating our current status - CGIFederal has changed from "Your passport is still with the US Embassy/Consulate" to now showing "Document Delivery Information:" but no location, just blank. Does this mean it's in processing, on the way, or has arrived?

Found the website showing the actual status: https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx- Issued