jonp31

My wife's biometrics was on Jan 9 and the interview is scheduled for March 7.

Nice work!

Here I¡¡really have no idea of whether or not it will "make a difference." It looks no one else had any thoughts on that either but if you're worried about domicile being an issue it may be worth doing just in case. By the way, your "backwater" city is only about 2 hours away from mine if your screen name isn't a misnomer (I take it that's Jinan as in the capital of Shandong). It's probably a little too late to say anything about your question on the letter, about whether it's necessary to have it notarized. I wasn't on here the last two days otherwise I'd have replied sooner. This is another one of those issues where I don't know how much weight it really carries but I went ahead and had my brother and his wife get it notarized because it wasn't that much of a hassle for them and it at least made me feel better about it. It should carry some weight since anyone can write and sign anything they want and pass it off as someone else's words. I'll send you a copy of the letter on a PM so you can see what we took. Again I know it may be a little late at this point. One idea could be to have your sponsor get the letter notarized then scan it and email it to you to print out if there's no time to get it in the mail. If he already sent the first "non-notarized" then you could bring both to the interview and all bases should be covered.

My case was for a K-1 so obviously a bit different than yours but I'll go ahead and add my two cents anyway since the affidavit of support criteria for the I-134 (that's what K-1ers use) appears to be the same as that of the I-864. I've been living in China for about 4 years now and my biggest worry in the process was also about DOMICILE - giving enough evidence to show I will be re-establishing domicile in the States this coming summer with my fiancee when we go back to get married. I'll show you what I used for evidence although I obviously don't know how much of it was necessary or at all important to the VO. I attached a "supplement" sheet to the I-134 form (your I-864) that had the sole purpose of speaking to the domicile issue with regard to finances. This is how I prefaced that page: "To satisfy the domicile requirement for sponsorship (9 FAM 40.41 N6.1-2 ¡°Establishing U.S. Domicile¡±) let these active accounts satisfy you from the financial aspect that I consider the United States as my principal home despite having lived in China several years and I will return there with my fianc¨¦e upon receipt of the K-1 visa to reestablish my physical residence there." Fortunately I do have bank accounts and credit cards, all of which have some (though not much) activity. I did open up a new online savings account between getting the P3 and going to the interview and that's an option you could look into. That way you could get some money transferred into an account with your name on it in the States. I don't know if that will carry any weight or not since it's right before the interview but it may be worth a shot. For me, it was something I wanted to do regardless, so whether it meant anything to the VO or not was inconsequential. I mentioned in that supplemental sheet that my cosponsor (brother) had written a letter with more information regarding my plans to reestablish domicile in the States (that I used his address as my permanent address while in China and had mail sent there and he and his wife offered to let me and my fiancee stay with them as long as necessary until we find our own place, etc.). That letter, signed by my brother and his wife and notarized, was attached to their I-134 and therefore the VO was certain to see it when we handed in documents. I also made mention of another letter written by my parents testifying to the same thing (plans for reestablishing domicile) which my fiancee would be carrying with her during the interview ... they did not care to see it. Other things we brought to the interview were my driver's license and voter registration card but they didn't look at those and I don't think they even new we had them. They DID however seem to read the letter from my brother that was attached to the I-134 because some of the questions they asked my fiancee seemed to come from things they gleaned from it. You'll probably be fine. You might look into opening a bank account though with an explanation of why it was opened so "late in the game" i.e. you did not need it while you were in China but now that you are going to return to live in the States it is one of the steps you're taking to reestablish US domicile. Also, a letter from your cosponsor should explain that you use his address as your permanent address while temporarily out of the country and his home is open to you and your wife should you need it while finding your own housing upon return. The other key is making sure they SEE the things that were written. That's why I paper-clipped my supplement/explanation and my brother's letter to the back of our affidavits of support. They couldn't see them right away when they collected documents and therefore couldn't REJECT them, but since they were there the VO couldn't have helped but see and read them. Good luck! (oh, and I think I remember you asking what the general timeline is from P3 to interview. When I was at that stage I looked at many others' timelines and it seemed like 7-8 weeks. My timeline appears to be longer than that but I had sent in an incomplete P3 and had to resend a document. So I think mine would have been in the same 7-8 week time frame if not for that mistake. And if it wasn't you who was asking this question a little while back then I apologize for so much unnecessary info!)

Way to go!!

Good to hear, thanks!

We just got my fiancee's passport/visa package from the Consulate ... well, it went through a couple hands first. We didn't stay in Guangzhou to pick it up and they don't deliver to where we're at so I had it sent to a friend in Guangzhou who then sent it here. I got it today and found that the brown sealed envelope is missing a big piece out of the corner. Is that normal? It was clearly done purposefully and carefully and I'm assuming it was done by someone at the post office to make sure my friend wasn't sending any contraband. Has that happened to anyone and more importantly, should that be any problem at the POE? Again, the envelope is still sealed shut and the hole is not really large enough to take papers out of but big enough to see what documents are in there.

I doubt he'll need to show the money being converted to RMB in the past. Best way to find out is just go to the bank and ask, but from my experience here (and again, it wasn't large sums of money so that may go by different rules) if the money was transferred by my Chinese fiancee it was short and simple (as short and simple as Bank of China can be anyway -- if you have an account with them you probably know what I mean )

Whenever I've sent money back to the States I've not even attempted to have it sent in my name - the bank staff themselves (this was at Bank of China) told me it would be much simpler to get a Chinese friend to do it - less complicated, lower fees(?) and apparently no need to show money having been previously converted from USD to RMB. Last summer I went with my fiancee to the bank and withdrew cash then she filled out the papers in her name and gave them the cash and they transferred it to my Bank of America account. It was pretty simple. When I tried the same thing a few months ago they said the policy had changed and they needed my fiancee to open a Bank of China account (just takes a few minutes), put the cash in her new account and then used her account to transfer to my US account. So, it was an added step but the result was the same (actually, cheaper fees the second time). Granted this was transferring just a few thousand dollars and I don't know if it would have been different if we tried transferring larger quantities.

Congratulations to you both!

My fiancee had her interview March 1 and came away with the pink! I guess our case was probably pretty "simple" (I work in China, we live in the same city, been in a relationship about two years, age is only 2 years apart, no prior marriages, etc.) but I didn't want to take anything for granted. I'm extremely thankful for the help received here on CFL (I'm here echoing Mike's sentiments who posted just earlier today it looks like) and can't imagine going through this process without the internet . She was asked a handful of the regular questions (perhaps for about two minutes or so) and the rest of the time he was typing into his computer before the "Congratulations" came. It was pretty simple ... then again, my fiancee said that during the time she was in there that guy gave only 1 blue and all the rest were pink so I guess she got called to the right window! We'll be staying in China till the end of the semester then heading to the States in the summer. I know I'll be finding A LOT more help on here for the next phase ...

It's been blocked since summer 2009. There was some unrest/rioting going on in Xinjiang at that time and from what I heard it was blocked in conjunction with that because of groups formed on Facebook to "Support the Revolution." Not sure if that was the real reason for the censorship or not, but in any case that was the time frame.

The end to the K-1 is in sight. I'll be leaving with my fiancee to Guangzhou on Feb. 23 (a fun 26 hour train ride from here in Shandong) ahead of our Feb. 28/March 1 appointments with GUZ. The interview is technically in March but since I've already written on this thread I figured I may as well stay here ... I think I've got everything I need, but would hate to be overlooking something so I'll list what I've got and if anyone sees anything they think I SHOULD have and don't, I'd sure appreciate your input. And perhaps it may also serve as a help to others assembling their own interview folders. Here it is: I-134 ME I-134 Form Letter from employer Letter from Bank Tax Returns: (2010, 2009, 2008) Bank Statements: Bank 1 (July 2010 ¨C January 2011) Bank 2 (July 2010 ¨C January 2011) Bank 3 (January 2011) Duplicates of ALL of the above I-134 Co-Sponsor I-134 and letter Copy of Co-Sponsor's Passport Bio Page Letter from employer Tax Returns: (2010, 2009, 2008) Copies of Co-Sponsor¡¯s W2s: (2010, 2009, 2008) Copies of Co-Sponsor¡¯s wife's W2s (they file jointly on taxes): (2010, 2009) Pay Stubs (August 2010 ¨C February 2011) Duplicates of ALL of the above Folder 1 (Forms, Certificates, Passport Bio Page, etc) P4 Letter from Consulate Unsigned Certificate of Legal Capacity and Intent to Marry Forms: DS-156 (2) DS-156K (2) DS-157 (2) Supplemental Form GNI-2 [*] Certificates: Police Certificate (and Photocopy) Birth Certificate (and Photocopy) Unmarried Certificate (and Photocopy) [*] Copy of Beneficiary¡¯s Passport Bio Page (2) (Add Application Fee Receipt and Medical Forms) Folder 2 (Beneficiary's Personal Documents) Bag: National ID Card University Student ID University Library Card [*] Photocopy of National ID Card [*] Photocopy of University Student ID [*] Photocopy of Library Card and Translation [*] College English Test 6 (CET-6) Results (with Photocopy and Translation) Folder 3 (My Personals) Evolution of Relationship Letter Letter of Intent to Marry (from ME) Letter of Intent to Marry (from HER) Photocopy of my passport (all pages) Official Birth Certificate and Photocopy Bag #1: Bank 1 Check Card Bank 2 Credit Card Bank 3 Credit Card [*] Bag #2 Voter Registration Card Arizona Driver¡¯s License Social Security Card [*] Photocopy of Bag #2 contents [*] University of Arizona Diploma and Photocopy Folder 4 (Jonathan Patton¡¯s Work Documents) Foreign Expert Certificate (and Photocopy) University Work Contracts (current and past) Folder 5 (Correspondence) Phone Call Log (November 2010 ¨C January 2011) SMS Log (November 2010 ¨C January 2011) Letters, Notes, Cards Emails (November 2008 ¨C December 2010) Folder 6 (Extra Evidence) Engagement Ring Receipt (and Photocopy) Letter from my parents Birthday Card from my parents to her Card from brother and sister-in-law to her Folder 7 (Blank Forms) Medical Forms DOS Forms: (DS-156; DS-156K; DS-157; GNI-2) PHOTO Folder/Book I used Word, sticking a few photos on each page and printed them out, then stuck the pages in a folder with the transparent plastic protector pages (or whatever those are called ...). Contains 121 photos from 2008-2011. Of course, I'll also give her my passport. Other than that, I think that's all I've got. I tried to put the things that they would take the first day (document intake and fingerprinting) all in Folder 1 and the I-134 packets. Is there any rule as to which documents they definitely will or will not take during this time? I was a little unclear about what she will present then and what she will present (if anything) during the interview. I know each case is different, but if there are any absolutes, it would be nice to know for organization purposes. Thanks all for your help and Don for this great website. If not before then, I'll at least have an update after the March 1 interview.

Another option (I did this last year) is to take a bus that runs directly between the two airports. The bus is »ú³¡Ò»Ïß (Airport Line 1). Under normal conditions it will just take about an hour, if traffic is heavy of course that's a different story. Either way, it's probably faster and more convenient than the subway. There should be a bus every 20 minutes. Cost is 30 RMB.

I guess you probably have all the detailed information by now but I just saw your post (I've been away without internet access for 3 weeks) and thought I'd write just in case. I was also informed by calling DOS that my fiancee's interview was scheduled for 12:30 (Feb 28). That's all they could tell me on the phone, but that's actually NOT the interview date, it's simply the day to turn in some documents and do fingerprinting, the interview is the following day (for my fiancee March 1). I'm guessing it's the same in your situation. Again you've probably received the letter by now so you can know for sure. Hope it didn't conflict with your travel arrangements.