peterh

If this helps anyone, here is our experience when we went to the Chicago Chinese consulate today. We arrived at 10:30, got a number, and was called up to the teller in about 10 minutes. He told us that we could not get her name changed in her passport. We tried to explain that we didn't want to change her name, but only get an addendum added stating she was also known by another name. No luck. Then he and another guy proceeded to tell us that we needed a court document that showed her name change, despite the fact that the marriage certificate clearly shows her legal name change. He had said something to the effect of "you can't change your name just because you felt like it, you need to go to court to change it." After about 5 minutes of arguing (I don't speak Mandarin, so I'm going by what my wife later told me), he gave her an application, said to fill it out, and maybe it would get approved. She filled out what she could, then we decided to get another number instead of going back to the original teller. My wife explained the situation to this different teller, and said that she didn't feel the form was appropriate since she wasn't trying to apply for a new/replacement passport. We (I decided to get involved this time around, and the teller spoke English) also asked her how her green card could have her new name if the name change as shown in the marriage certificate wasn't legal. The second teller basically agreed, and she had us fill out a few more fields, and then told us to come back at 2pm to pick up her passport. We had lunch, came back, paid $35, and got her passport. Unfortunately, they abbreviated her middle name to just an initial, which I wasn't happy with since I expected her full legal name, but they told her they would only match the name as shown on the green card. I didn't feel it was worth arguing. But it makes me feel like we still need to purchase airplane tickets in her old name. 1) They've told us to bring marriage certificate, passport, and green card. Has anyone needed anything else? Cash, check, passport photos? Is there an application we should fill out in advance? They did ask for a passport photo, so I'm glad we brought some along. 2) Can we just walk in during the morning and hope we get what we need? After arguing with them, sure. 3) Do they process the passport that same day? Surprisingly, yes. 4) Anything we cannot bring in? Cell phones? 3 month old baby? Cell phones and a poopy baby were allowed. 5) It is the 1 East Erie St. address, not the 100 West Erie St. address, correct? I realize they're only a few blocks away, but I'd rather go to the right one. 1 East Erie is correct.

Has anyone gone to the Chinese consulate in Chicago to submit for a name change (or more apt, to get the "also known as" page)? We had tried to contact them by phone, but we've never gotten through. We sent a bunch of questions to them via email, but they only answered a small portion of them. We're going to visit my family in that area anyway, so I thought we'd pop in and try to update my wife's passport. 1) They've told us to bring marriage certificate, passport, and green card. Has anyone needed anything else? Cash, check, passport photos? Is there an application we should fill out in advance? 2) Can we just walk in during the morning and hope we get what we need? 3) Do they process the passport that same day? 4) Anything we cannot bring in? Cell phones? 3 month old baby? 5) It is the 1 East Erie St. address, not the 100 West Erie St. address, correct? I realize they're only a few blocks away, but I'd rather go to the right one. Thanks for any information. We just want this page added in her passport so she could get plane tickets in her married name and not worry about carrying around the marriage certificate anymore.

Great! Thanks, everyone.

I just booked a ticket for my fiancee to fly from PVG -> NRT -> MSP for March. I've made that flight numerous times, but I hadn't considered that maybe it's because I'm a U.S. citizen. And I'll be travelling with her. Will she have any problems connecting through Narita? I'm fairly certain not, but I'd hate to have overlooked something like this. This is from Delta's website, which is a bit confusing on connections through Japan for Chinese citizens: Visa required, except for - holders of Hong Kong (SAR China) passports and Macao (SAR China) passports. In all other cases: TWOV (Transit Without Visa): Visa required, except for Holders of onward tickets for a max. transit TIRULES/R32 time of 72 hours. So, since she's got an onward ticket for that same day, I'm guessing she's okay. I think she'd even be okay if there was a mechanical problem/storm, and Delta put us in a hotel for a night. Can anyone confirm? I'm just being overly paranoid. Thanks.

I don't think the EOR has to be notarized, but from what I've read, having it notarized at ACS is a good trick to get the VO to read it prior to your fiance/-ee's interview. At least that's my understanding of it. It does cost $50 though, but for me, the peace of mind is well worth it, even if they don't look at it during the interview. I plan to do it. You can make an appointment at https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.asp?postcode=GUZ&appcode=1 Thanks for everyone's feedback. Time to do more research on vaccinations and DS-3025.

I should throw my name in here too. Candice has doc intake on 11/3, interview on 11/4. Hope to see everyone coming out of there with pink (white now?) slips.

I posted this on one of the other sites also, so I apologize if you're reading this for the second time. My fiancee just got her Packet 4 letter (dated 10/13), and her interview is scheduled for 11/3. Instead of asking for a reschedule and possibly delaying the interview, we're going to keep it, even if it means I can't fly out there for support. She's thinking of heading out to Guangzhou from Shanghai on 11/1, arriving by 11/2 10am. Then she'll leave either the Friday after the actual interview or that Saturday. She has limited days off from work. Not to mention that if I were to fly out there moral support, I'd also have to leave by the next Sunday. Horrible timing all around. She lives in Shanghai, so she'll be doing the medical in Shanghai, and it sounds like GUZ can mail the passport/visa to Shanghai addresses, provided she passes. Failing this, she has an aunt that lives in Guangzhou. Hopefully the consulate will let a relative pick it up? Anyone have insight into whether we're overlooking something? Since her medical will be done in Shanghai, we don't need to go early for that. We'll probably have to miss getting the EOR letter notarized, unless I go, and we can schedule it for 11/2. I remember reading that American Citizens Hour is not being done anymore, so no reason to plan for that. And if they can mail the passport to her in Shanghai, there's no reason that we'd have to stick around. Thanks for any feedback. I was really expecting to have a month or two notice. Not 2.5 weeks.

Sweet, thanks for the info. I think we have all our bases covered. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Hi, we¡¯re going through the K1 process. My fianc¨¦e got packet 3 a couple weeks ago. I¡¯d like to make sure we don¡¯t mess anything up, so I apologize in advance for sounding so anal retentive. 1) She¡¯s originally from a small town in Anhui (Lai'an) but currently lives in Shanghai. As a result, her uncle in Anhui is trying to get her birth certificate, unmarried certificate, and police certificate all notarized for her. Does anyone know if she needs to be present for this? 2) Is there any sure-fire way of knowing that the notary office her uncle might take the documents to will be recognized by GUZ? 3) From everything I¡¯ve read on VJ and CFL, the 3 documents mentioned above make up the ¡°white book.¡± It sounds like people recommend getting 3 copies of these for future documentation, in both English and Chinese. Is there anything else we¡¯re missing? Do we also need a full copy/translation of the hukuo (I don¡¯t actually know what that is, but sounds like it¡¯s their official family documentation if I¡¯m understanding it correctly). 4) About the unmarried certificate: at one point, it seems that there was a form letter for this. I know the FAQ has a little sample. Is this something we should write in English ahead of time and have the notary public notarize it? Or should it be in Chinese and then translated/notarized? Or am I completely missing something here? Perhaps there is a form that the notary office has for this once they look at the hukuo? 5) On the OF-169, do you mark every checkbox even though it doesn¡¯t apply to you, for completeness¡¯ sake so it looks like you went through everything? I know, I know. This is reeeaaalllly anal. 6) Does she really need to make a resume? She doesn¡¯t have a very extensive work history, and her job as a secretary really doesn¡¯t require a large skill set or education. OF-169 says this is required for certain cases, but if they¡¯re going to ding us on this, we¡¯ll go ahead and create one anyway. And for Packet 4: 7) Since she lives in Shanghai, I think it¡¯d be best for her to do her medical at the Shanghai International Travel Healthcare Center so she can have that all taken care of before heading to Guangzhou. She has limited vacation days, so any time we can save on her trip to Guangzhou, the better. Any thoughts on this? It¡¯s more expensive, but I think the peace of mind is worth it. 8) Vaccinations aren¡¯t required for K1, IIRC. Would you recommend doing this anyway? I¡¯m not even sure if the Shanghai International Travel Healthcare Center offers it. Have others just done this after the visa was in hand? I¡¯m hearing that it¡¯s cheaper to do in China than the states. 9) Our updated letters of intent to marry and the Evolution of Relationship letter are dated from July (we wrote them when I was last visiting her in China last month). This is also true for when I signed the I-134 and the date listed on my proof of employment letter. Are these too old? Do the interviewers actually look for a certain date range? Thanks for any help. Sorry for the rambling. I'll try to keep future posts shorter.