Beachey

Just happened to stop by, my wife's 'birth certificate" was really more a notarized copy of what it said in her Hoku. Among other things it said her mother is deceased. Hope you had good luck.

When my wife and I came back from Italy, they had the same machines at Washington Dulles. I 'passed' but my wife had to go to secondary inspection. I asked the officer if it was due to my wife's green card, he insisted it was random but I don't completely buy it. I also agree the machines were not super easy to use. I can can see where for 'most' people it might be better but it appears the technology needs to be improved.

My wife has got two Schengen Visas, one to study abroad in Prague, Czech Republic and the other when we went to Italy last year. Typically a proposed itinerary is good enough. Hotel Reservations are refundable anyway. For Italy, my wife did need a letter from her employer indicating she had approved time off. Also, even though we have full medical insurance through my employer, I bought her Schengen Medical Insurance for about ~$100 as it was simpler than trying to argue she was already covered. The big issue there is they want to make sure you have evacuation coverage if you need to be medically transported out. The hardest part is you typically do have to apply in person. We had to go to Los Angeles when we lived in Phoenix for Prague and NYC as we now live in Upstate NY for Italy. You normally have to apply in person.

My wife has got two Schengen Visas, one to study abroad in Prague, Czech Republic and the other when we went to Italy last year. Typically a proposed itinerary is good enough. Hotel Reservations are refundable anyway. For Italy, my wife did need a letter from her employer indicating she had approved time off. Also, even though we have full medical insurance through my employer, I bought her Schengen Medical Insurance for about ~$100 as it was simpler than trying to argue she was already covered. The big issue there is they want to make sure you have evacuation coverage if you need to be medically transported out. The hardest part is you typically do have to apply in person. We had to go to Los Angeles when we lived in Phoenix for Prague and NYC as we now live in Upstate NY for Italy. You normally have to apply in person.

As these things change all the time, does anyone have a best way to get small sums of money to China on a monthly basis. I am thinking around $500. My wife is in China right now and she is withdrawing money from her BofA US account from China Construction Bank ATM. We are getting charged 3% on each transaction. At one point it was free but I called BofA and they said the 3% is standard though they are waiving an ATM fee. Normally, she leaves her ATM card with a relative who can continue to withdraw the money. We are going to need to send about $500 a month once she gets back. Does anyone have a method that would be cheaper? Thanks in advance.

Has anyone been able to get a Schengen Visa (we are specifically going to Italy) through a service. I am trying to avoid a trip down to NYC and having to go to the Consulate ourselves. A service anyone can recommend?

Thanks Randy

My father-in-law arrived yesterday from China for a three month stay. He speaks no English so it appears his discussion with the Border Officer was limited. This is his third visit and second visit on his present 10 year visa. He had a copy of his itinerary so I would guess the Officer looked at it to see his return flight. (late June) Here is my question while they stamped his passport the officer did not write down how long he was admitted for, he just initialed it. So the question is how long is my father-in-law admitted for? If no date does it mean six months? Is there a way to look it up online? Or some other way? Or am I safe to assume it is six months? Unless something unforeseen happens, he will be leaving in three months but I just want to make sure he does not overstay. Any advice?

Did this last night for Baba, went through in about 10 minutes. Do I have to give the confirmation number to the airline? Does he need it when he checks in? How are the airlines verifying enrollment?

Hey Guys, life is going well but I wanted to see if my interpretation of the I-864 Obligation Fulfillment is correct. You need to have 40 credits but my understanding is this can be combined. My wife and I just celebrated our six anniversary in December, we married in Dec 2010 and she became a LPR in 2011. I can be credit with 4 Social Security Credits in 2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017( by the end of the month). 8 Years x 4 = 32 My wife has earned 4 credits in 2015, 2016, 2017 (by the end of the month). 3 Years x 4 = 12 32 + 12 = 44 > 40. So is the I-864 Obligation fulfilled?

It won't come to that because creditors are highly unlikely to go to China to sue her in the first place. I had a Chinese co-worker tell me the same thing, in the unfortunate occurrence that something would happen, don't sign anything and you are not liable. However, while the hospital would have to treat them, would the care be the same as if they had insurance? The first time my father-in-law came I bought an insurance but the second time I did not. I did not the second time because when I read the fine print it appeared the only thing it would likely cover is something unexpected like a car accident and just about any medical issue (like a heart attack) would be considered pre-existing and not covered so I figured it was a waste of money. Has anyone ever bought a policy and had to use it?

I would expect that the PSB Entry and Exit bureau could sell you a NEW visa with a one year validity, and no length of stay limitation (no border runs needed), or, at the very least, that they could extend your existing length of stay to 120 days. A Q2 "family reunion" visa, purchased from the consulate in the U.S., would allow up to a 180 day stay (extendable at the PSB), and be good for up to 10 years. Appears a Q1 Visa might be the best option, though it appears you then need to go to the PSB as Randy indicates. http://losangeles.china-consulate.org/eng/visa/chinavisa/t907679.htm

You should be able to create an intinary on Expedia or another travel site, just don't hit the purchase button. I got a 10 year visa over a year ago I still haven't used, I think that is what I did.

We just had to have a friend of my wife get more original copies of my wife's birth certificate. I agree in many cases a copy will work but some professional licensing especially when it involves children require an original certified copy. I think 3 or 4 extra copies is prudent.

I have seen the advice to get multiple copies of the Chinese White Books before you leave China. We may have one or two around but probably not enough..... The documents we need are our Chinese Marriage Certificate (married in Shenyang, Liaoning) and my wife's birth certificate (or really the info from her Hokou). My questions? If my wife has her Hokou and our certificate, any chance the Chinese consulate in NYC could do this? Does the office in Shenyang have to do our marriage certificate? I believe the birth certificate is done in the city of her Hokou which is different than her birth hometown? Luckily, my wife just updated her Hokou but unluckily I just found out we need these after she just came back from China? Any experience with this or are we going to have to get her family to help us out? Thanks in advance. Beachey.

Only thing I would add is you can fill out the application online for your mother-in-law. We were able to do it for my father-in-law in one night (which conveniently is during the day in China) with my wife's cousin helping out going to CITC bank to pay the fee. All my father-in-law had to do was go to the interview. He has been here twice so far.

Wow! That is quick, by far the fastest DCF I have seen, I have seen others do it in 2-3 months but you did it in just over a month. Good job!

Under U.S. law, if you're single, you're single - I believe some have reported not even needing the divorce decrees. The certificate of singleness has always struck me a a bureaucratic solution to a bureaucratic problem that you don't have a hukou that says you are not married.. As Randy said, you are either single or you are not. And if you were to get married in China while still married to someone else you would still be guilty of bigamy without the certificate.. I have always wondered what extra penalties would you be subject to because you signed an affidavit that said you were single. And while the immigration application tot the US is a different matter, it seems to me a harmless shortcut to just say you have never been married rather than go through the hassle of presenting divorce papers.

It is funny, I asked my wife if she wanted to see the new Star Wars movie or if I should go alone, she told me she has never seen any of the Star Wars movies and had no interest in this one. She is 30. And both here and China she saw a lot of Hollywood films. I also don't remember in the two years i spent in China any US film that I wanted to see not being shown.Or in other words does Hollywood produce more than 34 movies worth seeing every year?

I know cancer might potentially impact the interview results due to the public charge factor. What is the possibility that they will be denied? Does anyone have similar experience? First, hopefully your father is able to make a full recovery. I think you need to investigate what effect the cancer might have on the medical exam he will need to take, I don't think you would have to directly even disclose he has cancer but I think they do blood work which might be abnormal. You might want to see if you can find a civil surgeon (an authorized immigration doctor in the USA) who is willing to consult with you on how his cancer might complicate the required medical/ This I don't think is your biggest problem. Do we need to prove above and beyond financial records for support for my dad? Your problem is you (or someone else) will have to sign a I-864 which makes you financially responsible for his care. The issue here is medical insurance in the US. Neither of your parents will be eligible for Medicare so you will be responsible. Your mother alone would likely be expensive but your father with an active history of cancer would likely be close to uninsurable if for no other reason I can't imagine what the premiums would be. If the consulate finds out he has cancer they might reasonably ask for proof of medical coverage, normally they don;t require any proof of coverage but it is not hard to draw a line where it is possible that he becomes a public charge even if you sign the I-864. Do I need to get a lawyer to help me? Lawyer probably not, but some good medical advice as above would likely be a good idea.

You can get extra pages added to your passport but they are going to stop on Jan. 1, 2016 so you only have a limited window to get extra pages added. I had pages added when I was in China http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/services/pages.html After Jan 2016, you will have to get a new passport if you run out of pages.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/a-decade-into-a-project-to-digitize-us-immigration-forms-just-1-is-online/2015/11/08/f63360fc-830e-11e5-a7ca-6ab6ec20f839_story.html?tid=sm_tw Has anyone tried to use the online form to renew a greencard? Though they don't mention you can update your address online if you are a green card holder but not an I-865 sponsor (or is it vice-versa?). Gives you the reason why.

It is not clear whether you have narrowed this down to these two choices but one thing my wife has had some success is telephone interpreting. You need to be strong in both Chinese and English. You are mostly doing interpreting for medical and financial companies. Eventually, this is something you can do from home.

Do I register separately for Yifang and Ke Yu? They each had their own I-130 and NVC case number, so I'm assuming the answer is yes. I have only ever used the web site for non-immigrant visa but there is a section where you add family members so I might just do your wife first and only set up Ke Yu if needed No CITIC bank is within ...oh...looks like 600-700 miles of Yifang. Shoot...they don't even seem to have locations anywhere in Hunan at all. So do we select a location in Guangzhou or something? It's not a big deal for her to hop on a train to go to another city, but You first need to get a number at CGI which you use at CITC whhich gives you a receipt number you need to enter. With the time difference, we were able to do this within a few hours talking with one of my wife's cousins in Beijing (this being for her father). My suggestion is if your wife has a family member or friend who lives near a CITC have them do it for you and settle up on the cash later. The actual applicant does not need to appear. The registering itself....man...what a maze I seem to get redirected from page to page...and never get registered. Yifang and Ke Yu speak very little English, and read none, so they can't do it. And if they ask me for help, I can't seem to get through it either. I read Doug's CGI steps...this seems to be for some documents that you need to send in if you get refused? I'm not clear on what these steps are for.... Can't help too much here but we did all of my father-in-laws non-immigrant visa online from the US so I would think you could do it for them but I have never done this for an immigrant visa.

What you need to research is the 4 year and 1 day rule and hopefully find someone who truly understands it because every time I have done research on it it has just confused me but usually applies to situations similar to your stepsons.