Beachey

I saw this thread on Visa Journey http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?app=forums&module=post&section=post&do=reply_post&f=82&t=310589 This may not effect China much since there are two USCIS offices here but if you are planning on filing after August 15 it may effect you. You no longer can file at consulate but will have to file at USCIS directly.

1. EMS is the China Post express mailing system, it is affiliated with USPS Express mail. Your Chinese spouse can get this at any China Post Office. 2. The notarized documents are I believe 200-300 RMB each though this may vary city to city. You can do these at the government notary office. Do a search here for the Chinese name, you want to go to the offical government office. 3. Your wife has to go to the police station where here Hukou is, then get it translated.

The more I observe this immigration process the more it resembles what I have seen people who apply for social security disability go through. The US government realizes they can't determine who is legitimate and who is trying to defraud the system. So they intentionally make the system as beauracratic and time consuming as possible assuming that will weed out most of the fraud. So you just have to smile and let the system play its way out.

Me to, me to especially since I was born here and know almost everyone of them. Sure does open the eyes. Larry This may be the priest's reaction to serving in an area dominated by other Christian faiths. In the areas I have lived, typically where Catholicism is in the majority, most priests tend to be more ecumenical though this can vary priest to priest.. I just did some research and technically if a Catholic prays for a non-Catholic, they should be asking as part of the prayer for their conversion to Catholicism. In most cases, the non-Catholic would find this highly offensive which is likely why the priest in question is being so explicit about it.

The short answer is you have to show strong ties to China. Being married to an American (despite what on first most would think would help) generally hurts you. It is possible however; 1. Your job helps - a letter from your employer saying when you need to be back in China can help. 2. You need to show significant assets in a bank account, I have heard amounts exceeding 50,000 RMB. If you can show this over a period of time, even better. 3. Do you own property? This helps as well. Think like the VO, you are married to an American so the assumption is that you will have an immigrant intent at some time. Why can you not immigrate now? Others can give you more ideas, but it is possible.

After 14 years of Catholic school, I wonder if this is really what the priest said. As least as I was taught, there is nothing stopping a Catholic from praying from you. What you can not do unless you are Catholic in good standing is take Communion during Mass. When my brother got married, he told those present who were not Catholic that they could approach him during Communion and he would bless them which certainly is a form of prayer. I no longer practice but I am glad it gives your wife a place to pray.

Dante - read Kyle's Wizard of Guz thread here, your case and his are pretty similiar. Nothing wrong with being overprepared but I think you are pink.

Good luck and thanks for the heads up. Hoping for the first week in June.

You may have already taken care of this but we got ours done in a Kodak store in a mall here in Dalian. I think I have seen these Kodak stores throughout China. They usually have a picture chart with different size photos and one of them is marked American Visa. (in Chinese )

My wife and I first watched this movie early last year right after we first started dating. It was the first Chinese movie I saw in China. I was expecting to see it nominated for an Oscar as a Best Foreign Film but it was not. Well worth watching if you have not seen it. A friend of mine describes the plots to all Chinese movies as "Life Sucks, then it gets worse, then it gets a little better, and then you die." He has a sarcastic streak but it is amazing how closely every Chinese movie I have seen follows that plot outline.

Noting to be worried about, my wife mailed ours, no idea if she put my name or her name down but if I were to guess she put down her name.

Reply from GUZ Now that is the US gov't that I know and love I would guess this at least acknowledges receipt of P3 though I already checked that online through EMS. Is there any actual processing going on between P3 and P4 or are we just waiting on the bureaucracy?

We sent in P3 on 4/21. Based upon other timelines I would have expected to hear back from GUZ. We actually don't want to interview until June but just want to make sure our stuff hasn't gotten lost. Is there a good email or is telephone the best? Anyone have contact info?

Assuming you did not earn more than $91,500 in 2010, you will have to file 1040 and then use Form 2555 to exclude your foreign income. I don't think you can use Form 2555 with a 1040EZ or 1040A. I am not clear on the lack of W-2 whether a letter from your employer or other information is required or you just enter your income without further documentatin. Others here may be able to help. One good thing is you did not marry until 2011 so you will file single which eliminates the complication of your wife not having a social security number.

I am sure this differs from state to state but it seems what you wife got was a learner's permit. The actual driver's license requires a road test as well?

Congrats. 57 days for processing of CCP membership. Good to know.

Excellent!

I get the impression that this difference is from when she was very young. It might be as simple as her parents did not register her until she was 3. My thought is to use the date you can document assuming as Randy said that passport/ID Card/Hokou all match. I assume this will become her offical age in the US. Obviously, she becomes elgible for Social Secuirty three years later. I am not sure on her exact age but I know that my car insurance/rental it is better to be over 25. Other than that, being younger is probalby an advantage.

Another colleague here at work just got married and he was asking me about the DCF CR1 Visa Process. We were talking about how to get a birth certificate and he brought up his wife's actual birthday is three years earlier than the date on her Houku. The month and date are correct.. He is not clear how that happened but it seems like it has been like that for a long time. He is trying to determine what birthdate he should use for the immigration paperwork? Is there even a way to change this in China? Any thoughts on the best way to handle this?

The people who rent the Apartments - Yangs? Can't you pay them to forward the visa once it is approved. My wife once said to me that Americans always think they can solve any problem with money and I think she has a point. In this case, I don't care, my intent is to hire the Yangs rather than wait around for a week waiting on GUZ.

However, I would also hate to not include something that may help. That is what Randy I think is getting at. Someone on another thread used the example of Pictures on the Great Wall. Pictures so common that they don't have much significance. I would think of it as telling the story of your relationship though 20-30 pictures. Show the passage of time. Pictures that complement your other evidence. The consulate really isn't interested in your relationship other than whether it is bona-fide. Pick pictures that show that.

I am curious, if you are doing this every month, why do you need to do the PayPal shuffle since you should be able to do it by the regular method since it is planned. If it is last minute need, the PayPal shuffle is a good workaround. As I alluded to above, PayPal has a habit of freezing accounts (among other things) for unusual behaviour in your account. How long have you been doing this?

I think we only sent 8-12 but I DCF'd so it is a little different. If you have 5 trips, I would think to pick the best 4 from each trip for a total of 20. I think after that it is redunant and hopefully you have other evidence - visas, plane tickets, etc. The best pictures have both of you and other people in them. Pictures that don't look posed and can't be easily photoshopped.

If you are outside of the GUZ consular district it is probalby worth emailing the Beijing Field Office to see if they will accept an alternative proof of residence other than a residence permit. Email is dhsbeijing-cis@Dhs.gov Things that might work Lease in your name Local PSB registration Registry with the consulate Letter from employer Passport pages showing dates in China