geyahui

Hi folks! I know this is probably a stupid question, but as we all know, the immigration process is sometimes stupid, so I figured I'd better ask anyway. My wife's green card is expiring in three months. I know we need to file I-751 along with the evidence and fees it calls for. My question is: is there anything else we need to file? For example, do we also need to file for green card renewal, or will she automatically be given a new green card if/when the conditional status is lifted?

Hi guys, a friend of mine is having issues accessing the site and is wondering if he could get in touch with a mod/webmaster directly. Is there an email address I could point him to? Feel free to PM it to me if you don't want to post it publicly. Thanks!

Hi all, so my wife finally got her CR1 visa a couple months ago, and we're about to head back to the US. Is there anything she will need at the border, aside from her passport and the big packet that was mailed to us when her visa was granted? For example, medical forms, her x-ray, anything like that? Also, is there anything she'll need to know or say during that process? Obviously I'll be in the US citizen line so I can't be there to help her, but she doesn't really speak english.

bwhaha...that's because I'm an idiot. Will change now

Hi folks, since I've done a lot of lurking on this site (and dumb-question-asking), I thought I'd take the time to write up our experience interviewing in GUZ for anyone interested. First, our general situation: we met back in 2009, while I was living in China. I moved back to the US later that year, but we kept dating, so I moved back to China in 2010 and we began living together. We were married in August of 2011. In January of 2012, we filed (DCF via US embassy in Beijing) for a CR-1 visa. We tried to "front-load" as much as possible with that application, so when we filed that we also had lots of supplementary evidence to show them. What we brought to Guangzhou: -DSC-230 Parts I and II -my I-864 + 2009, 2010, 2011 federal tax returns + 1099-MISC form (because I do freelance work) -Passports (hers and mine) and photocopies -PRC marriage certificates (hers and mine) -Appointment letter (printout from email) -4 photos of her, according to specs sent in P4 -All Medical documents, x-ray and vaccine booklets (we had done the medical exam in Beijing already) -Notarial certificate: her birth certificate -Notarial certificate: our marriage certificates -Notarial certificate: her police proof of no criminal record -Photos of the two of us spanning from March 2009-present. -Chat/email logs with samples spanning from March 2009-present. -Copies of letters from our parents confirming our relationship (they took the originals when we first filed in beijing) -Business card from my company -Letter from my boss stating my employment and yearly salary -Bank records from the past three months showing my salary deposits -scanned copies of mail send to my US address (for domicile) -credit card statements with my US address (for domicile) -Bank statements (for domicile, showing I have maintained use of a US bank account) -State income tax filings for the past three years (for domicile) We arrived in Guangzhou on Wednesday afternoon, with my wife scheduled to turn in her documents on Thursday and interview Friday morning. On the recommendation of many in this forum, we stayed at the Tianyu Gardens -- the Yangs' place. They were quite friendly and available, and the accommodation was acceptable. We went with the lowest-priced option, so we ended up with basically one bedroom in a three bedroom apartment, with a shared bathroom. Our bed was very squeaky, the shared bathroom was a bit inconvenient, and the wifi signal was glitchy enough that I ended up just using my phone with a 3G tether for some of the time we were there. However, the service was friendly and it is ridiculously close to the consulate, so it is basically all that we really needed. Plus, the Yangs were very flexible about our check-out time, which was nice as we had booked an evening flight back to Beijing. (However, I noticed walking around the block that there are a number of other options for lodgings with similarly-priced rooms right on this block, as well as a Westin for all you high-rollers, so there are definitely other options in the consulate's immediate vicinity if that's what you're looking for.) On Thursday, we lined up outside the consulate for the documents intake. Apparently people start lining up quite early, but we knew it didn't actually matter where you are in the line outside, so we got there at around 12:00. I waited in the line with her, and at about 12:20 they started letting people in. I didn't go in with her, and instead went back to our room to do some work and have a series of small heart attacks, thinking we were missing something they'd need at the intake. Anyway, she went to the fifth floor and went through security, which involved leaving all electronics behind and also taking off your shoes to be checked, etc. They were then given numbers, but as others have said, the numbers aren't called in order, so they don't have any bearing on how soon you will be done. Then you wait for them to call your number and go to the window. They asked for her passport, number, my I-864, all the notarial certificates, and have you open the medical documents (they took some), two of the photos of her, and that was it. Then they gave her a receipt and she went to another window to pay the fee, which was 1,470 RMB (interestingly, the woman who took the money was kind of a jerk to her…someone else on this forum also reported this as I recall so I guess she got the same one). She then returned that receipt to the person who had taken in her documents, then sat down to be called again to be fingerprinted -- they took all ten fingers. Then she was given a blank EMS address form and a number and that was it for the day. All in all, the process took about two and a half hours. She went inside the consulate around 12:20 and got back to our room just before 3:00 PM. However, she said that she was literally the last person to be called for fingerprints, so it's likely that most people make it through a bit more quickly than this. The blank EMS form was actually a bit more confusing than you would expect. It comes with instructions saying that if your address is outside a certain range, you need to write the address of the GUZ post office and have it forwarded, or something. But what that range is is really unclear, and the form GUZ gave her directed us to a section of the EMS website that doesn't exist. So she called EMS, but it seems they weren't clear on what it meant either, as she was passed through at least five different customer service people, reading the form to them and trying to figure out what it meant. No one really had a good answer for this, but we know that EMS can deliver to her work in Beijing, so we ultimately just put that address. The rest of the day we spend practicing interview questions, based on a list of common questions we found here on CFL. As you can imagine, this is an extremely nerve-wracking time and I'd suggest you make sure you have sufficient activities or work or something to keep your mind busy or you may go insane. Of course, you're probably going to go insane anyway….not knowing is very nerve-wracking! I also began to become very nervous about my financial situation. My salary puts us well above the poverty line, but I've switched jobs a lot in the past three years, and moved back and forth from China to the US and back, so my tax returns are pretty confusing at first glance. We had bank records (3 months), a letter and business card from my employer, and the other things I listed above, but I was still nervous just because it's complex and if you were just scanning my tax returns quickly, you might think I didn't meet the requirements. The next day we lined up in front of the embassy at 7:00 or so, and around 7:25 they let her in. I walked up the first floor with her, and then headed back to our hotel room (more on this in a bit). After she went into the embassy, she said the process was the same as the day before, going through various security layers and then waiting. When it came time to interview, she walked up to the counter and, before the VO said anything, greeted her with "Good morning! I'm still studying English, is it OK if we speak Chinese?" The VO smiled and said yes, and also remarked that her English didn't sound like she was still studying! Then she took her appointment letter and the EMS mailing label and passport. As you know from the list above, we had a bunch of supplemental stuff to prove relationship status, domicile, etc., but the VO said she didn't need to look at any of it. She asked my wife only three questions: -How did you meet your husband? -Why did you move to Beijing? (she was previously living in Harbin) -Where did you get married? Then the VO looked at some stuff on her computer or some other documents in front of her, told her she had passed and handed her a WHITE slip of paper with what I imagine is the typical instructions you get: "Congratulations, your visa has been approved, don't open the packet when we send it to you, you can still be denied in rare cases after the fact so don't book travel until your visa is in hand, etc.." She called me as soon as she got out of the embassy. During this time, I was back in our hotel room working at a frantic pace in an attempt to keep my mind off of my extreme nervousness. I had planned to go back over to the building at 11 AM and go up to the fourth floor to wait for her; I had decided that her chances of getting out before 11 were quite slim anyway as someone on CFL had suggested that the single people (those without kids/dependents/family members also applying for visas) tend to interview last (which makes sense, presumably the consulate doesn't want a bunch of little kids running around all day). But my wife got out of the embassy and called me at about 10:45, so I was still in the hotel. Now we're going out to eat and celebrate…and that's it, so far. I've read there's sometimes a bit of a delay in actually mailing the visas out, so we'll have to see how that goes, but so far we're feeling pretty good! Many thanks to all the helpful folks of CFL who helped us out and made sure we were totally prepared! You guys are the best. Major lessons from our case: (most of this is based on advice from other CFL posters anyway, so we're just confirming some things) Front-load your initial application with as much as you can. It can only help, and if you have way too much extra, it's just good early preparation for the interview... Live with her in China and DCF if at all possible. Sorry, but you can find work in China (prob lower paying, tho...), and it seems to really help. At the interview, speak first with a friendly "Good morning!" in English even if you want to do the interview in Chinese. It shows confidence and it was clear that my wife's VO really liked it. Of course if you can speak English that's probably even better, but if you feel more comfortable in Chinese, just explain that you'd like to do the interview in Chinese (in English). It seems to help. Put all the documents on the counter so the VO can see them, and ask if they want to see them. In our case, the VO didn't want so see any of them, but I imagine it helped to see that they were there and we had them, even if she didn't inspect them. When the VO asks for the interviewee's passport, give BOTH (petitioner and beneficiary's). I've read this on CFL, and my wife did this as well, and said the VO looked at my passport for a little while, so it obviously mattered. But she didn't ask for it directly, so just hand it in along with the beneficiary passport (assuming you're with your SO when they interview)

We're going to do the medical stuff in Beijing before we get to Guangzhou it seems there's an approved hospital in Beijing so I assume that's kosher?

OK, so just double-checking...we got an email saying my wife's interview is the 24th. But what that really means is that she goes to the consulate on the 24th to turn in her documents and be fingerprinted, then returns at 7:30 am on the 25th for her actual interview, correct? Also how long would you say we should plan to stay there? We live together in Beijing and have work...would it be OK to plan to arrive the night of the 23rd, for example? And when should be plan to leave; presumably, we'll know the results of the interview either way so we could leave the night of the 25th, right? Or should we plan to be there another couple days? If they decide we're missing something, will we have to return to Guangzhou to submit that, or could that be submitted by mail? How would the process go after that? And finally, I plan to go with her...I gather I can't accompany her for the actual interview, but is there anything I can do while there to somehow 'register' that I am there? Does my being in Guangzhou while she's interviewing actually make any difference? Wow, I really wasn't expecting everything to move so quickly, we just sent in the P3 a week or two ago!

My wife's date set for May 24...we weren't expecting it to be this fast....Ahhh! *panicking*

ÎÒ°®ÈË¿ìÒªÃæÊÔÁË£¬¿ÉÊǹ«°²¾ÖÖ»¸ø¿ªÒ»¸öÖ¤Ã÷£¬²»°ì¹«Ö¤Êé¡£ÄDZßÓй«Ö¤´¦£¬ÊDz»ÊǵðÑÖ¤Ã÷Äõ½ÄDZ߰ì¸ö¹«Ö¤Ê飿»¹ÓÐÕâ¸öÖ¤Ã÷¶¼ÐèҪʲôÄÚÈÝ£¬Ê¹¹ÝÌṩµÄ˵Ã÷Ò²²»ÊÇÌرðÇå³þ...׿±£¬Çó°ïÖú£¡

这样的公证是和结婚公证书是一样的形式吗？还是只是派出所出具的一张纸，盖有派出所的公章就行 或者是拿着纸去公证处做公证呢？麻烦您能详细的告诉我 谢谢您

ÎÒÏÖÔÚÔÚ°ìÒÆÃñÇ©Ö¤£¬ÎÒÀϹ«ÊÇÃÀ¹úÈË£¬ÎÒÊÇÖйúÈË£¬ÔÚ°ìÇ©Ö¤µÄ¹ý³ÌÖÐʹ¹ÝÒªÇóÎÒÌṩһ·ÖÄ¿Ç°¾ÓסµØµÄÅɳöËù¿ªµÄÒ»·ÝÖ¤Ã÷£¬¿ÉÊDZ±¾©µÄÅɳöËùÖ»¸ø»§¿ÚÊDZ±¾©µÄÈË¿ª£¬ÍâµØÈËÐèÒª»Øµ½»§¼®ËùÔڵؿª£¬ÕâÖÖÇé¿öÏÂÎÒ¸ÃÔõô°ìÄØ£¿

Sorry to ask so many questions on here, but the P3 wording is vague and I couldn't find this elsewhere....it sounds like my wife needs a police certificate from EVERY place she has lived since she was 16....is that true? If so, that's going to be a freaking pain.... Also, our current residence is Beijing, and has been for two years, but she says the Beijing police will not give her a certificate, and that she can only get one where her hukou is registered. But she hasn't lived where her hukou is registered for years. She does have a temporary residence permit to live in Beijing....anybody know what's required here?

Wife and I are applying for a CR1 visa, we DCFed in Beijing and have just gotten the packet back that contains form DS-230, I-864, and form 169. I'm a bit confused as to what we have to send now, and what we need to bring to the interview in GUZ once that's assigned...how does this look? To send immediately to GUZ (am I right we should send copies of these forms, not the originals?): Form 169 (COPY) Form DS-230 (COPY) Passport bio page (COPY) Mailing address label To BRING to interview in GUZ: Form 169 (original) Form DS-230 (original) Form 1-864 and supplementary documents (i.e., federal tax returns) (original form, copies of tax returns) Passports 6 Passport photos PRC marriage certificates (originals) and ¹«Ö¤Êé (original) PRC police certificate (original) and translation (original) PRC birth certificate (original) and ¹«Ö¤Êé (original) Medical forms (original, I guess we get this later?) Additional documents to prove our relationship is legit. Additional documents to prove I have maintained domicile in the US while living abroad (what is required for this, I don't see any mention of it in any of the instructions we've received so far... Does that look right? What am I missing? Also, would you recommend we send off the stuff to GUZ right away, or wait until we've collected all the documents we'll need at the interview to send it in? I know it can sometimes be a while before the interview is assigned, and we've got most of the documents already anyway, but still need to track down her police certificate (should be easy enough) and birth certificate (might be a little difficult). But we don't want to delay the process....is it safe to send the package back to GUZ now and assume we'll have at least a month or too of leeway to get all the other stuff together?

So, I just got the info back after DCFing in Beijing, and it's now time to start prepping for the interview in Guangzhou. I have lots of questions, but for now I'll just ask one...does it matter what language the interview is conducted in? I've read the VOs can usually speak Mandarin and English, but I'm not sure which one to go with...basically, here's our situation. My wife: fluent in Mandarin, OK at basic English. Me: fluent in English, also fluent in Mandarin. We speak both languages to each other, but Mandarin is our "base" language and it's what we usually speak. So, obviously my wife would be more comfortable doing the GUZ interview in Mandarin. However, I'm wonder if they're more likely to reject applicants who can't do the interview in English? Or if she does the interview in Mandarin, would she need to provide some proof that I can speak Mandarin? What sort of documentation should we use for that, email logs perhaps? Perhaps in connection with this, I'm also wondering about providing video evidence, which I've seen mentioned in a few threads...how is this done, logistically? Would it be possible, for example, to bring a video file on a flash drive? Or a DVD? Presumably, a video would be a great way to prove we communicate fluently in Mandarin, but aside from that, what else could a video be used as documentation for?

It was indeed closed on MLK day but I got an appointment for today, and just got back from filing it. Just in case anyone is curious about the timeline right now in Beijing (not sure if it changes ever), I was told they'd need three months to process it (in Beijing, I assume) and then -- if it gets approved -- it would be sent to Guangzhou. I'm guessing if it gets approved, that's when they'll ask for the additional proof of domicile, tax records, etc?

Thanks! Yes, I meant g-325a, that's what I've filled out, just left off the "a" by mistake. Thanks for the link! Good to know the domicle stuff is later down the line. I've read so much I suddenly started thinking maybe there was some big form I was missing....

Hi all, So, with the help of many of you here, my wife and I have been planning to apply for a CR-1 visa, and I think we're finally ready to take the first official step by filing the initial petition. I live in Beijing, and have for the past couple years, so we'll be going the DCF route. Here's what we've got, all of which -- if I understand it correctly -- we need to submit right away as part of this first step (right?) FORMS: i-130g-325a (for me)g-325a (for her)g-1145 SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: Supplemental paper with full addresses in Chinese and English (it was impossible to fit them all on the forms themselves, some are very long).Copies of the relevant pages of our marriage certificates, with translation.Letter from me explaining out relationship and how we've been living together for the past two years.Letter from each of my parents in the US, confirming that our relationship is real.Letter from her father (and certified translation) confirming that our relationship is real and that he has met me and that we have visited her parents several times.A selection of photos of the two of us together in different places and at different times throughout our relationship, from right after we first met through our marriage photos, with captions explaining when/where each photo was taken.A printout of our email/chat logs from gmail, and a short introduction pointing out how it shows we've been in constant contact since we started dating, even while I was living in the US a couple years ago. That's all going to be arranged and organized in a nice binder sort of thing (should I put the actual forms in there too), but anyway, I was wondering what I'm missing here, or how this all looks...? Is there any additional form or proof required for DCF? Also, I recall reading people talking about how I would have to prove "domicile" filing for DCF, but didn't see anything about that on the forms, so I'm guessing that comes later in the process, right? Or is that the big hole in what I'm missing....? (I should be OK with that, as I have maintained US credit card, bank account, etc., but if I need to provide domicile proof now, what sort of proof is best?) Also, a very practical question, and one I was gonna call and ask about on Monday, but in case anywhere here knows, how do I file this? I mean like literally, physically, where do I go and who do I hand this to in Beijing?

Thanks guys! SOOO helpful!

Hi guys....sorry I pretty much only ever come here with questions; I hope that some day I will actually have some answers for someone! Anyway, I married my wife back in August, and now we're ready (I think) to start the process of applying for the CR2 visa. I'm downloading Acrobat Reader right now, so I haven't even seen the form yet, but I have seen the instructions for it, and those raised a few questions already! To DCF, you need to have been a resident of China for at least 6 months, which I have and can prove, but I did take a brief trip back to the US in June of this year...does this matter? There are six items listed as what you need to prove you're a US citizen...do you need ALL of these, or just one of them? I ask because I (obviously) have a valid passport, but my birth certificate is in the US...do I need to get it mailed to me if I already have a passport? I'm also wondering about the evidence of our marriage section. We don't own any property, though we do jointly rent an apartment, and we don't have joint bank accounts or anything. Will a joint rental agreement, in combination with affidavits from friends (do these need to be notarized?) be enough? What other kind of evidence should we provide? I could provide a mountain of evidence in the form of photos, chat and email logs, and that kind of thing, to indicate that our relationship is real, but I'm not sure if they'd want all that.... Also, a really dumb question: physically, how is this stuff filed. Do I make an appointment at the Beijing embassy with citizen services or what? Thanks for your help!

Can that be parents? I may have a job lined up anyway, but I can't be sure of that yet, of course. If not, can my parents be co-sponsors? They would be the ones supporting us while we get set up in the US...

Yep, you have US Domicile. Other things that will be needed is copies of IRS Returns for at least past 3 years. You may be exempt from paying US Tax on foreign income, however are not exempt from filing a return. does it have to be the past 3 years? I have filed for the past two, but the year before that I'm not sure, I was still in college....I've also filed completely online, via turbotax, so I'm not sure how to get those forms on paper....but maybe that's something I can do through turbotax.

OK....so from what you posted, it sounds like proving domicile isn't too hard....I've maintained a US bank account, credit card, etc. I also do regular freelance work for one US company in addition to my Chinese job...sounds like all that is useful proof, along with driver's license, etc....I also still have family in the US, my mail is getting sent to my parents house, so I could get some of that as well as maybe a notarized letter from the parents saying we will stay with them in the US till we find a suitable place to rent....does that seem like potentially enough to prove domicile? I will make an effort to have job offers too, but that could be difficult; if we still don't know whether or not she's even got the visa it's tough to make concrete plans....

OK, so my fiancee and I are living in China, and looking for a way to at least visit the US. We're also considering moving back, at least for a couple years, and would be willing to do that if it makes the visa processing easier. After my last thread（thanks for all the helpful responses!) I discovered the CR-1 visa, which seems like a better option than K-1 which we were previously considering*. After all, it costs less, takes about the same amount of time, and then she'd get a green card immediately on arrival in the US...right? My question is, how could I prove domicile if I'm living in China too? This site http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_2991.html#2 says US citizens living abroad can file if they've been living in the same place legally for 6 months+, but it ALSO says you need to be a resident in the US....wtf? Also, if we were to go the CR-1 route and be successful, is there some flexibility in when we use that visa to return (like a window of a few months or whatever?) What would the restrictions on her/our movement be once we got to the US. Are there limits on the amount of time, or the number of visits she could have to China? Finally, just because I am curious, what is the difference between a CR-1 and a K-3? I didn't even know the CR-1 existed until a few minutes ago, I had been assuming the K-3 was the "spouse to US" visa....so why is there also a CR-1? Or are they different somehow? This process is such a headache! *Part of the reason is we're not as attached to the "living in China" bit as we used to be. With the political climate and inflation getting steadily worse, we're both feeling like a change of scenery might not be so bad after all....

@dnoblett, could you explain that more? I'm sort of new to this whole nightmare and not entirely sure what you're talking about.... Anyway, I think we're going to try for the fiancee visa, it seems like people think that would be an OK option....unless getting married and filing for immigration is better? If we did get married and file for the immigrant visa or green card or whatever, how does that work? And how often/for how long would she be allowed to return to China in the first couple years?

Hi all, So I am currently engaged to a Chinese woman; we're living together in Beijing. In the simplest terms, what I want is for her to be able to visit my home and meet my family, and then return to China where she and I both live and work. (Yes, we could meet my family in some third country, but I want her to see my home, and see what the US is like, which seems reasonable to me). Obviously, the easiest way to do that would be a tourist visa, but she applied twice and couldn't get one. Aside from my aversion to throwing money away, I'm disinclined to apply again at least for a while -- the workers there treated her horribly, didn't look at any of the documentation she had provided, and basically just rejected her on sight. We had prepared evidence of family, social, and economic ties, but the embassy worker didn't look at any of it. A very common occurrence, from what I've told. Anyway, I was considering the K-1 visa. I know that the visa exists for couples who are living in two different countries, and that generally after getting married in the US, one stays and begins to process a green card or whatever. If you don't get married, you have to leave after 90 days. What I'm not clear on (and what no one can seem to tell me for certain) is whether it's still possible (or advisable) to apply for a K-1 visa anyway, and whether it's legal to get married and then NOT process any kind of immigrant paperwork and return to China. I also want to know, if that is possible, how would it potentially affect future applications for an immigration visa. We don't want to move back to the US now, but we probably will at some point in the future. The only other option, as I understand it, would be to get married in China, and then apply for a tourist visa again and hope/pray that she somehow gets an "interviewer" who has a soul this time around. Some people have told me that's the best plan, but others have said it's much worse because once we're married they have (more) reason to suspect that she wants to immigrate illegally. Since nothing else about her status will have changed (she has a full-time job, but that was true when she applied before as well, and she doesn't own property or anything), I'm a little skeptical that would work. Still, I'm pretty much at my wit's end here. All we want to do is VISIT, yet it appears that's practically impossible. I wish there were some way for my family to assume legal responsibility for her return to China at the end of her visa, but as far as I know that doesn't exist, and I don't think my wallet or my fiancee's psyche can stand up to many more rejected tourist visa applications, especially if the consulate workers insist on being such assholes. One more request: Not to be rude, but if your reply to this post is going to be "You should just move to America and have her immigrate," please just don't bother to reply. For some reason when I ask this question, people always say that, and while I'm sure that's easier from a visa standpoint, we both have jobs we really like in China, and neither of these jobs exists in the US.