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Thanks for clarifying that. Both the CRC and the birth certificate were bound in the white notorial booklets. The disquiet came from the Chinese use of notorial certificates for both, which just look like letters rather than US-style certificates. Had I read the Documents section of the State Department's Country Reciprocity Schedule for China, I wouldn't have been so surprised by them. Our question about needing a second CBC came from my wife's holding a temporary residence permit for Beijing in addition to her hukou in Jiangsu province. Like you say, the nationwide CBC from her hometown was all we needed – her Beijing ID card has the same ID number as her ID card from her hometown, so it's all standardized.

My wife had her interview in GZ yesterday, and came away with an expected blue slip for Administrative Processing due to CCP membership. Given how much I enjoyed reading other people’s posts with their own timelines and interview experiences, I thought I would do a writeup of our own. Since the process seems to have changed a bit lately with CGI Stanley taking over part of the process, I hope this can be helpful for others who are starting out. As a bit of background about ourselves, my wife and I met in graduate school (in China), have been living together since 2010, and got married in 2011. We are planning to move to the States in the fall after our second anniversary. DCF We DCF’d in Beijing on March 27. DHS were very quick in their response to my initial email, and we were able to get an appointment two weeks from when first I wrote to them. Their email to me included a pdf of documents to bring. We took the required documents and an inch-high stack of photos, which the CO flipped through, taking out dozen of them and returning the rest. The CO accepted a photocopy of the notary copy of our marriage license after comparing the two. Nine working days after our DCF, I received an email from the Embassy with a pdf’d scan of our Notice of Approval of Relative Immigrant Visa Petition. The approval date was April 5, and the letter was dated April 8; quick turnaround! Packet 3[?] Ten days later we received an EMS envelope with two sheets of paper in it. One was a covering letter telling us to read and follow the directions on the next page and listing our Case Number; the other was the Notice For Immigrant Visa Applicants, which instructed us to fill out and submit DS-230 along with a copy of the info page of my wife’s passport, two photographs, and with the Notice For Immigrant Visa Applicants. Be sure to write your case number on the Notice before mailing it back; a friend forgot to do this and had his wife’s application delayed. Packet 4[?] We sent the DS-230 and related materials to GZ via EMS and three days later my wife received an email from CGI Stanley instructing her to log in to the website and make an appointment. The website showed wide availability; we could have made an appointment for the next day, if we’d been ready for it…of course, you have to have your medical completed at least two weeks before the interview date, so we couldn't have scheduled it for the next day. My wife had hers done in Beijing on the last day that the old clinic was in operation. Results were not made available that day, she had to go to the new location to pick them up after either three or five working days (I can’t remember which). Also, she wasn't able to get all the shots she needed on one day and had to return in a few days for those. Guangzhou We both liked Guangzhou more than we do Beijing. Clear air, what a miracle. We went to GZ on Saturday for a Monday interview, figuring it would be much less stressful to get in early. We stayed at the Westin, which is less than two minutes from the Consulate. We had a great stay, and I can’t imagine having stayed anywhere else. (I’ve had enough of hard Chinese beds for several lifetimes.) We relaxed, explored Guangzhou, and ate some great dim sum – I'd highly recommend the Guangzhou Restaurant (ݾƼ, located on the east side of the sports complex south of the Consulate. Interview Day We arrived at the Consulate around 6:50 to find long lines. We stood in the 7:00 appointment line until we realized that immigrant visa applicants were supposed to stand in another line. We went to the back of that line and inched our way to the front, where a CGI Stanley employee checked my wife's passport and appointment paper and put a barcoded sticker on the back cover of her passport. We went in up to the third floor to security, where I left my wife to continue on her own. She went up to the fourth floor where everyone went through a proper metal detector (no shoes) and had their things x-rayed. No bags/purses, cell phones, or bottles allowed. In my wife’s pack today were: Appointment receipt, instruction letter (sent via email and printed), and sheet for paying her fee.DS-230 (listed in the P4 materials, but they didn’t want it)Her passport and my passport and photocopies of both (they didn’t look at my passport)Two visa photos of herself (they didn’t want them)Certified copy of her birth certificateCertified copy of our marriage certificatePolice certificateNote that even though she has lived in the Beijing for the last 4.5 years we didn’t get this done in Beijing. Instead, it was done in her hometown (where her hukou is). They accepted this without complaint…so you may not need (or be able) to get one from each city your spouse has lived in for 6+ months. This (and the birth certificate) look nothing like its counterpart in the States, so don't be freaked out when/if your spouse comes home with nothing but a letter.Medical exam resultsFive things: X-rays (didn’t look at them), the big brown envelope that we can’t open, two books for shot records (they didn’t keep them), and another paper about vaccinations. They only kept the brown envelope.Evidence of SupportI turned in an I-864 with my last two tax returns (didn’t file three years ago b/c I was a student and didn’t make enough money to file – I wrote an explanatory statement). I am employed in China by a Chinese company, so even though I earn more than 125% of the poverty line I took the advice of folks on the forum and (a) included evidence of savings and (b) got a co-sponsor since my employment is in China. Even though I turned in bank records showing $50k+ in savings, they still wanted the cosponsor’s I-864…go figure.Evidence of RelationshipThe CO had the photos from the DCF in Beijing and didn’t want any of the others my wife had brought. (Just as well; the ones she took with her today were picked from the stack the CO in Beijing didn’t want.)Resume (Chinese & English version on separate papers)CPC statements from her and from me.We really appreciated the information on the site about CCP issues. I printed the Word document and my wife read through it before writing her own letter.Evidence of domicile: my expired and current drivers licenses (I renewed while in China), latest AmEx bill with US address on it.Her China Merchant’s Bank credit card (Dual currency card, she used it to pay the filing fee in USD.) Document Intake My wife mentioned that it’s not necessary to have your documents separated into different packets. Instead, it might speed up document intake to have all the forms and other documents listed on the instruction sheet already put together. The document intake folks had her take everything on the list out of the individual folders she had put them in, and they (doc intake) put them together into a stack. They then took all other documents she brought (co-sponsor, domicile, etc) and put them on the bottom of the pile of documents. Like other people, my wife reported that document intake was the slowest part of the process. She was one of the last people through it, but got called for her interview relatively quickly. (She was through security around 7:30 and back at the hotel at 10:50.) The Interview My wife was quite happy with the interview. She said it was relatively short (5-10 minutes), including time for the CO to record her answers in the computer after each question. The CO asked what I do, how we met, how many times my wife has been to the US, when we are planning to go to the States, who our co-sponsor is, and finally asked my wife if she is a Party member. She answered yes, and he asked when and if she has stopped paying the membership fee. She told him she stopped paying several years ago, and then said that everything looked good and that the Administrative Processing would take about a month(!). He gave her a blue sheet of paper, and she was out the door. Final thoughts The whole process was much, much faster than I expected. We started in March assuming that it would take about a year to get through everything, and now here we are three months later with visa close to being in hand. If we had wanted to rush things we could have interviewed several weeks earlier; pretty impressive, I'd say. Throughout the process we have had nothing but positive experiences with Consular, State Department, and DHS staff. I’m planning to write to the embassy and let them know how pleased we were with it all. I’d like to offer my thanks (and a small donation that’s on the way just after I post this) to CFL and everyone on these forums who have answered my questions, given advice, and posted their stories for posterity. All the information on CFL has kept me calm and helped us both to know what to expect during this process. Thank you all. That’s it for us…until we get to the States, that is. We are planning to enter after our second anniversary, so my wife should get permanent, rather than conditional, residence. Thanks for reading, and I’ll update this thread once AP is through so folks can keep tabs on what CCP wait times are like in mid-2013.

Congratulations! Keep us posted on the name change, my wife will be doing the same once we move back to the States.

Thanks for the responses, guys. I think Randy's advice is solid, and am including my savings (several times more than the poverty line) on the i-864 and am sending all relevant account records with my wife. Getting account statement from ICBC was incredibly time-consuming. 8 days to go…

Another couple of i-864/i-864a questions, specifically about joint tax returns. My wife and I filed jointly last year. On the i-864 should I list only my 2012 income in pt 6, #5 (which by itself exceeds 125% of the poverty line) and then also list hers below in 6c? Or should I just leave hers out since my income alone exceeds the poverty line? Also, Since we both work for Chinese companies, neither of us have a W-2…any suggestions as to what to do about that? I've got more than double the poverty line in savings, so I will also include that on the form and include bank statements. ​Since I work in China and have not yet looked for a job in the US (the wife is a Party member and will have to get a background check…I don't feel right looking for a job until I know when we'll be back), my mother is acting as a joint sponsor, just in case. Like me, my mother files a joint tax return (with my father, who is retired) and her income alone exceeds the poverty line. Does my father need to fill out i-864a, or can he just be left out since my mother's W2 will show her income?​ Thanks guys. We go in a week from Monday and I've got the jitters.

Thanks to both of you for your replies. Hopefully we're able to get it all done in the morning – in another thread someone mentioned having to come back in the afternoon…hope that doesn't wind up happening to us! I'll get settled in at Starbucks and plan on a long-ish wait.

Would you mind sharing how long it took to get through the process that day? We've booked a 6 PM flight back to Beijing on the day of the interview…hoping we'll be able to make it without rushing. I think my wife has to go in at 7:30 AM – do they do document check and then immediately send you in to the interview, or were interviews held later in the day?

Did you do document intake and the interview on the same day? We're going down in three weeks for my wife's interview, and I'm curious if the procedure has changed for how it was before.

We set our appointment via the above website a week or two ago - they had openings almost every day. The website will let you set an appointment in the current or coming month. Once your partner gets P4, you can log in to the website, pick a date, and let your employer know. Hope that helps!

We are using the "new process" for my wife's CR-1 application. So far it has been excellent. To give an idea of the timeline and process: 1. We did a DCF in Beijing. Nine days letter I received notification via email (scanned letter) that the case had been forwarded to Guangzhou. 2. Two weeks after that, my wife received P3 from Guangzhou via EMS. 3. Five days after returning P3, my wife received an email from GZ instructing her to log in to the CGIStanley website to set an appointment date. In sum, I'm quite happy with the new process. It seemingly makes the process much quicker than before, and the use of email means much less waiting (and worrying) for EMS. I only wish we had waited a few weeks to start the application - we applied in late March, so paid the old fee of $420 rather than the new, cheaper one.

My wife and I are here now. They are in the process of moving out of the building (I'm watching movers carry out desks as I type), so the useful info above about how to get here will be outdated very soon. Be sure to bring photos of different sizes. Out docs from GZ said to bring five US-regulation visa photos but my wife also got asked for a Chinese-size photo. We'd brought along an envelope with an assortment of id/visa/passport photos we have collected over the years so this didn't cause us any problem, but it would be a she to get through this whole process (2:15 and counting) and then have to go out for photos. We have been told to pick up the results in five days - follow the new instructions from GZ to get this done at least two weeks before your appointment.

We used UStraveldocs to sign up for our interview after being notified by email rather than a letter via EMS. I was quite impressed by the whole thing, to tell the truth. We could have picked any day from the day after we got the letter (early May) until the end of June. We, too, were only instructed to pick one day, and my wife has instructions to arrive at 0730 – I'm hoping that means that we'll do doc intake and the interview on the same day. (Also, it doesn't say whether I can/should go in with her.) There seemed to be some changes from what others have mentioned – most notably, we only had to turn in two photos with P4.

When I switched employers in Beijing I did not get a new Z visa – just a new Residence Permit (sponsored by the new emplyer) and a new FEC (naming the new employer). To get the new RP you will need a release letter from your current employer. They will know what it is…when I left my last job, they had a form from SAFEA to fill out. The new employer will then take care of the paperwork to get you your RP for next year. I haven't had to repeat the physical when changing employers, but if you are moving to a different province, there is an outside chance that they might force you to have a new exam. Your new school will know what to do – just ask them, and then let your current school know what you need from them. Your FAO has surely done this before.

Have any members succeeded in getting one of these two-year visas? We are expecting to move back to the States from China in October after our second anniversary. I've currently got a Residence Permit from my employer. The school year ends in July, at which point I'll need a new visa to keep me in the country through October. Our preference would be to get a tourist visa that's good for as long as possible since we will be making trips back here to visit my wife's family. Any advice/suggestions/war stories from members who have successfully gotten "family visas" would be greatly appreciated!

We bought totobobo pollution masks. When the pollution index is 250 or higher in Beijing, I wear mine whenever I'm outside, including on busses, in the subway, etc. It makes an enormous difference––when I take it off, the smell of the pollution is overwhelming. It's disgusting to see how quickly the filters turn grey and, eventually black. That being said, we noticed a much larger difference in day-to-day health when we bought our first air filter. We have it running in the bedroom 24/7, and it stopped us from waking up with a cough and stuffed up noses. We bought a relatively simple Midea HEPA filter for ~1,000 RMB at Guomei. Later we replaced it with a BlueAir filter, which cost quite a bit more. Build quality on the BlueAir is far superior to that of the Midea, which is starting to fall apart after two years use.

Was the P3 sent via EMS or just plain China Post? Even though we're in Beijing, mail delivery isn't always that quick. EMS seems to be more reliable within China. Very glad to hear that you got a response within a month - hope that we have the same wait time. Of course, since we are on the "new" system, it may be a whole different ballgame now.

Nothing but a good experience so far. DHS/CIS replied to all emails very quickly, we were able to get an appointment within a few weeks of writing, and it took less than two weeks to get notice (via email) that the application has been forwarded to Guangzhou. Not looking forward to filling out the next batch of paperwork, but glad that things have gone so smoothly.

I don't believe this is correct. Yes, you CAN submit your original documentation at an IRS office and get it back the same day, and the office in Beijing is the only one in China. OR - you can mail certified copies. The new regulations call for copies certified by Certifying Agents, which are available at some of the consulates. The W-7 and tax return can then be submitted by mail. What you are saying would all but rule out an American with a Chinese spouse from getting an ITIN, except by making a special trip to China at tax time. The Chinese spouse should be able to get her passport certified at a consulate without the American spouse being present. I'm sure you're right that outside of China there are ways to get a certified copy of a Chinese passport. (For instance, in the US you can go to an Acceptance Agent, who will certify the passport and send a copy along.) Applying from China, you must send a copy certified by the issuing authority, which in this case is the Exit & Entry Administration, Ministry of Public Security: However, the Exit & Entry Administration, Ministry of Public Security do not issue certified copies. Thus, the workaround is to go to the US Embassy in Beijing. At the tax meeting they stated that couples from around China have been making trips to Beijing solely for the purpose of getting an ITIN. Like I said in the post above, this is how to get an ITIN from within China. Perhaps Chinese consulates in other countries could provide a certified copy of a Chinese passport, which would be great…having to make a trip back to China for this would, as you say, be ludicrous.

To resolve this issue (for now): As of 2013, the only way to get an ITIN from within China is to go in person with your Chinese spouse. You must make an appointment at the US Embassy in Beijing with the IRS officer (make the appointment via email) and then go, taking along your completed tax return, form W7, and both you and your spouse's passports. I think it's also probably a good idea to take along photocopies of your passport info pages, just in case they need them. I got this information directly from the Beijing IRS office. Hope it can be of help to others!

Only took DHS one day to get back to me with an appointment – I go in to submit the application in early March. My wife doesn't go with me for this step, right?

Hi, all, First, thank you to Dan and all the mods for these great forums. My wife and I are preparing to do a DCF here in Beijing. I found this recent post (and the rest of the thread) to be very helpful in letting us know how to set up an appointment and what to expect. I am sending out the email tonight, hopefully we will be able to go in in early March to file From other posts in the forums, I expect the DCF to take about 4 months to go from filing to interview in Guangzhou. A question: when/where can we sign up for paperless notification? Is that a possibility, or does everything need to be mailed? If it's an option, I think we'll have things mailed to my wife's work address, as mail/courier delivery there is more reliable than delivery to our apartment. Once we get to Guangzhou, things are going to grind to a halt, as my wife is a Party member. She joined when she was a university student, isn't a dyed-in-the-wool commie, etc. It's unfortunate that it will add time to our processing. Thanks to the posts about what to expect, she will be prepared for "extra processing" after the interview for a CCP waiver, and will go with all supplementary documents in order. (We will both write explanatory letters, she will have a resume on hand to give to the embassy worker, and she will also already have the relevant form filled out…does that cover all the bases?) Anyway, I feel like I have a good handle on what the process will entail. Thanks again to all of you for your great, informative posts. They've really helped to make the process seem less scary! I'll keep the thread updated as our application progresses.

Thank you, we will follow up on that.

Very good to know, thanks. I'll start our own thread when the time comes. My wife is a Party member, so I am anticipating that will slow the process by a few months. That's great that it was so fast for you! Good luck!

Thanks for the various replies. My wife has called the Chinese issuer of her passport (Exit & Entry Administration Ministry of Public Security) and has been told that they do not certify copies of passports. She then got in touch with a law office that provides notarized copies; they also offer a service that we can't find a good translation of…I think it's getting an apostille. That probably wouldn't fly for the IRS either, unfortunately. At this point I think we'll wait for 2012 and the new regs to come out and then file back taxes for 2011. Disappointing that the IRS in Beijing weren't able to help with this.

Hi, everyone. My wife and I are starting our visa journey by getting her an ITIN so we can file a joint tax return. (The lady in the IRS office suggested we do this so there will be no questions like "Why didn't you file jointly if you were happily married?") During the past year the rules for acceptable documents have changed. We can no longer submit a notarized copy of her Chinese passport. Instead: So, we need to get a certified copy of her passport from the issuing agency (Exit & Entry Administration Ministry of Public Security). My wife has called them to ask about this, but is unsure of the Chinese term for "certified copy". Have any of you done this? Can you tell me what the Chinese is for what she needs, and how you got it done? Thanks!