Andelu

Dan - I have had HTH, now Blue Cross Geo Blue, for the last 4 years and been very pleased with rates, coverage and swift payments of claims. For Shenzhen and Hong Kong it's excellent. I have the plan that covers everywhere but the US - for which I buy a yearly travel insurance plan through IPI/Bupa for when I am in the US. (now looking at US plans we move to the States next month...) https://www.geo-blue.com/health_plan/long_term_plans.cfm

Just as any update/FYI - the Green Card arrived on 2/26 - about 6 weeks after landing/processign on 1/13/2014.

Our process in the fall (Oct 2013) was the visa fee was paid at the Consulate not at CITIC bank. Several other posts have confirmed this recently as well so you may want to be prepared to pay at the Consuate with Cash or USD credit card.

No, a new USCIS site does not provide a new case number upon payment and the receipt number is not 13 digits and does not work when entered. No letter received from USCIS as of yet. Same link in my original post. We know the green card is not "necessary"; we're seeking to find its production status. Its not a big deal as we will be back to the States twice before final move from China in April. It would be beneficial to receive the card before we move so we can then change address as we don't want to do that until the card is received.

Dan - Yes, the green card fee was paid as soon as we received the visa. We are aware that the visa serves as a temporary green card, the Detroit immigration did an excellent job explaining that and even said it would be good for 2 years - not that we are going to try that. My question is has anyone who has filled through DCF successfully checked their green card production status on the USCIS site.

We arrived last week (1/13) with Detroit as the POE, Social Security Card was received yesterday and hoping my CNH's Green Card arrives before we depart on 2/4. We can't seem to check the production status on the USCIS dashboard site: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard.do not sure if this is because we filed DCF or we are using the incorrect number. Any advice would be appreciated... Andy

dan - congrats on taking the leap to open your own business! setting up shop in HK is much, much easier both with setup, annual carrying costs and taxation. A HK company will require annual tax return and an audit which most accountants can do as part of setting up the company and annual filings. As a side note - the income you currently earn in China IS declarable to the US on your annual tax returns even if under the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. If over the limit you are able to claim a credit for any taxes paid to China on that income.

I sat with my CNH in October when he filled out his DS-260 online and we didn't encounter any issues…sorry can't provide any recent advice on a same issue. As for payment - payment was made at the Consulate with USD credit card.

Hi David - I don't remember the exact dates of each step, I think I posted them on here somewhere but the timeline was approximately: 28 Aug filed I-130 ~25 Sept received snail mail I-130 acceptance ~29 Sept both me (petitioner) and my CNH (beneficiary) received emails advising he could submit his DS-260 online 1 Oct CNH submitted his DS-260 online ~4 Oct CNH submitted the DS-260 confirmation, passport bio page and photos via CITIC Bank ~24 Oct received notification to schedule interview (both me and CNH receieved emails) Interview scheduled same evening 28 Oct Medical in GZ 4 Nov Visa Interview - required to submit 2 additional documents 11 Nov additional documents submitted via CITIC Bank ~25 Nov requested to re-submit one of the additional documents with more detail 25 submitted same day via CITIC Bank 4 Dec Visa issued 13 Passport recieved Hope that helps with your timeline questions - long answer to your question of how long between I-130 approval and being able to submit the DS-260 which was a bit less than 2 weeks. CNH created the UStraveldocs account after I-130 approval received. Andy

We didn't receive any snail mail P3, only the email notification to proceed with scheduling the interview. This was in October. I believe the only snail mail we received in the entire process was acceptance of the I-130. Also, any materials we sent were sent through CITIC Bank, not snail mail.

Thanks Dan for the quick reply. Yes, I kept my US driver's license, will just need to change states...

After 11 years of living in China we will be moving to the States in the first half of 2014 and wondering if anyone has any experience in obtaining car insurance after being out of the US for a lengthy period. I previously had Allstate, but the last year of coverage was in 2012; have a car w/insurance here in China but not sure if the insurance record can be generated by PICC or not - or even if I want it to be! . Also my Chinese spouse will need insurance coverage, has had a Chinese driver's license for 5+ years. Any experience in adding a newly immigrated spouse to insurance coverage? Any advice, input would be appreciated. Andy

We didn't have to reschedule my husband's interview so I have no experience to add to your original question Josh but do want to share our experience with the medical. It was done the week before the interview, results were obtained same day for an expedited fee. The visa validity date was 6 months from the date of the medical, not the visa issuance. Medical 10/29/2013 Interview 11/4/2013 Visa Issuance 12/5/2013 IV Expires on 4/29/2014 We had a delay in the visa being issued as we had to submit additional paperwork twice after the interview. Also, for what it is worth - we were advised by the Consulate official after I submitted the I-130 that he not travel to the US on his valid tourist/business visa after submitting the I-130. Apparently as this signfies the intent to immigrate there would be a very high probablity of being denied entry unless he was on business and had documentation beyond just a return airline ticket that he was not going to remain in the States. Anyway, not first hand experience as we didn't chance it but what I was told when I asked if he could visit the US.

We are in the process of arranging the moving our dog, he leaves in two weeks via Hong Kong, so can share our experience so far as it relates to canines. He is a Pug and as he is a Brachycephalic breed (snub nose) there are numerous restrictions on their transport as they have trouble breathing due to their short noses, and their respiratory conditions worsen when flying and in warmer temperatures so no airlines will transport them when the temperature is above 75F which can be possible end of March/early April when we are actually moving. So, I have done lots of research on transport options and I didn't find any airline that allows other than service animals in the cabin, at least from Hong Kong and for dogs. Not sure about flying from Shanghai or Beijing or cats. In addition to having a rabies vaccination within the last year and at least 30 days prior to arrival in the States, he has to have an examination by government vet which includes a health certificate and export record. There is no quartine to the States (other than Hawaii). I obtained agent quotes from the International Pet and Animal Transport Association and chose Export-A-Pet they were not the cheapest but their communication and service was by far the best and they were only a little more than the cheapest and half the most expensive. You can get estimates on just the airfare on United's website, figure at least 3x that cargo cost for total door to door service. Delta wasn't an option for us as they have no direct flight to the States from HKG. General information on these two airlines for pet travel. United's PetSafe Program and Delta's Pet Travel Options. Below are the steps included in the quote and services provided by our local agent. We are paying the US agent separately to pickup in Chicago and deliver same day to my family in Michigan. Pick up from residence to Clinic apply health certificate for obtain international health certificate To Govt. vet for export health inspection International health certificate Government endorsement of the export documents Mainland China export permit Hong Kong transit permit Pick up from residence and escort to Hong Kong airport one day before departure Go through Mainland China/Hong Kong border, custom clearance Transfer dog to HKG govt. pet hostel for overnight stay to catch next day flight Govt. pet hostel fee Pick up dog from Govt. pet hostel and transfer to HKG cargo terminal /Cargo departure handling Airline booking,airfreight and other airline charge from HKG to ORD Travel crate L70 x W51 x H54cm with water Surcharge RMB for pick up dog from Shenzhen and escort to HKG on Sunday Hope that helps. Andy

Just to clarify - your CNH should set up the account at the ustraveldocs.com site - not you.

Congrats David! Excited for you and your CNH. After submitting the DS-260 online and sending the hard copies of the required forms through CITIC bank my CNH did not make a payment at that time. There has been some discussion about when to pay and he paid his visa fee after the conclusion of his interview, not at the bank. GUZ notified us by email, not snail mail, of the go ahead to schedule the interview appointment. Both me and CNH received emails, me as the petitioner and him as the applicant. His passport and documents were returned to the CITIC bank branch specificed when setting up your online account at the ustraveldocs website. You can set up an account prior to the submitting of the DS-260 online. Sounds like the process is moving faster now then we when we first started in August - i was happy with the month it took for the approval of my I-130!

I'll have to try the quiz when my VPN is working as the New York Times is blocked here in the PRC...one thing I will not miss when we move in a few months...

For what it is worth, the ustraveldocs for us said "Still with Post" until a week after the Consulate (CEAC) site said 'Issued". The CEAC site was updated regularly but it was with the same status: Adminstrative Processing from 9/25 until 12/5 when Passport issued, the only thing that changed was the date. The date changed 1 day after submitting the additional documenation through CITIC Bank - assume that was when received by the Consulate. About a week later date changed again on 12/4 and then again on 12/5 when visa issued.

Will share my recent experience. My husband submitted my I-864 at his interview on 11/4. I included all the documentation to substantiante my completed I-864 along with a cover letter stating my employment would continue in the US at my same current remuneration. At the conclusion of his interview he was given a white paper which said his visa was approved but he was required to submit an employment offer for the petioner (me) and his notarial birth certificate. Not an issue, both were submitted a week later. Then two weeks later, 11/25 notified by email that "Petitioner letter of employment must include wage information" . Stupid omission on my part, re-submitted the letter of employment with wage information the same day. The visa was issued today 12/5/2013. Bottom line - provide as much information as possible - I should have known and assumed to provide a continued letter of employment with wage information from the very beginning. As Randy has stated numerous places - "My standard line here is that "enough" is not necessarily ENOUGH - they are required to look at the "totality of circumstance" in determining whether you might be a public charge in the U.S."

My husband only submitted the DS-260 online confirmation, 2 photos and a copy of his bio-page after submitting his online applicaiton during the October holiday on 10/2. His documents were submitted through CITIC bank on 10/4 I think. At the interview he took all the other documents and submitted them at that time. His interview was 11/4, visa issued today 12/5.

Dan Harris has a fine law blog but nowhere in the post you reference does it say that the Consulate's notaries are the only recognized legal notaries in China. In fact, any American Notary Public can notarize a document - hence Dan's comment in jest that it makes "no sense for someone in China needing a United States notarization to fly to the United States to get that." Most anyone can apply and become a notary and most certainly there are alternatives to going to the US Consulate to have a document notarized for use in the US or by the US Government. American Lawyers admitted to the bar, in most states I believe, are automatically civil-law notaries and also able to notarize documents. Most affidavits are required to be witnessed (by a notary for examle) to be valid. I would not presume that some type of affidavits do not require notarization or an attestation of the authenticity of the affiant's signature.

D - The forum was a great resource for us and it sounds like you have been doing your research as well and are prepared. The only two things I have to add is my husband accompanied me to Guangzhou but wasn't allowed in with me when i filed my I-130 back in August. On the Guangzhou Consulate's website it says: The beneficiary’s presence is not required, although it may be helpful if additional information should be needed. This is obviously not the case as he couldn't enter the Consulate and as both of us left our phones in the car it would have been impossible to call him to "join me". As for the notarized documents, I am sure there must be an American in Beijing who can notarize documents without going to the Consulate. There are several Americans in Shenzhen who are happy to do so for a small fee or a beer so it doesn't require a trip to the Hong Kong or Guangzhou US Consulates. We submitted several affidavits attesting to our relationship, 2 notarized by American lawyer in Shenzhen and 2 by a notary back in the States. Start preparing all the other documents needed for the I-864 and at your husband's interview as they will be required before you know it... Good Luck.

When I booked my I-130 appointment in August it only showed appointments about 1 month out. For December you may not see for dates around Christmas until after the first of the month. As for the Guangzhou Consulate holidays they are posted on their website. They are only closed Christmas Day.

We just went through the same thing last week, my husband's interview was on the 4th. His visa was approved but he had to submit "an offer of employment for petitioner" with his passport before he would receive his visa. My I-864 included IRS Tax Transcripts for the last 3 years, copies of bank and brokerage statements, and 2 house deeds (one in China and US). So the issue wasn't funds, liquid or illiquid, but came down to my employment. I am staying with the same firm and the timing of the move is up to us so obtaining a letter of continued employment/offer of employment in the States from my company was a non-issue and we submitted on Sunday (along with the Notarized Birth Certificate) via Citic Bank. I'd suggest you include a very detailed summary of your employment plans to include with your I-864 to mitigate any lack of employment offer.

China does not recognize its citizens same sex marriages...For property, that is a bonus as we can each own a property in the same city whereas if our marriage had been recognized by the Chinese government we would not have been able to. I am in the process of renewing my residence visa, which expires on the 22nd, and when I selected married on the visa application it created numerous other issues. The visa officer had me fill out another form and select single. Still in the Chinese equivalent of "administrative processing" and hope to find out by the end of the week if my 11th residence permit will be granted. Really ironic that my husband almost has his immigrant visa and I am freaking out about my China visa...hoping I don't have to leave on the 22nd to go into Hong Kong and go tourist/new M visa route for a few months before we move...