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Both my husband and I are able to translate documents from Spanish to English. I did this during the I-130 stage of the whole process. I took a Spanish course, received a diploma, and translated the diploma and made a letter certifying my proficiency in Spanish and English. They accepted this and nothing was said about it so I guess it worked. It should also be said that my husband had a friend translate the police certificate from the Netherlands. He included a letter certifying his proficiency in Dutch and English and signed it also. But they said they didn't need it during the interview...

One thing I can think of is using an online translating/notary service to translate everything we have just in case. Does anybody know if these services are reliable? Another thing my husband suggested is to go to a local notary in Guiyang and get everything we have notarized. But then the issue with that is the notarization will need a translation to go with it. What a mess...

I should mention that my husband is not Chinese. He is Spanish (I am American) and we got married in Spain last summer. We both work in Guiyang, so that's why we are doing all the DCF stuff in Guangzhou. We did all the correct steps and whatnot to get the Chinese police certificate, and we gave the white book with the notarization, translations, originals, everything to the interviewer. We don't have that anymore, unless we do it all again. The only thing I can think is that my husband will have to go to Spain and Amsterdam and get all the stuff again. The only problem is that my husband said it takes about 4 weeks to get the police certificate from Amsterdam. I guess that's no big deal now, but our goal is to be in America by August and this really puts a dent in things because we have to worry about our jobs in Guiyang also. My husband is also confused because the letter we received says a "notarized" birth certificate, marriage certificate, and police certificate. The police certificate has an apostille from Spain, but the birth certificate and marriage certificate don't have an apostille, but they do have a legal seal. Both of these certificates contain a "plurilingue," which is a page that says the translation of every Spanish word in many languages, one of them being English. The problem comes from this can be a never ending circle. If my husband has to provide a translation, the letter of the translator's language competency will have to be notarized. The notarization will be in Spanish and then that will have to be translated also. And so on and so on... Then the problem happens with the police certificate from the Netherlands. The US Consulate in Guangzhou has my husband's original police certificate; we only have a copy of this and a translation and a letter guaranteeing the translation. We can do nothing without the original. Could an apostille be acceptable with the Dutch police certificate, or does it have to be a letter from translator person X saying "Person X is competent in Dutch and English?" The only thing that can be done is to maybe go to the Spanish consulate in Guangzhou and get all the Spanish documents notarized. But all this doesn't explain why the interviewer didn't want this stuff in the first place. I don't know if this should be seen as a warning to other people doing DCF that not getting a visa can be the result of bad administration just as much as from not bringing enough or the correct information...

Hello again community. I'm asking this because I want to know if it's common for administrative incompetence to get in the way of getting the visa for the spouse to go to America. My husband had his green card interview and everything seemed to go okay. According to my husband, he asked his interviewer if she needed the translations of all his police certificates and if everything was correct. She said she didn't need the translations, everything was correct, and the final words she said to him were "You're all set." Sounds like everything is good to go for the visa right? Well now, we get a letter saying he is unable to get the visa now because they need: -two new visa photos taken within the past 6 months -a notarized birth certificate -a notarized marriage certificate -a notarized police certificate (it is not specific whether this means a Chinese police certificate, even though we did all that needs to be done to get the white book and everything with it) -notarized English translations of marriage certificate and police certificates from both the Netherlands and Spain My husband brought all this stuff (and much much more) to the interview. His interviewer blew it off and acted like it was unnecessary, now we are here. We will try to call the embassy Monday to see what is going on. Would arguing this situation help and result in a "Sorry, just send what you have to us," or would it be better to just tediously gather up all these documents once more? I've read about administrative incompetence causing couples to not get the visa, but I would have never thought it would happen to us...

Okay thank you!!

I also have another question. I see that on the I-864 and I-864A, where it asks for total income for the past three tax years, my parents put their adjusted income (line 37) instead of their total income (line 22). Is that a big deal? Both numbers are much much more than the poverty level so I couldn't see why it could cause any sort of issue...

Hello once again community! I am currently in America now at my parents' home and will be returning to China in a few days. They are my co-sponsors and have filled out an I-864 and I-864A form. They stapled upper left hand corner of the forms. Would that be a problem? I remember when I submitted the I-130 I used a paper clip. I forgot to mention that to my parents. Thanks!

Thank you so much everybody!

Hello once again community. My husband has his interview scheduled for Feb. 23. Now we can schedule the medical examination. Based on what I've read online, it seems everybody makes the examination and interview one trip. Is it possible to do the medical examination in Guangzhou, then return back to Guangzhou to pick up the exam results and do the interview? I read that the people who give the medical examination give a specific date and time to pick up the results? Seeing that the examination may be several days before the interview, couldn't he pick up the results during the medical place's open hours? This may be option because we live in Guiyang, which is about a 5 hr train ride from Guangzhou and we will be on vacation for Chinese New Year during this time. Thank you!

Okay thank you!

Thank you for the reply! Yes I too was unsure of why that part of my 1040's was blank. I've asked my tax preparer about it and he never responded to me If my parents are my joint sponsors, is the Form 4852 necessary for myself? I've read that if the sponsor doesn't make an adequate amount of money above the poverty line, then the people at the consulate direct their attention towards my joint sponsors (or something of the sort). Thanks again!

Hello again community. I have two questions the interview and I-864. I think I have looked at stuff about this someone on either here or visajourney, but I just want to make sure. 1.) Since I have been living and working in China with a Chinese company, my income is indicated on my tax returns as foreign earned income. This means that line 22 (total income) of my 1080 is blank, there isn't even a 0. Would this mean that on my I-864 in part 6, 19.a,b,c, I leave it blank where it says total income? I'm not sure whether to put 0, NA, or nothing. (I already have joint sponsors) 2.) With question 1 in mind, for part 6, no. 2 do I put an estimate of my yearly Chinese income here (this wouldn't be 0). Also, should it be indicated in USD or CNY? Also, the only proof of my income are messy contracts that don't accurately reflect my income, and transaction histories of my debit card since I get my salary in a direct deposit fashion. 3.) Is it possible, or has it ever happened before, that my husband does the interview without my joint sponsor's I-864, and then we send the forms to the consulate when we have them? I am going to America in February to pick up the forms from my parents. I only ask this question because it's looking a little difficult to schedule an interview date since finding an available interview date is so spotty and doing this around when we are free, plus around my trip to America, plus going to and from Guangzhou from Guiyang, is getting messy. I prefer to not go this route, but if there's no choice... Thank you very much!

Okay thank you!

I should also ask just to be safe, but for me, is it okay to just have my tax returns. I am living and working in China. Is it necessary for me to have a letter from my Chinese employer? I prefer to not get them involved in this process if it is possible...

Congratulations on your visa approval! It's good to know that it is an option to send the passport back to Guangzhou after flying. We plan to return to America next summer, so there is no rush to get the visa as soon as possible.

Okay thank you!

Hello once again community. I am in the process of doing the I-864 now. My parents will be my joint sponsors; my father is doing an I-864 and my mother is doing an I-864A. I just learned that my mother has a new job. She obviously won't have many pay stubs from her new job. I am thinking to ask my mother to get a letter from her old employer saying her position, salary, and how long she worked there, and then ask for a letter from her new employer saying the same thing. I will also ask for pay stubs from her old job Would that be the best approach to this situation? Also, I'm guessing for her current individual annual income, she would calculate her new weekly salary by 52 and put that number on the form, even though it's November? Thank you very much!

Thank you very much for your help on this one. Yes I work for a Chinese employer. I sent an e-mail to my tax preparer in America about this issue and why the cash amount I was given wasn't indicated on my tax return. Maybe I will find another tax preparer to handle this situation. Don't know yet.

I have another issue. I will be sending my 2013, 2014, and 2015 tax returns. According to my 2015 tax returns, it will look as if my income took a huge blow and I make almost no money. But in reality, my employer gave a part of my salary in cash. When I asked them to put this information on paper, they refused to because they said once it is on paper it would have to be taxed. I told my tax preparer in America about this and paid an amount in taxes to the U.S. Would the people who will be looking at my I-864 find this suspicious? This leads me to the next problem. On the I-864, Part 6 #2, it asks for my current individual annual income. I can calculate an approximation of my income based on how much cash they give me each month and the contracted amount I get. Or I can put an amount based on what is on my 2015 tax return, which is about $1699. How can I answer this question? Also, should I explain this situation somewhere, somehow, or just leave it as is and give my tax returns? My parents will be my joint sponsor by the way...

Okay so I will just submit my 1040's. I guess that'll be okay. Thank you very much!

Hello community. I apologize if this question has already been asked. I am in the process of preparing all the materials for my husband's interview in Guangzhou. On the I-864 form, it says that I must have a copy of my W-2 and/or 1099. My husband and I both live and work in China. I have tax returns for the past three years, but i only have 1040s since I've been living and working in China. Is it okay to go to the interview with only my 1040s? I see there is a Form 4852 to substitute for W-2. Should I fill this out? I don't see many people talking about from 4852 on forums though... Thanks!! I should also say that I already have copies of my IRS transcripts, but they only show that I have 1040 forms and nothing else... Oh yeah I should also say that my parents will be my joint sponsors, and they will have W-2's.

Thank you for the reply! There's not much about this situation out there in the forums, so I'm guessing it doesn't happen much. Now I feel a little better about what may happen and will wait and see!

Thank you very much!

Hello community. Me (American) and my husband (Spanish) are both living and working in China and are in the process of doing DCF in Guangzhou. We already submitted the I-130 and my husband has already filled out the DS-260. Do I have to e-mail all the materials (I-864, police certificate, marriage certificate, etc.) to the NVC like the travel.state.gov website instructs? I just want to make sure because it is not that clear, and looking at other people's DCF experiences, nobody mentions the step of e-mailing materials to NVC. That makes me think they didn't do the e-mail part. My other question involves police certificates. Do I, the petitioner, have to get police certificates from China and USA also, or is that job only for the beneficiary? My final question involves the I-864. I want to make sure that the signature of my joint-sponsor has to be original and not a scanned a printed signature. Is this true? Does this mean my joint sponsor has to mail the I-864 and all documents physically to me? Thank you very much!

Hello candelforlove community. My husband (who is Spanish) just completed the DS-260 online and I (an American) am getting all the required documents together. We both live and work and Guiyang and were wondering how the process works after the interview. He signed up to receive his passport with the visa at the Guiyang CITIC bank. So that means, after his interview in Guangzhou, he will have no passport, thus no way to return to Guiyang. How do these types to of situations work? Do we stay in Guangzhou until he receives his passport?