PnL

Yes you can. We travelled to USA one time after we filed the I-130. There was no question about it. Just to be safe we printed all of the documents showing we were returning to China (return flight itinerary, work contract, etc.) In the end, they didn’t ask for any of it.

Thanks Randy. We are in contact with a few shippers. We were told by ANA and Delta that we need to go through an approved shipper now. I think some laws have changed recently because a lot of the snub nosed animals (which we have) were dying in the cargo area. All of the prices we have been given are insane. So we will keep up the search.

We have two cats that are quite noisy so they cannot be brought into the cabin of the plane. For international pet flights, cats must be sent through approved shippers. So far, we have been quoted between $5000-$8000 USD to ship both of them. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any recommended shippers from Shanghai?

You can still use BoA atms to withdraw cash from a union pay bank card. There was a small fee, but nothing big like a USA bank would charge. I could never use a Union pay card in a store though. I did read somewhere that anywhere discover card is accepted you can use union pay, but it never worked for me.

Last night we made the trip to Guangzhou from Shanghai. And as the title suggests, our visa application was accepted and the visa officer said my SO’s passport should arrive in about 2 weeks with a visa in it. I will post a more detailed account later. All of the information here has been very helpful. We were over prepared every step of the way and from DCF to successful interview it has only taken 2 1/2 months. It is much sooner than we anticipated, but I am not complaining!

As we are waiting at the airport ready to head to Guangzhou I realize I forgot to update about the health check. Some of the things that happened during the health check did not mesh with the websites instructions. First, you can use credit card instead of cash. The website said bring ￥2000, but actually the price was ￥1600 since my SO had vaccination records already. You do have to make an appointment for the day you want to do the health check, but like people have said about Guangzhou, the time is not hard and fast, you will get another number when you arrive. You must bring 10 passport photos but my SO got 4 or 5 back at the end. I am guessing if something goes wrong they will need the other ones for some type of documentation. It takes 4 business days to pick up the health check, at that time you will get the sealed envelope and a sealed CD. The CD you do not need to bring to the interview, just the packet. What my SO said of the health check it seemed like any other health check you would get in the USA.

Hey Everyone, I am guessing the procedure has changed here in Shanghai or it is a bit different from the health check in Guangzhou. First off, it is by appointment only. You cannot show up and get a health check for US immigrant visa. Second, the results take four days to be available. Third, the price has gone up to 2000 RMB. And last but not least, you need 10 Passport photos for the health check. Also the website says bring one more application than applicants, so in our case just two copies of the application. We have been pretty proactive about getting things done and we luckily have enough time. Just wanted to let everyone know incase you wanted to get your health check in Shanghai.

Thanks so much! The form is a bit different but handwritten as well. I am sure the forms look different from place to place. I thought that is what it meant, That the embassy will accept it for up to six months. Either way if my SO wants to do the interview in October, just to be safe, I don't mind. I am getting pretty excited to get back stateside.

Thanks for the post. I was looking at CGI, they haven't even posted new appointments.

Hey everyone, just wanted to check in about our police check and see if you all had a similar document or know what I am talking about. So we went back to Hangzhou to pick up the police check from the police station where his original Hukou is from. Weather it can be done at other places or not, I guess it depends on who is working that day. Anyways it was done very fast. A picture of my SO on the paper with everything handwritten saying that there is no criminal record, with the usual red stamp on the document. The paper itself says that it is only valid for 30 days. We dropped it off at the notary to e translated and notarized (White Book.) I tried posting a picture of it but I can't really figure out how to do it. My question is, did your SO's police check look similar, and did it also say valid for 30 days? I am not too worried about the expiration date but my SO is. Should we plan to do the interview within the 30 day time frame, or do you think it would be okay to go in November as we had planned?

So we mailed out the IV pre-interview packet on Monday and Friday it was approved to begin schedule and preparing for the interview. I can't believe it happened so fast! I think it has been helpful to have all the information that all of you have prepared!! We were planning to head to Hangzhou this Monday and Tuesday to get my SO's noncriminal record and to get it notarized before the letter but this is all the more reason. We didn't want to get it too soon as it is not valid after 6 Months. We already Prepared the I-864 sponsor and joint sponsor forms as everyone has suggests so after the health check, I think we are going to be ready for Guangzhou. We will keep you guys updated.

Finally got to mail it. We went to the bank and they didn’t give us a reciept or anything. They just asked what type of visa it was for and then put it in the drawer. So far so good. Everything has been going pretty smooth thanks to all the information from here. Hopefully we can interview before the end of the year. Fingers crossed!

P.S. CITIC bank seems to be the only bank in Shanghai that is closed on the weekend. When you have to mail your package to Guangzhou, Keep this in mind.

Policies vary from one POE to another, and the load they're experiencing at the time, but I would think you'd want to get in the SAME line, and just see how it goes. Yes in Both times we have been stateside since marriage, we entered together. First time was through the foreigner lane and the second time was in the citizens lane. It doesn't hurt to try, you might get to go through the smaller line

Update to my CGI problem. So I emailed them that the system did not recognize my number and either I did it wrong the first time or this is some type of work around. Either way, we seem to be in the clear to send the documents requested. So when you begin registering it ask what kind of visa you are filing for: Non Immigrant Immigrant Or Immigrant Visa Scheduled by NVC-Registration Only Originally I selected immigrant visa and at the end after we selected a pickup location it asked for the case number. That is when it said case number not recognized. Anyways the email told me to select Immigrant Visa by NVC-Registration Only. When you do it this way it does not ask you for your case number. After that you can download the form that you need for the passport pickup. I hope this helps anyone having a similar problem in the future. It is all kind of confusing because the system is set up with only mentions of the DS-160 (for non-immigrants) so even when you are done there is still a big reminder for people using the DS-160 form. And Happy Labor day!