Xu And Wang

Just wanted to send a warning about early biometrics: I read here and on VisaJourney that early biometrics usually worked out. Ours was scheduled for Feb 3 in Detroit, but we can't make it, so we tried last Friday, right when they opened. We were subjected to "Didn't you read the letter?" and "Don't you see this box that says 'if you need to reschedule...'", and then turned away from an otherwise empty office. If you live far enough away from the application support center (we're an hour away), don't risk the early biometrics and just reschedule and reschedule and reschedule! -Ryan

These things you mentioned aren't hearsay, they actually are proof. But, they aren't proof for what you actually need: that you have a place in the U.S. where you and your spouse will live. As David mentioned, don't explain why you are living in China. Writing a letter explaining why you are knowingly disobeying one of the base requirements for an immigrant visa, however reasonable your intentions, just doesn't strike me as a great idea. Instead, show things like mortgage payments/any other proof tying you to that domicile, proving that your home is still your mother's home and that you will be living there once your spouse receives an immigrant visa. Just as a side note, letters are probably a little bit helpful, but again, you have to think: how does the VO know that the things in the letter are true? Good=Co-sponsors I-864. Bad=Letter saying someone will support you financially. Good= name on a car lease. Bad= letter saying they will give you a car. I don't mean to be difficult, but I'm just mentioning this advice from our own experience and difficult decisions we made in our DCF. -Ryan

I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I'm skeptical that this information is good enough. When we did DCF, I provided an actual lease of a place where I was currently paying rent- I know most people who DCF make the hard decision to leave China without their spouse for the U.S. exactly for this reason: proving you have an actual domicile in the U.S. [The exception is if you will be moving in with your parents (or telling GUZ you are). Then, letters from parents, bank statements to your parents' address, retirement papers to that address are useful.] Here's what I mean: for example, driver license's are good for 10 years, but nobody ever checks to make sure the license is still updated with your current address. How does the VO know that that's really your address? So unless that driver license address matches some other hard evidence that you are actually living at that place, it is basically useless. By far the best evidence is a lease/deed showing that there is a place in the U.S. you have paid to live in, or if you are moving in with your parents, then their lease/deed matching the address on your forms. As far as I understand, the requirement is that you have an actual place that you are currently living in inside the U.S. in order to sponsor an immigrant. It seems pretty cut and dry. And, believe me, I completely understand the arrangement you are trying to make. But I would try to get some more convincing evidence that you actually have a place to live in inside the U.S. -Ryan

Hi everyone. Sorry if this is repetitive, but I searched through many threads looking for an example like ours, but I couldn't find one. Any advice is appreciated! -My wife was a nonresident for all of 2008, but her income in China was non-trivial (~25K). She had 0 income related to anything with the U.S. Do we file the 2555 and/or 1040NR and file jointly? She meets the bona fide resident test. Or do we check filing separately and say she has no income, where I can then claim her as an exemption. We will likely have an SSN before tax filing time, as she will enter March 18, 2009. Thanks! -Ryan

Hi everyone. After sending off our financial documents, Guangzhou got back to us in less than a month with a white approval notice- not bad for a month with Martin Luther King day AND a 5 day vacation for Spring Festival. Now all we have to do is get to Guangzhou and get that visa! But our journey is basically (knock on wood) over, and I can't thank the contributors to this site enough for providing a trove of information that guided me every step of the way. Thanks all and keep the faith! -Ryan

Hi everyone. Thanks for the comments! After writing the post at the top of this thread and seeing your responses, I felt a lot better, and we got right on top of sending the supporting documents. I think its best to be grateful for what we got... Our financial supporting documents arrived in China while I was visiting for Christmas break, and we sent them in on December 21, 2008. Now the waiting begins once more, hopefully for the last time! Anyone know how these things are handled once they approve the documents? Do they ask the passport to be sent? Or does it have to be handed over in person? Thanks again for all the advice! -Ryan

Hi everyone. We got blue this morning- the visa officer took all of our documents, but said that due to low and unstable income level (I'm a first-year PhD student), we would need to find a sponsor and mail in those supporting documents, such as another I-864. No other documents were listed as required. Obviously, its a disappointment. My income was below the line by a few thousand, but my assets plus her assets put us significantly above the line. In any event, I guess it wasn't enough. Any advice for the kind of time frame we are looking at until the visa is granted, assuming those documents are prepared within the next few days? Will there be another interview? Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks! -Ryan

Well, if by residency permit you mean the fabled D visa...I knew I couldn't. The only thing that you are helped with by being married to a Chinese citizen is you have access to continual one-year multiple entry L visas. That's what I'm on now. This is how I managed to stay in China during the Olympics, when nearly everyone else I knew had trouble. There is that "Chinese green card" that requires like 5 years of marriage living in China or something, but that will always be a long shot. Now, I did get a temporary residency certificate, in a similar way to the way I would get them from when I had an F visa. After coming back from our honeymoon with my 1-month L visa, I registered with the neighborhood of her mom (since that was her hukou address), and then her mom went with me to the local police station, where I got the temporary certificate. (I'm sure this process is familiar to anyone whose lived in China for a substantial length of time, but it was eased tremendously by the fact that we were married). I then used this temporary certificate to get my one-year L visa from the Beijing PSB. (Note that everything is connected to the location of your spouse's hukou- I know its not as convoluted in other places, like Shenyang). I then went BACK to the police station, where I got my one-year temporary residency certificate, which I hold now. Now, I'm not technically allowed to work, but if I ever did go back for a few months, I'm sure I could teach English under the radar. Hope that answers your question. -Ryan

xiaofeizhu, I have a question for you, do you happen to know if the DCF is only an option if you are a resident w/in China for the 6 months prior to filing? I have just done the CR-1 route, but had formerly resided and been registered in China for just under 3 years when married but later ran into visa difficulties around the Olympics....I remember the lady at the US embassy had told me something about filing an immigration petition when I picked up my single status paperwork, but at the time I was like 'yeah, I don't think we'll need that' and didn't really pay attention. Funny how things work out Anyway, I'm another female on this board. I think the other 'big question' how many people (men or women) didn't meet through the internet. So far I see xiaofeizhu and myself (baobeizhu...hehe oink oink) Cheers! Hi there. I might be able to help you. It seems our stories are pretty similar...I had lived in Beijing since 2005, and I married my wife in May 2008 as well (though she was a Beijinger, so it was easy). We then filed our DCF paperwork at the Beijing Department of Homeland Security on June 10, since I knew my visa would run out. (see here for the whole rigamarole) As a side note, after 3 years of dealing with visas, I had learned that I would need to leave China in order to switch to an L visa (from my F), so we took our honeymoon in the U.S.! (Perhaps luckier than most people here, my wife had a tourist visa to the US from before we married, based on us taking a Christmas vacation together to meet my family). This allowed me to change my visa in Chicago and be back for the Olympics. I'm now in Ann Arbor, MI, starting a PhD. Now, I remember when I was talking to the DHS about filing my DCF application, they said that since I had lived in China for so long, no restriction on time length existed. I imagine the answer would be the same for you. I know their address and phone number have changed since the opening of the new embassy, but you should definitely call them and set it up- as you can see from my timeline, we breezed through relatively quickly, even with some of self-caused delays in the process. Let me know if I can help you with anything. (Oh, and we met in a restaurant because of a mutual friend ) -Ryan

Hi, thanks for thinking of us! Unfortunately, I haven't updated our timeline- due to a hectic working schedule, we have postponed the interview, and are still waiting for the consulate to get back to us with the new date. In all likelihood, it will be sometime in December. Thanks anyway though! -Ryan

Please add us to the list too, for DCF. Thanks! -Ryan

Hey, thanks for the replies! I appreciate the experiences. Just to recap: She currently has a B1/B2 visa, valid 10/2007-10/2008. We are planning on getting married in China next summer. Probably suspicious to try and renew her B1/B2 before we get married, or even for her to try and enter the US on her B1/B2 after we get married. On the other hand, she's already got a tourist visa, not difficult to renew...a possibility of adjusting status while in the US if we get married here... sounds like another possibility. Lot of food for thought. Thanks a lot!

Hi everyone, new poster here. I was curious if anyone could offer a suggestion on the current situation with me and my future wife. I am working in Beijing, and we are planning on applying for a marriage visa through Direct Consular Filing at the Beijing office next year. We applied in October for a tourist visa to the U.S. for her so she could visit my family over the holidays. She passed her interview with flying colors, and will be making her first trip to the States this Thursday. Her B1/B2 multiple entry visa was issued on October 10, 2007 for one year validity. We are planning on starting the marriage registration and U.S. visa process next May-June or so, and I will move back to the US a few months later for an upcoming job prospect for me. Based on some of the timelines I've seen here, it seems that it will take about a year or so (maybe less) for everything to work itself out so she can join me to live. During the time that her Immigrant visa is getting processed, I would hope that she could still come visit me while I am living in the US and she is in China. I know that US B1/B2 visas, once received, can be easily renewed for another 12 months with no interview at any time it is still valid, as long as there hasn't been any big change in status. My question is this: if we were to apply to renew her tourist visa in, say April next year for 12 months, before our registration and starting the US visa process, would that set off any red flags for our future married visa petition? Would the visa authorities care about that and think its a cheap shot? Any comments are welcome. Thanks! -Ryan