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I have a question about the submission for the i864, as well as other documents for both the I130 petition and interview document submission stages. 1. My father will be our co-sponsor, and I'm wondering, if he fills out and signs and dates the form in the States, can I just have him email me a scan and use that for the submission? Or will I require the original document? 2. If the original is required, my father will be visiting a couple of months before we will need to submit the i864. Can he sign and date it at the time of the visit, or will the length of time between the signed date and the submission matter? Is there a time frame that these documents are valid for once signed? 3. Is there any kind of general guideline/list of documents that originals are required for vs. scans/copies are acceptable? For the I130 and interview submission stages? (sorry I don't know the technical names for the different stages - too many acronyms) Thank you in advance for any help and suggestions

I'll be going to the Guangzhou Consulate this Wednesday for my I-30 appointment and I'm reviewing my I-130, G1145 & g-325a's one last time. Does anyone know if the Physical addresses we use on these forms will have mail sent to them or will the subsequent communications be through email? We may be moving from our present location in Shanghai to another location in Shanghai within a few months and I don't want to cause problems or delays in the process. Thanks for you help!

Hello everyone, First time posting .. read lots of entries , Great info. I have a few questions . I'm 59 years old and met a woman who is 51 on line, She is from China..We were both married before and divorced about 10 years ago. I have received my 10 year visa and going to visit her. When I go it will be a little over 5 months since we have meet online, We Skype a few times each day for hours and send endless emails to each other. We have met each others parents, children,and friends on Skype. We have fallen in love. She has a good job of 31 years and can retire now and is willing to relocate here. She also owns her own home in China . My question is we want to get married on my first trip there. I know most recommend not doing that. She is not going to quit her job for K1 visa which I understand. She would rather get married and apply for spousal visa and then quit her job when approved. I agree and understand she is giving up a good life to marry me and move here, so she wants to be assured she can get the spousal visa before closing her door to long time job. I also have a good job of 33 years here so moving there now is out because retirement for me is a few years off. But may in the future chose to go back and forth if we keep her home there. my question is will marring in China on first trip after 5 months of long distance relationship have a negative effect on the application process? We know that the wait could be 1 year for spousal visa. We are both aware of our ages and time does play into this as far as wanting to start our life together,knowing that it could take a year after marriage. I plan on visiting every few months during the waiting period. I really like to hear from anybody who had a similar story or general advise. Maybe feed back on what to do know to prepare for successful CR1 approval...Thanks

Hello Everyone, My wife passed her IR1 interview!! We celebrated by booking an earlier flight back to Shanghai. Firstly, I want to say how much I want to thank this forum and everyone’s effort in sharing their experience and expertise. Because of your generosity and warm-heartedness, you’ve helped a lot of people out there desperately need of assistance. THANK YOU!! I want to share my experience with the rest of you out there putting all your effort into bringing your love ones closer to you. Just a quick background introduction of myself, I’m a Chinese American in Shanghai. I moved to Shanghai five years ago and met my lovely wife (from Sichuan). We registered and got our marriage certificate back in 2010. And after our summer trip to the U.S. in 2012, we decided that it is better to start a family in the states. TIMELINE: -Jan. 2010, got married in China -Summer 2012, took a trip to the states for our wedding celebration -Sept.27th 2012, started the DCF in Beijing -Oct. 18th 2012, our case file was forwarded to GZ for further processing -Nov. 21st 2012, received PACKET 3 (NOA #3) -Dec. 12th 2012, received visa appointment confirmation email -Jan. 22nd 2012, document in-take and finger printing -Jan. 23rd 2012, interview DOCUMENT IN-TAKE DAY: -Scheduled for 12:30 p.m. -We got there at 11 and there were already tons of people. -Make sure you get into the right queue (there are queues for non-immigration visas, immigration visas, submitting additional documents, etc.) -They started letting people in at around noon and you must show them your passport (beneficiary) and the appointment letter. -They check off your name on the list and give you a plastic card -Take the escalator up to the third floor, that’s your first security check (they take away your plastic card, so I guess if u don't have the card, you'll have to go back in line to get one. Also, they'll take away any food or water from you) -Go up to the fifth floor, this is the second security check. (they'll take away all electronics and store them for you till you leave) -And then they'll give you a ticket number (do NOT lose this number, they'll ask for it when you go to the window) -Then you sit and wait till they call your number (they will NOT call the numbers in order, but most likely by the type of visa you are applying for) -Document submissions are different for different people. Just give them what they ask for. (some people after submitting their documents will be asked to pay a fee) -After you submit your documents, stay put and wait for finger printing (they will call the same number again) INTERVIEW DAY: -Scheduled for 7:30 a.m. -We arrived at 6:30 a.m. and there were already several lines (for different visa applicants) -By 7:30, make your way up to the fifth floor and get ready to wait again. -Before they begin interviewing, all the applicants are required to take an oath to answer all questions truthfully. -They'll call your number (same number from yesterday) -Make sure you bring along all the documents, even though they may not have asked for them yesterday. -If you didn't pass, you can go to a window to request for details regarding what you need to re-submit. COUPLE THINGS TO NOTE: -Document submissions are done by local Chinese -Actual interviews are done by foreigners who can speak insanely good Chinese OUR CHECKLIST: 1. Appointment Letter 2. Beneficiary passport bio page 3. U.S. Visa Photos x6 4. Notarized birth certificate 5. Nortarized marriage certificate 6. Nortarized police records 7. Evidence of financial Support (I-864 form) I-864 one for the petitioner A letter explaining why I did not file for tax return 8. I-864 from joint sponsor Tax returns from joint sponsor (W2 and 1080) Proof of employment from employer Joint sponsor's passport bio-page 9. Proof of domcile U.S. Credit card statements U.S. driver's license Student loan statement U.S. Bank statements (with both my name and my wife's name) 10. 50 photos of us, with family and friends (from 2008 - 2012) 11. Medical exmination packet (sealed envelope) and x-ray film

Okay, I knew that the I-130 for DCF filing would be U.S. $420. But now I am hearing about other expenses I was not aware of. The health exam... how much might that be? Are there costs for the DS-230? for the interview? for any other stages I am not aware of yet? (Since costs for transportation and other documents may be variable, I'm mostly just interested in those "predictable" costs...)

Hi all, I only found this website a month or so ago, but it's been so helpful in explaining the whole visa process. I wish I would have found it sooner! I'm hoping to get some advice on our current position. I was teaching in China for 3 years, and we submitted the I-130 in April of 2015 while I was still under contract for a couple of months. Since we had no idea how long this whole thing would take, we figured that I should go back to the US instead of coming back for another year of teaching. If only we had known! My wife had her visa interview for a CR-1 back in August of 2015. She had answered truthfully to the question about being a member of the CPC, so she needed to submit more information regarding her involvement. I helped her draft the answers. It seemed pretty straight forward to me. She had only joined before getting out of college because her parents said it would help her find a job post graduation. It didn't end up doing anything overt. She's a music teacher by trade so maybe being a CPC member looked better on her job application, but their was never any express statement that it was a requirement for her job. She worked at that school for 2 years, then we moved so I could take a new teaching job. At that point she stopped paying her dues, which she said was a simple way to have her membership lapse. I knew that that the CPC membership would be an issue, but I felt her particular case was so superficial that it wouldn't really be a hangup. I was dead wrong. I went back to the US in July and was living with my parents while looking to move. I contacted the local Congressman in November. They got the same reply from the embassy: "administrative processing." After I moved I was in a new congressional district, so in January I reached out to that Congresswoman. Her office was much nicer, but in the end they got the same answer. With February being Spring Festival this year, my wife was pretty miserable and begged me to come back to spend some time with her. Her parents, who she's been living with, have been particularly awful throughout this whole process. They don't understand anything about how the visa application process works and won't listen to my wife when she tries to explain the realities. Her dad still doesn't believe it has anything to do with her CPC membership. I had a job that I could do remotely, so I booked a ticket and came to China just before Spring Festival. I've been here about 3 months on a 120 day visa. We keep expecting there to be a change with her visa status, but there's been no movement at all since she submitted the additional documentation at the beginning of September. I contacted a sentor's office about a month ago, and they're still getting the same stock response. Needless to say my wife and I are pretty miserable and tired of the not knowing. At this point, I'm wondering if talking to a lawyer about a writ of mandamus would be worth the money. Does anyone have any advice for this particular situation? I could recontact the congresswoman's office since it's been more than 90 days since they asked, but I feel like the 3 separate government officials have had no effect. Any advice you all have would be greatly appreciated!

Well, I'm hoping this is the last odds and ends questions. I'm finished with putting together almost all of my forms and evidence. I just have some small questions. Can the I-130 fee, when done by DCF, be payed in RMB in cash in person? If not, can it be payed by a debit card with USD? I speak fluent Chinese, my wife doesn't speak a lot of English. Do I need to prove I speak Chinese and that we have a common language? How would I do That? I remember seeing elsewhere someone had a video of them speaking Chinese requested. I'd like to prepare in advance. If my wife doesn't speak English too well, will that be a problem during her interview? How should I arrange my packet of photos and relationship evidence? All the photos in a zip lock back? In a separate folder/envelope? Should me sheets of paper with forms and letters be stapled, paper clipped, in a binder, or loosely put into a large envelope? This is a more complicated question. In most of the forms, addresses simply don't fit, domestic and Chinese ones. Should I not type them then hand write the address portions into the form? Or should I include a separate paper and write them on that? This is a question about all forms - I-130, g-325a, and the I-864. We will be living in my father's home when we go back to the US. He is going to be a joint sponsor. Since we are going to be in a single household, should he fill out an I-864a or a separate I-864? Back to addresses. I don't know which ones to write. My wife has lived in her grandma's home for years, but that house doesn't have a mailing address. It is also not the address on her hukou. It is not the one under her father's name either. Whenever she applies for things, she usually uses her uncles address as the mailing address. She has also lived there before. Should I just use that address on the forms? This part has been giving me, and her family, a headache. They All feel like its not something that our government will investigate into, but I want to fill things out correctly. I've been doing research and asking others about the whole communist party thing. My wife, before she was 16, was a Ա in school, something everyone was required to enroll in. She never paid any dues or went to any sort of meetings. She is not a Ա. Its probably more like the cub scouts than anything else. Do I need to make note of that and how/when? I haven't seen anything in the I-130 or first step forms. Is it at the interview stage? I think that's it for my questions. If anyone else has last minute advice please let me know! My hope is that we can get the visa in 2 to 3 months....it looks like recently DCF has been that fast if there are no hookups. Is that a realistic goal?

Hey everyone! We just got back from Guangzhou so I figured I'd share our experience over the past few days to help those going through the process now... The perfect hotel for us We decided to stay at the Leeden Hotel just off of Huasui road. When I booked it I figured the walk would be 20-30 minutes to the medical exam center, but was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was actually less than 10 minutes, with the consulate under 15! I guess I'm just used to the huge city blocks of Shenyang... Anyway, the hotel was very nice with my only complaint being the daily room cleaner ignoring our "do not disturb" sign twice while we were out. I drew a map of the correct hotel, medical exam, and consulate locations since none of the map services I used got them all right: http://imgur.com/b21Dw09- The medical exam office is located on the 5th floor of the "Poly building" which is right on Huali Road. The left door goes to a Guangzhou tax office while the right leads to a variety of businesses including the medical exam location. Here's a Tripadvisor link for the hotel for anyone interested: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g298555-d1459913-Reviews-Leeden_Hotel-Guangzhou_Guangdong.html Medical exam The day before my wife's medical exam we gave the Guangdong International Travel Healthcare Center a call to do a last minute check/verification of the process. During the call we were notified that there was a new system in place for setting an appointment for the exam. You can read my play-by-play here: http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/46807-guide-to-ir-1-dcf/page-2?do=findComment&comment=621321- Long story short, we had to fill out and email a one page document to the center then call them to verify it was received. Be sure to bring a printed copy as well. On the day of the exam we arrived a little after 7AM and five women were already there and waiting. Over the next half an hour the fifth floor lobby slowly increased to maximum capacity until the center finally let us in to get tickets. Here's where having submitted the above mentioned document seemed to expedite things: Those who didn't email the document had to go to the side and fill it out on their own before they could get a queue number. My wife was #3, we got in at around 7:45, and we were out of there by 9:20. The exam consisted of an X-ray, blood test, eye/ENT exam, and vaccinations (MMR, Varicella, and Influenza). Even though we set the appointment, arrived early, and got an "expedite" stamp on her file, they still told us to come back the next day at 8AM to pick it up. If you've scheduled your visa interview for before 10AM I highly recommend you plan the exam two days in advance just in case of delays! IR-1 Interview We got up bright and early again and walked through light rain to the Poly building only to find 2 of the 3 elevators out of service. We decided to take the stairs to the fifth floor where we got my wife's exam documents after a ten minute wait. We were able to catch the elevator down and walked to the consulate for her 10:20 appointment. As you can see in the thread here: http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/47726-ir-1-interview-final-checklist-and-questions/- I made sure my wife had everything I could possibly provide. This turned out to be overkill in our case. The Chinese document intake worker straight up refused to take any of our relationship stuff and only took one white book (the "Marriage" one) and all of the support/financial documents. Next she paid the fee and waited for her interview. She was called up by a middle-aged guy who was very friendly to her. The interview went something like this: Interviewer: So tell me why you married your husband? Wife: (Tells him my positive traits and explains how our relationship started) Interviewer: You should tell him I gave you a hard time. Wife: I can say that you denied me... Interviewer: Don't do that, you'll give him a heart attack! And that was pretty much it! All in all, just 2-3 minutes of light conversation. At the end he even gave the photo album we provided in July's I-130 application back. My wife came out and showed me the paper he gave her which says "Congratulations! Your visa has been approved." Surprisingly, it's just a standard white piece of paper. My wife said she didn't see anyone receive anything blue/pink so perhaps they've scrapped that system? We celebrated for the rest of the day/night and flew back the following morning (today). Closing thoughts 1. Stay somewhere close by. Being able to walk from our hotel to the consulate in under 15 minutes was just so convenient! 2. Schedule the medical exam appointment. You don't want to be #50 and have to spend more time waiting for your turn than the actual exam. 3. Bring all of your relevant documents. Whether the consulate wants them or not, it's always better to be safe than sorry in this journey. Finally, I want to give a big thanks to the fine folks who have helped me so much over the past year! Especially Randy and Dan, you guys deserve recognition for the countless people you've helped through this difficult process. It takes a special group of people to devote so much time to selflessly helping others Let me know if you have any questions or want more details!

Hi everyone, I have been reading the tons of inspiring stories and kind, helpful advice on the site for over a year now. I have just gotten married and now it's time to start this long process. The problem is that I think I have read too much information and advice (given to others)! I don't know exactly where to start or what choices are the right/best ones for our situation. I am an American and my wife is from Shanxi, both born in 1983. I have been living in Beijing for about 2 years and we got married on August 1st this year. We applied for a tourist visa but she was denied this morning. I have to go to the States on business in October and had hoped she could come after the business was finished and meet my family for the first time. I wasn't too surprised that she was denied; American husband+no real assets+low paying job=low chance of issuance. I have been amazed by the kindness of people on this site in helping total strangers and hope someone may be able to advise us as well. I have many questions so any help would be greatly appreciated. First off, we are trying to decide if we should try DCF or if I should submit the application when I am in America in October. I have read the rules several times and am mostly stuck on the issue of domicile. Right now I am on a student visa and will be getting a z-visa very soon (as part of the business trip). I believe I meet the residency requirements for China but I haven't lived in the U.S. since I graduated from university. I lived 4 years in Japan and now 2 in Beijing. I have no home in America but do have a current driver license, an active bank account, credit card, 3 small investment accounts and I have filed tax returns accurately every year. Everything uses my parents' address. Where should I start?

The interview went well and we headed for the US on October 2. Her POE was in Chicago and was very painless. They stamped her passport with the IR1 visa, no issues. When I filled out the application many months ago, I had checked the box to request a SSN at the same time. Other post on CFL let me know that this process may or may not happen automatically, so we waited 2 weeks and head for the SSA office. The lady who helped us there could not find record that my wife's application was already in process, so we asked to apply for one at that time. While we were working through the process, the lady pulled out a list of qualifying visas and could not find IR1 on the list. She told us that in IR1 visa does not allow my wife to work, and therefore she can not get a SSN. Did the person at the SSA office make a mistake, or did we apply for the wrong visa type? Suggestions? Steve

My wife and I got married back in July, I have a stamp in my passport that I entered the country on July the 7th. I did not get a residence permit until October because I needed to wait for my school that i'm attending to handle that, but I have had a stable residence here since July. Will I be able to file in January like I had originally planned? Second question: The DCF guide mentions that these documents need to be included in the filing at the point of the interview: Notarization/translation of beneficiary’s birth certificate Notarization/translation of beneficiary’s hukou Notarization/translation of beneficiary’s criminal background check Notarization/translation of beneficiary’s marriage certificate Notarization/translation of petitioner’s marriage certificate Notarization/translation of child(ren)’s birth certificateAll of these are no problem, except the part that confuses me is the birth certificate and hukou. My wife does not have a birth certificate, but she of course has her hukou. Aren't they considered the same thing since she was born before 1991 (when they started making official birth certs). How do I go about helping her obtain one. Third question: Where does she get her criminal background check from? We live in Wuhan (Hubei province) and she is from Xianning (which is also Hubei, just an hour or two south of here) Thanks so much, I did search with the search bar, but didn't get the results I wanted.

Once approved and sent to Guangzhou from USCIS either through DCF process in China, or through NVC in the states, the Packet 3 and Packet 4 procedure has changed. This does not apply to already scheduled interviews that were set before (3/16/2013) http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/immigrant_visas.html http://ustraveldocs.com/cn/index.html?firstTime=No

Hello, My wife case was completed in April and NVC still has not shipped the case out to Guangzhou yet... Yeah I wish I used EP. The NVC representative told me to go the PAPER path because back then the electronic system was down. I mailed the paper documents in and they completed the review in 25 calendar days. I got an email reads all document necessary was received and you will be notified when an interview date is scheduled and there has been nothing since then. Does NVC hold all the paper case for certain time before mail out to Guangzhou? I call NVC everyday and every time the response is please be patient. Thank you

DCF Guangzhou Timeline: August 14th, 2015 - Filed I-130 at Guangzhou Consulate (DCF) August 19th, 2015 - I-130 approved August 31st, 2015 - I-130 Approval Letter received September 1st, 2015 - Received e-mailed from Visa Unit / State Department September 1st, 2015 - Completed DS-260 and turned in documents to the CITIC Bank in Guangzhou just before closing September 4th, 2015 - Received second e-mail in response to documents being received and directing us to schedule appointment, etc. September 8th, 2015 - Completed medical exam in Guangzhou September 11th, 2015 - Picked up medical packet September 15th, 2015 - Went to interview, approved September 16th, 2015 - CEAC says "Visa Issued" , now waiting to go pick it up at the "fast" CITIC bank in GZ! So we went from filing an I-130 to "visa issued" in a little over one month. It was nice to see things going quicker than expected Originally we scheduled the wife's interview in October, but got lucky by stealing another date earlier in September. Don't give up checking the CGI website if you in a rush for earlier interview dates. I might even suggest creating a second account so that you can check available dates without hitting the "Reschedule Appointment" page refresh limit (yes, there really is a per day limit). Interview Items: FIRST, the ones that the consulate actually TOOK, the most important docs! Interview Appointment Confirmation E-mailWife's PassportAmerican Marriage Certificate"White Book" ֤ Police Certificate"White Book" ֤ Birth CertificatePetitioner's I-864 with 1040-EZs and letter explaining why I had not previously filed taxesCosponsor's I-864 with W2s and 1040sCosponsor's Proof of Citizenship (Passport Copy)Medical Packet SECOND, all other docs we took were not taken or EVEN LOOKED at by the doc intake people or the officer, including: DS-260 Confirmation Letter (this was taken in the first document drop-off at CITIC, don't know why they say bring it again)Wife's resume (Eng & Chinese)Photos and proof of relationshipLetters regarding plans in the US"Proof" of domicile, which I had used my student ID and credit card information, along with supporting letters from my familyMy (petitioner's) own passport I surmise that the reason they didn't care about this stuff was that because they still had some of these documents that came from our I-130 packet... Interview Day: Arrive at GZ consulate at 8:35 AM, appointment time on e-mail is 8:40 AM Immediately go through the 1st line past Chinese police CGI Workers only checked my wife's appointment letter because she was "late" or "just on time" for the appointment Spent only 5 to 10 minutes in security line, my wife then went through to the consulate building and headed up to the 3rd floor She took her passport and appointment e-mail again to the 1st window to get her # in line Wait for her number to be called for document intake, the person asked her to give the docs one by one Asked my wife to go to 2nd floor and pay, so she did, and then came back Went back to the same window where doc intake person was, gave them the receipt Go wait in area B for her number to be called again Go to new window for interview, first take fingerprints Raise both hands and party... just kidding, my wife didn't realize she was asking her to swear Officer talked to her and asked questions (English) -- my wife also notes that if you even say "hi" or "good morning" the officer will probably automatically assume your English is good enough for the entire interview "When did you get married?" (Last year)"Where did you meet your husband?""Do you live in Guangzhou?" (Because my wife mentioned we met in Chongqing, which is her hometown)"What does your husband do?" (my wife suggested the CO comes to play ultimate frisbee with us...)"Have you been to America before?" (Yes, my wife attended Kansas State University before)"Where will you live in America then, in Oregon?" (Yep)"Who is your co-sponsor?" (My father in law)"Here, you're approved" (Thanks!) And then she was all done and left. She walked out of the consulate probably around 9:50. A grand total of 1 hour 10 minutes approximately. Other Random Comments (NOTE: this all applies to Guangzhou specifically, can't speak for other places) My wife thinks the medical is a complete sham and was super disappointed with that (I agree)... she says the yearly university medical exams are even more rigorous and cost 1/100th of the price. Medical center people are more picky about visa style photos, even more picky than the US consulate people themselves (re-printed 8 photos) Definitely fill out the medical forms BEFORE you go to the medical center and get a number ... and GO EARLY! No need to make an appointment online Notarization can be a pain in China, often times it will NEED to be done back in your spouses hometown. Do it early (but not TOO early, the police one is only valid for a short period of time) -- or be ready to have family do it for you (with appropriate documents left behind for them, such as ID card ) Good luck to everyone else! Thanks for all the help we got reading posts here!

Hello Candle of Love!!! I would just like to say thank you to everyone for your help with my wife's CR-1 Visa on July 13th, 2015. Our priority date was on March 24th so our DCF took around 3-4 months. I just wanted to post a write up of the documents and interview questions that my wife had for her interview. Feel free to ask me any questions about the interview or anything!!! My wifes interview packet included: - Marriage Certificate notarization - Criminal Background Check notarization - Birth Certificate Notarization - Medical Check(MAKE SURE NOT TO OPEN THIS PACKET UNTIL ASKED TO BY THE INTAKE PERSON) *Be sure to note that all these notarizations are only Valid for one year - DS-260 confirmation - Interview confirmation letter - i-130 approval letter - Wifes passport info page - Wife's Resume The Petitoner's Financial Info - I-184 (Be sure to include the original!!! not scanned version) - W2's for all three years - 2014 Tax return -2013 Tax transcript - 2012 Tax transcript - Passport info page -Birth Certificate The Co Sponsor's Financial info - co sponsors I-184(Be sure to include original, not scanned version) *Also note if you do not live in the same household that your co- sponsor must fill out the i-184 not i-184a - W2's for all three years -2014 Tax return -2013 Tax return -2012 Tax return - Passport info page -birth certificate Domicile info (DCF people) - My plan for America, including where I wanted to apply for work, where I planned on living, and for how long I planned on living there (Most important) - My intended address in America - Drivers License - Car Title - Rental contract with my dad Proof of relationship - All the original documents from my I-130 packet along with pictures of me and my wife. Also I included photos of me with her family. The interview Be sure to arrive about 1 hour early to the interview and line up on the left line because the line to the left is the immigration line with your interverview confirmation letter and your DS-260 ready to show to the security people. After that my wife went through the main gate and wait in a line for security to let into the embassy. This may take a long time and Guangzhou summer is very hot. After that my wife went to the third floor to get her order number then she went to the document intake person. The information that my wife has to include was... My financial info, Co sponsors financial info, all the notarization packets, Medical, DS-260. The intake person asked my wife questions like.... "Did you bring money because you have to pay the fee today?" " What is the co-sponsers relationship with sponsor?" "have you lived in any other country before?" Then she instructed my wife to take the paper and pay the fee * IMPORTANT NOTICE: The person who gives you a order number asked my wife for something called a appointment letter with a case number but no one knew what that was. So my wife just gave them a DS-260 which the order number person accepted. If you don't have that you must wait for someone to give you some kind of file. Someone actually got their interview cancelled because of this!!! After this my wife has her interview with a very friendly visa officer who first gave my wife a booklet on domestic violence and asked my wife to read it. After that she asked pretty striaght forward questions in primarily English - Whats your name? - Where do you work? - Is your husband waiting outside for you? (Probably saw me waiting for my wife on the security camera) - What does your husband do for work? - What is your husbands plan for America? ( this was important because he actually asked to see my written plan for america) -What is the co-sponser's job? -Will you go back to china? - Are you a member of communist party -Do you have any question about the domestic violence? -What is my mom's name? -How long has you husband lived china? -How did we meet each other? - Have you met the petitioners parents? And those are the questions that were asked. Make sure to anwser all the questions breifly. Try to speak English if possible because that is the language of the visa officer and it also helps establish how you can communicate with the petitioner. The interview only lasted for 3-5 minutes and then after the interview the Visa officer asked my wife for my written plan in America. Then he said we passed and our visa will arrive in 2 weeks. Thanks once again for everyone posting their information online. It helped us a lot on everything with this visa. Make sure to over prepare for this interview because you never know what the officer may ask. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! Feel free to ask anything.

Hi all - finally got the interview letter/email today at 12:01pm for hubby's IR1. (Yay! Took like 3 weeks after submitting DS-260 in Beijing) Logged on to CGI as directed to schedule our interview in GuangZhou but get this message "There are currently no appointments available." Granted it's not yet 1:00pm yet, but am I just too antsy here? Has anyone exprienced this? Do I just keep trying again and again? Thanks!

My wife has a B1/B2 visa that she received last year prior to a trip to the US. Would there be any issues with her traveling on this visa while our CR-1 is in AP waiting for approval?

After waiting for nearly 2 months here in Beijing (filed on March 19, approved May 13), we got the I-130 approval notice (email/post). But I'm not sure what's next...Do we wait for some other information from GZ? In the I-130 approval letter, it states my husband's "Beneficiary A Number" as all zeros - what does that mean? Thanks!

Hello! My wife is applying for a CR-1 visa. We are preparing to schedule my wife's interview and wanted to hear your thoughts about the documents she needs to bring to the interview. Marriage Certificate - The Immigrant Visa Instructions say that she needs to bring a notarized copy of our marriage certificate. However, when I went to the consulate in Guangzhou to submit the original I-130 application, the officer collected the notarized copy of our marriage certificate and said that he needed to keep it. Does this mean that we need to get our marriage certificate notarized a second time? - Do we need ti notarize both marriage certificates or just one? Birth Certificates - The instructions also saw that her notarized birth certificate "must state the date, place of birth, and names of both parents," but the notarized copy we got (got it done before seeing these instructions) doesn't include the date and place of birth of her parents. It just includes their names and Chinese ID numbers. Do we need to get another notarized birth certificate with the exact information or will the one we already have be fine? - Does she need to bring my US birth certificate? I am her husband and petitioner, a U.S. citizen. Police Certificates - We are a little confused where to go to get this and what it is called in Chinese. If someone could provide the Chinese for where we need to go and what to tell them we need, that would be great! vs ֤ vs ֤ We are in Hangzhou if that matters. - I assume we need to get this notarized as well? Medical Examination - My wife will likely need to get all of the vaccines required, since she has no records of previous vaccinations. Is it possible to get all of them done at once or does she need to wait a day between getting vaccinations? - We will be in Beijing for around 4 days, will that be enough time to get the medical examination done and receive the sealed medical report? Evidence of Support - I am filling out the I-864. Part Two (Information on the Principal Immigrant) requires us to fill in a mailing address, but it does not allow us to put in a Chinese address (for example the zip code box is limited to 5 numbers but the zip codes in China are 6 numbers). Am I supposed to fill out my address in the US for this? - The form asks for her A-Number, but I do not think she has an A-Number. Are we supposed to have one by this point? - The instructions say that she should bring my most recent Federal income tax return, but I see here that people suggest bringing the returns for the past 3 years. Does it make a difference? Also, would it help if she brought my employment contract for a new job I will be starting in August in the US? Thank you so much for the help, we really appreciate it!

Hi All, Our case is the traditional mail processing, we are wondering whether we will receive the interview letter via email from NVC or via mail from Guangzhou after they receive our case? Will our attorney be notified the interview appointment via email though? Thanks

Hi all. So my wife's interview is scheduled for Tuesday morning at 8:30 am. We live in Shenzhen and my thought was for us to go to Guangzhou on Monday to complete the medical exam. Now I'm wondering if we would have the results in time for the interview. I've read that if you get to the medical office first thing in the morning you can get the results the same day, but since we're travelling from Shenzhen I was wondering if we were to get there later in the day would it still be possible to get the results before the interview the next morning? Thanks!

Hi, As you can see I've filed in documents and case officer has reviewed them at guangzhou consulate and they accepted it. Case Creation Date: 05-Nov-2014 Then on January Status Updated Date: 28-Jan-2015 Your visa case is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing. This processing can take several weeks. Please follow any instructions provided by the Consular Officer at the time of your interview. If further information is needed, you will be contacted. If your visa application is approved, it will be processed and mailed or available within two business days. Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, Immigrant Visas for "Diversity Visas" cannot be issued after September 30th of the year in which you were selected to apply for a Diversity Visa. For example, entrants into the Diversity Visa Program in Fall of 2011 were selected for Diversity Visa 2012 Program, and selectees MUST apply and receive their visa prior to September 30, 2012 otherwise they lose eligibility to receive a Diversity Immigrant Visa, regardless of additional administrative processing.In addition, please note that some immigrant visas may not be able to be issued if the annual numerical limit for that category has been reached. I was thinking that we'll receive an actual letter from them because of the address being given to them on i864 form, but so far after 2 weeks from the date of Jan of 28th we have received no letter and I am getting a little bit worried if the case has been stalled or something is wrong and I have no idea to find out any information about it. Please assist me. http://imgur.com/qEDOMVAis a link for the photo for the status of the documents after i864 were sent via local bank as requested. http://i.imgur.com/qEDOMVA.png

I am familiar with the K1, but what are the advantages and disadvantages of marrying in China. Time to get a visa, money or fee differences etc. or anything else.

As part of the bona fide marriage part proof, we have about 30 photos documenting our 9 year relationship, including the past 4 years of marriage (2 wedding cermonies too). Do I just include them loosely in all the paper work, or should I tape them to sheets of paper so they can be punched and bundled by USCIS? Currently, I'm planning on giving them a heap 'o paperwork with a cover letter for them to bind as the please - they seem to be so darn picky. Is that ok?

Hey everyone, my wife's interview is quickly approaching so I wanted to list out all of the items we've prepared as well as ask a few questions just to double-check the information I've already gathered. This post will probably look similar to kdavid3's post (found here: http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/46807-guide-to-ir-1-dcf/- thanks a ton, btw!), but since all of our cases are somewhat unique, I hope that my post can be of help to others who have questions and share similar circumstances! Background I've been living in China with my wife for quite a few years and filed our I-130 in Beijing in summer 2014 (DCF). Medical Exam Copy of email titled "Immigrant Visa Instructions" (5 steps for scheduling interview and medical exam) Copy of email titled "Notice For Immigrant Visa Applicants" (instructions for completing DS-260) "Appointment Confirmation" (available at https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/AppointmentConfirmationafter scheduling) 6 2" passport photos (5cm x 5cm in Chinese print shops) Interview "Appointment Confirmation" (same as above) "DS-260 Confirmation Page" "DS-260 Print Application" 6 2" passport photos Copies of all emails received from USCIS/Immigration Wife's resume (Chinese and English) Both of our passports Medical exam documents Chinese "White books": Police ("No criminal sanction") Birth ("Birth") Marriage ("Married", with our pictures) Marriage ("Certificate of Marriage", copy of marriage certificate) ~20 Photos from the 6 years we've been together Originals, copies, and translations of 6 years of shared leases Copies of matching passport stamps from 3 trips to the US My I-864 My 1040 tax returns (2013, 2012, 2011) Letter explaining tax status "single" Copy of my birth certificate Self-employment explanation letter Daily income spreadsheet for past 5 months Monthly income reports for past 8 months Proof of payments to my personal bank account Mom I-864 (co-sponsor) Mom IRS transcripts (2013, 2012, 2011) Mom income proof Copy of mom's birth certificate Dad I-864A Dad IRS transcripts (same as mom's, they file jointly) Dad income proof Copy of dad's birth certificate Latest statement from my personal US bank account Latest statement from two US credit cards Latest IRA statement Documents showing ownership of NY based company Copies of: All "Confirmation" emails/pages Both of our passports Wife's National ID card Questions 1. In kdavid3's post, he mentions including a notarized hukou. My wife did not receive such a thing when she got her white books and it was not asked for when we filed her I-130. Is this something that is required and if so, where do we get it? 2. What are the current total fees paid for the medical exam? 3. For the resume, the IV Instruction pdf says "all educational history". How far back is she supposed to go? Elementary school? I will update this thread with our experiences after the interview!