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As the title says. The fees have been payed and was just wondering where it gets sent to? Does the POE know or does USCIS take care of this. Mike

Hey guys, Need a little bit help here. Here is the situation: My husband stayed home taking care of his uncle for the last 5 years, meaning my husband has been unemployed for these years with 0 income. After his uncle passed away, he succeeded his money and properties. Currently, we are at NVC stage and we are selling the primary residence house to have the money in the bank as asset for I-864 because we are moving to another state after I get back. We also are getting our friend as co-sponsor who earns a very decent annual income. The reason we didn't have families as co-sponsor is either because they dont earn enough or they are retiring in a few years. Info abt me: young, healthy, BS degree in Engineering from a famous US college Our questions are: 1. Will the CO accept our friend as co-sponsor since he is not a relative of ours? 2. Is our I-864 in good standing? 3. Any suggestions? Best Wishes, Jack

hello everyone.my fiance and i want to start a life in Thailand. im chinese and he is american. i wonder if my fiance can apply a CR1 visa for me in thailand.

The last step on the DS-260 instructions state: Once you have submitted the DS-260 forms for you and your accompanying family members, you must then submit your required civil documents, photographs and embassy-specific documents to the NVC. If your case is NOT processing electronically, please submit your documents to: National Visa Center Attn: CMR/DR 31 Rochester Ave. Suite 100 Portsmouth, NH 03801-2914 If your case IS processing electronically, please scan and email your documents to: NVCElectronic@state.gov If I DCF'd in Beijing then my case is processed electronically, correct? I don't need to mail these to NVC? Thank you in advance. Julian

Question on immigration procedures. My wife's friend came to the USA to visit her. While here, her friend starting seeing a guy and now is very interested in marrying him. She has a child in China and will be going back to settle matters and bring her child to the USA. The child already has a visitors visa. if after marrying in the USA, what is her next step? Where do they file? Where can she wait pending the review? Must she go back to China? Can she interview in the USA? thank you

Hi guys. My fiancee is 7 months pregnant (Due May 8th) and we are beginning the process of the CR-1 Visa. My work visa here in Shenzhen lasts until July 10th. My head is starting to spin thinking of all that needs to be done and knowing that I have so many questions about this process. We have to go to Nanchang (hopefully next week) to actually get married, after which I will try to DCF the I-130 petition as soon as possible. I have a lot of questions that I would greatly appreciate your help with. 1. About the process of actually getting married. From what I've gathered from my fiancee, we need to go to Nanchang because I'm a foreigner and her hometown of Ji'An won't process a marriage with a foreigner. Do I need to do anything special to make sure the marriage is properly registered after I marry in Nanchang? 2. I read that when I bring in the I-130 to Guangzhou, I will need a notarized marriage certificate. I've also read that I will need to bring a notarized translation of the marriage certificate. Where can I get these notaries completed? Do other documents need to be notarized such as birth certificate and police report? I read that her birth certificate, which I think we only need for the interview not for for the I-130, must be obtained by a "local notary public office", and I'm not sure what that means. Does she need to go to Ji'An to get a notarized birth certificate? 3. Since my visa expires July 10th and I doubt the process will be finished by then, what can I do to make sure I'm able to stay in China until the process is complete? Should I go to Hong Kong and apply for a tourist visa? Or is there a longer term visa I can apply for since I will be married? Can we still stay in Shenzhen if neither of us are working or would we have to live with her parents? I'd really like to avoid that because they live in a tiny village in the mountains and I'd rather not bring my newborn baby there. 4. For filling out the I-130, I know this question has been answered before so forgive me, but line 1, 2 and 3 about name address obviously is meant for names and addresses in English. Do we just attach a form with her name and our adresses written and write "see attached form"? Should we use Pinyin or Chinese characters? Line 20 says to write the name and address in relative's native alphabet, so I'm assuming for line 1, 2 and 3 we would use Pinyin. The next few questions are concerning the interview, which I know is in the future but it would help put my mind to rest having a few things cleared up: 5. Does she need to bring both of our "police certificates" or criminal records with her? Or is it just her police certificate she needs to bring? If she needs mine, would I need to provide one from America and Suzhou (where I lived last year) and Shenzhen? 6. I read that her medical examination must be completed in a designated place, but I didn't see it written where that designated place is. Will we have to go all the way to Shanghai to get the medical check done? I'm worried that because the baby is due in early May it will be complicated for her to be travelling around and getting vaccinations. 7. I don't think I'll have a job lined up for when I get back to the US. We've saved up some money and I was planning to go job hunting once I actually get back to the US. I will have a joint-sponsor (my mother) because I would not qualify. Will it be a problem that I don't have something lined up for when I get back? Is one joint sponsor enough (she is well above the poverty line but not rich). Okay that's all that's coming to mind right now. I'm sorry for so many questions, but I'm just feeling very overwhelmed especially with the baby on its way. I'm sure that as I go through the process I will think of a few more. You all are an amazing resource, thank you so much,

Hi Everyone, Like most, I'm a bit intimidated to start this whole process and thank god there is this site for help! A little about me - I'm American living/working in Beijing for over 8 years, met my husband 7 years ago, were married in China 3 years ago and now are ready to move back to the States. I'm trying to get all the paperwork/forms and steps straight and am really struggling where to start. How to go about it all? Step one - file the I-130 in Beijing and then...? Thanks, Jen

Hello, Can I DCF in Shanghai consulate for them to forward to Beijing consulate? Thank you for your advice. Best regards, Julian

Hi folks, First post. (I hear the groans already!) I'm in need of a reality check. I did what I thought was a lot of digging before submitting my I-130 for my lovely Yifang and her son. (kinda) Short version.... I live in the US, she lives in Hunan. We met through a mutual friend online in May of 2014 I flew to China and we married on November 27, 2014 While I was there, we gathered a lot of white books, copies for both of us. Working through RapidVisa, I got 4 affadavits for the bona fides for the package. They reviewed and passed on the package. I submitted the I-130s in January of 2015 Received the NOA1 January 26, 2015 from the NSC. Found you guys on February 1st. I was under the impression that the other items I'm arranging for the bona fides were to be added into the package when the NVC gets it. I have a lot....Pictures with her and her family, emails, chat transcripts, plane tickets, hotel receipts, etc. that add up to a few pounds of paper. I'm also planning my second trip there in april or so, and plan to be there during the interview. In the process of writing a letter to show our timeline of romance! The worry I have is that it seems as though the one chance I had to put in evidence of a relationship was in the original submission of the I-130. This is the impression I get from reading a lot of posts here. Did I pull a bonehead move, or do I have the opportunity to add in this evidence later at the NVC stage? I'm starting to sweat now after reading a lot of horror stories! Any advice? (besides don't be a bonehead?). Experiences and direction gratefully accepted.

Hi All. Im very anxious about our upcoming interview. As my name suggests I really wanna go home. My husband and I married in China and we have a baby also an American citizen born in China. I want to raise my baby in America. What are the chances of success (with a child) that my husband can get the immigrant visa if all documents are in order? They wouldn't just deny us right? I can't endure China any longer but I don't want to leave China without my husband. Also if he gets the visa, when must he enter America by? Is it 6 months from the issuance? Thanks in Advance

Hi All, My husband is filing I-130 in US for me and we have been thinking that we are going to show up at the interview together. Is that allowed? Best, Jack

Hey everyone, Proud and relieved to say it: My wife was approved for her visa today, after almost exactly 1 hour from the time she entered the embassy. Her appointment was at 9:40 AM. Quick review of our timeline. We got married on our 1-year anniversary, August 18th, 2014. I DCF'd our CR-1 petition in Guangzhou on September 23rd. Almost exactly 2 weeks later, the petition was approved (though we didn't realize at first, because the email saying as such went into my junk box), and we set an interview appointment for November 20th. That gave us enough time to go to Shanghai for my wife's medical exam and go back to Shanghai to pick up the results (it's insane that they don't just mail those back, btw). We arrived at the embassy later than I wanted to -- about 9:00 AM -- because my wife has a nasty cold and had difficulty waking up in the morning. It didn't really matter much though, because there was no real line to speak of. People just gathered around the gate entrance and grumbled about until their time was called. The guards called "9:40" at about 9:25 (cuz why not) and my wife heard it before I did because I was talking to some old woman about her case, and she scrambled right to the front and got inside before I could even give her a kiss for luck. She waited in the line on the other side of the gate, and I plopped myself down on the small wall that runs parallel to the embassy gate, aside some nervous looking Chinese women. I put on my headphones and tried to concentrate on the new Rick Ross album, which is strong but not a scratch on Mastermind from earlier this year fwiw... At exactly 9:45 I watched my wife get to the front of the line and enter the building. And so I sat impatiently for the next hour with only the sounds of Ross's larger than life coke raps ringing in my ears to keep me sane. Finally, 10:45 rolled around, and just as I was thinking she might be coming out soon, there she was, strolling down the walkway leading out of the embassy, smiling and waving and I know this woman well enough to know everything went as we'd hoped and expected it would. And that was that. Here's the info she gave me about her experience: First she was instructed to give the documents to a Chinese man at the window, where she hit a little speed bump -- the man asked if I lived with my grandparents, who are the ones offering their financial support for this application, and she wasn't quite sure how to answer, because I don't, but they do live in the same general area as my mom. Anyway, the guy apparently was a bit frustrated and said something to the effect of, "You don't understand the question." My wife then went to the second floor to pay the visa fee, where she ran into another small issue: She had only 100 kwai bills and the fee for the visa came to 2,015 kwai. The Chinese teller she needed to pay was apparently frustrated that my wife had no smaller bills, and ordered her to find some from someone else in the room. Thankfully, a man simply gave my wife the 15 kwai she needed, and the fee was paid. Back upstairs, my wife waited for her number to be called so that she could have her interview. Interestingly enough, she was asked a lot more questions than I thought she would be: Who is John? (My grandfather proving the i-864 financial support form)What does [John] do for work?What is your husband's name?What does your husband do for work?Did you meet your husband in Shanghai?When did you meet each other?When did you get married?How old are you?How old is your husband?What language do you speak with your husband?Does your husband speak Chinese?Have you ever been to America?Are you a member of the Communist Party?Do you and your husband have a baby? Whew. She conducted the interview in English by the way, and says the man was "normal," not nice, not mean. After that was all done, the interviewer gave my wife a white sheet of paper, and told her, "Your visa is approved!" She then, at my request, asked the man when she could expect to have her passport and visa back? He informed her about a week and a half to two weeks, and that the CITIC bank we selected would contact us. (On the paper, it says they will email us, not call, so that's interesting.) And just like that, we can finally leave China; be home for Xmas. The end. Unless anyone has any questions? S. Whoops, forgot something. So of all the stuff we prepared -- relationship affidavits from friends, a photo album, copies of the WeChat/Facebook records we prepared for my petition, my passport, a copy of my wife's resume, probably other things I'm forgetting -- none of that was asked for. All that was asked for was the i-864 forms, the attached tax info for those forms, the sealed medical report, and the white books. S.

After my wife has her visa and gets over to the States, she'd like to change her name to take my own last name. I've looked at some old threads on here, but have mostly come up with threads about folks coming over on fiancee visas. So, what's the skinny on name change after entering on an IR1? Will we need to have her passport sent to a Chinese consulate to have an "Also known as…" sticker added?

I have been reading a lot of information. My wife has been reading a lot of information, in Chinese. We live in Xi'an, China. What has been happening is that I have been getting more and more confused. When I wrote to the consulate in Guangzhou, they wrote back that the only documents that needed were the certificates of marriage. That usually became a "white book ֤." All other documents only needed to be certified by the translator. I got the distinct impression, when looking at the U.S. websites, there were only TWO times documents were submitted in the process: 1) When the I-130 is submitted; and 2) at the time of the interview. Are there other times and places for submitting documents leading up the issuance of the temporary green card? The minimum documents to be submitted when the I-130 is submitted is rather clear. But a lot of folk on these forums state that the decision for granting a green card is usually decided by the time of the interview. So does that mean that letters stating written by those who know us are to be submitted at the time the I-130 is submitted? Do Chinese know the difference between notarization and certification? My wife, as well as a friend's wife, who both are looking forward to my friend and I getting them green cards, seem to find that every document needs notarization ֤. Is this a language problem? Or is this a situation where the embassy website is not up-to-date with the current requirements? This is really confusing. If the police report needs a notarized translation, as well as the divorce papers from other divorces, then that is what I need. But if those only need certification, then I'll be wasting a lot of money and time. In the "Guide to IR-1 (DCF)," it states in step three the preparation of "supplemental documents," without saying what they are. The Guangzhou embassy told me that if my wife had a passport, then there was no need for a birth certificate. Is that actual not true? Also, my wife's passport has the biographical page already with a English in each significant field. Does this really need a notarized translation for what is already translated in the original document? Finally, is there any one list of ALL the documents needed for the entire process for getting that first temporary green card? I have some other questions and confusion, but I'll await for replies to this before adding them. Thank you in advance.

A white-book notarial translation of the hukou isn't required for filing an I-130, right? Thanks :-) edit: becuase the notarial ofice said they could translate it but the translation is 100 rmb per page and the hukou has a bunch of family members in it... it'd be pretty pricey...

Hey all, My girlfriend and I have been cohabitating for a few years in China and we're planning to get married in the middle of January, and then shortly after file an I-130 in Guangzhou. Of course, we need to provide evidence of our "bona fide marriage" but we are going to be married like a week before we submit the I-130 in Guangzhou. All the evidence we have is really just evidence of our relationship (pictures spanning three years, airline tickets, my passport exit/entry stamps, my residence permits and visas, copies of my most recent contracts, etc...), we don't have any stuff showing joint assets or anything like that. I was planning on getting affidavits from two of my coworkers here in China and my current employer, but after researching around I've found that the affidavits that they'd write would need to be notarized (i'm assuming that they'd need to be notarized by the US Embassy or Consulate). But we live in Henan and it isn't practical or really possible to ask them to travel with us to the Embassy in order to affirm/notarize their documents. I guess my question is: how screwed are we? -Jake

Hey China folks! I'm planning to marry my girlfriend next month in China to facilitate the filing of our DCF I-130, but I'm stumped on the Marriageability Affidavit. The Guangzhou Consulate has the Marriageability Affidavit form available from their website, but Beijing doesn't have a form available. The Guangzhou form has Guangzhou's address and stuff on it (you can see it here: http://photos.state....saffidavit.doc ) so I'm thinking "do they even do Marriageability Affidavit notarizations in Beijing?" If yes, what form would I use to do it? Also, I've read that the Embassy and Consulate don't do translations... I'm going to need to go to the Chinese Notary that serves my girlfriends Hukou region, the same notary that's going to need to translate her birth record and police background history, right? They'll be able to translate my Marriageability Affidavit, right? Who here has been through this process in Beijing? How did you go about it? Where did you get the Marriageability Affidavit translated? Thanks a ton, guys and gals! Peace, Jake edit: Did you have to "register your marriage" with the embassy or anything like that? When you finally arrived back in the US did you have to go to the state courthouse to register or get a state marriage license? I'm very confused on these points...

Howdy, Please note, I am doing DCF in Guangzhou. I feel bad posting a thread every day, but I honestly don't know what to do when my searched turn up nothing or conflicting answers for some specific questions. But please know that I've been researching these questions for over a day and am still coming up short on answers. They're pretty brief questions, so here it goes: The Guangzhou Consulate website says to also bring the beneficiary's passport when filing the I-130, or if you don't have it you should bring the birth certificate. Is this true in practice? By beneficiary doesn't have a passport yet, but will have one before the interview... My father will need to cosponsor the beneficiary. I have a few questions regarding this:My father also lives with my mother in the household, but my mother doesn't provide any income. Is it necessary for my mother to fill out an I-864A?It's okay to have a co-sponsor when filing DCF, right?My father isn't going to be asked to be present at the time of filing nor interviewed, right?The household size would be 4 on both my father's and I's I-864, right? We intend to live in my parent's home (my father, mother, myself, my wife).I'm concerned that my girlfriend's hukou city (Changyuan, Henan which is near Xinxiang and I guess technically "belongs" to Xinxiang) isn't going to have a clue with regards to translating the necessary documents. I've read that the translations need to be done at, at least, a city-level notary. Changyuan is like a county. We are going to need to go to the designated notary in Zhengzhou to get our marriage certificate(s) translated, could this office also translate the rest of the documents we get from her Hukou city?I've heard from some Chinese friends that they received two marriage booklets and that is their marriage license. Exactly, what document(s) is/are received after registration of the marriage?Finally, I've read the filing guide on the Guangzhou embassy website and also the FAQ that states: I've read a bunch of reports of people's experiences submitting their I-130 petition and they included a bunch of evidence with it. So, in practice, is it necessary and/or helpful to submit as much evidence as you can at the time of petition filing? Thanks a ton, guys... All the best, Jake

Hey all, Thanks for all the help so far. I'm presently working on collecting testimony letters from our friends and coworkers regarding the bona fides of our relationship. While working on this I really couldn't find a suitable format that they could follow for their letters, so I made one up. The first page is where the person writes their birthday, address, and all that and the second page (or however many it takes) includes their letter of testimony. Many of our friends have written some, how do I put this... not to brief letters but they're really thoughtful and descriptive, so that's why I opted for this format. Basically, its like a form letter stating their contact and relationship information and then attached to that is a thoughtful and detailed account of their relationship to us and anything else they think might be prudent to add. Page 1: Page 2: Please, have a look! I'm posting it here for critique, and also because someone could be trying to do the same thing we're doing but coming up short on their search like we were. -Jake

Hey all, I've been researching all night but haven't been able to successfully able to put the pieces together regarding paying fees at the time of filing the I-130 in Guangzhou. I also need to go to Beijing to notarize a Marriageability Affidavit so this question is probably also relevant to that as well. The Guangzhou Consulate website says that payments must be made at the time of filing either by cash or credit card. Is there like a cashier in the Consulate? Where do you go to pay? I've read about CITIC, but I'm confused as to what its purpose is in payment processing. Thanks for your help, all, you're all amazing. It's great how you've all been through the process already but stick around to answer naive questions from all us newbies. Peace, Jake

Hey all! I'm sitting here with my fiancée trying to work out which immigration route we want to take: get married in China and then DCF an I130, or apply for a K-1 visa. We're currently cohabitating together in China, I've been working here for the past two and a half years. I've got some specific questions I was hoping you guys could shed light on, I've been doing research for two weeks and there are still some things I can't get straight: Is it necessary to live in America while applying for the K-1 visa? Please note, I have already secured my father as a co-sponsor. I've been filing taxes while working abroad here in China anyway. Have any of you successfully applied for a K-1 Visa while living abroad in China? If we chose to go the DCF route instead of the K-1 visa route, then how suspicious is it if we were to get married in China without a ceremony and do the DCF like two weeks later? We've been together for the past two and a half years and have photo evidence to prove it (us together, us together with her family, etc..) but we're worried that the consulate would suspect fraud if we were to just apply right after we get married in China. (By the way, we aren't planning on having any sort of ceremony yet, just get the marriage license) Regarding supporting evidence: would it be good to include my contracts as evidence of my presence in China? What about affidavits from my employers stating the nature and duration of my work in China? What about affidavits from coworkers on the nature of our cohabitation together? Or affidavits from security guards for our building? What about domicile? I've read that it's going to be necessary to show domicile regardless of which option I choose, just because I'm filing abroad. I have my US bank account, US credit card, and student loans that I'm paying down... I also have a valid driver's license and am registered to vote in my county. Would this be enough?Thanks a bunch, guys and gals!

Hey folks, We're speeding right along in the CR-1 process. We DCF'd in September and got our i-130 approved in early October, now my wife has made her interview appointment for November 20th (her medical exam is Nov. 10th). We used an agent up until now, at my wife's behest, but the agent wants another 4000 kwai just to "prepare" my wife for the interview, and I'm putting my foot down there. We've done the work, and I think we're ready, but I still would like to go over some things with the board, and make sure. I'm primarily using this link as a reference: http://ustraveldocs.com/cn/IV%20Instruction%20DS-260%2007222014.pdf So... - Confirmation of DS-260 -- got it - original of Wife's Passport, plus my passport -- got it (I'll be in Guangzhou with my wife for the interview) - Wife's two 2-inch photos -- got it (don't need my passport photos, right?) - Certified copy of wife's birth certificate -- got it (doesn't need my birth certificate, right?) - Certified copy of wife's marriage book -- got it (doesn't need my marriage book, right?) - Police certificate -- we have this from attempting a tourist visa back in June, so it should still be valid yeah? - Medical exam sealed report thing -- pending - Court and Prison records -- none needed - Military Records -- none needed - Evidence of Support details: We have my grandfather as joint sponsor (I have no income), so he filled out an I-864 and USPS'd it to us along with copies (not originals) of his birth certificate, his 2013 tax return, and Social Security Benefit Statement. My grandmother, who he lives with, filled out an i-864A. She's from England and became a U.S. citizen in her teens, after marrying my grandfather. She provided me with her Certificate of Naturalization (dated 1937, wow that's old!), and copies of her 2013 tax return, Social Security Benefit Statement, and 2013 W2. - Evidence of relationship: We have a small photo album with pictures of us together and with her family over the course of the last year and a half. At the time of petitioning we submitted a detailed record of Skype, We Chat, Facebook, photos, etc. - My wife's resume -- got it (doesn't need my resume, right?) - Visa Extension notice -- none needed - Records of previous immigration proceedings -- none needed, assuming we don't need records of previous non-immigrant visas that have been denied (there's 1 of those) - Proof of investment funds -- none needed (we are... so poor) - Translations -- all done, certified, stamped, blessed with the blood of Mao - Visa application fee -- not sure, actually? - also, copy of the email sent to us from the embassy that said we could make an interview appointment, and copy of the interview appointment confirmation page -- got both Thanks, and sorry this is covering ground covered before, but y'know, just wanna get our case specifically right. - Sam

Just getting the final things together for bobs and jens CR1/ IR1 papers. I have a 3 questions 1) I-130 section C line 17. (List spouse and all children of your relative) Do i put bobs wife and son here? (There reason i ask is when i filled this out for hong i put none and had no problems.) 2) same section and same line for stepson. What should be entered here for stepsons I-130 3) section D line1 I would enter stepsons name here right? Mike

Hi Everyone, Just getting started on the immigration process for my wife, and currently filling out the I-130. Few questions here, I did a few searches of the site and couldn't find specific answers but assuming you can all help: Box C2 - Does this address need to match any of our documents (her Hukou, my residence permit, etc). I ask because I tend to use our office address in China (same company for both of us) for mailing, since we have a very competent mail room which I can't say the same for about my apartment complex. Box C17 - Do I need to list myself as her spouse again here or is this redundant since I am filing on her behalf as her spouse? Documentation - My birth certificate is in a box somewhere back home in the US. I do have my Passport and Social Security card here with me in China. Will these be sufficient or will I need to get the birth certificate? More documentation - we had her Chinese documents translated and notarized about 6 months ago, and the translator told her that they would expire in 6 months (now). However, there is no expiration date on the documents and I can't find anything online about these expiring. Does anyone know if they would remain valid? Last question (for now!). We live in Hangzhou, so based on all I've seen here we will be going to Guangzhou for DCF. Please correct me if wrong. thanks ahead of time

Hi! Our interview is scheduled for next Tuesday, Oct 14th. If approved, the medical report says we must relocate to the US by March 25th. We were planning to visit the US during CNY and then move to the US full time May 1st. Do you think we should tell the GZ immigration people this plan during the interview or just keep it to ourselves? Is it okay to visit for 1 week during CNY, exit the US and return to the US full time on May 1st? Unfortunately, this relates to the China annual bonus pay out timing... Warm regards, Ben