Search the Community

Hello, Can i get verification on the necessary forms? I will be filling out the i-130, I-864, g-325a(1 each). Also, we will be submitting visa style photos(2 photos for each of us), copy of divorce papers(translated), proof of marriage(translated), proof of our relationship(pictures, communication), my last filed taxes, copy of my passport, I have a question regarding my wife's divorce paper. When we married in China, we received proof of marriage. Included in the proof of marriage, it is stated that my wife is divorced. All this is translated. Do we still need to translate her original divorce paper? Is there anything else that I should know? Or anything else that I need? Thank you, Paul

Hi everyone, I have a few questions. There are fees for the i-130 filing. Is there a fee for the I-129f? I also read about a $165 immigration fee? Any other fees? When my wife signs her name, does she sign her 'english' name? what if she doesn't know how to sign, but prints her name? Also, do I turn in the G325a bios, along with visa pictures, our pictures, etc, to both the I-130 and I-129f petitions?

Hi guys, I'm in a similar situation. I've been living/working in China for about a year now (have the official residence/work permit and all - Chinese GF and I met when we were both studying abroad in Europe). I'm planning to go back to the US in August (for more grad school), and am looking for the quickest way for us to get married and for her to get over to the US (I already have cosigners for the app, etc). It seems like the DCF would be the quickest, although would I still have to be in China after August? I read somewhere that if I do the DCF, I have to wait 5 years to marry an American green card holder? And also that it could take 6 months to 1.5 years for the green card through DCF? In that case, it seems like it would be best to file for K-1 / I-129F through the USCIS, etc. Also, just to make sure, when first submitting the I-129F, this requires lots of documentation (cover letter, ,etc), correct? Thanks a lot in advance ...

Hello Everyone, I just married a beautiful chinese woman about two weeks ago, in China. I would like some helpful information on the process to get the marriage visa. I have read the US website, but I want to make sure that I do this correctly. Thank you, Paul

Fortunately, got my visa in 2 days. Now i have new set of questions...hehehe...the never ending question... 1. My case number in the visa seems like had 2 additional numbers in the end, is it normal? 2. Since i have already SSN, what should i do after POE? 3. When to apply Adjustment of Status or Removal of Conditions? (confused, sorry if my question is wrong) 4. When to Change my Name? 5. Should i pay the Immigrant fee before flying to the US? Any additional Infos are very much appreciated... AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL!!!! FROM US THE GRAVES!!!

I met my special lady about a year ago, have already spent 3 weeks with her back in Spet in Beijing. I will spend Chinese New year with her again and will return again in May of 2014 so we can get married and spend our honeymoon in Thailand. When I return back to the USA in May, I will file the VISA, but I don't understand from all the outdated website that I've been reading where to start. Do I file the K3, CR or I-130? If I am reading it correctly, I can start the paperwork and when it gets approved, she can come to the states while she waits for some other paperwork to have an interview or does she need to wait that 6 to 9 months to have the interview in GZ? Is there a current layout of steps and procedures that I can follow, step by step. I'm hoping I can start to fill out all the papers before I head off to China again in May so if there are any papers she needs to sign or blanks to fill in while I am there she can help. Then when I am back in the USA I can send them in without delay. Thanks.

I have another urgent DCF question about paying the $230 fee to process the DS-260. From what I understand, there is an I-130 filing fee of $420 (which we already paid), and then another $230 to process the DS-260, and then finally a fee of $165 after you get your visa and before you enter the US. My husband just had his interview and passed (yay!), but didn't see a place on the 3rd floor of the Guangzhou Consulate to pay the fee. I previously emailed the Guangzhou Consulate, and they emailed back saying that the fee could only be paid on the day of the interview at the Consulate. However, he said that he asked several people who worked there, and they all said that he either didn't have to pay the fee, or he could pay the fee at a CITIC bank. Others who also passed the interview said that the fee wasn't necessary because he already passed. However, I read a story on Candle For Love about a couple who didn't have to pay, then went back to Yunnan and found out they had to come back to pay the fee. We're in Guangzhou for a few more days so I'd like to take care of this before we leave if we need to. Please help! Specifically people who have interviewed there recently and paid the fee at the Consulate.

Hello, I am helping a good friend do his paper work to bring his new wife and her children to the US.. We got everything ready to send off to Chicago. I have one question. How much money should we have to send for the first round of paperwork. My math says $ 840, but for some reason my mind has $1120-1125 stuck in it. He is going the CR1/IR1 route. He is filing two I-130 (one for him and one for his wife) and four G-325A. ( one for himself, his wife, wife's older daughter, and one for his wife's younger daughter). Older daughter is turning 18 at the end of this month. So am I correct? $ 840 dollars? Just want to make sure I am correct. Thank You for your help. Danb

Hi Everyone, This is a related question: my wife and I are preparing for our arrival in the US after getting the IR-1 visa processed. We will arrive after our two year anniversary. My question is this: is there any particular point of entry that is used to new immigrants arriving? I remember one time arriving in Chicago and having my then-girlfriend almost having an argument with the immigration official, but we had no issues whatsoever flying through Toronto. I ask because I don't know how unusual our situation will be, when our documentation is enough for the 10 year green card. Probably overthinking this, but would like to be sure. Any feedback much appreciated! Thanks, Sammy

My wife and I had our appointment on October 23rd in Guangzhou for the immigration interview. We had everything we were supposed to have all organized nicely. At the interview I had to wait outside with our bags because you aren't allowed to take any bags in and I forgot to give her my bank card to pay for the interview fee and the interviewer informed us that we would have to book an appointment for another date and come back to Guangzhou from Tianjin again because of this very simple-to-solve problem. I was quite upset by this and felt they were very unreasonable because we have a baby on the way and we will probably not be able to immigrate to the US before the baby is born now. So, we are now planning to have the baby here in Tianjin instead and then immigrate with the baby after is it born. But since we already had one appointment that didn't work out as planned we would now like to book an appointment for another interview at a later date but the only dates that are available for us to book are within the next 3 weeks. We are hesitant to schedule an interview during that time for two reasons. First, we feel that if we get the visa now it doesn't leave us enough time to get to the US before the baby is born and would rather just have the baby here. Second, we have booked and paid for a vacation in the Philippines starting November 18th and are worried that she wouldn't her her passport back in time. (The first reason is much more significant than the second) What I'd like to do is either be able to delay the interview to allow time for us to have the baby here or get some kind of extension. But, like I said previously, the only dates that are available for this interview are within the next few weeks and that just doesn't work. This is probably because they already accepted her health exam papers and opened the case. I'm not sure who to contact regarding this and I don't know what my next step should be. I'd really appreciate some advice! Thank you, Darren S. Small

Hi, I'm a foreigner living in Beijing, married to an American citizen. I know this forum is dedicated towards Americans with Chinese spouses, however, I figured I’m still likely to get the most helpful responses here. First, I'm a bit confused in regards to the waiting times for each stage and the overall process. We just submitted the I-130 package at the Beijing USCIS office 2 days ago. When we asked how long it would take we were told we should expect to hear back from them within 3 months and that the whole process could take up to a year or even longer. We are hoping to move to the US sometime around June-August, which leaves us less than a year. I recently came across several posts, where people claimed the process within China took them up to 6 months and even less at times, so needless to say, I was a bit shocked at their response. Have things changed recently or am I treated differently for being a foreigner perhaps? Also, I’d really appreciate it if someone could explain to me in detail the next steps that follow the USCIS I-130 petition or direct me to a useful link. I’m not quite clear as to what exactly needs to be submitted from now on and where. I would like to start preparing everything so that we can continue with the process as soon as the petition is approved. As for the evidence of support, due to the fact that my husband didn’t live in the US throughout his adult life, he never filed tax returns. Therefore, we have quite a lot of work cut out for us. Is anyone familiar with a good American accountant in Beijing who they can recommend? Last but not least, my current workplace isn’t able to provide me with a working visa and so I have been working on a spousal visa as of late, which I know isn’t exactly legal. Could that be held against me at any stage? I could always say that I work as a consultant or freelancer. Any advice, information and tips on expediting this process from this great community would be much appreciated!!!

We did it !! For those of you who've been there all this time.Thank you. It took three interviews and one month shy of five years but, we were finally successful. I must admit the third interview was hardly an interview. It went something like this: "Wow, you two have a long history together. Looks like mistakes were made. Let's get your Visa so you can go be with your husband." And just like that, the fight was OVER... Yan will join me in the US just after the Chinese New Year. Happy Holidays Everyone ! Terry

Dear Candle for Love Community, After several months of reading and learning from so many of you, my husband and I are ready to start the DCF process. We are excited and nervous, and thank you all in advance for all the invaluable help this site offers. About us: We are a recently married same-sex couple (two guys) who have been together in Beijing for the last 8 years—cohabiting for the last six. We have been wanting to marry for some time but were waiting for the Supreme Court to give us their blessing. This summer, they did, so we tied the knot in the US. Like clockwork, I now have a job offer in the US (and a lead on a rental) and we feel we are ready to pull the trigger and DCF. Assembling the materials for the first step has raised some questions and I suspect this will be the first of several posts as we muck our way through the process. Hopefully others can also learn from our shared experiences. While I don't anticipate that being a same-sex couple will change our process, I'll post here if I find it does. Right now, the initial filing packet is looks like this (I have highlighted items in red that I'm unsure about): I. USCIS Forms: I-130G-1145G-325A (husband’s)G-325A (mine) II. Docs to prove my US citizenship: Copy of my current passport’s biodata pageCopy of my prior passport’s biodata page (Since some of our previously leases and my residency permits are keyed to this passport number—should this be a concern? How best to avoid confusion?)Copy of my birth certificate (Is this needed if I have the passport copy? Does it need to be notarized? The original is in storage in the US) III. Docs proving marriage bona fides: Copy of our marriage certificateCopy of “official” translations of our leases (2007 to present)Letter from friend attesting to our relationship (Do these letters need to be notarized?)Letter from relative attesting to our relationshipLetter from relative attesting to our relationshipPhotos dating our relationship from 2005 to present (may include some travel docs, too, since we have many pics to trips to the US, Europe, Asia, etc. over the years) IV. Docs to prove my residency in jurisdiction covered by Beijing American embassy to be eligible for direct filing: Copies of my Chinese residency permits (2005 to present) V. Other documents Copy of hub’s passport biodata pageCopy of notarized English translation of hub’s hukou2 passport photos of me2 passport photos of my husband Also: For the scheduled appointment at the US Embassy in Beijing for filing all this, do we both have to be present? I would appreciate it if any of you could weigh in about the items in red—and anything else we might be missing or doing wrong. I will keep everyone appraised of our process, from start to finish, as I suspect this is the first of many posts. Thanks so much for your help, D

I just married my Chinese wife and I am getting started with the necesary paper work so she can come with me to America next summer. I believe I have all the documents ready for the I-130 petition. I just have a few questions. 1. We dont have any documents showing co-mingling of our finances. Is this a problem? 2. I have a sworn affidavit from my wife's uncle where he stated he has knowledge of our marraige. Unfortunately, he spelled my name wrong at the end. Does this matter? He spelled me name correctly in the beginning. 3. I am planning on getting another sworn affidavit from my mom. Is this OK. How many is enough? 4. Is it worth it to include QQ conversations and QQ zone photos of my wife and I dating back to last year? 5. I was told by someone I can mail the I-130 petition to Chicago. Is this OK? I live in Jiangsu, China with my wife. Do I need to deliver the documents in person in Guangzhou. This would be inconvenient. I would appreciate help with any of my questions! I hope to help more people here in the future as well. -Dave

Hello all, Just a quick update and alert that the Guangzhou consulate now requires the beneficiary to fill out and send a DS-260 along with a copy of the photo page of the passport and two US-sized passport pics. After that's completed, the consulate then sends instructions on setting up the visa interview (in the meantime, we're collecting the necessary documents). It took us about a week to get the I-130 approved, and a month to get this notice from Guangzhou, which has the case number. I'm hoping we're a pretty straight-forward case as we've been married almost nine years and have a child, who is a US citizen. Question -- is the expedited service at the Citic branch on Financial Street reliable/worth it? And does anyone have experience with these new steps? How long is the wait for the instructions on setting up the visa interview? And here's to hoping the government shutdown in the US doesn't occur. Best, Jennifer

Hello. We recently received the letter approving my petition for a IR-1 visa for my husband and our case has been sent to Guangzhou. We're doing direct consular filing, and was wondering how long it took for people to receive the initial P3 packet from Guangzhou. I also have these questions: 1.) What documents are required for the P3? Once we get the documents together, we send them via CITIC branches listed on ustraveldocs.com? And is there one in Beijing that people generally go to? 2.) I've been working as a freelance writer and worked a lot less last year as I was pregnant. My brother, who's a doctor in the States, was going to be a co-sponsor. What documents do I need to get from him? 3.) Between mailing off the P3 and getting the P4, what sort of wait times have people been experiencing? 4.) How easy is it to schedule an interview once you receive the P4? A little bit of background on us: I am Chinese-American and my husband is British. We've been married for 9 years and have a baby, who is an American. We're currently residing in Beijing. My husband has never had any issues with US immigration and we're hoping to get the visa by November. (How realistic is that?) I realize that this forum is for people trying to get visa for their Chinese loved ones, but it's been hard for me to find information on the DCF process in China. I'd appreciate any guidance and advice.

Hello All, Long-time lurker, firstish time poster. We've gotten started on the paperwork. As I'm being very pedantic about this, I have quite a few form questions: For the I-130: Which address should we write on the form? Our (rented) apartment in China, our mailing address in China, or my mailing address in America? Re: B13: If you are a U.S. citizen, complete the following: What is the “Parents” section for? My citizenship was acquired via birth in the U.S. I’ve checked this box. Do I need to be concerned with any of the rest of the box? As a U.S. citizen, do I need to concern myself with B14, regarding lawful permanent resident alien? C17 asks to list children. This includes the children we have together, correct? C19 asks for relatives address abroad. Does this mean the Chinese address? As above, which address should be write? C21 asks for the address for where we’ve lived together, as well as the dates. We’re still at the same apartment, but I see no option for “present.” Do I just include today’s date for “To:”? There is not enough space provided on the electronic form for typing out addresses and phone numbers in full. What should we do?For the G-325A: On the G-325A form, how do I know my file number? The G-325A has a section which asks “This form is submitted in connection with an application for:” Do I check the “Status as Permanent Resident” or “Other” and then state the I-130? The bottom of the G-325A has a box “Applicant: Print your name and Alien Registration Number in the box outlined by heavy border below.” Is this for my wife? If this is something we fill out, how do we find out what her alien registration number is? For my wife’s G-325A, it asks for applicant’s residence for last five years in one box, and then immediately beneath this form asks for “last address outside the US of more than 1 years.” As my wife and I have been living together for the last seven+ years, do I restate the information in the box above, or do they want the address where she lived before we began living together in 2006? When writing my wife’s name in the boxes which call for Chinese characters, do I write the name as it would be written in Chinese (i.e. surname first)? Thanks in advance, and apologies for all the questions!

Ay carumba, this process is somewhat confusing. My British hubby was asked to fill out a DS-230 online, print it up, and then submit it with other documents to a CITIC branch. He followed all these steps and went to the CITIC branch that does the express service. This happened before the October holiday, and we've been twiddling our thumbs since. Just out of curiosity, he went into the VIsa Status Check page online, typed in his case number, and a pop-up with a large "Ready" appeared with this text: "Your case is ready for your interview when scheduled at the U.S. Consular section. If you have already scheduled an appointment for an interview, please prepare your documents as directed in your appointment letter and appear at the consulate on the appointed date and time. Otherwise, please wait until you have been notified of your interview appointment. Additional information about how Immigrant Visa interview appointments are scheduled can be found at:http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3731.html We haven't received instructions yet about scheduling the interview yet. Possibly missing in the mail? Sit tight and wait for them to send? Or call and gently prod? Has anyone been in the same situation? Many thanks. Jennifer

Hello all, Our I-130 petition was approved on August 17, and we're waiting around for the P-3. I see here that some folks received an email while others received the P-3 via the mail. What's the usual way of receiving the P-3? And without a case number, is there any way to check out what the status of our application is with the consulate in Guangzhou? Many thanks. Jennifer

Hey everyone, I've run into an unexpected confusion with the DS-230. I've searched and browsed all over this site, the GUZ embassy site, VJ, and Google, but haven't seen anyone else even mention it. Is this a new/unique situation, or am I just unlucky (read: haphazard) with my searching? Here's the situation: I filed the I-130 petition at Beijing on June 4. Ten days later I received the NOA2 (petition approved) with instructions, which tell us to (quote): " ... complete and submit the Document Submission Letter [we registered at ustraveldocs, and printed the DSL] along with the above requested items at the nearest CITIC bank. If you fail to take the action requested within one year, your application will be terminated." They also give a URL for finding CITIC bank locations but just my luck the page "cannot be found." OK, so the wife and I took our documents to the CITIC closest to our apartment, and the nice lady at the front desk told us she didn't think that branch handled these (doesn't ask anyone else or check), and gives us the address and phone number of the branch closest to the embassy. Fine. Then she tells us that the Guangzhou embassy is closed, etc. (it was only after this I learned about the move). Well anyway, my wife calls the other CITIC branch to ask about the forms, and they flatly told her not to say anything specific about what forms (apparently very strictly, like knowing what forms we want to send puts them in jeopardy somehow), and said only to bring the forms in a sealed envelope. So my questions, for anyone who has done this recently or can help: Firstly, is this right? Do I need to supply the address the forms are to be sent to? Which address should I use? (Can't use the return address on the NOA, since that's the old address.) The embassy website gives this address: U.S. Consulate General / 43 Hua Jiu Road, Zhujiang New Town / Tianhe District / Guangzhou, China; and says they will be open for service again on July 23. Do you think that's a safe address to use (ensuring the forms will reach the proper people)? Of course there's nothing more specific given in our instructions. I don't want to submit our forms to the bank if they're not even sure what to do with them. Could I mail them myself (EMS)? I emailed the consulate at the beginning of the week, but I assume they're busy with the move and probably won't see it for a while. Any insight, suggestions or verification would be greatly appreciated. (Sorry for the lengthy explanation. This is quite an annoying snag in our process.)

I've been married to my Chinese wife for 5 years and we have a one year old daughter. I am getting ready to start the DCF process for an IR1 visa. I have a couple questions regarding filling the I-130, mostly because I am hoping to avoid a trip to the notary office. First, looking through the forums it seems like most people submit a notarized and translated version of their spouses Chinese birth certificate. However on the Guangzhou consulate website it says that they need a birth certificate OR a passport. If my wife already has a passport is it neccessary to also bring the birth certificate? Is there a time limit on notarized documents? We succesfully applied for a tourist visa several years ago and still have the translated and notarzed copy of our marriage certificate. Do we need to get it redone? Besides the marriage certificate and the birth certificate is there any other documents we need to get translated and notarized? You don't need the criminal record check until later in the process right? Am I right that it is ok if I translate all the other documents that don't need to be notarized? Thanks for the help.

Hello! I've been reading these forums for a while and am finally ready to begin my own journey! However, I'm a bit worried that what I've previously read may be different from what the process currently is for DCF in Beijing/Guangzhou, since I know there were some changes in May 2013, and then the Guangzhou Embassy moved very recently. A bit of background on me and my husband: I am a Chinese-American woman, and my husband is a Chinese citizen. We met in Beijing about four and a half years ago, dated for two years, got engaged, then married in his hometown of Henan Province in June 2012. We're getting ready to DCF in Beijing to get the CR-1 visa, and I have a couple of questions. 1) I would be really grateful if anybody could post their experience beginning or going through the DCF process from within the past month. Particularly, are there any big differences now in the process than there were before? 2) From the first step of filing the I-130 to preparing for the interview, what are the documents I need to get translated and notarized? So far, I have: His/hers marriage certificates (is there a difference between white books and the notarized translation?) And since my husband and I each got a marriage certificate book, do we need to translate both?Apartment contracts for the last two years for proof of residenceIs there anything else I need to get translated/notarized? 3) Just to confirm, the address we put for the beneficiary and petitioner on the I-130 form is the address that we'll receive the P3 packet? On that note, what's the difference between the P3 and P4 packets? I'm sure I'll have more questions as we start filing (hopefully in September), and I'll also try to post about my own experiences to help others in the future. Thanks!

Howdy folks, So my wife passed her IR1 visa interview today! The whole consulate process took just over an hour for document collection and interview... very impressive!! For those who don't know, the new consulate is located three subway stops south of the old location at Zhujiang New Town station (珠江新城站) on Line 3, so a lot of information about stuff around the old location is still somewhat applicable to the new one, especially in terms of accommodation, as the area around Guangzhou East Train Station, just north of the old consulate, is extremely convenient and full of cheap hotels. We are staying in the Shanshui Shishang Jiudian 山水时尚酒店 just above the train station (the entrance to the hotel is actually "inside" the station, just outside the I exit of the subway and Gate 3 of the train station), and for about US $40 a night for a decent room with a queen size bed, we are very happy with this place. Coming in from the airport we took the subway to Guangzhou East Station (on Line 3, same as airport, didn't even have to change trains) and didn't even have to leave the station, which is great because it was pissing down rain outside. This morning it only took about 15 minutes to get from our hotel to the consulate by subway. And the area around the consulate looked pretty posh and I didn't see any hotels nearby (I'm sure there are some), so there may be far fewer budget options (or any options) in the near vicinity of the consulate. As for places to wait on your spouse nearby the consulate, I found a small Starbucks in the back left side of the lobby of the office building directly across the street from the consulate. If you don't mind trekking just a bit further (and are confident that your spouse can find it after a grueling interview), you can take a right on Huali Road when you come out of Exit B1 of Zhujiang New Town station (the consulate will be right in front of you) and go down about two blocks to the first stoplight, where you will find a full-size Starbucks on one side of the intersection and a full-size Costa Coffee on the other side of the intersection (always good to have a choice between American and British coffee I suppose). There are also several convenience stores, Western restaurants, and banks (China Construction Bank is in the 1F of the building right next to B1 subway exit) along Huali Road and at "coffee intersection". More importantly for you folks who love to do things last-minute, I spotted a large printing store in the "alley" between the first and second building on the right side of Huali Road (there is a Lanzhou Lamian restaurant at the end of the alley, and the print shop is just next to it I think, about 3 or 4 stores deep into the alley). As for the experience at the new consulate, for my wife things went VERY smoothly. Our appointment was for 10:30AM. We arrived at exactly 10:30, and there was NOBODY in the immigration visa line (at the far end of the consulate from the B1 subway exit). They let her in immediately, and I feared it would be many long hours of waiting before she would emerge again. I chose to wait at the small Starbucks across the street from the consulate (which was quite busy, and will most likely be packed in coming months as more and more people waiting for people in the new consulate discover it), and expected to be there for several hours. At about 11:45 (only a little over an hour after my wife entered the consulate!), my wife walked up and sat down across from me at the table with a glum expression on her face. "Oh crap" I thought as my heart skipped a beat, but before I could even open my mouth to ask, my wife began to laugh and told me the good news. She thinks she's really funny when she does that. And she should, because she learned it from me. =0) I just want to add that I think the consulate's new visa system through CGI Stanley is working GREAT. We submitted our I-130 to start the process off through DCF in Beijing in mid-May, and have already had the interview and been approved in less than 2 1/2 months, which seems to be almost twice as fast as the average wait time for the old system when applying through DCF. And in fact, when we signed up for our interview in late June, a July 1st interview date was actually available, which wasn't feasible given how much documentation we still had to collect (as well as getting my wife's medical examination), but had we taken that date it would have come only a month and a half after initially applying! And one more thing to note here as a warning. I had failed to look up more info about the visa application fee that is listed as the last item of the "Immigration Visa Instructions", and since it said you could pay in RMB or US dollars I assumed it would be ok to pay with a Chinese bank card. I was going to send my US credit card in with my wife also (which is what I paid the initial I-130 fee with in Beijing), but realized this morning as we were getting everything ready that I didn't bring it to Guangzhou with me. So I sent my wife in armed with only two Chinese bank cards and very little cash. After she submitted her documents and before her interview, she was asked to go pay the visa fee. She tried to pay with her Chinese bank card, only to be told that only cash or credit/bank cards with the Visa logo are accepted. She asked if she could leave the consulate to get cash and come back in, and was told that if she left she would have to schedule a whole new appointment. She pleaded with the lady for other options, but with no luck. Finally she asked if she could borrow the money from another applicant, and the lady laughingly told her she could try but obviously didn't think she would have any luck. Sure enough, the first person she asked only had enough cash for herself. The lady behind her had overheard my wife's plight though and stepped forward with 1400rmb and plopped it down in her hand (my wife handed over her ID card and bank card in return and told the lady she would wait outside the consulate for her with cash in hand). Don't take a chance that your spouse might be so lucky, and please send her in with enough cash or a Visa credit/bank card (just make sure you take the credit card back as soon as she gets out of the consulate... you know the damage women can do with those things, hehe). Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this site and made it such a great resource for all of us barely staying above water in the immigration boat. I hope this small post of mine can help at least a few of you out there just as so many posts from others helped me. Good luck, and good times to all once you finally get your loved one back to the US!

Ok, so our situation is a bit complicated so I hope you guys can shed some light and reassure us that there is a way to do this... I'm American by birth, both parents are French so I have dual citizenship. I've never lived in the US except for six months a couple of years ago. I worked for three of those six months but didn't earn enough to pay any taxes and have never filed a US tax return. I have a SSN, a bank account (with hardly anything in it), and a friend's address in California that I used as my residential address when I was there. My girlfriend is from Beijing. We met two and a half years ago in Hong Kong where she was studying when I passed through on my travels. I lived with her there for a few months on a couple of consecutive tourist visas. We then went traveling, spent a year in New Zealand on working visas, then went to Australia where she could only get a tourist visa. Her visa expired a few weeks ago and she's now gone back to China and I'm still in Australia working. We'd like to move to the US together as soon as possible. Our first thought was for her to get a J1 aupair visa and get married once we're both over there, but having done some reading that seems like a more complicated/long/expensive way to do it. So we've started looking at the CR1 process and the idea of getting married somewhere beforehand but we're confused since our situation is relatively unique. Some questions...: Can we get married anywhere or does it have to be in China? After we get married, do we have to stay in the same place while the process is underway and while we wait for her interview? Could she potentially apply for a J1 aupair visa while we're waiting for the CR1 process to happen so we could be in the US together sooner? Will her interview have to take place in China regardless of where we get married and regardless of where she is/we are at the time, or can it be done in any USCIS anywhere in the world? If we have to get married in China, can I be there on a tourist visa? I read that I'd need to have been in China for over six months to file the I-130 by DCF. Is there another way to file the I-130 that doesn't have that requirement? I also saw that I need to file I-130 in the place that is considered my permanent residence. Having been traveling for the past 3 years or so, I'm confused as to where that would be. I grew up in the UK but haven't been back there for over five years and I only lived in France for a couple of years before heading off on my travels 3 years ago. So not sure whether my permanent residence is my current address here in Australia, my father's address in France, my friend's in California, or... Will the fact that I've never really lived in the US and the lack of tax returns be a problem? How would I show that I'm in the process of wanting to establish domicile there? How much money is required to show we can afford the move? We don't have much between us and no joint accounts. Is that ok as long as we can find co-sponsors? Assuming this is at all possible, what happens once we get to the US? Do we need a fixed address so they can check up on us periodically or are we free to do as we like until the 2 year interview as long as we can prove we've spent those two years together? (We're thinking of buying an RV and living on the road while working remotely so wouldn't have a fixed address...) We have plenty of photos together, lots of emails/sms/skype convos, can probably dig up flight booking emails and have met each other's mothers if that helps... A lot of questions I know. Hopefully some of you can enlighten us a bit. Thanks!

We're in the states, waiting on Green Cards and the wife receives a 2 letters from the INS one is a Welcome letter and the other is a notice of action. I believe it's for Biometrics. She knew about this before we left China. I believe the letter said a future letter would give her an appointment and a location she needs to go to. The letter came from the Texas office. Since we're in central Florida will the location be in Florida? Just curious if anyone else had to do Biometrics after they arrived.