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Hi all. I'm sure this has been discussed (though I'm having trouble finding it) so feel free to forward me on, my apologies for any redundancy. 1. Could someone please tell me exactly how to format and attach an extra page for our address? We both live in the same apartment in China, but it is a long address so we'll need extra space. Should I write in the space "see attachment"? What should be written on the attachment page other than the address? 2. Given that we live at the same address together as written in line 2, lines 19 and 21 (your relative's address abroad, and last current address shared) would be the same answer. Shall I fill them in anyway (write it on the same attachment page)? 3. Should I wait to sign at the bottom until I am at the embassy? While I'm at it, I have a question about photos. How many passport sized photos will I need for this process in total, including medical check and interview? We'll be going to get our pictures done tomorrow.

hi all can anyone confirm any successful personal stories that the spousal visa (Q1/Q2) resident permit can be used to file a DCF in USCIS BJ? just learning about it now - not sure if only the Q1 gives a residence permit (Q1 is for stays >=180 days) but if so, this question would only apply for Q1 then for those who might have read my previous topic, I am currently on a Z visa/residence permit and may transfer to work in HK (work permit). But i would still want to do a DCF for my PRC wife in Shanghai (she would stay in SH) instead of doing it stateside when we are ready to move I am hoping that with a Q1 visa, I can both work in HK and do a PRC DCF when the time is right.

hi all just found this forum and relieved to see there is a community put there for advice/support i am a US citizen in SH with a residence permit for work (Z). i may transfer to my company's HK office this year if i submit the I-130 at the USCIS BJ office, immediately move to HK (work visa), and my wife moves with me (HK spousal visa), is there any negative consequence to the immigration process for my wife (PRC citizen)? if so, then is that negative consequence eliminated if she continues to reside in SH (we would maintain and apt there, she would get a HK spousal visa but not move with me, she and I would visit each other often)

Possibly a silly question due to worrying a bit too much... but we are changing apartments here in Beijing in the coming 2 weeks and I have an appointment to file the I-130 petition on March 19 but am not sure which Chinese address to use in the form for where I reside here in China. I still have the temporary residence permit for our current/old apartment, but can easily get the new resident permit for the new place because we've already signed the contract but just haven't moved in yet. While we will be residing at the new apartment for at least another year or until we get the green card (knock on wood), my concern is will using the new address/residence permit work for or against me in establishing my 6 months or more in China qualification for DCF? Or will my work contract(s), past resident permits, work visas, etc. from the past 4 years plus we've been married be enough? Gosh as I write this, I think just get the new resident permit for the new apartment and use that, right? Also - one additional question, although my husband and I have been living together here in beijing and he's been on the rental contracts since we've been married, his offical hukou still has him listed at his parents place in Beijing. Is this going to be an issue? Or do I just put the same Chinese residence address as mine in the form? 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 to CFLs i am confused about poverty line , in order to assest the income whether higher than 125% of the Poverty line , which item in Form 1040 is the refrence ? item No.7 in "Income " section or item No.37 in "Adjusted Gross Income " section ? if USC's foreign earned income be higher than 125% of povrty line , do we still need co-sponser ? we have decided to DCF and move to US together after visa issuance ,so we will not have any job or income in US at interview time. thanks

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

I'm sure it's posted on this forum some where but I just keep missing it but I haven't been able to find it. I would like to find the 'education' section that would educate me on what the P1, P2, P3, P4, touched, Pink slips, blue slips and all of the other jargon I read on here is. Everyone seems to use the terms as though they are well versed on them and I want to get to that point to. Our packet has been sent to GUZ but I don't know if this is P1, P2 or what. Also if it is P1 or P2, what does it mean? What should be expected? I would love a link to the forum that breaks it all down for me in simple terms. Thanks everyone

hi CFLs , i am a new member and happy to be a part of CFL big family. I have studied most of topics here and they are really helpful , thanks to everyone. me and my wife are living in China at thee moment and we have decided to DCF I-130 , but there are some confusing parts in the form that I really need help with. My questions about form I-130 are as below: 1- most foreigners after entering China pick up some Chinese names , some are really chinese and different from their orginal name , but some are just made according to the orginal pronounciation of the foreign name(with different pinyin) , if your chinese name is just made according the original pronounciation and has been used in some official documents is considered as "other names used " which is asked at C-7 of I-130 or it is not considered as other used name because the pronounciation is the same ? 2- Do students need to fill in section C-15 which asks " Name and address of present employer "? is the university which you are studying at the moment considered as your employer or do we need to write n/a? 3- what is the difference between C-2 " address " , C-19 "your relative's address abroad" and C-20 "Foreign address in native alphabet" in form I-130 ? we are living in China now. 4- should we write address in chinese style (like : country then city , then road ) or in american style ( first write number then road and then city ..)? thank you in advance for your help.

Hey all, I have found some sample cover letters here on CFL using the forums search, but I haven't come across one specific to DCF'ing. I'm planning to file next week so I'm organizing my documents now and writing up my cover letter. I've used the I-130 Instructions PDF and the Guangzhou Consulate page on DCF'ing to come up with this list: How does this look? What about police records? that's only for the DS-260 right? Will the Consulate want an original of the marriage notarial certificate and the birth notarial certificate or do they want a photocopy of the notarial certificates? Do I need to include any financial documents such as tax transcripts and so on? That isn't necessary at this stage in the game, right; itsn't it for DS-260? And some extra questions: Regarding photocopies: I have photocopies (prints, really) from some friends in different provinces but I don't actually have the original documents. Will the Consulate accept these or must I have the original documents? Regarding continuation sheets and signatures: does my signature and date need to be on literally everything; photos, continuation sheets, photocopies of testimony letters, etc? Regarding pictures: is it necessary to write each name on the back of the picture or just the date, location, and a simple description like "ME with NAME'S family for Spring Festival"? Thanks a million, everybody! Best, Jake

Hey all, What are your experiences bringing your spouse with you to the Embassy or Consulate when initially filing your petition? I talked with the Guangzhou DHS/USCIS phone operator and they said that of course the spouse can come but it isn't a requirement. I figure it would be helpful if there are any questions that need to be asked, but it's really quite expensive traveling around China at this time (specifically coming back from Guangzhou because of all the migrant factory workers returning home for the holiday). So, I wanted to know your experiences having or not having your spouse join you when filing. And a second question; have any of you used passport photos from China on filing? The quality is usually horrible and they do so much Photoshop work that it ends up being fakey looking. -J

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.

Hey all! We're working on our petition paperwork and I've come up with a few questions that I'm stumbling over. Research on CFL and VJ hasn't yielded anything, so here it goes: [i-130] I'm currently living with together with my wife in China (we've been living together for the last 2.5 years actually) and I'm not sure if I should put my Chinese or US address in section B of the I-130. [i-130] Section E of the I-130 calls for a phone number, but it's formatted in US style. Should I just leave it blank since I have no US phone number because I currently reside in China?[i-130 and G-325A] The only address that should be in Chinese should be where it specifically calls for it on the I-130 section C. #20, right? Thanks all. If there's some huge resource of filled forms for China DCF petitioners that I've missed I would sure love to know about them. My research has turned up jack. -Jake

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.

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

Background: Filed I-130 DCF Beijing, Submitted DS-260 online I remember reading somewhere that you need to write a specific number on the top right of the Citic drop-off cover letter but "dc-260 cover letter number" is returning squat from Google. Is it the case number that we need to put there? ("GUZ########") And should we put it directly above the CGI graphic?

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!

My fiancee is pregnant and our baby is due in May. She and I are living in China together. We are just about ready to send our i-129f package out. A previous post discussed how the new Obama legislation on immigration may slow down other immigration processing, I'm wondering if anyone thinks that may be true for the K-1 visa as well, or since it's a non-immigrant visa it may not be affected? Our plan was to hopefully move to the U.S. in August, assuming everything went according to plan with the K-1 visa. So my questions would be: 1. Is the 7 month timeline a realistic expectation, especially considering the new immigration legislation? 2. If the K-1 visa were granted earlier than expected or the baby wasn't quite ready for the move, is it correct that we have a few months to leave China before the actual "3 months to marriage" countdown begins? 2. Will the pregnancy/baby have any effect on the visa process for my fiancee? I am assuming she will either be very pregnant looking or will have given birth shortly before the interview in Guangzhou. Again, thank you so much to the people who reply on this site! It's unbelievably helpful and so appreciated.

http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/i-130-petition-for-alien-relative.html I found this from the above website: Evidence of the petitioners residence in China. Please note that We need a Residence Permit for Foreigner in the Peoples Republic of China ( to prove your residence in China. Holder of a Chinese visa (ǩ֤) in any categories must apply for a Residence Permit for Foreigner to prove their residence in China before direct filing with USCIS Beijing Field Office.I have been in Shanghai for 3 years, I have a work permit book as well as a work visa in my passport. Is that the same as the residence permit for foreigners? If not, please let me know where I can go to get one.

Hello everyone, there has been so much great advice and commentary in this website, I thought I would post my own question to get some more opinions and suggestions. We had our I-130 approved just last week from Beijing USCIS, and now we are preparing for the interview in Guangzhou. Regarding form i-864 Affidavit of Support, I wonder what people do when the husband, me, is unemployed at the moment and doesn't have a job lined up in the US yet? (I left my job recently and will definitely get another one later, but at the time the interview happens there will be nothing to show as current income) The form says we can use other assets to meet the income requirement. has anyone done that before? Like using the value of our home in China? or using my wife's (Chinese national) bank account? Does that suffice? In the interview has anyone ever been asked where the money in a bank account comes from? how specific are their questions regarding source of money, or do they just need to see that you have money? Thanks so much! Look forward any thoughts on the matter,