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If you see anything we have forgotten please let us know. Thank you Nick and Hua My wife and I will be headed to Guangzhou on Saturday to start the process. Here is a checklist my wife and I put together. 1. Cover Letter 2. Form I-130 Twelve pages new form 3. Form I-130a Six pages 4. Form G-1145 5. Relationship Letter Two pages 6. Appointment papers Two pages 7. Affidavits Three separate affidavits 8. Notarized white books 1) My wife's Marriage Certificate 2) My Marriage Certificate 3) My wife's Divorce Paper 4) My wife's Police Record 5) My wife's Birth Certificate 9. My wife's original Divorce Paper 10. My wife's Marriage Certificate 11. My Marriage Certificate 12. Skype Chat history 31 pages 13. Passport Photos of my wife twenty copies United States style 14. Passport Photos of myself four copies 15. Evidence of Relationship trip tickets 16. Evidence of Relationship Christmas card 17. My birth certificate 18. My social security card 19. My tax records 20. Photos of Evidence of Relationship twenty collage style photos 21. Photocopy of my Passport 22. Photocopy of my wife's Passport 23. Photocopy of my Marriage Certificate 24. Photocopy of my wife's MarriageCertificate 25. Photocopy of My wife's Divorce Paper If you see anything we have forgotten please let us know. Thank you Nick and Hua

Does anyone have any advice? My wife and I will be going to Guangzhou in April. We have filled out the new I-130 form, the brand new form I-130a and form G-1145. We have had our marriage certificates notarized and translated into the white books. We will have many pictures of us together, and pictures of us with her family. We will have three relationship affidavits from my parents and sister. I have made a cover letter, and relationship letter. Anything else I should do? Thank you

First of all, I want to say thank you for this forum! I just came across it and it's invaluable. In fact, I wish I had known about it earlier. My wife is non-Chinese, and we live in China. We have two young children. I'm employed in China, my wife is not. We have two young children so she's busy with that. On the G235A form, employment record, for the period we've been in China, we put "none", as technically she's not employed. However, in addition to homeschooling our preschool son, this has evolved into a class of children of Chinese friends and neighbors who are the same age, who she teaches together. It's grown into an informal business of sorts that she wanted to turn into an actual registered business but could never get the legal paperwork sorted out to make that happen. Over the years, she's also privately taught classes to children of different friends off and on. She's never taught at a school or ESL center or anything like that (legally or otherwise), just privately with friends/friends-of-friends. So on the one hand, she's not employed, but on the other hand, she's self-employed, depending on how "employment" is defined. So under "employer" we put "none" on the G325A, but now I'm thinking that's a mistake and we should have put "self (teacher)". What got me thinking about this was the DS260 it asks for Occupation, which is more clear that in her case it's teacher (she worked as a teacher before coming to China and was going to work at a school here, but got pregnant almost right after we got here and had 2 kids since, so somewhat ironically never worked as a teacher at a school in China). So on DS260 I think we should put "teacher" and "homemaker" as her 2 occupations, with "self" as the explanation under teacher, and say she's done private classes. But then the DS260 and the G325A wouldn't match up, so that's when I realized we should probably have put "self" on the G325A instead of "none". (As an aside, in China, her teaching other children, even informally and privately, is technically illegal, or at least a legal grey area, much like doing any kind of freelance work in China, even if legally employed, is technically illegal or at least grey. At least that's my understanding. But I doubt if that's of any concern to the US CIS. My main concern is that our application is truthful -- I wouldn't want her application to get denied for "false information". And in the interview she wants to be truthful as well, of course. I mean sure, these are private lessons, there are no legal records of any employment by anyone, etc., and yeah, she could just say she's a mom that homeschools her children (all true) and leave it at that. But if they ask for more details we don't want her to lie. We just filed the I-130 (with the G-325A) last week, but I'm thinking we should correct it and submit a new one. My questions are: - how to correct the G325A? Do I bring an updated version to the CIS office? Do I submit the corrected version with the DS160? Bring it to the interview? - any advice on the correct answer to "employer" ("self" or "none") - am I overthinking this? Thanks in advance.

Advice needed on I-130 My wife and I will be travelling from Chengdu to Guangzhou. We will DCF the first of April. We talked to Guangzhou yesterday. The man told us we need to turn in a Form I-130a. I haven't ever heard of this form. The form is about my wife's biographic data. She signs this form. My question is how does my wife sign this form? Does she sign in Chinese characters or pinyin? The forms my wife has to sign how is she supposed to sign? Thank you for all of the help

C. Information about your relative (continued) 17. List spouse and all children of your relative.Help with I-130 section C. 17. Do I type my wife's name? (Relationship) spouse? We don't have any children. She thinks I should type her parents in here?

Candleforlove has been such a huge help. I've put together this guide to an IR-1 visa to share our experience and give back to the community. Hopefully it will serve as a centralized source of information for future IR-1 applicants. This is a guide for Americans interested in getting their Chinese spouse an immigrant residence visa (i.e. a green card) for the United States. This guide is based on my experience of personally preparing and filing all documentation for the entire immigration process. All requirements, forms, etc. were current as of April 2014. Please ensure the forms enclosed herein are current at the time you file. I am a firm believer of being over-prepared. As such, some of the documents I prepared early were not collected early in the process. For example, even though the criminal background check is collected until the visa interview, which is the final step in the process, I had it prepared at the time we filed the initial application directly with the embassy in Beijing. As such, while some of the documents I prepared (see the table of contents enclosed) were not required in advance, it is still a good idea that you prepare them. Lastly, the information below is for filing for an IR-1 visa. Couples who have been married for longer than two years are eligible to file for an IR-1 visa. Our Timeline November 12, 2013: DCFed in Beijing November 14, 2013: DCF approved and forwarded to Guangzhou December 2, 2013: I-130 approved; asked to complete DS-260 online December 30, 2013: DS-260 approved; asked to scheduled interview and complete medical *April 7, 2014: Completed medical (morning) and picked up results the same day (afternoon) April 10, 2014: Visa interview successful April 22, 2014: Received passport (with visa) and immigration packet *As my wife was pregnant at the time we received her notification to schedule the interview and medical, we opted to wait until after she had given birth before proceeding. This is because we did not want to expose the unborn child to any medical risks, regardless of how small, via x-rays, vaccinations, etc. Had we proceeded with the interview after receiving the notification on December 30th, it is very likely we would have completed everything within just two months’ time. Step One: Start Preparing Before you Start Preparing Part of the application process requires proving that your life in America will be better than your life in China. This also requires proving that you have maintained a residency in America while you have been abroad. Historically, applicants have been rejected both because A) The immigration officer believed the life the couple/family had in China was better than what they could have in America (i.e. property and lots of income in China, but none in America) and B) the petitioner (i.e. the American citizen filing on behalf of his/her spouse) had failed to maintain sufficient ties to America. Additionally, part of the application process requires providing tax records. Regardless of where your income originates, all American citizens are required by law to submit a tax return each year. If you cannot provide at least three years of tax returns, your case will likely be thrown out. Tax records not only illustrate that you have maintained ties with America, but also show the immigration officer that the beneficiary (i.e. the Chinese spouse being issued the visa) will not become a public charge (i.e. that he/she will not move to America and then immediately apply for welfare). So, what does all this mean? It means that before you consider beginning the immigration process, you should ensure that all your ducks are in a row years in advance. To do so, ensure you are doing the following: Maintain a US residence This does not mean that you must own property in America. Maintaining a residence simply means that you have a home in America. While this could be property that you own, it could also simply be a mailing address to where various entities post bank statements, credit card bills, magazines, etc. I used my mother’s address. I’ve continued to have mail sent to this address while I’ve been abroad. This is also the address I use whenever registering for various services (e.g. credit cards), etc. Maintain a US bank account Maintaining a bank account in good standing helps satisfy the residence criterion discussed above. Own (and regularly use) a US credit card Maintaining a credit card account in good standing helps satisfy the residence criterion discussed above. Regular use and repayment of a credit card also illustrates that you value maintaining a good credit score, which is important for purchasing a home or car in America, etc. File your taxes each year that you are abroad As an American citizen, you are required by law to file taxes each year even if you do not earn any income (e.g. you are studying abroad). The final stage of the immigration process also requires that you provide tax returns for the last three to five years. Keep a photo album Another part of the application process is providing evidence of a bona fide marriage (i.e. that your marriage is legitimate). Photos are an excellent way to illustrate that your relationship is legitimate and has been established for some time. Take regular photos of you two with friends and family, Chinese and foreign, and on vacation, etc. If you have, or are planning on having, children, take photos throughout the pregnancy as well. These will be needed when applying for the child’s American citizenship and passport. Plan your “exit strategy” As mentioned above, you will have to prove to the visa officer that the beneficiary will not become a public charge. The only way of doing this is by proving that you have regular income in America which exceeds the poverty line. The specific figure used by the visa officer is 125% of the poverty line. For example, if the poverty line is US$25,000, you will need to prove that you have an annual income of at least US$31,250. As the poverty line changes each year, you’ll need to do the math at the time you apply. Also note that having children increases this amount. The 125% is for the beneficiary only. If you have children, you’ll need to exceed this. Many sources state that while income per se is not the deciding factor, it is certainly the visa officer’s most concrete factor in assessing whether or not the beneficiary will become a public charge. Many sources also state that substantial savings may be considered in lieu of income (e.g. perhaps you do not have a job lined up prior to departing for the States). However, to share some personal details, substantial personal savings and liquid assets which exceeded the poverty guidelines were insufficient in our case and a joint sponsor (i.e. someone who assists the petitioner in sponsoring the beneficiary) was required. Luckily, I was prepared and had had my mother fill out a joint-sponsor I-864. So, how does this coincide with an exit strategy? Essentially, you will need to know what you are going to do for employment in America prior to beginning the application process. It would be best if you already had a job, had received a W-2 from your American employer, and also had a letter from your American employer commenting on the security of your position, etc. Without this, you will need a joint-sponsor who will be jointly responsible for the beneficiary. Step Two: Direct Consulate Filing (I-130) As the beneficiary is a Chinese citizen, his/her application is eligible for Direct Consulate Filing. This cuts out a huge step involving the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and National Visa Center (NVC). Beneficiaries who are not citizens of countries which allow DCF can wait up to eighteen months for their application to be approved. - this paragraph is not correct - see below In order to file your application directly with a nearby consulate, you will need to prepare and bring the following documents: Evidence of petitioner’s American citizenship Copy of petitioner’s passport Copy of petitioner’s birth certificate Evidence of petitioner’s domicile (i.e. that you’ve maintained a residence in the US) Copies of petitioner’s financial records Copies of petitioner’s American tax returns, financial statements (e.g. savings account statements, credit card statements, IRA statements, etc.) Evidence of a bona fide marriage Photo album Copies of marriage certificates Copies of child(ren)’s passports, birth certificates, Consulate Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) certificate Beneficiary’s G-325A Form Petitioner’s G-325A Form I-130 Form G-1145 Form Documents proving petitioner’s eligibility to file at the Beijing American embassy. In order to be eligible for DFC, the petitioner must have resided in China for six months prior to filing. The document used to satisfy this criterion is a copy of your resident permit/visa. 2 passport photos for the beneficiary 2 passport photos for the petitioner Cover letter outlining the contents of your application (see example enclosed herein) Once you have prepared the following, make an appointment with American Citizen Services (ACS) with the nearest US embassy or consulate. I chose to file with the Beijing embassy even though the Shenyang consulate is closer to my home in China. This is because the Shenyang embassy would have to forward the documents to Beijing for processing. You will notice in my cover letter that I had prepared a number of documents not included above. This is because some documents I had prepared were not required at that time. You can choose whether or not to prepare these items in advance. As stated above, you will need them all at one point or another. Step Three: DS-260 (online) Approximately four to six weeks after you file with the embassy, you will receive an email from the Immigration Visa Unit of the US Consulate General in Guangzhou. This email will outline the next steps in the immigration process. The email is very detailed. As long as you follow the directions, this step will go smoothly. Briefly, the actions required in this step include: Completing the DS-260 application online. This is an online form, as such it is not included herein. Registering a document pick-up location via http://ustraveldocs.com. Note that this address is both a pick-up and drop-off location. You’ll drop off the supplemental documents requested in the email and pick-up the beneficiary’s passport and immigration packet once the visa has been issued. Prepare supplemental documentation (if required) and drop this documentation off at the address registered above. We were only required to submit a scan of my wife’s passport, a copy of the pick-up registration document (which you’ll get once you register on the website), and two passport photos. Print and save a copy of this email for future reference. You will need to take it with you on the days in which you do the medical and immigration interview. Step Four: Medical and Interview Approximately four weeks after submitting the DS-260 online and the supplemental materials via中信银行, you should receive another email from Immigration Visa Unit to schedule your medical and interview. This email includes a link to the website where you’ll schedule the interview. It’s the same website you will have used in step three. Medicals are not scheduled in advance. You simply show up and take a number. Hundreds of people do the medical exam each day. As such, it is important that you arrive early. To give you an idea of how many people do the medical each day, we were one of the first people in the door that morning and drew number 41. Medicals can be done in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Immigration interviews for Chinese citizens immigrating to the US are only held at the consulate general in Guangzhou. To save time and money, many people choose to travel to Guangzhou for the medical on Monday or Tuesday and schedule their interview for Wednesday or Thursday. If the medical is done early in the morning (e.g. at 7 am when they open), the results are available the same afternoon. This allows you to get everything done in one trip as opposed to doing one trip for the medical and another for the interview. The medical examination is thorough. If the beneficiary does not have records of prior immunization, then immunizations will be required. In my wife’s case, even though she had had the required immunizations as a child, the hospital at which she received the immunizations did not keep good medical records. As such, she was unable to provide evidence of immunization and required to receive the immunizations once again. The interview was also very straight forward. My wife would have been done much faster had the visa office not had so many questions regarding our financial situation and required a joint sponsor in the end. (Many of the extra questions asked concerned me returning to school in the fall and how we’d support ourselves while I pursued my Ph. D.) Some individuals are done in as little as two minutes. My wife’s took a little under ten minutes. For the medical examination, you must prepare and bring with you: Copies of the two emails sent to you by the Immigration Visa Unit (i.e. the one giving instructions for the completion of the DS-260 and the one allowing you to schedule your medical and visa interview). Copy of the visa interview confirmation page (you’ll get this once you schedule your interview). Six two-inch passport photos with a white background (the picture should be taken without glasses, if the beneficiary wears glasses). For the interview, you must prepare and bring with you: Forms: Visa appointment confirmation I-864 (completed by petitioner) DS-260 Consular Electronic Application Center - Print Application DS-260 Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration - Confirmation Page Notarizations and translations (see example of format required by the US embassy attached): Notarization/translation of beneficiary’s birth certificate Notarization/translation of beneficiary’s hukou Notarization/translation of beneficiary’s criminal background check Notarization/translation of beneficiary’s marriage certificate Notarization/translation of petitioner’s marriage certificate Notarization/translation of child(ren)’s birth certificate Proof of bona fide marriage: Photos US Consular Report of Birth Abroad for children (if applicable) (copy) Child(ren)’s passport’s biodata page (if applicable) (copy) Any other evidence which proves the legitimacy of your relationship (e.g. marriage certificates, joint apartment/housing lease, matching passport stamps for travel abroad, etc.) Financials: Petitioner’s 1040 tax returns (at least three years) Petitioner’s savings account statements Letter from petitioner’s US employer (if applicable) Beneficiary’s savings account statement Misc. financials (e.g. IRA statements, etc.) Supplemental Financials (if required): Joint-sponsorship I-864 (completed by petitioner’s relative) Joint-sponsor’s passport biodata page (copy) Joint-sponsor’s 1040 tax returns (at least three years) Copies: Beneficiary’s passport biodata page (copy) Beneficiary’s national identification card (copy) Petitioner’s passport biodata page (copy) Petitioner’s birth certificate (copy) Petitioner’s Chinese resident permits (copy) Miscellaneous: Beneficiary’s six 2-inch passport photos Beneficiary’s resume Copies of two emails sent by Immigration Visa Unit The beneficiary will be required to pay for the visa immigration interview prior to the interview. This fee is not refunded if the interview is unsuccessful. If successful, the beneficiary will submit his/her passport. It will be returned via post to the 中信银行 within 15 business days. The visa will be included in the returned passport as will be the immigration packet. This packet must remain sealed until it is handed over to the border official upon entering the United States. Altogether, the process is straightforward and painless. Hopefully the information provided above can assist you in this process. Good luck!

On Form G-325A on the section about employment at the present time. I have not worked since August 2016. What do I type? Before I came to Chengdu I worked at the same company for nearly nine years. Thank you

My wife and I are living in Chengdu. We need a little advise on what we should type on the address part of the Form I-130 sections B.2 and C.2. The section B.2 is my section to type the address. Should the address be where we are living in Chengdu? The section C.2 is my wife's section to type the address. Should the address be where we are living in Chengdu? Thank you Nick and Hua

My wife and I are living in Chengdu. She is Chinese. We will be going to Guangzhou in April to DCF. On Form I-130 on the top it says address. My address is on the left and my wife's address is on the right. Do we type our addresses where we are staying in Chengdu? Also on Form G-325A I have not worked since August 2016 so do I type unemployed on both parts? The full name and address, and occupation. Do I type none on both parts? Thank you Nick and Hua

Hello everyone! We need your advise. Background is following - we are couple of married foreigners who are currently living (working visa) in China and planning our relocation to the USA (my husband is from the USA and I am from Ukraine) . On September 6th we have applied our i-130 petition at the Consulate in Guangzhou. On 18th of October we got their email with the request to give them an additional postal address, as they sent a letter to providen address, but it was not delivered. In a couple days we got their mail with the request of sending them our passport size photos. The date on the letter, however, was listed as September 19th. We sent them photos asap and still then we haven't heard anything from them. Shall we send them and email or just wait? Kind regards, Natalia

USCIS will increase immigration application filing fees next month, up to $570 on December 23rd 2016! Applications and petitions postmarked or filed on or after December 23, 2016, must include the new higher filing fees or USCIS will reject your submission. Avoid paying the higher fees. Prepare & submit your immigration application before the December deadline.

Hello everybody. I am new here. I am thinking of getting ready for my wife’s IR1 visa application to start soon. I was Chinese citizen before but now US citizen. My wife is Chinese citizen, working and living in Beijing currently. I have recently retired. From now on I probably would be able to spend majority of the time in Beijing, with my wife until she is ready to retire, but periodically returning to US for relatively shorter time as needed during the years to come. Am I eligible to do DCF in Beijing on behalf of my wife? Any comments would be really appreciated.

Can joint saving account be the marriage evident ? How about joint car ownership? Thanks ! There is no reason to. Nothing on the form indicates you would need to. Yes. Thank you - you can fill it out either way.

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

My wife and I will be filing the get permanent residence status for my mother in-law, my wife's mother. She is here on a B2 visa now and is getting older and will not work here, also she partially blind. I think I have all the forms for this: I-130 filled out by my wife I-485 filled in as her mother I-864 filled in by myself I-693 filled in by wife G-325A about her mother The questions that have on the forms are: The I-485 Part 2 I am applying for an adjustment to permanent resident status because: (letter H) Not sure what to put, don't want to get denied. Do we file all the documents at the same time? USCIS does not make it easy to figure out. Any help would be great. Frank & Stephanie

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

We received an email saying that our I-130 paperwork had been approved and to begin work on DS-260, but we still haven't received a hard copy in the mail. Should we be concerned? If so, whom do we contact? Been searching the site, but don't see an answer yet. Thanks so much!

Hi, I will be flying to Guangzhou next week to hand in my I-130 and supporting documents. I have been studying many of the older posts on the site and triple checking all of my documents. One thing that worries me is that on the I-130 that I downloaded from the USCIS webiste it shows that the form expires on 12/31/2015. Is this something to worry about? Have they just not updated the form? Thanks in advance...

I have a question about G-325A. Should I fill it with all Capital letter ?

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

Question about number 14. If you are a lawful permanent resident alien.... Date and place of admission for... Where are they located ?

This is my first time to post; I'm thankful for all the great information that you guys have put out there. My husband and I currently live in Chengdu, but he is from Fujian. We want to file our address in Chengdu for the I-130 paperwork so that we can receive them there, rather than them being mailed to his parents' village, which is where his hukou is. His residency card in Chengdu has expired. At the moment we cannot renew it (that's another story). Is it possible to submit paperwork for the I-130 with a different address than our "white books"? Do we just need to submit a letter explaining why? Can anyone advise on this? Thanks so much. ZHWei

I am writing this for a few reasons. First, I have questions and wanted to make sure this was a good cover letter. Secondly, if it is, I hope it can be a good resource for others to use. For 4 I write a copy of my passport. Do I need a copy of my passport if I include a copy of my birth certificate? If I do need it, is it a copy of every single page? I only have a single visa and 1 page of stamps in my entire passport...so if I do that, can I put multiple pages of my passport onto one page for the application? For 6, do I make a photocopy of the white book that I got for our wedding certificate, a copy of our original wedding certificate, or both? For 7, this just happens to be the evidence that I have. Does this look like enough, or too much? For those who would like to use this as a guide later, add or subtract what evidence you have or don't have! Thanks to those who have helped me, will help me, and my best wishes to those who might benefit from this!

Hello Community ! I see that the Chinese spouse Birth Certificate is now not required when filling out the I-130, according the guide section on this forum. Will we need one later on in the CR-1 process? Also what is the recommended number of translated notarized copies ( white books ) you all suggest for the divorce and marriage documents? What about the fees for these pre copy? How many days does it usually take to have them translated and notarized?

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