Search the Community

Hello everyone, I have a couple questions about the green card process with many more to come in the future, I’m sure. First, I’ll tell you a bit about our situation. My wife and I have been married for 4 and a half years. She is Chinese and has a 10 year – 180 day - B1/B2 US Visa. I am American, and we have a 10 month old American daughter who was born here in Shanghai. We’ve been living together in Shanghai for the last couple years but are getting ready to move to the US. We were originally going to DCF but I’m a bit concerned with the I-864 as I’m currently unemployed here in China and because my occupation when I'm in the US is an IBEW union electrician. If you know anything about union trade work, you know that there isn’t really such a thing as a work contract that is signed in advance, or that lasts for a certain amount of time, or that shows a yearly salary. I need to actually be there and start working to show all of that, which is what I'd like to do if possible I know a joint sponsor would be a solution but I’d rather not have to ask my dad to be one unless I absolutely have to. I also know that I could move back ahead of them and start working but splitting up our family is not an option. Questions: Is there a way to start the green card process for my wife while we’re still here in China, then we all move to the US and I start working to build up some pay-stubs and proof of income before filing the I-864? Or maybe even move to the States with my wife on her current B1/B2 visa and then start the whole process from there with an AOS after I’ve been working for a bit? Isn’t the I-864 normally one of the last things submitted? If that’s the case, couldn’t I make it to where there’s enough time between the start of the process and the filing of the I-864 for me to work most of next year, file taxes for next year, and then have a tax return to submit showing decent income while we all live there together? I was thinking you had a certain window (like 2 years) that you could wait to finish the whole process once it was started? Could that help me out with this situation? What are our options? Do we even have options? Thanks for your help in advance, Tom

Hello Everyone, Your help is greatly appreciated. My wife currently works in Beijing. She has had 10 yrs B1 Visa before we married in U.S. in 2016. Now she plans to retire in 2 yrs. We are thinking maybe it's time to start I-130, CR1, and so on. But we are not so sure what is going to happen to her current B1 Visa. 1. Can she still use her current B1 travel to/from U.S.? 2. If not, what other traveling document does she need to apply during the period while she would be waiting for her CR1 visa? 3. What any other possible options might be available for her to be able to travel to/from U.S. while she would be waiting for her CR1 visa? Thanks a lot in advance

Hello everyone, I have filed I-130 for my Chinese wife thru Chicago Lockbox in July 2018. It was accepted to Texas, but the wait times are getting way too long. I am wondering if I should try to file again thru DCF with USCIS Beijing although I believe my situation is not so straight forward. I tried to get a definite answer from USCIS Beijing, but their response is that every case is different and I will need to make an inquiry in person, so I would like to hear your suggestions on rather I should travel to Beijing to attempt for DCF. Here’s my issues: I am an US citizenI was born in Hong Kong, so I have a HKID card and the Mainland Travel PermitI only use the Mainland Travel Permit to live/work/enter and exit China. I have never used my US passport to get into ChinaI met my wife in Shanghai and we are still living there togetherI still work in ShanghaiWe got our marriage certificate in the US For proof of residence in China, will the following be enough?: Work permit (I don’t have a resident permit, as this is no longer issued for Mainland Travel Permit holders)Employment contractBank statements Thank you for your help!

Hello everyone, First of all a big thanks to everyone who's posted helpful guides of the DCF process for those of us living here in China wanting to bring our Chinese spouses over to the US. Everything was going well and approved (thanks to the advice on this website) until today when my wife had her interview in Guangzhou. When it came time for the interview, the visa officer asked her a few questions about our relationship but was mostly interested in our plan for when we go back to the US. When she started describing what she would do, he cut her off and asked about me (the petitioner and US citizen) and what my plan was. She told him truthfully that I was going to go back to school part-time and work part-time. After hearing that he declared that a part-time job wasn't enough to support two people so my wife answered that we'd have to stay with my mom (who is her joint sponsor) until we could save some money. She also suggested that we would both be working when we got into the US. He still didn't like this so he asked if I currently had a job in the US to which she answered no, because I am still working in China. Lastly he asked if I owned any property in the US to which my wife again answered no. After that he didn't ask her any more questions and gave her a white checklist for various petitioner documents with the section for "evidence of the petitioner's intent to establish and/or current domicile in the US" checked off. She also got a three-page document "9 FAM 40.41 N7 Domicile and the Form I-864" that lists the various requirements for domicile. Initially I was very confused why she got a request for this information because I had made a nice packet with a written letter of intent to re-establish domicile in the US and included a copy of my passport, birth certificate, driver's license, acceptance letter to study part-time in Fall of 2018, investment account statement, auto loan statement, insurance statement, bank statements and credit card statements. However, I didn't stick these with my form I-864 and instead had them as a separate "packet" in the front of the application binder. The document intake person didn't specifically ask for these documents (only form I-864 from me and our joint sponsor) and my wife didn't know how important they were so she didn't hand them in. What I am confused about is if I must include proof that I have a job in the US due to how much the visa officer asked about whether or not I had one or if my bank account, investment, auto loan statements, etc. that I had originally prepared (and they didn't see) are enough? I did some research and found on travel.state.gov's I-864 section under the heading "If a petitioner does not have a domicile in the United States can a joint sponsor file form I-864?" it says:"No, the petitioner must meet all the requirements to be a sponsor (age, domicile and citizenship), except those related to income, before there can be a joint sponsor." When reading that it sounds like I just need to prove my domicile in the United States with things like bank statements, etc. but not necessarily have a job already lined up since we have a joint sponsor whose income is $64,000, is this correct? I want to make absolutely sure that I give them enough evidence to show my domicile in the US. Also, after I submit these documents through CITIC bank, is this a "one chance" deal where if the evidence still isn't enough, we have to start all over or is it a back-and-forth process until we meet their requirements? Secondly, will my wife need to interview again? She said that before leaving the visa officer said there was nothing wrong with her interview but that they needed more information. Aside from the two white pieces of paper mentioned earlier, we have not received any further information from the embassy.I have not seen anyone else mention that a job in the US is mandatory although I understand it can be a big help. Thanks for any advice/information others can provide.

Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum and hope to seek better understanding of this process and help. Me and my husband, who is a Chinese National, recently got married (last month). I am 25 and he is 29 years old. We want to begin this process as soon as possible, however we thought we may need a lawyer for our situation. For example, my husband last year applied for a tourist visa twice and was declined twice under 214b. We think he was declined because he was honest and stated he wanted to visit his girlfriend's family and friends. We thought that because of this maybe we needed a lawyer for our Spousal visa. However the lawyer keeps changing prices and its up to 3,400 dollars, so we are really reconsidering if a lawyers help is really necessary. If we don't go with the lawyer, we would most likely apply through the Guangzhou UCIS consulate, however we don't know where to begin. We don't want this to be a repeat of the tourist visa again. That was just disheartening because he wanted to do things right and meet my family and friends first. But alas.... So from what I gathered from these threads is that I need to gather: Make an appointment with UCIS Guangzhou, bring in the below documents: 1. I-130 Form 2. I-130A Form 3. Proof of my residency in China 4. 2 passport size photos for me and my husband 5. Passport 6. Confirmation page And is that it? Is that the first step? If so, how long will it be until I receive a response after?

Hey Everyone, The posts here have been so helpful. I will be submitting our I-130 for IR1 visa in Beijing in July and I was wondering a few things. I used the cover letter that was suggested as a guide for all of the evidence that I have collected for this first round. I am wondering for the evolution of relationship letter, who got them notarized? I am thinking that they signature is enough, but want to hear everyones thoughts. Also, did your spouse beneficiaries also write an evolution of relationship letter? the G-325a document is no longer available correct? The new form to be filled out by the spouse is the I-130a? thank you for everyone's help

Any idea how long the processing time for the i-130 is supposed to be? I submitted it to Guangzhou on August 17. Filled out the form where they are supposed to email or contact me but I haven't heard back yet. It's been 12 days and it's going to be two weeks by Thursday.

Hello Everyone, So I am doing a dry run of filling out the i-130 form and I have a question about 5 years of addresses and employment. About 3 1/2 years ago my SO and I were working in southern thailand, at the same school. Our job provided us housing and a small salary, which they were not paying completely and had weird excuses about why we were not getting the full salary. Long story short we lasted only a few months their, they hadn't even finished processing our work visas completely. So as I am filling out the form, I am realizing we never got the address of the place where we lived. I tried google maps and other things to see if I could get a street view or something. nothing panned out. My question is, has anyone had experience with a problem such as this? or with any missing address or employment information? How did you proceed in filling out your application? Thanks everyone for your help!

Hi All, Before I start, I wanted to thank everyone again for your help over the years. This will be my 6th year in China and I will be leaving soon （next August 2018), your site/members have been very helpful when I needed it. I just had a few questions regarding how my wife and I should proceed before heading back. - my wife has her green card but we applied for the reentry permit for several years until recently when we allowed it to expire. This means if we go back anytime to the states, they will cut up her card and send her back. - at this moment since we are only 13 weeks into the pregnancy and my wife is able to travel, what process would benefit her more? I was considering the B-2 visa to get into the states then apply for her green card again...but she was considering the CR1 visa which I am not very clear how that works, etc... - our child should be born around Feb/March next year after that I believe from reading the forums here that he/she would be an automatic Chinese citizen since my wife is Chinese and we are in China. After my wife's visa is worked out, I thought we need to visit the Shanghai consulate and register our child...is there a general process for this? Sorry I know this covers many topics, so thank you all in advance for helping on this. Bill

I'm currently embarking on the green card process for the wife and have read a very rich amount of information on this forum. Thank goodness for it. I'm the type of person to only begin filling things out after I think I have a good enough understanding of what to expect, what comes next, etc. So, now that I've done a lot of reading, and am now in the "doing" part (filling the forms) I have come across this thought of which language to file in. I mean, obviously English. But I'm not sure if I should do it in English-English or if I should do it in Pinyin-English. For the name of my wife, and also for the addresses and such. Should I put it in translated English, or should I write it all in Pinyin (which is much more convenient and forthcoming?)

I have a question about I-864 to get some suggestions on: I'm quitting my job in China for a job in China (so doing CR-1 for my spouse). My last day of work in China is May 17 The Guangzhou interview is May 18 I already have a signed job offer in the US and start June 19 What do I write for I-864 Part 6. Sponsor's Employment and Income If I fill out the form before May 17, then I could write my job in China, but that would seem misleading on the interview date since I no longer work there If I fill out the form for May 18, then I could write not employed, but that seem misleading since I already have a signed job offer I could write the future job, but I haven't started yet so I don't yet have income from that jobThe salary from either is more than sufficient to show ability to support our family. I'm thinking option #1 and including an explanation letter. Any thoughts?

rjw - the board software seems to have dropped the 中文 characters in this thread. I will be re-entering them as I can find them. Foreword: This guide is written to help Americans living in China doing Direct Consulate Filing to bring their families to the United States through an I-130 petition. This is written based on my wifes and my experience in getting her Visa/Green Card through this process. Of all the methods available to get a Green Card, this is definitely the fastest and most convenient. I am in no way trying to replace the great stickied guide available here, and I actually suggest using this in conjunction with it. I will try to avoid repeating information there, and instead give direction on where to get certain documents, what the costs are, and give some other suggestions of my own. If this guide doesnt answer any of your more specific questions regarding a particular step or form, there is probably an answer somewhere in the forums. If you still cant find it, dont hesitate to post your own questions. There are many helpful people who will be quick to share their knowledge and experience! Included in this guide are our timeline, costs at every point in the visa, and a step by step breakthrough of each step of the application process. They will be posted as replies to this topic. All of this information is accurate as of May 2016. I cant emphasize enough the importance of over preparing and doing it early. Not only will it ensure a quicker, smoother application process, but it will also give you a peace of mind and confidence that can get you through the frustrations of everything. A piece of advice I heard from someone else is this. Remember, it isnt you and your significant other fighting against the consulate or the government. As a citizen of the United States you have the right to take your family with you back to the United States, and the government has the responsibility to help you do it. So follow the (sometimes unclear) instructions, get through all the red tape, and you will have no problem. I will also include the Chinese names of many of the documents or places, as that should makes things easier for your spouse. Our Timeline: 4/12/2016 - Submitted I-130 4/18/2016 - Received e-mail with instructions to submit DS-260 4/22/2016 - Submitted DS-260 online 4/25/2016 - Submitted additional paperwork through CITIC bank 5/3/2016 - Received e-mail with instructions to schedule interview 5/17/2016 - Medical and Vaccinations 5/19/2016 - Picked up medical results and passed interview 5/23/2016 - Online status showed visa issued ??/??/2016 - Picked up visa from CITIC Bank Major Costs: I paid in a mixture of both RMB and USD throughout this process. Anything paid for at the consulate can be paid in either currency or with a credit card. Chinese documents obviously need to be paid for with RMB, and the green card fee needs to be paid in USD. I-130 Submission - $420 Notarial Certificates ֤ 1000-1500 RMB (Every ֤ will have different costs, and you can choose how many copies of each document that you want notarized. We paid 230 for one, and 40 for each additional copy) Medical and Full Round of Vaccinations C 1362 RMB Interview - 2200 RMB Green Card Processing Fee - $160 Total - $1400 (approximately) Note: There are also many smaller fees for getting passport photos, printing documents, etc.

Hello! I am planning to get married to a woman from China soon, and either do so here in China or possibly go back to the US and get married there. I have gone through a divorce from a woman whom I married and filed for the CR-1 visa previously about a decade ago. The divorce was over 4 years ago. I have been living here in China for quite a while since my divorce (which was slightly after my ex-wife received her citizenship) and am hoping to not get stuck in China for too much longer (due to health issues and whatnot). My wife-to-be's parents have already dragged things out as much as possible to try and keep us from going to the US, and are trying to get her to postpone our wedding for about 16-18 months for planning of the ceremony (obviously not necessary). My fiancee is not "allowed" by her parents to live with me even after we sign our papers, and only can after the wedding ceremony (which I obviously am not going to wait the 16+ months for). Regarding the K1, it seems like it may be a good option since this way we can go to the States sooner, however, the CR-1 would allow us to get married in China and not need to fly back here and have a ceremony in China after the US ceremony which would be convenient. 1. Can I (probably with my wife-to-be) travel back to the US for an extended period of time AFTER filing for the CR-1, or will this look bad? 2. Having been through this process before, would either of the choices be better in terms of a higher probability of a positive interview experience? I wasn't sure how much previously having divorced would affect things. A few people have told me they heard the K1 is easier to get, so I figure if that's the case I may go that route.

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

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!

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

Hello, everyone! I have a question - while we were waiting for approval of i-130 and so on our marrige had our 2nd year anniversary. Yesterday we got an email regarding the appointment for the interview. But in order to do that we have to chose the category of the visa. Do we have to select CR1 (as it mentioned at the i-130) or IR1 (because last week we had 2nd year anniversary)? Kind regards, Nataliia

I will probably ask my Chinese girlfriend to marry me soon. She lives in Beijing, but got her MBA in the US and speaks excellent English. Neither of us want to live in China, and she can't legally come here to live until visa is approved, but we want to be together. Is it possible for us to get married, immediately apply for CR1 visa and travel the world for a while so we can be together. Then have the interview somewhere else in Canada, Israel or Europe, without having to return back to China, and move to the USA in 6-12 months when the visa is approved?

Hi all, Just a quick question we wanted to get off our minds: My wife and applied for the CR1 through NVC from the states (using a stateside lockbox). Her interview in GZ is in 2 days. We were looking through all of the directions again and just want to make super sure (because it is very confusing) the following is true: If we chose to submit our documents electronically through NVC and had our interview scheduled through NVC, there is no need to send anything to GZ consulate directly through Citic bank before the interview. From the posts on this website, I figured out that sending documents through Citic was only for people doing a DCF, therefore not applicable to us. Correct? Sorry if we are being paranoid. We never received any instructions about Citic, but just don't want to have missed any important steps somehow. Many thanks! Gary

Hi, I gave CR1 visa interview at New Delhi, India embassy. After interview they said congratulations, you visa has been approved. When I went to pick up passport after 4 days, they gave me 221g mentioning that there is something wrong with China Police Certificate. Now our case is in administrative processing. My current police certificate is attached. Can someone please share screenshot of their police certificate (you can hide your personal information) so I can find what is wrong with police certificate i submitted.

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.

Hi Sorry if this topic has been addressed before! Does the applicant need to bring a white book copy of his family hukou to the GUZ interview? And, Does the applicant need police record check certificates for each city he has lived in in China? Or just from his hometown? We have a white book translated official certificate that was issued for him in his home city, but he's also lived in 3 other cities in China - does he need anything from there? He's been living in Shanghai for the last 2 years, does he need one from here? (please God, no) Our Interview is in one week... Last Question: We didn't get an email confirming our interview time, but we have a screenshot of the confirmation page after we made the appointment on the website...can we just print this out?? Or should we print something from UStraveldocs.com? Thanks guys!

Hello all! Very important and puzzling questions we've got here... My husband is a Chinese citizen, and I am a US citizen. We are applying for a CR-1 visa for him, and the immigrant visa instructions for the police certificates say (the bold refers to the areas which I don't completely understand): Each applicant aged 16 years or older must submit a police certificate from (1) the police authorities of each locality of the country of the applicant’s nationality, (2) country of residence at the time of visa application if the applicant has resided there for at least 6 months, (3) from all other countries where the applicant has resided for at least 12 months, and (4) from the police authorities of any place where the applicant has been arrested for any reason, regardless of how long he or she lived there... Police certificates must cover the entire period of the applicant’s residence in any area. A certificate issued by the police authorities where applicants now reside must be of recent date when presented to the consular officer... Check the reciprocity schedule at http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/fees/reciprocity-by-country.htmlfor police certificate requirements for various countries. Question 1 (refer to the first and third bold areas): My husband has lived in four cities in China (his home country) since the age of 16. Does he need to get a police report for each place he has lived? Question(s) 2: My husband has lived in the UK and South Korea for over 12 months. Does he have to get a police certificate from the bureaus in the cities in which he lived in the UK and South Korea? And how can he do that from China? Can he go to their embassies in Shanghai and request the police reports there? Question 3: The reciprocity schedule website states it is listing information for non-immigrant visas...so why is this information included in the immigrant visa information packet?!