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Filing form 130 again. Did it in 2018 or so, mailed in a giant packet of printed forms and evidence. This time, I noticed that the webpages directed me to file via the USCIS online system. I also read this from the US embassies website in China (link: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/petition-alien-relative-form-1302/ ) So I take it the processing has being re-routed somewhere else? Hence, how I ended up filling out the forms online? Apologies I don't have any links to share to show that, but I remember feeling as if all of the directions were encouraging me to do the online form instead of the mail in. The reason I'm asking is: I remember there being a clear time benefit with the DCF process. I recall waiting 3-6 months the first time, whereas with this filing, my wait time is 10 months. Is the time benefit we once enjoyed by filing DCF to Guangzhou no longer a thing, since the processing is now routed to the State Department? AUGUST 7, 2021 As of February 1, 2020, the processing of form I-130 at US Consulate Guangzhou has been transferred to the Department of State. Please contact the Immigrant Visa section if you are eligible to file a I-130 petition at the US Consulate Guangzhou based on “exceptional circumstances”. For all other I-130 petitions that do not meet the “exceptional circumstances” standard, please consult https://www.uscis.gov/i-130 for instructions on how to “File Online” or the location of where you can mail your completed petition."
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The USCIS has announced that same sex couples can file for spousal visas. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=2543215c310af310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=2543215c310af310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD It is possible that we may get new members who are same sex couples with questions. If we do please give them the same consideration you would any other member with legitimate questions. -
Sorry, I could not find a calmer article discussing this, but this one caused me to look at the new I-485 form (the old ones were meant to expire in Dec 2018, the new ones 6/30/2019). Some questions on the new one: 1. Have you ever been arrested, cited, charged, or detained for any reason by any reason by any law enforcement official (including but not limited to any U.S. Immigration official or any official of the U.S. Armed forces or U.S. Coast Guard)? 2. Have you EVER committed a crime of any kind (even if you were not arrested, cited, charged with, or tried for that crime)? The second of the two examples I put up there is definitely a minefield. https://www.cato.org/blog/trump-admin-doubles-immigration-form-length-says-itll-take-no-more-time-do-0 Increased complexity and ambiguity may increase need to hire an attorney. No comment re whether or not it will speed things up or slow them down: Admininistration Doubles Immigration Form Length, Says It’ll Take No More Time to Do The Trump administration has quietly made immigration more difficult for people seeking to immigrate to the United States. It has increased the length of immigration applications significantly. Since January, it has increased the length of 15 immigration forms, yet at the same time, it claims that most of these forms will take no more time to complete. The table below presents a list of all of the forms that the new administration has increased since January and how long each administration estimated the forms would take to complete. Collectively, immigration forms have doubled in length, but key forms like the I-485 to adjust to permanent residency were tripled. The I-130 to sponsor a relative increased sixfold. U.S. citizens will need to fill out nine times as many pages to sponsor a spouse as they did last year. It’s a monsoon of bureaucracy. -
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
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Hello all, small question I can't find online. My partner submitted a medical birth certificate with a US notarized translation for I-130/I-485. She was born after 1996, 1998. Sources indicate online, if born after 1996 a chu sheng gong zheng shu is NOT needed, just the medical birth certificate. Last week I received notice that the birth certificate was not accepted and a chu sheng gong zheng shu was needed. Is this correct, as my partner was born AFTER 1996. My partner is in america so it is very hard to get a chu sheng gong zheng shu. Is there an easy way to do this and do I even NEED to? All things suggest I just need the medical birth certificate. I apologize if this has been asked before, I search all over and could only find one similar but not exact post. Thank you! -
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'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?
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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
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This is my first post. I’ve gotten a ton of valuable information from this community and so far I’ve been able to find answers to all my questions here! However I’ve hit a roadblock and we are working on a tight timeline so I need some help. My husband was born in the US and lived there till he was 6 years old before leaving due to his dads work which brought him to many countries. He returned to the US at age 17 for university for 4 years. During university he traveled in and out of the US to visit his family. After that he moved back home and never lived or worked in the US but would travel back for business or pleasure. He definitely meets the 5 year physical (incl 2 years after age 14) presence requirement for our children to receive CBRA. However he does not have his first passport which shows his first 6 full years in the US. He has his university transcripts and passports showing his total presence in the US after age 14 to be just under 4 years. We have been married for 15 years and have two children born in China, aged 8 and 10. We live in Beijing but never went to the US consulate there to register their birth. We never went through the CRBA process because we could not provide evidence of the total 5 years physical presence before the children worn born. My husband found work in the US and left in January to start a new job there. Myself and the kids are still in China trying to get our PR or passports to join him. We hope to leave in June after the school year so that the children can start school in the US in August. Since we did not file CRBA, in December he filed a petition for all three of us to obtain immigrant visas. The process has been smooth and quick. We received notice to book our interviews in early March and I’m busy gathering all the documents for the interview which we plan to schedule in May. However, after much research and talking to someone in a similar situation it seems that we need to prove that our CRBA was denied and its not our own choice to choose either CRBA or I-130. My husband will be back in May to try filing CRBA and get US passports for the children. If that is denied then he should get a letter of denial which we will present at our immigrant visa interview. My questions are: 1. Is this a feasible plan? 2. If CRBA is denied, do we get the denial letter on that day? Because we would like to go for our medical and immigrant interview ASAP after the denial. 3. Will Guangzhou accept the denial letter at the interview or was it supposed to be submitted at petition time? I wonder why they didn’t ask for that when it’s clear that my husband is a US citizen through birth in the US. 4. If we go our our visa interview in mid May, would we be able to leave China on the last week of June? -
Hi Everyone, So to update my situation from a few months ago, we will travel to Guangzhou next Thursday to file the I-407 to abandon her green card for our Friday appt. at 830am (we fly in the night before). I was wondering on a few points if someone could help clarify... - Filing fee for I-407 is free, but the I-130 fee is $535 USD per the USCIS website. Can I pay that when we visit the consulate with my credit card or pay in RMB cash? - I made the appointment for the I-407 but the last post I did, it was recommended I also do the I-130 as well. Do I need to make a separate appointment for that? Or do I just tell the officer helping us with the I-407 that we also want to file the I-130? - Her delivery date is late January next year, so we will arrange her interview for the IR-1 after they are ok to travel. I have the needed information for our child to get his passport so that's not an issue for now. Thanks again in advance for everyones advice on these issues. I don't come here as often as I should but when I do there is always plenty of helpful people and information for me as well. Bill and Wen -
Hello Everybody, I was reading the how to direct file with the consular and I noticed that the information is a little old. I printed off the G-325A and then noticed it expired and now there is a I-130A. I know that the petitioner and beneficiary had to file the G-325A when submitting the I-130. Now I am confused about how many I-130A. Could somebody please help understand what is needed now to file in Guangzhou. -
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.
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On the i-130 where you list all previous employment, does being a student count? My first reaction was no, but I saw this suggestion given on immihelp or nola or one of those other help sites... In hindsight, I know that whenever filing taxes, I"ve often used "student" in the employment category too. It's a pretty common thing. So when looking back to my past five years here, should I include my time that I was enrolled in a local university degree program? i.e., employer, XYZ University, position: Student
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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! -
My step son, who is now a US citizen, has recently applied for his wife (who is in China) to come here to US. He filed I-130 form. Recently, I suppose it was approved and his wife has received an appointment for interview in Guangzhou. The two of them were married here in US while she was here on student visa. Her visa expired meaning she had to return to China, and has been there over a year. I believe she is applying for the F2A Visa. If all goes well with her interview, how much longer might this process take? I have heard that it is fairly immediate that she will be able to return here. Thank you very much.
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Hello all CFL members ; I just checked my wife's I-130 petition status on line for her 13 years old son and it said it was denied on Feb 7 ,2017 . Have not received the letter and the explanation for denial reason . He was living with his father but he is biological son of my wife . His father has recently signed a transfer for his custody to my wife . We did not include this court document in the I-130 application . My wife has been in this country for over 5 years and still maintaining her LPR status . I am confused what could be the reason ? Waiting anxiously for the USCIS letter . Anyone who wants to guess ? -
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?) -
Good afternoon. My intended asked me which would better to marry in China or come to the US via the 129 visa and marry in America? I could not give a definite answer to her. Any suggestions?
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If a lady enters the USA on a visitor's visa and marries an American citizen while here on that visa, do we have to worry at all about the lack of a K-1 visa?
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Its been a long time coming and its a relief to get this process going. Here's my questions about the process: On a lot of the checklists it doesn't mention the marriage certificate itself needs to be brought to the application. I didn't bring it foolishly and he asked if I had it. He said I may need to add it later if asked. Is this normal? I had the white book and thought that was enough. Secondly they took and kept my wife's passport. Is this normal? I thought it was quite odd. Thanks Nathan
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I'm the USC living in China for the last 5 years. We are preparing documents now for DCF in Guangzhou. Do I need my real birth certificate and social security card? These are still in America at my permanent residence (my parents home) I'm worried about mailing these important documents to China, if this is the case. Can my parents get notarized copies in America and send them here? It's a much safer option, but will they be accepted by VO? Thanks! Sarah
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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.
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1. Do I have to deliver the i-130 in person or can I mail it? 2. I have a family visa (, which is a residence permit for foreigners. Does this qualify for applying for the K-3 for my Chinese wife? 3. Is the K-3 still a viable option? Is it faster than cr1 or whatever? 4. Why they heck don't embassies allow people to contact them with questions? If anyone can answer any of these questions, it's much appreciated. Thanks!
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We filed in Guangzhou on April 06 2017 and got an email saying to fill out DS-260 on April 14 2017. I actually made a mistake in making the appointment with the second floor at Guangzhou instead of the third floor. I called the Guangzhou consulate and talked to the man that works there and he arranged for us to come in without an appointment. He basically made us an appointment. Very happy to have this step done.
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Hey all, I just want to say excellent source of visa information here. I'm in the initial stage of filling out the I-130 and on Part 4. Information about beneficiary (cont.) The instructions state to use the beneficiary's native script for the foreign name and address. I entered the characters for her name without any problem, the address however changes characters after fully input into the form, what gives? Using microsoft pinyin new experience input method. Here's a before and after: After typing out the address: After selecting the next field or hitting enter: Any help or insight would be much appreciated, thanks
