Interview Paperwork...

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

...and contigencies...

 

It will come as no surprise to those of you that have been involved in the visa process for any length of time that there are a good deal of inconsistencies. In defense of US Government, inconsistencies are a part of any government beauracracy, but it seems the US Visa process has more than its fair share. It is for this reason that the most important thing one can do is to have a plan "B" at all junctures. Case in point....

 

Lan and I prepared paperwork together throughout the process. All P3 and P4 forms are available for download at various locations on the internet in PDF format. Some of the forms are fillable, meaning you can open the form with a copy of Adobe Acrobat and save it to a file for later retrieval, emailing, modification, etc., which greatly facilitates communication between our partners in China. Unfortunately, some government officials may accept electronically completed forms, and some may not. It's just that simple. One official may state a certain form is needed, while another may disagree. One official may request telephone and communication records, and another may not.

 

Lan shares with me that there were many women that showed up for the interview that were alarmingly unprepared, bringing little to no corroborating evidence like receipts, photos, letters, completed forms, tax records, etc.

 

Yesterday, even after many months of painstaking preparation Lan and I were caught off-guard with a K2-snafu discussed in another post. Be aware that there is very little information available about the requirements relating to K2, and the information that is out there is vague at best. Technically, all K2's under age 15 must complete only the DS-157. The DS-157 is one of the many forms that may be downloaded in PDF format and completed electronically for later emailing and printing. But, be aware that one official may just love electronically completed forms, and another may not.

 

Before the interview, a Visa technician admonished Lan for not using the P4 forms she received in the mail and directed her to re-do each of them by hand. Each of every form we completed electronically was identical to the forms she received in the mail, but nevertheless were not accepted. Another visa technician may have accepted them, there is just no way of knowing.

 

Also, Lan was directed at the pre-interview medical meeting that she needed the DS-156, and DS-157 for her daughter. The medical facility did NOT have blank forms so Lan sought out trying to find blank forms. She located a facility that allowed her to use their computer and downloaded and completed the forms electronically. Because of the late hour, these completed forms were not included in the package sealed by the medical personnel, so Lan hand-carried these completed forms with her to the interview. When she arrived one official told her that she only needed the DS-156 for her daughter, but later the official the opened her packet directed her to re-do all electronically completed forms by hand, and include a copy of the DS-156k for her daughter. Yes, another additional form that technically is NOT needed for a K2 under age 16.

 

In summary, she was provided time and a place, and new forms to complete to the satisfaction of the days wind speed and direction. She was able to complete all forms very quickly by simply copying the information from one from to another.

[stacato]

Unbelievable... thank god you got yourself a smart cookie for an SO....

 

As for the goverment, inconsistencies, different forms, confusion etc....

This is the first time I hear about something like this happening in a goverment agency. You got me me there, brother....

 

May you have a great and long lasting life together!!!

[Kalli and Greg Oveson]

...and contigencies...

 

It will come as no surprise to those of you that have been involved in the visa process for any length of time that there are a good deal of inconsistencies. In defense of US Government, inconsistencies are a part of any government beauracracy, but it seems the US Visa process has more than its fair share. It is for this reason that the most important thing one can do is to have a plan "B" at all junctures. Case in point....

 

Lan and I prepared paperwork together throughout the process. All P3 and P4 forms are available for download at various locations on the internet in PDF format. Some of the forms are fillable, meaning you can open the form with a copy of Adobe Acrobat and save it to a file for later retrieval, emailing, modification, etc., which greatly facilitates communication between our partners in China. Unfortunately, some government officials may accept electronically completed forms, and some may not. It's just that simple. One official may state a certain form is needed, while another may disagree. One official may request telephone and communication records, and another may not.

 

Lan shares with me that there were many women that showed up for the interview that were alarmingly unprepared, bringing little to no corroborating evidence like receipts, photos, letters, completed forms, tax records, etc.

 

Yesterday, even after many months of painstaking preparation Lan and I were caught off-guard with a K2-snafu discussed in another post. Be aware that there is very little information available about the requirements relating to K2, and the information that is out there is vague at best. Technically, all K2's under age 15 must complete only the DS-157. The DS-157 is one of the many forms that may be downloaded in PDF format and completed electronically for later emailing and printing. But, be aware that one official may just love electronically completed forms, and another may not.

 

Before the interview, a Visa technician admonished Lan for not using the P4 forms she received in the mail and directed her to re-do each of them by hand. Each of every form we completed electronically was identical to the forms she received in the mail, but nevertheless were not accepted. Another visa technician may have accepted them, there is just no way of knowing.

 

Also, Lan was directed at the pre-interview medical meeting that she needed the DS-156, and DS-157 for her daughter. The medical facility did NOT have blank forms so Lan sought out trying to find blank forms. She located a facility that allowed her to use their computer and downloaded and completed the forms electronically. Because of the late hour, these completed forms were not included in the package sealed by the medical personnel, so Lan hand-carried these completed forms with her to the interview. When she arrived one official told her that she only needed the DS-156 for her daughter, but later the official the opened her packet directed her to re-do all electronically completed forms by hand, and include a copy of the DS-156k for her daughter. Yes, another additional form that technically is NOT needed for a K2 under age 16.

 

In summary, she was provided time and a place, and new forms to complete to the satisfaction of the days wind speed and direction. She was able to complete all forms very quickly by simply copying the information from one from to another.

232012[/snapback]

Jesse,

 

Thanks for this post, perhaps the most important I have seen here on Candle. For us, it is a good news/bad news kind of thing.

 

The good new being that we will be better prepared for any inconsistencies they throw at my SO next month.

 

The bad news being that, even though I should know better, I always expect logical, sensible responses from my government. Perhaps GUZ can speak to the reasoning behind this, and explain why the requirement for hand-written forms is not contained in their FAQ.

 

About the hand-written forms: Did Lan get the feeling that they wanted them done by the SO, or could I do them here by hand and mail them to China before the interview? (I guess we could do it both ways, be prepared for a different contingency.)

 

I'm happy for both of you, I'm thinking about following your lead and buying the airplane tickets now.

[david_dawei]

The hand written issue was a past problem.. Lee complained to consulate and they were supposed to send out notice to the medical facilities; it appeared to have changed their practice of demanding hand-written versions.

 

My SO was also caught in this issue... but i had told her to bring blanks since I saw this problem brewing... Bringing blanks to the medical is in the FAQ...

 

Now it seems like the consulate went back on their own word, requiring it at check-in; but it's unclear if they simply required this because the envelope was 'incomplete'...

[Guest pushbrk]

...and contigencies...

 

Before the interview, a Visa technician admonished Lan for not using the P4 forms she received in the mail and directed her to re-do each of them by hand. Each of every form we completed electronically was identical to the forms she received in the mail, but nevertheless were not accepted. Another visa technician may have accepted them, there is just no way of knowing.

 

232012[/snapback]

This little tidbit is disturbing indeed. All the English versions of our P4 forms are the fillable versions and my wife's brother in-law intends to assist them with typing the Chinese versions.

 

I sure as heck don't want my wife all stressed out just before the interview with this kind of unpleasant surprise. I suppose I'll just have to ask them to do them by hand ahead of time just in case.

 

What is a "visa technician" anyway?

[Lowen/Zhang]

This wonderful information clears my mind as to WHY my wife has been painstakingly handwriting all her forms over after I have sent to her filled forms from the attorney. I wonder now why did I even use an attorney?

My wife has said she read on 001 that handwritten forms were the best. I told her "No, use the forms the attorney made for you". I find that I indeed have a smart woman in my life. She has all the forms completed now and even discovered mistakes that I did not, even a very small issue such as my son's address missing the "Ave." after the street name making it inconsistant with my ex-wife's address. All I could say was "GREAT JOB" to her.

Congratulations on your success and praise your SO on a job well done!!!!!

Edited July 19, 2006 by Lowen/Zhang (see edit history)

[david_dawei]

...and contigencies...

 

Before the interview, a Visa technician admonished Lan for not using the P4 forms she received in the mail and directed her to re-do each of them by hand. Each of every form we completed electronically was identical to the forms she received in the mail, but nevertheless were not accepted. Another visa technician may have accepted them, there is just no way of knowing.

 

232012[/snapback]

This little tidbit is disturbing indeed. All the English versions of our P4 forms are the fillable versions and my wife's brother in-law intends to assist them with typing the Chinese versions.

 

I sure as heck don't want my wife all stressed out just before the interview with this kind of unpleasant surprise. I suppose I'll just have to ask them to do them by hand ahead of time just in case.

 

What is a "visa technician" anyway?

232043[/snapback]

I asked GUZSpeak to clarify their position about this.. This should not occur and hopefully we can avoid it happening to another by bringing it to their attention.

 

The only catch is that since some papers were hand carried to the interview which were supposed to be in the sealed envelope, maybe they have the discretion to request all the forms be filled out in front of them... If this is the case, then one can prepare if caught in this situation.

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

...and contigencies...

 

Before the interview, a Visa technician admonished Lan for not using the P4 forms she received in the mail and directed her to re-do each of them by hand. Each of every form we completed electronically was identical to the forms she received in the mail, but nevertheless were not accepted. Another visa technician may have accepted them, there is just no way of knowing.

 

232012[/snapback]

This little tidbit is disturbing indeed. All the English versions of our P4 forms are the fillable versions and my wife's brother in-law intends to assist them with typing the Chinese versions.

 

I sure as heck don't want my wife all stressed out just before the interview with this kind of unpleasant surprise. I suppose I'll just have to ask them to do them by hand ahead of time just in case.

 

What is a "visa technician" anyway?

232043[/snapback]

I asked GUZSpeak to clarify their position about this.. This should not occur and hopefully we can avoid it happening to another by bringing it to their attention.

 

The only catch is that since some papers were hand carried to the interview which were supposed to be in the sealed envelope, maybe they have the discretion to request all the forms be filled out in front of them... If this is the case, then one can prepare if caught in this situation.

232056[/snapback]

I'm told an unhappy Chinese woman was walking about that morning hell-bent on bringing grief to people's lives. This is the F-factor that everyone must plan for. To defy such a person in such a mood would be counter-productive. The best course of action is to simply follow the direction and try to stay out of rhe radar stream...