DCF - I-130 approval, what next?

[Sadie]

We filed our I-130 back in November in Beijing and received the "Notice of Approval" today. (It took over 3 months)

 

I was expecting that we would get a P3 and instructions about what to do next (DS-230 etc.) and not just a notice - but it seems I'm mistaken.

 

The only thing the letter states is that my petition has been sent to Guangzhou and they will contact the beneficiary (me) in at least 2 months with further instructions.

 

I'm unclear on what happens next.

 

This is my understanding:

- we wait at least two months for the P3 with the DS-230 and instructions.

- we mail in the P3 and they respond with an interview date

- we prepare P4 (I-864) to bring to the interview

 

Is my thinking correct? Any tips on what I should do now to prepare?

 

Thanks everyone!

[shanghaigale]

My information is really old (2000) but it may help because I think the procedure is still pretty much the same. We did exactly the same as you and actually interviewed first in Beijing. We were approved right away at the interview in Beijing by the INS officer posted there though and the file was forwarded to Guangzhou (this took about 4 weeks because he said it had to go by special consulate mail) where we got the P3 and P4 and was scheduled for an interview just like a K-1, K3, or CR1 from the states would do. So you will still probably have a few months to go before ater Guangzhou gets the paperwork before you have the interview there.

Gale

 

We filed our I-130 back in November in Beijing and received the "Notice of Approval" today. (It took over 3 months)

 

I was expecting that we would get a P3 and instructions about what to do next (DS-230 etc.) and not just a notice - but it seems I'm mistaken.

 

The only thing the letter states is that my petition has been sent to Guangzhou and they will contact the beneficiary (me) in at least 2 months with further instructions.

 

I'm unclear on what happens next.

 

This is my understanding:

- we wait at least two months for the P3 with the DS-230 and instructions.

- we mail in the P3 and they respond with an interview date

- we prepare P4 (I-864) to bring to the interview

 

Is my thinking correct? Any tips on what I should do now to prepare?

 

Thanks everyone!

[dnoblett]

Lots of useful info can be found here:

 

http://candleforlove.com/FAQ/CFL_FAQ_DCF_Final1.htm

[shyaushu]

You might want to look at our timeline.

 

We also filed in Beijing, but in August. We received the DS-230 in late October. According to that thing, we had to check off all the boxes that indicated we had the documents that applied to us when we had them in hand, and then send the I-230 to Guangzhou.

 

We did that and received the notice of appointment in mid-January. We arrived in Guangzhou about five days before the interview date and got the medical stuff done, etc. My wife brought all the documents they asked for (and the other stuff, like photos and letters, etc.) plus my I-864 to her interview.

 

One difficult part on the form you have to fill in before the interview (I believe it is the Family Composition sheet) is where they ask for the "Standard Telegraphic Code" of the Beneficiary. This turns out not to be her telephone number but a four-number code which corresponds to each Chinese character (in your wife's name). In other words, the number for "Wang" might be 4356 (I'm making up a number here). And you must find and write the corresponding number for all two or three characters of your wife's name. The people at the hotel we stayed at (it was in the same building as the Consulate) helped us with that.

 

Also, all things you write must be in English or Pinyin, except when they ask for the "native Alphabet" stuff.

 

Of course you will see we were rewarded with a "Blue Slip" (actually, a blue colored piece of cardboard) that asked us to provide a handwritten letter about my wife and I meeting and getting married and how and why I came to live in China. They also wanted a time line of my previous marriage and divorce to a different Chinese woman and a photo of us in front of our apartment in China.

 

So, you can see, we had some hurdles to overcome (the previous marriage, although according to the law Congress wrote that should be irrelevant), and that was surely the reason for the blue. We are fairly hopeful all will go well after we submit the stuff they asked for in a week or so. But who knows?

 

They also wanted the hand-written letter I wrote to be "certified" (no explanation or elaboration provided) but I learned I could get that done in the US Citizen's Services Section of the Consulate. It was elaborate, but free.

 

Except for us, all DCF filings have been successful these past three or so years, and, while we regret we ruined such a great record, we are pretty hopeful the non-decision will be overturned. But it is quite amazing how the USCIS has taken it upon themselves to use completely different criteria for approving an immigrant visa than the law Congress passed authorized them to.

 

According to their own analysis and decisions, our relationship is "bona fide", my wife is not a member of any prohibited organization and she does not intend to enage in prostitution, she has no disease or infirmity that threatens people in the US, and my I-864 documents I have sufficient financial resources to make certain my wife is unlikely to become a public charge.

 

Nevertheless, they did not give her a visa! They apparently want to further evaluate the likelihood that our relationship will endure when we are in the US. And they are trying to judge that by looking at how we met, etc. How I wish we had met at a church social! My first wife and I got married after knowing each other for a month, and that marriage lasted for 20 years (when my wife died).

 

By-the-by, these past seven months with my wife in China have been extraordinary. We certainly got to know each other thoroughly and our relationship has matured from the excitement of new love to the satisfaction and marvel of two people completely devoted to each other for the rest of their lives. Plus Chinese food is a gas!

 

If only poeple here wouldn't spit, blow their noses without using a tissue, stop cutting in or pushing everyone who is in front of them in line, stop blowing their car horn to intimidate pedestrians, stop staring at every "Lao-wai" like he or she was a two-headed calf . . . but I rant. It has been one of the most wonderful seven months of my life. And my Chinese has improved a lot.

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

We filed our I-130 back in November in Beijing and received the "Notice of Approval" today. (It took over 3 months)

 

I was expecting that we would get a P3 and instructions about what to do next (DS-230 etc.) and not just a notice - but it seems I'm mistaken.

 

The only thing the letter states is that my petition has been sent to Guangzhou and they will contact the beneficiary (me) in at least 2 months with further instructions.

 

I'm unclear on what happens next.

 

This is my understanding:

- we wait at least two months for the P3 with the DS-230 and instructions.

- we mail in the P3 and they respond with an interview date

- we prepare P4 (I-864) to bring to the interview

 

Is my thinking correct? Any tips on what I should do now to prepare?

 

Thanks everyone!

Edited February 24, 2008 by shyaushu (see edit history)

[IllinoisDave]

According to that thing, we had to check off all the boxes that indicated we had the documents that applied to us when we had them in hand, and then send the I-230 to Guangzhou.

 

You can fill out the P3 forms as soon as you receive them and send them back. No need to actually have all the listed documents in hand. You'll have plenty of time to gather them before the interview.

[shyaushu]

That is technically true, but you must be very careful about things. For example, they ask for certain documents and notarial translations and the dates on those documents must match the date you checked that you have those documents. For example, if you say you have the police report on March 10, 2008, but the date on the translation says April 1, they will know you were not forthcoming when you checked the box.

 

My wife got her police report in Chongqing but neglected to get the translation. So she had to return to Chongqing from Henan and get it. Therefore, the date on the notarial translation is a few weeks after we received the I-230, but before we checked the box and sent it in.

 

Complete honesty is always best, although they gave us a blue card for our forthrightness. But they may catch you in a problem if you really don't have all the documents they ask for when you check the box that you do and put in the date.

 

I suggest that you actually have the documents in hand before sending in the I-230. It is only a matter of one or two weeks in a process that takes many months.

 

 

According to that thing, we had to check off all the boxes that indicated we had the documents that applied to us when we had them in hand, and then send the I-230 to Guangzhou.

 

You can fill out the P3 forms as soon as you receive them and send them back. No need to actually have all the listed documents in hand. You'll have plenty of time to gather them before the interview.

[xiaofeizhu]

According to that thing, we had to check off all the boxes that indicated we had the documents that applied to us when we had them in hand, and then send the I-230 to Guangzhou.

 

do you remember what was exactly on the form that you have to check off? after reading your comment, i decided we should have these things in hand before sending that form out, so i'd like to start collecting these forms...thanks for your help!

[shyaushu]

I can't say that I do, but I will double check our copies. We probably have it somewhere. It is amazing all the stuff they ask for and how hard it is to keep organized!

 

And then, when they ask for a "hand-written" explanation of something they add "keep it to two pages"! They can write volumes of questions but we can only make a short statement. Where did these people learn people control so well?

 

I will post the things they asked to check off if and when I find them. They were all things like the police report, a completed Affidavit of Support (I would complete that as soon as possible because they may want a copy of your 2007 tax filings after April 15), a bunch of photos, etc.

 

According to that thing, we had to check off all the boxes that indicated we had the documents that applied to us when we had them in hand, and then send the I-230 to Guangzhou.

 

do you remember what was exactly on the form that you have to check off? after reading your comment, i decided we should have these things in hand before sending that form out, so i'd like to start collecting these forms...thanks for your help!

[xiaofeizhu]

I can't say that I do, but I will double check our copies. We probably have it somewhere. It is amazing all the stuff they ask for and how hard it is to keep organized!

 

And then, when they ask for a "hand-written" explanation of something they add "keep it to two pages"! They can write volumes of questions but we can only make a short statement. Where did these people learn people control so well?

 

I will post the things they asked to check off if and when I find them. They were all things like the police report, a completed Affidavit of Support (I would complete that as soon as possible because they may want a copy of your 2007 tax filings after April 15), a bunch of photos, etc.

 

According to that thing, we had to check off all the boxes that indicated we had the documents that applied to us when we had them in hand, and then send the I-230 to Guangzhou.

 

do you remember what was exactly on the form that you have to check off? after reading your comment, i decided we should have these things in hand before sending that form out, so i'd like to start collecting these forms...thanks for your help!

 

sorry to trouble you! thanks for searching! they want you to already have your tax documents ready? ahhhh. my mom is the joint sponsor and she's so SLOWWWWW with her 2007 taxes. (i told her to get moving but she keeps on telling me just wait a few more days...) oh yeah, quick question, does the affidavit of support for a joint sponsor (my mom) have to be notarized before she sends it over? thanks again!

[shyaushu]

Since it is not yet the tax due date (April 15, 2008) they will probably not require the 2007 tax returns. The old version of the Affidavit of Support has a place for notarization but the new form does not require this. We used the old form (I could not download the newer version) but it was accepted without being notarized. But why not have your mom notarize the one she signs anyway?

 

 

 

 

I can't say that I do, but I will double check our copies. We probably have it somewhere. It is amazing all the stuff they ask for and how hard it is to keep organized!

 

And then, when they ask for a "hand-written" explanation of something they add "keep it to two pages"! They can write volumes of questions but we can only make a short statement. Where did these people learn people control so well?

 

I will post the things they asked to check off if and when I find them. They were all things like the police report, a completed Affidavit of Support (I would complete that as soon as possible because they may want a copy of your 2007 tax filings after April 15), a bunch of photos, etc.

 

According to that thing, we had to check off all the boxes that indicated we had the documents that applied to us when we had them in hand, and then send the I-230 to Guangzhou.

 

do you remember what was exactly on the form that you have to check off? after reading your comment, i decided we should have these things in hand before sending that form out, so i'd like to start collecting these forms...thanks for your help!

 

sorry to trouble you! thanks for searching! they want you to already have your tax documents ready? ahhhh. my mom is the joint sponsor and she's so SLOWWWWW with her 2007 taxes. (i told her to get moving but she keeps on telling me just wait a few more days...) oh yeah, quick question, does the affidavit of support for a joint sponsor (my mom) have to be notarized before she sends it over? thanks again!

[xiaofeizhu]

Since it is not yet the tax due date (April 15, 2008) they will probably not require the 2007 tax returns. The old version of the Affidavit of Support has a place for notarization but the new form does not require this. We used the old form (I could not download the newer version) but it was accepted without being notarized. But why not have your mom notarize the one she signs anyway?

 

Thanks for the update! I think I'll have her notarize the form since its free at her credit union...cant hurt, right?!