DCF filers in Guangzhou-need wife's original passport?

[xiaofeizhu]

we filed in beijing, so i know this is not where you are filing, but they DID ask to see my hubbys original passport. we had it just in case, and when we submitted the documents and the man asked if we happened to have the original on hand. I said we did and he glanced at it. I dont know what he would have done if we said no. Since you are filing in guz, why not ask them at ach? Good luck. I do think it is best to have it. Also, you mentioned that your wife is near shanghai. Is that her hukou area? She may need to file in shanghai if it is, and not at guz.

[Dan de mingzi]

Thanks for all the replies; I will definitely bring her passport as it seems safer to have it rather than give them any reason to delay us. I'll just deal with mailing it back to her afterwards (makes me nervous it might get "lost").

 

BTW- yes, I definitely have tried to ask the GZ consulate this and other questions, but they haven't responded to my numerous emails and their phone number goes immediately to voice mail, which the recording then tells me is full so I can't leave a message, but they will transfer me to an attendent, then another message says the attendent feature is not implimented, and hangs up on me.

 

Regarding filing location: her home is near Shanghai, but my resident permit is from Guangzhou, so I do need to file in the Guangzhou office.

 

Thanks again.

[xiaofeizhu]

Sorry for the confusion about where to file. According to the GUZ consulate site, http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/cr...and_cr2/ir2.htm

 

Step 1

A U.S. citizen files the Form I-130 petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office that covers his/her permanent place of residence. If the sponsoring U.S. citizen has been residing in China for longer than six months, the I-130 may be filed at the CIS offices in Beijing or Guangzhou, depending on where in China the petitioner is living.

 

Since you are the petitioner, I think it is correct that you should file in GUZ. Because she is near Shanghai, you will have to mail her passport back if you cannot give it to her in person, so definitely use EMS. It should get there safely and quickly with the EMS. Remember to write the tracking number down/save the reciept so that you can track it in case there are problems.

Edited October 21, 2009 by xiaofeizhu (see edit history)

[Kyle]

Can she go with you? When I was in Beijing, the officer actually came outside where we were waiting and asked my wife to accompany me inside (Jingjing initially intended to wait outside). I admit that we both were surprised by this. The lady handling our documents did ask Jingjing some minor questions. I don't know if anyone else had a similar experience or not.

 

Yes, have your wife fill out an EMS slip and give it to you when you go to Guangzhou. She can give you everything you will need to mail it back. We've never had issues using EMS (we've used it for my wife's passport a time or two). Registered mail includes a phone number, so if they can't find out where you live, they can give you a call.

 

http://www.ems.com.cn/english-main.jsp

Edited October 21, 2009 by KJJ (see edit history)

[whome?]

Can she go with you? When I was in Beijing, the officer actually came outside where we were waiting and asked my wife to accompany me inside (Jingjing initially intended to wait outside). I admit that we both were surprised by this. I don't know if anyone else had a similar experience or not.

 

Yes, have your wife fill out an EMS slip and give it to you when you go to Guangzhou. She can give you everything you will need to mail it back. We've never had issues using EMS (we've used it for my wife's passport a time or two). Registered mail includes a phone number, so if they can't find out where you live, they can give you a call.

 

http://www.ems.com.cn/english-main.jsp

Not to sound like an ass...but since they are married and both living in China (Guandong is not that far from Shanghai) it would not seem to be to much of a problem to get and return the passport face to face.

[Kyle]

Not to sound like an ass...but since they are married and both living in China (Guandong is not that far from Shanghai) it would not seem to be to much of a problem to get and return the passport face to face.

 

Yes, just filing the I-130 at this time. However my wife is now staying far away in Wuxi (near Shanghai), so if I need to show her passport I would need to bring it with me to Guangzhou and then mail it back to her after, since I will be returning to the US after filing the I-130.

 

Doesn't sound like he has a lot of time to spare.

 

From what I see, the fastest train from GUZ to Shanghai (T train) takes around 16 hours. I can't believe they don't have any non-stop trains. Surely this can't be right.

Edited October 21, 2009 by KJJ (see edit history)

[whome?]

Yes, just filing the I-130 at this time. However my wife is now staying far away in Wuxi (near Shanghai), so if I need to show her passport I would need to bring it with me to Guangzhou and then mail it back to her after, since I will be returning to the US after filing the I-130.

 

Doesn't sound like he has a lot of time to spare.

 

From what I see, the fastest train from GUZ to Shanghai (T train) takes around 16 hours. I can't believe they don't have any non-stop trains. Surly this can't be right.

no fast train..they were started in the north...not expanded to the south yet...

[squirty]

Just to throw this in...if I were a VO I would be a little confused as to why the couple are living in two different places. It is after all a DCF and most people who file this way file from at least the same city. Will you be stating her address in Wuxi or Guangzhou? Something for you to consider, I suppose.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you lie or anything, but you should at least prepare her for any questions the VO might ask come interview time.

Edited October 21, 2009 by squirty (see edit history)

[xiaofeizhu]

I had a similar experience to KJJ. The security officers in Beijing told my husband to come into the office with me and asked him some small questions like where his domicile was and other small stuff, but I don't think he wrote anything down or anything like that. I think it is good if you can go together...but I understand it may not be an option for you.

 

I would say just try to file without the passport if you don't have it yet...isn't Friday the day to file in GUZ? You never know. The faster you can file it, the faster she can be with you after you return to the states. If you do end up needing her passport, you can take it next week.

[Dan de mingzi]

Hi All,

 

Just to finalize this topic (in case anyone is interested); I filed the I-130 in Guangzhou this morning. I will write up a separate post to describe the process since it might help others, but they did look at my wife's passport, so I'm glad I brought it. Perhaps they would have accepted the filing even without it, but I think it's better not to give them any reason to question you.

 

Address: yes I put her address (and mine) as Wuxi. They asked about that, but I explained that I am leaving China next week and don't want them to mail anything to my Guangzhou address, so I didn't put one. She accepted that explanation.

 

Also I used EMS to send her passport back to her; very easy to use. I have used them many times domestically with no problems; I was just nervous about sending a passport in the mail, esp cause this passport already has her US tourist visa in it and I don't want to have to go through the process of getting that again!

 

Thanks

[xiaofeizhu]

Glad to hear that they accepted your petition. Now all that's left is the wait!! Good luck on the DCF road, let me know if you have any other questions in the future!

[david_dawei]

Beijing

 

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=of...r.statecode=abk

This link above looks dated if trying to get address info:

 

Use this one:

http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/homeland_security.html