p4 questions (right before the interview)

[caliorbust]

the mrs. has her interview scheduled in early march (we filed DCF as i'm based in SH). just a quick question for now (i'll post others to this thread if i have more later on):

 

i know she needs to bring a ton of docs, but does she need to bring MY passport to the interview? or perhaps a copy of my passport?

[Jon & Cindy]

the mrs. has her interview scheduled in early march (we filed DCF as i'm based in SH). just a quick question for now (i'll post others to this thread if i have more later on):

 

i know she needs to bring a ton of docs, but does she need to bring MY passport to the interview? or perhaps a copy of my passport?

 

 

 

My wife had my passport with her during the interview as I was waiting downstairs. The VO looked at it and I believe it made a good impression. It's also another way to confirm your previous visits so why not?

 

Jon & Cindy

[caliorbust]

My wife had my passport with her during the interview as I was waiting downstairs. The VO looked at it and I believe it made a good impression. It's also another way to confirm your previous visits so why not?

 

Jon & Cindy

understood. guess i'll have her bring mine as well. thx.

[dnoblett]

If you have been in China for some time, you will need to provide solid evidence that you maintained US Domicile, or in the process of re-establishing US Domicile.

 

US Domicile is REQUIRED to provide an I-864 to sponsor an immigrant, and you the petitioner are required to provide an I-864, so no domicile --> No I-864, and No I-864, then No Visa.

 

More about domicile can be found here.

 

http://travel.state.gov/pdf/I-864GenInfo-FAQ-Final.pdf

[a2784]

My wife had my passport with her during the interview as I was waiting downstairs. The VO looked at it and I believe it made a good impression. It's also another way to confirm your previous visits so why not?

 

Jon & Cindy

understood. guess i'll have her bring mine as well. thx.

I went with her to the interview but am also living in China. If I had not have gone with her I would have given her my passport to take so they could see my Chinese residence permit and exit/entry stamps as proof of our time together.

 

As an aside .. I thought about missing the interview as I had some meetings at work scheduled for that day and it was the week before CNY. On the other hand I wanted to be there for her to help calm her down and just case anything went wrong. My boss from Holland gave me some advice that helped me made my decision for me:

 

It is a very important step for the two of you. One day out of your life is not as important as this step. Go on the interview with her.

 

Granted if I was in the USA it would be more than one day and more costly but it would still be words to consider. In my (and your) case I was alway in China so it was much easier to attend. My advice - give her your passport but also be in the coffeshop downstairs waiting for her.

Edited February 22, 2010 by a2784 (see edit history)

[Kyle]

My wife took my passport to her interview as well. We filed with the consulate as well.

[caliorbust]

If you have been in China for some time, you will need to provide solid evidence that you maintained US Domicile, or in the process of re-establishing US Domicile.

i have the domicile issue covered.

[caliorbust]

Granted if I was in the USA it would be more than one day and more costly but it would still be words to consider. In my (and your) case I was alway in China so it was much easier to attend. My advice - give her your passport but also be in the coffeshop downstairs waiting for her.

i'll give her my passport but it doesnt make sense (financial or otherwise) in my case to go to guangzhou. w/o getting into details, missing a day or two of work for me wouldnt be prudent. never mind the lodging issue (she's staying w/ a friend of hers who has no room for 1 more person if i were to tag along).

 

sure, it's a "big day," but it's nothing to lose sleep over, esp. for DCF cases like mine. the approval rate is sky high for DCFs, and she's been to the US before on a tourist visa so she has "good credit." i fully expect it to be a walk in the park.

[caliorbust]

i have another question for the forum: the consulate typically wants last 3-yrs of tax returns. no prob, except that each yr's tax returns runs about 40-pages. so that's ~120 pages if all printed out.

 

what did u guys do, print out all ~120 pages, or only the most relevant pages for each tax yr?

[a2784]

i have another question for the forum: the consulate typically wants last 3-yrs of tax returns. no prob, except that each yr's tax returns runs about 40-pages. so that's ~120 pages if all printed out.

 

what did u guys do, print out all ~120 pages, or only the most relevant pages for each tax yr?

No they prefer tax transcripts with only run 6-8 pages/year. If you want to use tax returns instead then yes you have to print the entire return out with all applicable forms.

Edited February 24, 2010 by a2784 (see edit history)

[caliorbust]

No they prefer tax transcripts with only run 6-8 pages/year. If you want to use tax returns instead then yes you have to print the entire return out with all applicable forms.

understood. thx.

[caliorbust]

i have some more questions. in this thread:

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...c=37290&hl=

 

the OP mentioned the visa fee and ems fee. i'll be bringing the receipt for the earlier visa fee (i think it was ~$350 or so), so that's no prob.

 

1. but the other visa fee, is the amount $445 USD?

 

2. what is the ems fee (and how much is it)? is this what u pay to china post in order to pickup one's passport (w/ the immigrant visa attached inside) a few days after the interview is over? or does this ems fee only apply to guangzhou residents who want to have their passports mailed to their homes?

 

3. are there any other fees besides these two?

[caliorbust]

a question about I-864, question #12, #13, and #15:

 

for item 12, i have the address in the US where my wife and i will be living once we relocate there.

 

but what should i fill in for item 13? i've been living in SH for the past 5 yrs, so is my SH address the one to write down?

 

and for question 15, "country of domicile," do i put down USA or China?

[Kyle]

What we did:

 

For 12 and 13 we used our Chinese address. For number 12 we typed our physical address in pinyin and for 13 we put "same as above" since we also receive our mail at that address.

 

15. China

 

EDIT:

 

We made sure all of our information matched (address/contact information): Tax returns, I-130, I-864, etc.

Edited February 25, 2010 by Kyle (see edit history)

[a2784]

a question about I-864, question #12, #13, and #15:

 

for item 12, i have the address in the US where my wife and i will be living once we relocate there.

 

but what should i fill in for item 13? i've been living in SH for the past 5 yrs, so is my SH address the one to write down?

 

and for question 15, "country of domicile," do i put down USA or China?

For lines 12/13 I used my US address because even though I was in China for the last 3 years I maintained my US residence.

 

 

For line 15 I put USA because I could prove I maintained a household in the USA while I was out of the country.

Edited February 25, 2010 by a2784 (see edit history)