gathering documents in fiance's hometown

[weregoing]

Hey everyone just a few quick questions about documents needed on my Chinese fiancee's end. (near the interview of K1 visa)

 

We are here in here hometown (Mianyang, Sichuan) and trying to get the police report, single certificate, and birth certificate.

 

My question is how much of a standard is there to these things? Have there been cases in the past of people from smaller Chinese cities gathering documents that the immigration officers don't think are legitimate enough? We've already run around and collected what I think will suffice as a police report and single certificate but no one seems to know what to do for a birth certificate since she was not born in a hospital.

 

In order to get the police report, she had to run to a local "community" police station to get a note from what I could tell was the equivalent of getting the preacher down the road from the baitshop to sign a note saying he'd known your family since you were born and you never did drugs. Then we took this back to another police station and one of the head officers there stamped and signed it. Since this is the best we can do (and any govt officer here could think to do) this is surely enough right? Or is there some consistent standard on what's needed for a police report? The "single certificate" worked much the same way - we basically went to the place where one would get married and they gave a note saying that that had no record or her having ever been married - this one seemed a little more legit and I'm sure will suffice.

 

Today we try to tackle a "birth certificate"... I just don't understand why is the hukou not enough? She was not born in a hospital so who would have a different official record? The community station again said they would write a note and stamp it to state that this is indeed her birthdate. Will that be enough?

 

Finally, we haven't found anyone to translate these documents. The police station said they would sign and stamp an English translation (that we wrote on the spot) of the same note they wrote if we wanted. Is that legitimate? Or is it better to have a translation company notarize an official document written in Chinese? I guess what I'm asking is if we take all these documents back to Shanghai after we leave her hometown and get them translate there, is that fine? Or do the English translations also need to be stamped by the local government officers here?

 

I guess everything will work out but it's difficult to be too confident when the papers I'm staring at don't seem like something the US immigration will have too much faith in even though this is all apparently how it's done here. Any help would be great...thanks!

[chilton747]

Where the certificates you received bound in white embossed covers?

[dnoblett]

The notary office produces a standard document and English translation, they are the same all over China.

 

MORE:

 

Most of the documents listed below can be obtained from one of China's Notarial Offices (Gong Zheng Chu). All Chinese documentation to be used abroad is processed through the notary offices and issued in the form of notarial certificates. Notarial offices are located in all major Chinese cities and in rural county seats. These offices are part of the Ministry of Justice structure, but are separate from the people's court system.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_4881.html?cid=3537

[Randy W]

Chinese Notarial Documents - see DOS China Reciprocity Schedule

Most of the documents needed

can

be obtained from one of China's Notarial Offices (Gong Zheng Chu). All Chinese documentation to be used abroad is processed through the notary offices and issued in the form of notarial certificates. Notarial offices are located in all major Chinese cities and in rural county seats

 

The documents required are the GongZhengShu ¹«Ö¤Êé

 

Sample application for documents (your province or

hukou

may vary):

http://www.bnpo.gov.cn/upload/file/200872115331419.doc

 

http://www.bnpo.gov.cn/guide/detail1.asp

A discussion of the huji (or

hukou

»§¿Ú) system

can

be found at

Hukou

System

. Chinese residents should go to their

hukou

for all notarial documents (birth, divorce, and/or single certificate, and police records). For the police record, one obtained at the

hukou

will cover all of China.

 

A notarial document will be in the standard white notarial booklet, have an official red seal, an English translation, and an attestation to the true translation.

 

Note that police records and single certificates are valid for one year from the date of notarization. Others are valid indefinitely.

 

Marriage certification for

I-130

or

K-3

must be in the same format.

 

If ANY document is unobtainable, you should submit a statement of WHY it is unobtainable, and what effort you made to obtain it.

What police certificates do I need and how do I get them - http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/what-...w-do-i-get-them

It is usually not necessary to submit police certificates for a stay in the United States.

 

 

About your comment about the police certificate - my wife had to get her own police certificate in the US from the City of Houston (they had an issue with her fingerprints) - it was basically a "Never heard of her" statement from the HPD.

Edited July 6, 2010 by Randy W (see edit history)

[weregoing]

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

We were under the impression that you had to collect all of these documents from the various local offices and then take them to the notary office (gong zheng chu) to be translated. Is that right? Or do these notary offices have the power to issue the certificate and translate it?

 

So the type/style of document issued in Chinese doesn't really matter so long as it can be translated and notarized into one of these white books?

 

And can this white book only be obtained in her hometown or any "gong zheng chu"?

[Amaro]

From my understanding, a lot of the information is pulled from her familes Hukou, it is a red booklet that looks like a passport. The birth certificate can be made from it, the single certificate can be made from it and the police report would be acquired from the police station of her home town.

 

from what my girl was telling me, only her hometowns gong zheng chu can supply her with the service. But I am sure once you have made the required documents you could go to any gong zheng chu and have them make the white booklets.

 

Someone correct me if I am wrong.

[Kyle]

The 公证处 books need to be made in the city listed on the Chinese applicant's hukou (户口). Please refer to the following for more information:

 

Your notarized/translated documents will all be done by the same office. My wife had her police report, our marriage license, and her birth certificate all done at the our city's notary office which is authorized to do notarizations for foreign consulates. If your wife does a search for "your city, notary, foreign" in Chinese, for example we did this search "武汉公证涉外"

 

Our city, Wuhan: 武汉

Notary: 公证 gong1zheng4

Foreign: 涉外 she4wai4

 

The name of the office is probably (your city) gong1zheng4chu4 - （your city)公证处

 

Yes, all of these will be in a white book. You will need photos for all of these, but the requirements are different in different places. I'm sure once you find the proper office's website, you'll find what they require.

 

Make sure you go to the above office in your city. Do not go to an alternative notary service, as there are many of them out there. Unfortunately not all services are created equal in the eyes of the Chinese government - thus, not all are qualified for foreign affairs. You're looking for at least a city level notary.

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=528266 and following posts

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=549833 and following posts for sample pictures

Edited July 6, 2010 by Kyle (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

We were under the impression that you had to collect all of these documents from the various local offices and then take them to the notary office (gong zheng chu) to be translated. Is that right? Or do these notary offices have the power to issue the certificate and translate it?

 

So the type/style of document issued in Chinese doesn't really matter so long as it can be translated and notarized into one of these white books?

 

And can this white book only be obtained in her hometown or any "gong zheng chu"?

In most places the Notary office has the power to issue the docs and translate them. One stop shopping!

[weregoing]

In most places the Notary office has the power to issue the docs and translate them. One stop shopping!

 

That's what I explained to my girl before going in today, but they said they could NOT provide the birth certificate. They recommended we go back to the police station of her hukou where we went for her makeshift police report - but the police station already said they don't make the birth certificates. So we'll just have to go back and bug them a bit.

 

The papers we gathered for the police report and single certificate were apparently good enough to translate and notarize.

 

I also found there are at least three of these Notary Offices in her town alone and after going to the first one and realizing they were a bunch of idiots who couldn't help (but were glad to take our money), we went to a second office down the street and got much better treatment there. The lady working showed us all kinds of example work and pretty much cut the cost in half from the first place - cutting out all the "translation costs" that consist of writing 2 or 3 sentences in English.

 

So I guess this white "book" is not really a book but rather 4 pages fastened together that include: a retyped copy of the original document in chinese, a translation in english, a page in chinese saying the english/chinese are the same, and a final page in english saying the english/chinese are the same - all 4 pages stamped.

 

This sound about right?

Edited July 6, 2010 by dnoblett (see edit history)

[Kyle]

Mine is a white booklet.

 

The front cover has the following text in big black characters:

 

公证书

 

中华人民共和国

湖北省武汉市公证处

 

Obviously, the province and city (listed in bold text) will differ than others.

 

4 pages.

 

1. Certificate of Non-Criminal Record (Chinese) Stamped, signed. Photo on white background.

2. Certificate of Non-Criminal Record (English translation)

3. Notarial Certificate (Chinese)

4. Notarial Certificate (English translation)

Edited July 6, 2010 by Kyle (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

In most places the Notary office has the power to issue the docs and translate them. One stop shopping!

 

That's what I explained to my girl before going in today, but they said they could NOT provide the birth certificate. They recommended we go back to the police station of her hukou where we went for her makeshift police report - but the police station already said they don't make the birth certificates. So we'll just have to go back and bug them a bit.

 

The papers we gathered for the police report and single certificate were apparently good enough to translate and notarize.

 

I also found there are at least three of these Notary Offices in her town alone and after going to the first one and realizing they were a bunch of idiots who couldn't help (but were glad to take our money), we went to a second office down the street and got much better treatment there. The lady working showed us all kinds of example work and pretty much cut the cost in half from the first place - cutting out all the "translation costs" that consist of writing 2 or 3 sentences in English.

 

So I guess this white "book" is not really a book but rather 4 pages fastened together that include: a retyped copy of the original document in chinese, a translation in english, a page in chinese saying the english/chinese are the same, and a final page in english saying the english/chinese are the same - all 4 pages stamped.

 

This sound about right?

From DOS:

 

Birth Certificates

 

Available in the form of notarial certificates, which are secondary evidence. Notarial certificates of birth (Chu Sheng Gong Zheng Shu or Chu Sheng Zheng Ming Shu) for persons living in or recently departed from China are generally reliable, but are best used in conjunction with other evidence. They are most often based upon an AHHR, (Household Record) which is easily susceptible to fraud, especially in villages. Notarial birth certificates for persons long departed from China are most likely based merely upon the testimony of interested parties.

 

While some notarial birth certificates will list stepparents or adoptive parents along with natural parents, this is not always the case. In some cases, the certificates will list only the natural parents, covering up an adoption.

 

Some applicants will present notarial certificates of relationship (Guan Xi Gong Zheng [or Zheng Ming] Shu) in lieu of notarial birth certificates. These certificates of relationship are unreliable and tend to be based solely upon the testimony of interested parties. Notarial birth certificates should be required. Care should be taken with any certificate that lists step relationships. These relationships are as of the date of issuance of the certificate only. Marriage certificates should also be required.

 

Police Records

 

Generally available, reliable. Persons should apply for a certificate of no criminal record at the local Public Security Bureau (PSB) (or certain types of employers such as state owned enterprises), then make application to the notary office for a certificate based on the PSB document. Persons without a criminal record will be able to obtain a certificate to that effect. Certificates for individuals with one or more criminal convictions will list all convictions for which records still exist.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_4881.html?cid=3537

 

You take household book to Notary office and they should produce a "Birth Record" and Translation based on the book. As for Police cert may have to visit PSB and get a no criminal record report, and have it translated at the Notary office. Lastly in the case of a Fiancee (K-1) you will need a Cert of marriageability+Translation, and in the case of a prior marriage, will need a divorce cert, or death cert in the case of a widow.

[Rob and WeiLing]

I went with WeiLing to the notary offices, both in Wuhan for our marriage license and in the city of her hometown (a "small" city of 1 million) for birth notarization and police record. Her family actually lives in a suburb, and she was born in the country, so the whole process was awkward.

 

The police record that we took to get notarized was nothing more than a piece of notebook paper with a few scratchmarks on it. Her father called some friend in the suburb and got this (though I'm fairly certain it is authentic). I couldn't read the scrawled handwriting (and can't read most Chinese handwriting, for that matter), but it included some funny bits. For example, it went on about how she's never practiced Falun Gong. Most of it didn't get included in the white notarial booklet. I'm still kind of surprised at how lax the notary office in her hometown is: Anyone could've written that note, and they probably would've accepted it.

 

Another fun bit of info is about her date of birth. Her date of birth is officially incorrect. Everywhere she's listed as a march baby. Actually, she was born in the 3rd lunar month (which landed in May on the solar Gregorian calendar). I think a lot of Chinese are this way, at least outside of the major cities. Anyway, since that's what the Chinese records say, we also stated this for her visa application. To get the booklet we just took her Hukou and ID card (Éí·ÝÖ¤) to the notary public. If they say they can't help you, talk to another clerk. When Chinese run into a roadblock, they often just go to another window and the problem gets solved one way or another.

[weregoing]

...To get the booklet we just took her Hukou and ID card (Éí·ÝÖ¤) to the notary public. If they say they can't help you, talk to another clerk. When Chinese run into a roadblock, they often just go to another window and the problem gets solved one way or another.

 

Are you talking about the birth certificate in this part? They said the could just do a translation of the Hukou (which she doesn't even have at the moment - had a to print a temporary one at the police station because she left it at home.) But they suggested it would be better to go get this note saying "____ was born on _____. Her father is _____. Her mother is _______." from anyone who can make it. So that's what we're trying to do today.

 

Your story sounds a lot like mine: my girl has the wrong birthday on everything official, apparently. (about a month off depending on the year)

 

Also, the note from the police station and "community center" was also hand-written, which I suggested we type-up and take back for a new stamp, which we did - only to find out that the Notary Office types these up and uses their own stamp anyway, rendering the originals unnecessary. (I'm hoping this is how it's supposed to be done...?)

 

The note also did mention that she had never done drugs nor practiced "bad religion". So I guess that's what must be important in these small cities populated by 1+ million. Heh.

[steveandrong]

A lot of the understanding on exactly what is needed is dependent on how well your fiancee understands english....i'm not trying to toot their horn, but this is one area that our "sister" site, 001 excels....my fiancee really didn't understand exactly what i was asking for until she started going to the 001 website and read about all the documentation needed for a k-1 visa....after she read about it, she knew what to get and how to explain to the police station and gong zhen chu exactly what she was after and got it no problem.

[weregoing]

A lot of the understanding on exactly what is needed is dependent on how well your fiancee understands english....i'm not trying to toot their horn, but this is one area that our "sister" site, 001 excels....my fiancee really didn't understand exactly what i was asking for until she started going to the 001 website and read about all the documentation needed for a k-1 visa....after she read about it, she knew what to get and how to explain to the police station and gong zhen chu exactly what she was after and got it no problem.

 

 

You could be write about this but it's not her English that is the problem, just her carefree attitude toward matters like this in general. Plus she doesn't really use the internet for "research." She would rather ask around until she is happy with the result.

 

Anyway, the solution seems to be working - it just is taking a few days to collect. Better than sending in gobs of money just be told to "wait patiently for a few months..."