Packing for GUZ, here's what I have ready:

[David11]

My wife and I will be headed for Guangzhou in a little more than a week for her interview on April 15.

 

Here is what I have prepared at the moment (I will reorganize folders a bit later). Is there anything obvious missing or anything else that I could obtain or prepare quickly that could be useful? Do you think I am alright on domicile?

 

Already submitted with my I-130:

 

-Affidavit from my employer stating that we have lived together since August 2009 and function as a happy couple, etc. in her opinion

-Affidavit from a current co-worker briefly outlying similar information as above

-Photocopies of old Chinese visa and entry/exit stamps from visit

-Screenshots of the two of us having Skype video calls with my family

-EOR letter (4-pages) outlying when we met (Sept 2008), how we met (Skype), and how things have evolved. I make mention of our conversation methods, my initial visit to Chine in February of 2009, how we have lived together since August of 2009, taken multiple trips together, visited her family on multiple occasions, etc. In the EOR letter I also mention that her ex-husband has since their divorce also remarried.

-Flight Itinerary/etickets/credit card receipts for my three flights to China

-Credit card statements with the name and city of the hotel I stayed at (in the city she lived in) during my first visit

-Copy of one letter she sent to me via postal mail. Multiple letters I sent to her never arrived.

-(23) Emails exchanged between my wife and I spread out between September 2008 to July 2009. 99% of our communication was on Skype but we do not have any logs of that.

- Skype screenshot of phone calls made to her and her mother's home when both of us made a trip home (hers to her hometown, mine to to the US) to visit family in 2010.

-(15) Emails exchanged with my family spread out between Feb 2009 and Dec 2010. Some of the emails are addressed to both of us, but most of them are just family asking how the two of us are and me talking about her with family.

-(4) Receipts for gifts I purchased for my wife

-(2) Copies of e-cards from family congratulating us on our marriage

-(40) Pictures of the two of us together spread out between Feb 2009 and present day. In the pictures we can clearly be seen at different points of interest in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xi'an, and others). In a few of the pictures we are together with my wife's family during visits.

 

Black Folder:

 

Pocket 1-

 

My Birth Certificate

My US Driver's License

My Passport

Wife's Passport

Wife's Chinese ID Card

Wife's Divorce Certificate

Wife's Marriage Certificate

My Marriage Certificate

Notice of Approval

Paper wife typed with name and last known address/phone number for her ex-husband

2"x2" Passport Photo's of Wife (8)

P4 Appointment Letter

Photocopy of Bio page of wife's passport

Photocopy of Bio page of my passport

Wife's resume

 

Pocket 2-

 

Notarized/Translated Marriage Certificate

Notarized/Translated Divorce Certificate

Notarized/Translated Birth Certificate

Notarized/Translated Certificate of Non Criminality (dated July 2010)

 

Pocket 3-

 

My completed I-864

Photocopy of my Birth Certificate

Photocopy of my Passport

Photocopy of my 2010 Tax Return

Photocopy of my 2009 Tax Return

My 2008 Tax Return Transcript

Domicile Evidence:

Photocopy of US Driver's License (renewed in the middle of my two year stay in China)

Photocopies of dozens of pieces of mail (largely junk mail and magazines I subscribe to that go to my US address)

Annual IRA Statement (2010)

2009 State Income Tax Return Copy

2010 State Income Tax Return Copy

Credit Card Statements Nov 2009-Feb 2011 (6)

Student Loan Repayment Paper 4/2010-3/2011

Credit Card #2 Statements Jan 2010-Dec 2010 (8)

Bank Statements Apr 2010-Mar 2011 (12) Every month had *some* activity, even if it was only my student loan payment being direct debited.

 

Pocket 4-

Joint Sponsor's I-864

JS's 2010 W2

Letter from JS's employer

3 months worth of JS's pay stubs (6)

JS's 2010 Tax Return Transcript

JS's 2009 Tax Return Transcript

JS's 2008 Tax Return Transcript

Photocopy of JS's Birth Certificate

 

Pocket 5-

Additional Evidence not already front loaded:

A few additional emails from my family

Letter from my mother

Letter from my sister

Letter from my father

~50 additional photos taken since filing in December, including photos in Beijing together when filing, photos at a Christmas party, photos on a trip with the Uni I teach at, and Chinese wedding-style photos we decided to get taken.

 

Pocket 6-

Photocopy of all relationship evidence already submitted when I filed DCF in December 2010

 

Blue Folder:

 

Photocopies of EVERYTHING

Additional blank forms for all forms involved from start to finish

[Ryan H]

Judging by your list, I think you are good to go in my opinion.

[tsap seui]

You look set to go.

 

Best of luck at her interview.

 

tsap seui

[Kyle]

good luck to you

Edited April 2, 2011 by Kyle (see edit history)

[bullmastiff]

I see no issue of bonafide marital relationship here.

Do you have a job when returning to the United States ? or you are already in the US now but have no job or menial job that needs a JS ?

Is she a member of CCP ?

[David11]

I see no issue of bonafide marital relationship here.

Do you have a job when returning to the United States ? or you are already in the US now but have no job or menial job that needs a JS ?

Is she a member of CCP ?

 

 

I do not have a job lined up for when returning to the US. This is partially deliberate (I'd prefer to avoid working for the initial month after arrival to help her get settled and travel with her) and partially because we won't be going to the USA until mid-to-late summer so I was waiting on trying to line anything up. This made me a bit concerned with domicile and I'm still considering "applying" to a couple of jobs on Monster even though it's probably too late to get interview requests like Kyle did.

 

No to CCP.

[bullmastiff]

It will be up to the officer to decide

 

Just as a discussion , a guy who has been collecting unemployment for six months

Can he show that unemploymebt income as meeting the requirement for I 864 ?

Yes of course

In practice rarely that a visa officer will grant a visa on this unemployment income

[Kyle]

David, for DCF people it's often next to impossible to find employment (in the US) while living in China. The VO knows this. That's where your joint sponsor's I864 comes into play. I really do think you're good to go.

[whatsthedeal]

David11

You forgot LUCKY RABBIT'S FOOT!!

Also please be advised to wear PINK underware.

 

Gooda lucky to David and his wife.

[bullmastiff]

David, for DCF people it's often next to impossible to find employment (in the US) while living in China. The VO knows this. That's where your joint sponsor's I864 comes into play. I really do think you're good to go.

 

 

I really hope so ! Anyway, Kyle has personal experience in DCF as well as observing others in same situation.

[David11]

One more quick question and I don't want to hijack James in Jinan's thread so I'll ask it here. The subject of address on I-864 is mentioned in his thread but the replies leave some confusion (maybe because like so many things in this process there is not a clear answer).

 

I am in China with my wife and have been here for most of about two years. What do I list for mailing address and place of residence on my I-864?

 

At the moment I have my US address listed as mailing address and place of residence blank (as it says "if different from mailing address"). My reasoning is that in my opinion I have decent evidence to show that I have "maintained" US domicile - maintained and used a US bank account, made student loan payments monthly, received stacks of mail, used and paid US credit cards, renewed US memberships etc, - but nothing in the way of "re-establishing" domicile, so I want to take the stance that except for a few minor things in China I would still want to use my US residence as mailing address and residence.

 

I'm questioning this choice because I did list my address in China on all of the other forms so far and it is quite clear that I have been in China for two years. Should I stick with US address, or does me having maintained US domicile render the need to re-establish domicile unnecessary by default and it safe to list Chinese address? Or perhaps one for mailing address and one for residence? At least in the crazy world that is my mind right now, there seems to be an argument for every conceivable possibility.

[Randy W]

One more quick question and I don't want to hijack James in Jinan's thread so I'll ask it here. The subject of address on I-864 is mentioned in his thread but the replies leave some confusion (maybe because like so many things in this process there is not a clear answer).

 

I am in China with my wife and have been here for most of about two years. What do I list for mailing address and place of residence on my I-864?

 

At the moment I have my US address listed as mailing address and place of residence blank (as it says "if different from mailing address"). My reasoning is that in my opinion I have decent evidence to show that I have "maintained" US domicile - maintained and used a US bank account, made student loan payments monthly, received stacks of mail, used and paid US credit cards, renewed US memberships etc, - but nothing in the way of "re-establishing" domicile, so I want to take the stance that except for a few minor things in China I would still want to use my US residence as mailing address and residence.

 

I'm questioning this choice because I did list my address in China on all of the other forms so far and it is quite clear that I have been in China for two years. Should I stick with US address, or does me having maintained US domicile render the need to re-establish domicile unnecessary by default and it safe to list Chinese address? Or perhaps one for mailing address and one for residence? At least in the crazy world that is my mind right now, there seems to be an argument for every conceivable possibility.

 

 

 

Sounds like you have the domicile issue nailed solid! Yes, by all means, use your US address on the I-864. A US domicile is REQUIRED for the sponsor. (The 're' in re-establishing domicile is completely unnecessary if you've never relinquished it).