Consular Jurisdiction (where to go)

[Randy W]

This map of the consular districts shows that you are in the Shanghai district. This would seem to indicate that you go to the Shanghai consulate, pay your fees, and then mail the petition (with receipt) to Beijing (per the directions of BOTH consulates).

 

http://photos.state....AboutUs/map.bmp - won't post directly, but you should be able to click through

 

http://i949.photobucket.com/albums/ad334/dnoblett/Immigration%20Stuff/map.jpg

Edited March 22, 2012 by dnoblett (see edit history)

[lane]

Guangzhou replied fairly quickly, with the answer I was expecting: Yes, Zhejiang is under Guangzhou's jurisdiction, so I should file there. But they only accept petitions in person, not by mail, and only on Fridays. They said if I want to file by mail, I can mail it to the Chicago lockbox.

 

After reading Randy's posts just now, I sent off another email to Beijing, asking if their meaning was that I can't mail my petition in to them, or if I still have that option. (The first time, all they said was "Since you currently live in Zhejiang province, please contact the USCIS Guangzhou office for filing an I-130 petition. ")

 

I'll let you know.

[dnoblett]

Guangzhou replied fairly quickly, with the answer I was expecting: Yes, Zhejiang is under Guangzhou's jurisdiction, so I should file there. But they only accept petitions in person, not by mail, and only on Fridays. They said if I want to file by mail, I can mail it to the Chicago lockbox.

 

After reading Randy's posts just now, I sent off another email to Beijing, asking if their meaning was that I can't mail my petition in to them, or if I still have that option. (The first time, all they said was "Since you currently live in Zhejiang province, please contact the USCIS Guangzhou office for filing an I-130 petition. ")

 

I'll let you know.

They are jerking you there with the "File With Chicago", that would then take MONTHS involving NVC and sending documents to NVC etc... The standard non DCF process.

 

But yes they can require you to file in person.

 

Even in the case of filing by mail to Beijing, there have been a couple posts where USCIS wants to interview you some in Beijing before they send the case down to Guangzhou for visa processing.

[Randy W]

Yes, Guangzhou has only accepted petitions in person on Fridays during the stated hours (8:30 to 10:30) for some time. Beijing in the past has accepted mailed petitions. But it would seem that a trip to either Guangzhou or to Shanghai (your choice) would be next on your agenda. If Guangzhou USCIS is actually claiming jurisdiction over Zhejiang, that would seem to be the best bet if you don't mind the trip.

 

There are several things which seem to be new here (based on what you are saying) - the provincial distribution between the two USCIS offices, the way they interact with the Dept.of State facilities, and the fact that Beijing says they don't accept mailed petitions. The change, however, may be that they require that you FIRST pay in person at a Dept. of State office, and then submit the petition with the receipt. Shanghai may be able to fill in the details there.

 

Yes it's confusing, but, again, it's due to them changing their practices without filling in all the details. You're the guinea pig here.

[lane]

The conclusion is: I'm going to go to Guangzhou to file the I-130 in person.

 

It looks like the jurisdictions given on the USCIS.gov webpages (Beijing and Guanghzou) are the correct ones. Perhaps this is a recent change, and the Consulate webpages have not yet been updated.

 

Whether or not it would be possible to do it by mail to Beijing is still up in the air. Beijing is being very cagey about it, not directly answering my questions, and seemingly starting to get a little testy about it; my impression is that they would accept it, but they don't want to. Given that I've already bothered them twice about it, and I don't want to make them angry and potentially cause any problems with my petition (in case they remember me), I'll just go to Guangzhou.

 

Just so everybody has access to the raw data and aren't just relying on my interpretation of these emails, let me post the full text of my correspondence below:

 

 

to: DHSBeijing-CIS@dhs.gov

 

Hi,

 

I am writing to you to resolve a question that remains after reviewing your websites thoroughly. In fact, I have found conflicting information on the Beijing Field Office page of the USCIS website and the DHS-USCIS page on the Beijing Embassy website.

 

My question is concerning filing an I-130 Immigrant Relative petition for my wife. I am a U.S. citizen, residing in China for over two years, and my wife is a Chinese national. Her hukou is in Zhejiang, which is where we currently reside, which means we are in Shanghai's consular district. Since there is no USCIS office in Shanghai, it is my understanding that I would need to file the I-130 in Beijing. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, and if I should be going to Guangzhou instead.)

 

The conflicting information which I still have a question about is that on the USCIS website it says petitioners "

may fee in their Form I-130 at the American Consulates General in Shenyang, Shanghai, or Chengdu. The must then mail in their Form I-130 with the fee receipt to the Beijing Field Office.

" But on the Beijing Embassy website's USCIS page, it says "

The Beijing Field Office is unable to accept petitions by mail.

"

 

So my question is: can I send the form in by mail to the Beijing field office or do I need to make a trip to Beijing?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

 

 

From: CIS, DHS Beijing DHSBeijing.CIS@uscis.dhs.gov

 

 

Since you currently live in Zhejiang province, please contact the USCIS Guangzhou office for filing an I-130 petition. They can be reached at CIS-Guangzhou.inquiries@dhs.gov

 

 

 

to: CIS-Guangzhou.inquiries@dhs.gov

 

Hi,

 

I am writing to you to resolve a question that remains after reviewing your websites thoroughly.

 

My question is about where I can go to file an I-130 for my wife. I am a U.S. citizen, residing in China for over two years, and my wife is a Chinese national. Her hukou is in Zhejiang, which is where we currently reside. The websites I have found have conflicting information. The Guangzhou Field Office page on USCIS.gov says that the Guangzhou field office service area includes Zhejiang, but the immigrant visa FAQ page on the Guangzhou embassy website says "For the Guangzhou consular district (Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian, Guangxi), contact the USCIS office in Guangzhou... For the rest of China, contact the USCIS office in Beijing."

 

I contacted the Beijing field office first. (If you are interested you can read our correspondence below.) But they said to contact you.

 

So my first question is: could you please confirm that I can file the I-130 in Guangzhou (that is to say, that Zhejiang is within your service area)?

 

And my second question is: is it necessary to go in person? I think your website says it is, but I'd like to make sure, since that would add a lot of time and expense for me. And if it is necessary to go in person, I know you take walk-ins during your public service hours, but is it also possible to make an appointment? I see on your website that the public service hours are only two hours a week, and since I will have to be traveling across the country in order to file the petition, I want to make very sure that I am able to be seen.

 

Thank you very much in advance for your help.

 

 

 

from: Guangzhou, CIS CIS.Guangzhou@uscis.dhs.gov

 

 

Yes. Guangzhou has the jurisdiction over your current place of residence (Zhejiang).

 

If you would like to file your I-130 here in China, it must be filed in person and we are only accepting this type of the application on Friday. However, you may file your I-130 petition by mail to our Chicago Lock box. For more information regarding the filing I-130 by mail, please refer to the following site.

http://www.uscis.gov...00045f3d6a1RCRD

 

 

 

to: "CIS, DHS Beijing" <DHSBeijing.CIS@uscis.dhs.gov>

 

Hi,

 

Sorry to bother you again. Does this mean that (with my residence in Zhejiang), contrary to the information stated on your website, I can't mail in my I-130 petition to the Beijing office, but must go to Guangzhou instead?

 

On the Beijing Field Office page on USCIS.gov, it says:

 

U.S. Citizens with proof of residency in China or who reside outside of the Beijing or Guangzhou Consular Districts, may fee in their Form I-130 at the American Consulates General in Shenyang, Shanghai, or Chengdu. The must then mail in their Form I-130 with the fee receipt to the Beijing Field Office.

 

I contacted the Guangzhou office and they said I could file there, but they don't accept petitions by mail, so I would have to go in person. That would require me taking time off work, paying travel expenses, etc., so if I can pay in Shanghai and then mail in the form, as stated above, then I would much prefer to do that.

 

Sorry, I know you're busy and I don't mean to overburden you. Please excuse the inconvenience; I just want to know what my options are. Thanks again for your help.

 

 

 

From: CIS, DHS Beijing DHSBeijing.CIS@uscis.dhs.gov

 

Please just follow the Guangzhou CIS’s instruction.

[Randy W]

It's YOU who should be getting testy with them - they are obviously flipping this flop all over the place.

 

But good for you in pinning it down finally.