I'm a newbie - Instruction Packets

[lilacblues]

Hey! Greatly appreciated the feedbacks!

 

Now, my fiance and I are encountering a new problem. Maybe I should start a new topic, but anyway let me post it here first.

 

Our I-129F was approved and notified by USCIS on May 16 (case processed at CSC). My fiance received the approval notice in the mail stating the next steps.

 

So it's been more than a month and we didn't hear from NVC. My fiance called NVC today and NVC said they did not receive our case from USCIS. Oh man. Then he called USCIS and USCIS said they'll review our case and respond in 5 days. Also, the person from NVC told my fiance on the phone that USCIS "may" have forwarded the case to the consulate in Shanghai (that's what I put in my application) directly. Well, I thought this was quite impossible.

 

Has anyone experienced such a situation before????

Edited June 21, 2012 by lilacblues (see edit history)

[Ryan H]

Hey! Greatly appreciated the feedbacks!

 

Now, my fiance and I are encountering a new problem. Maybe I should start a new topic, but anyway let me post it here first.

 

Our I-129F was approved and notified by USCIS on May 16 (case processed at CSC). My fiance received the approval notice in the mail stating the next steps.

 

So it's been more than a month and we didn't hear from NVC. My fiance called NVC today and NVC said they did not receive our case from USCIS. Oh man. Then he called USCIS and USCIS said they'll review our case and respond in 5 days. Also, the person from NVC told my fiance on the phone that USCIS "may" have forwarded the case to the consulate in Shanghai (that's what I put in my application) directly. Well, I thought this was quite impossible.

 

Has anyone experienced such a situation before????

 

Despite what your approval notice or even an operator might say, no file goes directly to an Embassy or Consulate from USCIS; it always goes via the NVC. This is because a file must be assigned a case number and the only entity that assigns case numbers is the NVC. For K1 cases, the NVC is nothing more than a mail stop, when they receive the file from USCIS, they assign it a case number and sent it to the appropriate Embassy or Consulate; therefore, for K1 cases the NVC usually does not contact the petitioner or beneficiary as their involvement in the case is minimal.

 

Even though you wrote Shanghai on the I-129F form, the file will not be sent there. Interviews for K1 visas are only done at the Consulate in Guangzhou.

 

In your future dealings with the NVC, ask them what the case number for your file is. If you do not get very far with the NVC, try the State Department's visa information helpline at (202) 663-1225. When it connects, you would push 1, then 0 to go be connected to an operator.

[dnoblett]

Yes, the only consulate in China set up to handle immigrant visas is Guangzhou, the other consulates only handle non-immigrant visas, NVC knows this and will send the petition and schedule the interview for Guangzhou.

[lilacblues]

Hey! Greatly appreciated the feedbacks!

 

Now, my fiance and I are encountering a new problem. Maybe I should start a new topic, but anyway let me post it here first.

 

Our I-129F was approved and notified by USCIS on May 16 (case processed at CSC). My fiance received the approval notice in the mail stating the next steps.

 

So it's been more than a month and we didn't hear from NVC. My fiance called NVC today and NVC said they did not receive our case from USCIS. Oh man. Then he called USCIS and USCIS said they'll review our case and respond in 5 days. Also, the person from NVC told my fiance on the phone that USCIS "may" have forwarded the case to the consulate in Shanghai (that's what I put in my application) directly. Well, I thought this was quite impossible.

 

Has anyone experienced such a situation before????

 

Despite what your approval notice or even an operator might say, no file goes directly to an Embassy or Consulate from USCIS; it always goes via the NVC. This is because a file must be assigned a case number and the only entity that assigns case numbers is the NVC. For K1 cases, the NVC is nothing more than a mail stop, when they receive the file from USCIS, they assign it a case number and sent it to the appropriate Embassy or Consulate; therefore, for K1 cases the NVC usually does not contact the petitioner or beneficiary as their involvement in the case is minimal.

 

Even though you wrote Shanghai on the I-129F form, the file will not be sent there. Interviews for K1 visas are only done at the Consulate in Guangzhou.

 

In your future dealings with the NVC, ask them what the case number for your file is. If you do not get very far with the NVC, try the State Department's visa information helpline at (202) 663-1225. When it connects, you would push 1, then 0 to go be connected to an operator.

Yes, the only consulate in China set up to handle immigrant visas is Guangzhou, the other consulates only handle non-immigrant visas, NVC knows this and will send the petition and schedule the interview for Guangzhou.

 

Our case was stranded at USCIS for more than 30 days. Actually, plenty of Dec filers (referring to the folks who posted on VJ) encountered similar situation. After many phone calls, we finally received our GUZ case number from NVC today!!! Will have to check again on the date that P3 leaves the embassy.

[lilacblues]

You say beneficiary, and not understand Chinese, what nationality are you? Note you will need to provide a police cert from other countries, some are easier to get than others, and some you cannot get at all, in which case the consulate knows this and should not demand them.

 

For procedures to get documents and records like police certs from various countries, refer to this page: http://travel.state..../fees_3272.html

 

For China, depending on Chinese visa type, you may or may not be able to get a report there.

 

What some do for P3 is have petitioner US Citizen call DOS Visa services in the states once or twice a week to find out if and when P3 gets mailed out, and once they know P3 has been sent you them mail to the Guangzhou consulate the required P3 items.

• OF-169 with items you have gathered checked.
  
• DS-230 Part 1 only
  
• Photo copy of your passport BIO page.
  
• EMS Mailing Label from your China Post office.
  

Mail these 4 items and nothing more to:

 

United States Consulate Guangzhou

IV Unit

1 Shamian South Street

Guangzhou, 510133 PRC

 

As for what the P3 instruction letter, I would not worry much about what it says.

 

Finally moving along after the delays with CSC and NVC! Need a clarification here.... When you said to include "EMS Mailing Label from your China Post office," did you mean to include a new self-addressed EMS mailing label with the rest of the forms? Or was it an implication to employ EMS service to send the documents to Guangzhou? The OF-169 (English version) didn't mention about the EMS mailing label.

 

Thanks!

[dnoblett]

 

Finally moving along after the delays with CSC and NVC! Need a clarification here.... When you said to include "EMS Mailing Label from your China Post office," did you mean to include a new self-addressed EMS mailing label with the rest of the forms? Or was it an implication to employ EMS service to send the documents to Guangzhou? The OF-169 (English version) didn't mention about the EMS mailing label.

 

Thanks!

Looks like they dropped the EMS Label requirement from the OF-169 this past May.