Visa Success! Our GUZ CR1 Experience

[geyahui]

Hi folks, since I've done a lot of lurking on this site (and dumb-question-asking), I thought I'd take the time to write up our experience interviewing in GUZ for anyone interested.

 

First, our general situation: we met back in 2009, while I was living in China. I moved back to the US later that year, but we kept dating, so I moved back to China in 2010 and we began living together. We were married in August of 2011. In January of 2012, we filed (DCF via US embassy in Beijing) for a CR-1 visa. We tried to "front-load" as much as possible with that application, so when we filed that we also had lots of supplementary evidence to show them.

 

What we brought to Guangzhou:

-DSC-230 Parts I and II

-my I-864 + 2009, 2010, 2011 federal tax returns + 1099-MISC form (because I do freelance work)

-Passports (hers and mine) and photocopies

-PRC marriage certificates (hers and mine)

-Appointment letter (printout from email)

-4 photos of her, according to specs sent in P4

-All Medical documents, x-ray and vaccine booklets (we had done the medical exam in Beijing already)

-Notarial certificate: her birth certificate

-Notarial certificate: our marriage certificates

-Notarial certificate: her police proof of no criminal record

-Photos of the two of us spanning from March 2009-present.

-Chat/email logs with samples spanning from March 2009-present.

-Copies of letters from our parents confirming our relationship (they took the originals when we first filed in beijing)

-Business card from my company

-Letter from my boss stating my employment and yearly salary

-Bank records from the past three months showing my salary deposits

-scanned copies of mail send to my US address (for domicile)

-credit card statements with my US address (for domicile)

-Bank statements (for domicile, showing I have maintained use of a US bank account)

-State income tax filings for the past three years (for domicile)

 

We arrived in Guangzhou on Wednesday afternoon, with my wife scheduled to turn in her documents on Thursday and interview Friday morning. On the recommendation of many in this forum, we stayed at the Tianyu Gardens -- the Yangs' place. They were quite friendly and available, and the accommodation was acceptable. We went with the lowest-priced option, so we ended up with basically one bedroom in a three bedroom apartment, with a shared bathroom. Our bed was very squeaky, the shared bathroom was a bit inconvenient, and the wifi signal was glitchy enough that I ended up just using my phone with a 3G tether for some of the time we were there. However, the service was friendly and it is ridiculously close to the consulate, so it is basically all that we really needed. Plus, the Yangs were very flexible about our check-out time, which was nice as we had booked an evening flight back to Beijing. (However, I noticed walking around the block that there are a number of other options for lodgings with similarly-priced rooms right on this block, as well as a Westin for all you high-rollers, so there are definitely other options in the consulate's immediate vicinity if that's what you're looking for.)

 

On Thursday, we lined up outside the consulate for the documents intake. Apparently people start lining up quite early, but we knew it didn't actually matter where you are in the line outside, so we got there at around 12:00. I waited in the line with her, and at about 12:20 they started letting people in. I didn't go in with her, and instead went back to our room to do some work and have a series of small heart attacks, thinking we were missing something they'd need at the intake.

 

Anyway, she went to the fifth floor and went through security, which involved leaving all electronics behind and also taking off your shoes to be checked, etc. They were then given numbers, but as others have said, the numbers aren't called in order, so they don't have any bearing on how soon you will be done.

 

Then you wait for them to call your number and go to the window. They asked for her passport, number, my I-864, all the notarial certificates, and have you open the medical documents (they took some), two of the photos of her, and that was it. Then they gave her a receipt and she went to another window to pay the fee, which was 1,470 RMB (interestingly, the woman who took the money was kind of a jerk to her…someone else on this forum also reported this as I recall so I guess she got the same one). She then returned that receipt to the person who had taken in her documents, then sat down to be called again to be fingerprinted -- they took all ten fingers. Then she was given a blank EMS address form and a number and that was it for the day.

 

All in all, the process took about two and a half hours. She went inside the consulate around 12:20 and got back to our room just before 3:00 PM. However, she said that she was literally the last person to be called for fingerprints, so it's likely that most people make it through a bit more quickly than this.

 

The blank EMS form was actually a bit more confusing than you would expect. It comes with instructions saying that if your address is outside a certain range, you need to write the address of the GUZ post office and have it forwarded, or something. But what that range is is really unclear, and the form GUZ gave her directed us to a section of the EMS website that doesn't exist. So she called EMS, but it seems they weren't clear on what it meant either, as she was passed through at least five different customer service people, reading the form to them and trying to figure out what it meant. No one really had a good answer for this, but we know that EMS can deliver to her work in Beijing, so we ultimately just put that address.

 

The rest of the day we spend practicing interview questions, based on a list of common questions we found here on CFL. As you can imagine, this is an extremely nerve-wracking time and I'd suggest you make sure you have sufficient activities or work or something to keep your mind busy or you may go insane. Of course, you're probably going to go insane anyway….not knowing is very nerve-wracking!

 

I also began to become very nervous about my financial situation. My salary puts us well above the poverty line, but I've switched jobs a lot in the past three years, and moved back and forth from China to the US and back, so my tax returns are pretty confusing at first glance. We had bank records (3 months), a letter and business card from my employer, and the other things I listed above, but I was still nervous just because it's complex and if you were just scanning my tax returns quickly, you might think I didn't meet the requirements.

 

The next day we lined up in front of the embassy at 7:00 or so, and around 7:25 they let her in. I walked up the first floor with her, and then headed back to our hotel room (more on this in a bit). After she went into the embassy, she said the process was the same as the day before, going through various security layers and then waiting. When it came time to interview, she walked up to the counter and, before the VO said anything, greeted her with "Good morning! I'm still studying English, is it OK if we speak Chinese?" The VO smiled and said yes, and also remarked that her English didn't sound like she was still studying! Then she took her appointment letter and the EMS mailing label and passport.

 

As you know from the list above, we had a bunch of supplemental stuff to prove relationship status, domicile, etc., but the VO said she didn't need to look at any of it. She asked my wife only three questions:

-How did you meet your husband?

-Why did you move to Beijing? (she was previously living in Harbin)

-Where did you get married?

 

Then the VO looked at some stuff on her computer or some other documents in front of her, told her she had passed and handed her a WHITE slip of paper with what I imagine is the typical instructions you get: "Congratulations, your visa has been approved, don't open the packet when we send it to you, you can still be denied in rare cases after the fact so don't book travel until your visa is in hand, etc.." She called me as soon as she got out of the embassy.

 

During this time, I was back in our hotel room working at a frantic pace in an attempt to keep my mind off of my extreme nervousness. I had planned to go back over to the building at 11 AM and go up to the fourth floor to wait for her; I had decided that her chances of getting out before 11 were quite slim anyway as someone on CFL had suggested that the single people (those without kids/dependents/family members also applying for visas) tend to interview last (which makes sense, presumably the consulate doesn't want a bunch of little kids running around all day). But my wife got out of the embassy and called me at about 10:45, so I was still in the hotel.

 

Now we're going out to eat and celebrate…and that's it, so far. I've read there's sometimes a bit of a delay in actually mailing the visas out, so we'll have to see how that goes, but so far we're feeling pretty good! Many thanks to all the helpful folks of CFL who helped us out and made sure we were totally prepared! You guys are the best.

 

Major lessons from our case:

(most of this is based on advice from other CFL posters anyway, so we're just confirming some things)

• Front-load your initial application with as much as you can. It can only help, and if you have way too much extra, it's just good early preparation for the interview...
  
• Live with her in China and DCF if at all possible. Sorry, but you can find work in China (prob lower paying, tho...), and it seems to really help.
  
• At the interview, speak first with a friendly "Good morning!" in English even if you want to do the interview in Chinese. It shows confidence and it was clear that my wife's VO really liked it. Of course if you can speak English that's probably even better, but if you feel more comfortable in Chinese, just explain that you'd like to do the interview in Chinese (in English). It seems to help.
  
• Put all the documents on the counter so the VO can see them, and ask if they want to see them. In our case, the VO didn't want so see any of them, but I imagine it helped to see that they were there and we had them, even if she didn't inspect them.
  
• When the VO asks for the interviewee's passport, give BOTH (petitioner and beneficiary's). I've read this on CFL, and my wife did this as well, and said the VO looked at my passport for a little while, so it obviously mattered. But she didn't ask for it directly, so just hand it in along with the beneficiary passport (assuming you're with your SO when they interview)
  

Edited May 25, 2012 by geyahui (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

Congrats!

 

Note in your signature you said CR-2, that is a visa for son/daughter or step-child.

[warpedbored]

Congratulations and a great write up. I sure it will come in handy for others coming behind you.

[geyahui]

Congrats!

 

Note in your signature you said CR-2, that is a visa for son/daughter or step-child.

 

bwhaha...that's because I'm an idiot. Will change now

[dan1984]

Great write-up! Thanks! I've marked it for future reference!

 

And.........congratulations! Wish you both the best!

[tsap seui]

Great write up, great outcome. Happy trails.

 

tsap seui

[dan_ling]

Congrats and I hope all of your other dreams come true!

[HongKong2LA]

Congratulations!!!

[Ryan H]

Congratulations!

[knloregon]

RE: Yang's Place: "Our bed was very squeaky...." Nervous pre-interview energy, no doubt.... all night long... JUST KIDDING! congratulations! (and helpful write up)