I-130 Approved¡­awaiting instructions from GUZ

[d_spalding]

Our journey progresses...

 

GOOD NEWS! After a quick trip to the US, I submitted our I-130 paperwork in Beijing on 12/19.

Today we received an email with the PDF "Notice of Approval" attached, dated 12/20!

We are so excited to see things quickly moving in the right direction. I'm sure you'll be hearing more from me as we wade into the paperwork abyss.

 

Hopefully readers getting their I-130 packets together will find the following info useful. For the record, in addition to the required forms (I-130, a G-325 for each of us and the G-1145) and supporting materials, such as copies of all my Chinese visas (aka "Residence Permit" or "work visa") 2005 to present, a copy of our marriage certificate, etc., I provided:

 

1) English translations of our leases, 2007 to present (since they show both our names and ID info). I had a friend translate them and had him sign an attached statement attesting to the translation's accuracy and providing his name, contact info, credentials and signature (using a template gleaned from this website). Note: I also brought copies of the original Chinese leases, but the guy at the window didn't want them.

 

2) A one-page photocopy of the faces of US credit card that we share (I will do almost anything for air miles). I just put both the cards side-by-side, facedown on the glass and made a copy.

 

3) Photos of us out and about in Beijing and abroad, starting in 2005 and leading up to our wedding. I know there are different theories about how best to submit photos. Since we have everything in digital format, I simply dragged the photos (along with our wedding invitation and some old digital holiday cards we've sent out over the years) into a PPT photo album template, added some very basic labels (i.e., "X-mas 2006, Beijing") and then converted the PPT into a PDF ("Save as…"), printed it out and put a single staple in it. It was around 15 pages with maybe 45 photos total. The cover shows a pic of us at our wedding with the obvious title stating our names and that the packet is being provided in support of the I-130.

 

I made an appointment via phone to submit the I-130 (with follow-up via email). Everyone at the embassy in BJ / USCIS was very friendly and the process was quick and easy. We are a same-sex couple and this was a non-issue. I can sometimes sense that people struggle with the terminology ("your…husband?"), but that's to be expected, as the law only recently changed and it's an adjustment for everyone. Even I'm sometimes unsure about the most PC terms.

 

Now we are awaiting instructions from Guangzhou, which I assume will come via snail mail, hopefully within a week or so. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Once we hear from GZ, is this what I can expect? (I realize I'm simplifying here):

 

>Submit D-260 online; hard copies of other forms (I-864, etc.) sent with $ via CITIC

>GUZ notifies us of receipt (also via snail mail?) and we can schedule interview via website

>Hubz schedules and get medical and goes for interview in GZ (with all the requisite docs on hand)

>Passport with visa and not-to-be-opened packet mailed back to our address in BJ

 

CNH (Chinese National Hubz) has already been to his hometown to get all of the materials he needs to provide.

 

His police certificates are from July and he is concerned that they may be viewed as outdated.

However, I've assured him that this isn't the case, as on the "IV Instruction DS-260 Sept2013" from GUZ it states that "Police certificates are valid for one year." I wonder if anyone has thoughts about this?

 

From my side, I am pulling together I-864 data and other supporting docs. I also have a signed letter (on letterhead) from my new US employer stating salary and indicating that both hubz and I will be getting medical insurance benefits; also a 4-month US lease signed by the new landlord, me and hubz, clearly stating the new US address. I hope the duration of this lease doesn't raise eyebrows. Because of the uncertainty of exactly when hubz will arrive in the US, we thought it best to do a short-term rental so that we can be sure to be together when seeking more permanent accommodations. This seems reasonable to me, but let me know if you have other opinions.

 

I welcome any and all advice regarding the various steps to come, and will be keeping our journey updated here and likely posting more questions in the weeks to come.

 

Thanks and Happy Holidays,

David

 

 

 

 

 

[Andelu]

Congrats David! Excited for you and your CNH.

 

After submitting the DS-260 online and sending the hard copies of the required forms through CITIC bank my CNH did not make a payment at that time. There has been some discussion about when to pay and he paid his visa fee after the conclusion of his interview, not at the bank.

 

GUZ notified us by email, not snail mail, of the go ahead to schedule the interview appointment. Both me and CNH received emails, me as the petitioner and him as the applicant.

 

His passport and documents were returned to the CITIC bank branch specificed when setting up your online account at the ustraveldocs website. You can set up an account prior to the submitting of the DS-260 online.

 

Sounds like the process is moving faster now then we when we first started in August - i was happy with the month it took for the approval of my I-130!

[Andelu]

Just to clarify - your CNH should set up the account at the ustraveldocs.com site - not you.

[d_spalding]

Hi Andelu,

 

Happy New Year - and thanks for your thoughtful feedback!

I am just now seeing your messages and they're really quite helpful.

 

However, I'm embarrassed to say I'm a bit confused at this stage:

As mentioned, we are post-I-130 and waiting to hear from GUZ. But perhaps we're waiting in vain?

Can CNH go online now and set up his account / submit the DS-260? Or do we need to wait for a letter / email?

I think at this point they only have my email address, not CNH's, though I will review the previously submitted paperwork to be sure.

 

If we need to wait, can I ask for comparison - how long was your wait between I-130 approval notification and being able to submit the DS-260?

 

I think the "unknown factor" with respect to wait times and procedures—par for the course—is really stressing CNH out.

The more information I can provide, the better!

 

Thanks and cheers!
David

[dnoblett]

About setting up the account on CGI Stanley site, either beneficiary or petitioner can set it up, simply give the log-in info to the beneficiary, I set up an account there when my mother-in-law was trying for a visit visa, she knows little about computers.

 

Yes you can set up an account on CGI Stanley now, however I believe when filling out the DS-260 you will need the case number from the note from the consulate.

[Andelu]

Hi Andelu,

 

Happy New Year - and thanks for your thoughtful feedback!

I am just now seeing your messages and they're really quite helpful.

 

However, I'm embarrassed to say I'm a bit confused at this stage:

As mentioned, we are post-I-130 and waiting to hear from GUZ. But perhaps we're waiting in vain?

Can CNH go online now and set up his account / submit the DS-260? Or do we need to wait for a letter / email?

 

If we need to wait, can I ask for comparison - how long was your wait between I-130 approval notification and being able to submit the DS-260?

 

Thanks and cheers!

David

 

Hi David - I don't remember the exact dates of each step, I think I posted them on here somewhere but the timeline was approximately:

28 Aug filed I-130

~25 Sept received snail mail I-130 acceptance

~29 Sept both me (petitioner) and my CNH (beneficiary) received emails advising he could submit his DS-260 online

1 Oct CNH submitted his DS-260 online

~4 Oct CNH submitted the DS-260 confirmation, passport bio page and photos via CITIC Bank

~24 Oct received notification to schedule interview (both me and CNH receieved emails)

Interview scheduled same evening

28 Oct Medical in GZ

4 Nov Visa Interview - required to submit 2 additional documents

11 Nov additional documents submitted via CITIC Bank

~25 Nov requested to re-submit one of the additional documents with more detail

25 submitted same day via CITIC Bank

4 Dec Visa issued

13 Passport recieved

 

Hope that helps with your timeline questions - long answer to your question of how long between I-130 approval and being able to submit the DS-260 which was a bit less than 2 weeks.

CNH created the UStraveldocs account after I-130 approval received.

 

Andy

[d_spalding]

Thanks, Andy!

 

The timetable really helps.

 

We got our I-130 processed so quickly that I have no right to complain, but I do have a question about email notification.

Did you fill out any special paperwork to make that happen?

 

I completed a G-1145 and submitted it with the I-130, but there was only space for one email address (mine).

In fact, I don't think any of the paperwork submitted with the I-130 has CNH's email address.

Perhaps I should have submitted two of these, one for each of us.

 

I am just wondering how GUZ will contact me / us to let us know we can submit the DS-260. The sooner, the better!

Of course, knowing this won't change anything, but more information seems to set things at ease.

 

Also, thanks for your post about pets. We are planning to take our cat using the United service. Seems easy enough.

 

Cheers,

D

[dnoblett]

That G-1145 should provide them a way to contact via email. Benificiary should get a letter in mail instructing on the next steps and document collection.

[d_spalding]

Happy to tell everyone who thoughtfully replied to this post that we finally heard from GUZ today, a month to the day after we got our I-130 approval here in Beijing. We will be completing the DS-260 online this afternoon and submitting the requested materials (looks like just the pics and a copy of the passport info page) at CITIC tomorrow morning, if all goes well. Likely more inane questions from me to follow!