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CR1 DCF, Visa Approved and Issued


djkasumi

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DCF Guangzhou Timeline:

 

August 14th, 2015 - Filed I-130 at Guangzhou Consulate (DCF)

August 19th, 2015 - I-130 approved

August 31st, 2015 - I-130 Approval Letter received

September 1st, 2015 - Received e-mailed from Visa Unit / State Department

September 1st, 2015 - Completed DS-260 and turned in documents to the CITIC Bank in Guangzhou just before closing

September 4th, 2015 - Received second e-mail in response to documents being received and directing us to schedule appointment, etc.

September 8th, 2015 - Completed medical exam in Guangzhou

September 11th, 2015 - Picked up medical packet

September 15th, 2015 - Went to interview, approved

September 16th, 2015 - CEAC says "Visa Issued" , now waiting to go pick it up at the "fast" CITIC bank in GZ!

 

So we went from filing an I-130 to "visa issued" in a little over one month. It was nice to see things going quicker than expected :P

 

Originally we scheduled the wife's interview in October, but got lucky by stealing another date earlier in September. Don't give up checking the CGI website if you in a rush for earlier interview dates. I might even suggest creating a second account so that you can check available dates without hitting the "Reschedule Appointment" page refresh limit (yes, there really is a per day limit).

 

Interview Items:

 

FIRST, the ones that the consulate actually TOOK, the most important docs!

  • Interview Appointment Confirmation E-mail
  • Wife's Passport
  • American Marriage Certificate
  • "White Book" ֤ Police Certificate
  • "White Book" ֤ Birth Certificate
  • Petitioner's I-864 with 1040-EZs and letter explaining why I had not previously filed taxes
  • Cosponsor's I-864 with W2s and 1040s
  • Cosponsor's Proof of Citizenship (Passport Copy)
  • Medical Packet

 

SECOND, all other docs we took were not taken or EVEN LOOKED at by the doc intake people or the officer, including:

 

  • DS-260 Confirmation Letter (this was taken in the first document drop-off at CITIC, don't know why they say bring it again)
  • Wife's resume (Eng & Chinese)
  • Photos and proof of relationship
  • Letters regarding plans in the US
  • "Proof" of domicile, which I had used my student ID and credit card information, along with supporting letters from my family
  • My (petitioner's) own passport

 

I surmise that the reason they didn't care about this stuff was that because they still had some of these documents that came from our I-130 packet...

 

Interview Day:

 

  1. Arrive at GZ consulate at 8:35 AM, appointment time on e-mail is 8:40 AM
  2. Immediately go through the 1st line past Chinese police
  3. CGI Workers only checked my wife's appointment letter because she was "late" or "just on time" for the appointment
  4. Spent only 5 to 10 minutes in security line, my wife then went through to the consulate building and headed up to the 3rd floor
  5. She took her passport and appointment e-mail again to the 1st window to get her # in line
  6. Wait for her number to be called for document intake, the person asked her to give the docs one by one
  7. Asked my wife to go to 2nd floor and pay, so she did, and then came back
  8. Went back to the same window where doc intake person was, gave them the receipt
  9. Go wait in area B for her number to be called again
  10. Go to new window for interview, first take fingerprints
  11. Raise both hands and party... just kidding, my wife didn't realize she was asking her to swear :P
  12. Officer talked to her and asked questions (English) -- my wife also notes that if you even say "hi" or "good morning" the officer will probably automatically assume your English is good enough for the entire interview ;)
  • "When did you get married?" (Last year)
  • "Where did you meet your husband?"
  • "Do you live in Guangzhou?" (Because my wife mentioned we met in Chongqing, which is her hometown)
  • "What does your husband do?" (my wife suggested the CO comes to play ultimate frisbee with us...)
  • "Have you been to America before?" (Yes, my wife attended Kansas State University before)
  • "Where will you live in America then, in Oregon?" (Yep)
  • "Who is your co-sponsor?" (My father in law)
  • "Here, you're approved" (Thanks!)

 

And then she was all done and left.

 

She walked out of the consulate probably around 9:50. A grand total of 1 hour 10 minutes approximately.

 

Other Random Comments

 

(NOTE: this all applies to Guangzhou specifically, can't speak for other places)

 

My wife thinks the medical is a complete sham and was super disappointed with that (I agree)... she says the yearly university medical exams are even more rigorous and cost 1/100th of the price.

 

Medical center people are more picky about visa style photos, even more picky than the US consulate people themselves (re-printed 8 photos)

 

Definitely fill out the medical forms BEFORE you go to the medical center and get a number ... and GO EARLY! No need to make an appointment online

 

Notarization can be a pain in China, often times it will NEED to be done back in your spouses hometown. Do it early (but not TOO early, the police one is only valid for a short period of time) -- or be ready to have family do it for you (with appropriate documents left behind for them, such as ID card )

 

Good luck to everyone else! Thanks for all the help we got reading posts here!

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