A Guide to DCF For Dummies

[woodbreyjt]

rjw - the board software seems to have dropped the 中文 characters in this thread. I will be re-entering them as I can find them.

 

Foreword:

This guide is written to help Americans living in China doing Direct Consulate Filing to bring their families to the United States through an I-130 petition. This is written based on my wifes and my experience in getting her Visa/Green Card through this process. Of all the methods available to get a Green Card, this is definitely the fastest and most convenient. I am in no way trying to replace the great stickied guide available here, and I actually suggest using this in conjunction with it. I will try to avoid repeating information there, and instead give direction on where to get certain documents, what the costs are, and give some other suggestions of my own. If this guide doesnt answer any of your more specific questions regarding a particular step or form, there is probably an answer somewhere in the forums. If you still cant find it, dont hesitate to post your own questions. There are many helpful people who will be quick to share their knowledge and experience!

Included in this guide are our timeline, costs at every point in the visa, and a step by step breakthrough of each step of the application process. They will be posted as replies to this topic. All of this information is accurate as of May 2016.

I cant emphasize enough the importance of over preparing and doing it early. Not only will it ensure a quicker, smoother application process, but it will also give you a peace of mind and confidence that can get you through the frustrations of everything. A piece of advice I heard from someone else is this. Remember, it isnt you and your significant other fighting against the consulate or the government. As a citizen of the United States you have the right to take your family with you back to the United States, and the government has the responsibility to help you do it.

So follow the (sometimes unclear) instructions, get through all the red tape, and you will have no problem.

I will also include the Chinese names of many of the documents or places, as that should makes things easier for your spouse.

Our Timeline:

4/12/2016 - Submitted I-130
4/18/2016 - Received e-mail with instructions to submit DS-260
4/22/2016 - Submitted DS-260 online
4/25/2016 - Submitted additional paperwork through CITIC bank
5/3/2016 - Received e-mail with instructions to schedule interview
5/17/2016 - Medical and Vaccinations
5/19/2016 - Picked up medical results and passed interview
5/23/2016 - Online status showed visa issued
??/??/2016 - Picked up visa from CITIC Bank

Major Costs:

I paid in a mixture of both RMB and USD throughout this process. Anything paid for at the consulate can be paid in either currency or with a credit card. Chinese documents obviously need to be paid for with RMB, and the green card fee needs to be paid in USD.

I-130 Submission - $420
Notarial Certificates ֤ 1000-1500 RMB
(Every ֤ will have different costs, and you can choose how many copies of each document that you want notarized. We paid 230 for one, and 40 for each additional copy)
Medical and Full Round of Vaccinations C 1362 RMB
Interview - 2200 RMB
Green Card Processing Fee - $160
Total - $1400 (approximately)

Note: There are also many smaller fees for getting passport photos, printing documents, etc.

Edited June 27, 2016 by Randy W (see edit history)

[woodbreyjt]

STEP 1 - Preparing the I-130 Application

WHAT DO YOU NEED IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT THIS APPLICATION?

It seems this requirement has changed from time to time in exactly what the embassy requires, but this is what they told me through e-mail.

The petitioner must have a residence permit in China in order to file an I-130 with the Guangzhou Field Office. In lieu of a residence permit, the Guangzhou Field Office may accept other proof of residence, such as a lease agreement, job contract, etc. However, this evidence is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

I also believe a work visa is enough to submit this application.

In my case, I had been in China for nearly a total of 7 months, but on a tourist visa. My wife and I didn't live in the city she was from, and due to work and other reasons it was infeasible to go there and pay to change my visa. Instead, every two months I went to Hong Kong and came back the next day. It was evident by the stamps in my passport. I also had two temporary drivers licenses and a rental contract. They felt it was enough to prove I was living in China and not just a tourist. Also, according to the e-mail they sent me and the person I asked in the office, there is no longer a 6 month requirement for being in China.

If you need to get a residency permit, contact the Public Security Bureau that handles exit and entry for the area of your spouses residence (i.e., where their household register hu2kou3ben3 户口本 is from). You can have your spouse do a simple Baidu search for (chu1ru4jing4pai4chu1suo3 出入境牌出所 or PSB Entry/Exit Bureau) to find the closest one. Contact it, and they will tell you what you need to do. Generally, you are required to have multiple white background passport style photos (not American standard, but Chinese standard size), a health examination, you and your spouses wedding certificates, as well as her household register. Ive heard of some places requiring you do this within 10 days of entering the country, but the one here told us as long as the current visa stay was still valid you can get your visa changed to a residence permit. Usually they are 6 month permits that can be extended to 1 year permits.

Now that you know what you need to have to be eligible, here are the documents you need to submit with your application. It is in the form my cover letter I originally submitted. You will want to have a cover letter on top of your documents. Put it all together with ACCO clips. Don't staple anything. Also, make sure you bring the original documents of everything you can in here. You don't need your original birth certificate, but you will need your spouses original passport. That is NOT written in their requirements, but they required me to show it when I went. Luckily I had it.

Items 1-8 are required. Everything under 9 may be different from person to person. You can add or subtract to what secondary documents you have as proof of your relationship. For example, in our case we are newlyweds with no children, so I couldnt include any ultrasounds or birth certificates of children.

EXAMPLE COVER LETTER

YOUR NAME HERE
YOUR ADDRESS HERE

United States Department Of Homeland Security
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Guangzhou
43 Hua Jiu Road, Zhu Jiang New Town
Tian He District, 510623
China

DATE HERE

Nature of Submission: I-130 ORIGINAL APPLICATION

To Whom it May Concern:

Enclosed please find my Form I-130, Petition for Spouse for SPOUSE NAME HERE and supporting documents. Contents include:

1. Form G-1145
2. Form I-130 and attached sheet for additional info
3. Form G-325A, attached sheet for additional info, and passport style photos (x2) for Petitioner (YOUR NAME HERE)
4. Form G-325A, attached sheet for additional info, and passport style photos (x2) for Beneficiary (SPOUSE NAME HERE)
5. Copy of Petitioners Birth Certificate
6. Copy of Petitioners Passport Biodata Page
7. Copy of Beneficiarys Passport Biodata Page
8. Copy of Translated Notarial Certificate of Marriage
9. Secondary Evidence of bona fide marriage:
a. Letter of Relationship (x Pages)
b. Copy of Rental Contract (x Pages)
c. Affidavits of Relationship from friends and relatives (x)
d. Copies of collage style photos documenting relationship (x Pages)
e. Screenshots of social media profiles documenting timeline of relationship (x Pages)

Copies of documents included are exact photocopies of unaltered documents and I understand that I may be required to submit original documents to an Immigration or Consular officer at a later date.

Signed,

YOUR NAME HERE

TIPS ON HOW TO GET THE DOCUMENTS AND FILL OUT THE FORMS

Chinese Names

As you likely know, Chinese names are different than English names. Most names are made up of two or three characters. On rare occasions there are four. Their last name (family or surname) is the first character, and then their given name is second and third characters. They don't have middle names. If they have four characters, that is because they have one of the very uncommon two character surnames. Keep this in mind when filling out all of your documents that have any names. I always wrote them in this notation, including my own name. Put the family name in all capitals first, comma, then the given name.

ZHANG, Xiaoming
SMITH, John

I did this with American names as well to keep everything uniform. When my wife signed her signature, I had her use her usual Chinese signature. When it asked for her name in her native alphabet I wrote it the way they normally do in China.

The form will ask you to include all other names. If they have an English nickname, don't write that in. Only include legal names that you have documentation that you can prove the changes of. Generally Chinese people don't change their family names for marriage either.

Forms and Additional Info Sheet

Get the forms from the government websites (a Google search can find them) to make sure they are up to date.
Many Chinese addresses and phone numbers will not fit correctly on their forms. Don't use abbreviations. Often you will see three numbers like this 1-22-103 in an address.

In Chinese that would read: 1-22-103 号

In English notation that would be Room 103 Unit 22 Building 1, or # 1-22-103.

For form G-325A, on the lines on which I couldn't fit information I wrote:

SEE ATTACHED (LINE xx)
ADDITIONAL INFO: FORM G-325A FOR BENEFICIARY (BENEFICIARY NAME HERE)
Line 1: XXX
Line 2: XXX
Line 3: XXX

For the I-130 I wrote SEE ATTACHED on the lines that I couldnt fit things, then attached the following:

ADDITIONAL INFO: FORM I-130
B2: XXX
C2: XXX
19: XXX

When you are asked for an A#, you can just put none unless your spouse was an immigrant before.

Notarial Certificates ֤ (sometimes known as the white books)

You will need most of your notarial certificates at the interview stage, but there is one that you need during this stage (the translation of your marriage certificate). But in my opinion, it is easier and more efficient to get everything done at once at this stage in your application process. However, since you dont need the majority of these until the interview, I will explain how to get them at that step of the guide. But remember, you DO need one of them at this step. Its just better explained later with the rest.

Pictures

A tip for pictures. Using your editor of choice (photoshop, Microsoft word, or anything really), I pulled all of the photos together and saved them as PDF files then printed it all that way. I did black and white, but color would probably be nicer. I didnt have photoshop on this computer, which I think would have been simpler, so I used a word processor. I imported 4 or 5 pictures at a time to each page, set their layout to behind font, then resized and dragged them around and added text that said who was in the photos and when and where they were taken.
I also included screen shots of all of our Facebook and WeChat Timelines. That showed that we were public about our relationship, shows a timeline with dates, and also includes likes and comments of what people may have said about our posts. Its a way to provide evidence that you have a bona fide relationship that others are all aware of.

Other Evidence of a bona fide Relationship

Before anything else, I want to roughly quote/paraphrase something I saw on this site. It was one of the admins who said it, though I cant remember who. Evidence is just what you have. A lot of the requirements or documents that others say you have to have aren't necessarily required. Look around the site for other tips of things to use as well.

One thing you can use is an affidavit of your relationship written by friends or other relatives. I'm not sure how useful the ones I provided were, but in the end we got the visa so I assume they were fine. I didn't get any letters here in China notarized. My parents and sister wrote letters in America, got them notarized at their bank for free, and then sent scans to me. I didn't follow a specific format either. They wrote heartfelt letters about their relationship to us, how and when they came to know of our relationship, expressed their feelings and support, and simply stated they had written the letters to testify of our relationship, and hoped the letters could be used as evidence towards it.

Address them To Whom it May Concern,

At the bottom of the letter, be sure to include:

Full Name, Address, Phone Number, Place and Date of Birth, and Relationship to Petitioner. I had them add their passport numbers or national ID numbers for good measure.

You could also include evidence of combined financials, rental contracts, a letter written by yourself explaining the evolution of your relationship, or anything else that you feel like serves as evidence to your relationship.

Passport Photos

Many of the places that take passport photos and print them out can do them according to American standard, but they will tell you that it is the wrong size. So, for any and all of the passport photos you need to give to the embassy or the health center, go by American standards: the 2x2 square photo on a white background. Your spouse will need at least 14 photos throughout this process, so I would suggest getting them all taken and printed at once. You, as the petitioner, will only need 2.

SCHEDLUING THE APPOINTMENT AND GOING TO THE EMBASSY

Follow this link to set up your appointment. Its very straightforward.

The consulate in Guangzhou is the only consulate that processes immigrant visa applications, and the final interview will be held there, but you can submit the I-130 application at the Beijing consulate if you live in one of the provinces under its jurisdiction. Quoted from an e-mail they sent me:

Please note that the jurisdiction of the USCIS Guangzhou Field Office includes the following provinces: Anhui, Chongqing, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shandong, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Tibet (Xizang), Xiamen, Yunnan and Zhejiang. For all other locations in China, please contact USCIS Beijing at DHSBeijing-CIS@dhs.gov for further assistance.

When you go to the appointment, don't worry about getting there too early. In fact, don't be any earlier than 30 minutes early. You cant line up, and you cant walk in. That goes for every step of the process. When I first saw the embassy, I assumed I was in for a long wait. You aren't. More than half, if not two thirds, of the people waiting outside are family members waiting for their loved ones to come out after interviews, or the people they hired to help them apply for everything. It is NOT a line to get in. So don't worry.

Bring your appointment confirmation letters and whatever e-mails you've been sent.

As a citizen, you have the privilege of being able to place your phone, backpack, and other forbidden items at the security check of the embassy. Despite what the friendly people outside offering help and directions say, that rule doesn't apply to you. It only applies to non-immigrant visa applicants, as they enter through a different side of the embassy. However, I still recommend only bringing what you need. If, like me, you flew to Guangzhou for a day just to submit the application, you don't need to worry about finding a place to store your backpack. If you are worried about this, though, there is a shop/stand at the intersection where you can store your bags and items for 20 RMB. I'm sure the people with bags soliciting for your stuff are cheaper, but I felt safer with the stand than a person who could walk off at any minute. I used it twice and never had anything go missing.

Once you get in, you'll be directed where to go. When your name is first called, the officer will make sure you qualify to submit the I-130 and you will submit a few documents. Then you will be called again to meet with another officer where you will submit everything else. If everything is accepted and in order, you will go downstairs, pay a fee, and bring the receipt back to them. That's it for Step 1!

Edited June 27, 2016 by Randy W (see edit history)

[woodbreyjt]

STEP 2 C DS-260 Online Application

 

Receiving the confirmation for the I-130 can take up to two months, and for most it does. Maybe it was because we were very prepared or we were just blessed, but it can be quicker! We got ours in one week.

 

Once your I-130 petition is approved, this e-mail will let you know and instruct you to fill out the DS-260 online. At this point you will also be given your case number! This is used for almost everything going forward. With this you can also finally email the embassy about application issues or other questions using the form on their website.

 

FYI, save and keep copies of ALL of the e-mails you receive from the embassy. You will need many of them later.

 

This step includes two parts, the online submission, and the submission of additional documents through a CITIC bank. In Chinese, it is . From what Ive seen, these banks are all over. You should have no problem finding one near to you. It is the only bank you can submit additional documents through, and where you will pick up the passport with the visa at the end of everything. Just FYI, applications for tourist visas are also done through this bank.

Anyways, onto the details.

 

If there is anything differing from these instructions and what the embassy sent you, follow THEIR instructions.

 

Online Submission

 

If you have problems starting the application or logging in using your case number at first dont worry. Their system can be slow to update. I was told it would take up to two weeks when I e-mailed, but it ended up only taking 4 days before I could log in.

 

Fill the form out using Internet Explorer. When I called their support line they told me their system worked best on it.

 

The e-mail includes a link to detailed instructions on how to fill this out. Its a long application and you resubmit a lot of the information from the I-130 and G-325A (so have copies handy), but in my opinion, this is probably the most straightforward part of the entire application process.

 

CITIC Bank Submission ()

 

Even though you are told to select a document delivery address at http://ustraveldocs.com, at this point in time you cannot finish all the steps online that are required to do so. It is tied in to scheduling your visa appointment, so you cannot finish all the steps. Dont worry, just fill everything out you can, and towards the end of these steps you will be presented with the option to choose from many CITIC banks.

 

Make sure to print out and fill out TWO cover letters (the link to the cover letter is included in the e-mail the embassy sent to you, as well as here). The e-mail instructions are very clear, so do exactly what it says. We sent in:

 

• Two cover letters (one for the outside of the envelope, one for the contents inside it)

• A copy of the e-mail with instructions to fill out DS-260

• A copy of the DS-260 application confirmation page

• A copy of your spouses (the beneficiary/applicant) passport biodata page

• Two passport photos

Edited May 24, 2016 by woodbreyjt (see edit history)

[woodbreyjt]

Step 3 C Medical and Interview

When the DS-260 application and supporting documents have been processed and approved, you will receive another e-mail outlining what you should do to register for your interview. During the interview at the embassy, your spouse will submit an I-864 and other supporting documents for your spouse. I will explain how to prepare these below. The other part in this step is the medical. The e-mail sent by the embassy doesnt have too many instructions for the medical because it is not done by the embassy, but by one of their approved panel physicians.

Again, remember that if there is anything differing from these instructions and what the embassy sent you, follow THEIR instructions.

PREPARING FOR THE MEDICAL

This medical MUST be done by one of their panel physicians. There are only four of them, in Guangzhou, Beijing, Fujian, and Shanghai. The one in Guangzhou is just across the street from the side of the embassy; its on the fifth floor of the Poly Building. It is generally easiest to do the medical on Monday or Tuesday, and schedule the interview for Thursday. That way you can do everything in one trip. You need to give yourself time to do the medical and get the results before the interview, as they are given in a sealed envelope to the consular officer during the interview.

You can make an appointment ahead of time, but I would personally suggest to not bother with it. They send you an e-mail and a text message saying you need to show it to them when you arrive, but that never happened for my wife. Hundreds of people get their medicals done every day, so just make sure you arrive early. It is far better to get in line at 7:00 before the doors open to get a number earlier in the day versus showing up later and waiting inside for hours to finally start the medical. We showed up just after 7 and got number 21. They open the doors to give out the numbers just after 7:30, and dont start doing the medicals until around 8. We got everything done and left around 10:30.

There is little you need to do in preparation for the medical. You will need to fill out this form, as well as this medical history form. I didnt know you needed to fill this out before, and ended up paying a cut throat office on the first floor 100 RMB to fill it out and print off the two pages. The medical office, strangely enough, has no blank forms and will not let you in if you havent filled this out beforehand.

The medical is very straightforward. You walk in, get your number, wait for it to be called, and do a standard physical examination, x-ray of lungs, blood test, and get a round of vaccines. Its pretty hard to find vaccination records in China, so even though your spouse likely had them as a child, unless you have the documentation they will need to get them again. Its not a big deal, and only costs just over 200 RMB to get them all done at the medical center.

What you will need to bring to the medical:

• The filled out forms (mentioned above)
• Copies of the two emails sent by the embassy (i.e. the one instructing you to fill out the DS-260, as well as the one instructing you two schedule your interview)
• Copy of the visa interview confirmation page (after you've scheduled your interview, you can print this page confirming the time and other information)
• Original passport of the beneficiary
• 8 two inch passport photos of the beneficiary (white background)

After the medical is finished, you will be given a yellow vaccination book, another sheet explaining when to get the second and third rounds of shots (can be done in the US), and another sheet of paper instructing them on when they can return to pick up their results. We got my wifes medical done first thing in the morning on Tuesday, and were told we could pick them up Thursday at 8:00, just a few hours before her interview. That time worked fine for us, but be aware that you may not be able to get expedited results. When I asked, the lady just scoffed at me and told me there was no way to get the results any faster than that.

To get the results, bring another copy of the interview confirmation page, original passport, and the paper they gave saying when to come and pick up the results. Make sure you are on time to pick them up! For example, if you were told to come at 8 to pick them up and miss that time, you have to come back during their open pick up hours to get them. I believe those dont start until 10. It may not be a big deal to you, but if your interview is also that morning, it could make for some problems.

You will be given two sheets of paper, a sealed envelope, and a sealed CD. The sealed ones are to be given to the consular during the interview. Dont open them beforehand. The other two papers will be needed when coming into the United States. - I don't think there ARE "two sheets of paper" that are needed at the POE, but you WILL want to have paid your green card fee - rjw

PREPARING FOR THE INTERVIEW

First and foremost, here is a link to the instruction packet sent by the embassy. It by itself is already pretty helpful in letting you know what to prepare, but not so much in how to get those things.

Much like when originally petitioning with the I-130, this step also includes providing a lot of documentation and forms.

Everyones situation is a little different, so the documents you provide may be different than mine. Just make sure you get the required ones, and follow the instruction packet the embassy sends as well. I prefer to be over prepared, so I brought originals and copies of all of these things, plus all the documents from when I submitted the I-130. They told my wife I prepared too much, but that is better than not enough.

Note: I use the terms applicant and beneficiary interchangeably. Beginning with the DS-260 part of the application process, the embassy and visa center seem to stop using the term beneficiary and instead use applicant.

Example Cover Letter

NAME OF APPLICANT/BENEFICIARY
DATE
Documents included in this packet:
• DS-260 Application Confirmation Page
• Copy of e-mail instructions to fill out DS-260
• Copy of Immigrant Visa Instructions to schedule interview e-mail
• Copy of Appointment Confirmation e-mail
• Passport Photos (x2) of Applicant
• Copy of Passport Biodata Page of Applicant
• Copy of National ID of Applicant
• Copy of Passport Biodata Page of Petitioner
• Notarial Certificates (Original and Copy)
o Birth Certificate
o Marital Status Certificate of Applicant
o Marital Status Certificate of Petitioner/Spouse
o Police Certificate
o Household Registerڱ
• Evidence of Support
o I-864 of Petitioner and supporting tax documents
Documents establishing domicile in US
o I-864 of Joint Sponsor and supporting tax documents
Copy of Passport Biodata Page for
• Evidence of Relationship
o Collage Style Photos (8 pages)
• Resume (Chinese and English)

TIPS ON HOW TO GET THE DOCUMENTS AND FILL OUT THE FORMS

Notarial Documents - GongZhengShu (公证书֤) - see Chinese Essential Documents - White Books

In China, a ֤ can copy, translate, and notarize official documents. These are literally all over the place, so you shouldnt have too big of a problem finding one. The hardest part is getting them to produce these documents for you. Sometimes you will be sent to the main֤ of your spouses home city to get these. Sometimes you will just have bad luck with whoever is in the office. The best thing to do is just try and find another one nearby and see what they say there. Piece of advice, dont tell them you came from another one just before.

Now that that is out of the way, there are 5 kinds of notarial certificates you will be needing, 6 if you have children that need birth certificates translated. Generally, you will bring all the required documentation, they will photocopy what they need, and call you within a week to come pick up the white books/notarial certificates.

They are often called white books because that is exactly what they are. The official name is a ֤. They are basically a bound pamphlet that includes photos of whatever was copied, and a notarized sheet and signature stating what type of notarized document it is. It also includes translations of everything and a notarized sheet and signature stating that the translations are correct. This is the only format that the embassy will accept for these documents.

Also, the embassy only wants original notarial certificates! They will keep the ones you give them. In case you might need these in the future, I would strongly suggest ordering two copies of each one when you are there. For each kind, we paid 230 for the first booklet and 40 for the second. Its much cheaper (and less stressful) to just get two of each one the first time there.

Marital Status Certificates ֤֤

When married in China, both you and your spouse will be giving a red book wedding certificate. You need to get both of these notarized, one for each of you. As the petitioner, yours is used when you file the I-130. Your spouses will be used at the interview stage. We had to go to the main ֤ of the city in which we originally got our wedding certificates produced.

Household Register Certificate ( not needed - never has been, unless asked for )

This one may not even be required. It doesn't mention it in the instructions and the officer never asked for it in my wife's interview. It was the only one he gave back to her from the packet she handed him as well. I had seen it was needed online here, and it may have been before, but it looks like it isn't required anymore. However you can choose whether or not you want to get one of these. Just bring the household register to the֤ Gong Zheng Chu, or 公证处.

Police Certificate֤

This one was a little harder to get. Basically, we got a paper, and I don't know where from, saying my wife hadn't committed any crimes. Then, we went to the֤ ??? and got a sort of form from them there. We took that to the Public Security Bureau and then they gave us another paper. That was the one we finally took back to the֤ Gong Zheng Chu, or 公证处 to get the police record certificate. I'm not sure if this is how it works in every city, so I would call ahead and check what their procedures are. This certificate is only valid for one year, so don't get it too far ahead of time.

Birth Certificate - see Chinese Essential Documents - White Books

The notation on the notarial birth certificate is 出生公证书, or chu sheng gong zheng shu, which is what you need to ask for at the Gong Zheng Chu, or 公证处֤֤֤.

This one was the hardest one for us to get. China didn't keep the best birth records until recently, so chances are your spouse won't have one. Most֤ will usually just look at the household register to produce this, but if they don't, you might be in for a difficult time. We ended up having to go to the Public Security Bureau for the district in which she was born, show them my wife's household register, then have them just type up a simple document that said my wife's name, her ID number, place and date of birth, and who her parents were. Then we brought that back to the ֤ and they produced the document for it. Even though the information is exactly what was written in the household register, the lady there still demanded we bring an original birth certificate or go to the hospital and get a blood test done to produce one. After multiple visits and phone calls, we finally got her to accept this. Hopefully the one you go to doesn't do this to you. You will also need to bring two Chinese standard white background passport style photos (or only one if you don't want two copies). It is the 2size.

Evidence of Support (Form I-864, Tax Documents, and Documents Establishing US Domicile)

This thread should be helpful for how to fill out the I-864 and what parts should be left blank.

Your purpose with this portion of the application is to prove that you still have sufficient ties to America and a place to go back to. You want the officer to know that your life in America will be as good, if not better, than in China. As part of that, you will need to provide your tax transcripts (which you can get with a request to the IRS), documents establishing your US domicile, and fill out an affidavit of support (a Form I-864). You need to show that your income is at least 125% of the poverty line for you and your spouse (and children, if sponsoring them too). If your regular income does not reach that, or you would just like a boost to this section, you can also show proof of any other assets, such as savings accounts, property, and other funds.

If you cannot reach the poverty line by yourself, you will need a joint sponsor. They will need to fill out a separate I-864, give you a copy of their passport, and their most recent year of tax transcripts. My father got three years just to be safe, and the embassy took all of it. I also provided my three most recent years, and they kept all of that information too.

For documents establishing domicile, this will also be different from person to person. Any official documents with your name and address on it work. I provided bank statements, scholarship letters, other school documents, a letter to show up for jury duty (which I obviously couldn't make), and some official documents from my church. If you have copies of deeds for property I imagine that would be even better. A letter from your future (or current employer) is useful too. Have it put on a company letterhead, state your position, how long you have been employed (if a previous or current employer), your income, and anything else you think might be useful. In our case, what I provided was sufficient.

Resume

This basically works like any normal resume would. Just make sure to add the information explicitly asked for in the instructions. Take particular note of international travel history section, any publications written, and plans for obtaining employment in the United States.

Other Documents

This is all the documentation that applied to us. If your spouse has prison or court records, military records, or anything else mentioned in the instruction packet sent by the embassy, get that as well.

For more evidence of our relationship, I included more recent pictures of us together, when my parents came from America to visit. Whatever you bring here is only going to be seen by the consular officer doing the short interview, so it may or may not be in your best interest to bring too much.

Note: (from the embassy instruction packet) All documents not in English must be accompanied by certified English translations. A competent translator must certify the translation and swear to the accuracy of the document before a notary public.

THE ACTUAL INTERVIEW

Once you've made it to this point, the best thing you can do for yourself is to calm down and be confident. Arrive no more than 30 minutes before your appointment time; there is no need to come any earlier. You will not be able to enter the embassy with your spouse. Make sure that they know what all the documents you have prepared are. I would suggest putting everything together with a cover letter, and writing extra notes about things that might need to be explained (i.e. documents proving domicile, odd things in financials, tax returns, etc.). Ive also heard some say sending them in with your original passport lets the officer know you are outside waiting in person, and that it can convince them that you're personally invested in a real relationship.

The first thing your spouse will do is turn in the documentation. If there is anything like relationship evidence, they will likely give that back for your spouse to show the consular officer conducting the interview. Your spouse will then pay the interview fee, take the receipt back, and wait to be called in to the interview.

Everyone's interview experience will be a little different. From what I understand, they will address everything that seems to be red flags. In our instance, we were married after a 3 month courtship, the majority of which was while I was in America. I'm also still not finished with school. The officer asked a lot about why we got married so quickly, and how many people attended our wedding (thankfully we brought pictures of that). He did spend time looking at the few pictures we brought. He asked how my wife how I would support her while I was going to school. He also asked what my parents names were, where I lived, what school I attended, what my major was, and what my birthday was...little things that they expect a real couple to know. You can't memorize or prepare for these, but my wife's advice is to just treat it like a normal conversation and answer truthfully. It should only take a couple of minutes.

From appointment time to leaving the embassy, my wife was inside for just over an hour.

I can't speak to the quality of everyone interviewing, and I'm not taking away from others bad experiences with them, but of all the people Ive met inside the embassy, including the man interviewing my wife, I have never met one with a bad attitude. My wife was originally worried about this, as she saw her interviewer interview an applicant before her and she thought he was way too stern. But she went in with a cheerful attitude, cracked a few jokes, and he was smiling and laughing with her by the end. Your own attitude can go a long way.

If the interview is passed, the consular officer will give your spouse a slip, keep their passport, and they can just walk right out of the embassy. I'm not sure what happens if there is missing documentation or additional processing needed. They don't give yellow slips to those who pass immigration interviews; its a white paper. I didn't see any blue or pink slips either. You can check the status of your passport and visa here, here, or by logging in to the ustraveldocs home page.

If the first few days you see that it says administrative processing, don't get too worried. Even if its just in a pile waiting to get shipped out it will say that until its shipped. If that doesn't change after a longer period of time, then there might be some other issue that they will contact you about.

If issued, you will be able to pick up the passport and visa from the CITIC bank location you previously registered for. Dont open the enclosed immigration packet, as that will be given to the border official when arriving in the US.

I hope this guide wasn't overkill on the explanations, but I really wanted to be as helpful as possible to anyone else that comes down the same path me and my wife have. Again, thank you to all that helped me get to this point, and good luck to everyone else that follows!

Edited August 19, 2017 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

I'm going to have to save this to go through tomorrow - thank you very much for the effort here. It'll definitely be one to add to the "stickies".

[dan1984]

Amazing write-up! Saved for future use when we go through the DCF process.

 

......also, congrats on the visa!!

[Randy W]

An excellent level of detail and thoroughness - thanks again! Looks like the Chinese characters were dropped, though.

[wawster]

What a great write-up!

It should be very helpful to folks going through the DCF process!

[woodbreyjt]

 

An excellent level of detail and thoroughness - thanks again! Looks like the Chinese characters were dropped, though.

 

 

Ya I kept trying to edit and could never get them inserted. It hasn't worked on multiple browsers. It might be a bug on the site right now. If it gets fixed, let me know, and I'll make the fixes or ask you to make them for me if that's alright.

[Randy W]

 

An excellent level of detail and thoroughness - thanks again! Looks like the Chinese characters were dropped, though.

 

 

Ya I kept trying to edit and could never get them inserted. It hasn't worked on multiple browsers. It might be a bug on the site right now. If it gets fixed, let me know, and I'll make the fixes or ask you to make them for me if that's alright.

 

 

 

Yes - if you can get them to me, I'll make sure they get in the database. I'll send you my email in a PM - the PM feature may have the same problem, so please send the entire text to me via email. Thanks again

[Randy W]

 

 

An excellent level of detail and thoroughness - thanks again! Looks like the Chinese characters were dropped, though.

 

 

Ya I kept trying to edit and could never get them inserted. It hasn't worked on multiple browsers. It might be a bug on the site right now. If it gets fixed, let me know, and I'll make the fixes or ask you to make them for me if that's alright.

 

 

 

Yes - if you can get them to me, I'll make sure they get in the database. I'll send you my email in a PM - the PM feature may have the same problem, so please send the entire text to me via email. Thanks again

 

 

 

Getting the 中文 characters into your posts won't be a problem for us - figuring out what's different with your setup might be a problem.

 

The only hint we have at this point is the   sequence in your post being misinterpreted

 

A common character entity used in HTML is the non-breaking space:  

 

[Beachey]

 

Our Timeline:

 

4/12/2016 - Submitted I-130

4/18/2016 - Received e-mail with instructions to submit DS-260

4/22/2016 - Submitted DS-260 online

4/25/2016 - Submitted additional paperwork through CITIC bank

5/3/2016 - Received e-mail with instructions to schedule interview

5/17/2016 - Medical and Vaccinations

5/19/2016 - Picked up medical results and passed interview

5/23/2016 - Online status showed visa issued

??/??/2016 - Picked up visa from CITIC Bank

 

 

 

Wow! That is quick, by far the fastest DCF I have seen, I have seen others do it in 2-3 months but you did it in just over a month. Good job!

[ZhWei]

This is excellent! Thank you!

[Jeabjam]

Hi

 

What step that I have to submit police record?

[dnoblett]

Hi

 

What step that I have to submit police record?

It's needed for visa interview, or if filed petition in the states, it is scanned and emailed to national visa center when they request notary documents.

 

http://www.ustraveldocs.com/cn/Immigrant%20Visa%20Instructions%20Sept.%202016.pdf

 

http://www.ustraveldocs.com/cn/cn-iv-preparedocuments.asp