American and Canadian engaged and living in china, need help!

[Johnwrede 0]

Hello. After months of reading everything I could online, I am still frustrated and not sure what to do.

I am an American who has been legally working in china for five years.

My fiancé is a Canadian who has been living and working in china for five years.

We met out here, got engaged, and now we would like to move to the USA. What I am not sure about is the fastest way to get a visa so she can work in the us in the near future. We qualify for dcf so could get married here in china and start that process. Alternatively, we could go the fiancé visa route from china and get married in the us but not sure if that is faster or slower. Also, we could try and do either of the above options from Canada if that is going to be faster because her parents live there.

I know electronic processing seems to be the big variable here and just not sure if I can count on that or not so it is risky to go the china route if canada will be quicker.

I really appreciate any help!!

John

[LBeachey 45]

I think your best option is likely DCF through USCIS in Beijing. With DCF, EP Processing never comes into play as the file never leaves China. A couple issues you will have to work through but shouldn't be a huge issue if you know about them ahead of time.

1. You have to get married first. Two foreigners getting married in Mainland China can be complicated. I have been told it is easier to get married in Hong Kong though it does takes some preparation. You can't just fly to Hong Kong and show up at the marriage bureau. If you plan on being back in the US or Canada, I would try to get married there. I am talking about a civil ceremony. Any kind of religious ceremony you desire can be held anywhere and anytime you wish. One of the goals of this is to have your marriage documents in English or you will have to go to the Chinese notary (Though you likely will have to end up going anyway).

2. You will have to interview in Guangzhou but doing interview in English is preferred so no worries there.

3. The one document that you will need at the interview that might be difficulat is you will need a police certificate from Canada. (I would go to the Canadian section here to find out how one does that). You will also need a police certificate from China which I think you just go to the PSB for. Also, if the beneficary lived in any other country they will need a police certificate from there.

4. She will also need a medical done in China, you might need a translator (unless you can speak Chinese). You probalby will want to try and get as much information on immunization records though if needed you can just get them again. While the Guangzhou consulate can be difficult, it shouldn't be an issue for a Canadian/American relationship.

5. You might want to go to Candle for Love and look at other's DCF experience. Yours will be slightly different but the required documentation should be the same.

[Johnwrede 0]

I think your best option is likely DCF through USCIS in Beijing. With DCF, EP Processing never comes into play as the file never leaves China. A couple issues you will have to work through but shouldn't be a huge issue if you know about them ahead of time.

1. You have to get married first. Two foreigners getting married in Mainland China can be complicated. I have been told it is easier to get married in Hong Kong though it does takes some preparation. You can't just fly to Hong Kong and show up at the marriage bureau. If you plan on being back in the US or Canada, I would try to get married there. I am talking about a civil ceremony. Any kind of religious ceremony you desire can be held anywhere and anytime you wish. One of the goals of this is to have your marriage documents in English or you will have to go to the Chinese notary (Though you likely will have to end up going anyway).

2. You will have to interview in Guangzhou but doing interview in English is preferred so no worries there.

3. The one document that you will need at the interview that might be difficulat is you will need a police certificate from Canada. (I would go to the Canadian section here to find out how one does that). You will also need a police certificate from China which I think you just go to the PSB for. Also, if the beneficary lived in any other country they will need a police certificate from there.

4. She will also need a medical done in China, you might need a translator (unless you can speak Chinese). You probalby will want to try and get as much information on immunization records though if needed you can just get them again. While the Guangzhou consulate can be difficult, it shouldn't be an issue for a Canadian/American relationship.

5. You might want to go to Candle for Love and look at other's DCF experience. Yours will be slightly different but the required documentation should be the same.

Thank you very much for your reply. It looks like you had a fairly painless and quick experience. A few comments:

1. I have received the proper documentation from US consulate and we will try and go to the marriage bureau this weekend to see if it can happen.

2. You say EP never comes into play but from my research it seems like the documents need to be sent to the US for review and then they need to come back and can be held up in customs for 3-4 months due to a treaty. I have heard this is a change that has happened in the past 6 months so maybe it wasn't the case when you did it.

Thanks again!

[Ryan H 3,812]

2. You say EP never comes into play but from my research it seems like the documents need to be sent to the US for review and then they need to come back and can be held up in customs for 3-4 months due to a treaty.

When filing overseas, the paperwork never leave the country. If you file in China, the paperwork will never leave there.

[LBeachey 45]

Thank you very much for your reply. It looks like you had a fairly painless and quick experience. A few comments:

1. I have received the proper documentation from US consulate and we will try and go to the marriage bureau this weekend to see if it can happen.

2. You say EP never comes into play but from my research it seems like the documents need to be sent to the US for review and then they need to come back and can be held up in customs for 3-4 months due to a treaty. I have heard this is a change that has happened in the past 6 months so maybe it wasn't the case when you did it.

Thanks again!

1.Good Luck on Getting Married, since my wife is Chinese going to Hong Kong really wasn't an option. See if they can do the translation there or you will have to go to the notary.

2. EP does not come into play. At a minimum they still have to do a background check on you in the US. My understanding is it is mostly the Adam Walsh Act which checks if you have ever committed a sexual crime or a crime against a child. However, I can't imagine this is done anything but electronically.

However, I am over here as part of a large expat group and I know four couples who filed in Beijing in July and only one has received an approval of the I-130 just recently. This is a three month processing time versus the one month processing time it took for my wife and I. DCF was eliminated in countries that don't have a USCIS office (China has two USCIS offices - Beijing and Guangzhou) on Aug. 15th, it is possible that USCIS reduced resources at the foreign offices lengthening approval times. However, I believe wait times in Canada are lengthy as well so going DCF is likely still your best method.

[bigdog 376]

I agree, Hong Kong is the best idea, this should be smooth minus the background, shots / medical ( my wife's medical in china was not big deal and was completed perfect in GZ. I wish we would have done this instead of K-1, she could have continued to work in China until everything was done and you are off the the races when you get to the US. Much luck to you, as far as the embassy is concerned, she did her interview in English and was no problem but we had everything squared away. I know a gal who I works in a jewelery store in HK who might have connections to assist you, speaks great English and is nice I am sure she will take care of your, PS the jewelry was cheaper in HK for the same ring even in the same related store as in GZ., if you are interested. Anyway going to HK is always fun any way.