margarth

My husband had his interview at the Guangzhou Embassy in China a few days ago. With my I-864 that I sent him, I also attached my tax return for 2013 (and a letter explaining why I had not filed in 2012 and 2011). After my husband gave the interviewer all of his documents, the interviewer asked him if he had my 2013 tax return (which was attached to the I-864). My husband didn't realize and said no, because he didn't have it in his own hands. Now we need to resubmit my 2013 tax return. The forms I submitted were my 1040 and 2555ez (foreign income exclusion, since I was living in China in 2013). The document listing what we need to submit reads:

"Submit a complete set of 2013 federal income tax returns, including W-2s, 1099s and all schedules, from the following people marked with 'X'"

Then it has an "X" next to Your petitioner (which is me).

I was working for a Taiwanese company in 2013, so I do not have a W-2 or 1099. What else do I need to submit besides my 1040 and 2555ez (which is all I submitted to the IRS, and they approved it) to make it a "complete set" of tax returns? Was this a mistake on the embassy's part, or am I missing something?

Thanks for any help!

Sorry for the late response. Our I-130 was approved on August 10--exactly one month after submitting it. I would call them, since they did not email us any notifications, even though we applied for e-notifications.

I submitted an I-130 petition to Beijing on July 10 and am currently waiting for it to approved, so my husband can formally start his visa application with Guangzhou. I'm trying to get as much ready for the next step now, so that the process hopefully goes more quickly once the I-130 gets approved.

We have gotten white books for our marriage certificate, my husband's birth certificate, and his police clearance. Do we need to get a white book of his hukouben? Also, he has never moved his hukou (always been in Shanghai), but he went to school in Nanjing for four years. Do we need to get a police clearance from Nanjing as well (we just have one for Shanghai), or is that not necessary, since his hukou has only ever been in Shanghai?

Thanks for any help!

As far as I know, Beijing only processes the I-130 submission. After that is approved, the case gets sent to Guangzhou, and Guangzhou handles the rest, including the interview. Beijing only does interviews for non-immigrant visas.

Thank you so much! That's really great to hear! Hopefully the processing in Beijing won't be too much longer. My husband will definitely stay here then to wait.

Just realized that I may not have been clear: I am a US citizen, and my husband is a Chinese citizen. When I say he has a visitors visa, I mean to the US.

Also, I'm not sure what nationality the person was that I talked to. He had a little bit of a Chinese accent, so maybe PRC? But that really doesn't necessarily mean he's not American...

I filed my I-130 petition to the Beijing embassy on July 10, 2014. When I did research on DCF timelines, it looked like it wouldn't take more than 3-4 months max. However, the person I submitted the paperwork to said it would take a total of 6-8 months for my husband to obtain a visa. He also said it would take the Beijing embassy 1-2 months to review the submission and then send it on to Guangzhou (if there were no problems). That still doesn't really explain the added time, though. I told him my husband has a current visitors visa that expires in December and asked if it was possible for him to visit while his CR-1 was being processed. He said that as long as the visa was valid then yes, that was ok.

So my question is twofold. One, has anyone filed with Beijing lately? (Guangzhou info would also be helpful) If so, about how long did it take for the visa to come through?

My second question is whether or not it's a good idea for my husband to come to the US on his visitors visa during the application process. We were thinking that if it is going to take 6-8 months, maybe he can come in September (I leave for the US in August) and stay until December when his visitor visa ends. But if it is possible that the visa will come faster and he needs to be here for medical checks and interviews then that doesn't seem like such a good idea. Any opinions would be helpful.

Thanks!

Ok, thanks! I already got the notarial translation in the white booklet, so that's perfect.

Hi, I live in China with my husband but am preparing to move back to the US. I have an appointment to file an I-130 for my husband directly at the consulate. We have a daughter who was born here in China. Her birth certificate is mostly in both Chinese and English, but there are a couple things that are only in Chinese. Will I need an official translation of it? The checklist only mentions a translation of our marriage certificate (also obtained in China), which I have. Thanks for any advice.

Just to clarify, I have already gone to the Notary Office to get an official translation. However, it may not be ready in time for my appointment. Should I move my appointment back until after I can get the translation?

Hello! I am trying to get DCF started in China as soon as possible, but the consulate websites seem to be down. I've tried using a VPN and other computers, but no luck. I was wondering if anyone has recently filed DCF in China and knows the procedures specific to the Beijing or Guangzhou consulates. I am currently located in Shanghai, if that makes any difference.

Ok, thanks so much for your help!

Okay, I understand. Thanks. I am trying to go the DCF route, but the Beijing and Guangzhou (and Shanghai) consulate websites all seem to not be working...I've tried using a VPN and other computers. Is there any other way to check the procedures specific to my consulate?

Thanks so much for the reply! I will definitely look into the Direct Consular Filing. I am curious though. I have seen a couple comments saying that K3 is essentially obsolete. I am wondering why that is, though. When I check any websites (including US government websites) for which visa to apply for, they all recommend K3. The processing time for K3 seems to be about 3~6 months to get a visa to enter the US and then a similar time to CR1 to get a green card. So it seems like K3 would still be preferable, as my husband could come to the US sooner.

Also, we've been married for 2 years.

I currently live with my husband in China. However, I suddenly got a job that begins in August in the U.S. I am moving there with our daughter in early August, and I would like my husband to come with me, but obviously that's not enough time to get a K3 visa. He currently holds a visitor visa that he got when we visited my parents in the US this past February. It expires in December. I have looked at some other topics and websites, and it looks like if we started the K3 process now, it would be possible for him to visit before it went through, as long as he had sufficient proof that it would just be a visit. Vis-à-vis this point, would it be a good idea to start the K3 process now or after he enters the US for a visit? Thanks for any advice

It will be difficult to get a B2 visa unless you can prove strong financial ties to China. I would recommend checking out the Candle for Love website for some advice, keeping in mind that most of the guys on that forum are a little older and set in their ways but have

a lot of experience.

You could do a DCF if you get married in China, but you will need to prove domicile to return to the US. The most likely route is that you will have to file for a K-1 using a co-sponser stateside to overcome your financial deficit since you do not have an income stream from a US company. The other option is to return to the states, establish domicile and then apply for a K-1. Just my advice. Good luck!

Thanks so much! I'll definitely check out that website. I unfortunately don't qualify for DCF as I'm in China on a tourist visa. So I think K1 with a cosponsor might be the only way to go? As far as visiting the U.S. in the future though, what would be the best way to do that? just K3?

I would look into getting a Tourist visa, they have there own requirements but should be a lot less "painful" and would allow you to travel with ease. Then you can get married enjoy your visit and head back to China when ready.

Thanks for the advice! Unfortunately, he was denied a tourist visa when we applied last October (before we were engaged). Is it much easier to get a tourist visa after getting engaged? I feel like the embassy is just gonna see that he got denied recently and think he's faking an engagement to get into the country... Or do you mean get a tourist visa after we're married and want to visit the U.S.?

Hi, I know this site is focused on Americans moving their foreign spouses to the U.S., so I'm sorry if this is a little off topic, but I wasn't sure where else to go to ask.

I'm a U.S. citizen (by birth) living in China with my fiancé who is a Chinese citizen. We would like to continue to live in China at least for the near future but would like to get married in my hometown in the U.S. Basically, I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this. Should he apply for a K1 visa and then just not apply for Adjustment of Status after we get married? We would like to be able to take trips to the U.S. in as convenient a way as possible after we get married. Obviously a green card is the most convenient, but they won't grant him one if we're not living in the U.S., right? Will we just have to get K3 visas every time we want to take a trip to the U.S. in the future? Please tell me there's a less painful way than that...

Thanks for any advice,

Maggie & Jason