SVH

no need to go to ssa. It arrived the same day the green card did. Thank god. I applied for a ssn when I filed the DS-230. Didn't even have to go to ssa office. But DMV was a different story. I hate that place.

Congrats! I'm enjoying my last day in China for a while. It's been a pretty long 8 years! Back to the States tomorrow!

Regarding the new $165 fee, is the date the visa was issued the one that matters? Or when it's actually stamped in the states?

Great info! Thanks much for the replies.

My wife already has her IR1 and we'll be headed to the states in a couple days. Does anyone know how/if it's possible to change the address that her greencard will be sent to? Can we do it when we go through immigration in Chicago?

TIA!

Not sure about how the weighting works, but I'd suspect more importance is put on the length of marriage over domicile. I was a bit stressed about asking a friend or relative for a sponsorship, as I'd consider it a HUGE favor to ask. Turns out that one wasn't needed. When my wife went to her interview, I didn't even have a job back in the states, let alone own a house, etc. (been here in China for 8 years, married 6+).

We are flying out of China a week from today, but as of now, all of my cash is in Chinese banks. I cancelled my US credit cards a few years ago.

I'm sure there are a lot of variables taken into account, however.

You can still prepare the tax return and have a copy to show them. Prepare it, make a copy and mail the orig in to the IRS. You should only need to prepare a 1040 and 2555EZ. It takes very little time and the forms are very easy to download from the IRS website.

in the i-864 form part 6, line 23 it says "My current individual annual income is $_______"

the problem is i get paid in chinese yuan and i dont get taxed because i am working illegaly without a work visa.

so should i mark $0?

i could calculate my earnings into USD but then on the next page, part 6 line 24, it asks me to combine my earnings and that of my father, who filled out an i-864a. and im guuessing that means they would expect my income to be accounted for when me and my wife move back to the states. problem is i obviously wont have my chinese job then.

what to do for both sections?

thanks in advance

Any income you earn outside of the USA (up to $92,500) is not taxable. It is important that you still file your tax returns. Being that you won't owe anything (unless you made over 92k), you won't be penalized even if you file late. When you fill in the i-864 form, just convert RMB to USD for the amount.

I submitted copies of my last 3 returns. If you don't, they might ask for them (or your fathers) at the interview.

My wife (6+ years married) was asked about 5 questions at most. Just be totally honest and resist any temptations to give them an answer you might think they want to hear.

I've filed the last 5 years of tax returns as single because my wife didn't have an ITIN. The USCIS didn't seem to think anything of it when they reviewed my returns. Of course I'll have to amend them when I get back to the USA and my wife is issued her SSN.

I'm pretty sure the Chinese banks don't allow joint accounts. Individual only. My wife works in a bank there and I've heard others here say the same.

Also, my understanding is that the mingled finances are seen as signs of a bona fide marriage, which is part of the I-130 petition with the USCIS, not part of the visa process at the embassy. -- Jon

Chinese banks don't allow joint accounts. I do have a credit card from a Chinese bank, and she has a second card, but even then the CC number is different. My statement doesn't even mention her name either.

Great suggestion. I will give them a call after I mail the DS-2001 this week. That way I can also check on the filing status of the DS-230 pt 1, etc and make the most of that expensive phone call

I think I remember reading passport OR birth cert as a requirement of the USC somewhere. Did you call and ask? If so, what was the answer?

If filing DCF, I'd assume they need copies of even the BLANK pages of your passport so they can look through all of your visas and entry/exit stamps.

HUGE congratulations!!

One question about the paperwork you submitted at the interview: did you have to give the consular officer the USC's original birth certificate? Or was a photocopy sufficient? I am the USC but my birth certificate is from Belarus and it is nearly impossible to get the original or certified copy from the Belarusian Embassy. So wondering if I can get away with sending my husband to the interview with a certified translation and a photocopy of the original?

Thanks and again CONGRATS!

My wife took my passport with her to the interview, and she said they did look at it. I never submitted a copy of my birth certificate at all during the process.

Thanks much all!

8 years I've been here in China! I am so happy and looking forward to...Haha...Taco Bell. LOL.

My wife is still in Guangzhou awaiting her flight home, and sending me text messages. We are both pretty excited. My cat, however, is probably not so excited, as he has a bad few days ahead...but I'm sure he'll be loving that Miami weather once we arrive!

My wife had her interview this morning and passed. The DCF process was actually pretty fast...and I'm looking forward to getting back to the USA!

Beers on me!

I think it started in 2009 or 2010. Anyway, it's not the big deal we seem to be making it out to be -- less invasive than the medical check our fiances and spouses have to go through to get into the US -- I just always put off renewing my visa until the last minute, so I can never afford to wait a week for the results.

I've gotten the medical results the same/next day every time I've taken the exam. It's a basic exam, as I'm sure you're aware. I honestly think the only thing they are looking for is TB or HIV or whatever. The vision exam etc is nothing but a joke here in China. Last time I took the exam, they've added a urine test. I'm guessing maybe for drug screening, but that's just a guess.

The 1-year L-visa does require a medical exam. In fact, all Chinese visas and residence permits, including "D", permanent residence, etc, of one year or longer require a medical exam. It's the reason I've had six six-month "spouse" L-visas.

The OP's question was about petitioning for his wife to get a US visa. The legality of his (or my) working in China is irrelevant.

The medical check for an annual L must be something new. I was issued one a few years ago without it.

I've been living in Shanghai for ten years, and have held a variety of visas, including several Zs. However, since getting married 3 years ago I've just been getting 6-month multiple-entry L visas. (The 1-year L visa requires a medical exam that I'm always too lazy to get, and the only Marriage Residence Permit I've heard of requires you to have been married for 5 years). When I filed my I-130 in Beijing in June, the officer glanced at my latest L visa and started to say that I didn't qualify for DCF. I explained how long I'd been in China and showed him my previous passport full of Z visas, and he changed his mind and accepted my petition.

As far as working while on an L visa, I can only relate my personal experience -- I listed my occupation as "freelance" (the truth) on the G-325 and I-864 forms, and I've filed US taxes on my freelance income. Other than the USCIS guy checking whether or not I qualified for DCF, no one asked what kind of visa I had.

The visa you need to get the medical exam for is the Marriage Residence Permit. You can also get 1-year L visas with the purpose of visiting family without taking the medical. Both are unlimited entry visas. The only real difference is the Residence Permit allows you to apply for credit cards, get a Chinese driver's license, etc. Neither allow you to legally work, regardless of what title you give yourself. Both times I applied for an L while changing jobs, the PSB officers repeatedly reminded me that I'm not allowed to work on the visa.

The fabled "D" visa has the 5 year requirement. I've heard they've made this much easier to get starting this year. You CAN legally work on a D visa...as it is essentially the same thing as the greencard we are applying to get for our spouses.

I stapled everything in my package and the USCIS office accepted it without mentioning I shouldn't have.

Now that you are married, you can go to your wife's hometown and apply for 1-year duration L visas, or better yet the newer Marriage Residence Permit. It seems a lot don't know about this type of visa as it is relatively new. It is an actual Residence Permit...but still does not legally allow you to work under it.

i have been on business visas and tourist visas the last couple years teaching in order to keep making money and be with my wife and i dont know if not having a work visa or tax documentaion will hinder the process.

Being that you don't have a Residence Permit, you're technically not supposed to be working. I realize that this is a pretty common situation in China, but I personally wouldn't want to document it on an application.

This is from my cover letter. When I put the package together, I stapled each as an individual "item" and hand wrote the "ITEM 1, 2, 3, etc" at the top of each (with the exception of obvious forms). It was really fast and easy for her to find things she was looking for by referencing the cover letter.

Contents of the package includes:

1. Cover Letter.

2. Form I-130: Petition for Alien Relative

3. Copy of all pages of the Petitioner’s US passport.

-Yes, I copied ALL pages including blank pages

4. Copy of petitioner's current and previous Chinese residence permits (from passport).

-Even though I already had copies of this for the passport copy, I made additional copies for this item. I have a LOT of visas in my passport, and this makes current residence permits super easy to find

5. Form G-325A Completed and signed by Petitioner.

- Photograph of Petioner.

-I attached a blank piece of paper to the 325 form, and to that attached a small plastic envelope containing the photos. The girl taking the application loved this!

6. Form G-325A Completed and signed by Beneficiary.

- Photograph of Beneficiary.

7. Copy of the Beneficiary’s birth certificate.

8. Copy of the Beneficiary’s Passport information page.

-Even though it is supposedly not needed, I added it anyway

9. Copy of Marriage Certificate.

10. Copy of Beneficiary’s Divorce documents.

11. Evidence of Bonafide Marriage:

a. Photographs

-For the photos, I created a word doc with 2 pics per page and labeled each pic with location and year. We submitted 12 pics

b. Copies of Apartment Rental Contract, Police Registrations, and Petitioner and Beneficiary’s Driver’s Licenses indicating joint tenancy.

-Pretty straight forward. It was mentioned that the driver's licenses with same address are useful

c. Copy of joint credit card statement.

d. Copy of receipt for joint purchase of automobile.

e. Copy of various emails between Beneficiary and Petitioner’s Mother.

f. Copies of receipts of gifts purchased for Beneficiary.

Hi all. My first post here, but have learned a lot browsing the forums, so thought I'd share my experience submitting our I-130 in Guangzhou.

A little background on us. I've been here in China 7 years, married for 6. After completing my current employment contract, my wife and I decided to go through the process and move to the USA.

Here goes:

Because I’m in Hangzhou, I decided to take the sleeper train to Guangzhou. I arrived at 7:30am and quickly jumped in a taxi to the USCIS, which only took about 20 minutes and cost 30rmb. There was a couple long lines outside the building for VISA services. I asked a guard where the USCIS was, and bypassed that line and took the escalators up to the 3rd floor only to find yet another line. Asked about it and was told to continue on up to the 4th floor. Got in a much shorter line there. The USCIS is indeed on the 4th floor, while the website says 5th.

After waiting about 30 minutes, I made it through the security checkpoint and looked for where to go. I found that things weren’t labeled or signed, so I had to again ask. To the left in the office there are 3 rows of chairs against the wall. That’s the line.

To my dismay, there were about 30 people already waiting, most older Chinese, and about half a dozen foreigners.

At 8:30 the first person was called into the “interview room”. It took a LONG time for that person and I started to worry that I wouldn’t be able to put the app in. Most of the business the Chinese people had only took a couple minutes, so the line started moving. I was finally next person at 10:20.

I was well prepared and had 2 plastic document holders ready to go. In the first was my entire I-130 application packet, and in the 2nd all of the supporting “original” documents. I put the application in the tray, and after she took it, put both of our passports and marriage books (red books) in the tray.

The girl working there was very impressed with how organized everything was and commented to that effect about 10 times. She mentioned that many bring an envelope with loose documents, and it takes a long time to sort through everything. She started looking at my passport copies and I knew what she was looking for. I told her to look at the next item in the packet which was additional copies of my current and previous residence permits. Again she commented on how organized my packet was and mentioned she wished they were all as such. Haha.

I was done in less than 10 minutes and sent to pay. I paid with cash (RMB), but they also except USD or credit cards. Once I paid, I went back and handed her the receipt (you just walk into the interview room without waiting), she stamped my copy and I was on my way.