Chris&Mia

I've been glued to the flight tracker webpage all night, clicking the refresh button over and over.

5 hours of work left on my end, then a 7 hour drive to the airport, then 2 wonderful months together in our home in Texas!!!

Congrats Noahsmama!

Has anyone been able to access the ELIS system in the last couple of days?

It keeps telling me and my wife the site is down for maintenance and to try later in the day....

No, I did a search about problems with ELIS but the most recent thing I saw was from august, and not the same problem I am having..... can you send me a link?

Anybody else having trouble paying their Immigrant Visa fee on the USCIS website?

Looks like all the government websites are about equally worthless across the board.....

No surprise CGI is also the firm responsible for the Obamacare website debacle.....

My sister in law picked ours up yesterday but USTRAVELDOCS still says it is waiting to be shipped.....

We are happy to have it in hand though. Nothing left to do now except climb on the plane next week!

My advice to anyone waiting, dont be afraid to call CITIC bank directly......

My wife went in person to the bank on Saturday and they said it wasnt in their system but it could have arrived that day since they dont process them on the weekend. She was already in the area doing her last immunization so she wanted to stop in. She called last night (monday during the day GZ time) and they said it was ready for pickup. Not sure if she bailed on work and went to pick it up yet or not. Her email was a little vague.

Congrats Chanhungli! Deer Park? You're just around the corner from us! I split my time between Anahuac and San Leon.....

From what I understand of my wife's explanation of how her interview day went down in Guangzhou....

She went in with a group of people who were scheduled at the same time block. They all put their P4 letters in a pile and they officer called them up for their interview one by one from the pile. She presented the documents to the interviewer at the time she stepped up for her interview. She said the interviewer hardly even looked at any of it, asked her 4 or 5 basic questions, told her she passed the interview, then launched into a very friendly casual conversation as she processed her paperwork. (We were an electronically processed case, so I'm not sure how much that affected their nonchalant attitude about her docs.)

Don't worry, if your paperwork hasn't triggered any red flags along the way you will breeze through the interview.

I got a strange email from someone at USTRAVELDOCS last night. Saying Zhejiang New town Citic Bank was under renovation and passports would be sent to Citic Plaza Headquarters on north Tianhe Road. I called in to the Guangzhou help desk and the guy told me the passport was with the courier and I should expect an email for pickup soon. I'm thinking monday.....

Did you get the same email yet PhillyJon?

My benefits admin told me a few days ago it wouldn't be an issue. Just give them the number when we get it. It won't impact or delay coverage.

No, I didn't call the US number. I'm trying to play it cool.

Congrats to you and your wife on having your visa in hand! Hopefully your point of entry goes smooth.

Not to sidetrack the thread, but have you bought a ticket / chosen a point of entry yet?

SCORE!!!!!!

Thanks for the insight Darnell!

Looks like point of entry is going to be Chicago on the 30th of this month..... getting excited!

I abbreviated my wifes chinese address on her forms when enough space wasnt available. Usually chinese addresses are full of useless junk like province, city, district, zone, area, block, street, building name, building address, floor, and room/apt number. I took some artistic license when necessary and just have room number, street address, city, and post code. Nobody along the way seemed to mind.....

The lady told me it has been received from the consular section and is awaiting processing.

what does that mean? recieved by who? cgi stanley? would I be correct in assuming it should ship out in the next couple of business days?

The lady was very friendly, but her english was limited and she wasnt of much help explaining anything....

USTRAVELDOCS showed some movement this evening.

Nothing on USTRAVELDOCS yet, but......

CEAC just updated us today - U.S. Department of State

Your visa has been printed. Depending on local procedures at the location where you were interviewed, your visa will be mailed or available for pickup soon. If there are further questions, or if we need updated contact information, you will be contacted.

For more information, please visit TRAVEL.STATE.GOV.

Interview on the 10th (october) - Approved

CEAC updated on the 10th - "Administrative Processing"

My wife was told her visa would be ready to pick up at CITIC bank in less than 2 weeks gauranteed.

***EDIT*** I just read this in the fine print on CEAC under my case status, "If your visa application is approved, it will be processed and mailed or available within two business days." Sounds like it wont take long for it to show up at CITIC bank in Guangzhou.

No, she doesn't own any property anywhere in china.

Our plan for now is just to hijack her Hukou when she detatches it from the company in Shenzhen and for her to bring her hukou page with her to the USA. Then if she ever has to go back she can fight to attach it wherever she ends up. Doesn't seem like the best plan to me, but thats the best we could come up with so far...... It seems like there would be some information out there somewhere on what most non-homneowners do when they emigrate.

I used the search function and couldnt find anything on VJ and lots of google searches were fruitless so here goes......

My wife and I are unsure where she should attach her Hukou before she leaves China.

She is currently working in Shenzhen and her Hukou is attached with her company there. SHe cannot leave it with the company after she quits from what I understand. Her family Hukou is back in her hometown but it would be very problematic for her to attach it back to the family since she is estranged from her parents due to our relationship.

What are our options? What would happen to her Hukou if she abandoned it in Shenzhen when she leaves for the USA? We have heard that there are companies where you can pay a fee to attach your Hukou in the city but they all look pretty shady. Has anyone dealt with this problem before? If so, how did you handle it? It is important for both of us that she not lose her Hukou should she ever have to return to live in China.....

Thanks,

Chris&Mia

FWIW, I emailed my 3032 on 4/25 and the IV bill was generated yesterday (5/1)

it was about 18 months for us give or take....

Even though I used an "approved" translator for my certificate of marriagability they still wouldn't accept it at the marriage office. They were very corrupt in Guangzhou and forced me to use their in house translator at more than double the price. I protested very loudly and aggressively but they would only accept that specific translator. Luckily I made the original translator guarantee that his translation would be accepted. He refunded my money when I returned and told him what happened. He called and yelled at the marriage office too but they obviously didn't care.

Also when we were doing our registration, they tried to con us into paying for overpriced pictures and fake ceremony garbage. There was another couple there who bought their lies hook line and sinker. I don't know how much they got swindled for, but I'm sure it wasn't cheap. Even my wife was afraid to tell them no since they were somewhat holding our certificates hostage trying to extort us. I demanded the certificates loudly and agressively (notice a pattern?) and ran out the door as soon as we got them.

In my experience, the Guangzhou marriage office is totally corrupt and if you don't know exactly what you need and don't need you will be swindled quite badly. Sadly this is the case with most things in Guangzhou.....

I sent a ####### ton of pics (about 100 I think)......

I printed them on whole sheets of photo paper about 9 per sheet, and organized them into groups for each visit I made to China. They asked for evidence.... I gave it to them. Hahahaha

If they want to see more during the interview then we have thousands to bore them with. I figured I would err on the side of giving them more than they wanted.