Danny Boy

Hello, I am confused. What is the difference between the I-134 and I-864 form? And what is the difference between IV and AOS on the flow charts? I thought the I-134 is for the AOS. When I went looking at the I-864 ( thinking it was for the IV part of the flow chart) it is for adjustment of status also. I am trying to help my friend out with his application (K-3). I initially was just trying to figure out whether I was supposed to include my friend's wife case number only on the I-134 or were the wife's two minor's kids' case numbers supposed to be included on the I-134 forms or were we supposed to file 3 separate I-134 forms. I didn't want to make the same type of mistake we made when paying the AOS fee. We paid it 3 ($88 ) instead of just $88. I am reading the NVC guide and looking at the flow chart but somehow I am just not seeing clearly what steps we should be taking. Would you please help us get back on track? I did print out the NVC guide and flow chart. I plan on studying it more. Hightlighting each step and make/take notes. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You, Danny Boy

Thank you for the replies. Previously I have looked at the info under the "Guides" tab, Option 2 to do a K-3 and K-4 application. I have wandered around the site, mostly doing searches for info. I did read some posts on DS-261. But they didn't answer my questions so that is why I posted my question. Thank you for the link Wiki NVC process. I have seen Wiki's before but never but never used them much. This one does has some very good info. I will have to study it.

Without the info on this site it is very difficult to figure out the timing of what happens ( and when) during this process. We have been waiting for the NVC to tell us to submit our application but so far they have only asked us to pay the AOS processing fee and to submit invoices number with that payment. The letter says IF we need to give a new address then to go online and submit it or to call them. We sent them 3 payments of $88 and the three different invoices # that they gave us. Sounds like only one needed to be paid.( Found that info from one of the posts). So we need to file that DS-261 on line and they will contact us by email, right? Computers are not that friendly to us and was hoping to get lettesr at the post office. We are so old world sometimes.

Thank goodness this forum exists. It is very helpful. It helps makes things clearer. Thank you again for your help. Danny Boy

Hello, I want to see what a DS-261 form and instructions actually looks like. Couldn't find one on this forum. Search on the net and couldn't find neither. It looks like it is just a way of registering one's contact info( email) for the applicant or spouse. Is this optional or is the application process now done all on line? When in the timeline does the DS-261 get filed. Any info would be greatly appreciated, Thank You . Danny Boy

Hello. I was talking about the G325a. I am helping my friend with their paperwork. We got it done and was trying to send it to his wife. I was at work and was told that she received just a blank form. All the information had been lost. I panicked. We had spent a lot of time getting that form correct. I did save it on my computer at home and I also printed it out. I had thought that it was good to go. So I checked with my smartphone the form that we had sent and it was empty also. What gives? Turns out that attachment had to be opened up and also activated some how. There was a bubble with 3 or 4 lines in it icon. I clicked on it and then I was able to view all the information. Thank goodness. It didn't seem right but then again I have never tried to do it before either. Thank for the help. Danny Boy

Hi. Question. I filled out an on line form. Saved it to my desk top. And then I sent the attachment via email to my friend. I was told that they received the email and

the attachment but the form was blank. Where did all the information I filled in go? Does this sound right? Thanks. Danny boy.

Darnell, Thank you for your reply. We pretty much have the Husband's and Wife's done. We now have to start on the daughters'. I will check on the age requirements for the G-325. The two daughters are around age 17 and age 14 I think.

At times most things seem to make sense and at other times things seem to get muddled a bit. With you all's help things are getting clarified. This time I am filing most of the information on the computer instead of printing the form and filing things in by hand. In the past I have done it by hand. I like the new method. I have such bad handwriting. Also I can cut and paste the Chinese characters where it is asked for. I am trying to save the information with adobe. That is not going as smoothly as I would like but I can work with it.

Thank you again.

Danny Boy

PS. Note to myself: For future reminding. There are immigrant and non-immigrant type visa's. Sometimes I forget this fact. Remembering this may help explain why we fill out this form instead of that form. Now I have to figure out what is the difference between dealing with Vermont vs Portsmouth ( at least I think it is still Portsmouth). Something to do with the difference between USCIS, Homeland Security, NVC ( National Visa Center?) and /or immigration.

Hello again, Still working on the paperwork. A couple of questions. On the G-325 a, Biographic information form, since we are doing 3 separate petitions. One for the wife and two other I-130 for her daughters. How many Biographic information form do I we actually fill out? I was thinking one for the husband and one for the wife and that should be it. But thinking about it I now think that we actually do two more for the daughters.

When we send the whole I-130 packet in. I can include them all together, right? All in one envelop. One check for $1260 or is it supposed to be 3 separate checks for $420 a piece?

Sorry for a seemingly simple question but we would like to get it right the first time.

Danny Boy

I guess that Chinese have next week off. Celebrating their National Day. Like our 4th of July.

Hello. We started to do the paperwork. We are going to do 3 petitions. On the I-130 they ask about the relationship of the people that we are submitting petition for. Perhaps a stupid question but should his new wife's daughters be listed as step daughters or just daughters. I guess I never knew if there is a difference ( in a legal sense) in a new marriage between an adopted daughter, a step daughter, daughter or a step daughter. We are trying to get all the answer correct the first time. Thanks Danny Boy

Darnell, No need to apolgizes. Thank you for your reply. Yes i have been around for a long time. I find this site a very valuable for resource. Especially for one that gives a response ( That is understandable) when there are questions asked. The USCIS and other government sites are often hard to navigate. I think a lot of the information that they present is often not that easy to navigate thru and to get a useful answer.

The forms that you mentioned. DS261, and DS260. Those are forms that we will need to do after we send off the I-130 packet, correct? I will search the USCIS and see how to fill them out. This process gets to be a little confusing sometimes. Sometimes things are clear to me and sometimes they are a little "muddle". The path that we have to travel is a shared path but depending our circumstance we take a different path that may or may cross other's path...Maybe!.

Okay, we are going to work on the paperwork this weekend. Thanks again.

Danny Boy

On a different note. I will look at the China sub section and see what it says. I like you avatar. Cute girls. Twins? Also that video with the lady kissing or counting with her fingers. I have seen it before in another topic. Very pretty lady. Trying to figure out what message that she is trying to convey. Something about "read it twice" ?

Thank you for the added posts. I went to the links that were posted. And I also went to some of the Guides. I read them several times. The K-3 does not seem to be the way to go. I am not 100% clear why but I will follow your advice and advise my friend to take the Cr-1/IR-1 route.

About 10 years ago the K-3 was seen as a good option. The wait time was about the same K-1 visa. Or at least I think it was.

So, we will follow the steps listed at :

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

We will have him fill out 3 separate petitions for his new family. As Darnell suggested. One for each of the persons he applying for. We will reference and follow the Checklist And then continue to read, reference and follow the advice given in the link listed above. I think I now have a much better understanding about what has to be done. When i first started this post I wasn't sure what direction to suggest to my friend to take.

Thanks very much to everyone for your help and advice.

Danny Boy

PS Darnell, I have been to the consulate a couple of times when it was on Shamian Island I have never been to the newer one that was near Ikea and the East train station. As for the new one. I am not even sure where it is. As far as how they actually implement the application process, I have read bits and pieces of other people's stories. There are notifications, medical exams, requests for an interview, the interview, waiting and pick up the visa, paying for things and contacting the consulate, etc.. Bits and piece but probably not in depth details and updates. Is there a good explanation that we can read how the process goes in Guangzhou? I also hope that we will be able to seek additional advice from all you nice people out there. I will try to provide/get my friend good advice on how things should be done. Thanks again to all.

Lost _at_sea Thank you for your reply. I will read those twp links that you posted. Appreciate the help. Danny Boy.

Hello, I tried to post some questions last night but I think i must have "clacked" instead of "clinking" or something. The post got " lost" somewhere. It is okay because I was having a difficult time explaining what I wanted to ask.

I was looking at new posts today. And I saw Blueberry Pancake post this link"

http://www.visajourn...tent/i130guide1

This is sort what I looking for last night except I was try to look for a guide for a K-3 filing. I might me getting lost in the terminology.

I am trying to help my friend file the appropriate paperwork to bring his new family to the US. He married a woman two months ago. She lives in China and has 2 teenage children. I was thinking that we should file K3/K4 paperwork. Reading some of the post and info on VJ I am getting a little confused. People talk about the K3 process. Some seem to talk about filing it but then others seem to say that is not the way to do it. I am try to understand the difference between K3, Ir-1, Cr-1, I130 and I129. The link posted by Blueberry Pancake would work if it was for a K-3. I think that I might be missing the point. Can anyone help me see things a little things more clearer? I would appreciate any help. Thanks. Danny Boy

Good Morning, I found a little more information about U.S. citizenship papers. According to the USCIS site to replace lost citizenship paperwork one should file a N-565 form. The fee for this until July 30,2007 is $220. After that date it is $380. If you need that paperwork get your application before the 30th of this month to save some money. DannyB

Hello Everyone, I hope everyone is enjoying their 4th of July Holiday. Thanks to everyone for their replies. I have to apoligize. Yesterday I was in a rush and I wrote a poor post and with poor details. I tried to find the information but I was rushing too much ( I was already late for work) and didn't have my thinking cap on. I had wanted to call my friend from work and give him the details.

My friend (who wants to apply for a visa for his Fiance) is a naturalized citizen but he can not locate his Certificate of Naturalization. I had downloaded the I-129 F and was trying to make sure that we had all the information. Question 10 asks about proof of his citizenship. He has his US paspport. Was this going to be good enough? Visiting the immigration office takes time. Calling the toll free number can take forever to get a response. I did search the USCIS site for an anwer also. I search this site also but was unable to find an answer. I was rushing. When I woke up this morning the light bulb went on. Did I look at the instructions that came with the I-129F? Nooooo. Well not completely. In the instructions #5 part d. I founded my answer. His passport can be used as proof of US (naturalized) citizenship. Of course you guys knew that. I did go to you guys and did get the answer. You guys are great. Of course I should have done a better job with my homework and not bother you all. Thank You again.

I haven't looked at the 1-134 yet. another form?? I will take a look a look at it today... And. yes I will refer to the instructions this time. Paula and Dan , are you saying that depending on which consulate that he may or may not need to have a copy of his Certificate of Naturalization? That a copy of his whole passport may be alright? I am not sure what the $200 and 3 months you are refering to. Is it for a reapplication of the I-129F or I-134 or is it for a application for a replacement for the Certicficate of Naturalization. I am sorry if I am asking a dumb question. Thank You all for your time...

Have a Happy 4th of July. And God Bless America.

P.S. This post is knida of appropiate today... Question of Citizenship!!!

I was trying to help someone fill out His I-129 form. But he doe not know his citizenship number. He lost his paperwork , But he does have his US Passport. Can I use his passport number? Thanks for help that you can give us. Danny Boy

My friend has not been in the states that long. Perhaps a little more than a year so he is not that close (in time) to being able to apply for citizenship. I think he has to wait for 3 + years. Wow.. It seem like nothing is simple and straight forward in this immigration application procedure. It starts out with .."We are going to get married, and all l we have to do is :"... But then depending on one's particular circumstance there seems like there are multiple paths that one must choose to navigate thru. We are lucky for sites like VJ and people like you all that help us select our path. We are able to read and ask and get answers to our questions. Thank You very much. Danny Boy

PushBrk, Thank you for the reply. Intially I was going to post just my question on the Single Certificate but I decided to ask the K-3 question also. I am glad that I did. I "assumed" that I knew the answer about the K-3 and was just looking for a confirmation. Wrong!! This time I will not assume.. I will look at the FAQ on Visa's. I suggested several times that some one should contact the marriage bureau about the Single certicate question, . I will pass along the information to my friend. Thank You again. Have a good day. Danny B.

Hello, A belated Happy Chinese Years!! I have couple of questions about getting married in China. I have a friend who is a permament of resident of the U.S. He is from China. He wants to go back to China to marry his Chinese sweetheart. I am guessing that he should applied for a K-3 visa for his wife if he gets married in China this year after they get married. Correct? Should his timeline mirror that of an American citizen's K-3 application ? I am guessing that it should. I looked around this site and could not find a similar posting with this question. I tried to use the search function but I was getting an error message. The other question that I had was does he need a Single Certificate statement notarized and authenticated in the state that he is living now? This a document for the China government. Even though he a permanent resident of the U.S....he is still a Chinese citizen. I guess I could see an argument for answering this question either way. I don't think it is needed and it is just a waste of time and money but on the other hand I hate for him to be in the Nanning at the Marriage bureau being told that that document is required. I checked the Chinese embassy site but all they have is sample form but no information about the requirements. I would appreciated any information that anyone could give me. Thank You. Danny Boy I hope I posted these question in the right section.

I work 2nd shift and it was great seeing all the replies when I checked this topic out this morning. Thank you. Before I do anything else. Can someone tell me is there a different way to start a reply? Whenever I select the "reply" button I get the whole post. Trying to shorten the space my replytakes, I highlight the post and delete it before I start my reply. I am not computer savy. Is this the normal method?

I am reading and reading the replies. It takes a little time for the facts to sink in. Before I started this topic I did look around this site. I thought I looked at every title...going 4 or 5 pages back in each section. I tried looking at the topics that I thought would pertain to my situation. It looks like I missed a lot of them! I read the FAQ's, the flow charts, the guides and the forums section. I did look at the timelines and the processing times. And I have taken a look at the timelines again. The timelines are helpful? Ahh... I am sure that they are but I am still working on how to get the usefull info out..in a form that helps me. I live in the Northeast so I should look at the Vermont charts). I need to combine the Visa processing times with the??? immigration timelines (for K-1 or K-3) correct? I think I am letting myself get confused with all the choices. I just need to look at them several times.. At several different times. I am sure it will sink in. There is so much to digest.

I searched for the postings for by the woman, Girona. I have to spend some more time on her postings. She has posted a lot of good info. The most inportan info that i got from her post is that I want to my finacee daughter's application finished/processed/ approved before her 21 birthday( preferably with a good magrin of time before her 21st birthday).

On my last trip to China I talked to my Fiancee about her daughter. We talked about her going to college. We knew that we had to work out a timeline so everything would work out. One reason we want the daughter to go to college in China is the cost. It will be a lot cheaper and my Finacee thought she could get her daughter in a good college in China. I thought if she did well and then perhaps she could do her post graduate work in the US. Of course that would be years down the road and who know what changes may occur. How many times does the average college student change their mind on what they want their major to be? It is not an easy decision to make. So we have to juggle the daughter's age issue, college cost, the timing of when the daughter would be attending college and the finacee's retirement issue and come up with a plan. a good plan. simple yes???

I do believe this site is helping me a lot. There are so nice people on it and they know a lot more than I do, and there is a lot good info and resources available. Also as I post my question..questions... it forces me to write it down.. to kind of lay it out. This helps me organized my thoughts. It makes me ask questions. Looks like I have to look very carefully about the daughter's timeline and see what options I have. I think I have several options. 1. Leave the daughter in China..not really an option. 2. Let the daughter stay in China, finish college and then have the wife(as US citizen or as a LPR) apply for her daughter to immigrate as a unmarried relative....this takes a long time. 3. Have the daughter's application attached to the finacee application and have it completed before the daughter turns 21. This is the one that I think I would like to have work, but it is complicated by the daughter's age, college choices of China or the USA and whether she can split 4 years of attending college or finish college before turning 21( there is not enough time) 4. Simply have the daughter immigrate with her mother and have the daughter attend college after she gets LPR status..a 10 year one..not a 2 year one. The daughter then could attend school in the states or in China. But then she has to delay starting her education by 2 or 3 years.

I am sorry that my post is so long but I am trying to show what is influencing my questions. Thank you again. I think tonight I will try to put my different options down on a piece of paper in a flow diagram format. Perhaps these will make somethings a little clearer.

[When one receives a green card the intent is to reside in the US. The daughter would be unable to come to the US on a K-2, receive a green card (processing in areas vary), and then go back to China for 4 years. ......

Hello again... When the daughter comes to the USA, does the time she has to wait to get LPR status varies on the type of visa applied for.. a K-2 or a K-4? Also will she receive a 2 year green card or a 10 year green card? Does this depend on what the type of card that her mother received. My finacee needs to wait to immigrate for a while because she is will be eligible for retirement in 1 to 2 years. She is lucky in the sense that she does not have wait until she is 62..Not even 55 for early retirement. She will be able to retire in her forties. I don't see the sense in having her rush here and then have her miss out on her retirement benefits. I wish I could have retired in my forties. It is too late now!!!

I am a bit confused, PJ1959us says that the daughter would have to wait 4 year before she could go back to the China. Is that because intially she would only be eligible for temporary LPR status (1 or 2 year) and then she would have to file AOS of status? I have read postings on this forum and several other differnet forums also. I also know a few people who have immigrated here. The process seems simpler until I try to apply my case's particulars. I know one child who came here and he was given 10 year green card right off the bat. I know another person and he only got a 1 year permisssion and he has to check on his status before the end of the year. And I know of another woman who came to the states after being married for 25 monthes.. When she came she received a 2 year LPR card but when she went to apply for an AOS she was told that she should had been given a 10 LPR status. I try to understand why so many of the cases are the "same" but so definitely "different". Sometimes I wonder if it is me or it the process. This site and your help/ advice is helping me understand the process better but I have much more to learn and to understand. Thank you for your help. DannyB

P.S. In the last few guys suggesting that the daughter delay starting college until after becoming a LPR or that she interupts her study studies. Are there different considerations. Thanks again.

ahhhh... Is this process suppose to be simple? I don't think so. First I want to Thank everyone for their responses, ideas and suggestions. I did go to the link that Boiler posted. I had been there before but I think I got lost a little. I read your postings several times and tried to make sure everything was clear to me. That is easier said then done!! There is a lot of information in the Guide section of this Forum. I read a disclaimer that said that the information given is condensed material and that most cases may be unique in nature. Over the weekend I looked around and read and reread different sections. There is some great info and I think it is presented in a much easier format then the information on the USCIS site.

I am trying to make sure the circumstances that make my case uniques are addressed. You all did a good job of steering me in the right direction. Trying to navigate thru all the information can be very frustating. It is like the video games the kids play today. There are so many rules, twists and turns and surprises to get to the final destination... Anyway. From the information given and what I read it looks like the K-1 is the better way for us to go. I want to avoid having the daughter enter in a waiting pool where the waiting period is 8 to 10 years to come to the states. As far as her finishing college, that may be a little tricky. If she starts college in China next year and she goes for 4 years she should graduate in June 2010, which means she will be 22 1/2 years old. Assuming that the paperwork (attached to my finacee application) is approved and she is brought to the states before she turns 21 years old (for the sake of arguement in the summer of 2008). And then she gets her green card. Can she return to China to finish her college? Or does she have to stay in the United States for a period of time before she applies for an AOS? Or can we wait to bring her to the US until after she graduates from college ( Isn't there some type of "no child left behind" clause in the family immigration act?) Like I mentioned before.. there are twist and turns and rules to follow and I have to be carefull to navigate successfully thru the maze. I am trying to make sure that I navigate my future family correctly thru this immigration maze. I would any appreciate any guidance that you all can offer me. Thank You again.

Hello everyone, I am pretty sure this question is answered somewhere on this forum but I am not sure where. I have looked around but did not find an answer. My situation is that I plan to get married to a woman (whose has a 18 year old daughter) in China. My dilemna is whether I should go with a K-1 or a K-3 visa application. The daughter is in the last year of high school. She will be taking College tests this June. At this point, the plan is to let her to go to school in China until I get a visa for my wife-to-be. I have looked at the USCIS site. It is a bit confusing. I have looked at the flow charts on this site and they do not seem to address my situation. I even went to an immigration help organiztion and asked some questions. They said that the way to go was that the wife would have to get have her application approved her first and after she immigrated and then we could do a separate aplication for the daughter. I think this will take a long long time. I thought that we could attach the daughter's immigration application to my wife-to-be's application (called " a follow-on" benefit or is there some benefit called..no child left behind?) and thefore we would not have to wait longer for the daughter to immigrate than if we filed a separate relative based immigration application, which I heard took up to 10 years to process. I don't want to have do this. I would like to get the daughter here as soon as possible. Can someome help me or guide me to where I can find some answers or help? I did look at the flow charts, the Faq's and the guides. I am not sure if I missed something. In our case the wife-to-be has some commitments in China so we do not need to get her here by the quickest method. It is the daughter that is causing us the concern. This is the factor I think that may determine which type of application we should file. Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you for any and all your replies... Danny Boy