kshelton

On 4/28/2019 at 12:22 PM, Itstyme said:

Was your other original documents kept with the embassy till you got your passport back? I am in the same phase presently. Thanks

Sorry for the late reply. Yes, the consulate kept a lot of documents. You probably won't get most back. If you had to submit other documents it shouldn't take them long.

On 3/6/2019 at 4:15 AM, Frank-n-Tina said:

Hi, my wife is Chinese and we are in the Immigration process to bring her to America.  Our application was just accepted by the NVC and we are required to apply online using CEAC.  I just paid the fees and am waiting for the payments to clear so we can start submitting forms and documents.

 

We have heard that one of the things that she will need for the interview is a certificate of no criminal history from the police department.  She is freaking out a little because a friend in the local notorary office told her that she can only get the certificate if she has a note from her employer.  She hasn’t worked in the last year and she is not sure that she can get a not from her previous employers.

 

My question is if the note from the employer is really necessary.  My thought is that as long as she has no criminal history, that she can get the certificate.  Does anyone know?

 

Frank,

I haven't been on the site in several months. I am from Portland too. My wife entered US in October. The police station where my wife got her no criminal history record told her the same thing. She was not working at the time either. All she did was ask a friend she used to work with to write a letter stating her name and ID #, and that she needed to apply for a visa to possibly travel for business. He stamped the letter with the all important company stamp and that's all there was to it. According to her, the police stations don't like to give out the no criminal records for personal use, so they ask that the request come from a place of employment. Don't forget to get everything translated and notarized in the white book.

Good luck!

2 hours ago, TomandQi said:

Her interview is in less than 24 hours. And I think I am more nervous than she is. We have crossed the T and dotted the I multiples times but I am just a worried that something will go wrong. I'm sure lots of you have felt this way with yours. So question for you vets.

What did you feel in the hours leading up to the interview?

 

The people in Guangzhou are extremely helpful. My wife's interviewer was very nice and explained things to her so that she could understand the process better. Wife had changed her given name when she was younger and we did not have notarized white book with translation. He gave her a preliminary approval sheet and explained that all they needed was the proper document. She was only there for about an hour. I waited at the Starbucks down the street on the corner and she came walking down the sidewalk about the time I was getting up to go back down to the street corner. She left Guangzhou and went to her hometown to get document, then back to Guangzhou to submit to CITIC. It only took them about two weeks in all to issue her visa.

We felt good about the process there. She was a little nervous but we were hopeful and optimistic the days leading up to the interview. We tried out some of the restaurants around town while we were waiting on her med results and the interview. If you haven't found it yet, there is a pub over by the Leeden hotel that serves a very good angus burger and cold beer

Check the regional discussion forum. It is specific for each country

1 minute ago, Abcd1234 said:

Is this process for ir-1/cr-1 visa or k-1? 

   Just to make sure i am looking for k1 process...

My case was IR/1 but K-1 should be very similar process. What consulate and what country?

As soon as your case is sent to NVC you must log onto nvc.state.gov to select who to direct communications to, pay your $325 immigration fee, and pay the $120 AOS fee. This is a process of pay, wait for confirmation, pay again, wait for confirmation. You will complete your immigration form online and submit. The AOS must be completed at this time, then sent in to NVC along with your required documents and supporting documents. Your document cover sheets and invoices must be attached to documents. After NVC receives and reviews package they will inform you when your case is transferred to your consulate. They will give you interview date at this time. You will log onto the given website and select the delivery method for your visa and where to send it to. Get your medical before your interview (leave enough time to get results back).

Just make sure you have your documentation ready, and please be sure it is in the correct format to avoid an RFE, although they seem to be just flagging them these days and requesting you re-submit after your interview which will delay your visa. The process changes from time to time and it can vary depending on your consulate. They do a good job of informing you of the next steps. Just be sure your documentation is correct and ready when you are ready to submit.

1 hour ago, LEISEROM said:

this weekend my good friends girl friend from China(who had a tourist visa) attempted to enter the US at SFO airport after a flight from China.  Her luggage was searched and they found her chinese birth certificate along with a certified English translation. They asked a lot of questions called my friend who said he knew her. Anyway she was denied entry. tourist visa cancelled and she was returned to China.

 

I am not surprised. I told him he needed to get a K-1. But he is always trying stuff like this. Now she wants him to come to China and marry her and then go for spousal visa.

Sounds like she intentionally came to the States to get married. Immigration officers are trained to spot people who are questionable.

Getting married in China is fairly easy. If your friend has been married before he will have to gather his "certified" divorce papers, go to the secretary of state department in the state he lives and get a single affidavit (or whatever they are calling them now). He will then have to go to the nearest Chinese consulate in the states to get it certified. He must either bring a pre-paid delivery envelope with his name and address on it or return to the consulate a week later to pick it up. When he gets married in China they will each get a marriage license. These must be translated and notarized (white book). This will be part of the document package they will send to UCSIS to apply for immigration.

It's a long wait in China, and Chinese women aren't very patient (I seriously thought my wife was going to permanently lose her mind lol). The more he can travel to China to be with her the better it will be for their case.

On 10/5/2018 at 2:37 PM, Waiting waiting said:

Day 1 of what I think is going to be a very long drawn out process.

 

Any information on where we can track the process and get updates on its status would be appreciated. 

 

Its been sent sent to the Chicago processing Center, any idea how long their average processing time is currently?

 

thanks in advance 

It took 11 months for us at Nebraska. Expect a year at least. In the meantime, make sure everything is up to date and have all of your documents ready for the NVC phase. The process will move pretty quickly when you case is transferred.

23 hours ago, AdeelNaz said:

Congratulations 🎉🍾...Did you guys used the same police clearance that was send in I-129f? Because I already got the police clearance in January but i was wondering if i need to get new for p3?

We went and got a new one because the one sent in to UCSIS was not the "white book" format. We didn't get an RFE for it during the UCSIS phase or the NVC phase but we knew we would need it for the interview.

After a long process my wife's visa has been issued and is on it's way to us. We got married July 4, 2016, so she will receive the IR1 visa.

We sent original application to UCSIS and it was received on March 14, 2017. We got notice it was going to NVC in February 2018. We were slow in getting our paperwork to them (I travel back and forth to China a lot), so our case took a while at NVC. We got a notice at end of July that her case was sent to Guangzhou and that her interview was to be September 6. I got to spend a little over two weeks in the US then I came back here to China and we headed to Guangzhou with our paperwork. Her medical exam was a breeze and the interview was a breeze. We got a preliminary approval at the interview because of the alias record. She traveled to her hometown and got her alias record in the notarized white book, traveled back to Guangzhou and turned it on at the CITIC bank location by the consulate. All in all our case was in AP for about two weeks (consulate was closed for two holidays, including three days this week). She checked the CEAC site this morning and it has changed to issued.

Our case took a little longer because we weren't in such a hurry as I work here in China a lot, and we have a home here also. There is a significant age difference between us but when the officer saw how often I am here and that we have a home together it wasn't a problem at all.

The consulate in Guangzhou has been great. I know that I would not want to work there. Its crazy there every single day but they treat everyone with respect and they are very helpful. My hat is off to them!

The wait is horrible, but what's worse is trying to keep your spouse / fiance calm during the process. I am lucky because I work in China and I am here most of the year. I will spend 2 months in China then return to states for usually a month. Its much better being together but it still drives my wife crazy. I am at the point where I don't need to work here as much so we are anxious to get back to states. Her interview was on Sept. 6 and we were issued a preliminary approval pending a couple of "white book" translations. You just need to be patient, and by all means be sure that you have everything in order and ready. The wait was bad, but being stuck in Administrative Processing is about to send my wife over the edge LOL.

Kicking, because this is a very interesting topic, and I am really wondering what happened to the OP!

My wife and I got our license at the civil affairs office in her hometown, on July 4 2016. We visited her hometown (village) during spring festival that year and we performed a traditional ceremony in the family home which took all of 10 minutes, then we went out to the communal area and stood there while family members and friends took pictures with us.

I was told by my wife that it was tradition for the groom to pay for the reception meal which included an entire cow and a large pig (it was quite fun AND humorous). This was not expensive, maybe $3000 all together for a group of about 200 or more people. She told me that it was tradition for the groom to give the mother and father a gift but that we weren't going to give them anything. Her uncle asked her if I was going to buy her father a BMW and she went off on him. She had a rough childhood, being the second daughter born in the family. She is not close to her family and tries to avoid them altogether. She has a rather large savings of her own that she has accumulated over 8 or so years, and has offered it to our joint savings. I told her that we would open a savings account for her and she could keep her money there.

The stories on the post are great. It's always kind of comical to hear about these things, especially in China where the almighty RMB rules. If my wife had told me about a bride price of $30,000USD before we got married, I would have been on the next flight home. I have heard similar stories from people. If anyone has any similar experiences please share.

I'm guessing you mean the Single Status Affidavid? What country and for which purpose? You need one in order to marry a foreigner in his or her country, and you need a different one for immigration.

On 9/18/2016 at 10:19 PM, ecwai said:

For those who have gone through the interview in Guangzhou recently, how long was the interview? What did you do about the cellphones that cannot be brought into the interview?

Thank you.

My wife just completed her interview on Sept.6. Her appointment was for 7:50, but they won't let people into gate until 7:30. She said that once they got inside the gate everything went smooth. I waited outside the gate for a while to make sure she got in then I headed back down the street to Starbucks. I waited an hour, and as I was about to get up to walk back down to consulate I looked up and she was standing on the corner to cross street. Do not take phone with you. Either leave at hotel or give to someone. Just a note, the storm that rolled through the last few days wreaked havoc on Guangzhou. We received an email saying that the consulate was closed yesterday. I feel sympathy for the people that traveled to Guangzhou for interview schedule this week. Everything will be delayed (we are waiting on her visa package.

Hi all,

My wife has her interview on Sept. 6 in Guangzhou, China. We submitted our AOS, tax documents, and civil records to the NVC in July, and three weeks later as I was halfway between Shanghai and Seattle they sent us an email with her interview date.

I will return to China on August 25 to accompany her to interview. As I was reviewing paperwork and getting all documents prepared for interview I noticed that I had entered a typo for my total income in 2015 on my I-864. I have corrected the typo and have printed out and signed another AOS. Will the embassy accept the new form at the interview or will I have to go through re-submitting the form before we can proceed? Everything else is in perfect order. We have been together for over three years, and we have been married over two years now. I live i China with her 75% of the year and we have a (rented) home together there. Everything is perfect except for the typo on the I-864. Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you rectify it?

Kshelton

Hello All,

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this but here goes.

We are in the NVC stage. We are applying for IR-1 / CR-1 visa for my wife. We married in China on July 4, 2016, so by the time we get to interview stage it will have been over two years. We have been together now for 3 years total. We just filed her DS-260 last week and are gathering documents at this time.

My question pertains to proof of domicile. I have been lucky because I work in China probably 75% of the year, and get to spend this time waiting for the visa with my wife. We have a nice apartment there but I also maintain a home in the US. I don't know if the consulate will require that I provide proof that I am maintaining my home in the US because of the time I spend in China. I know that if you live in China full time you should provide proof that you are maintaining your home, bank accounts, investment accounts, etc. in the US, and must provide proof of all of these things.

Anyone else have a similar situation, or have experienced this? I don't think this will be a problem but we want to be prepared if they bring it up. I will provide my lease for my US home but I really do not want to have to collect financial documents from all of my accounts. We will interview in Guangzhou consulate.

Thanks!

Hello all,

We have submitted my wife's DS260 visa application and are gathering all of our documents to send to NVC. Most Chinese citizens do not have a real birth certificate such as we do in the states. Hers is basically a civil document that says she was born on this date in this province and in this city. Is this the typical certificate issued? Has anyone had any problem with this type of certificate? We didn't have a problem when our paperwork was in processing center. Just wondering if anyone has had a problem at the NVC with this, and what type of certificate is presentable. She will have Houku with her as well.

Kshelton

Hello all,

We are in process of sending the DS260 form for my Chinese wife and I was wondering of anyone else has had this same problem. My wife legally changed her given name (as some Chinese do) when she was younger. Would this be considered an alias, or other name? My thinking is that as long as it was legally changed all public records should show her current name. I don't think she has any supporting documents from when she did this. Most Chinese born in that time do not have birth certificates, and the only birth record she has is one shoe obtained from the legal authorities in her home town, and it shows her current name (post change). Anyone else had the same issue?

Hello all,

Just starting paperwork for immigration to US for my Chinese wife. Had the 3/23/15 version of I-130 all complete and ready but now discovered new 12 page form that is NOT user friendly, and I am afraid I am not filling certain parts correctly. Are there any completed forms available yet like the older version. I noticed on the US immigration site that the wording sounded like either forms could be used. Anyone else experience this?