nosleep

We applied at the local SS office yesterday without any issues.  Although we had several pieces of documentation, they only asked for the I94 and passport although we also handed them the translated BC -- I'm not sure if they used it for anything. 

I'm still a bit confused about the work part.  The person at the SS office asked if she already had EAD, I told them she had only arrived 10 days ago and they said they would correct this.  We were told it will take 3-4 weeks for them to review the application and send the card/response.

I have searched and found some good information here about applying for SS number for K1 beneficiary but I'm not sure what to select on the application for citizenship/work (Question 5).  Should select 'legal alien allowed to work', or 'not allowed to work'? 

I'm guessing  'allowed to work'  based on the assumption we will be applying for EAD in the near future or is this updated after marriage?  

Most airlines allow 2 bags on international flights.  If not, it may be cheaper to pay the additional baggage fee depending on how much the service is charging.  

It will eventually clear, but in my experience using the USPS for shipping international has never been very fast or reliable.  In the future I would consider an alternative.  I've had USPS shipments held up for over 2 months in customs before but never more than a few days with other services.

I think it's important to share your past but even if you don't care to, they will likely ask.  Also realize, she will probably see copies of the paperwork and you have to disclose this on the application.  

As an FYI, we had our interview this week, and she was asked about my previous marriage and dates.  

We had our interview on October 23 and were approved!  It's been a long and tiring week, I'll try to post more info later but as of now the CEAC site already shows issued.  Not sure what the status really represents but it's definite progress.

Thanks to everyone on VJ who provided information and support to make this possible. 

I can see how this could reduce simple RFE's related to missing information or overlooked questions and reduce workload for the agencies involved.  Positive news. 

3 hours ago, Hemutian said:

 

Where did you "hear" this from?

 

A user posted this near the beginning of this thread.  I would still call the facility to confirm if they can do it in one day;  the office in Beijing told us 3-4 business days also.

6 minutes ago, flfreddy said:

We just sent out the P3 and will be scheduling a interview on a THURSDAY in November in GUANGZHOU.  Just to be sure and I ask again, having the medical done on MONDAY is good right ? in time for the Interview on THURSDAY.

 

I have to fly from Los Angeles to NE China and We have to fly from NE China to Guangzhou for this adventure and need to make sure timeline wise is good.   

 

Any confirmation will be deeply deeply appreciated.

I've heard Guangzhou can provide results in a day or so for the medical but you may want to have her call to be sure. 

I can understand your concern with the timing.  She did the medical in Beijing last week and she will be picking up the results next Monday on her way to the airport where we meet and fly together to Guangzhou Monday night.   Our interview is next week and hoping we don't have issues receiving the results.

5 hours ago, flfreddy said:

This is exactly what I posted yesterday.  You need pretend to start applying for a F-1.  At the F-1 student non immigrant page, when you click UPDATE PROFILE, you see the AA field for the DS 160.   It is a system bug.  K-1 visa page has no UPDATE PROFILE AA number field.     

 

After you update the AA number in the Student Visa F-1 UPDATE PROFILE tab, start new application with K-1, I believe the AA is now updated.

I noticed the DS160 number wasn't on our appointment confirmation.  I called the US support number and they were very helpful.  Within a few minutes I was able to reprint the appointment confirmation that now has both bar codes.

7 minutes ago, chocolatecookie said:

We received P4 today and tried to schedule an interview with GUZ. 

1) we followed the instructions in P4 and registered an account at https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/appointmentconfirmation 

2) filled up all the needed information but nowhere it asked for DS160 number

3) we paid the fee and scheduled the interview. 

4) PROBLEM: the confirmation page has an old DS160 number,which we can not change. We have cancelled and rescheduled the interview multiple times. Yet, we can not change DS160 information. 

 

Any advice? 

I could be wrong, but I thought everything was tied together with the passport number.  Also make sure the payment matches the confirmation.

I just wanted to make a correction about the P4 and medical. I think you will need a copy of the P4 email AND the interview appointment confirmation when you go to the medical.  We noticed this when preparing the paperwork to take to the medical this morning. 

There was nothing within the P4 that was needed, but the instructions did say to bring a copy of it to the medical appointment.

41 minutes ago, flfreddy said:

We just called the medical center in Guangzhou, it is a stones throw from the embassy.   They said no appointment necessary, its a walk in, but walk in with 3-4 biz days before your interview.  They said Read WECHAT and fill in the medical form there (huh?).

 

My take is ... even before you receive P3, you can actually do the DS 160, pay the fees, and book an appt about 1 month out.  When P4 comes, you are already all ready to go.. but its a risk, and you can also change visa interview appt anyway.

 

Any seniors here ... what are your opinions?

Not a senior, but we took our chances, payed the DS160 and scheduled the interview once we received the P3.  We did schedule the interview almost a month out but I don't think it would have been a problem if the P4 took a while because we could have easily change the appointment.  Luckily everything worked out and we received the P4 in about 9 days.  At this point we just need to hope Beijing can provide medical results within 10 days.

On 10/1/2019 at 5:53 PM, chocolatecookie said:

I may be totally wrong about this. But I think some information from P4 is needed to schedule an interview ( i do not know what it is. probably a number or something? ) and some information from P4 is needed to do the medical. 

 

I am a bit confused about it too. 

 

Anyone can advise on this? 

We were able to schedule the interview after paying the DS-160 fee.  There was nothing in the P4 email that was needed for us to schedule the interview or medical.  You only need the interview appointment confirmation to get the medical.

EMS worked for us as well and we received the P4 email about 9 days after it was delivered.  I think this is very good considering the holidays where they did not work during the first week of October.

On 10/1/2019 at 3:35 PM, chocolatecookie said:

Thanks for the reply. let's see when the p4 will arrive. fingers crossed. 

Our dates are almost the same and we received our P4 email October 9.

This is a very political topic, I'll just say in my opinion I don't agree with the way it's being handled.

3 minutes ago, missileman said:

Ignoring illegal immigration?   What makes you think that?

Yes, it seems they aren't doing as much as they should to stop the waves of people crossing the borders in any meaningful way.  Then again, maybe I shouldn't be giving that much credit to our news outlets.  

I'm all for following the rules as long as they are consistent, but this seems to be another example of making it harder for people who take the path of legal and legitimate immigration.  At the same time the government seems to ignore the problem of illegal immigration which is also a costly liability in terms of healthcare.

Sounds like they are back from the holiday.  We're waiting for the P4 email so we can schedule the interview and medical.

Interesting topic that I have only just begun to think about.  I think in our case it would be easier to keep her name for a few reasons.  It seems easier to keep it; we are a little older and don't expect to have children together that would potentially cause problems with last name; I don't believe changing names is common in China(I could be wrong); and it keeps things interesting.  Ultimately I will leave the decision to her, but I don't think it's necessary.  

On 9/27/2019 at 11:30 AM, mia305au said:

Finally after waiting 3 and a half months for our 2 year rule to expire we were able to go in for the interview on Tuesday and got approved. Now just hoping to receive our visa before the Chinese National Day holiday begins.

Yes, this holiday is bad timing for us also.  We're hoping to schedule our interview but waiting on P4.  

Do you know if we can we book an appointment before receiving P4 if we pay the DS160 now?

There are several days available for October.  I think the earliest i saw available was October 9 but that may be too soon.  I just tried to check but now it's telling me my account is locked and I need to wait a few days; not sure what that is about.

1 minute ago, chocolatecookie said:

Dear all, 

 

My packet 3 was delivered to GUZ on 09/27.  What will be a reasonable timeframe to expect the Packet 4 email? 

 

Many thanks

Ours was delivered on 9/30.  It looks like the average is about 6-8 days, but it will probably longer since they won't be working most of this week.