+VOL--

23 hours ago, givionte said:

When my wife went through her interview, they returned most of the original documents I gave them originally in Guangzhou months prior in the shipment along with her passport.  I think they kept just one copy of the marriage white book and her police certificate, pretty much everything else was returned.  The ones they kept I can see inside the big heavy packet she needs to give customs upon her arrival, but those will never be given back.

 

Luckily I was advised to get 2 of everything, because I know she'll need them in the future.  They don't tell you that when you go to get police certificates and such.

Wish we knew that beforehand. We only have extra copies for 1 of the 3 police clearance. What do you think she will need it for in the future? 

4 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

You won't get those back and won't need them later in the process.

 

As for the marriage certificate, if you dint being a copy then don't expect it back  There is a form to use to try to get that back.  You don't have other copies of the marriage certificate?

Thanks for the reply.

Yes we have other copies of the marriage certificate but I still feel they should have returned it. My husband gave them a photocopy of it and they rejected it and asked for an original so I feel it wasn't right for them to keep it. The police clearance- I just wonder if others got theirs back because the process and cost to obtain them were too high I would hate for them to end up in the trash. 

I see a G-884 form to get documents back. Is that what you are referring to?

My husband did his interview in Guangzhou and entered the U.S. just over a week ago. They required from him only original documents during the interview (marriage certificate, birth certificate, police clearance, etc.). None of which, except the birth certificate and a few others, was returned back to him. We thought they would be in the huge file we had to submit at immigration but we only got the birth certificate and some other documents back. They still have the marriage certificate and police clearances from three different locations. How do we get our original documents back? Will they send them with the permanent resident card or we have to request for them back some how? 

1 hour ago, givionte said:

Personally I found out from the news about the new South Korean travel restriction, and confirmed it on the Korean Air website which is the first leg of my trip in May.  I'm still a bit worried about our booking since we are expecting to fly into Minneapolis, but currently people flying from China are restricted to 9 or 11 different airports.  Hopefully that will be ending before Spring, because fares have doubled in May in the last week, and I don't want to be forced to change.

Thanks for the the reply. We were able to get in contact with Korean Air who just told us to contact the Ghanian embassy and the Korean embassy in China. They also shared this website to check if visa is needed https://www.timaticweb2.com/integration/external?ref=27165d7fc2e2de6595bb4c4aaa105031

We haven't booked our tickets yet but Japan is another option for transfer. Since we won't need a transit visa for Japan, we'll just go with Japan. I hope everything has settled down by the time you travel and everything goes smoothly.

7 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

Use this to determine visa needs:  https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/

Thank you so much. That was really helpful. We called the Korea Air customer service for additional confirmation and they sent us a similar website:  https://www.timaticweb2.com/integration/external?ref=27165d7fc2e2de6595bb4c4aaa105031

This one allows you to skip the "Reason for Travel" part which only allows either "tourism/vacation" "business" and "duty." I thought that might affect the result. Also it's more detailed about which situations transit will be needed. 

5 hours ago, givionte said:

Entry is allowed for alien families/spouses of US citizens, so you are ok.  As long as you travel together it won't be a problem.  If traveling alone, it could be more difficult to explain to the airlines at check-in that you are able to legally fly and enter the US, but the law is on your side.

 

If you have any layovers on your planned flight, please check local country laws for any new restrictions.  For example, my wife and I will fly to the US in May, but to even simply layover for 2 hours in Incheon, she needs a travel visa currently, due to the restrictions due to the pandemic.  Something to think about before you book.

Sorry, I meant to quote you earlier. Please see my question above. Thanks!

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Thank you both for your answers.

Givionte, yes you are right. I was able to contact U.S. Customs and Border Protection earlier and they confirmed that he will be able allowed entry. And yes, transiting through another country was also another thing I worry about. What nationality is your wife? My husband is Ghanian. How did you find out that she needs a visa? Seems our two transit options right now are either South Korea or Japan. I have been unable to find definite answers if transiting through either Korea or Japan will be an issue. 

My husband and I are in Beijing, China. We want to travel to the US this month. My husband just received his immigrant visa here in China. Due to the virus travel ban, will entry into the U.S. be allowed on a IR/CR1 visa? I know citizens and permanent residents are allowed in but what about those that have just received their immigrant visa and have not entered the US yet?

Thank you both for the reply. I guess we just have to wait. It's just that I wish we had an estimate of when it will be completed or at least an explanation of what is going on. The date on the visa status hasn't updated for a while and the passport status keeps showing "no status update." It seems it's not even being worked on. We're very patient people but this unknown is really prolonging a lot of life altering decisions we have to make. If it will take a month, we know what to do with our lives. If it takes years, we also know the choices we have.

And yes, I'm aware of the holiday delay which is another reason I'm bothered. More holidays are coming soon, including the Chinese New Year, which will further delay things if the visa is not granted before the holidays.

My husband went for an interview in Guangzhou on Nov. 25 for CR1 visa. He was approved verbally but then 2 weeks later we received his passport back and a letter by mail. The letter informed us that we have to include a secondary evidence of birth to supplement his already submitted birth certificate. We sent it and they received that document on Dec. 25th but since then we've remained in Administrative Processing. My question is-- why is this taking so long? From what I've been reading, it seems most cases processed in China get their visa approved pretty quickly after the interview or submission of requested documents. So is my husband's nationality (Ghana) making the process longer? I'm thinking that cases for non-Chinese beneficiaries in China are processed both by the consulate in China and the consulate in the other country (in this case Ghana) which will make the process longer. Anyone know the answer or can guess as to what is taking so long?

They had a problem with the "date of registration" on the birth certificate. The registration date was too recent aka "delayed" (not filed within one year of the date of birth), therefore they require a secondary evidence of birth. Please share if you have any advice.

My spouse (Ghanian) has completed the interview and after the interview was asked to provide a secondary evidence of birth (besides the birth certificate). The document could be one of these: midwife certificate of birth, weighing card, welfare center card, or baptismal certificate. Has anyone else faced this issue where the birth certificate issued by the Ghanian government wasn't enough and they needed a secondary evidence of birth? If so, what document did you use and how did you get it?