Eric & Jin

Does anyone know if she has a chance at a B2 next time she tries, if we take out the line about planning for a baby on the invitation letter? She had evidence of good amount of money in the bank, pension income, husband employment letter, photos with other relatives, I-134 from me w/ taxes and employment letter, etc, etc...

I don't know if the fact that you mentioned planning for a baby really had anything to do with the denial or not because my Chinese in-laws received B-2s after my wife and I mentioned in our invitation letter that we were having a baby and very much would like to have the grandparents here for the birth. My in-laws were also asked during their interview why they wanted to visit the US and they said because they wanted to be here for the birth of their grandchild and to help my wife out for several months afterwards.

Hopefully she will have better luck the second time around. Good luck!

Hi Everyone,

I know this question gets asked a lot but my wife it making copies of everything for her mother to travel here from China. Nowhere, do I find we need to do anything? Who is wrong here?

Thanks

There are several things that you can do to help her with the process of applying for a B-2 in China. I just went through the same thing several months ago with my in-laws from China and they are here visiting us on their B-2s right now.

1. You can fill out the online DS-160 visa application form for her - this is especially helpful if she does not read/write English.

2. Prepare not only an invitation letter outlining who will be responsible for all of her expenses while in the US but also fill out an I-134 for her with you as her sponsor - this is especially true if your mother-in-law is retired. The embassy & consulates in China have been requesting an I-134 frequently in the past 6 months or so for B-2s - my in-laws were requested to provide one at their interview.

3. Assist her with putting a photo album together which consists of pictures of her with you and your wife and also with her and her other relatives still living in China.

My in-laws interviewed for their visas at the Consulate in Guangzhou and these are the questions that they were asked and the answers provided. As you can see they were asked as much about my wife and I as they were about themselves - so I recommend that she know the basics about exactly where you live, work, etc:

1. Why do you want to visit the US? To visit our daughter and her husband and to help them out whenever their baby is born in February.

2. How long do you plan to stay? We will go in February and stay 2-3 months - we need to return to China before the summer break starts because we will need to keep our two grandsons in China during that time.

3. How did your daughter and her husband meet? They originally met online and then my son in law came to China to visit 4 times before they were married.

4. When did your daughter move to the US? July 2009

5. What company does your son-in-law work for? My mother-in-law gave the VO one of my business cards

6. How many family members do you have that live in China? My Mother in law had made a small photo album of family photos which she showed to the VO and briefly explained who the various people in them were.

The VO then asked to see the I-134 that I had provided and gave it a good look before then stating that their visas were approved.

As long as you enter China prior to your visa's expiration date you can stay the maximum duration of stay noted on the visa irregardless if the visa expires before your maximum stay as been reached. It doesn't matter where you enter China from just as long as you enter before the visa's expiration date. To put your mind at ease here it is straight from the horse's mouth (Chinese Consulate in Houston):

Q:My Chinese visa says ENTER BEFORE Apr 20th, 2000 with DAYS FOR EACH STAY 30. However, I plan to enter China on Apr 18th and stay for 19 days. Therefore, the date of my exit, which is May 7th, exceeds Apr 20th. Will there be a problem?

A:No, there will be no problem. The validation of a Chinese visa, which appears on the visa as ENTER BEFORE, designates the period it may be used for entry into China, not how long a visitor can stay. How long a visitor can stay in China after his entry is determined by duration of stay of a Chinese visa, which appears on the visa as DAYS FOR EACH STAY. Therefore, if your Chinese visa says ENTER BEFORE Apr 20th,2000 with DAYS FOR EACH STAY 30, you can enter China before Apr 20th, 2000 and stay in China for no more than 30 days after entry.

http://houston.china-consulate.org/eng/vp/faqs/

He did make an interesting comment about the level of fraud from Fujian Province in that most of it comes from the smaller cities, not he Provincial Capital. He indicated about half Fuzhou cases were legitimate, where in outlying areas and smaller cities the fraud percentage was extremely high. We didn't have enough time to continue with more details but it was a very interesting conversation.

This is pretty consistent with what a GUZ VO told me when I had asked him about fraud & Fujian Province - he said that there are certain 'watch' areas within Fujian, which could trigger a red flag when certain other conditions also exist with the case. But he also pointed out that these 'watch' areas also exist in all the other provinces as well and being from Fujian alone does not make a visa applicant any more suspect than someone from any other province. My wife who is from Fujian had a very easy 5 question visa interview as did her parents for their B-2s. My wife and I know many others from Fujian who received their visas easily. The notion that seems to run rampant on many of the Chinese visa forums that being from Fujian automatically means extra scrutiny & a difficult interview is false.

What kind of evidence of ties to China did they present?

Not much really - the only evidence of strong ties that they were asked about was how many relatives that they had who were still living in China. They had brought proof of their real estate holdings, retirement income, bank account/balances and stock holdings to the interview with them but none of that was ever asked for or shown. They were actually asked more questions about my wife and I than they were about themselves - here is the makeup of their very short interview:

1. Why do you want to visit the US? To visit our daughter and her husband and to help them out whenever their baby is born in February.

2. How long do you plan to stay? We will go in February and stay 2-3 months - we need to return to China before the summer break starts because we will need to keep our grandsons in Xiamen during that time.

3. How did your daughter and her husband meet? They originally met online and then my son in law came to China to visit 4 times before they were married.

4. When did your daughter move to the US? July 2009

5. What company does your son-in-law work for? My mother-in-law gave the VO one of my business cards

6. How many family members do you have that live in China? My Mother in law had made a small photo album of family photos which she showed to the VO and briefly explained who the various people in them were.

The VO then asked to see the I-134 which I had filled out for them - she looked it over pretty good and then returned it to my in-laws at which time she said - "No problem - you get the visas".

I found this site http://www.path2usa.com/visitor-visa-guide/documents-for-sponsor which talks about all the documents needed to Sponsor a Visitor Visa for family members.

I feel a little funny sending all my financials to my wife's parents when I don't even show my own parents this information. Has anyone sponsored their spouse's parents a visitor visa? Should her parents be able to get a visa without all of the financial information?

Thanks!

My in-laws applied for and received B-2 visas several months ago and are in the US visiting us right now. I filled out the online DS-160 visa application forms for each of them and also provided them with an I-134 and a letter to the VO detailing who would pay for what during their stay. They interviewed for their visas at GUZ and the VO asked for the I-134 during the interview and took a good long look at it. So if I were you I would go ahead and fill one out for them as well - it may not be asked for but as my case shows, sometimes it is.

My wife and I chose to use the Guangzhou United Family Clinic because:

1. It was brand new at the time and we were told that it was very clean & efficient (which it was).

2. It is closer to the Consulate than the Shamian facility is.

3. Same day results are included in the regular service (no extra charge).

4. We chose not to have the vaccinations done in China because my health insurance covered the cost, so that was no

concern to us at the time (my wife was a K-1).

My wife and I were both very satisfied with the service at the Guangzhou United Family Clinic. As previously mentioned it was very clean & efficient. My wife had a 9:00am appointment and we were out the door with results in hand by 1:00pm. The medical was split up into stations and was conducted by both nurses and a doctor - only 1 doctor was on duty and so that is who everyone that day was examined by. After my wife arrived in the US she needed to have the MMR, Td and Varicella vaccinations for AOS - all of which were administered at the same time.

It is not speculation, read the most recent GAO report on consulates in China. I am trying to find the link to the report, but it stated very clearly that the GAO found petitioner hour a waste of resources because of abuse.

I'll be happy to read it. Sounds like you have. Where's the link?

I would also like to see the GAO report on the consulates in China if anyone has a link. I have read the recent OIG Review of the consulates in China (http://www.ilw.com/articles/2010,1026-schwartz.pdf) but it does not make any mention of the Petitioner Hour (ACH) or give any hint as to why the decision may have been made to discontinue it.

IF she gets a license in China - wei - she'll know the pedals and how to turn the wheel, and that's about it. All the rest of it is sooooooooooooo different.

I have to disagree with you on that. My wife had a license and drove for several years in China before coming to the US and her transition to driving here has been unbelievably easy. She has been driving here since the day after she arrived and has done great - not so much as a door ding yet . The only scare that she has given me was on the first day that she drove here she pulled right out in front of a car at a yield sign - she had no idea what a yield sign was because apparently they don't have an equivalent in China but ever since then she has pretty much done everything right.

My fiancee will probably have to do her medical in Guangzhou, so is 2 business days before interview sufficient? I guess you are saying that is the minimum. Probably have to make an appointment with the medical eximiner?

Arriving in Guangzhou 2 days prior to the interview should be fine - that is exactly what my wife and I did. Yes, definitely make an appointment for the medical exam - you may also want to consider having it done at one of the facilities which offers same day results. My wife got her medical exam done at the Guangzhou United Family Clinic which offers same day results as part of their regular service at no extra charge. Her appointment was at 9:30 am and we were out the door with results in hand by 1:00pm.

After reading your prior posts at some of the China specific sites, I would say that Marc has probably given you some sage advice. There are a couple of big red flags in your case that Guangzhou will focus on and including the death certificate of your fiancée’s former husband in your initial petition will help address one of those at the very beginning. My guess of Marc's recommendation to perform your own background check is just to rule out any other red flags - not sure if he actually wants you to include the results in your petition but rather just to rule out any other potential/unexpected issues.

Good Luck - I hope that all goes well with your case!

Wow that is a big difference from what we experienced with my wife's medical exam. We used the Guangzhou United Family Clinic and I was very impressed with their service. It was a new, modern and very clean facility that offered very efficient service. The really good thing about this clinic is that it offers same day results as part of its regular service (no extra charge) - my wife's appointment was at 9:30am and we were out the door with results in hand by 1:00pm the same day. The clinic had a desk/table which is used by the patients to fill out the medical paperwork and on the table were binders full of example forms in both Chinese & English - so there was no guess work as to how the forms should be filled out.

Was the pre-interview conversation in Chinese or mixed with Chinese and English?

My wife said that they spoke to her in Chinese while taking her paperwork before the actual interview - Chinese workers do this. However I wouldn't worry about that too much because there will be plenty of people at the Consulate who speak English, so your husband shouldn't have any difficulties in knowing what is being requested. The only thing that he may have a slight problem with is knowing which line to get in before entering the consulate the morning of his interview - the Chinese guards will give instructions in Chinese as to which line everyone should be in (it is based upon the type of visa being interviewed for). There will probably be a couple of Americans there with their fiancee/spouse though which he can get the information from or he can just show his appointment letter to one of the Chinese guards and they will point to which line he should be in.

I can only speak about the experience with the Guangzhou Consulate that my wife and I encountered. Prior to my wife's interview we read about many of the same horror stories that you no doubt have and were very nervous about dealing with GUZ - as it turned out though our experience was completely opposite of those horror stories.

The day before my wife's interview I made a trip to the Consulate for the American Citizen's Hour(ACH) where I was able to speak directly with a Visa Officer about the visa process and ask some specific questions about our case. The VO who I spoke with was very polite and conducted himself in a professional manner. He was more than willing to give me some insight into the process and shared his feelings about our case.

My wife encountered much of the same with the VO who conducted her interview - she said that he was very nice and professional. She did remark that the Chinese worker who took her paperwork during the pre-interview phase was somewhat rude and pushy but the VO was not like that at all.

All in all we had a pretty painless experience at GUZ but we also made sure to prepare a solid case in advance and had no red flags with our case.

Thanks, Djwalker60, Eric & Jin, and as usual Darnell. I have a follow up question since I see sometime they allow discussion about our own case. So when at ACH, can I bring my files/paperwork and show them a specific paper/form/etc, or can they pull up my case files, or both?

They have access to your electronic file at ACH but not to your paper file. In my case NVC had entered my DOB into their system incorrectly before sending my file to GUZ. During ACH I tried to find out if my DOB had been entered incorrectly into GUZ's system as well but they could not tell me - the VO looked through our electronic file and even called his supervisor over to look as well and neither of them could find my DOB anywhere within the electronic file. They were very nice about it though and made a note of my correct DOB in the electronic file just in case it happened to come up in my wife's interview. So if you have a question about a specific form I would definitely take it with you to ACH as they may not have access to it in their system - they will definitely not have access to your paper file at ACH as I found out.

Well, finally got confirmation from DOS as well as P4 in the mail, my Meiya will be interviewing for the K1 visa on 9/29. Yes!

I intend to be there as well to support her. Now, I remember I read here somewhere about the American Citizen Hour (ACH) at GUZ consulate. But I can't seem to find any detail about this on the GUZ Consulate homepage. Does anyone know where to look there for the official info? I just want to confirm that the ACH is only held on Mondays. Also, my recollection is that it's sometime in the afternoon, 2-3pm, is that right? Do I need to make appointment in advance? Thanks a lot for the help.

If you are going to be in GUZ anyway then I would recommend that you attend ACH. It will allow you to familiarize yourself with the Consulate building and also will give you a chance to ask any questions that you might have about the visa process. I have seen where some people say that they were not able to ask any specific questions about their case however that was not what I experienced - the VO that I spoke with was very accommodating and was more than happy to answer specific questions that I had about our case. As it has already been stated - no appointment is necessary, just show up at around 2:00 on Monday afternoon.

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/contactiv.html

U.S. citizen petitioners who would like general information on the Immigrant Visa process in Guangzhou may attend an information session hosted by consular officers on Mondays at 14:30. We recommend that you arrive at the consulate around 14:00 in order to go through security check procedures. At 14:30, we will stop admitting petitioners into the Immigrant Visa waiting room and will promptly begin the session at that time. The aim of these sessions is to address frequently-asked questions and provide you with a better understanding of the process. Additional materials for cases that have already been interviewed will not be accepted during these sessions.

Due to workload constraints, U.S. citizen petitioners will only be allowed to ask questions about petitions they have filed (or are in the process of filing) themselves.

Since a K-1 is classified as a non-immigrant visa your fiancée will not actually need to get the required vaccinations prior to her interview, visa issuance or even entry into the US - she will just need to have them done prior to filing for AOS. My wife was a K-1 as well and we decided to just wait and have all of her vaccinations done after she arrived in the US. All of those vaccinations listed on the P4 letter are age specific - so your fiancée will not be required to get all of them. My wife is 33 and was required to only get 3 of them: DTP, MMR and Varicella - these are the only vaccinations that most women 18-55 are usually required to have.

The date have finally arrive. My wife is a China citizen and she coming to US this Saturday. She taking a plane from Hong Kong to US. My question is do she need to apply to enter Hong Kong. Can she enter Hong Kong with her IR1 Visa, China passport and plane ticket?

She can enter Hong Kong without any problem if she has a valid US visa in her passport - she will be issued a 7 day stay Hong Kong visa upon entry, if she is doing more than just changing planes for another flight. My wife did this with her K-1 and we have had friends do the same with student visas. If she is just changing planes in Hong Kong and will not leave the airport then she will not have to worry about HK immigration at all. Either way, just make sure that she has her complete itinerary printed up to show when she boards the flight from the mainland to HK - they will want to verify that she will be continuing on to the US within 7 days of entering HK.

Silk,

You should be able to get a visa for China in Hong Kong with little to no trouble. CTS (China Travel Service) has many branches within Hong Kong and they can get a visa for you - they even offer same day service for an extra fee. Usually though the China visas issued to foreigners in Hong Kong are single entry only as opposed to the multiple entry visas that you can get from the Chinese Consulates in the US.

There is one thing that you should probably be aware of if your fiancée is planning on meeting you in HK - PRC citizens must obtain an internal passport/visa for travel to HK. Make sure that the one that she uses is in her own name and not her assumed identity, otherwise you won't be able to use it as proof that you two in fact met in HK.

Listen to what Cortr, Darnell and Rob have said as they have already given some good advice. Her multiple identities will never pass the scrutiny from the Consulate as the VOs in GUZ are well trained in detecting fraud/misrepresentation and visa denials for spouses are not uncommon. What your fiancée is proposing constitutes visa fraud and if caught will incur a ban for future visa eligibility.

She needs to get a passport in her own name and then you will need to make a trip to China to see her so that you can satisfy the requirement that you two have actually met within the 2 years prior to filing your visa petition. Her trip to Dubai to meet you won't count since the passport & visa that she used was under someone else's identity and can't be used as proof that she was actually in Dubai.

I wanted to know what taxes I have to pay when I leave from Manila for my self and my future wife. If their taxes to pay leaving from Hong Kong?

I can't speak for Manila but I have flown in and out of Hong Kong many, many times and have never had to pay a departure tax at the airport. Hong Kong does have a departure tax of $120HK($15US) but that tax has always been included in the price of my airline tickets. Also that tax does not apply to same day arrival/departures, so if you are arriving and departing Hong Kong on the same day, then the departure tax shouldn't even be included in the price of your airline tickets as it will not be applicable.

Although the Guangzhou Consulate does not offer any type of class, you may be referring to the American Citizen's Hour (ACH) which is offered at Guangzhou. ACH is an information session held on Monday afternoons in which petitioners can speak with a VO about any questions that they have regarding their fiance/spouse's case, etc. I attended it and found it to be somewhat helpful and your presence will be noted in the beneficiaries case file which many say is a bonus. Here is the blurb from the Guangzhou Consulate's website about ACH:

"U.S. citizen petitioners who would like general information on the Immigrant Visa process in Guangzhou may attend an information session hosted by consular officers on Mondays at 14:30. We recommend that you arrive at the consulate around 14:00 in order to go through security check procedures. At 14:30, we will stop admitting petitioners into the Immigrant Visa waiting room and will promptly begin the session at that time. The aim of these sessions is to address frequently-asked questions and provide you with a better understanding of the process. Additional materials for cases that have already been interviewed will not be accepted during these sessions."

I know that flying into Hong Kong and taking the train is sometimes advised, but I'm a little leery of that since I'll be alone and can't read/speak enough of the local language to get anywhere if there's no English posted.

Don't let the fact that you can't read/speak Chinese deter you from flying into HK and taking the train to GUZ if it will save you some money. All of the signs and announcements in the MTR & Train stations in Hong Kong are in both Chinese & English and just about everyone who works at the stations in HK speaks at least a bit of English. The train leaves from the Hong Hom station in HK and there are signs in English directing you to the desk where the tickets are sold and then to the departure platform. I have taken the train from HK to GUZ and vice versa several times and have never had a problem - it is really easy to do and the train ride is a good experience. There are 12 trains per day that run between HK & GUZ and the cost is about $25US.

I got the PM, thanks. I'm going to paste in the meat of it here for others to see. Did you pay any additional fee to either the agency or Consulate for the two-year visa?

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You may apply for the 2 year visa by submitting copies of both your

marriage certificate and your wife's passport copy. The visa application

only has an option for multiple entries for 12 months, so just cross out 12

months and write in 24 months. It's as simple as that. These visas will

give you multiple entries for two years, with 90 days per entry.

No - the cost is the same as the 1 year visa, no extra charges apply. $130 for the visa + $43 agency service fee + cost of mailing back your passport/visa..

I'm not aware of a two-year L visa being available. Are you certain your visa is valid until December 2011?

Yes - if you are married to a Chinese National then you qualify for a 2 year multi-entry L visa. If you PM me your email address I will forward you an email that I received from www.mychinavisa.com describing how to go about applying for one.