lwsx

I had a similar question for Guangzhou embassy - whether there was a time limit to send in packet 3 documents.

This was their response:

"Thank you for your email.

Please be advised that the time limit for returning packet 3 documents is one year. The packet 3 was sent to Ms. **** on July 1, 2010, so Ms. **** needs to return all the required complete document back to the consulate by June 30, 2011 to continue her visa application. Please note that completion of this step is required before she can make a formal application for her visa.

An approved K1 visa petition is valid for a period of four months from the date of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) action, and it may be revalidated by the consular officer, provided the officer concludes that you and your beneficiary remain legally free to marry and continue to intend to marry each other within 90 days after she goes to U.S."

It seems if you take your time sending in packet 3 documents, it might conflict with the 4 month validation date

just to add an update after getting an email from Guangzhou

"Thank you for your email.

Please be advised that the time limit for returning packet 3 documents is one year. The packet 3 was sent to Ms. **** on July 1, 2010, so Ms. **** needs to return all the required complete document back to the consulate by June 30, 2011 to continue her visa application. Please note that completion of this step is required before she can make a formal application for her visa.

An approved K1 visa petition is valid for a period of four months from the date of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) action, and it may be revalidated by the consular officer, provided the officer concludes that you and your beneficiary remain legally free to marry and continue to intend to marry each other within 90 days after she goes to U.S.

Sincerely,

Immigrant Visa Unit

U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou"

This is a bit confusing, as NOA2 validity date is October 2010

Lesley , MRSTee,

It's good to hear both your stories and how things have turned out well. Seeing how keeping a positive attitude helps a lot, and I appreciate the advice. In a way, I wish my situation could be simpler to deal with, but that's a long story in itself.

I got my P3 this morning.

BTW, when should I pay for the visa fee?

That's great! Get the latest version of OF-169 & DS-230 from GUZ's website, just in case. You need the reciept for the fee from CITIC Bank at the interview. So anytime before the interview at your convenience I guess. I emailed the embassy how much the $350 fee is in RMB, but they didn't answer that question, just said to follow the instructions on the website.

weird, the site still has the old Dec 09 form cached.

The link for OF-169 June 10 is http://photos.state.gov/libraries/guangzhou/47024/K%20p3/K%20Instruction%20-Jun_%2010.pdf

When did they start using DS-230 for K-1 Visas?

at least since May, when I started looking for packet3 information.

what is inside the latest P3?

from GUZ, the forms are out of date. DS230's list of documents to send back didn't list copy of passport bio page, and the fee is $170. GUZ's website has June '10 version of DS230 - forms & packets are here. if you look around enough, you'd find the update fee ($355?) on the site.

Had my fiance not go over the list & fees with me, she'd have prepared the documents w/o the passport copy & $170 instead of $355

Lesley, Jim thanks for the information. I'll check my NOA2 to see how much time I have.

Lesley, my fiancee's anxiety is like yours - she's worried about not having enough money the first few months, not being able to go out and eat once in a while, new cloths, etc. And not having work would add to her anxiety and loneliness. In her view, she'd become a burden, and getting some help from family to cover a shortage for a few months is illogical to her. For her it's not just family that she's leaving behind - a decent job, comfortable lifestyle, etc. She'd have to leave all of that behind and trade for a miserable 6 months or so. Her concerns now is beyond whatever money she would save to help with getting through things.

Have you been able to find work yet? Before you left England, were you prepared for the period when you couldn't find work? Was there anything, besides your fiance & hope, that helped you decide to take the leap (of faith, of sorts)?

I don't know how the US Consulate in China do business, but from my experience...

First thing to check is the validity date on your NOA2. The interview must be scheduled by the end of that validity date. If you think the process will run past that validity end date, make sure you request for an extension.

Thanks, I guess I should've checked NOAs before I asked.

"The problem we have right now is her anxiety about living in the States." - same here brother. In my case she is afraid to leave her family behind. I have to encourage her everyday and start doing the papers on my side anyway. I would also wish to know how long they wait for package 3 to send back to them.

My fiancee's parents are pretty worried about her coming here without being able to own a home beforehand.

what i can't wrap my head around, even being Chinese, is that her parents (and majority of families in China) expect real estate ownership as a marriage requirement. Her parents see home ownership as a mean of providing a stable living environement, and it should be obtained before the marriage. Renting is looked down upon as if you're a nomad with no permanet roots, a step above being homeless. I know that's how things work there, but it seems backwards here if you presently have limited means like me.

I emailed GZ about the timeframe, hopefully they'll reply by early next week. They've been picking up the pace, it seems. Just when things could go smoothly, I may mot be able to benefit from it.

Hi all,

My fiancee received packet3 last week, and has not submitted the required documents yet since it would take some time to gather her interview documents. The question I have is, Does packet 3 have a due date? How long can we hold off sending in packet 3 documents? Or is there a process that lets us put the K1 petition on hold and resume at a later time?

now for a bit of ranting....

The problem we have right now is her anxiety about living in the States. 3 to 6+ months of no employement, or minimum wage employment is an unpleasant state of living, and she does not feel I make enough (~28k in NY) to support the both of us for this time period. She is partly right in that even with a 2nd job (if I can get one), I'd be a few hundred short each month. My family providing some financial help for a short time period does not ease her concerns.

I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. Landing a job that pays say $2700 a month take home would solve my financial problems - but with the job market being the way it is.... I can't just say everything will be peachy - I know I'd need to get a better job, but I want to cautious about making dreamy claims that may not pan out.

She has a decent job in China, and somewhat of a good living. Without a quick solution to my financial situation, or making unrealistic promises, she's concerned about being unhappy and me having too much of a burden in my current situation. I can not in all honesty ask her to give up what she has for a chance to be unhappy. So it's her decision whether she wants to take the risk of coming here.

That's where we are now, and putting off the K1 petition until we sort things out. If anyone has some advice, or story of hardship, I'd like to hear it. It'd certainly take some stress off.

thanks

NVC sent me a notice dated 6/29 stating that the K1 petition I filed would be forwarded to GUZ within the week. I called NVC, and after a 15 minute wait, got someone who looked up the case. He stated that Packet 3 was sent out on 7/1. Being at work & holding for 15 minutes, I didn't ask for much details - which was dumb on my part.

I was reading the FAQ on GUZ's website, and it mentioned that NVC transmitts the case electronically to GUZ. Is it likely in my case that NVC sent the case electronically to GUZ, and GUZ then sent out packet 3 to my fiancee?

The problem my fiancee has is her home address is unreliable for mail, and although I included a letter asking for mail to be mailed to her work address, I have no idea if NVC/GUZ would pay any mind to it. So we're kinda worried about packet 3 being lost. I'm planning on calling GUZ, even though fiancee got the run-around from them. Should we email GUZ about my fiancee's work address? mail/fax GUZ about it?

TIA

I'm in the opposite situation and was going to ask the same question. My fiance's apartment building in China has no mailbox (that I saw when I was there) and we have the same concerns about getting mail. She would prefer mail delivered to her work address.

I live in an area where there is no mail delivery to physical addresses, period. It's all PO boxes. I attached both of these addresses on an extra sheet of paper with an explanation, and noted "see attached" on the G-325a.

Would listing her home and work address in both English & Chinese with explanation, as a G-325 attachment be enough for the embassy to direct their mail to her work address?

Saw an example DS 160 here and it does not mention a fiance in the USA.

http://www.ccusa.hu/supp/doc/Visa%202009/sample-ds-160-form-us-visa-application.pdf

In my case, in the Travel Information & Contact Information sections of DS160, the person's relationship to applicant would be fiancee. While it isn't explicitly as it is on DS156, "fiance om the USA" could be infered from the contact info.

Come on, have her apply - the worst that could happen is that she's denied, and it doesn't affect the K-1 application, at all.

she will, once I send out the I-129F. I'm not too concerned about getting denied since it's not too big of a difference waiting 6 months & waiting 2 months.

Darnell, good info, as usual. Prior to our engagement, my fiance & I had talked about the B2 visa and some of the things you pointed out - requirements, proof, loopholes, etc. A few months ago, we thought it was impractical considering the time & effort involved, after looking over the Consulate's requirements at the interview.

While it's clear the consulate has the presumption of immigration intent regarding a B1 visa on its own, what about cases where a K visa is being processed? With a K application in the works, it's almost a given that the fiance has intent to immigrate. So with the legal presumption logic, anyone with a K visa processing will most certainly get denied of a B2 visa. And it matters not, if the other visa shows the applicant's willingness to immigrate legitimately.

I could see the logic from the fraud perspective, but even that seems flawed.

And you would think from the K1 application perspective, that the beneficiary visiting the petitioner further demonstrates the relationship's validity. I guess they're worried that if the beneficiary over-stays the B2 visa, they won't be able to at least find the petitioner with all the documentation from the K1 application.

Hi all,

Before getting engaged, my fiance had mentioned getting an U.S. visitor's visa in China as a single woman was kind of difficult.

1. How likely would Shanghai/Beijing issue her a visiting visa after I-129F is filed (tentatively May '10)? And is filing taken into consideration or viewed as a detriment?

Her passport expires May '11, so it would be a couple months short of 8 months required.

2. When should she renew her passport? After getting a visitor's visa (if possible), or after submitting a copy with PKT3?

ya - phone bills are important, those call detail records.

Rarely reviewed on interview day, though, because of the short time each interviewee gets.

CAN be included on initial I-129F submittal, though.

IMO, for GUZ, this is a good thing - these call detail records will make it over to GUZ, be reviewed prior to interview day -

but what does it prove?

doesn't prove anything. it's all just documents some bureaucrat thought would prove intent of a real spousal relationship in the U.S. While I understand the need for uniformity, I "proving" my relationship with documents is just so someone can tell me what is ok. It really has no bearing on my relationship. But that's the nature of burden of proof.

Thanks all,

I guess other than money transfers, and not provide any additional paperwork unless asked.

It's strange that financial documents such as phone bills are used to prove the existence of a relationship. Based on that logic, it's stranger still that some documentation are counter-productive

Hi all,

I got a PayPal debit card with my fiance's name so she could use it in China - not that she needs/wants to. I'm also adding her as the primary beneficiary on my life insurance policy from work. Plus I'll wire her some money (for studio photos) before I see her again.

While the documentation from these can be used as financial evidence for I-130, could the same be used for proof of relationship the K1 process?

If it's beneficial, would it be better for PayPal debit card transactions to occur at regular intervals - ie weekly grocery purchases?

TIA

the china visa expiration date - as i understand it - that's the last date you can enter china .

then there's the duration - so you can stay in china that 'last time' for 'that many days', even if it's expired.

just checked the passport, and it's a 1 year visa, not 2 like i thought. so either i pray the interview is Nov '10 or earlier, or play it safe & get the passport renewed and a new visa.

i also thought about renewing the passport as proof of citizenship for the I-129, but having found my naturalization paper in one of my parent's old boxes saves me from an expedited passport renewal.

thanks Darnell

My U.S. passport will expire in April '11, and I've got a multiple entry L visa for China in Dec. '09 - so I'm good to go for visiting my fiance in 2 months. I'm also planning on going to the Guangzhou office with her for her interview, which I'm guessimating would be around Nov/Dec '10.

If I travel to China with less than 6 months left on the passport, even with a 2 year multi-entry visa, will there be any problems at immigration?

I'd like to stay on the side of caution & renew the passport after April, but on one hand, it seems like a good idea having all the visit entries to China on 1 passport - it can't hurt to have it during the interview.

Any opinions?

if an in china wedding party is done right, it's a damned good deal. i paid more for 25 guests in the states than i did for 300 in luoyang. sure, it's a show, but every mainland chinese wants to be a movie star at least once in their life.

I've had 20 guests dinners that came out less than dinner for four here, as well as getting more than 3 squares on $10 by myself. not to mention the food is a lot better than here - as long as you're careful.

But times are changing, for weddings in China anyway. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-02...ent_6437342.htm

Before my fiance & I got serious, I lamented about how expensive weddings are in general. Her response was, "If that's the case, then poor people would be single". And that's when I knew.

lwsx - hey - that's cool. if nothing else - you've solidified the plan, a bit. That's always useful, IMO.

Hang in there, mon - you gots some time...

Good Luck !

Thanks, it's going to be a long wait

lets move a bit backwards, ah ?

Now - to get the Affadavit of Marriage-ability/ Affadavit of Single status - in China -

--You'll need to go to a US Consulate in China, other than Guangzhou (they don't do it there) , set up appointment for US Citizen Services (available on each Consulate's web portal ) then go to the Consulate during the appointment time. You usually bring a CERTIFIED COPY of prior divorce decrees, and cash, then the Vice Consul interviews you, and gives you 'the Affadavit'.

I did mine in BeiJing - we made a two day trip from Wuhan - it was fun for us to do. Other locations that do it -

Chengdu, Shanyang, Shanghai . Wuhan is new, does not do it (yet ).

Guangzhou does not do it , either.

There is other method to 'get it done' in USA, but I don't suggest that route - is many certifications of prior divorce documents by:

1. district clerk

2. Your State's Department of State

3. The China Consulate that you are 'districted' to. (Get attestation ) .

If you have no prior divorce, then I highly recommend going to a US Consulate/Embassy in China, and getting it done, there.

while researching CR1 process, I had to ask about this. Getting an AFFIDAVIT OF SINGLE STATUS is possible in NY, according to someone who got approved on CR1.

If you're single, write up a document stating your status. Get the document notarized. Bring it to City Hall or County Clerk's office to have it certified.

If you were married, get the document from City Hall/County Clerk's - make sure it's official & all.

Bring a copy of the certified document to the Chinese Embassy where they would approve & translated the copy.

I can't say for certain if other Chinese Embassy offices are willing to do this, as I was told about this process from someone who had it done in NYC.

But if it was me, I would try to get it this way while at home in NY, since doing it in China would mean having Shanghai as an extra stop. Worse case scenario, the NY Chinese Embassy doesn't do it, and I'd go to Shanghai by myself anyway.

Doesn't exist, those back channels, INTO the US Consulate IV unit in Guangzhou, China, regardless of what you've heard, read, or been told. I agree, he might be helpful with the document prep required AFTER a blue slip, but then, IMO, you should handle that directly. If it helps with 'face' to keep him in the loop, then by all means, do it. About 5 years ago, attornies in Guangzhou could 'get things done' with the IV Unit, if a blue slip was given. That's not the case anymore, at all. An attorney has to NOW BE 'certified' to present at GUZ, and then have valid reason to present. 'Blue slip overcome evidence submittal' is not a valid reason to be present.

What he MIGHT help about, is translations at a Notarial Office - but unless her hukuo is messed up or IF she is a migrant worker (returning to hukuo city only during two weeks during CNY ) - and even then - a family member LISTED in her hukuo book can do all (I'm betting he's not listed in her hukuo book at all).

Guanxi is important in China, you betcha, but mostly useless for the I-130 petition. Sorry.

re: With joint property, what are some types that are easily obtained & documented? For example, a bank account in U.S., or in China? click my link, read. read it twice. Bring out the I-130 instructions, read those as well - THEN MAP OUT what you can do easily, and then map out what you think is HARD. IMO (if you read the link, you'd know this ) getting a joint account is almost impossible even after the marriage.

Joint accounts in China are impossible, except at HSBC and then only with a Premiere Account. Minimum 750K RMB to open.

Many people do not have the wedding PARTY, if both in the couple have 2nd marriage. Some do, though.

For us, we did 3 - two in Wuhan (one for father's side, one for mother's side - they were divorced and impossible to be in same room at same time) , then a 3rd one in Chengdu. I encourage anyone to DO ONE, when/if possible - it's FUN - you make new connections (and here, guanxi is important, you betcha ).

Thanks for all the information. It's helped to decide on applying for a K1 over CR1. Time isn't on our side in our case. For one thing to plan & prepare everything for a wedding in China in less than a month, I know Murphy's Law is waiting around the corner somewhere. And having CR1 documentation doesn't seem to justify all the extra steps - I'm only suggesting this for our situation, not for anyone else.

Plus having been to 40+ weddings since 21 (when I started counting) in 3 countries and 4 states, and engaged (it ended during the wedding planning process - that's $20k I'd never get back) I have to say I don't feel the same about weddings as I used to. Pair an introvert like me with an independent who doesn't value superficial things, you get 2 families who will miss out on a traditional wedding

Granted we will have something in NY, but it's no more than a family obligation, which comes in the form of my 90 yr old grandparents wanting to see me get married. Frankly, I don't see the fun of putting on a show - but that's just my personality. I talked to married couples, most of them I was at their wedding (my brother & sister in-law included), and for them it was nice to have wedding memories, but ask them about who was there, they draw blanks at half the guests

I doubt I would take advantage of the opportunity to make new connections or re-establish old ones

Me & the fiance will be happy with just a small ceremony by the Montauk Light House (if timing is good). Everything else will just be a chore.

Well, in the event of a blue slip (hope I'm not jinxing myself), I think CR1 will be plan B.

Why to get his assistance for a CR-1 ? no need, IMO.

Now, as for a 'wedding party' - wedding parties are a big deal. It sounds like you don't know much about them. Ask around, to other Chinese Couples that you know In China that are NOT related to either of you.

Usually (just so you know, beforehand) wedding gifts are given by all attendees, at a wedding party. USUALLY there are many red envelopes, with currency. Usually, the currency received MORE THAN pays for the wedding party.

Now, if yer lass is NOT HAN nationality, she might have some other tradition to go by. Let us know if that's the case?

I'm Cantonese, born in Taiwan, living in NY. Besides having helped my brother's 300 guest wedding, I typically attend 3-4 Chinese weddings in NY every year.

My fiance (Chinese) & I are not in favor of an elaborate wedding because we see it as a formality. It's basically a show for friends & relatives. And a show for U.S. immigration if you think about it.

My thoughts on having my lawyer relative helping is mainly for worse case scenario of a blue slip - would be simpler to have him in the loop. Also it might not hurt if he knows of any back channels that might speed things along.

With joint property, what are some types that are easily obtained & documented? For example, a bank account in U.S., or in China?

Your advice on # of visits is reassuring, but I'm a bit worried about a short 4 months from start of the relationship to being married would be considered short by the consulate.

short relationships and not much time together are red flags in GUZ, but things like communication ability and knowledge of each other count for more. if she is fluent english and you prepare her well enuf you should get thru K1. CR1 is a plus, but not a guarantee. lots of pictures with her family at a wedding party will be good evidence. more important that she knows details about your life and has expectations for her life in America.

thanks for the info.

the way i'm looking at it is that we haven't spent much time together, so i guess both K1 & CR1 will both get red flags. we both are trying not to have a big wedding - neither of our families are well-off. I'd have to convince her a wedding party would be beneficial.

it's really difficult to decide on a course of action when other people are giving you advice, especially when they make sense. Hard to sort out all the good & the bad.... I have a distant relative who is a lawyer in my fiance's home town, and though I did not want to trouble him, I may have to ask for his assistance for a CR1