ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
ChinaPlease help someone totally new and clueless about DCF in China

Thanks! Very helpful. I am totally dreading this whole process. I haven't lived full time in the USA for more than 7 years now. I don't have a job lined up as yet and have no assets either so I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a co-sponsor. I'm not looking forward to asking someone to do that for me. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2013-09-13 10:21:00
ChinaPlease help someone totally new and clueless about DCF in China

Hello everyone! 

 

I consider myself at least decently intelligent, educated and literate yet browsing through this website is making my head spin. My Chinese wife and I married on July 4, 2013 and we are now beginning the process of getting the two of us to America together. Ideally we want to arrive in the USA in July, 2014, right after my current contract with my Chinese university expires. What is the very first thing I have to do? I've downloaded the I-130 form and filled it out. Do the 2 of us now need to go to Guangzhou and drop it off in person? We're about 4.5 hours from there by bus. What other forms would we need the very first time we go? I'm very confused about all of this. Sorry if I sound like an idiot. 

 

Another few questions: Is the Guangzhou consulate staff actually helpful when you call or email or do they behave like you're bothering them and just wish to be left alone? I visited the consulate a little while back to get a new passport and I was impressed with the level of courtesy and professionalism I observed there. Is this also true with visa issues? Is there a separate number and email address for American citizens to contact the consulate or is the same one Chinese use? OK...one more question: For reasons that aren't necessary to get into right now my wife and I were married in Hong Kong. Does this matter? Should I apply for my wife's visa in Hong Kong? 

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Chris


dakeleiNot TellingChina2013-09-13 02:35:00
ChinaWhat kind of "copy" of my marriage certificate do I need?

My (Mainland) Chinese wife and I, for a number of reasons it's not particularly important to discuss at present, were married in Hong Kong. I have the original marriage certificate, of course. However, when I submit the paperwork in Guangzhou for my wife's i-130 I'm assuming I'll need to submit a copy of it. My question is: Exactly what type of copy will I need? Can I bring the original with me to the consulate in Guangzhou and have a notarized copy made there or do I need a fully "certified" copy from Hong Kong? I find this very confusing. My understanding is a certified copy is something one gets when the original certificate is somehow lost. That is not the case here. I do have the original.

 

Thanks. 

 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2013-10-16 19:27:00
ChinaGoing to Guangzhou next Tuesday

to file my wife's I-130 and I have literally a few thousand pictures of she and I together these past 4 years that we've known each other. Will the consulate accept electronic files on an SD disk or do I need to get the pictures printed?.   

 

Also, my American colleague, who has lived across the hall from my wife and I since September, 2010 is going to write a little note testifying she has known us all this time and can vouch for us being a real couple. I have asked about how to get such a letter "notarized" here and have gotten mostly blank stares. Does anyone know how to do this here in China? 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2013-11-25 02:34:00
ChinaDropped off wife's i-130 in Guangzhou 12/3/13

Interesting. I'm amazed the petition was approved that fast. Didn't see that coming at all. My wife needs to go to her hometown to get her police check and birth certificate before we proceed but that shouldn't take very long. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2013-12-09 18:18:00
ChinaDropped off wife's i-130 in Guangzhou 12/3/13

Kind of a crazy scene there at the Consulate. My wife and I were not fully aware of the "no bags" policy and we were almost late trying to find a place to check our bags and phones. When we did make it to the door my wife wasn't allowed in. This was probably my fault somehow because even though I said 2 people were coming I did not put her actual name on any form. She was finally permitted in after I got upstairs and told the folks there my wife was outside waiting. One fellow American behind me was enraged and made quite a scene when he was told he couldn't bring his bags in. Not sure how that worked out. The entire operation is set up for Chinese people as I'm assuming very few Americans have much reason to visit the place. Pretty much all the personnel outside are Chinese and quite a few speak little or no English. Even inside I interacted only very briefly with a fellow American and it was just to say hi and she wasn't particularly friendly. Even the woman who took my wife's I-130 and talked with us was Chinese as far as I could tell. Her English was flawless but I'm still pretty sure she isn't American. (And for whatever reason she didn't want to tell us her name, which I found bizarre.)  After rushing around like crazy people to get our bags checked and still get to the door on time when I got upstairs I was told someone had screwed up and scheduled 2 I-130 appointments at the same time and I would therefore have to wait. 

 

Anyway, I was very surprised to get an email today, only 6 days after submitting the i-130, informing my wife about what she needs to do to complete the next "phase" of her application process. Never expected to hear from them so quickly. She needs to fill out the DS-260 now and submit that at the nearest Citic bank. It's nice that we don't have to go back to Guangzhou to do that. The 6 hour bus ride is a total drag. 

 

I hope everything else goes as quickly as this did but that may be wishful thinking. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2013-12-09 04:49:00
ChinaIs anything mailed in China?

Has this become a gossip site or what? Is it any of your business why my wife didn't go with me? If you simply MUST know it's because, unlike a lot of the Chinese Princesses here who latch onto a Western guy just for a ticket out of here, she has a job and she doesn't like to take days off when she doesn't really need to. She prefers to use them when she has to like, for example, when we got married. She obviously will have to go when the interview comes up so she is saving her day off requests for then. Because we're so far from Guangzhou every time we need to go there it ends up taking at least 2 days. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-01-24 19:37:00
ChinaIs anything mailed in China?

It is kinda cool but the nearest Citic Bank branch to me is in Xiamen, around 3 hours away by bus. It's closer than Guangzhou, which is more like 5 and a half hours, but it was still a whole day shot. ,There was a problem with my wife's pictures and they had to be reprinted. Because of this I was in Xiamen too late to get the last bus out and had to spend the night.(It's a very pleasant place to "have to" spend a night but it was an expense I really hadn't anticipated.)  I was hoping to take the new high-speed rail that just opened a few weeks ago but every seat on the thing is sold out for like a month because they're offering them really cheap for some strange reason. I would have had plenty of time to get there, deliver the documents and get a bus home if it weren't for the two hours in the middle of the day that the bank is closed. Knowing what i know now the next trip will be much easier. The bank is easily within walking distance of the bus station but I had signed up to go to a different bank that looked close to the bus station but is actually not even there anymore. Had I walked directly to the correct bank I would have made it before it closed for lunch, barely. I got to the bus station about 10 minutes too late for the last bus out. I was miffed but I was able to take a few hours to walk around Xiamen which made up for it a bit. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-01-23 19:56:00
ChinaIs anything mailed in China?

We sent my wife's police check and birth certificate through the bank dropoff. I answered my own question. You can just show up and do it though there is a desk dedicated to the task and you have to ask around to find it. It was relatively painless though the pictures I included were the wrong size and I had to get them reprinted. The bank worker who handled the transaction just happened to be a very attractive young woman. Had I not been there for the express purpose of getting my wife's visa I undoubtedly would have flirted with her a lot more. It was a tad awkward attempting that while she was looking at pictures of my wife. One needn't pay to have the documents sent by courier to the consulate in Guangzhou,, which is cool at least though the trip to Xiamen wound up costing me hundreds of yuan.  


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-01-23 01:52:00
ChinaIs anything mailed in China?

No thanks. I've got as much annoyance as I can tolerate. Don't need to read anyone else's.

 

When you drop off documents at the Citic Bank do you just sort of show up and do it or is there some kind of process involved? Is there a dedicated window or what? I'm planning on going there tomorrow.


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-01-21 04:43:00
ChinaIs anything mailed in China?

Whatever, bro. I'm annoyed. I can't wait till this ####### is over. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-01-19 09:50:00
ChinaIs anything mailed in China?

The nearest Citic Bank to us is hours away. I'm at a loss as to why it's "easier" to do things though it. The option of having things delivered to your address is offered in theory but you can't really check it. It's bizarre. So I basically have no choice but to go to a bank several hours away.  Just to drop my wife's stuff off there is going to require a bus trip of at least 3 hours. Heading to Guangzhou itself isn't even that much further. This is really beginning to annoy me. And when they send anything to her I'll again have to trek several hours to retrieve it. I really can't get out of this country fast enough. The regular mail is so damn untrustworthy that the consulate obviously doesn't  have enough faith in it enough to deliver anything. Can't say I blame them. I do wish they'd at least use China Construction Bank or something like that. There's a branch of that on practically every corner in my city. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-01-19 04:38:00
ChinaIs anything mailed in China?

You're right. I wish at the very least they'd provide a different email for actual US citizens. I can understand that they are swamped with requests from millions of Chinese seeking a US visa but they could attempt to be a bit, um, "nicer" to the few Americans who have to deal with them. When I went to the consulate in Guangzhou I was amazed at how it seemed no one there spoke (or understood)  English. It was a crazy scene. Even the girl who interviewed my wife and I when we dropped her off i-130 was Chinese. I appreciate that most of what they do there they do for Chinese people but it would be nice to have at least one American lurking around to speak with folks like me when we show up. It was very different when I had to go the "America Citizens Services" section a few years back to get a new passport. Everyone there was professional, polite and efficient. My experience thus far with the IV Unit has been vastly different. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-01-17 02:37:00
ChinaIs anything mailed in China?

I may have sent this a bit too hastily. A few pages into the online DS-260 a question comes up: "Is your present address your mailing address?"  Since the address where we're living now is the one I used I answered "yes." It is the same address I used on both the i-130 and the G-325 so there is no discrepancy. I used her hukou address as a "former address."

 

You'd think that folks here on the ground working in China for any length of time would know this stuff. Because of this insane "hukou" ####### half the folks in this country are living in a place where they are not "registered" to live and are therefore technically living there "illegally." My wife has lived, and worked, in this city for 3.5 years and is still, for all intents and purposes, living here illegally. I sent an email to the Guangzhou IV unit asking about this and got a 2 line response: "We can't offer advice on this. Ask the Chinese government for help."  This is MY government telling me to ask the Chinese government for help! "Uh, excuse me,  my wife has lived in this city illegally for more than 3 years. Can you help me?" Like that is going to happen. Where do they find these people who are working at the consulate? Do they have any training or what?  I mean this is "China 101." 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-01-16 21:08:00
ChinaIs anything mailed in China?

I guess I just worry too much. My concern is they'll see a different address on the forms than on the Chinese documents we're submitting and wonder what's up with that. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-01-16 09:25:00
ChinaIs anything mailed in China?

I actually sent an email to the IV Unit in Guangzhou about this and they sent me an answer that leads me to believe they simply didn't understand my question or didn't want to answer it.  My wife lives with  me in one city in China while pretty much every Chinese legal document she has procured has a different one, from the city, around 50 minutes away,  in which she was born, put on her family's hukou and where her parents still live. The police check, for example, has her hukou address on it. This is not really a big deal here because many Chinese live in places for years at which they are not 100% "legal" to live, migrant workers being the best example. I'm in the process of filling out my wife's DS-230 online. It asks for an address and it seems logical to put the one at which we are both now physically residing, even though she is not totally a "legal" resident of this city. However, her police check, since it had to be done in her hukou city, has a completely different address. My concern is that if I use the hukou address there is a chance the consulate will mail something there and we really don't want them to. When my wife's i-130 was approved we were informed via email and no actual documents were mailed to her. Is it safe to assume that this will continue and nothing will be mailed? 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-01-16 07:58:00
ChinaLatest

I emailed them twice and they did at least answer both times though the first reply was worthless and I had to email them the second time to clarify my question. The second time they replied within a day or 2. What they need to do is set up a separate system for actual US citizens to use. As it stands now our emails are just tossed in with the gazillion or so they get from everyone else.Since they're in the visa-granting business it is generally "foreigners" they deal with and I suppose they're used to not having to be 100% "courteous" to them. "Hey, you wanna go the US, just shut up and wait your turn." It was the same deal at the consulate in GZ the one time I've had to go so far. The Chinese waiting outside are basically treated like cattle and because most are so desperate to get their visa they just quietly put up with it. (It is one of the ONLY places I have seen Chinese in a somewhat orderly queue. They can do it if they need to.)  I KNOW this is going to annoy me when I have to go again in March. Because CGI is a "private" firm that ultimately has to make a profit I'm sure they are understaffed. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-02-14 22:32:00
ChinaLatest

I don't think the CGI folks are necessarily doing a "bad" job, in my case at least. They've done OK by me for the most part. I'm just not one of these folks who slavishly follow the tenet that the private sector automatically works better than the public. The private sector needs to make a profit so it has to do things as "cheaply" as possible. And we all know the old expression about getting what you pay for. Having lived in China for more than 11 years altogether I can completely understand the concerns about fraud. YES, I'm painting with a broad brush but, sadly, many, if not most, Chinese don't see much wrong with lying, cheating, stealing etc. to get what it is they want. It's an ingrained part of the culture. My university students cheat like crazy and most see nothing wrong with it at all. When I go shopping alone, without my wife or another Chinese person, I am almost always ripped off or someone tries to rip me off. Being on guard for fraud here makes perfect sense. 

 

I think what makes the system somewhat dysfunctional is that some of it is handled "privately" while some is not. If I'm working for CGI my thought process is not going to be the same as if I'm a "public" employee working for the USA. A public employee would be aware that s/he is the public face of the USA and as such has a responsibility to "the people" or something like that. A private worker often doesn't worry about such things. Many Americans need to wake up to what all this "small government" ####### is really doing. Sure you get things "cheaper." But is that really what we want? 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-02-14 01:17:00
ChinaLatest

I find the entire traveldocs website a tad confusing. It's yet another example of how "privatizing" what was once a government-operated function is not necessarily better. I'm fortunate in that I'm here in the country and have time to wade through all this stuff because my university teaching job gives me a lot of time off. The communication between the consulate and these "CGI Morgan"  (or whatever the heck the private contractor's name is) is not very good. You're forever being asked to either submit or bring documents that have already been submitted. We were asked to bring our original marriage certificate with us to the interview when I know they already have it.  Lots of information is also clearly out of date. When I went to Xiamen to drop off my wife's documents the bank branch I was looking for simply didn't exist anymore and it appeared that it hadn't for some time. I'm also puzzled as to why one files the original I-130 with one office and then the DS-260 with another. I'm sure there is some bureaucratic reason that mere mortals like me couldn't possibly understand but it still strikes me as somewhat inefficient. But what do I know?

 

That being said, the process so far has generally been much faster and less painful than I imagined it would be. If I were sitting at home and my wife was here I'm sure it would seem like an eternity. My #1 biggest complaint would be that it is damn near impossible to actually call the consulate with even the simplest question. I know they don't want to be deluged with Chinese calling constantly but at the very least a separate number for American citizens could be provided. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-02-13 22:24:00
ChinaLatest

I guess I wasn't clear. I changed the original date. The new one is on a Thursday. We plan to get the medical stuff out of the way on Wednesday. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-02-13 01:57:00
ChinaLatest

For those who are interested I figured I'd post this real quick.

 

After dropping off my wife's documents in Xiamen a few weeks ago we were notified yesterday that the last phase of the process is now beginning. This has all been pretty quick I must say. I'm pleasantly surprised. We don't plan to leave until June at the earliest and I'd allowed a lot of time in case there was a snag at some point but so far there has been none.  We were asked to go the traveldocs site and schedule an appointment for the interview. When I got to the site the only date "available" was also the first date available, February 24. It was impossible to select any other date. I sort of stared at the screen for a few moments, not quite sure what to do. Feb. 24 is actually too soon. (Today is Feb. 13 by the way.)  The paranoid side of me kicked in and I thought I should just select the 24th anyway and make the best of it because I might somehow "lose" the opportunity to schedule the interview if I didn't. So I did. The 24th is a crummy date for both me and my wife. It's a Monday, for starters, and I have 2 classes that day I'd need to cancel as well as 2 on Tuesday I'd need to cancel if we needed to stay overnight in GZ. PLUS, my wife needs to get the medical stuff done before showing up for the interview. The medical folks work Saturday mornings but not afternoons and not at all on Sunday. This means after getting all the medical stuff done Saturday morning she'd have to wait till Monday morning to pick up the paperwork she then needs to bring to the interview that same day. The note accompanying the notification stresses to be at the Consulate ON TIME blah, blah, blah. "On time" is technically 7:45 AM. Apparently everyone scheduled for a certain date is told to be there at 7:45AM. I'm sure there is some reason for this and I somewhat understand. So getting my wife's paperwork and getting to the consulate "on time" Monday morning would be impossible. Anyway...I dropped a note to the traveldocs folks and they said the dates were set by the consulate and to just try again later, which I did. I managed to reschedule my wife's appointment for March 6, which is a Thursday and which works much better for both of us. She can get her medical Wednesday morning and pick up the paperwork in the afternoon. We can spend the night in a hotel and arrive at the Consulate decently fresh and not utterly drained like we were the last time after an overnight bus trip. I dread facing the mob scene outside the Consulate but at least I'll have had a decent night's sleep unlike the last time when I was half dead after spending a sleepless night on a bus. Technically I don't need to go with my wife at all but I'm doing it anyway. If there's anything the nice visa folks need to ask me I'll be right there to answer them.

 

I can imagine that this entire process is a total drag for folks in a hurry and who might be sitting at home in the USA waiting but my experience thus far has been relatively OK. If my wife "passes" her interview on March 6, and I can't see why she wouldn't, this whole thing will have taken around 3 months from the time I submitted her I-130, which really isn't too bad. 

 

I consider myself a decently literate and somewhat educated chap and this process is somewhat, uh, "tricky." Those who are not so must have a lot of trouble working their way through it. I mean, of course, the Chinese folks, not my fellow Americans, although it  might include some of those as well. I have an ex-colleague who had everything done by a firm in San Diego that charged him $1000 or so to "help."  I guess that's where all these immigration lawyers and other "facilitators" make their money. Not being able to actually call folks with questions can be maddening and there are other little quirks that are puzzling as well. The email that informed us that we could now schedule the interview, for example, instructed us to bring documents with us that we already submitted once and they should already have, our original marriage certificate for example. It leads you too think you made a mistake submitting them the first time but I went back and checked and I definitely did not. The visa folks really need to clean things like that up so as not to confuse the heck out of people. 

 

I'll let you know how things turn out. 

 

 

 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-02-13 00:00:00
ChinaVisa interviewer totally humiliated and insulted my wife. What to do?

NOLA, you're, frankly, talking nonsense. . My wife and I have been together, and I'll say this again, FOUR YEARS. She is harboring no illusions, nor am I. She is not a "starry eyed girl.". She is an intelligent and hard-working young woman. 

 

I'm willing to cut the interviewer some slack but he needs to just stick to his job. He's not a social worker. 


I'm through with this now. Some of YOU are pissing me off worse than the consulate did. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-03-07 00:15:00
ChinaVisa interviewer totally humiliated and insulted my wife. What to do?

I was not referring to the general populace, but to the government. I'm well aware there are bigots everywhere in the USA and I know quite a few personally. However, I guess I'm still idealistic enough to think that at least the government treats eveyone more or less the same, with all the "one man, one vote" stuff. 

 

It is often assumed by Chinese that I'M stupid. It ain't just an American thing. I live in a small city and there are very few "laowai" here. I tell my wife that at least in the USA people won't be able to tell she is a foreigner just by looking at her. She is going to have a rough time of it at first, as will I. But I'm confident she'll eventually fit in better in the USA than I ever will here. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-03-06 23:51:00
ChinaVisa interviewer totally humiliated and insulted my wife. What to do?

My wife could have answered any real question she was asked, including about my bowel movements. She could have answered anything about what we eat, how often we do it, anything. She wasn't asked any of that. I told her to just tell the truth and there would be no problems. I din't feel any need to "prepare" her like this was some sort of exam. I feel bad because I assured her everything was fine. I did not expect her to be confronted with outright cruelty. Tough questions, maybe, but she could have answered anything they asked. If there is "fraud" suspected, who do they suspect of committing it? Am I suspected of tricking this poor girl to bring her home and subject her to the sex trade? Is she suspected of scamming me? We have been together for FOUR YEARS! Do they think I'm that stupid? Or that she is so evil she could live a lie for that long? 

 

Look, folks. I know fraud does happen. However, treating every Chinese woman like some evil Jezebel is just plain wrong. At this point I'm embarrassed about this. My wife and I are leaving China at least partially because we're both tired of this incompetent and corrupt government with all its "guanxi" BS. I repeatedly assured my wife that my country treats everyone the same, whether you're rich, poor, "connected" or not. I guess I've been away too long and that is no longer true. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-03-06 21:17:00
ChinaVisa interviewer totally humiliated and insulted my wife. What to do?

What disturbs me more than anything else: On every scrap of paperwork and email I submitted there was MY phone number and MY contact information. I am right here in the country. It would have taken 3 minutes to pick up a damn phone and call me. NO ONE DID. If there was suspicion, and I understand why there might be, why not contact me, tell me my wife's application is suspect and ask ME the tough questions? From the very beginning of this process I checked email constantly just freakin WAITING for someone to contact me with questions. My wife was worried literally sick about this interview. She threw up a few times. When she got to the consulate she was operating on maybe 5 hours sleep in 3 days. She was worried about missing a day of work. 

 

To the guy lecturing me about what Chinese women "expect" shut your pie hole. I've lived in China for 12 years and have been with my wife for 4 years now. Don't be such a know-it-all and don't lump 700 million or so "Chinese women" into one massive category. You're just as annoying as the guy at the consulate with your assumptions. It annoys me that some folks here quickly declare themselves experts on everything Chinese. You don't know me, my wife or my situation. 

 

When my wife expressed concerns about the interview, I suppose my reaction was naive. I said, "If they suspected something was amiss they would have asked me about it." And I genuinely believed that.  They had something like 75 pictures of my wife and I together. They had the narrative about our relationship that I wrote. They had letters from friends and colleagues and even my mother. I assumed that was enough and if after all that they still had doubts they would have asked ME. Not my poor, stressed-out, sleep-deprived wife. No one from any government agency asked me anything. Do they suspect I'm some sort of "victim" of my evil, conniving wife? We have been together for 4 years. My American neighbor has lived across the hall from us since September, 2010 and she wrote a letter attesting to this. Was SHE also so blind she didn't see my obviously evil wife was just pretending to be a good woman who gets up and goes to work every day? 

 

I'm sorry if I expect a bit more from my government. I assured my wife the consulate staff would be "nice" to her because the USA is a "nice" country. When I met her after the interview for around a minute I was so happy everything had gone "OK." 

 

My wife has had a night to sleep all of this off and she feels a lot better today. I'm going to file a letter at least expressing my concerns with this entire process. Maybe it will do some good, maybe it won't. But to those suggesting I just "move on" and do nothing, well, you're an embarrassment. We're Americans. We don't allow our loved ones to be kicked around by people who are paid by taxes that regular Americans pay. I'm not acting "macho." I'm behaving the way a person who truly believes in "democracy" should behave. Maybe in this country the government can treat people like ####### but, damn it, I will not stand idly by while my country does it. We're supposed to be different. That's why Chinese queue for hours to get a visa to leave here and go to the USA. Know what I mean? 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-03-06 20:42:00
ChinaVisa interviewer totally humiliated and insulted my wife. What to do?

I understand the tough questions but the dude had not done his homework. He started berating my wife before he had even looked at the extensive evidence of our relationship that I'd submitted. My wife said his tone changed dramatically only AFTER he took out the 70 or so pictures of us together and looked through them. My wife and I have been together for four years. This is what my wife says happened:The guy asked her something she didn't quite understand and her answer was hesitant. She admitted to being "nervous" and he came back with, "You SHOULD be nervous. You married a guy old enough to be your father." He wasn't joking. She was horrified and had no idea what to say. I did not know anyone at the consulate would talk like that or I would have prepared her for it. I prepared her for age difference questions but not to be scolded and lectured. We even practiced her response to questions about our age difference but I assumed the questions would at least be asked in a civil tone. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-03-06 12:43:00
ChinaVisa interviewer totally humiliated and insulted my wife. What to do?

Celebrate? Seriously? Don't think so. It's hard to do that when my wife can't stop crying. I'm not letting this go.I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do but I am not going to "move on." 


You can - and should - file a complaint with the Dept of State.  You can remain anonymous if you so wish.

 

Check out the link below:  http://oig.state.gov...line/130564.htm

 

 

Thanks. I will definitely do this. 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-03-06 12:10:00
ChinaVisa interviewer totally humiliated and insulted my wife. What to do?

My wife had her interview today in Guangzhou. I decided to wait for her at the Starbucks around the corner from the consulate in order to keep an eye on our things, as we had already checked out of our hotel and planned to head right back to our city when she was done. When my wife met me after the interview she was acting strangely. She told me that the interviewer told her she had "passed" the interview and would be getting her visa, green card and whatever. However, she was oddly subdued and didn't seem nearly as happy about this as I expected. I mean, this has been sort of a tortuous process and I expected more obvious signs of joy out of her. However, within 10 minutes she was a sobbing mess. When she told me what the young man who'd interviewed her said I was shocked and angry, not only as a husband but as an American. No one who is acting as a representative of the USA should speak to anyone the way he did. He made a very inappropriate comment about the age difference between my wife and I and told her she was going to be poor and miserable in America. She was so distraught over this treatment that she never thought to get the guy's name. I went back with her to the consulate to try to talk with someone there and security would not let me in.

 

I'm torn about what to do about this. This person made my wife an emotional wreck and she says she has never been so hurt in her life. She has been crying on and off all day. She is not the drama-queen type at all and I know her pain is genuine. This young man absolutely should NOT have job he has. He basically called my wife a gold-digging ####### to her face and said she should be ashamed of herself. I can't just let this go. Does anyone have any advice as to what action I can take? 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-03-06 11:39:00
ChinaAs a courtesy, then I'm done

My last post here and I won't be checking for responses but I felt like the least I could do was let folks who provided me with genuinely good advice know how everything turned out. To the self-appointed experts and judgmental folks who feel a pathological need to comment on things about which they know nothing, well, I'm thankful I won't be dealing with you anymore. I?m particularly annoyed by those who have gone through this process once and now feel they know everything about it and those who believe they are experts on China in general and Chinese women specifically. I?ve been here 12 years and know enough to know what I don?t know. 

 

On March 10, 2014, my wife?s visa was granted. We now have her passport with the visa in hand and are making travel plans for the first week in July. The visa also acts as her green card for a year. So we?re set. We filed her initial I-130 on December 10, 2013 so the entire process took exactly 3 months. Had we been in any sort of hurry we could have done it even faster but we knew we weren?t leaving until summer so we sort of took our time.

 

This is what I?ve learned and some of it will make some of you uncomfortable: If you and the partner you are sponsoring have a genuine relationship and can prove it, you?ll be OK and the process will be somewhat smooth. There will be bumps, like my wife?s awful interview, but ultimately your partner will get her visa relatively quickly.  I am a divorced man 30 years older than my wife, a fact that no doubt drew a red flag or two, but we have been together as a couple for 4 years and I offered lots of proof of this, including my Chinese residence permits that show I?ve been here in the country and living with my wife the entire time. Those of you who barely know the person you?re sponsoring, and never really lived with him/her, forfeit all rights to complain about the process. If you spent so little time in China that you never even qualified for a residence permit, I can?t blame the IV unit for being suspicious. If you met your partner at a ?China love? type website, you are going to have problems and justifiably so. Don?t blame the State Department for not believing you found your ?soulmate? on the web. It is folks like you who are making the process so difficult for those of us who are in real relationships that we spent time nurturing.

 

And, please, read the instructions that come from the IV unit and CGI. It was embarrassing to see some of my compatriots at the Guangzhou Consulate who either couldn?t or didn?t. I myself had a problem during my first visit because I didn?t completely understand the ?no bags or cell phones? rule for example. This is absolutely carved in stone and you will not be able to charm or bully your way past the guards. I saw quite a few attempts at both. In addition, you will probably not be permitted to enter the consulate when your spouse or partner goes there for his/her interview. There were several scenes at the door created by those who were not aware of this. I heard at least one ?I?m an American and this is my consulate? diatribe. It fell on deaf ears and the guy was not allowed in. Another guy, who sounded like a complete imbecile, truth be told, did not have the printed appointment confirmation that was needed. He and his wife were not allowed in. He was saying stuff like, ?I have a confirmation number and that should be enough? and ?I don?t have a printer.? The email from the IV unit makes it very, very clear that you will not be allowed in without the printed confirmation letter. Shouting at the Chinese security staff will not change this.   

 

To everyone reading this, please do not offer advice unless you are absolutely sure it is sound. And don?t butt into situations that are, frankly, none of your business. For every piece of sound advice I received here I got 5 that were worthless or downright harmful. For example, those of you who advised me to tell the IV folks in advance about the error on my marriage certificate were, knowingly or not, offering bad advice. I never did and it turned out not to matter at all. The #1 concern of the IV unit is whether or not your current marriage is valid, and mine is. That is all that mattered to them. And for those of you here in China who pose for elaborate and expensive wedding photos where the husband is dressed like an emperor and the wife like a qipao-wearing prostitute, don?t bother unless you really want to. It doesn?t prove anything. Any two people can walk into a photo shop here and get those pictures taken and the IV unit is well aware of that. They may, in fact, be viewed as evidence that you are trying too hard. If the other evidence indicates you have spent a grand total of a month in China these nice pictures don?t prove a thing other than you like getting your picture taken in silly outfits. I?ve been together with my Chinese wife for 4 years in total and I can tell you that even now, after living with her since July, 2010, it is still difficult at times and a cultural minefield. The IV unit is very aware that many American men here are hooking up with young Chinese hotties for whatever reason they?re doing it and that quite a few of these young women are taking these guys for a ride. One can?t get angry with the IV unit for knowing this. (When I was at the consulate I saw one American guy at least 10 years older than me with shoulder-length gray hair holding hands with a Chinese girl probably even younger than my wife and dressed in a skintight black dress and knee-high boots with high heels. The couple drew stares from everyone gathered at the door, including my wife and I. We laughed because before we went I instructed her very specifically NOT to dress like that.)

 

To wrap things up, thanks to those who gave me good advice or a virtual shoulder to cry on when I needed it. Good luck to all of you still waiting for your partner?s visa.

 

 


dakeleiNot TellingChina2014-03-20 20:53:00
IndiaX-ray from Mohali

in pak we r given two packets. one to b presented at interview and other to b presented at port of entry in case u get visa. if they didnt give her x-ray dvd (like they give in pak) she might get another packet when interview is clear from embassy or the place wherever she gets her passport back


RAAJNot TellingPakistan2013-05-31 07:37:00
VietnamAbout Recent Visa Fraud in Vietnam

it will. scrutiny of the applicants will b more strict and sorry to say they might have to wait more. but as soon as they get to the root of scam things will start getting back to normal. best of luck :!!


RAAJNot TellingPakistan2013-05-31 07:33:00
Asia: SouthSpouse appears for interview while pregnant

i have seen cases speed up because of pregnancy. if everything else is alright they wont make her wait at all they believe its better that wife is with her husband during this time. 


RAAJNot TellingPakistan6/7/2013 15:33
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsDs230 help needed (merged)

I need a little help with my form ds230 .
This might seem a stupid question but all this immigration process has made me a little paranoid and I don't want any errors
Let's say I studied in some school and then two year gap in studies and then continued again.
So a two year gap appears to be there in my educational history and the institutes i attended
So am I suppose to mention that I had a gap just so they don't raise a question what I was doing for those two years?
Waiting for a reply.
Thanks in advance!





 

dont try to make ur form look perfect by hiding , not mentioning or lieing about anything. if u think a question can b raised then prepare the answer for that question but dont hide anything because ur form is a written proof and if anything seems unbalanced to them then u might have to face a long long AP or even a denial.  if u have a gap in education then tell them wat u been doing in those two years. 


RAAJNot TellingPakistan2013-05-31 22:37:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsPost interview question

**** Moving from Introductions to  CR-1 spousal visa forum ****

 

There is always a chance of delays or that they pick up on a problem after you left the embassy, but this sounds very positive.

lol. i couldnt find a way to post a comment or question here and introduction category was the only one i could see. sorry if it bothered u n thanks for comment


RAAJNot TellingPakistan2013-05-31 07:28:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsPost interview question

hello all

i had my visa interview today at islamabad embassy. it was short, and went very well CO didnt ask me for any proofs or anything. even when i tried to tell him that one of the document wasnt complete and NVC told me to bring it with me at interview the CO said no ur document is good. then he said its all good u will b called by american express within 10-15 days and u can collect ur passport from there. i wasnt given any blue, green or any slip just told verbally to collect my passport from american express, and he returned all the original documents that were submitted to NVC. now my question is,,, is there any possibility that visa gets rejected or delayed now? any chance of AP from here? i think and hope that this is it i m being issued a visa. any comments and answers r welcome specially from specialists. lol 

he only asked few questions like

1.. who is ur sponsor

2.. do u have any kids? when i said yes one daughter he asked for her birth certificate

3.. he asked me about my previous visits to usa nearly 14 years ago. (as i am a sea farer and my ship had a route to usa)

4.. couple of professional questions (probably only to check if i m really a seafarer :)

 

comments please 


RAAJNot TellingPakistan2013-05-31 05:35:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresChest medical X-ray film

no. the bigger sealed envelop is for interview, the smaller open envelop and x-ray dvd given to u is for the american airport wherever u land after u get visa. keep x-ray dvd and smaller envelop with u and when u fly to usa keep it in ur hand luggage alongwith ur passport etc


RAAJNot TellingPakistan2013-06-01 16:47:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresQuestion regarding Police Character Certificates for IR1

 

 

Hi,

 

She would only need one PCC per country, as PCCs are issued on a country by country basis (unless anyone knows any exceptions to this rule). So even if your wife has lived in multiple cities, provided they are in the one country, she will only need one PCC to cover the time she has lived in that country. Hope this helps.

we wish we had such an organised and centralized  police system here in pakistan like PCC in UK. lol. 

i was in pakistan and still it was so easy for me to get police certificate from uk police for 6 years i lived there. everything was online

but here in pak we have to go local police station of every jurisdiction to cover all areas wherever we lived


RAAJNot TellingPakistan2013-06-04 03:33:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresQuestion regarding Police Character Certificates for IR1

she needs police certificate from all local police stations where she lived for more then 6 months. but if she lived in a dorm for education she wont need any. i stayed in karachi for my education and i mentioned it in my form and they never asked for my pcc from karachi but they asked my pcc for all other areas of pakistan wherever i lived for more then 6 months. so even if they ask for pcc from lahore (while she was studying and living in hostel) just write a simple letter on plain paper to them and tell them that she was living in hostel for education and never lived there for continuous 6 months  so local police station is not entitled to give her police certificate. 


RAAJNot TellingPakistan2013-06-04 03:30:00