Pre Interview experience

[Gamal 0]

Hello everyone. I thought I would share my experience thus far in Guangzhou. Today I attended ACH at the embassy. It was a good experience and helpful communicating with other petitioners. I am staying at the Tianyu Garden apartments about a minute away from the embassy and it is owned by Mr Yang and his wife. He is extremely helpful and has helped us through this final process in Guangzhou looking over all our forms, ect. I would suggest anyone to go to the ACH because they document that visit and you can get good answers to any questions you may have. My fiancees interview is the 13th, take care all and good luck~

[Hell0W0rld 10]

Good Luck!!!

[ididntdoit 0]

Hello everyone. I thought I would share my experience thus far in Guangzhou. Today I attended ACH at the embassy. It was a good experience and helpful communicating with other petitioners. I am staying at the Tianyu Garden apartments about a minute away from the embassy and it is owned by Mr Yang and his wife. He is extremely helpful and has helped us through this final process in Guangzhou looking over all our forms, ect. I would suggest anyone to go to the ACH because they document that visit and you can get good answers to any questions you may have. My fiancees interview is the 13th, take care all and good luck~

I would suggest anyone to go to the ACH because they document that visit and you can get good answers to any questions you may have.

Again as said posted to your question on this subject before.

No you will not get answers to your case. Document sure but

again will not furthur your case. It is a FAQ only. If you want

advice from grown men who have done and seen it all as far

as china goes. Visit candleforlove. Not a good idea for new

china members here to assume a FAQ is real when its not.

Its a visit and no more than that. IKEA near GZ consulate

would be the better pick of the two. New readers here to this

mess dont need to be lead more astray than they already are.

That includes gifts then a 180 change of subject to an opinion.

Some have much more to learn about Chinese culture then they know.

Its a nice island if one wants to visit. They do need to know, no it

will not help your case. Sorry but newbies do need facts.

Edited May 11, 2009 by ididntdoit

[Eric & Jin 10]

Again as said posted to your question on this subject before.

No you will not get answers to your case. Document sure but

again will not furthur your case. It is a FAQ only. If you want

advice from grown men who have done and seen it all as far

as china goes. Visit candleforlove. Not a good idea for new

china members here to assume a FAQ is real when its not.

Its a visit and no more than that. IKEA near GZ consulate

would be the better pick of the two. New readers here to this

mess dont need to be lead more astray than they already are.

That includes gifts then a 180 change of subject to an opinion.

Some have much more to learn about Chinese culture then they know.

Its a nice island if one wants to visit. They do need to know, no it

will not help your case. Sorry but newbies do need facts.

Many of the posters on CFL that you refer to have stated that they encountered very helpful VOs at ACH and were able to get some very specific answers regarding their cases prior to the interview. While you may have thought that ACH was a waste of time many other people have a far different opinion. It probably depends on which VO that you are lucky (or unlucky) enough to encounter during your ACH visit. I am not saying that ACH is a substitute for being well prepared in advance but from what others have experienced I do believe in some cases it can be a real benefit.

[Henry and Mei 0]

Here is my limited experience with ACH. I went to China for my second trip during the CNY to be with my fiancee and family. CNY this year was on a Monday, so I had only one other chance on Feb. 2nd. Got there early, since during the weekend I had my passport stolen and also needed a temp passport and exit visa for my trip out on Wednesday. So I had a real time crunch. I filed our petition just before I left for the CNY, so I did not have a GUZ #. And actually still waiting for our NOA2 like many from Jan. 09 at VSC. About 30 Americans were in line and I was near the front. Listened to many horror stories while waiting for the one VO to handle all the petitioners. On this day and I was only there for about 30 minutes, before I left to go to ACS to address the stolen passport issue, no one was seeming to have much satisfaction at the window. Somewhere between intimidating and frustrating IMO.

But with that said, I would make every effort to attend ACH before my fiancee's interview. The VO I met at ACS, Marc Cook, a mid-thirties aged white male, was pleasant and very helpful. Temp passport in about 4 hours, but I lost my chance at ACH to actually ask questions even though there is only a divider wall between ACH area and the ACS.

And since I had a stolen passport, I did not need to schedule an online appointment. Waited about an hour to be seen at ACS, since several had appointments.

Again, I was in line without a GUZ#, so I was questioned by all there, why I was even attending. But it was helpful to me to at least acquaint myself with the 5th floor and the VOs, so I had at least a perspective of what my fiance was going to experience. All of this preparation for a few short minutes in front of a VO. I recommend learning as much as possible and doing whatever you can to help your SO get her visa.

And I am sure the next time I am at ACH, I will have a very different perspective having learned even more about the process.

I have seen others mention the IKEA building and have seen it, but do not know anything more....... Can we seek advice there?

[Hell0W0rld 10]

Hello everyone. I thought I would share my experience thus far in Guangzhou. Today I attended ACH at the embassy. It was a good experience and helpful communicating with other petitioners. I am staying at the Tianyu Garden apartments about a minute away from the embassy and it is owned by Mr Yang and his wife. He is extremely helpful and has helped us through this final process in Guangzhou looking over all our forms, ect. I would suggest anyone to go to the ACH because they document that visit and you can get good answers to any questions you may have. My fiancees interview is the 13th, take care all and good luck~

Today is the big day, wishing you the best of luck!! think pink!!!

[Hell0W0rld 10]

so what is the result for the interview, come back and give us a report....

[Gamal 0]

so what is the result for the interview, come back and give us a report....

Hello, We got our Visa! They only asked 3 questions and said congratulations. We had tons of proof but they only really focused on our tax forms, I-134, and pictures. I would get in line at the embassy around 6am, They open the doors at 7:15am but you wont actually walk through the doors until about 8:00am. She came down from the 5th floor where the visa interview took place around 10:00am with the good news. One girl I talked to, her interview was done in 40 seconds and she got her Visa. I have talked to a lot of people at the embassy and there was some suspicion about 2 VOs that seemed to deny visas for the smallest reasons, they NO longer work at the embassy, it was an African American lady and an Asian lady. All the VOs were American, very friendly but very professional. ACH really helped me because I could communicate with other petitioners there that got a blue slip and petitioners that havent had the interview yet, I actually gathered a lot of information from them as well as the VO you talk to one on one at ACH. Let me know if you or anyone has any other questions!

[Gamal 0]

Here is my limited experience with ACH. I went to China for my second trip during the CNY to be with my fiancee and family. CNY this year was on a Monday, so I had only one other chance on Feb. 2nd. Got there early, since during the weekend I had my passport stolen and also needed a temp passport and exit visa for my trip out on Wednesday. So I had a real time crunch. I filed our petition just before I left for the CNY, so I did not have a GUZ #. And actually still waiting for our NOA2 like many from Jan. 09 at VSC. About 30 Americans were in line and I was near the front. Listened to many horror stories while waiting for the one VO to handle all the petitioners. On this day and I was only there for about 30 minutes, before I left to go to ACS to address the stolen passport issue, no one was seeming to have much satisfaction at the window. Somewhere between intimidating and frustrating IMO.

But with that said, I would make every effort to attend ACH before my fiancee's interview. The VO I met at ACS, Marc Cook, a mid-thirties aged white male, was pleasant and very helpful. Temp passport in about 4 hours, but I lost my chance at ACH to actually ask questions even though there is only a divider wall between ACH area and the ACS.

And since I had a stolen passport, I did not need to schedule an online appointment. Waited about an hour to be seen at ACS, since several had appointments.

Again, I was in line without a GUZ#, so I was questioned by all there, why I was even attending. But it was helpful to me to at least acquaint myself with the 5th floor and the VOs, so I had at least a perspective of what my fiance was going to experience. All of this preparation for a few short minutes in front of a VO. I recommend learning as much as possible and doing whatever you can to help your SO get her visa.

And I am sure the next time I am at ACH, I will have a very different perspective having learned even more about the process.

I have seen others mention the IKEA building and have seen it, but do not know anything more....... Can we seek advice there?

As far as I know, there is no help at IKEA unless you want some cheap ice cream and furniture haha. Seriously, Mr Yang at the Tianyu Garden apartment building we stayed in helped us out so much and helped me fill in the gaps of what I needed. The day before the interview he looked through all of our proof and information and let me know what I needed which was a few minor things, he will also fax info to the hospital for you and go with you to the hospital for the medical exam for your fiancee.

[Gamal 0]

Hello everyone. I thought I would share my experience thus far in Guangzhou. Today I attended ACH at the embassy. It was a good experience and helpful communicating with other petitioners. I am staying at the Tianyu Garden apartments about a minute away from the embassy and it is owned by Mr Yang and his wife. He is extremely helpful and has helped us through this final process in Guangzhou looking over all our forms, ect. I would suggest anyone to go to the ACH because they document that visit and you can get good answers to any questions you may have. My fiancees interview is the 13th, take care all and good luck~

I would suggest anyone to go to the ACH because they document that visit and you can get good answers to any questions you may have.

Again as said posted to your question on this subject before.

No you will not get answers to your case. Document sure but

again will not furthur your case. It is a FAQ only. If you want

advice from grown men who have done and seen it all as far

as china goes. Visit candleforlove. Not a good idea for new

china members here to assume a FAQ is real when its not.

Its a visit and no more than that. IKEA near GZ consulate

would be the better pick of the two. New readers here to this

mess dont need to be lead more astray than they already are.

That includes gifts then a 180 change of subject to an opinion.

Some have much more to learn about Chinese culture then they know.

Its a nice island if one wants to visit. They do need to know, no it

will not help your case. Sorry but newbies do need facts.

If you had questions about for example your taxes, financial proof, past marriages, ect, they will answer anything. There is absolutely no one to help you at IKEA unless you want a new bed or couch, where are people getting this IKEA bs?. If you feel it is only a visit then why waste your time? I totally disagree with that statement. We got our Visa very smoothly and it's hard for me to trust people on a website 100% compared to a VO with my questions, thats just me. Again, WE GOT OUR VISA, so anyone reading this, please attend ACH and communicate with others that attend there.

[Hell0W0rld 10]

wow, congrats, i heard alot about that African Woman, good thing they got rid of her......

[Henry and Mei 0]

Super Congratulations........and nice advice on Mr. Yang. I have also heard of Mr. Xia from CFL and ShadeOgray posted his card. If you have Mr. Yang's card that would also be great. I have heard of him before and will book my room with one of them that is a definite...

And I have not seen you on CFL or at least recently. Good to post there to if you have time.......I am tracking all of the petitions posted on CFL on my calendar at least until we interview....

Another PINK and an easy Interview..........you have been blessed. Enjoy!!!

[Gamal 0]

Super Congratulations........and nice advice on Mr. Yang. I have also heard of Mr. Xia from CFL and ShadeOgray posted his card. If you have Mr. Yang's card that would also be great. I have heard of him before and will book my room with one of them that is a definite...

And I have not seen you on CFL or at least recently. Good to post there to if you have time.......I am tracking all of the petitions posted on CFL on my calendar at least until we interview....

Another PINK and an easy Interview..........you have been blessed. Enjoy!!!

Thanks a lot. I feel it seems more relaxed to get the Visa, Like I said, we had plenty of proof for a relationship and they only asked for pictures, not my phone call proof, email proof, they didnt ask for any of that. Just tax forms, I-134 affidavit, and pictures. I would still take all your proof just in case, but if you have your taxes in order, and your I-134 in order, and pictures, I tell you now, it will be so smooth, but just take your back up proof just in case. If you have been married more than 3 times, make sure you have a letter explaining when you got divorced and why and your divorce documents. I seen one couple get a blue slip for this, but he just simpley wrote a letter to explain then he got his visa a few days later. Have your fiancee visit the Chinese 001 forum and make friends before you come to Guangzhou, you can have dinner together, meet and compare proofs and information that you need. Also your fiancee will have Chinese friends to communicate with in the US. One couple that we became friends with, they were married 20 days after they met and they still got the Visa. I think Americans have taken more control over the interview process and they are more understanding and really want to make sure your fiancee will be safe in America. In the embassy, there are travel agents that will make sure you get the cheapest flight home as well. After we got our Visa, we paid to have our Visa mailed to a post office in Guangzhou which will arrived in 3 days, you can also track it online. The day we picked up her Visa and packet, we went to another hospital so my fiancee could fill out a form. Right now my fiancee went to the hospital where she had her medical exam originally so they can take some blood from her finger and get another medical document. We leave tomorrow back to her home city for a few days then to the US. It was all pretty easy and the embassy gives you maps to all locations you need to go, very very smooth. Good luck to everyone and relax your worries because its a very smooth experience if you have your i's dotted and t's crossed. I wish everyone the best of luck!

Edited May 15, 2009 by Gamal