Suggestions on when to begin the process

[dhe421 0]

I have lived in China with my fiancee for about 10 months and I am under contract to stay and teach until the end of June 2011.

We plan to get married in China in the coming year and after we do that, I will DCF I-130 in Beijing.

What I am confusing myself with is the timing of it all. There is obviously variety when it comes to how long the process takes, and I can accept that, but it makes trying to figure out when to begin the process difficult for me.

We "can" get married at any time (or at least within a couple of days), however she has a preference for waiting until after Chinese New Year (Feb 3, 2011) as apparently the year of the tiger is a bad luck year for marriages. With me being a teacher, for the purposes of timing we'd like to plan to go the US in early July 2011 as after that point I need to either leave or sign a new contract for another 6 months/year. Would there be much chance of having visa in hand by July if the I-130 was DCF'd in early February?

How long after the CR-1 is issued does the visa holder have to enter the US before the visa expires? I can't seem to find the answer to that anywhere, and knowing that would really be helpful.

Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Darnell 8,479]

Figure 4 months, tops, from filing I-130 to Visa Interview Day.

Filing in February - yup - excellent chance of getting visa in passport by July - I think JUNE, actually, and if things are 'normal' - can be done in 2 to 3 months (not 4).

The VALIDITY of the CR-1 visa (date from issuance to date of first USA POE date) is usually 6 months, unless some bizarre finding in the medical examination (then might be shorter than 6 months). So she'll have 6 months, from date of issuance, to make it INTO the USA.

When you get a moment, study up on 'proving US Domicile in USA' - this is important for DCF filers in China - the important bit is that it's OK for you to leave China, AFTER I-130 approval, to re-establish domicile in USA. Domicile must be proven up on her Interview Day - you have a 'gap' of about 6 to 8 weeks (I-130 Approval to Interview Day) to handle any domicile issues.

Good Luck !!!