Beijing Embassy DCF Timeline

[margarth 1]

I filed my I-130 petition to the Beijing embassy on July 10, 2014. When I did research on DCF timelines, it looked like it wouldn't take more than 3-4 months max. However, the person I submitted the paperwork to said it would take a total of 6-8 months for my husband to obtain a visa. He also said it would take the Beijing embassy 1-2 months to review the submission and then send it on to Guangzhou (if there were no problems). That still doesn't really explain the added time, though. I told him my husband has a current visitors visa that expires in December and asked if it was possible for him to visit while his CR-1 was being processed. He said that as long as the visa was valid then yes, that was ok.

So my question is twofold. One, has anyone filed with Beijing lately? (Guangzhou info would also be helpful) If so, about how long did it take for the visa to come through?

My second question is whether or not it's a good idea for my husband to come to the US on his visitors visa during the application process. We were thinking that if it is going to take 6-8 months, maybe he can come in September (I leave for the US in August) and stay until December when his visitor visa ends. But if it is possible that the visa will come faster and he needs to be here for medical checks and interviews then that doesn't seem like such a good idea. Any opinions would be helpful.

Thanks!

[Darnell 8,478]

that's sorta strange, that human at the USCIS counter in BeiJing.

was it a USCitizen employee or a PRC Employee?

[talltex 0]

HI Margarth,

We recently filed DCF in Guangzhou. The first thing I want to say is how excellent the USCIS has been in Guangzhou. They were extremely helpful on the phone and absolutely a pleasure in person! It only took 7 days for the I-130 to be approved and the request for the DS-260 to come through. When we filed the I-130, I was told it would take 2 to 3 months for the I-130 to be adjudicated. We had a wonderful agent who was extremely helpful. I asked her if it would really take that long and she said that it would likely be much quicker but that the estimates given were standard. I would expect your case to go much much quicker than what you were told. One thing you will want to be careful of is the China Police Clearance for your husband. If he hasn't been here for 6 months then he doesn't need one, which is very good. It can be extremely difficult to get for a foreigner with a residence permit and near impossible if he is only on a visitor visa. Make sure he has a police clearance for every country he has lived in for 6 months or more. This can be the most problematic item on the IV list. As fast as things are moving for DCF in China right now, you might want to get on that immediately.

Good luck!

[margarth 1]

Thank you so much! That's really great to hear! Hopefully the processing in Beijing won't be too much longer. My husband will definitely stay here then to wait.

Just realized that I may not have been clear: I am a US citizen, and my husband is a Chinese citizen. When I say he has a visitors visa, I mean to the US.

Also, I'm not sure what nationality the person was that I talked to. He had a little bit of a Chinese accent, so maybe PRC? But that really doesn't necessarily mean he's not American...

[Yogibenji 0]

I hope you don't mind if I ask a related question… If one files the I-130 in Beijing, will the interview be scheduled for Guangzhou or does Beijing conduct interviews too?

[margarth 1]

As far as I know, Beijing only processes the I-130 submission. After that is approved, the case gets sent to Guangzhou, and Guangzhou handles the rest, including the interview. Beijing only does interviews for non-immigrant visas.

[ShanghaiAmerican 0]

Hi Margarth,

My husband and I filed last week (8.12) and were told similar information after also finding times to be faster from internet reports.

Have you heard from Beijing yet about the I-130 for your husband?

Thanks!

[margarth 1]

Sorry for the late response. Our I-130 was approved on August 10--exactly one month after submitting it. I would call them, since they did not email us any notifications, even though we applied for e-notifications.

[ShanghaiAmerican 0]

Thanks Margarth! Congrats and good luck!

[LightSear 8]

I live in Tianjin and so Beijing would be much closer for me to file my I-130.  My wife and I will travel to the US for Christmas, We will travel to Austria for a Festival with my work in Mid February, and hope to immigrate to the US in June 2019.  Will I have enough time if I file via DCF January after I get back from the US?  For this thread and others I'm reading, I'm not sure if I'm cutting it too close.  We plan to have her do her interview in Guangzhou in the Spring.

[givionte 138]

Beijing processing for I-130 is about 1 month, so likely at most it would take 1 to 3 months from filing to the interview and receipt of the visa.  You certainly won't have a problem fitting your timeline if you follow all the proper steps of a DCF, and prepare all documents from the pre-interview checklists before you submit your petition.