Marriageability Affidavit at the Beijing Embassy

[nialresu 1]

Hey China folks!

I'm planning to marry my girlfriend next month in China to facilitate the filing of our DCF I-130, but I'm stumped on the Marriageability Affidavit. The Guangzhou Consulate has the Marriageability Affidavit form available from their website, but Beijing doesn't have a form available. The Guangzhou form has Guangzhou's address and stuff on it (you can see it here: http://photos.state.gov/libraries/guangzhou/47024/ACS/acsaffidavit.doc)so I'm thinking "do they even do Marriageability Affidavit notarizations in Beijing?" If yes, what form would I use to do it?

Also, I've read that the Embassy and Consulate don't do translations... I'm going to need to go to the Chinese Notary that serves my girlfriends Hukou region, the same notary that's going to need to translate her birth record and police background history, right? They'll be able to translate my Marriageability Affidavit, right?

Who here has been through this process in Beijing? How did you go about it? Where did you get the Marriageability Affidavit translated?

Thanks a ton, guys and gals!

Peace,

Jake

[nialresu 1]

I forgot to ask this: did you have to "register your marriage" with the embassy or anything like that? When you finally arrived back in the US did you have to go to the state courthouse to register or get a state marriage license? I'm very confused on these points...

[Darnell 8,478]

when i went in for this, they had a form to use inside the Embassy, the Vice-Consul took my info and made a nice laser printed sheet then put chop, seal and stamp on it. translation of marriage-ability affadavit - go to the marriage office first, inquire which office they will accept english-to-chinese official notary translation FROM, is not the same office as chinese to english, usually.

'register the marriage' - no - it's not necessary after getting the red books in China [don't forget to have white books , notarial translation books made, after] but - some states allow extra benefits for widows if the marriage was registered in the state in USA.

as to registering the marriage at a Embassy/Consulate? no. just no.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Darnell

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

This is an easy one, I just did this myself. My wife lives in Yexian, Pingdingshan, Henan. We just did this and were married on 11/25/2014 in Zhengzhou, Henan.

I actually found a beijing "Marriageability Affidavit" online, but it was not supposed to be online, they took it, looked at it and asked me three times where I got it and then made me handwrite everything on another one.

Go to the Embassy in Beijing, but make an appointment online before you go.

https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.asp?postcode=BEJ&appcode=1

More information here:

http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/as092508.html

The only thing that you need is your passport, money and the print out of the appointment letter you will get after making the appointment online. I had brought many other documents but they never asked for them. They just take your word for everything since this document is useless anywhere but in China. Check the fees also, I think it was $50 USD.

When making the appointment select "Request notarial and other services not listed above."

After you get the "Marriageability Affidavit" go to the notary in Zhengzhou, Henan and get it notarized. Then go and get your marriage license in Zhengzhou and celebrate!.

This is me at the marriage office. You or your wife can make out the name on the wall behind me. If you need directions or the name of the notary ask me and I'll ask my wife.

It is that easy.

Hey China folks!

I'm planning to marry my girlfriend next month in China to facilitate the filing of our DCF I-130, but I'm stumped on the Marriageability Affidavit. The Guangzhou Consulate has the Marriageability Affidavit form available from their website, but Beijing doesn't have a form available. The Guangzhou form has Guangzhou's address and stuff on it (you can see it here: http://photos.state.gov/libraries/guangzhou/47024/ACS/acsaffidavit.doc)so I'm thinking "do they even do Marriageability Affidavit notarizations in Beijing?" If yes, what form would I use to do it?

Also, I've read that the Embassy and Consulate don't do translations... I'm going to need to go to the Chinese Notary that serves my girlfriends Hukou region, the same notary that's going to need to translate her birth record and police background history, right? They'll be able to translate my Marriageability Affidavit, right?

Who here has been through this process in Beijing? How did you go about it? Where did you get the Marriageability Affidavit translated?

Thanks a ton, guys and gals!

Peace,

Jake

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

I forgot to ask this: did you have to "register your marriage" with the embassy or anything like that? When you finally arrived back in the US did you have to go to the state courthouse to register or get a state marriage license? I'm very confused on these points...

Get the marriage license translated and notarized in Zhengzhou when you leave the marriage office. The US accepts the white book, no need to do anything else.

[nialresu 1]

Mike and Yaoling, thanks a ton, that was really helpful! I've already scheduled my appointment and train tickets to Beijing, and it sounds like I've gotten everything right so far. Would you mind helping me track down the name of that notary? We called the Civil Affairs Office in Zhengzhou directly and they said exactly what you said, we've got to go to that notary. I'm assuming it's like the official Zhengzhou notary, right? How much did it cost to get it notarized? Did the notary office translate it at all? The Civil Affairs Office also said something about my passport needing to be translated...? We weren't sure about that, I'm guessing the person on the other end of the phone didn't know exactly what they were talking about (which is about on par for government bureaucracy).

Thanks a ton, man!

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

Here is the form that you need to fill out in Zhengzhou and also the tranlation company that we used to translate the "Marriageability Affidavit".

https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A75n8hH4GdTz15

Edited December 28, 2014 by Mike and Yaoling

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

I am supposed to be sleeping but I just left China 1 week ago and my days and nights are all messed up.

I will ask my wife in a few hours when I should normally wake up and post the answers for you. If I ask her now she will make me go to sleep and wait anyway.

But I do know that the notary did translate to English in the white books. There are 9 pages in them and 3 are in English.

I did have to get my passport translated. I did it in Zhengzhou at Golden Bridge Translation in Zhengzhou. I did everything in Zhengzhou, just get a hotel for one night there.

Picture of the door of the translation company with phone number here: https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A75n8hH4GdTz15

Mike and Yaoling, thanks a ton, that was really helpful! I've already scheduled my appointment and train tickets to Beijing, and it sounds like I've gotten everything right so far. Would you mind helping me track down the name of that notary? We called the Civil Affairs Office in Zhengzhou directly and they said exactly what you said, we've got to go to that notary. I'm assuming it's like the official Zhengzhou notary, right? How much did it cost to get it notarized? Did the notary office translate it at all? The Civil Affairs Office also said something about my passport needing to be translated...? We weren't sure about that, I'm guessing the person on the other end of the phone didn't know exactly what they were talking about (which is about on par for government bureaucracy).

Thanks a ton, man!

Edited December 28, 2014 by Mike and Yaoling

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

For the notary we used "Golden Bridge Translation Company". They provided (everything) the following:

1. Translate "passport".

2. Translate "affidavit of marriageability".

3. Notarized the marriage license (white book).

Cost about 750元 for the notary and another few hundred for the translation work.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs, where you will get the marriage license, is on the same street as the translation company and there is a nice cake shop on the way there. It's about a 2 or 3 block walk.

Here were the steps we used:

1. Make appointment at the US embassy in Beijing.

2. Make an appointment at the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

3. Ride the train to Beijing from Pingdingshan.

4. Get the "affidavit of marriageability" from the US embassy in Beijing.

5. Take the train to Zhengzhou.

6. Go to Golden Bridge translation company and have the US passport and affidavit of marriageability translated.

7. Bring all the documents to the Ministry of Civil Affairs a few blocks down the street and get the marriage license.

8. Bring the marriage license to Golden Bridge translation company and have them translate and make your white book. Takes a couple days. We just let them mail it to us. Everything went smooth.

9. Celebrate and wait for the courier to call you to pick up the white book and marriage license in your fiancee's home town.

Here is the contact info for the translation company:

Golden Bridge Translation;

0371-55905028 13838122208 13937102017 13700849176

email: jingqiaofy@126.com

Get a business card from Golden Bridge, on the back of it is a map to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, they do this all the time.

Good luck!

Edited December 28, 2014 by Mike and Yaoling

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

Don't forget to get 3 photos of you together for the marriage license red book. They need 3. One for each of your books and one for their records. For the white book we only had the Chinese citizen's marriage license translated and notarized (whit book).

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

For what it's worth, I found the Beijing "affidavit of marriageability" here:

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/china/913639/marriage/AFFIDAVITOFMARRIAGEABLITY.pdf

But they won't let you use it and will interrogate you about how you found it.

[Robby999 1,024]

U.S. citizens are usually asked to submit the following:

• A valid passport with a valid Chinese visa;
• If both parties are non-Chinese citizens, at least one must present a current Chinese residence permit;
• A notarized "Affidavit of Marriageability" also referred to as a Single Statement. This affidavit is available at the Consulate and is a sworn statement or affirmation that you are legally free to marry. You must make an appointment for notarial services. The notarial fee is USD $50.00.
• If you have been previously married, you will be asked to submit an original or certified copy of your final divorce or annulment decree; or death certificate, if you are widowed.;
• Three marriage photos of the couple( taken together ), red background;
• Registration fee.

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/information_about_getting_married_in_china2.html

Edited December 28, 2014 by Robby999

[Robby999 1,024]

Same requirements for Beijing also. http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/acs_married.html

[nialresu 1]

With regards to the birth certificate

http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/china-guangzhou-field-office states the beneficiary's passport AND birth certificate must be filed

To file Form I-130 with USCIS Guangzhou:

• Complete the entire Form I-130. The petitioner must sign the form.
• Submit originals of the following:
  • Registered marriage certificate for both the petitioner and beneficiary,
  • Proof of U.S. citizenship of petitioner,
  • Proof of termination of any prievious marriage(s) for both the petitioner and beneficiary,
  • Photographs - one passport-sized photo, attached with completed and signed Form G-325A (Biographic Information) for both the petitioner and beneficiary,
  • Birth certificate of the beneficiary. (If the original birth certificate is not available, you must obtain a certification letter, on formal letterhead, from your local Public Security Bureau reporting the beneficiary's name, both parents' names, date and place of birth, and registration of birth.),
  • Copies of the biographic page of valid passports for both the petitioner and beneficiary,
• The petitioner must bring copies and originals when filing. We will return the originals to the petitioner after certifications of the copies are completed. All documents not written in the English language must be accompanied by certified English translations.
• After the petition has been approved, it will be sent to the Immigrant Visa Unit. You will need to contact the Immigrant Visa Unit for further questions on scheduling appointments, issuance of visas, etc.

While http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/i-130-petition-for-alien-relative.html states its either the passport OR birth certificate that gets filed initially...

Required Documents

To obtain a copy of Form I-130 as well as filing instructions, please click here. Please see pages 2-4 of the I-130 instructions for a full list of documents to submit with your Form I-130. In addition to the documents listed in the I-130 instructions, please bring the following when coming to our office to file your petition:

If married in China, please bring the original marriage certificate (结婚证) as well as a notarial copy (结婚公证书).
Original passports for both the petitioner and beneficiary (if available) as well as copies of the biographic page of each passport.
If the beneficiary does not have a passport, please bring his or her original birth certificate (出生证) as well as a notarial copy (出生公证书).
Evidence of the petitioner’s residence in China. This may include:

A Residence Permit for Foreigner in the People’s Republic of China (居住许可).
A Chinese visa (签证) in the categories of D, J1, Q1, S1, X1 or Z.
Please note that U.S. citizens whose principal residence is not China and/or are abroad for a short-term visit as a tourist or on business must file their I-130 petition with the Chicago Lockbox. For example, temporary travelers under L, M or F Chinese visas will generally not qualify for direct filing with the Guangzhou Field Office.

In addition to submitting the above documents, please be sure to answer each question on the Form I-130 as well as have the petitioner (not the beneficiary) sign and date Part E of the Form I-130. Following these steps will enable us to complete the processing of your case in the most expeditious manner.

Which is to be believed? I've emailed the USCIS Guangzhou field office about this and will post my findings if I receive a reply.

Edited December 29, 2014 by jwdoetsch

[Darnell 8,478]

USCIS Guangzhou also answers their telephone, during office hours - you might want to call them.

FWIW, USCIS /USA requires only photocopies of stuff that USCIS/Guangzhou claims must be original.