Help with i-130.

[turbocomppro 3]

Hello. I'm new here so please be gentle.

Some background:

I married my China wife back in 2009 and been living in China ever since. I have a semi dual citizenship in HK where I have a permanent residence card and a leisure permit to travel into China for as long as I want. So I use that to be in China living with my wife till presently. This way, I don't have to go in and out of China every 2 months.

We've recently decided to move to the US so I filed a I-130 about a month ago. Now I filed locally in Guangzhou China because it's a lot faster then if I were to send everything back to the US. Since I'm living here anyway, this is what was recommended to me by a person inside the US embassy in Guangzhou. As a requirement for applying locally, I had to apply for a "temporary living permit." To do that, I had to use my US Passport to enter China. I had a 10 year Visa so I just went out and came back in with my passport. Then applied for the living permit (which was a PITA), but this was all done within about a month, just before Chinese New Year.

I submitted everything that was required plus some photos of me and my wife from the past 6 years. Today, I got a letter today asking for 3 items:

Notarized Certificate for item "Marriage Relationship" issued within 3 months of February 19, 2016.

Notarized Certificate for item "Marriage Certificate" issued within 3 months of February 19, 2016.

Provide any additional evidence to show your marital relationship. It says for example, joint bills and tax records. Ok so this is a little tricky. You see, since I'm an "outsider," I let my wife to be on the name of everything. Using my name (or our names), is very inconvenient. I mean we trust each other so there was no reason to have everything in "our names" causing extra headaches, money, and time. I'm not sure what else I can provide as "proof" other then photos of us traveling.

Next: Ok, so Marriage Certificate I know and it was already given to them. Don't know why they are asking. But Marriage Relationship Certificate? What the heck is this? And what is the deal with "issued within 3 months of February 19, 2016?" We married on 2009. Why would I have a Marriage Certificate within 3 months of February 19, 2016?

This is highly confusing. If anyone can shed some light on this, it would be highly appreciated. Of course, I made an appointment at the embassy to ask them personally but I'm not sure how helpful they can be.

Thanks in advance,

Jason

[turbocomppro 3]

More info: Ok, I think I understand what the "within 3 months of February 19, 2016" means. I have to get an Original Notarized Certificate for item "Marriage Relationship" and "Marriage Certificate" within 3 months. I guess I "forgot" to notarized them? Where would I get these in China? Do I go to the US Embassy or do I get someone in China to Notarized them? Hmm.. Also, there was another thing, they want a Notarized Certificate for item "Birth" for my wife. I'm assuming this is her birth certificate? She was born in the farmer country, at home. She says she doesn't have one. What can I do about this?

Also, unrelated, how do I add line brakes in my post? I have many paragraphs when I was typing my post but what is posted is just one big block of text.

[Ryan H 3,834]

To obtain the marriage certificate, your wife will need to go to the notary office (公证处) where her hukou is located and have them issue it. Same thing for a birth certificate. Since these documents are booklets that are white in color, you will hear others refer to them as "white books."

To add break lines, push enter a couple of times to make a break.

[turbocomppro 3]

Thanks Ryan for the reply. I have submitted a 公证书 with my I-130. It was done in ChongQing (my wife's home town). It has an embossed stamp and English translation and everything. Isn't that considered a notarized proof of our marriage? On top of that, they took the original copy of the 公证书 so I have no idea how I'm going to get notarized again?

This is highly confusing. I have made an appointment at the embassy to talk to them tomorrow. Hopefully, I will get some answers.

Edit Add: I think I realize what they need. It says I need those items "issued within 3 months of February 19th 2016." I received that 公证书 I believe more then 3 months ago so I guess that's why they are asking for a new one. I will make sure that's what it is tomorrow and report back here what I find.

Edited March 2, 2016 by turbocomppro

[Darnell 8,479]

marriage relationship certificate? oh my - are they asking for a hukuo book with your name and her name in it ? that's a bit odd and rare. was it either/or ?

[turbocomppro 3]

I went and asked at the US Embassy today and they told me I need a 结婚公证书 and 结婚证公证书."