Best place to file? Back in US?

[Family 3,988]

7 minutes ago, Tarisus517 said:

We use wechat pay but none of her bills are currently under my name. I’m going to go through every possible way to receive mail and electronic bills and try to put it under my name.

 

You don’t need to change anything, really. Just file with what you have , and you will be fine. 
 

There are some guides on VJ that explain the process and what you can expect: USCIS approval …then NVC processing …and Consular Interview.   You will have time to schedule a flight , I believe.

[Tarisus517 2]

7 minutes ago, ROK2USA said:

Do you live with your spouse in China? 

I am aware you're supposed to register the address you stay at when you're in China so even if you do not have any bills in your name you should have proof you live together. 

I uploaded the equivalent of our ID cards indicating we lived at the same address for our I-130.

 

If you are planning on living with your parents when you move to the US their disapproval of the union can negatively impact your relationship... 

But, you can use your address in China as the mailing address if you do not want them to know about your plans.

 

@Tarisus517 be aware you need to make 125% poverty level for your household size when you get to NVC stage. 

Is it just you are your spouse? If so... you'll have to make about $23,000 (in the US) when you file the I-864 or have at least $69,000 in savings. 

 

 

We do live together in China. I couldn’t get an ID here as because you have to be a Chinese citizen to get one. there’s a lot of electronic payments in the city we live in on my phone. 
 

She has two kids but is sure the older one would come along, not sure about younger one. Thank you for the heads up. How long does it take to get to the NVC stage? I do work like 70-80 hours when I am in the US so that shouldn’t be a problem. Is the limit more when there’s 2 kids?
 

 

[Redro 4,611]

11 minutes ago, Tarisus517 said:

We do live together in China. I couldn’t get an ID here as because you have to be a Chinese citizen to get one. there’s a lot of electronic payments in the city we live in on my phone. 
 

She has two kids but is sure the older one would come along, not sure about younger one. Thank you for the heads up. How long does it take to get to the NVC stage? I do work like 70-80 hours when I am in the US so that shouldn’t be a problem. Is the limit more when there’s 2 kids?
 

 

The time to NVC depends on which service center you're assigned to.. and you don't have a choice. It is all very random. 

Once you file it can take anywhere from 3 months to 12 months or more. This is why most of us recommend filing the I-130 as soon as possible. 

If you plan petitioning both your wife and your stepchildren you'll have to file separate I-30s for each of them.

I believe you can only petition the stepchildren if they were under 18 when you got married. 

 

Just to clarify... you don't have any documentation from the government in China that states the address you live at right now? I remember when I was in China I had to register at the police station... If you can get a copy of that information I would include it in your proof of relationship. 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p. 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by ROK2USA

[Tarisus517 2]

8 minutes ago, ROK2USA said:

The time to NVC depends on which service center you're assigned to.. and you don't have a choice. It is all very random. 

Once you file it can take anywhere from 3 months to 12 months or more. This is why most of us recommend filing the I-130 as soon as possible. 

If you plan petitioning both your wife and your stepchildren you'll have to file separate I-30s for each of them.

I believe you can only petition the stepchildren if they were under 18 when you got married. 

 

Just to clarify... you don't have any documentation from the government in China that states the address you live at right now? I remember when I was in China I had to register at the police station... If you can get a copy of that information I would include it in your proof of relationship. 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p. 

 

 

That’s a great idea! I’m going to visit the police station tomorrow! I might be able to get something off of the Covoid test system, that did ask for the address when I took the test. 
 

does the 23,000 per month or 69,000 in savings change when there’s two step child’s?

 

Thank you so much everyone, I am going to note everything down to keep track of everything!

[pushbrk 12,898]

7 hours ago, Tarisus517 said:

I only have one stamp back in 2020 Jan, coming into China. We actually started dating 8 months ago. We have family photos and tickets together. She also went to the consular in GuangZhou when I needed proof of single for the marriage. 
 

I was born here in China, so before taking the naturalization test, I had a physical address here. If one was originally a Chinese born, then I can get a visa for 5 years, each visit can be 5 years. I did a lot of 4 months renewal before 5 years one but used my mom(visiting family visa). I think there’s people who reside and work here in long term, not sure what they have though.
 

Yes, that is correct(I am Chinese but been in US over 20 years). My parents won’t approve of our marriage because she’s older than me.

You have all the evidence  you need.  A copy of your visa and the entry stamp along with what you have will be nice.  Another mentioned you needing to register your address,  Yes, you should or should have but that would just be another Chinese document to translate.  Not needed when you are living together.  That you are married and that YOU are in China, is accepted as time together in person.

You mention "she's older" than you.  Whether that is relevant to US Immigration depends on how much older.  What are your ages?

[Tarisus517 2]

12 hours ago, pushbrk said:

You have all the evidence  you need.  A copy of your visa and the entry stamp along with what you have will be nice.  Another mentioned you needing to register your address,  Yes, you should or should have but that would just be another Chinese document to translate.  Not needed when you are living together.  That you are married and that YOU are in China, is accepted as time together in person.

You mention "she's older" than you.  Whether that is relevant to US Immigration depends on how much older.  What are your ages?

Thank you for the reply pushbrk. She’s about 9 years older than me. Would that cause an issue? What kind of photos help the most? I have photos with her family and does it help that I have photos being intimate or I should avoid those?

[Redro 4,611]

2 minutes ago, Tarisus517 said:

Thank you for the reply pushbrk. She’s about 9 years older than me. Would that cause an issue? What kind of photos help the most? I have photos with her family and does it help that I have photos being intimate or I should avoid those?

Do not include:

 

• Graphic photos of childbirth or intimate relations as evidence of a relationship or marriage.

https://www.uscis.gov/i-130

[pushbrk 12,898]

12 hours ago, Tarisus517 said:

Thank you for the reply pushbrk. She’s about 9 years older than me. Would that cause an issue? What kind of photos help the most? I have photos with her family and does it help that I have photos being intimate or I should avoid those?

Photos with you and her in different places and times, and some with family are good.  Don't know what you mean by "intimate" exactly, but leave them out.

 

I asked for both ages.  You gave me the difference in age.  The younger YOU are, the bigger the factor 9 years would be.  This alone will not cause a denial though.  Your time together in person overcomes that very clearly.

[Tarisus517 2]

2 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Photos with you and her in different places and times, and some with family are good.  Don't know what you mean by "intimate" exactly, but leave them out.

 

I asked for both ages.  You gave me the difference in age.  The younger YOU are, the bigger the factor 9 years would be.  This alone will not cause a denial though.  Your time together in person overcomes that very clearly.

Thank you for the quick reply! I’m 31 going onto 32 this year. She’s 41and her birthday already past.

 

I have to leave the country soon. Because of the virus, traveling to China will take up to 40 days. While I’m still here, is there anything I can do before leaving the country?

[pushbrk 12,898]

8 minutes ago, Tarisus517 said:

Thank you for the quick reply! I’m 31 going onto 32 this year. She’s 41and her birthday already past.

 

I have to leave the country soon. Because of the virus, traveling to China will take up to 40 days. While I’m still here, is there anything I can do before leaving the country?

Go to the Gong Zheng Chu and get your notarial marriage certificate.  She'll need a birth certificate from there too but that isn't needed until later.  Get two or three originals of each Notarial Document.  You'll filing a photocopy or scan, but you may need the originals later.

[Tarisus517 2]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

Go to the Gong Zheng Chu and get your notarial marriage certificate.  She'll need a birth certificate from there too but that isn't needed until later.  Get two or three originals of each Notarial Document.  You'll filing a photocopy or scan, but you may need the originals later.

There is an important question I want to ask. If I went back to US and send money because there’s a dowry requirement. Would this negatively impact us? I have to give this money sooner or later.

 

Now that you mentioned notarial, I actually had everything prepared to taken to US on the 5th last month, until Airline canceled my flight. I will just do everything here then. 

Edited May 4, 2022 by Tarisus517

[pushbrk 12,898]

8 minutes ago, Tarisus517 said:

There is an important question I want to ask. If I went back to US and send money because there’s a dowry requirement. Would this negatively impact us? I have to give this money sooner or later.

What do you mean by, "There's a dowry requirement."???  It's not a legal requirement.  If it is something you agreed to, then it's between the two of you.  

[Tarisus517 2]

2 hours ago, pushbrk said:

What do you mean by, "There's a dowry requirement."???  It's not a legal requirement.  If it is something you agreed to, then it's between the two of you.  

It is something that 90% of marriage goes through in China. Only few areas don’t have it. Because the kids that are born “belong” to the male family and will carry male’s last name. My parents went through this, so didn’t all their brothers/sisters. No one can dodge this stuff if you’re in FuZhou, FuJian. Maybe the 1% somehow doesn’t do it because of poverty. 
 

The amount is given to her parents and it is entirely up to them if it’s given back to us or not. There’s a huge history of this. 
 

ps. Sorry my bad previous wording. I just realize what you’re writing. 

Edited May 4, 2022 by Tarisus517

[pushbrk 12,898]

7 hours ago, Tarisus517 said:

It is something that 90% of marriage goes through in China. Only few areas don’t have it. Because the kids that are born “belong” to the male family and will carry male’s last name. My parents went through this, so didn’t all their brothers/sisters. No one can dodge this stuff if you’re in FuZhou, FuJian. Maybe the 1% somehow doesn’t do it because of poverty. 
 

The amount is given to her parents and it is entirely up to them if it’s given back to us or not. There’s a huge history of this. 
 

ps. Sorry my bad previous wording. I just realize what you’re writing. 

I understand the practice and that the dowry is often given back as a gift now, when parents can afford it.  I did not give a dowry to my ex Chinese wife though.  Regardless, that's not a factor.  Do be aware though that there is a lot of visa fraud from FuZhou province, so expect extra scrutiny, all of which is overcome by the large amount of time you've lived together already and even more before the interview.

[Redro 4,611]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

I understand the practice and that the dowry is often given back as a gift now, when parents can afford it.  I did not give a dowry to my ex Chinese wife though.  Regardless, that's not a factor.  Do be aware though that there is a lot of visa fraud from FuZhou province, so expect extra scrutiny, all of which is overcome by the large amount of time you've lived together already and even more before the interview.

Reason why I suggest showing proof of living at the same address. 

OP moved to China in 2020 but only met/married his spouse 8 months ago...