Newbie questions

[shingyan 0]

Hi all,

I filed the I-130 for my wife and received the NOA1 a month ago. I've been reading the forum and it is very helpful. However I have the following questions (I believe they had been answered already but I couldn't find the answer.)

My wife is living in Beijing and we want to prepare all the documents early, or at least know where to get them. But I have a few questions.

Where can she get a police certificate in Beijing? She lived in Boston from 9/2007 to 4/2009, does she need a police report from Boston as well?

She does not have a birth certificate, what other document can she use?

thanks for the help

Shingyan

[Darnell 8,478]

she can get a birth certificate at the local big notary office (I'll post a link in a moment)

the police certificate comes from the big Police Security Bureau office (I'll post a link in a moment)

these 2, plus the marriage certificate, must be 'notarily translated' and there's several offices in BeiJing that do that.

Here's the link --> http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/228853-notarial-birth-certificate/

ignore the bickering...

and here's the important bit to tell her --> 带着你的户口本和身份证到你所居住社区的居委会开一张出生证明,然后带着户口本,身份证和出生证明到公证处办理出生公证.

USUALLY she can get the birth certificate and the police clearance report (in China/for China) in the district of the city where her hukuo is registered. If she's a 'migrant worker', living in BeiJing with a hukuo in Chengdu, for example, then ANY RELATIVE that is listed in her Chengdu hukuo book (specifically if that relative has HER listed in their hukuo book) can go in to the offices, get it all done, on her behalf. Expect to pay some fees.

re: police certificate from USA for her time in Boston - sorry, my brain is muddled, I can't remember either way.

hey ! change yer country setting to 'china' in yer profile - more china members will see yer posts, can answer specific questions since they 'see' yer topics in the CHINA portal.

re: preparing the documents early - I suggest you hold off, until you know about the approval on the I-130. The police clearance certificate has a validity/duration of 1 year, from the time it's issued to the time it's presented on interview day at Guangzhou IV unit. NVC has slowed down considerably these past 2 months on I-130s because of the 'Haitian Asylum' effort.

re: Welcome to China ! Hey ! When you get into NVC processing, you qualify for NVC Electronic Processing - it cuts 2 to 5 months off the 'dead zone time' between 'NVC OUT' and 'GUZ opens the casefile' - see http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Electronic_Processing - she'll need to send you scans of the 'white books' , a scan of a complete DS-230, and you handle the I-864.

Good Luck !

Edited August 8, 2010 by Darnell

[Darnell 8,478]

re: police certificates from USA - not needed, as a 'search' will be done on her during several stages of this process. See http://www.usaimmigrationattorney.com/SecurityNameChecksAndAdministrativeReview.html for the backgrounder. She'll list her residence in USA on the G-325A.

Edited August 8, 2010 by Darnell

[Speedytax 3]

re: police certificates from USA - not needed, as a 'search' will be done on her during several stages of this process. See http://www.usaimmigrationattorney.com/SecurityNameChecksAndAdministrativeReview.html for the backgrounder. She'll list her residence in USA on the G-325A.

Darnell, Does a K-1 Visa qualify for Electronic Processing? I would really like to avoid that 3 month wait in China Customs. Thanks, Bill

[Darnell 8,478]

Speedytax - nope

but

since 'that pipe' was opened between NVC and GUZ (for NVC Electronic Processing)-

many K-1 visas (about half) are coming into GUZ IV solely via SAFEFILE

without this stupid 'wait on DHL and the China Customs Clearing Warehouse' cr@p.

Can't predict squat re: 'will yer casefile benefit from the SAFEFILE pipe ' or not

but -

a good indication, to know, for certain,

is

casefile status from both NVC and DOS hotlines (must get a Human, each time) -

review this? --> http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/264972-shortcuts-when-checking-for-updates-from-the-nvc-and-dos/

Dodi's written how to call, and a few posts further down, I've written 'what you can get, and from whom'

so - IF there is short amount o time between 'NVC-OUT' and 'GUZ-Open-Casefile' Timeticks,

then is good indicator that SAFEFILE (SOLELY) was utilised, without GUZ IV waiting on the DHL shipment.

Alas, though, is no way to predict if 'SAFEFILE SOLELY' will be utilised, ahead of time; you can only learn of it, after the fact, based on those 2 time-ticks.

Once the timetick of 'GUZ-Open-Casefile' has passed, though, things start to 'go fast' - so keep calling DoS Hotline, as when you learn of 'P3 sent by GUZ IV' timetick, you can shave off 2 weeks with the P3 shortcut, get into a 'sooner' scheduling block - see http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/GUZ_P3_Shortcut

Good Luck !

[shingyan 0]

Thanks for the advice Darnell.

We are planning to get the police report and birth certificate the next few days. Do we need to get it translate and notarized in China or can I bring them back to the states to do it?

Thanks for the help

[rongnjohn 1]

Darnell, Does a K-1 Visa qualify for Electronic Processing? I would really like to avoid that 3 month wait in China Customs. Thanks, Bill

Speedytax, we are in the middle of the K1 process and our file was recently sent to GUZ. I think the total delay was less than 2 weeks, I can not verify which method it was shipped. Watching others timeline, it iseems that the file transfer has sped up considerably.

Good luck.

[Darnell 8,478]

Thanks for the advice Darnell.

We are planning to get the police report and birth certificate the next few days. Do we need to get it translate and notarized in China or can I bring them back to the states to do it?

Thanks for the help

I would suggest a coupla things -

--wait until NOA-2 date until you get the PCC, not need to wait on the rest (never mind, I just studied yer timeline - wei ! congrats! yup - time to get busy ! )

--it's 'standard' to get a 'white book/ notarial translation' done in China. GUZ IV understands these. Inside of the white book is a certified copy of the original document, a stamp certifying the copy, plus the translation into English.

--any hukuo issues? If she lives in a city where her hukuo is NOT registered , she'll need to go to the hukuo city, get the documents and white books. for white book 'stuff', review http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/228853-notarial-birth-certificate/ - ignore the bickering, click through any links there, and copy the 'chinese wording' there, send to yer wife - it usually clears up much confusion.

-- not need PCC from USA, for her USA 'time' - she'll be found during the namechecks - see http://www.usaimmigrationattorney.com/SecurityNameChecksAndAdministrativeReview.html for some detail.

then

since yer an IR-1/CR-1 visa filer, and it's CHINA - you qualify for NVC Electronic Processing -

IF you decide to OPT IN and go this route -

the documents and white books can physically remain in China, but

she'll need to make scans of these documents at a copy shop in China, email them to you.

Take a look at the NVC EP process, for a few days - over at http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Electronic_Processing - then decide if you and her can 'do this'. If ya can, no need for the documents physically to travel to USA.

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Congratulations of fast approval at VSC, btw - that was super duper mondo fast ! I'm impressed, and happy for ya !

Edited October 5, 2010 by Darnell