Is 6 months continuous PHYSICAL residency required for DCF eligibility?

[jcr7519 0]

I have a Chinese Residence Permit that's been valid since May 9th 2013. Does this mean that since November 9th 2013 I've been "authorized to be continuously residing within the jurisdiction of the consular office for at least the previous 6 months"? I think so but am not positive. Or do I have to be PHYSICALLY residing continuously in China to be eligible for DCF?

Reason I'm asking this is because I have a business trip to the US planned in Feb. 2014 --- do we have to apply for my wife's DCF visa before my trip to be eligible?

Preferably we'd apply for DFC in March/April after my trip to the US in Feb for a couple of reasons. 1) so the Visa timing would probably align with the end of my assignment work assignment in China in Oct '14 and we wouldn't need to take an additional trip back the the US...we'd just travel to the US together October '14 and 2) I could obtain a certified copy of our marriage certificate while in the US in Feb as we don't currently have one with us in China.

I just don't want to jeopardize DCF visa eligibility. This is really important to us - we've messed up with her AOS and are trying hard to develop a prudent strategy for my wife and I to reside together in China until end of my work assignment in Oct '14 and then return together to the US to reside, her entering as a LPR and obtaining her GC.

I'm referencing this part of the Consular Processing USCIS page:

"Although immigrant petitions are filed with USCIS, In some cases, an I-130 petition may be filed for an immediate relative (spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen) with a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Situations where this may be applicable include:

• If the U.S. citizen has been authorized to be continuously residing within the jurisdiction of the consular office for at least the previous 6 months"
  

http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/consular-processing

[lost_at_sea 995]

If your trip is just for a quick business trip, and you're not abandoning residency, it doesn't mean you have to start counting from scratch when you get back. Same as if you just went on vacation - it doesn't mean you stopped living where you came from.

I'm not familiar with residency paperwork for China, but I assume you have something that proves your residency? They'll be wanting to see something that shows your legal residence and when you took that up.

[milimelo 4,424]

You can either send a family member to get you a copy of marriage certificate or see if you can get copies from here (based on your local office location in your profile): http://www.health.ny.gov/vital_records/marriage.htm

Pretty much all states have a department dealing with vital records and you can obtain documents from them.

[jcr7519 0]

You can either send a family member to get you a copy of marriage certificate or see if you can get copies from here (based on your local office location in your profile): http://www.health.ny.gov/vital_records/marriage.htm

Pretty much all states have a department dealing with vital records and you can obtain documents from them.

Hi Milimelo,

I found out I can request to have certified copies of our marriage certificate mailed from the NYC Clerks Office.

http://www.cityclerk.nyc.gov/html/marriage/records.shtml#bymail

I'll have them sent to a family member in the USA who can forward them to me in China.

Thanks!

Justin

[jcr7519 0]

If your trip is just for a quick business trip, and you're not abandoning residency, it doesn't mean you have to start counting from scratch when you get back. Same as if you just went on vacation - it doesn't mean you stopped living where you came from.

I'm not familiar with residency paperwork for China, but I assume you have something that proves your residency? They'll be wanting to see something that shows your legal residence and when you took that up.

Thanks for your feedback. I do have a Residence Permit for China that proves 1 year continuous residency in China. I took it up over 6 months ago so my wife should be eligible to apply for a DCF visa.

[Darnell 8,478]

If you not have to get a new residency permit after returning from your out-of-china business trip, then the residency is seen as continuous by USCIS BeiJing and Guangzhou.