We have a question from Yan, and she asks: “Is it faster or better to file my IR1 spousal visa directly with the embassy in China, or by mailing it off to the USCIS?” Because direct consular filing bypasses the USCIS and National Visa Center, the process can be quicker than the normal inquiry process. […]

Live from Las Vegas, what’s our next question? Joseph Clifton. My girlfriend is Chinese, she is not born in a hospital so she doesn’t have her birth certificate, but a household registry, which is an official Chinese document. Yeah, that’s a common situation. The short answer is no, of course if they’re not issuing birth […]

Singer and winner of the 2010 “Gensan Pop Idol”, a popular competition in General Santos, Philippines, Michelle Malabarbas met Dustin online while professionally singing in China. They quickly fell in love and filed for a K1 visa to be united in California. Visa Type: K1 Visa Country: Philippines Your browser does not support the audio element.

This week our office in China has been closed, due to the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year. This year is the “Year of the Goat“. We all know that China has one of the most ubiquitous cultures in the world, but would you believe the celebrations people have all over the world? Check out […]

Hukou is built upon a history of family registries that dates back to the Xia Dynasty (2100 BCE- 1600 BCE). The modern usage takes this and is applied similar to the internal passport system used in the former Soviet Union. This internal passport identifies a person by regional city or village and there work status […]

Marriage in China is based on China’s laws regardless of nationality of the individuals marrying.  Getting married in China requires at least one of the applicants is either a citizen or has a long term resident permit. China requires applicants for marriage to meet minimum age requirements of 22 for men and 20 for women.  Additionally, if a […]

Chinese birth certificates are available in the form of notarial certificates (Chu Sheng Gong Zheng Shu or Chu Sheng Zheng Ming Shu). While some notarial birth certificates will list stepparents or adoptive parents along with natural parents this is not always the case. In some cases the certificates will list only the natural parents covering […]