From:
United States
Connecticut
New Haven
@sheikhnbake
|
Time
:
2012-03-24 04:54:35
#8
|
I've done this before, with a visitor visa for a Thai woman in Bangkok. But then, I used to deal with US immigration issues for foreign visitors; that was my job at a university. So I know how visa officers and customs officers think.
First go to the US embassy's web site and fill out the form for your girlfriend (I'm talking about a Visitor visa now). You must have your girl online with you at the same time so you can garner all kinds of information you might not expect such as parents' names and dates of birth, her passport number, etc. etc.
By the time you complete the online form, your girl should have at least three documents from you; (1) your letter of sponsorship, stating that you will be responsible for her during her visit, including all finances (unless she is fairly wealthy herself), and confirming that she has every intention of returning to China (and WHY); (2) your passport or other ID copy, and (3) your financial statements (again, unless she has plenty of her own money).
When you're done with the online form you will be given several interview appointments from which to choose and for which you pay online with a credit card. The next step is for your girl to proceed to the consulate at the appointed date and time for the interview. She will be notified of the success or failure of her bid on the spot (I believe) and following that she will receive her visa in the mail in about 10 days.
This was the procedure in Bangkok. My apologies if it's different in China.
Final tips--Women over 40 have a better chance of getting a visa. During the interview just be honest, and answer questions without volunteering a lot of information. If applying for a visitor visa she should NEVER say she is engaged to you! A visitor visa is strictly for tourist/leisure purposes. My Bangkok friend was a government officer in Thailand; perhaps that helped. When they asked who was paying for the trip, she said "my boyfriend." They liked the honest answer, even though she was still married (separated) to a Thai man.
One thing that neophytes tend not to realize is that every visa officer in every consulate in the world of any country has the absolute and arbitrary right to deny anyone a visitor visa. They might not like her looks. They might not like her haughty demeanor (should she have one). They might not like her "Chairman Mao is Always Correct!" t-shirt. Whatever. That's the way it is.
When arriving at the airport, she may be taken aside for a Homeland Security interview. My respectable Thai gf was. But they were nice to her and since she didn't have anything to hide and was convincing about the truth--which was that she had no intention of overstaying her visa--they granted her a ten-year multiple entry. Good luck.