Marriage Green Card · China

China Marriage Green Card: Country-Specific Guides

Chinese nationals applying for a marriage green card go through Consular Processing at the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou, the only U.S. immigrant visa post for mainland China. Two things make the China path distinctive: civil records are issued as bilingual notarial certificates (公证书) instead of raw documents, so you usually need no separate translation, and one-child-era birth-record gaps have a specific notarial workaround. These guides cover the documents, the medical exam, the interview trip, and what to do if you receive a 221(g).

Consulate

U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou (only immigrant visa post)

Civil documents

Bilingual notarial certificates (公证书), with the English translation built in

Panel physicians

Guangzhou-approved health centers, exam before the interview

Police certificate

No Criminal Record Notarial Certificate (无犯罪记录公证)

Start here: your path, in order

1
Confirm your path. If you are already married, you are on the CR-1/IR-1 consular route through Guangzhou. Start by learning how China's notarial certificate system works.
2
The U.S. citizen or LPR files Form I-130, the petition that starts the case.
3
Order the notarial certificates you need from a Chinese notary office (公证处): birth (出生公证), marriage (结婚公证), a no-criminal-record certificate (无犯罪记录公证), and a single-status certificate if it applies.
4
After I-130 approval, the National Visa Center reviews your documents and you pay the fees.
5
Your interview is scheduled at the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou; plan the trip and what to bring.
6
Do the medical exam before the interview at a Guangzhou-approved panel physician.
7
Attend the interview. On approval, your spouse gets a CR-1/IR-1 visa and enters the U.S. as a permanent resident.
8
If you receive a 221(g) at the interview, identify which of the three tracks you are on and respond accordingly.

What makes this pathway different

One Immigrant Visa Post: Guangzhou

Every mainland-China immigrant visa interview happens at the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou (43 Hua Jiu Road, Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District). The posts in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Wuhan handle nonimmigrant visas only, so all immigrant visa logistics point to Guangzhou.

The Notarial Certificate System (公证书)

China does not release raw civil records. Instead a notary office (公证处) issues a bilingual Chinese and English notarial certificate (公证书) built from household registration (户口) and archives. Because the booklet is already bilingual, you usually do not need a separate certified translation.

No Apostille Needed for the U.S. Visa

China joined the Hague Apostille Convention, effective November 7, 2023, but the notarial certificate is what NVC, USCIS, and Guangzhou work from. An apostille is generally not required for your green card paperwork.

One-Child-Era Birth-Record Gaps

Many people born during the one-child policy were never registered or have missing records. A notary office can still issue a notarial birth certificate from a parents' statement and secondary evidence, and there is a documented workaround when the record is truly unobtainable.

Guides for China applicants

China Notarial Certificates (公证书 / Gōngzhèng-shū) for U.S. Immigration: Which Ones You Need and How to Get Them

How China's notarial certificate system works, which certificates a marriage green card needs (birth, marriage, single status, no criminal record), how to order them from a notary office (公证处), why the English translation is built in, and why no apostille is required for the filing.

China Notarial Birth Certificate (出生公证) for U.S. Immigration: How to Get It

How to get a Chinese notarial birth certificate for a marriage green card, the pre-1996 versus post-1996 rule, ordering from a notary office (公证处), the built-in translation, and why no apostille is needed for the U.S. filing.

Chinese Marriage Certificate (结婚公证) for U.S. Immigration: Which Notarial Certificate to Request and Prior-Divorce Documents

Which of the two Chinese notarial marriage certificates to request, the red 结婚证 it is built from, the notarial divorce certificate (离婚公证) NVC requires for prior marriages, and why the translation is built in and no apostille is needed.

China Single Status / Unmarried Notarial Certificate (未婚公证) for U.S. Immigration

Whether a CR-1/IR-1 applicant needs a Chinese single-status certificate, the 未婚公证 versus 未再婚公证 difference, how the notary office issues the bilingual booklet, the prior-marriage documents Guangzhou requires, validity, and why no apostille is needed.

China No Criminal Record Notarial Certificate (无犯罪记录公证) for U.S. Immigration

How to get the notarial booklet from a notary office (公证处), not just the police certificate: the Public Security Bureau then notary two-step process, who needs it, why no apostille is required for the U.S. filing, translation, validity, and how to get it from abroad.

China Birth Record Gaps: Unregistered Births, the One-Child Era, and the Notarial Workaround

What to do when a Chinese birth was never registered or records are missing: the never-registered versus lost-records versus one-child-era (黑户) scenario rule, regularizing the household registration, the notarial workaround, and the unavailability-statement plus secondary-evidence package.

Chinese Names and Pinyin on U.S. Immigration Forms: Surname Order, English Names, and Telecode

Match your PRC passport field for field on the DS-260 and USCIS forms: pinyin surname first, the one-word given name, an English nickname under other names used, the Chinese-character telecode field, Hong Kong and Wade-Giles spellings, and matching the notarial certificate to the passport.

Guangzhou Immigrant Visa Interview Trip: U.S. Consulate Logistics & Medical (2026)

What to do before and on interview day at the U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou (43 Hua Jiu Road, Zhujiang New Town): confirm the appointment, choose the bank pickup or home delivery for your passport, complete the medical at an approved panel physician, bring notarized originals, and the electronics ban.

Guangzhou Panel Physicians: The Immigrant Visa Medical Exam for China Cases (2026)

Where to do the U.S. immigrant visa medical exam for a Guangzhou case: the approved health centers in China (exam anywhere, interview only in Guangzhou), the Guangzhou center's address and fees, booking, timing, and how sealed results reach the Consulate.

Common 221(g) Refusals at the U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou

A 221(g) is a pause, not a denial. The three tracks (document deficiency, administrative processing, possible ineligibility), how to read your letter to find which, where to submit via the bank or CEAC, the timeframes, and when a refusal is a legal matter for an attorney.

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