August 26 Interview

[Shadowman]

First of all¡­ We¡¯re PINK!!!!!

 

Second of all, I want to thank everyone at CFL¡­ especially RogerinCA, who shepherded me away from another site and introduced me to CFL and who was a constant source of reassurance, valuable information, and trusted advice. And to all the other veterans and moderators, whether you responded to me directly or not, thank you for your invaluable contributions. Rest assured, I have probably read though every post at least once, but I have spent the majority of my time here lurking. You¡¯ll have to forgive the length of this post, but I haven¡¯t posted much in my time on this site, so consider this my ¡°paying it forward¡±.

 

Arrival in Guangzhou

 

My wife, Joy and I arrived in Guangzhou on Monday 8/24, two days prior to our 8/26 interview. She lives in Dongguan, so we had a very easy one and a half hour (48 RMB) bus ride to GZ. My wife called Mr.Yang to inquire about the availability of one of his rooms, but on such short notice, he had nothing available. He recommended a nearby hotel. We ended up staying at the ¡°Star Hotel¡± located directly across the park in front of GUZ. It is a 4 star hotel, and while it was okay, I think they might have over-estimated the rating by a star or two. A room with two single beds was 370 RMB ($55), and a room with a King/Queen sized bed was 480 RMB ($70). We opted for the two single beds. The price also included a breakfast buffet. The rooms were clean, the AC was cold, the water pressure good, and there was internet access (but just barely¡­ with waits of up to 2 minutes or so for page loads!) My wife¡¯s biggest complaint was that she felt the service people and housekeepers were a little rude.

 

The ACS Experience

 

Prior to leaving the US, I had made a 2:00 appointment online with ACS to get my EOR letter notarized. On my way up to the 5th floor, I was told I could bypass the line spiraling around the 4th floor. I showed my passport, took the escalator to the 5th floor, passed through the metal detector and went directly to window #35 to check in. It was exactly 2:00, so the woman assisted me immediately. She was a very polite and pleasant Asian (American?) woman who spoke perfect English. I handed her my ACS appointment letter (printed out from the GUZ Consulate website).

 

¡°You¡¯re here for a notarization? Can I see your paperwork?¡± she said.

 

I handed her my six-page EOR letter. My EOR was an MS Word document in outline format with key dates listed and short paragraph following each date. I also included many small pictures with the corresponding dates and descriptions written below. She accepted my EOR with a somewhat quizzical look on her face.

 

¡°Did the VO request that you submit this document during your wife¡¯s interview?¡± she asked.

 

¡°No¡± I replied, ¡°She hasn¡¯t had her interview yet. It¡¯s on Wednesday.¡±

 

She fanned through the pages and said something to the effect of¡­ ¡°We don¡¯t typically notarize these types of documents¡­ we can, but we don¡¯t typically¡­ do you want me to add a cover page, since you didn¡¯t leave enough space on your front page¡­ you won¡¯t sign it in front of me¡­ um, please wait a moment.¡±

 

More than a little bit confused, she retreated back into the office with my paperwork. She returned a minute later and said, ¡°I¡¯ve just consulted with my colleagues and this type of document does not need to be notarized¡±.

 

¡°Are you sure?¡± I said.

 

¡°Yes, you can just sign it yourself and that will be fine.¡±

 

¡°Are you sure?¡± I repeated, with a strong emphasis on the word ¡°sure¡±.

 

¡°Yes.¡± She said, smiling reassuringly.

 

I thanked her and left, but I immediately regretted not insisting that she notarize my EOR. After all, the entire purpose of my visit to ACS was to make my presence at GUZ known and to get the EOR added to our case file. I worried that I had just made a costly error. In hindsight, perhaps merely making (and keeping) my appointment at ACS was enough to make my presence known. In fact, my wife said that the VO seemed to be aware that I was there even before handing over my passport. My wife thought that the VO could tell from the computer screen that I had been to GUZ, because very early in the interview process, she asked, ¡°Is your husband here waiting for you?¡± My wife eventually gave the VO my EOR, but she said that the VO didn¡¯t even look at it and ended up handing it back. I think our case was an exception, and I would still recommend getting it notarized and by no means would I go to the interview without an updated EOR.

 

Interview Day

 

My wife and I woke up early after a nearly sleepless night. After a breakfast of coffee and Red Bull, my wife was confident¡­ and wired! My wife was well prepared and to her credit, she was much more calm than I was. I was a nervous wreck. At one point, she basically told me to stop talking because I was stressing her out. I complied. We arrived at 7:15 and lined up outside the consulate. At 7:30, they began slowly letting people into the building, but only after checking passports and the interview appointment letter. I had previously imagined the doors to the consulate opening at 8:00 and the entire crowd of eager applicants rushing to the escalators in typical Chinese mob fashion. In fact, the process was very calm and orderly. At the door, they checked my wife¡¯s passport and invitation letter, and slipped a small card with a number on it into her passport. Neither one of us realized they had given us this card until a security guard pointed out that she had dropped it on her way in the door! This card was handed over to the security guard to gain access to the 5th floor. We arrived on the 4th floor at 8:00 and parted ways.

 

Incidentally, I had read that you weren¡¯t allowed to bring any electronics into the consulate building. While this is true regarding access to the 5th floor, I didn¡¯t see any restrictions and saw no metal detectors between the entrance and the 4th floor coffee shop. Had I known, my laptop or iPod would have greatly helped to pass the time. Fortunately, I ended up speaking with a very nice gentleman from Wisconsin who was there petitioning for his wife and step-daughter. We stood together outside the coffee shop talking together for about three and a half hours. Although a very kind, intelligent man, I sensed trouble for him when I learned that he wasn¡¯t even sure of his wife¡¯s visa classification or the correct name and pronunciation of her home province. He also spoke no Chinese and described his wife¡¯s English as ¡°not very good¡±. His wife and daughter came down before my wife at around 11:20. She only said to him, ¡°No good-ah¡±. Apparently they were blue-slipped with a request for proof of ¡°correspondence¡±. So again, as has been the trend lately, proof of communication and common language appears to be of utmost importance. Although I can¡¯t say for certain, the majority of people returning to the 4th floor had looks of anger or disappointment on their faces after their interviews. My wife¡¯s impression from watching at the windows was that pink slips were not easy to come by.

 

My wife came downstairs at about 11:30. The process took much longer than I had expected. I had read some speculation that GUZ handled the straightforward cases first, so when she hadn¡¯t returned by 10:00, my stomach was in knots. When she finally came around the corner, she wasn¡¯t readily waving a pink paper. But from her proud stance, and the eager look in her eyes as she scanned the coffee shop for me, I was confident that the news was good.

 

¡°So...?¡±

¡°We¡¯re pink.¡± She said calmly and matter-of-factly, as if it was never in doubt.

 

The Interview

 

My wife described the process in three phases separated by long periods of waiting. First, she was called (by name) to go to window #30 where the ¡°screener¡± asked (in Chinese) whether or not she could speak English. My wife humbly responded (in Chinese), that she could speak a little bit of English. In reality, her English is very good. It was my wife¡¯s impression that from this response, the screener determined which VO she would have. The screener also asked for her passport, my 2008 income tax return (filed jointly), and her medical papers, which she provided. She was given another number card and told to have a seat. For the second phase, she was called (by number) to go to window #18 where they scanned her fingerprints. Lastly, she was called to window #21, where she described the VO as a very beautiful young American woman (about 30 years old). She said the woman was very polite and friendly. My wife was relieved that the VO spoke very clearly and was easily understood. My wife conducted her interview entirely in English, and seemed amazed that the VO was able to understand her. The VO complimented her on English, greatly boosting her confidence.

 

¡°Laogong¡­ even another people can understand my pronounce-a-tion.¡±

¡°Yes, Laopo¡­ now do you believe me? You speak English very well.¡±

 

The Questions

 

In an effort to ease my wife¡¯s anticipation I told her to expect a very quick interview lasting perhaps 5 minutes and consisting of 4 or 5 easy questions. I truly believed this would be the case. I was very surprised to hear how many questions my wife was asked and the probing nature of some of them. The interview probably lasted closer to 15 minutes. Thankfully, my wife took her preparation seriously and had very diligently studied a list of about 75 potential questions that I had prepared for her. Many of the questions were anticipated and some were not¡­ and one completely unanticipated curveball that nearly threw her off balance!

 

Q: Who is your petitioner?

A: My Husband.

 

Q: Is he here waiting for you?

A: Yes, he is downstairs.

 

Q: When did you meet?

A: August 14, 2007.

 

Q: How did you meet?

A: A friend introduced us (gives friend¡¯s name).

 

Q: How do you know this person?

A: He is my best friend¡¯s husband¡­ oops, I mean he is my best friend¡¯s husband¡¯s friend. Sorry, I am very nervous. (VO responded, ¡°That¡¯s fine, don¡¯t be nervous¡±.)

 

Q: Where is your best friend from?

A: She is also from Hunan.

 

Q: She lives in Hunan now?

A: No, now she lives in Dongguan.

 

Q: What nationality is your friend¡¯s husband?

A: He is Taiwanese.

 

Q: How does your husband know him (the friend who introduced us)?

A: From work.

 

Q: They work together in China?

A: No, my husband works in America. His friend works in China for a different company. They do business together when he comes to China.

 

Q: So your husband comes to China frequently for work? How many times has your husband come to China?

A: He has been to China 12 times.

 

Q: What does your husband do for work?

A: (Gave my company name and occupation).

 

Q: (VO looking through my passport) Do you know where else your husband has traveled?

A: He has been to China before over ten years ago.

 

Q: Besides China, do you know which other countries he has been to?

A: No, I don¡¯t know.

 

Q: Why didn¡¯t your husband tell you he has been to these other places?

A: I don¡¯t know.

 

Note: This was a completely unexpected exchange. I expected my wife to hand over my passport and for the VO to hand it back immediately saying that she didn¡¯t need it. The last thing I expected was that the VO would actually look through my passport and mention two trips I took to Sweden and Chile about 4 years ago (long before I met my wife). So this goes to show that anything you submit (from your passport to your EOR) is fair game for questioning.

 

Q: Have you ever traveled outside of China?

A: Yes, I traveled with my sister to Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.

 

Q: What do you do for work?

A: I¡¯m not working now.

 

Q: But isn¡¯t that very boring?

A: No, I¡¯m not bored. I have been taking English classes. (Had receipts and school ID, but were not asked for).

 

Q: Is your husband supporting you? (Doesn¡¯t ask how much money I give her.)

A: Yes. (Wife doesn¡¯t offer how much money I give her.)

 

Q: Do you know that your husband was married before?

A: Yes. He was married before me one time.

 

Q: Does your husband have any children?

A: Yes, he has one daughter.

 

Q: How old is she?

A: Almost 17.

 

Q: Can I see your pictures?

A: (Hands VO about 150 pictures in sleeves, 6 pictures to a sleeve, no date stamp. VO very quickly looks though most of the pictures, up to the point where she sees my mother and daughter at our wedding banquet.)

 

Q: Is this his daughter? She¡¯s very pretty. (At this point, my wife noticed the VO¡¯s demeanor became even friendlier, and my wife knew that she had secured the ¡°pink¡±.)

A: Yes, that is his daughter. And that¡¯s my husband¡¯s mother (VO had not noticed my mother in the same picture).

 

Q: Oh, it looks like you had a very nice wedding.

A: Yes we did, thank you.

 

My wife, sensing things were drawing to a close, offered, ¡°Do you want to see our phone records?¡±

¡°I don¡¯t need to see them.¡± Replied the VO.

My wife notes however, that phone records and e-mails were requested of many other applicants.

 

Q: You said your husband is here waiting for you? ¡°Well, now you have some good news to tell him.¡± She said as she reached down to pull out the pink paper.

A: Oh, thank you very much.

 

Q: So, are you ready to go to America?

A: I am very nervous, but as long as I¡¯m together with my husband I¡¯ll be very happy.

 

Random Closing Thoughts

 

If I were to offer any advice, it would be to have your SO work on her English. Have her take classes, practice on the telephone, rehearse answers to interview questions¡­ whatever it takes. Even delaying submission of your petition until your SO has a attained a higher level of English proficiency could save time and heartbreak in the end. At the very least, have her start the interview in English as first impressions can go a long way.

 

I¡¯m convinced that my wife¡¯s ability to speak English well was one of the most important factors in our successful approval. But at the same time, I think (as does my wife), that her ability to speak English opened the door for the VO to ask many more, and possibly more difficult questions. To the VO¡¯s credit however, my wife felt very comfortable talking to her. She felt as though it was more of a ¡°conversation¡± than an ¡°interrogation¡±. At a certain point near the end of the interview, my wife felt that the VO was genuinely interested in her life. (I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her otherwise.) I could tell my wife was almost sad that the conversation ended.

 

Although we had a very complete ¡°kitchen sink¡±, photos were the only evidence that was requested. In particular, family photos together seemed to be the clincher.

 

Some have suggested that the outcome of the interview is pre-determined. While I agree that it can certainly be leaning heavily in one direction or another prior to the interview, I don¡¯t think it was a done deal. Given the amount of questions my wife was asked, there were plenty of opportunities for her to get tripped up.

 

Joy did an amazing job of remembering all the details of the interview.

I¡¯m one proud Laogong!

 

Best of luck to those who follow¡­ I hope some of this info helps.

Thanks for reading!

 

Dave and Joy

[jin01]

Congratulations!! And thanks for the detailed write-up!

[Batmaniac]

Love hearing about the pinks! Congrats!

 

And interesting about questioning your other trips.

[Yuanyang]

:cheering: :cheering:

Congratulations!!!

:cheering: :cheering:

 

and thanks for all of the details.

[Henry and Mei]

Dave,

 

Great write-up and congratulations........

 

You did make up for all your previous short posts

 

The young Asian woman that you first met at ACS sounds the same. She is a gatekeeper as you probably know and not a VO although trained. She knew about not having to notarize the new I-134 form, but had no problem moving our 2.5 page EOR to be notarized.

 

So she although not your laopo saved you $30 that is very Chinese

 

As they may now continue to address this as unnecessary -- notarized recent detailed EOR (like has been mentioned and you thought), it is simply good insurance that you were there and provided the document as authentic.

 

And they have looked at passport stamps in the past especially Russia. So good to keep her informed of your past travels...although not really an issue....

 

Was waiting to see your result.......again.......CONGRATULATIONS!!!

[NUWORLD]

First of all¡­ We¡¯re PINK!!!!!

 

Second of all, I want to thank everyone at CFL¡­ especially RogerinCA, who shepherded me away from another site and introduced me to CFL and who was a constant source of reassurance, valuable information, and trusted advice. And to all the other veterans and moderators, whether you responded to me directly or not, thank you for your invaluable contributions. Rest assured, I have probably read though every post at least once, but I have spent the majority of my time here lurking. You¡¯ll have to forgive the length of this post, but I haven¡¯t posted much in my time on this site, so consider this my ¡°paying it forward¡±.

 

Arrival in Guangzhou

 

My wife, Joy and I arrived in Guangzhou on Monday 8/24, two days prior to our 8/26 interview. She lives in Dongguan, so we had a very easy one and a half hour (48 RMB) bus ride to GZ. My wife called Mr.Yang to inquire about the availability of one of his rooms, but on such short notice, he had nothing available. He recommended a nearby hotel. We ended up staying at the ¡°Star Hotel¡± located directly across the park in front of GUZ. It is a 4 star hotel, and while it was okay, I think they might have over-estimated the rating by a star or two. A room with two single beds was 370 RMB ($55), and a room with a King/Queen sized bed was 480 RMB ($70). We opted for the two single beds. The price also included a breakfast buffet. The rooms were clean, the AC was cold, the water pressure good, and there was internet access (but just barely¡­ with waits of up to 2 minutes or so for page loads!) My wife¡¯s biggest complaint was that she felt the service people and housekeepers were a little rude.

 

The ACS Experience

 

Prior to leaving the US, I had made a 2:00 appointment online with ACS to get my EOR letter notarized. On my way up to the 5th floor, I was told I could bypass the line spiraling around the 4th floor. I showed my passport, took the escalator to the 5th floor, passed through the metal detector and went directly to window #35 to check in. It was exactly 2:00, so the woman assisted me immediately. She was a very polite and pleasant Asian (American?) woman who spoke perfect English. I handed her my ACS appointment letter (printed out from the GUZ Consulate website).

 

¡°You¡¯re here for a notarization? Can I see your paperwork?¡± she said.

 

I handed her my six-page EOR letter. My EOR was an MS Word document in outline format with key dates listed and short paragraph following each date. I also included many small pictures with the corresponding dates and descriptions written below. She accepted my EOR with a somewhat quizzical look on her face.

 

¡°Did the VO request that you submit this document during your wife¡¯s interview?¡± she asked.

 

¡°No¡± I replied, ¡°She hasn¡¯t had her interview yet. It¡¯s on Wednesday.¡±

 

She fanned through the pages and said something to the effect of¡­ ¡°We don¡¯t typically notarize these types of documents¡­ we can, but we don¡¯t typically¡­ do you want me to add a cover page, since you didn¡¯t leave enough space on your front page¡­ you won¡¯t sign it in front of me¡­ um, please wait a moment.¡±

 

More than a little bit confused, she retreated back into the office with my paperwork. She returned a minute later and said, ¡°I¡¯ve just consulted with my colleagues and this type of document does not need to be notarized¡±.

 

¡°Are you sure?¡± I said.

 

¡°Yes, you can just sign it yourself and that will be fine.¡±

 

¡°Are you sure?¡± I repeated, with a strong emphasis on the word ¡°sure¡±.

 

¡°Yes.¡± She said, smiling reassuringly.

 

I thanked her and left, but I immediately regretted not insisting that she notarize my EOR. After all, the entire purpose of my visit to ACS was to make my presence at GUZ known and to get the EOR added to our case file. I worried that I had just made a costly error. In hindsight, perhaps merely making (and keeping) my appointment at ACS was enough to make my presence known. In fact, my wife said that the VO seemed to be aware that I was there even before handing over my passport. My wife thought that the VO could tell from the computer screen that I had been to GUZ, because very early in the interview process, she asked, ¡°Is your husband here waiting for you?¡± My wife eventually gave the VO my EOR, but she said that the VO didn¡¯t even look at it and ended up handing it back. I think our case was an exception, and I would still recommend getting it notarized and by no means would I go to the interview without an updated EOR.

 

Interview Day

 

My wife and I woke up early after a nearly sleepless night. After a breakfast of coffee and Red Bull, my wife was confident¡­ and wired! My wife was well prepared and to her credit, she was much more calm than I was. I was a nervous wreck. At one point, she basically told me to stop talking because I was stressing her out. I complied. We arrived at 7:15 and lined up outside the consulate. At 7:30, they began slowly letting people into the building, but only after checking passports and the interview appointment letter. I had previously imagined the doors to the consulate opening at 8:00 and the entire crowd of eager applicants rushing to the escalators in typical Chinese mob fashion. In fact, the process was very calm and orderly. At the door, they checked my wife¡¯s passport and invitation letter, and slipped a small card with a number on it into her passport. Neither one of us realized they had given us this card until a security guard pointed out that she had dropped it on her way in the door! This card was handed over to the security guard to gain access to the 5th floor. We arrived on the 4th floor at 8:00 and parted ways.

 

Incidentally, I had read that you weren¡¯t allowed to bring any electronics into the consulate building. While this is true regarding access to the 5th floor, I didn¡¯t see any restrictions and saw no metal detectors between the entrance and the 4th floor coffee shop. Had I known, my laptop or iPod would have greatly helped to pass the time. Fortunately, I ended up speaking with a very nice gentleman from Wisconsin who was there petitioning for his wife and step-daughter. We stood together outside the coffee shop talking together for about three and a half hours. Although a very kind, intelligent man, I sensed trouble for him when I learned that he wasn¡¯t even sure of his wife¡¯s visa classification or the correct name and pronunciation of her home province. He also spoke no Chinese and described his wife¡¯s English as ¡°not very good¡±. His wife and daughter came down before my wife at around 11:20. She only said to him, ¡°No good-ah¡±. Apparently they were blue-slipped with a request for proof of ¡°correspondence¡±. So again, as has been the trend lately, proof of communication and common language appears to be of utmost importance. Although I can¡¯t say for certain, the majority of people returning to the 4th floor had looks of anger or disappointment on their faces after their interviews. My wife¡¯s impression from watching at the windows was that pink slips were not easy to come by.

 

My wife came downstairs at about 11:30. The process took much longer than I had expected. I had read some speculation that GUZ handled the straightforward cases first, so when she hadn¡¯t returned by 10:00, my stomach was in knots. When she finally came around the corner, she wasn¡¯t readily waving a pink paper. But from her proud stance, and the eager look in her eyes as she scanned the coffee shop for me, I was confident that the news was good.

 

¡°So...?¡±

¡°We¡¯re pink.¡± She said calmly and matter-of-factly, as if it was never in doubt.

 

The Interview

 

My wife described the process in three phases separated by long periods of waiting. First, she was called (by name) to go to window #30 where the ¡°screener¡± asked (in Chinese) whether or not she could speak English. My wife humbly responded (in Chinese), that she could speak a little bit of English. In reality, her English is very good. It was my wife¡¯s impression that from this response, the screener determined which VO she would have. The screener also asked for her passport, my 2008 income tax return (filed jointly), and her medical papers, which she provided. She was given another number card and told to have a seat. For the second phase, she was called (by number) to go to window #18 where they scanned her fingerprints. Lastly, she was called to window #21, where she described the VO as a very beautiful young American woman (about 30 years old). She said the woman was very polite and friendly. My wife was relieved that the VO spoke very clearly and was easily understood. My wife conducted her interview entirely in English, and seemed amazed that the VO was able to understand her. The VO complimented her on English, greatly boosting her confidence.

 

¡°Laogong¡­ even another people can understand my pronounce-a-tion.¡±

¡°Yes, Laopo¡­ now do you believe me? You speak English very well.¡±

 

The Questions

 

In an effort to ease my wife¡¯s anticipation I told her to expect a very quick interview lasting perhaps 5 minutes and consisting of 4 or 5 easy questions. I truly believed this would be the case. I was very surprised to hear how many questions my wife was asked and the probing nature of some of them. The interview probably lasted closer to 15 minutes. Thankfully, my wife took her preparation seriously and had very diligently studied a list of about 75 potential questions that I had prepared for her. Many of the questions were anticipated and some were not¡­ and one completely unanticipated curveball that nearly threw her off balance!

 

Q: Who is your petitioner?

A: My Husband.

 

Q: Is he here waiting for you?

A: Yes, he is downstairs.

 

Q: When did you meet?

A: August 14, 2007.

 

Q: How did you meet?

A: A friend introduced us (gives friend¡¯s name).

 

Q: How do you know this person?

A: He is my best friend¡¯s husband¡­ oops, I mean he is my best friend¡¯s husband¡¯s friend. Sorry, I am very nervous. (VO responded, ¡°That¡¯s fine, don¡¯t be nervous¡±.)

 

Q: Where is your best friend from?

A: She is also from Hunan.

 

Q: She lives in Hunan now?

A: No, now she lives in Dongguan.

 

Q: What nationality is your friend¡¯s husband?

A: He is Taiwanese.

 

Q: How does your husband know him (the friend who introduced us)?

A: From work.

 

Q: They work together in China?

A: No, my husband works in America. His friend works in China for a different company. They do business together when he comes to China.

 

Q: So your husband comes to China frequently for work? How many times has your husband come to China?

A: He has been to China 12 times.

 

Q: What does your husband do for work?

A: (Gave my company name and occupation).

 

Q: (VO looking through my passport) Do you know where else your husband has traveled?

A: He has been to China before over ten years ago.

 

Q: Besides China, do you know which other countries he has been to?

A: No, I don¡¯t know.

 

Q: Why didn¡¯t your husband tell you he has been to these other places?

A: I don¡¯t know.

 

Note: This was a completely unexpected exchange. I expected my wife to hand over my passport and for the VO to hand it back immediately saying that she didn¡¯t need it. The last thing I expected was that the VO would actually look through my passport and mention two trips I took to Sweden and Chile about 4 years ago (long before I met my wife). So this goes to show that anything you submit (from your passport to your EOR) is fair game for questioning.

 

Q: Have you ever traveled outside of China?

A: Yes, I traveled with my sister to Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.

 

Q: What do you do for work?

A: I¡¯m not working now.

 

Q: But isn¡¯t that very boring?

A: No, I¡¯m not bored. I have been taking English classes. (Had receipts and school ID, but were not asked for).

 

Q: Is your husband supporting you? (Doesn¡¯t ask how much money I give her.)

A: Yes. (Wife doesn¡¯t offer how much money I give her.)

 

Q: Do you know that your husband was married before?

A: Yes. He was married before me one time.

 

Q: Does your husband have any children?

A: Yes, he has one daughter.

 

Q: How old is she?

A: Almost 17.

 

Q: Can I see your pictures?

A: (Hands VO about 150 pictures in sleeves, 6 pictures to a sleeve, no date stamp. VO very quickly looks though most of the pictures, up to the point where she sees my mother and daughter at our wedding banquet.)

 

Q: Is this his daughter? She¡¯s very pretty. (At this point, my wife noticed the VO¡¯s demeanor became even friendlier, and my wife knew that she had secured the ¡°pink¡±.)

A: Yes, that is his daughter. And that¡¯s my husband¡¯s mother (VO had not noticed my mother in the same picture).

 

Q: Oh, it looks like you had a very nice wedding.

A: Yes we did, thank you.

 

My wife, sensing things were drawing to a close, offered, ¡°Do you want to see our phone records?¡±

¡°I don¡¯t need to see them.¡± Replied the VO.

My wife notes however, that phone records and e-mails were requested of many other applicants.

 

Q: You said your husband is here waiting for you? ¡°Well, now you have some good news to tell him.¡± She said as she reached down to pull out the pink paper.

A: Oh, thank you very much.

 

Q: So, are you ready to go to America?

A: I am very nervous, but as long as I¡¯m together with my husband I¡¯ll be very happy.

 

Random Closing Thoughts

 

If I were to offer any advice, it would be to have your SO work on her English. Have her take classes, practice on the telephone, rehearse answers to interview questions¡­ whatever it takes. Even delaying submission of your petition until your SO has a attained a higher level of English proficiency could save time and heartbreak in the end. At the very least, have her start the interview in English as first impressions can go a long way.

 

I¡¯m convinced that my wife¡¯s ability to speak English well was one of the most important factors in our successful approval. But at the same time, I think (as does my wife), that her ability to speak English opened the door for the VO to ask many more, and possibly more difficult questions. To the VO¡¯s credit however, my wife felt very comfortable talking to her. She felt as though it was more of a ¡°conversation¡± than an ¡°interrogation¡±. At a certain point near the end of the interview, my wife felt that the VO was genuinely interested in her life. (I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her otherwise.) I could tell my wife was almost sad that the conversation ended.

 

Although we had a very complete ¡°kitchen sink¡±, photos were the only evidence that was requested. In particular, family photos together seemed to be the clincher.

 

Some have suggested that the outcome of the interview is pre-determined. While I agree that it can certainly be leaning heavily in one direction or another prior to the interview, I don¡¯t think it was a done deal. Given the amount of questions my wife was asked, there were plenty of opportunities for her to get tripped up.

 

Joy did an amazing job of remembering all the details of the interview.

I¡¯m one proud Laogong!

 

Best of luck to those who follow¡­ I hope some of this info helps.

Thanks for reading!

 

Dave and Joy

 

Why to go!! Congrats!

[Mike and Yan]

excellent....excellent . . . . excellent!!!

 

two more to go and August is a clean sweep of PINK...

 

 

I never had any doubt you would bring it.

 

 

Mike

[Dave&Hong]

Congratulations!!

[heyjimi]

Congratulations !!!!!

[Dan-Juan]

WOW what a great report!

 

Congratulations !!! Your wife did superb!

[David and Qing]

Wonderful story!

 

Congrats. Wish the best.......

 

David and Qing

[Randy W]

First of all¡­ We¡¯re PINK!!!!!

 

 

Incidentally, I had read that you weren¡¯t allowed to bring any electronics into the consulate building. While this is true regarding access to the 5th floor, I didn¡¯t see any restrictions and saw no metal detectors between the entrance and the 4th floor coffee shop. Had I known, my laptop or iPod would have greatly helped to pass the time.

 

Electronics are allowed, as they are in any other building

 

The consulate is on the fifth floor only, with a small admissions area on the 4th. They have no control over the rest of the building - it is a public building with free access to all areas, although they do have guards to keep an eye on things.

 

I'm sure that's one of the reasons for the new complex they are breaking ground for.

 

Congratulations

Edited August 31, 2009 by Randy W (see edit history)

[hopelives]

Terrific news congratulations

 

 

First of all¡­ We¡¯re PINK!!!!!

 

 

Incidentally, I had read that you weren¡¯t allowed to bring any electronics into the consulate building. While this is true regarding access to the 5th floor, I didn¡¯t see any restrictions and saw no metal detectors between the entrance and the 4th floor coffee shop. Had I known, my laptop or iPod would have greatly helped to pass the time.

 

Electronics are allowed, as they are in any other building

 

The consulate is on the fifth floor only, with a small admissions area on the 4th. They have no control over the rest of the building - it is a public building with free access to all areas, although they do have guards to keep an eye on things.

 

I'm sure that's one of the reasons for the new complex they are breaking ground for.

 

Congratulations

[katnreno]

Major congrats guys, enjoy your new lives together uninterrupted.

 

[NYTIMES]

Great story, and congrats!!! It's been 2 years for us since we went through the process. And reading your story brings back a lot of memories. ....thanks

 

 

First of all¡­ We¡¯re PINK!!!!!

 

Second of all, I want to thank everyone at CFL¡­ especially RogerinCA, who shepherded me away from another site and introduced me to CFL and who was a constant source of reassurance, valuable information, and trusted advice. And to all the other veterans and moderators, whether you responded to me directly or not, thank you for your invaluable contributions. Rest assured, I have probably read though every post at least once, but I have spent the majority of my time here lurking. You¡¯ll have to forgive the length of this post, but I haven¡¯t posted much in my time on this site, so consider this my ¡°paying it forward¡±.

 

Arrival in Guangzhou

 

My wife, Joy and I arrived in Guangzhou on Monday 8/24, two days prior to our 8/26 interview. She lives in Dongguan, so we had a very easy one and a half hour (48 RMB) bus ride to GZ. My wife called Mr.Yang to inquire about the availability of one of his rooms, but on such short notice, he had nothing available. He recommended a nearby hotel. We ended up staying at the ¡°Star Hotel¡± located directly across the park in front of GUZ. It is a 4 star hotel, and while it was okay, I think they might have over-estimated the rating by a star or two. A room with two single beds was 370 RMB ($55), and a room with a King/Queen sized bed was 480 RMB ($70). We opted for the two single beds. The price also included a breakfast buffet. The rooms were clean, the AC was cold, the water pressure good, and there was internet access (but just barely¡­ with waits of up to 2 minutes or so for page loads!) My wife¡¯s biggest complaint was that she felt the service people and housekeepers were a little rude.

 

The ACS Experience

 

Prior to leaving the US, I had made a 2:00 appointment online with ACS to get my EOR letter notarized. On my way up to the 5th floor, I was told I could bypass the line spiraling around the 4th floor. I showed my passport, took the escalator to the 5th floor, passed through the metal detector and went directly to window #35 to check in. It was exactly 2:00, so the woman assisted me immediately. She was a very polite and pleasant Asian (American?) woman who spoke perfect English. I handed her my ACS appointment letter (printed out from the GUZ Consulate website).

 

¡°You¡¯re here for a notarization? Can I see your paperwork?¡± she said.

 

I handed her my six-page EOR letter. My EOR was an MS Word document in outline format with key dates listed and short paragraph following each date. I also included many small pictures with the corresponding dates and descriptions written below. She accepted my EOR with a somewhat quizzical look on her face.

 

¡°Did the VO request that you submit this document during your wife¡¯s interview?¡± she asked.

 

¡°No¡± I replied, ¡°She hasn¡¯t had her interview yet. It¡¯s on Wednesday.¡±

 

She fanned through the pages and said something to the effect of¡­ ¡°We don¡¯t typically notarize these types of documents¡­ we can, but we don¡¯t typically¡­ do you want me to add a cover page, since you didn¡¯t leave enough space on your front page¡­ you won¡¯t sign it in front of me¡­ um, please wait a moment.¡±

 

More than a little bit confused, she retreated back into the office with my paperwork. She returned a minute later and said, ¡°I¡¯ve just consulted with my colleagues and this type of document does not need to be notarized¡±.

 

¡°Are you sure?¡± I said.

 

¡°Yes, you can just sign it yourself and that will be fine.¡±

 

¡°Are you sure?¡± I repeated, with a strong emphasis on the word ¡°sure¡±.

 

¡°Yes.¡± She said, smiling reassuringly.

 

I thanked her and left, but I immediately regretted not insisting that she notarize my EOR. After all, the entire purpose of my visit to ACS was to make my presence at GUZ known and to get the EOR added to our case file. I worried that I had just made a costly error. In hindsight, perhaps merely making (and keeping) my appointment at ACS was enough to make my presence known. In fact, my wife said that the VO seemed to be aware that I was there even before handing over my passport. My wife thought that the VO could tell from the computer screen that I had been to GUZ, because very early in the interview process, she asked, ¡°Is your husband here waiting for you?¡± My wife eventually gave the VO my EOR, but she said that the VO didn¡¯t even look at it and ended up handing it back. I think our case was an exception, and I would still recommend getting it notarized and by no means would I go to the interview without an updated EOR.

 

Interview Day

 

My wife and I woke up early after a nearly sleepless night. After a breakfast of coffee and Red Bull, my wife was confident¡­ and wired! My wife was well prepared and to her credit, she was much more calm than I was. I was a nervous wreck. At one point, she basically told me to stop talking because I was stressing her out. I complied. We arrived at 7:15 and lined up outside the consulate. At 7:30, they began slowly letting people into the building, but only after checking passports and the interview appointment letter. I had previously imagined the doors to the consulate opening at 8:00 and the entire crowd of eager applicants rushing to the escalators in typical Chinese mob fashion. In fact, the process was very calm and orderly. At the door, they checked my wife¡¯s passport and invitation letter, and slipped a small card with a number on it into her passport. Neither one of us realized they had given us this card until a security guard pointed out that she had dropped it on her way in the door! This card was handed over to the security guard to gain access to the 5th floor. We arrived on the 4th floor at 8:00 and parted ways.

 

Incidentally, I had read that you weren¡¯t allowed to bring any electronics into the consulate building. While this is true regarding access to the 5th floor, I didn¡¯t see any restrictions and saw no metal detectors between the entrance and the 4th floor coffee shop. Had I known, my laptop or iPod would have greatly helped to pass the time. Fortunately, I ended up speaking with a very nice gentleman from Wisconsin who was there petitioning for his wife and step-daughter. We stood together outside the coffee shop talking together for about three and a half hours. Although a very kind, intelligent man, I sensed trouble for him when I learned that he wasn¡¯t even sure of his wife¡¯s visa classification or the correct name and pronunciation of her home province. He also spoke no Chinese and described his wife¡¯s English as ¡°not very good¡±. His wife and daughter came down before my wife at around 11:20. She only said to him, ¡°No good-ah¡±. Apparently they were blue-slipped with a request for proof of ¡°correspondence¡±. So again, as has been the trend lately, proof of communication and common language appears to be of utmost importance. Although I can¡¯t say for certain, the majority of people returning to the 4th floor had looks of anger or disappointment on their faces after their interviews. My wife¡¯s impression from watching at the windows was that pink slips were not easy to come by.

 

My wife came downstairs at about 11:30. The process took much longer than I had expected. I had read some speculation that GUZ handled the straightforward cases first, so when she hadn¡¯t returned by 10:00, my stomach was in knots. When she finally came around the corner, she wasn¡¯t readily waving a pink paper. But from her proud stance, and the eager look in her eyes as she scanned the coffee shop for me, I was confident that the news was good.

 

¡°So...?¡±

¡°We¡¯re pink.¡± She said calmly and matter-of-factly, as if it was never in doubt.

 

The Interview

 

My wife described the process in three phases separated by long periods of waiting. First, she was called (by name) to go to window #30 where the ¡°screener¡± asked (in Chinese) whether or not she could speak English. My wife humbly responded (in Chinese), that she could speak a little bit of English. In reality, her English is very good. It was my wife¡¯s impression that from this response, the screener determined which VO she would have. The screener also asked for her passport, my 2008 income tax return (filed jointly), and her medical papers, which she provided. She was given another number card and told to have a seat. For the second phase, she was called (by number) to go to window #18 where they scanned her fingerprints. Lastly, she was called to window #21, where she described the VO as a very beautiful young American woman (about 30 years old). She said the woman was very polite and friendly. My wife was relieved that the VO spoke very clearly and was easily understood. My wife conducted her interview entirely in English, and seemed amazed that the VO was able to understand her. The VO complimented her on English, greatly boosting her confidence.

 

¡°Laogong¡­ even another people can understand my pronounce-a-tion.¡±

¡°Yes, Laopo¡­ now do you believe me? You speak English very well.¡±

 

The Questions

 

In an effort to ease my wife¡¯s anticipation I told her to expect a very quick interview lasting perhaps 5 minutes and consisting of 4 or 5 easy questions. I truly believed this would be the case. I was very surprised to hear how many questions my wife was asked and the probing nature of some of them. The interview probably lasted closer to 15 minutes. Thankfully, my wife took her preparation seriously and had very diligently studied a list of about 75 potential questions that I had prepared for her. Many of the questions were anticipated and some were not¡­ and one completely unanticipated curveball that nearly threw her off balance!

 

Q: Who is your petitioner?

A: My Husband.

 

Q: Is he here waiting for you?

A: Yes, he is downstairs.

 

Q: When did you meet?

A: August 14, 2007.

 

Q: How did you meet?

A: A friend introduced us (gives friend¡¯s name).

 

Q: How do you know this person?

A: He is my best friend¡¯s husband¡­ oops, I mean he is my best friend¡¯s husband¡¯s friend. Sorry, I am very nervous. (VO responded, ¡°That¡¯s fine, don¡¯t be nervous¡±.)

 

Q: Where is your best friend from?

A: She is also from Hunan.

 

Q: She lives in Hunan now?

A: No, now she lives in Dongguan.

 

Q: What nationality is your friend¡¯s husband?

A: He is Taiwanese.

 

Q: How does your husband know him (the friend who introduced us)?

A: From work.

 

Q: They work together in China?

A: No, my husband works in America. His friend works in China for a different company. They do business together when he comes to China.

 

Q: So your husband comes to China frequently for work? How many times has your husband come to China?

A: He has been to China 12 times.

 

Q: What does your husband do for work?

A: (Gave my company name and occupation).

 

Q: (VO looking through my passport) Do you know where else your husband has traveled?

A: He has been to China before over ten years ago.

 

Q: Besides China, do you know which other countries he has been to?

A: No, I don¡¯t know.

 

Q: Why didn¡¯t your husband tell you he has been to these other places?

A: I don¡¯t know.

 

Note: This was a completely unexpected exchange. I expected my wife to hand over my passport and for the VO to hand it back immediately saying that she didn¡¯t need it. The last thing I expected was that the VO would actually look through my passport and mention two trips I took to Sweden and Chile about 4 years ago (long before I met my wife). So this goes to show that anything you submit (from your passport to your EOR) is fair game for questioning.

 

Q: Have you ever traveled outside of China?

A: Yes, I traveled with my sister to Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.

 

Q: What do you do for work?

A: I¡¯m not working now.

 

Q: But isn¡¯t that very boring?

A: No, I¡¯m not bored. I have been taking English classes. (Had receipts and school ID, but were not asked for).

 

Q: Is your husband supporting you? (Doesn¡¯t ask how much money I give her.)

A: Yes. (Wife doesn¡¯t offer how much money I give her.)

 

Q: Do you know that your husband was married before?

A: Yes. He was married before me one time.

 

Q: Does your husband have any children?

A: Yes, he has one daughter.

 

Q: How old is she?

A: Almost 17.

 

Q: Can I see your pictures?

A: (Hands VO about 150 pictures in sleeves, 6 pictures to a sleeve, no date stamp. VO very quickly looks though most of the pictures, up to the point where she sees my mother and daughter at our wedding banquet.)

 

Q: Is this his daughter? She¡¯s very pretty. (At this point, my wife noticed the VO¡¯s demeanor became even friendlier, and my wife knew that she had secured the ¡°pink¡±.)

A: Yes, that is his daughter. And that¡¯s my husband¡¯s mother (VO had not noticed my mother in the same picture).

 

Q: Oh, it looks like you had a very nice wedding.

A: Yes we did, thank you.

 

My wife, sensing things were drawing to a close, offered, ¡°Do you want to see our phone records?¡±

¡°I don¡¯t need to see them.¡± Replied the VO.

My wife notes however, that phone records and e-mails were requested of many other applicants.

 

Q: You said your husband is here waiting for you? ¡°Well, now you have some good news to tell him.¡± She said as she reached down to pull out the pink paper.

A: Oh, thank you very much.

 

Q: So, are you ready to go to America?

A: I am very nervous, but as long as I¡¯m together with my husband I¡¯ll be very happy.

 

Random Closing Thoughts

 

If I were to offer any advice, it would be to have your SO work on her English. Have her take classes, practice on the telephone, rehearse answers to interview questions¡­ whatever it takes. Even delaying submission of your petition until your SO has a attained a higher level of English proficiency could save time and heartbreak in the end. At the very least, have her start the interview in English as first impressions can go a long way.

 

I¡¯m convinced that my wife¡¯s ability to speak English well was one of the most important factors in our successful approval. But at the same time, I think (as does my wife), that her ability to speak English opened the door for the VO to ask many more, and possibly more difficult questions. To the VO¡¯s credit however, my wife felt very comfortable talking to her. She felt as though it was more of a ¡°conversation¡± than an ¡°interrogation¡±. At a certain point near the end of the interview, my wife felt that the VO was genuinely interested in her life. (I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her otherwise.) I could tell my wife was almost sad that the conversation ended.

 

Although we had a very complete ¡°kitchen sink¡±, photos were the only evidence that was requested. In particular, family photos together seemed to be the clincher.

 

Some have suggested that the outcome of the interview is pre-determined. While I agree that it can certainly be leaning heavily in one direction or another prior to the interview, I don¡¯t think it was a done deal. Given the amount of questions my wife was asked, there were plenty of opportunities for her to get tripped up.

 

Joy did an amazing job of remembering all the details of the interview.

I¡¯m one proud Laogong!

 

Best of luck to those who follow¡­ I hope some of this info helps.

Thanks for reading!

 

Dave and Joy