maxsalvo

Amen to that! I seldom post here but felt compelled to do so after reading this. Good ole Bob needs some help. The difficulty one has when bringing a Chinese woman to this country needs to be dealt with using a clean, sober mind. It has yet to be seen whether Bob can straighten out his act but please don't place an unsuspecting person into the life of a person who is a habitual offender of the law. I'm not judging Bob but from my experience, people with 3 or 4 DUI's typically suffer from alcoholism and possibly other addictions along with having addictive personalities. The life for a person living with an alcoholic is not a pretty one. I think tsap seui has given excellent advice and those words speak with much wisdom. I sure hope they are considered and not pushed aside. Best of luck to all involved. .

Hello Everyone, I wasnt sure where to put this so I hope I have it in the right place. After a long journey - I just wanted to let everyone know that my wife just got her ten year green card a week ago. We are finally done dealing with the bureaucracy of the American government and immigration, at least for the time being. We want to give a huge thanks to the people who run this site and to those who share their experiences with the rest of us in order to jump through all the hoops. Each and every time I needed help or advice, someone here was always there with answers and suggestions. I did not post as often as some but I read, read, read....... Without this site and your help I would have gotten through it by myself but it would have taken much more time and energy. Thanks again, Troy (max salvo) PS - to those of you still in the process - there is one thing my wife (then fiance) and I would always tell each other. The one thing that helped both of us. Where there is a Will, there is a Way! Good Luck to all of you. God Bless.

Hi Everyone, Well its been almost 2 years now since my wife has been here. Everything is going well and now its time to start thinking about the I-751. I think I have found most everything I need by reading posts here. I do have one question though. I think I know the answer but I thought it would be a good idea to run it by the experts here. Dilemma - According to what I have read, we should be able to file the I-751 between July 24nd and the expiration date on her green card which is October 22nd. Typically we would get this done immediately or as soon as possible since I am not a procrastinator. The problem lye's with the biometrics and a trip to China we have planned for around Oct 1st. I am afraid that if we send in the I-751 at the end of this month, the biometrics appointment will be scheduled while we are out of the country. From timelines and reading various posts it appears these are usually scheduled at around 6 weeks from the date of receiving the I-751 packet. Question - Does anyone see any harm in sending the I-751 towards the end of the 90 days rather then the beginning? What happens if they schedule the biometrics during the time we are not available due to being out of the country? Thanks for any replies that I may get.

Just make sure that she understands that in America, the one biggest difference - The rules need to be followed.

I have used PayPal for years and never had a single problem. In fact, they have come to my aid after I used them and the item I bought was not the same thing as advertised. I got back every single penny with less work then dealing with a credit card company. Of course this was not for international dealings either. One other downfall is if you are on the receiving end of a payment you must pay several percent as a user fee.

You can catch a shuttle right at the airport and go straight to the train station. You can google this and find a ton of information. You can also ask at the airport where to catch the shuttle or just look for the signs. Here are a few links that might be helpful. One area that could pose a potential for trouble is the arrival time of your flight vs. departure time of the train. Also the other way around. The worse that could happen if you dont plan for it is that you may have to sit for a number of hours waiting. http://www.vectormap.com/airport/e-trans2.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_Express_%28MTR%29 http://www.veloasia.com/resources/hong_kong.html

Hi Robert, Sounds like you are enjoying yourself. I think its great that her and her family are enjoying the inexpensive gifts you brought for them. I wanted to tell you something I learned about candy. My co-workers really loved the sweet, hard candy I brought back for them. I bought about 5 pounds of the assorted variety. I placed it in a rubbermaid container and located it near the water cooler. I noticed people who didnt even work in my area were coming to get the candy. The most popular flavor was "fresh milk" flavored hard candy and suckers(ya-I know -it sounds terrible but it isnt). My boss, an overweight man, loved the candy and was more enthusiastic about me returning to China multiple times because he knew I would bring him more of the freshmilk flavored candy. Have fun and keep us updated. Max bang bang tan http://oldpyro.com/cfv/sucker.jpg

If it were me - I would go from LAX to Hong Kong. From Hong Kong I would probably take the train to Guangzhou but the Turbo Jet would be another possibility. The TurboJet is about 40 bucks and they will transport you to the marine terminal via bus. A plane ticket from LAX to HK is usually priced very competitively. Not knowing where your girl is located it would be hard to guess a ticket price. Many Chinese are not against taking a train to GUZ and I wouldnt rule this out if you are on a tight budget. My girl and I took a night train from Changsha to GUZ. It was an 8 hour ride but we were in a sleeping car so it seemed very quick. I wouldn't hesitate to do that again. Another thing to keep in mind is that plane tickets in China fluctuate during holidays. If the interview is near any major holidays the price of tickets are rarely discounted. Book the inner China flights through someone in China who is familiar with the system to obtain the best prices. While staying in GUZ you can do it fairly inexpensively by doing searches on this site. We stayed at the Grand Palace Hotel. It was about $50 a night and about a 3 minute walk to the embassy and less then 10 minutes to the train station. I would recommend this hotel. Rough estimate LAX to HK $800 (2)train or turbojet to GUZ $80 5 nights hotel $250 Girl to GUZ and home $150-500 Taxis, food etc... $50-200 I think $1500 would be a fair amount to figure on but $2000 would probably be a much safer figure. I'm sure it could be done for less if you were willing to really pinch your pennies. In my opinion, the transportation is usually where many travelers make the mistake of spending too much. Don't just buy the first ticket you see. Start looking months ahead and track the patterns. LAX to HK has quite a few flights and very good prices can be found. If you insist on flying into GUZ I think you will find the ticket prices will take a huge jump. The most important thing is that you will be with your fiance during this important time. I can only speak for myself but I think it was very beneficial for me to be there during the interview. Good Luck

You will not be able to check bags to your final destination with the situation you describe. I used China Southern in July and it was one checked bag per ticket, not to exceed 20KG. Each of the 3 of us had 2 checked bags each and we had to pay the extra fee. I have on occasion had a heavier bag and was not charged. What I try to do is use a large backpack ( ]Oakley Kitchen Sink ) along with a carry on and avoid checking any bags. Once while in Macau, my luggage was left in America and could not be located before I left for Hunan. That left me in mainland China with only 2 sets of clothes. Trying to find clothes to fit an American while shopping in China was very difficult. Deodorant was nearly impossible to find where I was at. Good Luck on your trip. PS a note about the backpack listed above: It is awesome for traveling overseas. You can get the best price on Ebay or by searching other online stores. Should be able to get it for less then $150. It also holds a full size 17" laptop with easy, separate access without having to remove anything else.

I guess my relationship must be the exception to the rule. Good luck to anyone who is expected to fork over their cash to their wife/girlfriends family. I married a girl from Hunan. I was never once asked, nor was it suggested I give cash to anyone. I did buy a few gifts for her parents but they were very simple and were really no more then what they gave to me and sent for my family in the states. I would also like to add that my wife NEVER asks me for money and I have a hard time getting her to accept any. I think the old phrase "Buyer Beware" is appropriate in the situation described in the original post. Too bad there is no warranty or guarantee that comes along with the purchase, it would probably be needed.

The best advise yet.

Cheap and reliable

I just got an email stating that USCIS ordered the production of my wife's employment authorization (I-765). The notice said it could take up to 30 days to receive the document. Is the 30 days accurate or do people usually receive it in less time? If so, what might we expect or what is typical (if there is such a thing)? Has anyone recently experienced this? Thanks in advance

Dont rent. Just buy one or take an unlocked phone that uses a sim card. You can get almost any phone unlocked by going to Ebay and entering your phone model number along with the word "unlock". FYI - some services only work in a certain cities or provinces where the service is purchased. For a little more you can buy service that will work throughout China if that is what you need. International calls are an additional fee or you can buy scratch off phone cards on the street or in cell phone shops. Whatever you decide to do you need to be very specific to where you want to call when purchasing the new sim card (service). In my opinion - there is nothing better to have in your pocket then a cell phone while traveling China.

She is flirting with death. Not only death but one that can be very miserable.