John & Hai Yan

Mari, We recently went into a Social Security office on a Monday to apply for a Social security number for my wife. We were in and out of the office in about a half hour. We showed them my wife's passport and I-94 form. We told them we were married. They filled out the appropriate forms on their computer and then told us we would receive the SSN in a week to ten days. It arrived on Friday four days after we applied.

Ken, I am somewhat in the same situation. My wife's son remained in China to finish out the school year. Our intention is to bring him to the states in time to start school in September. When we went through the K1 process we included him on all the forms. We also included a seperate G325A biographic form. As a result he received his own visa. He also has his own passport. He is 9 years old. He attended the interview at Ghongzhou, but was not asked any questions. If you did the same thing, the children's visas may only be good for six months from the date of issue. If the children do not have seperate visas, and are only included on your wife's visa, then I believe she must travel with them. In order to travel back to China, she must have completed the AOS process or have (AP) advance parole. This is all speculation on my part, so hopefully someone else will chime in here.

Thanks Don & Frank for your responses, I sent the AOS packet today via Fed Ex. I only filed for my wife since her son has not yet arrived. After he arrives we will file the forms for his AOS. Also, we requested an expedited (AP) Advance Parole, so that she can travel to China and then bring him to the U.S. If she doesn't get AP, then I will have to get him myself. It seems that no one has had this particular problem. At least no one responded to my post, if they did have this problem. After we go through the process of filing for AOS seperately for mother and son, I'll post the information so that others can benefit. I just hope it is a straightforward process without any obstacles.

Thanks for the replies so far. What is the time limit for filing AOS? I always thought it was 90 days. I should mention that the other reason we are filing AOS now is because we are also filing for (AP) Advance Parole so that she can go back to China to get her son. Her son is nine years old and we don't want him to make the trip alone. Plan "B'" is for me to go back to get him, but he doesn't speak any English, and I don't speak Chinese. We prefer she make the trip so she can also visit with her family. I'm hoping to here from others on this challenge we have. Thanks!

Has anyone had experience with filing AOS when the minor child has not yet arrived? My SO arrived in the USA on April 16, 2005. We decided to let her son, who is 9 years old, finish out the school year in China. He will arrive in the USA in the beginning of August 2005. We must file for AOS by July 16, 2005. We are trying to send in all the AOS forms tomorrow, but we are unable to figure out how to deal with the son. 1) It appears I need to include him on the I-864 form as part of my household. If I include him in part 3 of the form, I must file a seperate Affidavit of support for him. Do I send his Affidavit of support now? 2) Do I file a G-325A form for him also? But this needs to be signed by him, which of course he cannot do. Also it requires pictures which we cannot take. 3) Can I file for adjustment of status for someone who has not yet entered the states? 4) I cannot submit a copy of his I-94 because he hasn't entered the USA yet. Also there is no "A" number/alien registration number yet. I would appreciate any guidance from someone who has been in a similar situation of having the minor child follow after the parent has arrived in the USA. Or from anyone who knows how to handle this situation.

Good Luck nooneufo. You've been doing a real good job for everyone. A white slip will have been well earned! B)

Great news for the whole family. Sounds like Nicola will really be thrilled when they arrive.

Three forms need to be sent: OF-169, DS-230 and the P3 Supplemental information sheet. Hurry, send them back quickly.

CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF YOU! One more successful conclusion!

Maybe she is a little too busy today talking to the press. I heard her on National Public Radio about an hour ago. She was being interviewed about the upcoming changes in travel between the US and Canada and the US and Mexico. US citizens traveling to these countries will need a passport when they reenter the US. Also citizens from these countries will need passports when traveling to the US. The changes will be phased in over several years.

CONGRATULATIONS YVONNE & STAN! Best wishes for happiness together!

Marty, You are a life saver! That's the wonderful thing about CFL. Almost anything you ask, someone else has already had the experience, and they can give you an answer. I 'll still send an email to GZ to see how we can get Hai Yan into the Consulate. But now I know what we have to do. Thanks, for your help Marty!

Nooneufo, Maui & China are still waiting for P4! I've heard from him recently.

Thanks Gene. I already told Hai Yan she might have to do this. I hope whoever had that experience will chime in here to tell me what they did. I would like to know, who we should take the envelope to? How can she get into the Consulate? Will they let her get into the consulate? Does she have to schedule an appointment? How long will it take them to change one envelope into two envelopes? Will she have to come back the next day?

Nooneufo, Speaking about people at the top of the list, I am not sure jpg936 should still be there. Unless you have heard from him, I think they may have received their Visa and moved on. He has a total of five posts and hasn't posted for about five months. Just thought I would bring this to your attention.

My fiancee Hai Yan and her son both received visas in their passports the day after the interview. They received one brown envelope to take with them to the POE. The envelope is marked K1 & K2. My concern is that her son is not travelling with his mother to the U.S. He will come to the U.S. sometime during the summer after he finishes up his school year in China. We made this clear at every step of the way. Everytime it was asked on a form, we stated that her son would be traveling to the U.S. seperately several months after his mother. He is 10 years old? Should he have a seperate envelope? Will he need this when he comes to the U.S. If so what is the solution. My fiancee will be leaving for the U.S. in less than two weeks. By the way, what exactly is in the envelope? She also has a seperate envelope that holds her xray. Has anyone had a K2 follow at a later date? If so did they have a seperate envelope? I would love to know if anyone has had this experience?

Apparently GZ isn't the only place offering Blue Slips! Mark Thatcher Says He Was Denied U.S. Visa Sun Apr 3, 9:41 AM ET World - Reuters LONDON (Reuters) - Mark Thatcher said Sunday he was refused a visa to enter the United States because of his conviction in South Africa related to a failed coup plot. AFP/File Photo The son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher pleaded guilty in January in a court in Cape Town to a role in a mercenary plot to overthrow the government of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. He was given a four-year suspended sentence and a $500,000 fine in a plea bargain. The 51-year-old had been hoping to join his American-born wife Diane, and his two children, who have been living in the United States. He said in a statement to the BBC: "It is quite true that my visa application has been rejected. It was always a calculated risk when I plea-bargained in South Africa. "As a result of this decision, I shall make the family home in Europe, not the UK, and my family will be joining me as soon as arrangements are made. "But the children will continue to be educated in America." Thatcher, who lived in South Africa for eight years, appeared in court in October last year charged with breaking South Africa's anti-mercenary laws by agreeing to charter a helicopter for the coup, for which he paid $275,000. Equatorial Guinea later sentenced 11 foreigners to between 14 and 34 years in jail, and two of its own citizens to 16 months, for their roles in the plot to topple President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. The trial was denounced as "grossly unfair" by UK-based human rights group Amnesty International. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ain_thatcher_dc

CONGRATS!

Congratulations jgrier5. Summer fun is just around the corner!

Glad you enjoyed it Trigg. But don't go over the top. I hope you don't start wearing little elephants thingies in your lapels.

Have a good trip!

It means a beaureaucrat moved your paperwork from a big pile on one desk to a big pile on another desk!

Yup, and I'm trying to quit it. Many would say i'm having great success in that endevour! Trigg-This one's for you Subject: Thinkers anonomous It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and then -- just to loosen up. Inevitably, though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone -- "to relax," I told myself -- but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally, I was thinking all the time. That was when things began to sour at home. One evening I turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent the night at her mother's. I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?" One day the boss called me in. He said, "Listen, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another job." This gave me a lot to think about. I came home early after my conversation with the boss. "Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking . . . ." "I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!" "But, Honey, surely it's not that serious." "It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think as much as a college professor, and college professors don't make any money. So if you keep on thinking, we won't have any money!" "That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently. She exploded in tears of rage and frustration, but I was in no mood to deal with the emotional drama. "I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into the parking lot with NPR on the radio and ran up to the big glass doors. They didn't open. The library was closed. To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night. Leaning on the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. "Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's." Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting. I still have my job and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed . . . easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking. I think the road to recovery is nearly complete for me. Today I registered to vote as a Republican . .

Congrats! Maybe it won't be as long as you project. Get those 3 forms back to GZ ASAP. You can collect all the documents later. Good Luck!

Chinese yearn to marry foreigners: survey Thu Mar 31,10:57 AM ET BEIJING (AFP) - Nearly 63 percent of Chinese citizens would like to marry a foreigner, according to a survey of contemporary Chinese attitudes towards international marriage. AFP/File Photo The survey by Chinese web portal sina.com showed 62.7 percent of the 10,381 people questioned favoured marrying someone other than a fellow citizen. It did not set out the reasons why, although 12.78 percent of respondants said they felt Chinese "worshipped" foreigners and their lifestyle. About 75 percent said that cultural differences would be their biggest concern when considering such a marriage. "Every international marriage is challenged by cultural and language differences," Chen Guangyao, an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was cited as saying by the Beijing Morning Post. "Whether it succeeds or not depends to what extent the bride and groom are ready to handle these differences." International marriages in China have experienced two distinct periods. In the 1980s and 1990s some Chinese people married primarily for convenience, either to get visas for overseas studies or to be able to move to a foreign country. But since the turn of the century, such marriages were more likely to be based on love, said Chen. Marrying a foreigner is no guarantee of long-lasting happiness, said the paper, citing a separate survey showing that international marriages tend to have high divorce rates. The survey by the Shanghai municipal government showed 60 percent of marriages between Chinese and Canadians failed. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ly_050331155729