splinterman

Thanks for the info Kyle. It was interesting. At best, it looks like hit-or-miss. I better plan on a trip to the SS office...

Does anyone happen to know for a CR-1, how long does it take for the SSA to send out the SS card? I had checked the 'yes' block on the form that asked "Do you want the SSA to automatically send your wife a SS card?" or the words to that effect...

I think Na said it best......"God was smiling at us today" Na is a wise woman...!

You speak Chinese? I can say hello and I love yo in chinese Rookies! Tell your SO a Chinese girl said this to you: Ni neng Shang Lian He Wo Yi Qi Chi Wan Fan Ma? Ask her how you should respond. I would love to know what that means Ask Na she will TRANSLATE it for yiou How much trouble are yo trying to get me into here Not that I think he is trying to pull the wool over your eyes, but you are a BRAVE MAN to say something to Na that you don't know what it is, LOLOL! Remember...bob and weave! It's harder for Na to hit a moving target!!

I was separated from my now ex-wife for almost a year and a half before I met Lijuan. My divorce was finalized in Oct/2007 and we filed for the K-1 in December/2007. In hindsight, nowhere in the K-1 petition did I explain this little fact and of course as most on CFL know, we were whited. Having never to this day received the NOIR/NOID letter from the VSC for the denied K-1 I STILL don't know with any certainty what the reason(s) were for our denial, but I have a hunch that without that explanation in the K-1 petition it appeared that I was still married and possibly living with my now ex when I met Lijuan and then traveled to China to see her, with the divorce coming 2 months before the petition was filed. I don't think this was our only problem but the lack of an explanation DID allow the VO on his own to try and decipher the bonafides of our relationship. So Robert, if you haven't already explained in your K-1 petition your old relationship and how it figured into your present one, I would tell you to try and think of a way to lay this out for the VO who interviews your fiancee-maybe a notarized statement or just include it in an updated EOR letter. Best of Luck!!

Congrats on the PINKs thus far and good luck to those yet to have their turn. My fiancee and I have prepared about as much as we can, we're ready. I was pretty sick last week with a bad cold or something, but finally feeling well enough and ready to make the trip to be there in GZ. I'll report the verdict as soon I can! Good luck and please bring home Pink Good Luck GIS! Don't forget to rub that lucky rabbit's foot!! WHAT? You don't have one? No problem-you can use ours!!! It's PINK on the inside!!!!

Good of you to keep the tally running, Scott! And Robert, I was wondering the same thing myself-if we've ever had a perfect month for visas? Does anyone know?

Oh Man, this is GREAT NEWS! Congratulations to you guys, Gary!!!! This Pinktrain keeps on rollin'!!!!!! They grilled your wife also, huh? Good thing they made waterboarding illegal or else it might have come into play for my Lijuan and your wife too, LOL! I'm really happy for you two!!

LOLOL, yes Pommey you deserve some credit because at least you know what you are, even IF you think it's for the wrong reasons. BTW, my wife has a friend who is going to your neck of the woods, Australia, isn't it? Her friend Yijuan had her visa interview...OVER THE PHONE! Now, that's really a tough interview isn't it? How tough can a interview be to get into a penal colony ? Hush.. I hear they aren't too proud of their beginnings.. and it was a British Penal Colony if forced to confess Maybe thats where they sent you know who. B)

Robert, just tell the young lad that you collect guns for a hobby....

Vinny, If you are K1 there is no $445 fee. We were just giving RobertH a hard time saying that. You can always send it to me Hey, can I get in on this scam, er, PAYOUT?

Hey Robert (3Timescharm) did you find out what your girl's questions were yet? Only 3, right? Lucky dog!!

LOLOL, yes Pommey you deserve some credit because at least you know what you are, even IF you think it's for the wrong reasons. BTW, my wife has a friend who is going to your neck of the woods, Australia, isn't it? Her friend Yijuan had her visa interview...OVER THE PHONE! Now, that's really a tough interview isn't it? How tough can a interview be to get into a penal colony ? OUCH! That hurts, LOL!

She made me PROUD!

Too bad indeed. I can tell you that all foreign service officers have secret clearance, (and I think most/all of them actually have top secret clearance). There is a confidentiality agreement that one must sign in order to take the verbal and written exams. This agreement states that you will not disclose any specifics about the content of the exams, or the examination process. Presumably, this level of confidentiality/secrecy only gets more intense as one gets along in the process and particularly if serving overseas. Yes, John. The confidentiality agreement would make sense as would the security clearance.

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH!!!! Boy, December is sure shaping up to be a PINK month, isn't it? Let's keep the PINK drive alive!!

LOLOL, yes Pommey you deserve some credit because at least you know what you are, even IF you think it's for the wrong reasons. BTW, my wife has a friend who is going to your neck of the woods, Australia, isn't it? Her friend Yijuan had her visa interview...OVER THE PHONE! Now, that's really a tough interview isn't it?

The Eagles are going the same way the Cowboys did yesterday.

I went thru all the questions that had been asked in the past here on CFL and VJ. I also kept track of what was currently being asked. If you go the CFL gallery of timelines (CFL Timelines) and click on the Result column it will open up a link and if the member has entered what questions were asked you can review them. Every morning and night I got on QQ and asked Fen interview questions. I also had some of my employees ask them so she got a feel for accent variations. I tought her to listen for keywords so matter how the question was asked she would be able to respond. For example: Where does he work? or What does he do for work? Keywords "he" , "work". It took a lot of work and patience. I also told her that if she is not sure she should ask for a Chinese translation as answering something wrong is worse then asking for a translation. I believe that my wife's ability to speak English was for us-and certainly not for everyone- one of the reasons why we got whited on our K-1. We met on a Chinese dating service whose employees translated the letters between us, so Joey didn't have to know much English, at least not at first. She was already studying English before we met, but it was not a concentrated effort on her part as she had no real reason to study hard. When I went to visit her the first time I took a used laptop that I bought just for her, and gave it to her so we could then begin to communicate in English together. Having no computer skills, first she had to go to school to learn how to use the computer before we could start talking directly with one another. Once that happened her English began improving at a good pace. When she had her K-1 the following year, they rope-a-doped her by asking if she could speak English and she replied "just a little bit, but my English is not good" so they automatically held the interview in Chinese without giving her the chance to show them that she could at least hold basic conversation in English. Joey lost her job a few months after we were whited and we decided together that instead of her getting a new job, I would support her and she would stay at home and study English hard. It really made the difference on our case as I'm positive the VO reviewed the case notes from the K-1 before her CR interview and must have seen that her 'non-ability' to speak English as determined by the K-1 VO was one of the reasons why she got the white. They had a translator standing by when she had her CR interview-just like the first time-but this time when they asked her if she could speak English she told them 'yes'. I had told her that she MUST speak English at her interview, even if the VO asked her the questions in Chinese, she was to answer them in English. If she didn't understand something she could ask for a clarification in Chinese, but then she was to respond in English. I'm sure that, unless the petitioner is somewhat fluent in Chinese, the beneficiary must demonstrate a basic ability to speak English, but it doesn't have to be even to the degree that the entire interview be held in English. The CR visa VO also wanted to see our emails-which were all written by us and in English-to make sure that Joey was able to speak and understand basic English because of what the K-1 VO probably wrote in his case notes. The fact that Joey showed him 3 years worth of emails, in English-between the two of us AND he could readily see her gradual improvement in her English skills, was what they were looking for. The CR VO also asked her some repeat K-1 questions that she somewhat stumbled on and this time she nailed them down exactly. My feeling for our CR interview is that they reviewed our K-1 interview file and concentrated on asking her those same-type questions to see how better prepared she was this time. For us, English ability was probably a bigger deal than for most other beneficiaries because of the K-1 interview results, but I do not believe that ALL beneficiaries must demonstrate the same level of proficiency that my wife had to show. There were other things to overcome, as well, which she did in fine fashion. Each case goes upon it's own merits and although there are trends in what they tend to look for, everyone's case criteria is different. I had told Fen that even if they ask questions in Chinese she should respond in english. Her interview, she was asked questions in Chinese and only one in english. I think that's great advice even if the entire interview cannot be in English. It doesn't give the VO anywhere to go and allows finality of the response.

LOLOL, the interview was more of a sure thing than the coming Eagles-Giants game

Congratulations! That's really great! So happy for both of you!!!!!!!!!! Hailong Thanks to everyone for their kind words of congratulations! But I want to send a special 'thank you' to Tsap. Congrats coming from you, my friend, mean something special in that you would take time out from the things you are going through to care enough to send your message. I wish nothing but the best for you and your Mrs. and hope you will be united very very soon! It's great to hear from you!

I went thru all the questions that had been asked in the past here on CFL and VJ. I also kept track of what was currently being asked. If you go the CFL gallery of timelines (CFL Timelines) and click on the Result column it will open up a link and if the member has entered what questions were asked you can review them. Every morning and night I got on QQ and asked Fen interview questions. I also had some of my employees ask them so she got a feel for accent variations. I tought her to listen for keywords so matter how the question was asked she would be able to respond. For example: Where does he work? or What does he do for work? Keywords "he" , "work". It took a lot of work and patience. I also told her that if she is not sure she should ask for a Chinese translation as answering something wrong is worse then asking for a translation. I believe that my wife's ability to speak English was for us-and certainly not for everyone- one of the reasons why we got whited on our K-1. We met on a Chinese dating service whose employees translated the letters between us, so Joey didn't have to know much English, at least not at first. She was already studying English before we met, but it was not a concentrated effort on her part as she had no real reason to study hard. When I went to visit her the first time I took a used laptop that I bought just for her, and gave it to her so we could then begin to communicate in English together. Having no computer skills, first she had to go to school to learn how to use the computer before we could start talking directly with one another. Once that happened her English began improving at a good pace. When she had her K-1 the following year, they rope-a-doped her by asking if she could speak English and she replied "just a little bit, but my English is not good" so they automatically held the interview in Chinese without giving her the chance to show them that she could at least hold basic conversation in English. Joey lost her job a few months after we were whited and we decided together that instead of her getting a new job, I would support her and she would stay at home and study English hard. It really made the difference on our case as I'm positive the VO reviewed the case notes from the K-1 before her CR interview and must have seen that her 'non-ability' to speak English as determined by the K-1 VO was one of the reasons why she got the white. They had a translator standing by when she had her CR interview-just like the first time-but this time when they asked her if she could speak English she told them 'yes'. I had told her that she MUST speak English at her interview, even if the VO asked her the questions in Chinese, she was to answer them in English. If she didn't understand something she could ask for a clarification in Chinese, but then she was to respond in English. I'm sure that, unless the petitioner is somewhat fluent in Chinese, the beneficiary must demonstrate a basic ability to speak English, but it doesn't have to be even to the degree that the entire interview be held in English. The CR visa VO also wanted to see our emails-which were all written by us and in English-to make sure that Joey was able to speak and understand basic English because of what the K-1 VO probably wrote in his case notes. The fact that Joey showed him 3 years worth of emails, in English-between the two of us AND he could readily see her gradual improvement in her English skills, was what they were looking for. The CR VO also asked her some repeat K-1 questions that she somewhat stumbled on and this time she nailed them down exactly. My feeling for our CR interview is that they reviewed our K-1 interview file and concentrated on asking her those same-type questions to see how better prepared she was this time. For us, English ability was probably a bigger deal than for most other beneficiaries because of the K-1 interview results, but I do not believe that ALL beneficiaries must demonstrate the same level of proficiency that my wife had to show. There were other things to overcome, as well, which she did in fine fashion. Each case goes upon it's own merits and although there are trends in what they tend to look for, everyone's case criteria is different.

Today is a great day! Eagles won, Robert got pink and so did we, LOL. If all goes according to plan, Joey will be here on the 17th, just in time for Christmas (and some Christmas deals on clothes shopping) Thanks to one and all! I'll finish the interview writeup and post it soon. Our nightmare is over.... Here's the rundown on the interview: The interview ran about 10-15 minutes. When Joey went to the window the VO had a Chinese girl interpreter there already-same as they did for our K-1. (Joey told them at the K-1 that she could speak 'a little bit' of English and they automatically conducted the interview in Chinese). This time they asked her if she could speak English and she told him 'Yes, I speak English" so the VO sent the girl away. The VO was a young guy, about 30. He was very pleasant and smiled a lot at Joey's answers. -(Joey) Hello Good Morning, How are you? VO replied 'Hello, I am fine, and you?' -Can you speak English? Yes, I speak English -When did you meet your husband? February 2, 2007 -What is Warren's job? He works at the XXX Post Office, his job is XXX -How many times has Warren come to China? 2 times -When was the first time? June 8, 2007 -When was the 2nd time? May 5th, 2009 -How long did he stay each time? 2 weeks the first time and 3 weeks the second time. -Can I see your email communications? Yes, here they are... (We had a ton of them) -Can I see the 2009 emails? Yes, here they are, I have more if you want them -Did you write the emails yourself? Yes -Do you understand all that is in the emails? Yes, most of the time, but if I don't understand I use a pocket translator. I don't use it much anymore. -VO smiles at that -Can I see your pictures? Yes, here you are, and I have more if you want to see them. -Oh, you like Harley-Davidson motorcycles? Yes (She was wearing a Harley jacket we bought at the Hong Kong dealership in May when we were married) -Do you have one? No, but my husband does -VO smiles -Congratulations, you get the visa! Joey then did what I told her to do, to ask him if her fingerprints were ok and if all of her documents were in order for him to issue the visa. The VO told her, "Everything is ok for you to get your visa." I believe that the VO was looking closely at Joey's ability to speak English, which I also believe was suspect to them at the K-1 interview. They never allowed her to speak English at the K-1, they just went with Chinese and they also had an interpreter there right from the start of the K-1, just as they did this time. I think Joey's English ability really surprised the VO, as her ability has REALLY grown even since last year.

Today is a great day! Eagles won, Robert got pink and so did we, LOL. If all goes according to plan, Joey will be here on the 17th, just in time for Christmas (and some Christmas deals on clothes shopping) Thanks to one and all! I'll finish the interview writeup and post it soon. Our nightmare is over....

CONGRATULATIONS ROBERT!!!! It's a great feeling, isn't it?