IceBreaker

Thanks for the thorough feedback. I guess there is some ambiguity as to whether a hand signed signature is better than an electronically scanned one but I think we'll go ahead and play it safe and hand sign all signatures. I'm so used to doing it the modern way that signing and sending it snail mail seems a little slow but it will do the trick. Thanks everyone, IceBreaker

Hello everyone, My wife and I are trying to get her parents a visitors visa to come visit us in the US. Do the forms and invitation letter that we send need to contain our original signatures in ink or is a photocopy ok? My wife is currently back in China visiting and I'm preparing the visa forms and invitation letter but want to prepare it on the computer by just pasting in scanned copies of our signatures then emailing my wife the forms/letters that her parents will take to the visa interview. Will these scanned signatures be ok? Any help appreciated. Thanks, IceBreaker

Greetings all. I applied for work authorization for my new wife in late August and just got word that it is denied, apparently because they got the application after her I-94 (arrival/departure record) had expired which was on 9/3/2005. She arrived in the USA on June 5th, we got married June 30th. We've been slow to file for her AOS and still need to do it asap. Now that her I-94 is expired will this be a problem? What should we do? Will getting the AOS done also grant her work authorization. Any help is appreciated. Peace, Peter

She passed her interview today! Finally, after 13 months. She said it took about 10 minutes, interviewed by an asian man who spoke perfect english. He asked specific details about the nature of our relationship, how many times I have visited (three,) how long I stayed and looked at our pictures but not our emails or phone records. Tomorrow she is to pickup visa. This weekend, fly to San Francisco Good luck to all the rest, Icebreaker

thanks, I will put down my current petition. No I did not go through the petitoin process before. This is my first one. Cheers

Hi all. I'm not sure whether I should mention my current visa petition in response to this question or whether they just want to know of prior cases. The exact wording is: That I have submitted visa petition(s) to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) on behalf of the following person(s) Thanks

And now a more direct answer to your question: Yes you can use Chinese programs on English Windows XP. To enable displaying of Chinese fonts you need to install files for East Asian languages from Control Panel, Regional & Language Options, from the Languages tab. This will enalbe the system to display Chinese only. To enable typing in Chinese you can use the builtin Microsoft Pinyin IME. Click on Text Services and Input Languages then add the language from the list. Icebreaker

Sorry nooneufo, it was late and I just realized I mistyped the date. They did not send it on Sunday the 27th. I just verified again, it was sent out on Monday march 28th, at 7pm. No reason to alter your theories now. Didn't mean to throw it off balance. Cheers, IceBreaker

The P3 was sent on 3/28/05. btw, the date I gave you for the P3 is 12/08/04, showing the date we mailed it to GZ from GZ. On 12/27/04 they answered my query of whether it was received but 12/27 is not necessary the date it was entered in their computer. I don't know that one but assume it was several days prior to 12/27. Yes I wonder why such a far off interview date. Not fair! Some people got only 1 month. Anyone want to trade thanks

Another happy update! My girl got her P4 today, 3/29 showing an interview date of 5/31. Seems the interview date is a bit further out than others but at least we have a solid date in mind now. Thanks nooneufo, your P4 prediction for us was quite close. Peace

Haven't you all overlooked a very simple and cheap way to buy piece of mind about the submitted photos? Go buy a disposable camera from Walgreen's for $12. Then you have a roll of 36 film pictures to use. I did this for my frist visit to China since I only have an old digital camera so I took a few film photos just to be safe. I would however assume that digital prints would work fine as long as the consulate believes they are from a film camera. Personally I would not simply print them out on regular paper. Get them printed on photo paper at a photo shop to be safe. Personally though, even if it's overkill, I think it's worth a $12 invenstment in a cheap film camera to ensure against even a small chance of the photos being refused as good eveidence. For number of pictures, i bet they only look at 2 or 3, perhaps to our disappointment after our ladies cart in 50 pounds worth of photos.

Another one besides Microsoft IME, which only supports pinyin, is called Wubi. It inputs directly into chinese characters, doesn't use pinyin, so apparently you must train yourself to use that input method. I installed this for my gal and I think it was free to download but it was really hard finding the right web site. good luck

I just visited GZ for 3 months. To me, the best things were: My beautiful fiancee and spending time with her nice friends. The cloths shopping is good, as well as the huge computer market for tech gadgets. It's easy to find a taxi. Buying DVDs for $1. How come nobody has mentioned this? It's great- i brought home nearly 100. The old streets and markets. The worst things: The food. The air pollution, the crowds, the traffic, bad architecture. Has anyone noticed their affliction of facing the buildings with bathroom tile? To me it's poor taste and gives a very sterile feeling to everything. The pickpockets. During my stay my SO's friends had at least 4 or 5 cell phones stolen. To me China seem like the most Capitalistic country i've seen, a bit much for me.

The cheese in the supermarkets in China is not real cheese. That sliced Kraft crap does not count. So far I regard dairy in China as a failed effort, except maybe yougurt but it's hard to find. Same goes for Italian food. This all reminds me how I hate most food in China and right now in Guangzhou I miss the foods from home, as well as France with all their supreme cheese (and wine.)

My letter from the NVC said it would take 2 to 4 weeks to forward to GZ. It has been 8 weeks so far and still waiting for security clearance.

Lele, thanks for this info. I had the same questions as you and am lucky to find your post. I am in Guangzhou and am curious about visiting Thailand since I am so close. Is anything special needed for me to enter Thailand with my US passport? I am assuming this is very easy. For the cash requirement do you think Thailand would accept the $500 equivalent in Chinese RMB? Cheers Icebreaker

I was in Yangshou this summer. That is a great place to be! I realize my idea of finding clean air around GZ is a total fantasy. Perhaps outside the city or better yet, maybe we can escape to Yangshou. I found a cousin to take my cat so I am nearly ready for my trip.

Thanks, Country Gardens sounds nice, especially getting clean air. The expensive places my girl checked sound quite swanky, 2 or 3 bedrooms, dining room, in a nice neighborhood. I'll have her take pics of a few. In other news- hooray!!! I just got the email from the USCIS that my I129F has been approved! The CSC is finally catching up, even if somewhat randomly. I wonder how long at the NVC? I just got my chinese visa today. I wanted to stay up to 6 months but she said the limit is 90 days, yet it can be extended in China. bye

Hi all. My company closed down and I've been laid off. I've decided to start saving my unemployment pay and take the opportunity to go live with my gal in Guangzhou for the next 3 to 6 months. We are planning to rent our own apartment and she says we can find a good place by going through an agent. Aparently we can get a nice place for 2,500 to 3,500 Yuan/month. I want to make a smooth transition, considering I first have to pack up my wonderful apartment in San Francisco-- a painful experience. I hope to find someplace clean, quiet, fairly comfortable for someone used to living in the US. Has anyone lived in GZ for a few months and had experience with going through an agent? Any recommendations on good parts of town to live in, caveats on renting apartments, etc? What about pets? Has anyone ever heard of shipping a cat to China before I go? Perhaps someone traveling there can take the cat for a fee? I understand they have a 45 quarentine period but they sometimes allowing the animal to undergo quarentine at home. I have a great Himalayan cat who I hate to give up. I should be going to GZ in November. Anyone else going also? cheers, Icebreaker

Dear lord, why can't the CSC get it together? When I filed the 129F in May, my lawyer said they hired more workers and would probably get processing down to 4 to 6 weeks. So far, only my continued dissapointment and impatience.

I felt totally safe and at ease everywhere I went in China (5 towns so far.) I have been to the Philippines and oh my God, that place is so dangerous! What a difference! The security there is so shocking in some areas, with security guards readied with guns at at nearly every shop, bank, street corner....metal detectors and guards with guns at the entrance to every shopping mall. I felt very threatened there but China seemed so safe. As for public opinion of the USA, maybe it's not our people, it's George Bush! My first encounter with a stranger in China was pure curiosity, as he said, "where you from?" "I'm from America. Do you know about our country?" "No no, just president Bush. Bush very bad!" "oh Yes, I exclaimed, very very bad" I sighed. A few other I met in China also show dislike for Bush. I can't blame them a bit. What a sad thing when the main conception aobut our country by folks of a distance land is about George W-- a failure in leadership. We have got to get rid of him! Everyone, please vote in 2004. Well I'm off topic, but anyway the most curious experience to me was visiting a small village where my fiancee is from. Most of the locals had never seen a foreigner before. Passing downt the street they stopped to stare at me, or yell "helloooo" as I pass by, come up to practice their english or offer me a cigarette, swarms of adorable school children surrounded and followed me. That's hard to get used to the lack of personal space.

My fiancee said she liked my snoring. wow, maybe it's too soon to tell. When all else fails, use chemicals. The sleeping pill Ambien works wonders (it's prescription only. Far better than any over-the-counter stuff.) I had terrible insomnia and this drug saved me from going insane. A good night's sleep is so important! Of course one cannot rely on drugs forever. I think if men sleep on their side they snore less.

Now I see why I was destined to marry a Chinese gal. I have discovered that mopping my carpet is the only way to get out the cat hair. I have a long haired Himilayan cat. The hair gets everywhere! The vacuum does not work, i cannot deal with it. I can't wait until my new wife gets here.

But of course! the US is much more expensive since we have a different economy. I live in San Francisco, nearly the most expensive place anywhere. Everything is expensive! The mediun home price is about $550,000, an 18% increase over last year. Each year we have record increases in home values that are stunning by comparison to other areas. My rent is $1600/month for a 1-bedrooom apartment. Of course the location is fabulous and in my opinion San Francisco is the most beautiful City in the US, the best climate, so multicultural, the best food... and has lots of beautiful Chinese women. So why did I meet one who lives in China instead of a local gal? When us locals cry about the prices here i sometimes recall this-- during the San Francisco gold rush of 1849, an egg cost $1. Shabby tents were renting for $1000/month. Yet in those crazy days prostitutes charged only about 5 cents! Hard to imagine!