nousername

so true.

it's funny how fast the service centers can change. when we went through NSC, VSC was even faster ... they were pumping out approvals in 2 weeks to 1 month... no matter what country. since the last fall, if i recall correctly (check VJ for updated data), VSC again has slowed down somewhat.

i think it all depend upon which part of the game you are in. the part you mention is the approval of the initial petition which in my opinion is NOT dependent upon the beneficiary's country of origin. depends mostly on which US service center you had to file through. for me my NOA1 to NOA2 was 89 days from nebraska service center... at the time, this was lightening fast for nebraska! i hung around VJ at that time of our initial petition and saw a lot of NOA2 come through, and our NOA2 wait beat most other beneficiary countries... england, canada, spain etc... unfortunately, i think it just luck of the draw. there cannot be any hard predictions, only general expectations. well, i truly wish you the best. hope your NOA2 comes quick!!!

i was always a little confused about the difference of these terms. is a notarized copy of mypassport a certified copy? if not, how does one get a copy of your passport certified?

david, i agree. if you can get it... GET IT. it's better to be safe... the kitchen sink approach. also, i want to emphasize that my post was mainly about the "certification/notarization" aspect of the passport copy. having at least a plain copy is a must. i'm just calling in to question the certification of it.

i just recalled that even though i was present during the interview it was NOT made known to the VO... edith somehow forgot to mention it to the VO during the interview. although, she did mention it to the lady who received her med papers in the morning. maybe this info could have trickled down to the VO before the interview. thought i should let you know, not sure how you want this to to affect your stats. Ryan

i just wanted to shed a little light on this subject, as it cause me a short period of worry for me. on the plane to go visit edith during her interview, i was reading david's faq. in it there are a few quotes from CFL'ers stating a certified (and/or notarized?? i don't recall) copy of the USC's passport is a new requirement for the interview, or that a denial was issued b/c it was not present. while reading this, i knew i had NOT prepared this, and i freaked out for a while wondering how i could get on in china with only one day to work with before the interview. i ened up going to the us citizen service center at the consulate to get my passport copied and certified/notarized. the guy (an asian worker) at the counter said, "no, you don't need it. for some reason, there is a myth going around that this is required for the interview. it is not." i just said ok, and left. as it turned out, it was NOT asked for during the interview, nor was my passport asked for. (... partly her fault... she for got to mention to the VO that i was present in china!! ... at least it still worked out for us. ) just wanted to get this out there. i was thinking, is is possible that one of our SO's, who may not speak english too well, came from the interview thinking this was asked for by the VO and it was not? just a thought. was this ever explicitly asked for as additional evidence? anyway, this info may not be too useful, as it is probably quite easy to obtain a certified copy of your passport if you are in the US. B) Ryan

yeah, this is a great option too. great hours, good pay. only drawback is working in slimy, smelly mouths. but maybe it's not too much of a problem.... work in pediatric dentistry, then even if it's bad, at least the cuteness of the kids might make up for it. also, have you notice how the "gear" of dentists and assistants has increased over the years... man, it's like they are preparing for a nuclear war!! i remember as a kid they *might* have put on a mask over their mouths, that's it... now, they do that in addition to saftey glasses AND a full face shield! is my mouth really that repulsive?

from my sister's experience, nurses do work long daily hours, but not weekly. i guess nurses are usually a .6 or .8, i.e. 60% or 80% of full-time, based on 40 hrs per week. but that is not to say nurse don't work hard. they do! lifting weak people in and out of bed all day can get tiring!

i wanted my SO to try this too, but that was until she told me that she could NEVER be a nurse... the whole seeing/working with blood things. you mentioned "speeding" things up, not sure what you meant, but i would recommend looking into 2yr RN programs. my sister did this and was extrememly pleased. in her situation, she had been in school for a while changed majors a couple times, and just wanted to get through. she ended up going to a 2yr RN program at a community college, and it turned out that the program was extremely competitive and well respected, and it's graduates were highly sought after. my sister told me that there is basically no differences in pay or job selection between 4yr RNs and 2yr RNs. of course, this could possibly vary by region or by medical institution. although, she was "just" a 2yr RN from a "community" college she was promptly hired with a great job at the Mayo clinic. well, what ever way you guys go, i'm sure she can do it. just brush up that english, and it will be no sweat... well, maybe a little, nursing it actually quite physically demanding. take care.

june has been good to us.... CONGRATS!!!

curious, why am i in the unresolved section? also, what is USC? united states citizen? aren't all the petitioners?

by the way and for the record, there is one more question that was asked by this chinese lady. the "mock" VO asked "did you apply for the tourist visa to go see him (i.e. me)?". Edith, "Yes" -- i'll edit this into my original post above. the background to this is that the following spring after we met (and i had only been to china once at the time) we decided it would be cool and fun if she could come to the US just to spend time together. (we were kind of ignorant about the whole immigration thing at the time.) during that interview, she told the VO directly that "i am going to visit my boyfriend"... immediately the VO denied her.

well, don't assume to much from what i said. i am not quite sure everyone gets exactly the same treatment. it seems as though not everyone, even of late, has experienced this "double" interview. in addition, i think it was wawafish's fiancee had her actual interview (the day after my fiancee's) in the morning session... she didn't even have to go back in the afternoon. you can search for his post from about a week ago. i guess just be prepared for anything.

i think it really tough to say. it all depends upon the whims of the VO at the time, will he or won't he ask for your phone records? But, for peace of mind, even if he does ask, it might be no big deal. what you have may be sufficient. i don't think there's much you can do now. so just sit back and hope and pray for the best.

yeah, i love nwa. i am from minneapolis, one of their hubs, so i frequent them. i love em, their service is great, and their world perks program is one of the best. this offer has been around for a little while, and i was able to take advantage of it this week during my SO's interview. they had a similar deal last fall/winter with their new service to guangzhou. my trip in dec 04, qualified for that deal too. .... i love earning miles... ...

during the "morning session" on the day of edith's interview (i.e. the part when she gets the notice to come back later in the afternoon) and after waiting for sometime her name was called, like everybody else, and she went to a window to meet with someone. it was young chinese lady, and edith had some sort of "interview" with her. there conversation was totally in chinese, and was as follows. it's funny, it appears to be almost exactly like what we would consider a "real" interview. it also supports the notion that the consulate makes some decision about the case before the actual interview, by that i mean it's at least conceiveable that the consulate could discuss the case from the time between the "pre-interview" and the interview. here's what was said mock VO: who is your petitioner? E: my fiancee Ryan mock VO: how did you meet each other? E: he came to work in our school **** and work in my office. mock VO: did you apply for the tourist visa to go see him? E: yes. mock VO: have you been abroad? E: does hong kong count? mock VO: did you stay more than 6 months? E: no. mock VO: how many times has he been to china? E: 5 times, and he is waiting outside for me right now. mock VO: did he come all the way just for the interview? E: yes. mock VO: your father died of a disease, correct? E: yes. hmm, seemed quite weird to me. a lot of the questions were the same as edith actual interview here. were they trying to catch her in a lie? were they just trying to get more info, so they can discuss before the actual interview? anyone else have this experience? ryan

no kidding!! i sure am hoping and praying for the same success to continue for the rest of the junies, and everyone else for that matter... :D come on GZ keep up the good work!

thanks a lot everyone! right now were thinking about august sometime... this gives her time to finish teaching out the school year and time to be with her family. .... but not time for me to plan a wedding and honeymoon... as well as, buy a house!!! i'd really like to be in one by the time she comes, but i am also just scared of real estate market right now...

first i want to say CONGRATS to all the successful interview of late. i was in GZ last week, for my fiance's interview, and didn't have access to the internet... so i was not kept up to speed with CFL news. well, our interview was also a SUCCESS. B) i'll give at the interview-day consulate procedure/experience we had, as well as, the VO's questions. the interview was on June 2, and we arrived at the consulate around 6:45 am (i think). the line outside had maybe 40-50 people by that time, and it began to move around 730 and we got to the front close to 8. at that point, we then had to part, and edith moved up to a line closer to the actual consulate. she was soon inside.... time for me to just wait. i ended up waiting only until a little after 10 am, much sooner than i expected. edith had received a note telling her to return at 1 pm for the actual interview. we then returned around 1230 for another chance to wait in line. she ended up getting in a little after 1 pm.... then came out around 230 just in time for one of those sudden guangdong downpours.... but, thankfully, she was beaming.... :huh: fyi, i think she pulled of the "confidence" thing, and even started the whole thing off with a "Good Afternoon".... thanks go to trever, david, and others.... although, of course, that's not to say she wasn't nervous... below is as much of the interview as we remember.... it was a little more personal than i expected and recalled from others experiences. might, be something to note for others.... be prepared for anything! ok, here are the details: --- edith said the VO was mid-30s asian guys with glasses. he was somewhat cold and seldom looked up at her. VO: how did you meet? E: he came to our school ***** to work for 1 month duing the summer camp. --- i guess the VO didn't believe her answer was complete so he repeated. VO: exactly, how did you meet? E: we worked in the same office during the summer camp. VO: how many times has he been to china? E: 5 times. VO: what do you like about him? E: he is *blah*, *blah*, *blah*, and honest. VO: give me an example of how he is honest. --- i guess, this one really threw her... unexpected. E: ahhh, it's a little hard to think of something. VO: it's ok, take your time. E: *blaaaaaaaaaaaaaah* VO: ok, can i see his tax return? --- edith hands him 3 yrs worth. i include copies of my e-filed 1040s and tax transcripts for all years... just wanted to be safe. she said the VO looked at with quite some attention, and hands them back to her. VO: do you have arguments? E: yes. VO: when is the last time? E: it was a long time ago. VO: what was it about? E: last time when he was here, he was sick and he insisted on drinking cold water. and i told him he cannot. VO: do you have any pictures? --- handing him the album E: here are our pictures when our families were together. i have others too, would like to see those too? VO: no. --- looking at the pictures, he stoped at one with edith, her brother, and i. pointing at her brother VO: who is this? E: my brother. --- VO hands the pictures back VO: ok, your visa been approved. edith told me the whole thing took about 2-3 minutes. immediately after getting the *lavendar* slip (ok, sorry to disappoint people, but it ain't pink... lavendar... or light purple, if you wish.... but.... "oh yeah, we got the laaaaaavendar slip!!" just don't sound right... hehe... so, *pink* it is.... ), we went to the post to pay the pick up fee. our interview was on thursday and the we were told the visa would be avaliable for pick-up on saturday, which it was. BUT, i want to mention that the pick-up location is not the same place you pay. maybe, it's b/c we had a saturday pick-up, but i thought i'd mention it. the place we paid at was just a couple block from the consulate. the pick up location was about a 5 minute cab ride. that's our story folks... i wish everyone, with interviews coming, up all the best. ryan

well, trevor, thanks a lot. just reading this thread feels great. i think we all have this mental picture of the nervous, insecure SO walking to the VO vs. the smiling confident SOs who says "good morning, sir!" we all want our SO to be the later.... it's gotta help. i know my SO can do it, i just hope she won't let her nerves take over.

it think this is a great thread, probably more useful for my SO than for me. i am definitely going to prep her confidence... and make sure to she says "Good Morning" ... (thanks for mentioning that david) i tend to be rather calm about everything. i know our relationship is true, and i tend to think so everybody else who see/hears us must think so too... including the VOs. if we get denied our whatever, i will honestly just fall back and sulk in disbelief. i will not comprehend it AT ALL. i guess maybe i am over-confident to a point where i don't think we will fail. is there anybody else out there like me?

interesting... i too am curious about prices. got any info? also, what's NJstar? he said this may be a requirement for sending character info... why?

all right guys, just trying to cover all the bases. i have heard of others whose SOs have been denied (i.e. asked for additional evidence) are able to talk to a VO. is this true or is my memory slipping me? my question is when can this be done? ... right after the interview? ... the next day? ... only at designated times during the week? i am going do be there during the interview, and i just want to know when and where to go if i get the chance to talk to a VO.

wow, nooneufo, this last chart was great. nice work! IMHO, i this should be the standard for you charts you *publish*. i think this one is much more readable than the "by week of month" ones. Ryan