Carl

Congratulations on being reunited with your loved one. we all hope to hear that the interview was successful and you soon have visa in hand. Just out of curiosity, how much was the apartment provided you by CFL member Romantic? If the price is reasonable I will insist my SO consider his facility over the local hotels.

I don't know if I was just lucky or Ms Harty's office took pity on me, but when I sent the letter telling her about the death of Ying's son and my concerns about Ying's well being, she and her assiatiant responsed within 24 hours. If anybody deserves a quick response, both you and Alex do. We need to remind them they work for us, not the other way around.

Sometimes I wonder if the people at the consulate realize how they are affecting people's lives when they do things like that. Crap like this only reinforces the need for transparency at all levels of the process just so we can avoid these silly delays. It is time to remind them that... 1) BECAUSE WE PAY THEIR SALARY, THEY WORK FOR US. 2) THEY ARE HERE TO SERVE THE AMERICAN CITIZEN, WE ARE NOT HERE TO JUSTIFY THEIR REASON FOR A JOB. I could go on, but I think I made my point. Keep yelling Alex, eventually they will get the message.

I know some chinese men and women who have adopted an English names. When asked what I thought I told them that I prefered their Chinese name over an English one. I refuse to call the ones who's Chinese names I know by their chosen English names. At least my Ying has no desire to adopt an English name and I couldn't be happier.

Me thinks that this is just for US Passports? 163433[/snapback] This is the quote that I think should concern those who already have their SO's already in the country.

I just read this in Yahoo news. It looks like all of us and our SO's will be soon be needing to replace our passports soon. New Electronic Passport Requirements Since the odds are our SO's will also be needing new passports by October 2006, will they be able to get new ones through the Chinese Embassy or consulates here in the US?

thanks Ty, But if I may go for a moment......how are you progressing with your daughter? Have you taken any of my advice? Now back to the subject matter.....Yes we may not have much longer, but it would still be nice to know exactly where I am, and I am very very sure that others would like to know where they are.

I e-mailed Maura's assistant last week, no response as of yet

I know that GUZ has said that they cannot give info on specific cases, but enough is enough. All of us here have all followed the laws and played the game, but as time passes and frustrations increase we wonder if there will ever be reunited with our loved ones. In my case as most of the Candle members know, my wife Ying's son recently passed away. Worried about her well being I finally was able to get some help from Maura Harty's office. Her assistiant contacted GUZ and had assurances from the Chief of Counsel that her case would be expedited. Since I an not keen on contacting GUZ's new "information" (and I use the term loosely) service I have instead called the State Department visa information office at least twice a week. So far the only information they have given me is that......"THE INTERVIEW HAS NOT YET BEEN SCHEDULED." Right now Ying has her good days and bad days. Some days her grief and lonelines gets so bad while we talk that I seriously worry about her well being. One day she found as small ball her son liked to play with. When she showed it to me it brought all the feelings crashing back and the two of us were soon crying and wishing we were together just to hold each other and wish this nightmare would end. I really need to get her out of China away from the constant reminders of her son where she and I can grieve together and get our lives back on track. All I am asking for GUZ is to give me and and everybody caught if the bureaucratic shuffle some hope to hang on to and pass along our SO's. I love my wife with all my heart, but we have been separated by the process for over a year and because of it I find myself CURSING the US government, the consulate in GUZ and the visa process in general for keeping us apart. While I really don't want to set a precedent or bog down the system more than it already is, I am just hoping that somebody from GUZ would be willing to contact me through Candle's message feature so I can pass along my case number so they can give me any information on our case that I can pass along to Ying and give her the hope and strength she so dearly needs to make it to the end. I apologize for my rants, but desperate men sometimes take desperate measures. Thanks Carl

Ying and I both talked about this too. She decided on her own that she would take my family's name for herself. Since she does not have a middle name I convinced her to keep her family name as her middle name so she can keep that link with her with her family and home country.

"QUOTE FROM DON" Would it be possible to provide an online status inquiry like is done at Moscow and other consulates? My read is that people want to know when their petition is received from NVC, when P-3 is sent and received back, when everything is ready and in the interview queue, when P-4 is sent and the scheduled interview date. This can all be done with the GUZ number to address privacy concerns since only those who need to know should have that identifier. It seems like the number of inquiries would drop significantly if this info were made available on your website. Don, I wholeheartly agree!!!!!!!

I am not sure if we were just lucky or the consulate is doing as they promised and expediting Ying's visa, but it looks like we got our second name check done in just over a month from when it was recieved in GZ. Here's hoping Ying gets her interview very soon.

Bob, Congrats on the NOA-2.......I know Ying has told me that Xiaomei was getting worried about it......next time I talk to her I will pass on the good news.

China does not recognize or allow dual citizenship. The US allows it, but does not encourage it (look at people who have dual citizenship between India and US for example). Check out www.newcitizen.us. 157269[/snapback] The wife loses her rights as a Chinese citizen whenthe CR-1 is finished????? First I heard of that, because even after she comes to the US she is not yet a US citizen, she has to have citizenship in some country. What is the deal here?

No, I made a color copy of her passport and presented the copy and the passport to the notary so she could verify that they were the same. I had printed on the top of the page "TRUE COPY OF PASSPORT ISSUED TO XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX" And at the bottom of the page " I __________________ CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE COPY OF PASSPORT # XXXXXXXXXXX ISSUED TO XXXXX XXXXXXXX. MY COMMISION EXPIRES ON _____________" _____________________ (SIGNATURE BLOCK). I had no trouble having the money deposited into my checking account. (I used the electronic deposit option on my tax return.

It has to be notarized by a US notary......My wife sent me her passport with the signed 1040 and the W-7. I immeaditely made a copy, got it norarized and sent the passport back to her. she had no trouble at all. Send it back express mail if you are worried about it.

E-mailed GZ, got the following response. Dear Petitioner: This case is under processing. Once we schedule the interview date for your beneficiary, will send the appointment packet as soon as possible. Best regards, Immigrant Visa Unit Probably a canned response, but it is heartning to read it

Maybe they were the lowest bidder. But I don't care how it got there (plane, train, dogsled or even a slow boat to China), as long as it got there....

Great news. I called the State Department today. They told me that Ying's visa request has cleared the second check and has been returned to GZ. Now it is only a matter of time till she has her appointment for her interview. THE END IS NEAR!!!!!!!!!!! It looks like the State Department has been true to their word and has expidited Ying's visa.....For that I am very grateful, but I also feel a little guilty for having done so while there are others who filed before me and might be still waiting. For those who are still waiting.....be strong.....your ship will come in.

I called the State Department to get an update. They said that the Consulate recently recieved and are processing it for what I understood is a security check. I asked her if it was the name check, but she told me that the name check was not necessary because that was already done by the National Visa Center. Anybody got a clue as to what she means by the security check? It seems like the more I know, the less I do know......

Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know this may have been answered before, but what is the number for DOS where I can follow-up on progresss of my wife's case. If possible, leave me the links. Thank You

David, Congratulations on your return to the "Real World." It will be interesting when my Ying gets her herself. She already told me that since she worked many years ago in Russia, she is probably more westernized than other Chinese women, and likes the idea of having gadgets (i.e. DISHWASHER, ELECTRIC RANGE, GARBAGE DISPOSAL, VACUMN CLEANER, CARPET CLEANER) to help make housework that much easier. All in all my training period should be blessedly short and sweet B).

When I went to China last year I flew United From Austin, Texas via San Francisco. Even though I had about a two hour layover, I stopped at one of the United counters in the domestic area, mainly to ask directions. The agent asked me for my name and asked me if I was on an electronic ticket. When I said yes, she asked for my passport and visa and proceded to print off my boarding pass right there. This saved me quite of bit of waiting time in line at the actual gate for my flight. You might let the airline know your situation and they will try to get you to your flight much quicker.

Carl, you might want to drop a short email to the helpful person at DOS advising them that the file has arrived and ask if they might be able to give you an idea of what you should expect so you might be able to supply some hope for your wife. I would not necessarily pass on any information to her until you see some positive movement from GZ though. 152222[/snapback] I sent a nice thank you letter to Maura Harty's assistiant for her help. She responded back within a few hours with the following note. She did say that if I had any problems to contact her. Mr. XXXXX, You are most welcome. It does take some time for Immigrant Visa interviews to be scheduled. That is routine procedure due to all of the documentary requirements. Please let me know if you run into any additional problems. Best of luck to you and your fiancee. Sincerely, Lynne Here's hoping that things continue along.