Carl

Glad everything worked out for the both of you. It would be interesting how and why Chinese criminals singled out your wife for their dirty work. Lets hope they will get theirs in the end. But for you and your wife, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!! I pray every night that my own sweet wife will soon join me.

Count me in. Anything that may bring Ying and me closer by even a few days is worth the effort.

She probably likes to listen to Lars Larson.(Loca talk show host in Portland) ACK ACK!!! NOT LARS LARSEN!!!!! He is the Rush Limbaugh wannabe here in Portland. Im gonna tune in the radio to air america and take off the knob. Hey I liked Lars.....He still on KXL?

She probably likes to listen to Lars Larson.(Local talk show host in Portland)

I agree with you. We don't want to look like we are screaming sour grapes about adoptions, but we need to convience them to consider the our wives, husbands and fiancees as important to us and as the adoptees are important to the parents who adopt them and on an equal par as them.

Looks pretty good as a first draft.....the other have made some good suggestions to improve it.....once it is in its completed form I will also sign it. Carl

One reason for the added step may be a test to see just how commited the two parties are to one another. But DEEP DEEP DEEP DEEP down I think it is just one more piece of evidence that our government is addicted to meaningless paperwork and is another way for the government paperpushers and beancounters to justify their existence, give themselves a job and most of all, COVER THEIR INDIVIDUAL ASSES.

One area I think we include in the letter should deal with VO's that are either uncommonly rude to our loved ones or seem to make arbitrary decisions to deny the visa or delay it for no apparent reason. One I would single out right now is the infamous 'BLACK PEARL.' Ying tells me she is well known and universally despised on 001 as the VO you don't want. She has the reputation of being rude not listening in interviews.

As of yet I have not recieved any response from Maura, but then my letter was rather long and extensive so it might take time to read. As soon as I have a response I will repost it here for perusal and comments.

Ah yes.......the infamous 'BLACK PEARL.' She is well known not only on this website but also on 001. Ying has expressed hope that when the time comes for her interviewshe does not get this woman.

Ying and I are going for the CR-1 also

Ying will be coming here on a CR-1 visa. As I understand it, she will immeaditely be eligible for a SSN and be able to find work if she wants to get one (she does).

I too came from a broken marriage. My ex was both verbally and physically abusive. She was constantly degrading me, and hitting me for the smallest things. Also, no matter what anybody did, somebody in her family did it first and did it better. When an expert talked about something, she called them a twit and said her father said it was not that but this. Her father was on a GERMAN ego trip, claiming that all todays problems in the world was because the Kaiser had to abdicate after WWI. In all this time I just took it, never retaliating or hitting her because I knew if I did, I would hurt her. Plus, I have never hit a woman in my life, and I would not be starting now. When she was not angry she was not much of a wife. She looked at me as a live in servant who was to wait on her while she sat on her rear end watching TV and gaining weight. She even went so far as to commandeer the remote, and GAWD FORBID I should want to watch something she did not, but had to suffer through the programs she liked. To top it all off, she was a lousy lover, Ying is 10 times the woman she is. Ying is respectful, gentle and loving. I like to say Ying is better than my ex, BETTER LOOKING, BETTER DRESSING, BETTER EDUCATED, BETTER MANNERED, BETTER TEMPERED AND BETTER IN BED..... . I apologize for the rant, but I feel better having said it.

It is early Thursday morning and I am talking to my Ying on Skype. She said that there was an announcement that the background check done by Guanzhou for a visa which normally takes 3 months will be reduced to 15 days . Has anybody heard anything similar? If this is true there might be a sudden reduction in the time required and a sudden increase in the amount of visas issued. Let's hope that the noise we have recently made has helped in this policy change.

I just posted a response from an E-mail I recieved from Maura Harty in a new thread. It does give me some hope, but as they say....Talk is cheap

This is a copy of the email I recieved from Maura Harty in response to the rather lengthy e-mail I sent not only to her, but my congressman, both senators from Texas and on a whim President Bush. Mr. Sharp: Thank you for your letter. I am travelling right now. As it happens, I am in Beijing. I promise you a more complete response in a few days, once I am back in the States. I just want you to know that I received your message. MH -----Original Message----- From: Carl Sharp To: hartyma@state.gov Sent: 3/1/2005 6:25 PM Subject: Immigration Problems in US Consulate in Guangzhou China TO: Maura Harty Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs 2201 C Street NW Room 6811 Washington, DC 20520 202-647-9576 Ms. Harty, Let's all hope and pray that this will get results.

Good luck getting it done at Bank of America. I went to my BofA, but they refused to notarize anything for me, saying they only notarize banking related items. It seems that they are worried that if something was wrong, they would be held responsible. Figures!!!!!!!!!

I too sent her an e-mail which was a modified letter for congressmen and senators from another thread. I also sent the same letter to my congressman and both senators, one of which sits on the Senate Subcommitee for Immigration. Hell, I even sent a copy to President Bush. I hope it works.

Later is better than never. Even if she was made aware before the 3rd, she probably could not effect any changes until she returned to the states. I feel that as long as she is made aware, by any method, a problem exists, she could possibly rectify the problems in Guangzhou.

where did you get this address and phone number for her? Is there also a fax number. I would be willing to write/fax her office to let our plight be noticed. thanks Anybody have her e-mail address? It might be possible to flood her office with enough messages that she may finally realize there is a problem with the consulate in Guangzhou.

Thank Gawd I use an electric razor. Other than the kitchen there are no sharp blades in my house. I also keep my hair short and clean shaven so facial hair won't be a problem and my wife likes the feel of the rest of my body hair against her skin, so I can keep it all for now.

I believe in the following saying, "A PERSON RISES TO THEIR HIGHEST LEVEL OF INEPTITUDE." And after seeing some of the people in different levels of supervisor or management I understand how true it is. A person is only as smart as their last boss.

Well I'm no expert (I only play one on the computer), but I would think that if your wife does manage to get an official birth certificate with the 3+ years, that one would take priority over anything else. Family records are one thing, but official records are what count when verification is necessary. Just MHO. As for your son, if he has an American passport, why bother for a visa for him? He should be able to get in the US, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

Welcome to CFL. You will find most everybody here a wealth of information because most of have been there and done that as we weeded our way through the visa process. Feel free to ask us anything, and remember....THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DUMB QUESTION.... .

I asked my wife what she wanted to do with her name when she got here in the US. She asked me what was the common peactice in the US. I told her that the wife usually took the husband's last name but it was not a requirement. She did not hesitate, she decided she would take my name. I sugested that since she did not have a middke name she should use her family name as her middle name to retain that link with her family and heritage. she that that was a great idea. She told me that she has insisted to her friends that they refer to her as Ying Sharp so she can get used to hearing it. That is the way she wanted to do it, but I did not force her to do so. She made her own decision.