Carl

While I was in college, I took a geography class about the history and relationship of the US and Asia called "The Pacific Rim." It was based on a documentery by the same title the professor had a hand in making. In the class we had students from China (Mainland and Taiwan), Korea, Japan, Phillippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. It was the first time I had any sort of social interactions I had with a large gorup of Asians since being stationed in Korea in the early 80's. It was also when I really began to get interested in Asian women, but since I was still married to my second wife (a fat bitch), I didn't go to the next level where I ould have really gotten to know any of them These students would have been a wealth of inofrmation if they would have spoke up in class, but it was us American kids who were debating and questioning the instructor. Even when we broke into groups I had to remind the Asians that they were the experts in the area and I really wanted their inputs, but even then it was hard to get them to open it. The professor said it was because they had been indoctrinated since day one that the instructor talked and the student listened and it was hard for them to break that habit. Maybe because your son is beginning to ask questions it is forcing teachers to actually teach instead or repeating the material.

How old is the nephew? If it is till happening on your next trip, maybe you can go to school with him, but hang back, and if they start to accost him simply step up and get their attention and have your nephew explain that this big ugly laowei is your uncle, you are the epitome of a foreign devil barbarian and if they don't stop, you will personaly come back, rip their arms off and fed them to them , CCP parents be damned.

Ying sends her congrats.... She is proud of her. I hope like Ying she is looking forward to the possibility of going to visit Europe, Japan, Korea and some other places without having to get a visa.

After a couple of weeks after Ying got here we went to the social security office. We filled out the paperwork and then showed the clerk her CR-1 visa. After she looked in the computer, she said immigration hadn't submitted he paperwork yet, so she decided to treat it as a request for a new SSAN. Ying had her card within two weeks.

Houston is such a long trip for us, I'm actually only went there twice to get my visa. Everytime I got my visa, they accepeted the photos I brought with me. The first time they accepted the SASE I gave them, the second time the company Ying bought our tickets through got the visa for me and the last time we went was to also renew Ying's Chinese passport, but this time they didn't accept the SASE. I had to pay the expedite fee and got my visa later that day.

This is no different from the rest of the world and their percieved AMERICAN ARROGANCE. In most movies (even the ones made in Hollywood) Americans are usually stereotyped as loud, obnoxious, oversexed or drunken louts. in the past that reputation was probably deserved and no matter how we act now that perception is hard to overcome. All we can do when we go overeseas is to be quiet, respectful and try to be good ambassadors for the American people, trying to change the perception, one person at a time.

As a matter of fact it did happen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings Larry At Kent State, some dunderhead made the mistake of issuing live ammunition to national guadr troops. Unlike now most national guard of the time were not trained to the level or as disciplined as the national guards of today are. What few people know that after the shootings, at least to my history professor in college, is that regular army troops were sent in to restore order, which they did without any ammunition. Unlike Tiamamen Square, the outrage over the shootings led to changes in the training of national guard troops in crowd control techniques.

The wife (who is now a USC) and I will probably just get a multi-entry visitor visa that is good for a year, make a quick 48 hr trip every 90 days to either Japan or South Korea, neither of which require a visa for a USC visitor, then return for another 90 days.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/100q.pdf I might also add make sure her conversational skills are good. I am of the opinion that the interview starts the second the name is called. The interviewer will make small talk about the weather, family, clothing or anything else to determine their proficiently in English.

Ying applied for her citizenship January 15th, 2009, had her interview April 28th and was sworn in on May 21st, roughly 4 months 1 week.

We usually take various candy bars and we always stock up when stores mark down candy from holidays (Halloween, Christmas, Valentines and Easter) as gifts for her friends and family. We also get a few bottles of whiskey (George Dickel) or bourbon (Ezra Brooks). (The owner of our local package goods store says these brands are actually better than Jack Daniels or Jim Beam (popular only because of better advertising) and cheaper). Ying says most Chinese like Country and Western, R&B, and the younger girls like Rock & Pop, so we always get some cheap CD's from top artists or collections of top hits. In an attempt to win him over to me, Ying suggested we get her father a wind up pocket watch. Even though it was made in China, it is export quality and he has never seen a watch like that, he loves it and still makes a big production of checking the time. The last trip Ying also got her father a Norelco Electric Razor that works with either 110 or 220. She also manages to buy some jewelry (usually closeouts or reduced price) for her mother, sisters, favorite nieces and best friends.

I know this is a day late, but I wanted to add my remembrances. I was living in Portland Oregon at the time. I remember watching the CBS evening news Monday night. At the end here was a teaser about an expose that would be shown Tuesday night about military jets going to low while doing flyovers over sports stadiums. The next morning I was getting up around 5:45 AM and was taking a shower. I had the habit of turning the radio on in the morning to catch up on the news. As I got out of the shower, I heard that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. At first I thought it had been a small airplane and thought about the bomber which had hit the Empire State Building and didn't think much about it. But while getting dressed I turned the Today show on and saw WTC 1 burning. I still didn't think it was that serious, but when I saw the second plane, a large airplane, slam into the second tower, my first thought was, Did I just see what I thought I did? Second, since I had read Dept of Honor a few nights before, I almost asked myself if I watching a Tom Clancy novel come to life. From that moment on. I was glued to the TV set and watched the towers fell. On the bus to work I listened on a walkman to the latest news reports, President Bush's speech and a news conference a by mayor Vera Katz, the police and fire chiefs where they said for now Portland was safe, but the Oregon National Guard was instituting an air patrol over the city as a precaution. I went to work at Pioneer Place, a mall in downtown Portland to open the store I was working at. Just before 9 AM PST mall security told everybody that the mall was going to remain closed for the next couple of days. I called the manager to tell her and she said she already knew and was calling out district manager to let him know. I locked the till back up in the safe and went home and proceeded, much to my ex-wife's displeasure watched nothing but World Trade Center news for the next two days.

Our last trip to China was April 2008. Ying's green card was expired, but she had the extension letter. She had no trouble getting in or getting out of China. Of course we avoided Beijing by flying to her home city of Yanji via Seoul, South Korea, so the entry procedures were less hectic. Ying went through the Chinese citizen, I had to go through the visitor line. The guy who processed Ying looked at her green card, the letter and let her pass. I was the only Anglo on the flight, so I stuck out like a sore thumb. The guy stamped my passport without a word, not even a "Welcome to China." Another thing I remember was a young Chinese soldier standing off to the side at the position of "attention." He was so stiff and and motionless that if yo went up beside him and said BOO, he would jump out of skin.

Thanks!. No more paperwork to deal with for a while. Except for the passport, but that is something that every citizen has to deal with.

AMEN TO THAT, BROTHER! AMEN TO THAT!!!!!

Yep either way your gona get screwed. With the first one you are the screw-er and the other you are the screw-ee

Today Ying got her US passport. She is like a kid with a new toy and I'm jealous. Her passport is prettier than mine (which is about 7 years old). My passport has blue pages with various seals of the states. Hers has the embedded chip, the inside cover has a picture of Francis Scott Key and that last two lines of the Star Spangled Banner, The last phrase of the Gettysburg Address, the picture page has the preamble to the constitution a color picture of a bald eagle and the flag, and the visa/amendment pages are sepia/grey pictures (almost photos) of different locations around the US, quotations from famous Americans. I am seriously considering renewing mine early so I can get one just like it.

Congrats to you both. I hope the advice I and others passed on to you made the interview that much easier. The final step is the swearing in which will prove to be an emotional day for both of you.

Trap, you looking forward to the day you DCF the I-130, letting them know that you are now married to the woman they refused to believe you had a 'bonafied' relationship, coupled with VSC's calling them out on the legality of their denial and together sticking it up Guanzhou's collective asses and enjoy watching them squirm. But you can still ask nicely for an apology.

We just got the letter of acceptance. That was pretty quick! We will be on the lookout for the biometrics. If the interview is in 6 months, we should be ok. Right around the 4-5 month mark is when we are most likely to be away and have to reschedule, which I admit would muddy up the waters! Make sure that when you go for biometrics that they do it right the first time. The guy who did Ying's the first time did it so fast (it might have close to his lunch time) and so badly that we had to go back and do it again. Thankfully the next person took her time and made sure she had good fingerprints. Just an update, Ying has applied for her passport and we are anticipating an end once and for all of the proccess

Yep, got all that! Thanks for the reminder though, can never be too careful. We took the kitchen sink approach and filed copies of the same paperwork we did for her CR-1 visa, her 10 year green card and citizenship. When Ying saw how thick her file was, the emmigration officer who interviewed her joked that at least half her life was contained if those pages.

I think you are referring to a re-entry permit? It's my understanding that you need to apply that it while you're in the US and wait there until you get it. This certainly creates quite an inconvenience in our case, so we simply pass on getting the re-enty permit. My wife has her green card, and we are in China, where we both live and work, at least temporarily. To ensure we maintain my wife's green card status, we travel to the US periodically; about twice a year. You have to file the re-entry permit or advance parole in the US, but you can have it sent to the US Consulate nearest your location. If Ying had not gotten her citizenship, she would have had it sent to the Consulate in Shenyang

And now the swearing is done too! http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3416/3554899143_a1d58070ca_o.jpg Welcome to the newest United States Citizen.

Sounds great. Ying's goal was to be able to answer the questions without thinking. she was able to do just that with the exception of confusing the rights claimed under the Declaration of Independence and the rights guranteed under the Constitution. She initially had trouble with our congressman. senators and the governor of Texas, but she had no trouble. Here is a tip. The interview actually begins the minute his name is called. The Officer will engage in small talk to determine his competency in English for normal conversations.

Congrats on the date..... Is he ready?