Carl

As far as I know, the closest she will come to an American name is if she decides to take your family name as her last. Usually a married woman in China will keep her family name after marriage. I gave Ying the option as to what she wanted to do. She decided to take my family name as her last, but kept her family name as her middle name. Some Chinese will adopt an English name as a nickname and may make that their name after they emmigrate to the US, but I think it needs to be her decision, but personally I think her Chinese name is much better.

Today, Friday January 27 Ying got her green card in the mail. She was online in a video conference with her sister when I checked the mail. She immeaditely showed it to her sister who was overjoyed to see it. So far this has been an outstanding Chinese new year for the both of us. Together we hope to make the "YEAR OF THE DOG" a year to remember and cherish. 'HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO ALL"

Glad I could be of help

I did it all myself without any trouble at all. Save the money you would spend on a lawyer for a future trip or your SO's ticket for when she comes her. Just my HUMBLE OPINION

That's great, but if I remember right, the USCIS says there is no charge for processing an I-864, but the NVC charges $64 to process the same form. so unless the state department signs off on only your last years tax form we may still be stuck sending the last three years.

I didn't keep copies of my boarding passes, but I did make a notarized (Local US notary) copy of the title page of my passport and the visa to China with the entry and departure stamps for China. Ying also kept the ticket stubs for a flight we took in China from Yanji to Beijing to prove I was in country. As is, all her interviwer was interested in was our pictures and when we met and married. It seems that different VO's have different priorities and specific interests, so it is best to have a little of everything

Sorry about being so late with this, but as promised...... Ying said she got to the consulate early in the morning. Once there and having sworn the oath she went to a room to wait for her interview. Once her number was called she went up to a window with an Asian woman (Korean?). She asked Ying if she had any pictures. Ying handed her the photo album. As she looked at the pictures she asked Ying the following questions. 1) How did you meet? (Internet on AFF) 2) When did you get married? (June 24, 2004) 3) How many times did he come to China? (Once, but work did not allow for another visit.) 4) How long did he stay? (10 days) 5) Did he have any children? (no) 6) Do you have any children? (said she was sorry when learned of Peter's recent death.) She then asked for Ying's passport and said she passed. Ying had idea her decision was already made because before she even looked at the pictures she already had the red slip of paper all ready to hand her. The rest as we say is history.

The only time you need to show your divorce papers is when you submit an Affidavit of Single status with the Chinese Consulate in your area. But the decree needs to be accompanied with an Apostille from your state's Secretary of State's office. That being said....The state you were divorced in needs to be in the area served by the Consulate in your area....in my case, I now live in Texas (Consulate in Houston), but I was divorced in Oregon (outside of the area of their responsibility) The certificate needed to have an Apostille issued by Oregon's Secretary of State and certified by the Consulate in San Francisco. I called the consulate in Houston and they told me that since as far as Texas was concerned I was single, just say I was never married in my Affidavit. I had the Affidavit notarized, and an Apostille for the notary. the Consulate certifed it, and I had no trouble getting married in China.

Ying got into San Antonio this evening at 5PM. After an hour drive we had a light meal at my parents home. once we unloaded her suitcase she called her mother to let her know she got here safe and sound. If you don't hear from me in the next few days...DO NOT SEND A RESCUE PARTY....I AM ONE HAPPY CAMPER!!!!!!!

In a few hours my parents and I will be leaving fo the airport to get Ying. Needless to say everybody is excited about meeting her, but for me it will be the culmination of a long drawn out and sometimes painful process. For those who have completed it and given me their support I thank you from the bottom of my heart. For those just starting and those still in the process, take heart from the many success stories here and know that the day will come when you and your SO's will be reunited. Remember "Love conquers all"

IMHO I think it is a good idea for her to follow the Chinese tradition of keeping her current name till she gets to the US. Then she can change her name to yours. This will avoid any possible delays with her visa.

I will do that. I talked to the airline this morning when I got up. They said they looked at putting her on the last flight out of San Francisco to San Antonio, but they decided with the clearing of customs and emmigration she might miss it, and with the Christmas holiday she might not get another. As is the flight she was rebooked on was so full they had to put her up in first class......She will enjoy that!!!!!!!

Well there has been some changes in the arrival time. Because of a delay in the arrival time of another flight United has delayed their departure from 1:55PM to 7:30PM. Because of the delay she will miss her connection in San Francisco. She told me that United has offered her a hotel room in San Francisco and will reschedule her flight to San Antonio the next day. I was looking on the United website and there is a way she can get into San Antonio the same day she arrives, but it is a roundabout route through Los Angeles. I told her to call me when she gets into San Francisco and I will suggest it to her. I figured I waited this long, one more night won't make any difference. I'll at least know where she is

I've been cleaning for the last week and a half.....do the final mopping in the morning.

Yesterday Ying finally left Shenzhen for Beijing. She is planning on taking a United Airlines flight from Beijing to San Francisco then on to San Antonio. She should be here around 5 PM Tuesday. Since my father does not trust my car to make the trip (120 miles round trip) he has offered their minivan. It just so happens my mother is also off on this day so it looks like meeting Ying at the airport will be a family affair. I asked Ying what was the first thing she wanted to see and she said she wanted to see our streets. After she gets here I will quiz her and post her information on the visa interview and her entrance into the US. I want to thank all in our family here on candle for your support, your timely information and most of all your understanding that made a particularly difficult visa process more bearable. I know Ying will also thank you. The only sad thing about this reunion is it will Ying's son Peter will not or ever be a part of our family. Ying and I will have some personal healing to do together, but love will overcome. For those who are new to the board and don't know our story, please take the time to read it. In these posts you will see the true heart of the members of this board and how they will all pull together to help in times of need. I want to thank all from the bottom of my heart for all your support. A Sad Day......Death of a Child.

Best of luck.....My Ying did it.....I know Dannie can too.

When I e-mailed Sec. Harty concerning my concerns about Ying because of the death of her son, Maura responded within rather quickly expressing her condolences and that she would look into it. Within 24 hours I had an e-mail from her special assistiant requesting information. I think that Sec. Harty genuinely cares about our situation and will do everything in her power to assist us.

Unless you choose to have it mailed, but then you will be worrying about it being lost in the mail and you won't have any fingernails left to chomp on. Best to wait the two days and have it in hand I think. You pick it up at the post office near the consulate. Larry 174023[/snapback] YOU ARE CORRECT PONY SOLDIER

Ying got hers 2 days later.

Ying picked up her visa and the money I sent her. Compared to everything we have been through before, this should be easy......or at least I hope it is.

Ying wants to be here by the 9th. I have to do some more cleaning, but it is worth it.

Update the timelines......Ying got her visa on 5 December, 2005. YIPPIE KI YI YI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ying just signed on MSN and told me she got her visa . She said she was interviewed by an Asian woman. She just asked 4 questions. These are the questions as I understood them. 1) If we had gotten married? 2) Did she have a child? 3) When did we meet? 4) How many times have I been to China? It seems the VO did not know about Peter's passing, Ying said she cried when the VO said she was sorry. Ying did tell me that a woman going for a K-1 was denied.....I hope it was not anybody here. I'll ask Ying to e-mail me with more details, but for now.......SHE GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!

In less than 12 hours Ying will be going for her visa interview. I hope and pray it will be successful. In a good way it is good I am going to work today to keep my mind off it. But I will be as nervous as a cat in a rocking chair factory until I get that call she passed the interview.

That is the best to do. When I first inquired with the IRS, they told me that copy of your SO's passport needs to be notarized by a US notary. They did tell me that you could send the original with the W-7 and they would send it back, but I did not want to chance it. Just take the original and copy to the notary so they can see the two are the same. When I sent my 1040, the W-7 for my wife and the copy of her passport, I had no trouble getting my refund.