owenkrout

Everyone should take Mick's advice on this. I would never advise anyone to book a ticket for the next day when dealing with GZ. There were a few ladies awhile back that had to wait for several days because the printer broke down. People have been delayed because they were asked for more paperwork. Normally you get the visa the same day or the next, but not always and there is no way to definately predict it. It is just a part of the process that you have to plan for, you may have to spend several days in GZ at the time you pick up your visa.

I wonder why chinese immigration officers checked the package.Can we just get through by showing passport and airflight ticket?I wouldn't take my package out at all unless they force me.and thanks for reminding this owen. I got the impression that the officials at Shenyang were not as familiar with dealing with emmigration. Also, they were being very cautious that morning. They were very carefully checking all papers. I don't know about K-1, but her visa was attached to the outside of the brown envelope and since they required her to show the visa, she had to hand them the packet. They spent three or four minutes examining my passport and the visa stamps in it. They spent a long time examining my wife's passport and papers. That is one of the differences between China and the US. I have never had to show why I was leaving the US and that I had permission.

Thank you for the positive viewpoint, Francine.

I am really fortunate in the way my wife is adapting. Just short of three weeks now and she is getting along great! The quirks you are describing are what I expected, but she is fitting right in. I am the one that misses the hard bed we have back in Shenyang. It was good for my back. She has pronounced the soft mattress we are on as being very good. She has been invited to play piano for my mother's church and has several standing invitations to come and use the piano in people's homes. We resurected a keyboard that had been sitting unused in my parent's home and she is delighted with it. She is in love with my brother's two children and they spend all their time when they are here with her quite happily. The heat and high humidity have surprised her, but she is up every morning about six and out for a walk around the property. She helped me to dig up and plant a flower garden to improve the looks of the entrance to my parent's place. She has announced that she would like to plant the five acres in vegtables and "make a lot of money". She is very impressed with American farming methods. The wheat harvest went through here last week and the machinery was a new thing to her. Being rural Kansas, everybody waves as they drive by. That has left her with a very favorable impression of how friendly people are. I happen to agree about opening up the house and getting some fresh air in the mornings when it is relatively cool, but my father complains about that, so we forgo it. I've made several job applications including one at the Kickapoo Nation school. Now that would be an interesting change from teaching in China.

In the northeast they don't even pretend to be wearing it. You usually can't even find the seat belts in a taxi up there.

I doubt that you are going to find any hotel better than the White Swan. If you find it ratty, then you would be absolutely shocked at many of the places that I have stayed in while in China. My wife pronounced it as being only for rich people. (Meaning no way we were going to spend that kind of money) The Shaimen Hotel just down the road from the White Swan and very close to the Consulate is a good choice. The Seamen's Hotel across the river from the Consulate has some very good deals on the sixth and seventh floors if I remember correctly. I would opt for the train to Hong Kong also. Trains leave from the East Train Station. BTW, I have to agree. I was never impressed by GZ.

The packet is simply a large brown envelope with one corner cut off. There was no name or number on my wife's envelope. We got a brief scare as she was leaving China, as the immigration officers there were scrutinizing all documents very carefully and at one point they started to open the packet to look inside. I instantly cried out, "Bu shi, bu shi, bu shi!" and they stopped and gave me a very surprised look. Then another official explained to them that it should not be opened.

Congratulations on finally getting the interview date! The hardest part is behind you now.

Thanks, Tom, for some really useful information and for some really positive results from proactive activity on your part. You are one of the best examples of how one can achieve some real progress while still taking the positive approach to things. You don't have to lie down and let them walk all over you, but at the same time you can keep a positive attitude. Anyone who would waste their time trying to stir up trouble on this or any other board like this when they really did not have any such relationship has some really serious personality problems. Get a life. Even though I have really good reason to sympathize with those who are just now struggling through the process that my wife and I have already successfully negotiated, I must admit that it steadily becomes less and less of a priority to spend time on the board rather than with my new family. I still answer e-mails and post answers to questions on the board as well as offer encouragement but I am quite willing to let the people now going through the process decide what direction their efforts should go in now. Anyone who has to invent a sweetheart and a love life and waste their time making up stories to go with it is indeed one sick puppy.

Oh! Well that explains much about where such a piece of junk came from.

Your prayers of thanks were definately in order! Yours is one of the fastest processing times that I have heard of. My wife is really enjoying it here in America and I am sure that you will also.

I have the opportunity to speak to some groups while I am here and one of the issues that I would like to cover is the unfairness of the current immigration policies. I know that the short wait time for people coming from countries where terrorists have actually been a problem is something that has been mentioned here before. Does anyone actually know where to find factual information on that?

After all the delays that we went through, things have finally gone right once my wife made it state-side. Her entry through the LAX port of entry went very smoothly and she received her green card and her SSN card in the mail today! Two weeks to the day from her date of entry. She also met the Chinese owner and workers at the local Chinese restaraunt. Turns out that they are from the NorthEast also. They indicated that they might be able to help with her daughter getting a work visa. One of us is going to have to get a job soon though as it is expensive in the US even when just visiting!

If NZ is open on immigration again, I would send our daughter there rather than have her hang out in China for the 5-10 years it takes for her immigration visa to the US. She just got her certification for being trained in cooking Chinese cusine. I am hoping that it will lead to her being able to find a job in one of the free countries where opportunities are much better.

They rarely ask to see the X-ray picture, but technically it is required for the visa, so they could do so. If they do and you don't have it, it would mean another delay. Take it with you just to have all the bases covered.

I have posted some notes on my wife's experience and reactions to the US at: Rose's entry to the US

BTW: What the wife recieved was technically a "Notice of Action - Notice Type: Welcome Notice" Mick, I understand that you are still having troubles with you-r wife not being in the computer files yet. The letter my wife received has a National Customer Service Center number: 1-800-375-5283. You might try calling that number to ask some embaressing questions. Some excerpts from the letter: "It is with pleasure that we welcome you to permanent resident status in the United States." "As of March 1, 2003, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. -- While we have reorganized, you will continue to: ....Use all documents and forms issued by the INS" "We will soon mail you a new Permanent Resident Card. You should receive it within the next 3 weeks. You can use it to show your new status. When you receive your card you must carry it with you at all timesif you are 18 or older. It is the law." "Your new card will expire in ten years. While card expiration will not directly affect your status, you will need to apply to renuew your card several months before it expires."

My wife received a mailing from BCIS today welcoming her to the US and congratulating her on her permanent resident status. It indicated that the green card should arrive in the mail within three weeks. So far the process has gone very smoothly for her her state-side. Getting here was the hard part.

P.J., The doctor that I went to specialized in travel medicine and he recommended the Japanese En. vaccine when going to China primarily because of the uncertainty as to just how common it really was in China. I also took the anti-malarial medications while in south China. It was expensive, but I had not side effects. We have a friend who was a PLA nurse and prior to her retirement, was on a team that was assigned to epidemics. She said that they were always forbidden to talk about them as the epidemics never existed according to the government. Its China, not America. You have to be cautious about your health and sanitation as much as possible, but don't obsess. Owen

We have used the Seaman's Hotel in the past and were highly satisfied with it. Many Americans object to the 10 minute walk, but I had no problem with trading that for a 100 RMB room.

The trip to the Social Security office went very smoothly. Rose was very impressed that they did not allow other people to be pushing their way past while she was being waited on and that there was no demand for a bribe before they would do their job. Simply looked at the stamp in the passport, looked up her case number on the computer and told her the card would arrive in the mail in about two weeks. They were very friendly and cooperative. She had her first driving lesson today. Several laps around the five acres. She managed to miss the oak tree every time past. :-) I will probably take in the Kansas City T-Bones game. They are a Northern League team (an independent league). The one I used to go to was the Wichita Wranglers a Texas League team (AA Royals affiliate). I just like the game. I'm not a sports hero worshiper. Don't know names records all that nonsense.

More first impressions: We went by Pittsburg State University, where her brother and I were in graduate school together. It was difficult to convince her that it was a government run school as "everything is so clean and nice". Of course it further amazed her that I just walked into labs and classrooms to show everything off to her, but that was partially because I used to teach there and people still recognize me, so I don't get shooed out of places the general public would. The drive to Pittsburg really brought home how much open space and how few people there are in Kansas. The huge fields of perfect looking corn and the wheat harvest were impressive. Impressed her that I have a car. Never mind that it is only a '94 Tiempo. Really impressed her that my brother has two SUVs. He is a police officer, so she was assuming that they were police vehicles and not his personal. I hadn't thought about it, but they do look like what the PSB tool around in. I stopped at the Farm and Ranch supply store to look at boots. She really liked the cowboy boots (now labeled "trucker boots" I see). But she was shocked as we walked out and went by the very large and extensive gun sales counter. "Why?" - "People buy them." "Really!?" - "Yes, really." "Are they real?" - "Yes, they are real." "Eya miya!" We stopped at the best and most popular Chinese food place in Pittsburg and she was not impressed with the food, but decided that having a buffet restaraunt like that was an easy way to make money. (Oh, my aching head!) Off to Social Security office this morning. At LAX they put her name in the computer real time and showed me the info on the screen, so hopefully there will be no difficulty with SSN.

We are in Kansas now. Rose's first comment on stepping outside at Kansas City was, "Eya mia! It's like an oven!" Someone walking alongside at the moment cynicly replied, "Welcome to Kansas City!" We got caught in a raging thunderstorm yesterday while out shopping to further complete her education to the weather in this area. She was asking if there was going to be a tornado and I was assuring her, "No, it will be fine" while scanning the sky and thinking, "I don't like the looks of this one!" Rose is loving it in the US. She declared that American towns are like gardens. She is getting along great with my parents. She was utterly amazed that the house sits on ten acres and that it all belongs to them. Taking her to a Blues festival in Kansas City Kansas this week-end. And I am taking in a baseball game. LAX was an easy entry point. They stamped her passport and made sure that I understood that the stamp was her tempory proof of permanent residency and work permit. Now we see about the Social Security office.

Not necessary as far as the US is concerned. Not necessary in Liaoning Province but in China there is actually less national government control than in the US. It is possible for a provincial government to make such a requirement and enforce it. I have not heard of any such requirement anywhere in China. The requirement comes from certain destination countries which do require a SARS free health certificate for entry, Switzerland, for example.

I may or may not have time to drop in and check on the board tomorrow. Monday (China's Monday) I will be leaving for the US, so I will be out of touch for a few days. Everybody play nice while I am gone. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. I have five children, so I've used that line alot.) I just heard on the news that there were 100,000 demonstrators out on the streets of Seoul today. Hope they are gone by Monday when we stop over there.