Dan R

On the instructions. 1. Who May File? A. You are a U.S. citizen If you are asking I am guessing that you are currently an American citizen. In which case they will treat you as badly as the rest of us. Good luck and welcome to the Guangzhou Consulate waiting room.

Hey how come the Oregonians can get pinned and no one ever offered to pin our Californian meetup thread that was started in the right forum without being sent there. Even with the Terminator as Governor we don't get no respect.

nygatl15, If it is so important that you both be of the same religious belief, I hope you have thoroughly discussed this with your SO. In my discussions with Asians about religion they have not had the same concept as I find among Christian American friends. Generally I have found that they have a different idea of belonging to a religion. For most Asians the idea of belonging to a religion is not exclusive of believing in other religions. I just breing this up as it seems important to you. Make sure you are both on the same wave length to avoid later problems if this issue is uncompromising for you as stated..

Look til you find a Chinese doctor on the list. Luckily here in So Cal there are a number of them.

Yup our SO's wont even know when our memories are gone, we'll just google

Dan we're all set my man. That bench in Foshan I told you about. The most beautiful women in China walking by all day... Look but no touch... Yup, the life of Rielly ( you remember that William Bendix character on TV a few years back).

That's ok J you can have a row house facing the beach. We saw a number of new ones like that. She likes those. Myself I like living in town where I can go downstairs and do the shopping and people watching. I want to sit next to the sidewalk and be one of the neighborhood characters.

Hear! Hear! I like your outlook. I hope you hold on to that in the months ahead. As you can see the wait has had a deterious effect on several of us like Roger, Robert and myself who are teetering on the brink. I still believe that with the nurturing of our SO's once they are permited by GUZ to enter the U.S. (Thanks to GUZ we will sleep easy knowing they wont terroize us in our sleep, certified by GUZ) we will return to a recognizably normal state. Fear not righteouness is on our side!

Did you check the search link below in Links and Resources? Just put in the cities near you to get a list.

The difference between Japan, U.S. and China is tthat the Chinese economy is tighter controlled by the government. Brakes have been applied to slow construction that would lead to over supply. While we may not see the increases that have occurred over the past ten years in real estate, I doubt it will drop much. On the other hand a dispute with Japan or the U.S. could reduce trade causing a recession. California is now leveling off after rapid price increases. While in China most homes are prepaid or short term loans so in troubled times the owner can hold on to them, in California the last boom was supported by "creative" financing. Mostly this means that the owners must find new loans in five years or face ballooning costs. I expect to find good discounts here in the next 2-3 years.

At least while we wait the government tries to amuse us. The instructions for K-1 visa indicate it is a non-immigrant class visa. That makes it simple doesn't it. When you go to GUZ's (as those of us on a first name basis refer to the Guangzhou American Consulate ) personal website the information is clearly available under Immigrant Visas You might ask why can't I do my interview at another Consulate only blocks from home which also processes non-immigrant visas. Ah that is the mystery we all sit here and ponder. That is because only GUZ processes immigrant visas. Now could anything be plainer? So the fee of course is for a non-immigrant visa. Plain as a black hole in space isn't it. We're off to the GUZ, the wonderful wonderful GUZ....... come along!

Or at least to make it appear that WE know what we are mumbling about. Which brings us to the question why would it matter or not?

It would seem she does not trust the bottled water company. Not using tap water is understandable since it is made safe with chemicals that Chinese prefer not to do. Boiling is a clean way to make water safe. Since you didn't say you got sick from the drinks, I guess they boiled the water for ice. I never saw ice at any of the homes I visited. The water issue may be a moot point in Beijing soon. They are building a huge water purification plant to provide potable water for the Olympic visitors. Of course after the Olympics they may decide to run it without chlorine or chloramine and boil it at home again as they seem to prefer water without chemical additives that we prefer.

Whether she will need to quit in an interim until receiving her card is dependant on her employer's policy not the government. If you have paperwork showing that the EAD is applied for they can let her continue. U.S. law recognizes the intent of a law above enforcement of the letter of the law. Employers recognise that the government can be slow in issuing documentation and many do not regard this as a cause for terminating employment. This is done on a case by case basis with the belief that documentation will soon arrive. Also many employers do not have the means of checking files for expiring I-9 records more than once a year. While this puts them in risk of fines they just don't have HR personnel to do it. In such cases if you say nothing you may be able to have the documentation before they know the old expired. I have been doing employment documentation for 25 years and passed many agency audits including INS.

Communication is made more difficult by the use of multiple languages. That is not to say it is not difficult between those speaking the same language. Language is given meaning through the producing culture and its societal influences. Nuances and word imagery often make translation difficult and at times exact word meaning transfer impossible. This is the reason that a translation by law is a new document in itself. As cultures over theglobe mix more and more and a global society emerges, I believe we will see greater understanding between peoples and eventually succeed in rebuilding the tower of babel. In this way perhaps Peace may be achieved. I mean this in a global sense not in a domestic sense

Congratulations and thanks for remembering that "little detail" at the end. I also feel that under American laws protecting minors that interviewing a 14 year old alone is wrong. From the answer you received it seems lack of space is not the reason. Congratulations for giving your SO a demonstrative lesson in the difference in the American and Chinese concept of citizen/government relationship

The one child policy didn't take effect till 1976 (?) ... so anyone older than 30 would have siblings.. It also is not applied evenly throughout China. Minorities are excluded so it actually only applies to Han Chinese. Also the law was recently altered to fit the application in most Sheng that a woman who remarries can have another child with the new husband. As with all things in China money and connections changes application of the law. I suspect that in the near future population control will become a matter of economics and personal choice like in Japan. Japan is the first country in the world to reverse population growth. This does make another concern though. How will the majority of people, who will be retirees in only 25 more years, be supported by the working minority?

Congratulations and thanks for all the information.

How about the taxis with a holder for the bottle or thermos of tea next to the driver.

The thing that surprised me and disappointed me when I first went to China was going to a cheap restaurant. While I waited for the food they asked if I wanted "Cha". I was sure when they brought plain hot water that they were cheating the foreigner. Live and learn. Having been there I learned much and did research later about the internal damage done by drinking iced drinks. I hardly ever have anything cold now.

Roger you are a better man than I. I was raised on a diet of 2 veggies (corn and wax beans), hamburger, chicken and pork - prepared the same way week after week. I tried lots of stuff in China but there were some things I was just to squeemish to eat Ok it looks like you guys are about ready for L.A. I know a plavce where the pigeons are cooked just right. On temple street the Blood Stew is made with the right amount of intestine, We can have almost any sea creature for Sushi. The turtles you can pick your own. Do you know what Menudo is? Very good for curing hangovers from Tequila I'm told. Vietnamese Pig Feet Bin Bo Hue is spicy and tasty. But we can start building you up with the heat index by gradually getting up to Sichuan Hot Pot from Jalopinos. China, HAH I live in L.A.

Thank you for the response it is very interesting. .

Your timeline is almost the same as ours. Hopefully that means P-4s soon. Since you are submitting this to government clerks (I think you know what I mean, no slurs intended) and your paper work does not state Madarin Oral Communication, I would send the VHS of you speaking to the VO in Mandarin and English. Also perhaps you can send a letter in Chinese and translated into English for the VO. Translations must have the statement by the translator that they are fluent and able to render Chinese to English. Since these are things the VO's actually look at when they make their fast decision on a relationship, they should be more effective than the certifications and degrees that they might over look. I would send all of the above mentioned.

Syl- I did this too. I just forgot about it cuz it was so long ago. I want to go back to veggie when we move to the US. Don't know how that's gonna work out though.... It didn't make much of a difference for us either cuz I'm such a picky eater anyways.... Amber you are a pickee eater and eat out in China??? How does that work? Are people there understanding about such things? I would make it clear that I don't want red meat and other than a couple of times they did their best for me. I am wondering how it is when they regard you as a resident and not a short term guest? I would like your observations on this. Thanks.

California sent ours on very quickly. I wouldn't worry about California (save that for Guangzhou). For other postings I've read it seems a number of members have had their files transferred to other centers because others were over worked. Good Luck!