JonInDenver

Just wondering if any of the old black-hole group were still on the board. Xie Hui and I have been doing great, I never thought marriage could be this good. I've heard some bad news from one of "us", but for the most part couples seem to be getting along well. Would love to hear from you (if you remember me). You can write to me direct at OWriters (at) AOL (dot) com. Best, Jon In Denver

We went somewhere past 630 days - pushing the government the whole way. Gut it out, she's worth the wait.

Some of you may remember me from dark days of the "black hole group". I have updated "Our Story" for those of you who may want to see how things are going after a year and a half of marriage (it's great!). I am assembling a collection of opinions and thoughts on how and why so many American men are marrying foreign wives. Along with the immigration statistics and hard numbers, I'd like to develop some basic concepts of the logical and emotional reasons more and more men are finding wives outside of the US with each passing year. Knowing that you had a long road of paperwork and bureaucracy ahead of you, what made you decide to take this route? I'm trying to avoid all the usual stereotypes and cliches, but if your reason is cliche, let me hear it! I know I had my reasons, I'm sure you have yours too. I invite you to post your responses here on the forum, or e-mail me directly at OWriters@AOL.com. Including your full name and city is appreciated, but I will gladly include your input either way. As I am able to pull information together, I will try to feed it back to the group or make it available via e-mail. Keep up the good fight, she's well worth it!

below is the e-mail we got back from GZ today: > According to our records, there is no indication that a follow-to-join > case should have been created for the child in question at the time when > your (now) wife received her visa. > > Since the issuance of the visa, the IV Unit no longer has the paper > petition among its files. If you can demonstrate that your wife's child > was on the original I-129F petition at the time the petition was submitted > to the INS, we will set up a new case for the child. > > If this evidence is not available, you will have to file a CR2 petition > for the child. would my wife's daughter's name on line B.14 be the "evidence" he needs? or should there have been a separate K2 along with it?

Very cool Mick! my girl and i went to the local school parking lot every saturday and sunday for a couple of months. during that time she manually translated almost the entire colorado driver's manual... just so she could be sure to understand everything in it. she got her permit about amonth ago, and we have put in some regular time on the street now. i know that i go a little over the top sometimes ("go! go! go!"), but i've found that she drives better if i say nothing at all! it's good fun though - especially that first time on the freeway... PS: colorado has ONE test of 25 questions in chinese. but all manuals are in english.

Hey Kids, A few of you will remember me as one of the very angry old "black-holers" from way back. My wife arrived March 8, after over 21 months of red tape. We were married that day IN Denver International Airport. Life has been sweet, and I hardly remember the tough times now. It's hard to believe all this was almost FIVE MONTHS ago! Now we want to start the paperwork to bring my wife's 14 year-old daughter over as well... I've searched the websites, but can not find specific information for this process. On 001 we are told we can submit a packet right to the GZ Embasy, and have her here before March 8, '04. Other sources tell us we need to start with INS here in the US, and to expect 14+ months of processing. I know a while back, a few members were in this process with their spouse's children. Any insite will be greatly appreciated. Very Best to All, Jon In Denver

First of all, my condolences for those of you in California. From everything I've heard thus far, your delegates offices will probably be of no use. If anyone there has had any luck, please be sure to pass your contacts on to others in the PRC (People's Republic of California). For the rest of you "on holders" AZwolfman is on the money. Keep after 'em, let them know you've been yanked around, and that you are not going away until you have a satisfactory answer. Appeal to their egos a bit too... "gee, you work for a Senator's office and they dared to send YOU the same crappy form letter they sent me? I thought a Senator's office would get more respect than that...." What made the difference for me (one of the old "black holers" a 21 month battle), was I told three of my delegates that I was willing to take a leave of absence from work, and just badger my government full time. I even offered to work full time in their offices, sharpening pencils, making copies, and fetching lunch, so they would have more time to work on these cases. I think most of the cases being held up now are due to FBI holds, and they are not working the cases quickly if at all. One case here in Colorado, Senator Allard's office stayed on the phone for hours with the FBI and refused to let them off the phone until they had an answer... the result was a one-letter typo no one had even bothered to check out. The young lady was here two weeks later. If you ARE able to find a delegates office that will give you more than the time of day, have them contact Senator Wayne Allard's offices in Colorado. His staff can direct them through the DOS/FBI minefield, and maybe help your case a bit. Best of luck to ALL of you. I will tell you this: life is sweet when things finally happen, and all this waiting will be a distant memory the moment yours steps off the plane. It WILL get better.

I just wanted to let everyone know that one more GREAT victory has come our way. Nicole & Doug were original "black-hole" victims, and when the flood gates opened and the rest of us got on with our lives, they were put on hold again - this time indefinitely. (you may remember Nicole helped Owen find travel arrangements when he went to GZ to battle on our behalf) Thanks to the help of one of our Colorado Senator's offices, and their relentless pursuit of the FBI, a typo was found that has kept the case on hold now for almost 3 months longer than the rest of us. Unless I'm mistaken, she arrived just a few days shy of two years after the paperwork was filed. It is proof again that you can not rest. If they hadn't pushed this hard, the typo would still be in a box somewhere in the "get to it when we have time" department. You must push, pull, and drag the case through each step, and never rest on the assurances of those who just want to get you off the phone. The funny thing is, from this day forward they will not remember what it was like to wait all that time. They will be married tomorrow, and I wish them all the happiness in the world. For those of you still waiting... yah, all the happiness in the world really IS just around the corner. When you are together you will know everyday how lucky you are, and that all is right in the world.

i haven't posted for a long time, have had better things to do. after 9000+ e-mails back and forth - 29 months waiting - now we are finally together so the internet is farthest from my mind. with every over-due case that is cleared, one truth has proven self-evident: you must push your visa through every single step of the process. know where it is, who has it, and what comes next. make sure those who have it are aware that you will not leave them alone until your paperwork is pushed off to the next phase. and then lean on the next group just as hard. there are a few good people out there who will go to bat for you, keep calling and writing letters until you find them. don't rest on the fact that one of your government reps is digging on your behalf, because if that one is weak they will get no farther than you did. make them ALL dig. and all the while, you keep digging too. you don't have to be abusive, but you must be aggressive don't rest. if they feed you BS - tell them flat out - "that's BS!" and demand legitimate answers. meet with your congressmen if you can, and remember all of them are your congressmen - even if you are not from their district - once elected they work for the whole state. i'm not so much in the battle anymore, but this stuff still makes my blood boil. push.

i guess i found it the "old fashioned" way. my wife's parents were walking along the river in GZ, and decided to stop by the counsulate to see if there were any new rumors. the rumor of the day (back in november) was that a batch of fiance visas was finally being issued. the american fiance wrote down "www.candleforlove.com" on a piece of paper, and his girl gave it to my in-laws. from there my wife told me about it. i figure that's about as direct as bumping in to PJ at a shopping mall or something.

i agree... media over-reporting is probably the bigger problem. only 3.5% of the people who get SARS die from it. remember all the hullabaloo over "mad cow disease" in the UK? last i knew only 11 people had died from it. sure, that's 11 too many, but hardly worth constant reporting.

i tend to picture someone sitting on the floor with 3500 green index cards, and 3500 yellow index cards - all spread out around them in no particulatr order. like a big game of "concentration".

i have been concerned about this as well. of the colorado black-hole group: one case cleared over a month ago, three of us have been united with our brides in the last 2 weeks, and the final case is "on hold for at least 6 months". it doesn't seem right to give up the fight just because i've gotten what i wanted. what direction is this battle going in? give me some ideas, and i'll try to direct my colorado compatriot to apply pressure where needed.

woo! hoo! eric my friend, as a now NINE DAY veteran of marriage, i highly recommend it! enjoy!

i am glad that another of my fellow Coloradans has good news. i think we are 3 for 4 right now. for those of you still waiting, i strongly recommend making the needed contacts and milking your case through every step of the system.