PapaBear

Don't know about dishwashers or dish dryers. But Lao Po and I did do some appliance shopping for our Beijing apartment. We ended up buying Panasonic cloths washing machine and dryer (stackable). We looked at dozens of washing machines and dryers, some were both wash and dry in the same machine....but her brother had one of these, and I was never impressed with the wash/dry results. So I convinced Lao Po to go for the individual function machines. They work very well, but I must remind Lao Po she must do small loads and not cram everything she can fit into the washing drum. PapaBear

Hey.......I Know That Tune !! Here's hoping you'll be singing a newer one SOON !! PapaBear B)

So Roger.....what's this wait til August 2013 bit? You're not planning on waiting til then to retire are you??? Well, I guess that's not too far off....I'm hoping to stick it out another 6 years in the workplace before retiring. You mentioned going to Tiger Leaping Gourge, did you make the trip out of LiJiang to the kingdom of women, Lugu Lake? Another of my favorite places in Yunnan! Also, was going to ride the tram to the top of the Jade Snow Dragon Mountain, but the lines were way too long. Ended up horse-back riding to a small meadow on the side of the mountain, singing my way up the trail (the Chinese woman whose horses we were on said the horses liked my voice.....I was singing tunes from The Sound of Music.....Climb Every Mountain, as well as the rest of them). What a memorable trip! I didn't visit Old Town LiJiang until my last day in LiJiang, enjoyed all that time out in the country-side! Anyway, congrats on the Yuannan Yuxi home. Is it furnished or unfurnished, new or used? I'd be interested in the average m2 price you found around Yuxi. Just interested, we're going to be busy fixing up our Beijing home.....will host my parents there this year, and with the Olympics in 2008.....will be entertaining my own children there then! So.....lots of work to do in the mean time (Lao Po wants to completely redo both our bath rooms....major tile and renovations in the works). PapaBear

OUr's too has a similar change: Application Type: I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS Current Status: Response to request for evidence received, and case processing has resumed. On May 2, 2006, we received your response to our request for evidence. We will notify you by mail when we make a decision or if we need something from you. If you move while this case is pending, call customer service. You should expect to receive a written decision or written update within 60 days of the date we received your response unless fingerprint processing or an interview are standard parts of case processing and have not yet been completed, in which case you can use our processing dates to estimate when this case will be done. This case is at our MISSOURI SERVICE CENTER location. Follow the link below to check processing dates. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register. Are we outside their processing dates? I think so! So what's up with this change? Just an attempt by USCIS to say they're working on this completely useless "On-Line Status" tool. Bah Humbug!! Don't hold your breath! PapaBear

Roger.....Your Yuxi find sounds beautiful! I fell in love with Yunnan when I visited there too. Also, had the same impression of Kunming when I flew in from Hanoi, Viet Nam. I had researched Yunnan ahead of time and had planned on spending 4 or 5 days in Kungming before pushing onward into LiJiang. But after landing, even before I got out into the city, I knew that I wanted to push on to LiJiang sooner. So, before leaving the airport I purchased a ticket to LiJiang for the following day and spent 7 days in and around that area befoe returning to Kunming for a return flight to Hanoi. It was a good decision, one which I will never forget nor regret. I've had to promise Lao Po a vacation trip to Yunnan soon! The country-side there is just beyond description. The people are some of the nicest I've met anywhere, seems they wear their hearts on their faces....big smiles! And the geography is full of everything delightful! A great vacation destination! Roger.....where are the pictures? I know you had some troubles keeping pocession of your camera....butr you did make it back with some didn't you? Post some why don't ya? PapaBear B)

Right you are Don! We wouldn't even think of leaving the country with an expired visa, hoping that what we had been told would work upon re-entry. We would want it in writing. But what sparked this firecraker of discussion, was being told that at no point after filing for AOS can a K3 visa holder leave the country without first having obtained AP. Now when you schedule an Info-Pass appointment, one would assume that the Immigration Officier conducting the appointment would; (1) know the law and give correct information, and (2) have your file with information relevent to your case there in front of them. In my last appointment with USCIS, the IO flat out told us that a K3 could not travel outside the country after filing AOS without AP. At this point there was no discussion of expiring visas. And the IO had no file or other paper infomation on our case during the appointment, she just entered the AOS Case Reciept Number into the computer and was looking at a screen showing her the same exact information we view at "On-Line Status" at the USCIS Website. Well, as far as I can tell.....we've beat this horse dead....must be time to let this thread die! PapaBear B)

B) I've just scheduled another "Info-Pass" appointment to once again try to get some straight answers! Of course all this could have been avoided if our case was moving in some direction. I think it is just absolutely obsurd that an AOS interview would be scheduled months, if not years, before security clearances cleared. B) Something is rotten in Denmark or as in this case DC! But we'll keep right on smiling......at least we are together and not half a world apart! PapaBear

Randy and David, thank you both! I appreciate your efforts here on CFL to get answers to some pretty difficult questions. It seems you can not get a straight answer from the authorites on the issue; USCIS says one thing, DOS says another. Of course we are going to side with being overly cautious, we don't want any re-entry problems. It's probably worth the $$$ to apply for AP and not risk the hassle! But one would think, our government was alittle more sound in their rules/advise (I mean the advise I reeived from USCIS IO at our Info=Pass Appointment was totally wrong.....we didn't need AP while our AOS was pending and the I-485 Form says so in it's instructions....that is with a valid K3; but the advise DOS gave me was that all benefits and privileges remained in effect for the original intent of that visa (multiple entry included). Yes David, this is clear as mud! Maybe if we file for AP it will bring attention back to our file and someone will pick it up and blow off all that dust that's settled on it! B) Believe me, we won't leave the country without a clear and sure answer to our delima! Thanks again Randy and David. I do appreciate you guys! PapaBear B)

Not according to a person I spoke with at DOS, but that is according to the person I spoke with at USCIS. The DOS person I spoke with stated "as long as a petetion has been filed for AOS, in other words if and AOS is pending, all benefits and privledges remain in effect for that visa". I specifically asked about multi-entry for travel outside the US and was told again that all benefits and privledges including entry/exit were still valid. Of course, we must keep in mind the response I received from the IO at my Info-Pass Appointment......which was wrong! Possibaly this person I spoke with at DOS was wrong also? I am no expert here. But I am looking for responses from experienced persons, not from someone who thinks-he-knows-the answer. Randy.....are you sure your post is correct? If it is.......thank you. PapaBear

Come'on you vetrans of knowledge out there! This has got to be important enough to receive some tid-bit of input from some of you old crustie soldiers out there who have gone through the gauntlet? Give us something to have faith in and hold on to! Some ray of light? PapaBear B)

Don, An Infopass appointment does absolutely nothing. My wife insists on going every 3 months to inquire and we are told nothing except "Pending". Yes, our experience has been the same with "InfoPass" appointments! I'd just like to know one thing..........how do these nitwitts get jobs as IO's? Seems to me the whole system is totally beyond repair (I must say this without swearing, mus-sent I?). "On-Line Case Status" as well as "InfoPass" information just plain sucks! Not worth a plug nickel! PapaBear

Yeah, yeah, yeah! Ditto to the dittoed ditto's....right down to the origianl statement! The "On-Line Status" machine is broke down, far beyond repair! We are in that AOS "gray area" or to more accurately put it "BLACK HOLE"! And we hate feeling like mushrooms in the dfark being fed crap! Our "On-Line Status" has read the same since USCIS received their RFE we submitted in April 2006.....system shows they received it on May 2. Since then we've passed our AOS interview and are just waiting on either a name check review or security check...or both? You know what's even more alarming than USCIS's stale information on it's "On-Line Status" and the fact that when you call the National Service Center and give them your reciept number they look at the same information you are looking at when you access the "On-Line Status" utility?????? The really scary part is that when we made an "InfoPass" appointment and personally went into the USCIS Federal Building in Sacramento.......the IO asked for our case receipt number and then accessed this same "On-Line Status" utility to check on our case. Pending! Then this IO handed us an application for AP stating that if my wife left the country without permission our case would be deemed abandoned and her AOS would be denied! I advised her that we were K3 and she flat out told us we needed AP to leave (my wife has been back to China 2 times since we filed for AOS). Well, I checked further and the I-485 states that there are exceptions to leaving the country while an AOS is pending and K3 is an exception! Go figure! Where do they, USCIS, go to get such competent help? I'm completely frustrated with the system! I have no faith in it! We'll see what the next few months have to hold. Our K3 expires in February 2007! Hoping it gets resolved before then! Thanks for letting me vent! PapaBear

Congratulations hlquan! We know how that "long road" goes! Still going down it, holding our breath for a card to be issued before our K3 expires! Got to be a good feeling! Congratulations Again! PapaBear B)

PENDING ! Yes, this is the story we got after passing our AOS Interview! Our IO told us that our case will return for further security check. When I questioned what he meant by further security check, he advised that someone may be sent to my neighborhood and inquire of my neighbors information about our living together and that if my wife's family name were a common one in China that the further name check could take months to complete. He advised that if we didn't receive a green card within 3 months to check back with USCIS. This was July 19, 2006. Well, the on-line status website at USCIS had been displaying the same May 2, 2006 blurb about receiving information we provided for a RFE...then it regressed to a previous display of March 22, 2006 blurb indicating that their letter to us had been returned marked "undeliverable". This was enough for us to schedule an info pass appointment with an IO on October 20, 2006. This appointment really didn't give us much hope. The IO advised that our case was still "PENDING !" and that all we can do is wait. She also advised that in the case of K3 visa holders, once you have filed for AOS you can not leave the country without AP. This was news to us. My wife has returned to China twice since we filed for her AOS. Her second time was cut short due to our AOS Interview being quickly scheduled for July 19th. Boo ! When I had called the National Service Center, prior to our info pass appointment, I asked about my wife's Visa expiring this coming February 15. I was told that all the benefits given on the K3 would remain in full effect as long as an AOS had been filed. Specifically, I inquired about the lack of an I-94 (at our initial AOS Interview, the IO removed the I-94). The person on the phone from the National Service Center advised that all benefits would remain in effect including the multi-entry rights give her under this visa. At our info pass appointment, the IO advised that operators, answering the phones at the National Service Center, were not Immigration Officiers and that the information I was given over the phone was incorrect! We really do feel like mushrooms. Kept in the dark. And fed _ _ _ _ (you know what!) Well.....here's wishing the best to all those is our same situation! Hurry up and wait!! PapaBear B)

Congratulations Agape and Brutrigem Good Luck with your interviews! PapaBear

Mike and Xiao....my heart really goes out to ya. I remember you situation in March 2005. They're really putting you guys through the ringer. It's just not right! So your wife's son was denied a K-4? We're really sorry to hear that. We brought my wife's daughter over some 6 months after my wife came over on her K-3.....knowing the full while that we would have to return her to China before her 21st birthday (she was 20 years old before the K-4 was issued). Hope you can find a way to overcome for the son.....but more importantly, for the two of your's futures (AOS). PapaBear B)

CONGRATULATIONS!!! B) Here's wishing you and your soon-to-be family all the very best! PapaBear

I Like The Fact That You Can Eat At A Restaurant With Great Food, Service And Attentiveness.....And Not Have To Tip! Gotta Love That! PapaBear

Ooops I just realized the 5% you're refering to is a tax from the State. Guess you probably understand I was talking about real estate commision. Sorry about that! PapaBear

I understand that sellers are getting around the 5% surcharge on 'early' sales by sticking the buyer with the bill... If you want to buy their "house" you pay them and the gummint... 235477[/snapback] We paid, I think, 2.5% to the house company. And I remember thinking that the house seller must be paying the other 2.5%, but when I specifically asked the question.....I discovered we were the only party paying the house company a commission. Also, I remember our payment to them as a commission was negotiated. My wife did get the house company to accept a lesser amount during our negotiations. It was very difficult for myself to be involved in the negotiations having to ask Lao Po every few minutes what was being discussed. She finally had to ask me to just let them talk and when she could, she would translate for me. But we did take our time and work out a deal we both understood. The process may have been stressful, but now we're excited planning and designing and saving for improvements and furniture. Also, looking forward to a visit to our own space. PapaBear B)

You sort of figured out a way around these regulations/restrictions? Well then..... let's hear your way 'round 'em. Just curious. As for ourselves, Lao Po and I are in the remodeling and furnishing phase on our apartment we purchased in Beijing (when I say "we purchased", I mean the loan and house registration is in her name and the funding comes from me). Of course, what's mine is her's and vise-versa. We plan on taking my parents (in their late 70's) to meet her mother (early 80's) and siblings next year. Then we'll have my children visit with us in August 2008 (8/8/08) for the Olympics. All in all, the process is quite exciting and challenging! PapaBear B)

Yepper...........I would say they a bunch of imcompetent retards 235235[/snapback] Your words for them are much nicer than I would have used! We are right there waiting.....after 2 years, 7 months of applications and fees, name checks and interviews! You'd think they'd have a clue! PapaBear

For Your Reading Enjoyment - Food For Thought The following is taken directly from: ======================================================================== [Federal Register: August 14, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 157)] [Rules and Regulations] [Page 42587-42595] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr14au01-1] ======================================================================== Rules and Regulations Federal Register ________________________________________________________________________ This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510. The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each week. ======================================================================== [[Page 42587]] DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Immigration and Naturalization Service 8 CFR Parts 212, 214, 245, 248, and 274a [iNS No. 2127-01] RIN 1115-AG12 ``K'' Nonimmigrant Classification for Spouses of U.S. Citizens and Their Children Under the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act of 2000 AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice. B. Analysis of LIFE Section 1103 Subsection 1103(a) of LIFE amends section 101(a)(15)(K) of the Act. Prior to LIFE, the K nonimmigrant classification was limited to the fiance/fiancee of a U.S. citizen and the fiance/fiancee's children. This classification still exists, and LIFE section 1103(a) redesignates it as section 101(a)(15)(K)(i) of the Act, with the fiance/fiancee's children now classified at section 101(a)(15)(K)(iii) of the Act. LIFE section 1103 (a) adds a classification for the spouse of a U.S. citizen at section 101(a)(15)(K)(ii) of the Act. The new section 101(a)(15)(K)(ii) of the Act has three requirements for an alien to obtain this nonimmigrant classification. First, the alien must already be married to a U.S. citizen who has filed a relative visa petition on his or her behalf with the Service for purposes of an immigrant visa. Second, that same U.S. citizen spouse must be petitioning on that alien's behalf to [[Page 42588]] obtain a nonimmigrant visa. Third, the alien must be seeking to enter the United States to wait the ``availability of an immigrant visa.'' Section 1103(a) also classifies the children of (K)(ii) aliens under section 101(a)(15)(K)(iii) of the Act. Subsection 1103(B) adds a new subsection (p) to section 214 of the Act, which generally covers admission of nonimmigrants. Subsection 214(p) of the Act is divided into three paragraphs: The new section 214(p)(1) of the Act requires the petitioner to file a petition in the United States for the purpose of obtaining nonimmigrant K status for his or her spouse. The petition must be approved by the Service prior to the issuance of the nonimmigrant visa by the consular officer abroad. The new section 214(p)(2) of the Act requires the alien described in section 101(a)(15)(K)(ii) of the Act to be in possession of the nonimmigrant K visa as a spouse at the time of admission, and that the visa must be issued from the same foreign state in which the marriage occurred, if the marriage occurred outside of the United States. This rule provides an exception when the United States does not have a visa issuing post in that state. The new section 214(p)(3) of the Act provides that the new nonimmigrant K status will terminate 30 days following the denial of the relative visa petition or application for immigrant status based on such a petition. Therefore, if the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, the immigrant visa application, or the adjustment of status application of an alien admitted under section 101(a)(15)(K)(ii) of the Act, or the child of such an alien who accompanied or followed to join such an alien, is subsequently denied, the spouse and child's K nonimmigrant status will terminate automatically 30 days later and the alien(s) must leave the United States. For purposes of termination of the new K statuses, these petitions or applications are denied when the applicable administrative appeal has been exhausted, or the period to appeal has expired. Pretty dry reading. As always.....get a competent attorney to really go over the in's and out's and any loop-holes. We couldn't find a competent attorney....in my opinion. PapaBear PS. Adjustment of Status requires an approved I-130 for each appliciant individually.

But the work visa process to LPR is no problem - IF she gets an employer to sponsor her. Where I work, there are many Chinese people who have followed this path. Those on a student visa have a year to find employment after graduation. If I'm reading the I-130 and I-485 instructions correctly (mighty big IF there), her mother, as an LPR or LPR applicant, can file simultaneously with her daughter so that both can get their green card, provided they file before the daughter turns 21. The K-3 and K-1 processes are very different with regards to the case where the child is over 18 at the time of marriage. We are bringing my wife's son over (K-1 follow-to-join), and hope to be able to file for AOS for him before he turns 21 in December. 235029[/snapback] B) Ooops! I guess I really need to go to the K Visa regulations/specifics and read again. I was pretty sure the K2/K4 provisions were almost identical. But you know what? I have been wrong many times before.....so maybe it's not surprising I am wong here. Maybe that's why I am hesitant to post often. Sorry about that! PapaBear B)

Isn't the question here really.....not the visa to get her here, there's no problem there, be it K2 or K4, both will allow the dependent child to follow. The real question is....adjustment of status so she can get a green card. Now, if she is already in the US via a work visa, of course there is no problem getting here. And if her employer wishes, he/she can sponser the daughter for a green card. But the marriage visa process to gain perminent residency may have serious problems for an under age dependent between the ages of 18-21. I wish I were saying this without experience! PapaBear B)