Mick
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Posts posted by Mick
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First of all, welcome to Candle. In terms of your questions, my experience with the visa process was many years ago (2001-2003), so my knowledge of the time line is a bit dated. For a K-1, I think it may take a bit longer than seven months, but that is not for certrain. In terms of the visa, it is good for six months, meaning you can use it up to six months after it is issued. Once in the States, the 90-day count down begins. There is no way to be certain whether her being pregnant will influence the decision. I would think the fact that you are starting a family would be in your favor, but you cannot be sure how an individual visa officer will react to this. Over the years, I have found that the decision making process is quite arbitrary. I hope this helps some and I am sure some of our more up to date members will chime in soon. Best wishes for great success and congrats on being a father to be. BTW, where are you in China? I lived there for five years.
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Tom, you are so right about Charleston and its history of "Old South" aristocracy. The blue bloods have always seen themselves as several cuts above everyone else, especially the white trash, the blacks, and the Yankee "carpet baggers." It is an interesting historical factoid that Sir Walter Scott, the English novelist, was the most popular writer in 19th Century Charleston, as well as much of the rest of the "Tidewater" areas of North Carolina and Virginia. Most of Scott's novels championed the MIddle ages and the concepts of chivalry, honor, and familial loyalty. Knighthood was a big deal in many of Scott's novels. Charleston was also the site of one of the nation's largest slave markets.
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The South is heavily represented with counties deemed the worst - Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Georgia. These states are always at the bottom of just about any measure of life quality sociologists want to study. Some academics that study these trends say the region has never been able to dig its way out from the impact of losing the Civil War. I am sure there are a constellation of factors that go into why this area, where I was born and have lived much of my life, is so poor. There are areas in the South where you can literally "feel" the poverty when you drive into it. Go into a convenience store and just spend a little time observing the people that go in and out. Lots of folks joke about this area, but believe me, stark raving poverty is no laughing matter. It is shameful, really - in a land as rich as ours. Not sure what the answer is and in no way want this to become anything political. From a sociological perspective, it is a conundrum and a riddle that I hope can be solved. This kind of deep poverty passes down from generation to generation with no hope of a way out for many, regardless of race. I encounter these people every day of my life and my heart truly bleeds for them. Considering my birthplace and my background, there but for the grace of God go I.
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Wow, Doug - so glad to hear of the preliminary approval. At least that part is great news. Looks like they want you to send the kitchen sink, copies of the kitchen sink, schematic drawings of the kitchen sink, copies of the schematic drawings of the kitchen sink, license and birth certificate of the person who prepared the schematic drawings of the kitchen sink, copies of the license and birth certificate. . . .well, you get the idea. So glad to see they are in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Just send them all the stuff they want and before you know it, she will be stateside with you. You are a good man Doug, and you deserve to have her by your side. Hope you enjoy your visit to Jiangsu!
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It is going to slow things down considerably and there will be a ripple effect into areas other than immigration, like social service delivery and health care.
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That is just fantastic news! Congrats and best wishes for a great future together. Two months from DCF to Approval - that is faster than fast!
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Any time someone blocks the free flow of information, it is a losing proposition in the long run. What it creates is a group of people laboring under a false reality, a reality defined for them by the gate keepers. China does it, we do it too, albeit in a different way. Our government calls it "Classified Information," or in other cases, "spin doctoring," but the reality is the same - erecting a barricade to the free flow of information. It basically sucks . . . .
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As always, great photos, Randy!
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Thanks so much for sharing those pics! I have always wanted to visit Harbin in the winter and I also have an American friend who has taught in Jilin for many years and want to visit him as well, when and if my health permits. Meanwhile, I hope you have a great winter this year and find ways to enjoy the scenic beauty of your homeland.
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Love to see snow and ice pics! For fifteen years (1983 until late 1997, early 1998) I lived in Miami, which is a city very far south in the USA. It is warm year round. I also grew up in Florida, so I mostly lived in climates where ice and snow were non-existent. When living in Miami, I used to take my vacations in the winter every year and travel to a cold, cold area, like northern New England (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, etc), or northwest Montana, in the mountains. I would do this so I could experience the cold, the ice, and snow. I loved it! Yet I don't think I could take a steady diet of ice and cold. A few weeks is great, a few months is another thing. You must be a very strong lady to endure those conditions.
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First of all, Daniel, welcome to Candle. We are glad to have you aboard and I am certain that, as your journey progresses, you will find much help, support, and good info here on this board. As for what you can do now, I would say keep the big picture in mind. The big picture is simply this: you need to convince a visa officer that you have a bonafide relationship. So from the get go, start accumulating anything that will help you do that. Keep photographs, letters, emails, etc. Also, records of phone calls, etc. Evidence of your travels together is a plus I would think, so any ticket stubs, hotel receipts, etc. One thing you have going for you is that you have lived in close contact with her for several years and that should count for something in the visa officer's mind, although it is no guarantee. Any photos you might be able to take with her family might also be of help. The fact that she is fluent in English and you speak good Chinese is also another plus.
I am sure other folks can give you more specific advice. We went through our visa journey way back in 2001-2003, so things have changed somewhat since then, but the thing they are looking for is still the same: a bonafide relationship. The only other advice I would have for you is to be patient with the process. It can be maddening at times and often it makes no sense. If for some reason they should refuse you, don't give up. If you persist, you will eventually succeed. I wish you the very best in your path and again, welcome aboard.
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Thanks, Thomas. On this day I always have mixed feelings - gratitude and honor for those who served in all the wars and especially along with myself in Viet Nam - but also, feelings of sadness for those that didn't return home. On top of that, one heck of a lot of rage toward our leaders who put so many of us in an intolerable situation. I try to keep it positive and stay focused on honoring those who served. It makes for a better day. Thanks again for remembering.
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When living in China, my students often supplied me with all manner of foul-tasting, foul-smelling concoctions that were supposed to cure all manner of things. As for as my wife is concerned, the worst thing she ever gave me was liver soup.
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Going back and reviewing the photos and some of the articles in this thread, there can be little doubt that dealing with air pollution is China's No. 1 issue. With 670,000 deaths a year attributed directly to pollution from coal burning, there is great pressue on the central goverment to do something. Yet no matter what they do, there will be negative results in terms of loss of jobs, bankrupt businesses that are forced to close, etc. Unemployment will increase. Still, it seems to me they have no choice at this juncture - the air in some of those photos, like the one with the UFO tower and the disappearing building on Oct. 10 and 11, is toxic beyond belief. Perhaps they can focus more on eco-friendly energy sources, retrain some of the laid off workers, and enforce strict policies to improve the air. What is depressing, however, is the statement that even in 2040 over half the country's energy supply will come from coal.
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That is such fantastic news! I have been wondering how your case was progressing and so happy to hear the positive results.
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Best wishes for great success, no matter which road you take.
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Great news. Best wishes for a great life together.
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The article doesn't explain how easy or how hard it is make China their new home. It does in part say a why:
"Most expats move to China for better job prospects, attracted by souped up pay packages. About a quarter of expats make more than $300,000 in annual salary, the highest proportion of any country."
Danb
For sure, I didn't make more than $300,000 in annual salary. I didn't even make that in five years -
I should think that kind of pay would be a big incentive to put up with the bad air. -
I doubt that was staged, Randy. What an a-hole this woman is. If I was a tourist on her bus, I would be really pissed, especially if I had my daughter with me. She has no right to use language like that in a public place and it is my hope that her employer sees this and mentions it any time someone calls for a reference. This woman's tirade reveals far more about her character than it does about Chinatown.
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That doesn't surprise me in the least, as I lived there for five-plus years and loved it. The article was interesting, but tended to focus more on the fact that wealthy Chinese want to leave the country than on why it is so attractive to ex-pats. I wasn't aware that Singapore and Switzerland were so popular with the ex-pat crowd.
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Nanjing was a horror through and through. Iris Chang's book details those horrors in a vivid narrative. Other areas of China, especially in Jiangsu and Anhui along the river, also saw similar crimes. Cities like Wuhu and Ma'anshan, along qith Anqing were brutalized as well. My wife's grandparents experienced these horrors first hand as they lived in that area.
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Our thoughts and prayers are with her, Randy, and with you as well. Hopefully, the IV's help and the time off from treatment is beneficial.
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Nice photo, Randy. It captures the rural feel of the area, with the dirt road and the vegetation. I remember that some of the places I visited in the countryside seemed like I was stepping back in time. This was especially true in out of the way places in Anhui, where we lived my first year in China. It was common to see farmers working the fields with plows drawn by oxen.
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I hope she recovers nicely, Randy. Please keep us posted as to her progress. Any kind of surgery, no matter how minor, is still surgery. It is no fun. Our prayers are with her.
Happy Birthday Dennis 143!
in Stateside
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Have a great birthday, Dennis.