Mick

Congrats to your sweetie Ski. Glad to hear she is doing so well. And by the way, they are always smarter than us.

Wonder if there is any connection here with why the Vermont Service Center is the fastest one for processing applications.

I'm going to vouch for danswayne. He's been around here for a long time. Never has he asked anything but good, honest questions and provided sound feedback to others. Everyone else is right....the greencard will be a long haul. The gal that cuts our hair just finished getting her sister (with family) here. It took seven years. I can only imagine it's taking longer these days. I know two families that have been waiting almost ten years now. It really is a disgrace.

Great site Tony. Thanks. Only wish our experience with Atlanta was as quick as some described on the web page. We are now 16 months since filing and not a peep out of them regarding an interview. Nothing, not a word.

Baseball, baseball and more baseball. After that, I guess it's ESPN's Baseball Tonight.

Li is a great cook and I can also attest personally that Robert S. lady Ping is as fine a chef as there is. Li has learned to make a great hamburger, which is actually one of my favorite foods. She is fascinated by learning to cook western foods. Ah, but alas, she has less time now that little Salina is on the scene. Making more bottles than burgers.

I have often wondered about this and have read studies showing that, in the future, it will be increasingly hard for Chinese men to find wives. This was also often a topic of conversation with some of my Chinese friends when I lived in China. I have also wondered if, at some point in the future, the Chinese government might place restrictions on the number of women of marriagable age it allows to leave China. Doubt this is anything to worry about now, but who knows what the future may hold.

You mean....like the pink carrousel with dangling clothes pins hanging in the bathroom? We had several of those little pink circular hangers when we lived in China. When I hung up my socks or underwear on them, the trick was to get them to balance so the whole contraption didn't come falling down, thus dirtying the clothes. I'm sure you have mastered it by now Don.

Is he a permanent resident alien???

I, too, am confused by this. Never heard of the US petitioner being called in for interview stateside on a K1 petition. Please keep us posted. I find this most unusual and very interesting. Good luck.

Our washing machine, which got plenty of use before, is now in overdrive since Salina was born. Can't have anything even remotely dirty next to the little one. Now everything is washed in Dreft or whatever you call that stuff for baby clothes, even the sheets.

Life is great Squeak. Li and I have been together over six years now and are more in love than ever. The addition of the little one to our family, although a challenge, has been a true blessing. Thanks for your well-wishes and keep us posted on that first road trip.

When I was in Hefei, there were plenty on the streets and in the parks there. Most were from the countryside and had gravitated to Hefei because it is the Provencial capital. Having lived in China for five years, I do have somewhat of a feel for the place. There are pros and cons to living in either country. Here in America we enjoy many freedoms and, especially in terms of transportation and medical care, life is much better. Yet that, too, comes with a price. I work long hours to make a living for my wife and daughter and have little disposable income. While living in China, I worked fewer hours yet had a much greater degree of disposable income. The apartment I lived in was not as nice as the one here, but it came without cost. All in all, my financial situation was a bit better there and the stress of daily life was less. However, there were also costs involved. Travel was a crowded headache, the air quality was a horror and the medical care scared the hell out of me. I have a heart condition so this was a major concern of mine to say the least. The other big issue that troubled me in China was the lack of a free press. Being a journalist myself, this was a sensitive area for me. I hated not being able to find out what was really going on without having to go through all kind of clandestine channels to get at accurate information. This was especially true during the early days of the SARS outbreak. I think I could be, have been, and am happy living in either place. Right now, America is the better choice for us as we have a new child and both of us agree that it would be better for her to be raised here. Who is richer? I think both are in their own ways.

I agree with all that has been said about food and Chinese culture. It is deeply ingrained in the cultural mind of the nation. Also, while living there, I discovered that it is also a Chinese custom to refuse an offer several times before accepting it. Also, "Have you eaten?" is a common form of greeting but really has nothing to do with whether or not you have eaten. With Li, we never had a problem around the food issue, except when she was pregnant. Then she was always hungry.

Congrats on the news of being a father. Our daughter, Salina, was born May 18. It's a great experience and much faster than AOS.

Well, I just think the hike in fees and change in rules sucks the big one. Atlanta, as of today, is processing AOS applications received three years ago yesterday. Now, I guess this means we will have to fork over the EAD fee yearly for a minimum of three more years. sorry, but I am getting just a little steamed over how long AOS takes down here compared to other places. Next worst is Memphis, now processing January, 2002.

Whoopppieeee!!!! Just checked the June 15 update, Atlanta now processing June 16, 2001. Good grief!

Congrats Patrick. The wait is almost over. And many of the above remarks are right. It will never be clean enough....

Welcome home and best wishes for a smooth settling in process. Now, prepare yourself for the joys of AOS, EAD, SSN and all that fun stuff. Seriously, glad to see that all went well. We came through LAX as well with no problems.

An interesting point about watermelons, oval in America, round in China. The eyes are just the opposite, oval in China, round in America. Fascinating! B)

Li is quite fluent so I don't have too many stories about her saying the wrong thing, surely not as many as she has about me saying the wrong thing in Chinese. Interestingly, since coming stateside one of her favorite TV shows is "That 70's Show". She really loves Red! She just sits there and waits for him to say "dumb ass". Often she walks around saying certain people (not me of course) are dumb asses. I can only agree of course, or else I too would be a dumb ass.

The five years I lived in China I can safely say that most, not all, but most of the products made for domestic consumption were far inferior to those made for export. I once bought an electric coffee pot, made in Shantou, that blew up and caught fire the first time I used it. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and the nozzle fell off in my hand. I could go on and on but I won't. Products produced for domestic consumption in China are perhaps getting better, but by far, the best stuff still gets shipped overseas.

Congrats and best wishes Sam and Nicola. Glad to hear she got the visa ok.

Congrats and best wishes. Hope you have a great future together.

Just checked the Atlanta Center's progress (or lack thereof). Currently they are processing, do you believe this, May 2001. It is just beyond me to comprehend this lethargy.