wulongtea

Hi David, Thanks for putting this together. I'm just getting ready to put this together for us, and this is a real help!

hi David, Glad to read that you made it back, and it is wonderful how your world comes alive again!

It's been a while since i posted here, because we have been very busy since we arrived back in the US. I can't believe i have not had a chance to even check the CFL website and see what's been happening. This past week-end we did it, we got married! And so now we are beginning to think about the details for the rest of our paper work both here in the US and in china. I think i have a good idea for what is needed here for AP and AOS, etc. But we were wondering about how to register our marriage in China? I know that a marriage in the US is recognized in China, but we would like to get my name on her "Register book" HuKou is it called? So we were wondering what do we need? Is just a copy of our US marriage certificate needed? Or do we need to get that certified by the Chinese consulate here in the US first? Do we need to get it officially translated so that when we go back to China they can read it and record the fact in her Register book? I'll try to find time to fill in all the details of these past few weeks. I can't believe that the time has gone by so quickly! What is even more amazing is i don't seem to remember the long and agonizing wait anymore! more to come as i can find the time! wu long tea

For us, our papers were hung up at the VSC for about 2 months. This was longer than most that i saw processed through VSC. I was worried that maybe our papers were lost or just sitting on some guys desk for a while, so i contacted both senators and the congress person for my area. They all made calls to somewhere, and just said that everything was ok, it was just waiting for someone to process or approve them. In the end, they were right. I never sat back and relaxed the whole time. If i felt there was a chance that something was just sitting somewhere, i either contacted my senator and congress person, or in the case of Guangzhou, i emailed them once a week. I don't think it hurts to keep on top of things, and in the end, i wonder if that might have helped get our visa processed quicker than i expected. i will write more about exactly what we did, but these days i've been pretty busy.

I would also agree with the comment to include as much as you can with the initial P1. I think this makes things a lot easier througout the whole process. I had included a detailed 2 page letter of intent to marry with my P1. it included details of how we met, how we decided to get married, and when we hoped to get married. (even though we missed this date because of the long wait it was not a problem) the P1 papers are also included with the Visa packet that we brought back with us to Chicago. I noticed the papers, along with the photos we had originally included. Now these papers are on their way someone, so maybe they play a role in getting the Adjustment of status as well.

The avatar photo is just a photo i found on the internet. I am actually very afraid of heights and falling. the only way i could get into such a plane is if you knocked me out!

We arrived in the US through Chicago. The process was fairly easy and quick. Here is what we did: - After our plan arrived from Hong Kong we walked to the immigration booths. - Since we were together, we queues up under the Vistor section, rather than separate and have me go to the US citizens and her to the visitor. - In the line, someone checked our passport and I-94, and i just said i was with her for a K1 visa, and the person said no problem. (what was interesting was the people checking the passports in the line all spoke Russian between themselves.) We then waited in line until it was our turn to go to the immigration officer. We got a nice lady who smiled and seemed to be in a good mood I said we were together and handed her our passports (with mine on top) and said that my fiancee was here on a K1 visa. She took the passports and asked for the consulate packet. She looked at the visa and passports, opened the packet, and made a comment that the consulate changed something. but she found what she was looking for. she asked how we had met, i think she was just curious. so i simply said on the internet. she said, it seems that a lot of people are meeting that way. she asked how long ago we had met, i think again just curious, and so i said it was about a year ago. she asked my fiancee to put her left index finger into the finger print machine, and then her right, and then took her picture with the little webcam. that was about it, maybe 5-10 minutes total. she then stamped everything, staple the i-94 into my fiancee's passport, and just said we had 90 days to get married, and wished us good luck with everything. we then got our bags, we had many, and then went to clear customs. when i handed our paper and passports to the customs guard, i made sure that mine was on top, so he could see, US citizen. he just asked if we were together, commented that we had only about $300 to declare and said no problem. the longest time was waiting for our bags to arrive. we had a connecting flight that gave us only 2 hrs, and we were at the gate about a 1/2 and hour early, so everything worked out well! one tip i would have it just to try to get to the immigration lines as quickly as possible. they seem to fill up fast after the flight arrived. i think it was also good that i stood together with my fiancee, i think that helped the whole process go by smoothly. i was afraid she would have to go to a separate room and have other things checked, but that never happened.

Just a quick note, since i am very busy and sleepy ... we finally arrived in the US last night. I will write more details of the immigration process in Chicago and also of the initial comments from my fiancee. She loves everything, so that helps me feel at ease a bit! I quickly saw that others have also passed their interviews! That is great news for everyone! take care wulong tea!

Visa in Hand! we are heading to the US on sat!

Moments after i posted this message, the phone rang! It was the EMS person with our visa. Then Candle went down for a while. It is so strange, we called the Guangzhou EMS office and they said it was still in Guangzhou, we called the Shenzhen EMS office and they had no idea where it was and could not even find it in their systems. The web tracking showed that it had left Guangzhou at 9pm last night. And moments after no one could figure out where it was, someone calls us and says they are waiting downstairs with our visa. We checked everything and everything looks ok, so we're coming home on Sat!

My fiancee and I are here waiting for the China Post to deliver her passport, visa and documents, and I can tell you it is one of the most frustrating things to be dealing with at this stage of the game. So I am suggesting that if it is at all possible, choose the option to pick up the visa if at all possible. We had our interview on friday and passed it, and so far we still have not received our visa. We can track it online now, and we can see that the consulate has delivered it to the EMS post system. But when calling the EMS people, when they use their own systems they cannot find any information about it. So we tell them, well your website shows that the documents were delivered to your sorting facility. We ask them about their Guarantee to deliver by 10am the next day, and they said ... "oh that is only if you ask for it"! So when we ask when can we expect it, they say ... "oh it can usually take 1 or 2 days!" So if you need to have it delivered, then make sure you ask for the 10am next day service! But if at all possible, try to pick it up yourself.

on the day of the interview, the only extra fee you need to pay is the china post fee (assuming you get the visa, which of course for CFL we hope that is always the case) the visa pick up fee is a minimum of 20yuan for 1 visa to pick up at the post office. to have 1 visa delivered in Guangzhou cost 35yuan, or to delivered inside Guangdong is 50yuan. other than that, there is no extra fee on the day of the interview.

Congratulations! It is such a feeling of relief! Now the fun can really begin!

Congratulations! Another Sept Success!

Great news David! At first i read the title of your post ... SO was so upset and I thought something went wrong! Glad to know that everything has gone well! And I have to ask .. where you really in the hotel room watching TV?! Whatever ... have a great trip back home, and i hope we can get together sometime this fall!

I would also say contact GUZ now. No sense in waiting and wondering, especially if they sent things state side to you before. Give them your SO's address and phone number, and tell them if there are any questions to contact her directly. In the past some SO's have received phone calls from the consulate to clear up address issues.

For those curious about a friday interview, we had our interview on Friday Sept 2nd. I was hoping that the consulate would get the visa to the China Post place before the end of the day friday, but I guess they did not. So with monday being a holiday, our visa officer said that we should certainly get it by Wed (today, it is no 6am here) Last night we called the china post and they could not find anything about our tracking number. i sent a message using the consulate website to have someone check into it as soon as possible. I think if you can swing it, it would be best to choose the option to pick it up yourself. That would reduce the wait by a day. We just didn't want to make another trip back to Guangzhou to pick up the package. hopefully we'll hear something today.

She may be feeling safer to ride the bus for 10 hrs than to spend a night in a strange city (assuming she has never been to guangzhou before) Between me and my fiancee we have had an understanding, that while in China, i will trust her fully, even if i am not sure why she does things the way she does. this is her country and i am learning how thing work. when we arrive in the US, she will need to trust me, to do the best for us, even if it is not what she is used to or does not understand why things are done that way. (just a few thoughts, not sure if they answered your question or concerns)

I've got a feeling that things will be picking up. its just a feeling. The new consulate offices are much better and seem much more organized. When i went to the old consulate in on April 1st, I just had a feeling i was in some dump, forgotten part of the world, and no one wanted to work there. The new offices are in a real office building, with good AC, and as far as i could tell, no leaking roofs! In the old building there was water stains all over the cealings, really a disgrace that it was called a US consulate! Best of luck, and i really hope others continue to have shorter and shorter time lines!

I remember my fiancee talked about the "Black Pearl". She did not have her, but she said she did not seem so bad. She said that she had a warm voice. She mentioned that she was checking everything very carefully, but that she did not think she was being extra mean or nasty. Sounds like the Black Pearl is just someone who is taking her job very seriously and checking everything twice. Another comment from my fiancee is that the Chinese clerks who check the medical package documents seem to have very little emotion or passion for their work. They seem very cold. But when she saw the visa officers or talked with the one that gave her the interview, she said they seemed to enjoy their jobs or have a passion and warmth that the Chinese clerks did not have. so it seems the worst part of the interview day may be just getting past the Chinese clerks. I think it may be a cultural thing, maybe the Chinese clerks are taking their jobs very seriously and have a cold attitude, but the visa officers, try to make the best of what could be a boreing job, asking people the same questions over and over again. The visa officers also know they have a kind of job security, since i would suppose that there is not a bit competition for people to become visa officers in guangzhou.

When i get a chance I will update with info on our timeline and some of the things that i think helped get us through this whole process quickly. now we're busy packing everything so we can head back on sat.

My fiancee had booked ahead of time. she was able to call and get a better rate than I could when checking though some of the online sites. The rate we got was 390RMB or about $49, not bad for a downtown hotel, and since it was within a few minutes walking distance from the consulate offices, it was good for us. I think you could just walk in and get a room. I did not get the sense that they were booked full. The rate you get might be different. They also had more expensive rooms depending on the size of beds, etc. I think we just opted for the least expensive one. It was about the same as your typical Holiday Inn in the US, similar size, etc.

I posted this earlier, before the crash, so i thought i would post it again in case the information is useful to others: =================================================== Our Guangzhou Experience: Where we stayed: We stayed at the Grand Palace Hotel. This hotel is right around the corner from the interview office area. Less than a 5 minute walk. Right across the street is a 7-eleven, if you want to get some light drinks or snack. Standing in line for the Interview: If the weather is bad, I am not sure if they make you stand outside in the rain before 8am or if they will have you stand inside. My guess is it is outside. So be prepared in case it is raining. Since it does not really matter what time you get in line, if the weather is poor, there is really no need to get there much earlier than 8am. Around the consulate: Across the street from the consulate area, there is a large park. If the weather is nice, this is a nice place to pass the 1.5 hrs or 2 hrs that you will need to wait. Shopping area: As you walk out of the consulate building, the park is right in front of you. If you walk to your left, to the next bock (about a 5-10 min walk) there is a big shopping mall, with several restaurants inside. Directions: - exit the consulate building - turn left - walk about 10 minutes to the end of the block (also end of the park) - cross right you’ll probably see a big McDonalds sign which is located in the shopping mall Arriving by Train: If you are arriving to Guangzhou by train, here is how we got to the consulate building and our hotel: - exit the train station by the taxis and bus station - as you exit, stay on the same side of the road and just go left along the side walk - you’ll pass by the taxi stops and the bus stops on your left - you’ll be heading to the large park - before getting to the park, (about 5 min from the exit of the train station) there is an under pass that walks below a waterfall, you can cross through here - after the underpass, you can either cross the main street here, or turn right and continue walking through the park, we crossed the street here and then turned right on the other side - continue walking along the main street and you’ll see the consulate building on your left. - The block before the consulate building has the Grand Palace hotel here we stayed. -

I posted this earlier, before the crash, so i thought i would post it again, since I included details that might be helpful to others. ================================== Details of the Day: We arrived at the place at around 7:15am. We were planning on arriving around 7:30 but we were a little excited, could not sleep and so just headed over early. We found there was already about 100 people waiting in the non-immigration line. At the consulate address, it did not feel like a consulate, just an office building. There were 2 lines, one for non-immigration, one for immigration. So just make sure you queue up in the non-immigration line. At around 7:45, someone came out with a bull horn and starting to say things in Chinese. Talk about feeling like cattle. Those who had 8am appointments would like up in two lines on the outer side of the pen, and those with 9am appointments would line up down the center. Most were 8am appointments. Then you proceeded one by one to meet the person with the bull horn, he checked your appointment letter, my fiancee’s passport, and then gave her a purple card. Those in the immigration lines received a blue card. Then we proceeded into the building. You can take the escalators to the 4the floor, or use the elevator. I think the escalators are easier. At the 4th floor, they only let those with the blue or purple cards through the first security person, and then they are checked again by someone sitting at a table, then they go up the escalator. That was the last I saw of her … and the waiting begins. I passed my time walking around the 4th floor, and waiting outside in the park. It as a nice day, and it was interesting to see all the people walking around. The 4th floor is filled with travel agents, visa agents, etc all business focused on getting visas, passports, photos, tickets, and also making VHS tapes. So if you are missing anything, that is the one stop shopping for anything you could need. But I would beware of the “Companies” that help you get your visa. More on that later. While waiting outside in the park, I started to see the first of the people coming out of the building at around 9:30am. I could tell they were finished with their interview, since I saw people running to greet them. So I went back into the building, up to the 4th floor to wait for my fiancée to come out. They exit, by coming down an escalator on the opposite side of the 4th floor, so it is not easy to miss. As people were walking out, there were several of the “business men and women” who were waiting there to offer them any “assistance” they might need. I put that in quotes, since they were really like sharks waiting for the kill! They would run up to the people, ask them if they passed, check inside any pages, trying to get a glimpse of the color paper they received. And God help the poor soul who exited with their blue slip showing. I assume that is the color you get now when you did not passed. For one poor girl, she looked like she was about to cry, looked bewildered, and was showing her blue slip. There was no fewer than about 5-8 people who rushed up to her, took her by the hand and try to have her follow them in 8 different directions! And there was one girl who had someone waiting for her in the coffee shop located right there. She quickly walked to the person in the shop, while several of the sharks kept circling around, seeing if they could get a bit to eat! At about 10:30 my fiancée walked out … I could tell she was smiling, looking happy, so I knew everything went ok. When I met her, she tried to joke with me about how she forgot my name and how she did not get the visa. But she is a very poor liar, and she quickly said everything is ok! Details about the Interview: So now for her account of what happened after she went up the escalator and before she came back down … I am not sure of the order of things, but these are the major events: - she gives the appointment letter and medical package to a clerk. There were many clerks who all spoke Chinese and they took care of the papers in the medical package. It was there that she did the final signatures on the forms that say do not sign until the interview. (I had thought this was done with the VO) - they have their finger print taken digitally, just the pointer finger, not a full set. I was not sure if it as all finger or if it would be using ink. - They are giving a number, which seems to be assigned at random. At least she said the order that they were standing in line outside has not relation to the order of the number for the interview. So it really does not matter how early you get in line - They did have to say the pledge of allegiance in Chinese. I think this is really very strange, since these are not US citizens, and for many of these people, they may never choose to become US citizens, but here they are being asked to pledge their allegiance, their lives to a flag of a country that is not their own. I can just imagine what an American would think, that in order to get a Chinese green card, they would have to swear my allegiance to the Chinese flag and the Chinese government. She said that not everyone was saying the words, so I guess it really does not matter. - Then they waited for their number to be called to go in for the interview. She had heard of the black pearl, and she said she saw here there, and she was asking the people a lot of questions. She was afraid she would get her, but I encouraged her that it did not matter who she got. We had all of our evidence, we had completed all of our papers and there was really no reason for anyone not to give us the visa. The only reason would have been if the VO was having a bad day, or if they just had a problem themselves, and could not perform their job properly. So when it was her time for the interview here are some of the things that transpired: - The VO greeted her in Chinese, but she quickly answered in English, hi or good morning, and said she could speak English. I’m sure this put the VO at ease, since she said his Chinese was really not very good. Even my Chinese was better then his. - She said he seemed to speak with a different English accent, so she was not even sure if he was American. But maybe she had not heard too many localized accents so I’m not sure. - The questions all seemed to be pretty easy ones for her. Things such as: - How many times have I come to China, and so she said 4. He said oh, that seems like a lot for less than one year. She said oh… he works very hard so his company let him take extra time off to come to china. He had also heard of my company, so I guess that was also a good thing. - With our P3 package, we also returned some pictures, as well as an updated “Letter of Intent” that I had notarized after my second trip. So he was looking through the pictures, and she offered, to show him more. He just said that he was “Good”. - He asked where I lived, and she told him where, and also pointed to her shirt. I had bought for her a t-shirt from my home town, where there is a nice beach, so I’m sure that make a good impression J - She asked if he wanted to see my passport, and he said that was not needed, he was still “Good” - He asked if I was married? Which seemed strange, but she answered that I was divorced, probably just to see if she knew that answer. - He asked how many children I had, and I said 3. - He asked if they lived with me or his ex-wife, and she said his ex-wife. - She asked if he wanted to see any phone logs or emails, and he just said no, he was good and that he believed her. She was armed with two 6-inch carrying folders, holding several hundred pages of documents, emails, photos, video tape, etc and I guess he did not want to get started with it, otherwise he could have been there all day! - She said he did not even look at the most recent i-134, or my latest “Letter of Intent” and just said you pass or you get the visa. - In the end, she said, he did not even ask my name! She then asked him, since it was Friday and the holiday on Monday, when we might receive it, since we would choose to have it sent to her home. He checked with a few other people and they were sure we would receive it by Wednesday, but I’m still hoping they sent it to the China post on Friday and so we might receive it in hand either today Saturday, or tomorrow, Sunday. She paid the fee before she came down to the 4th floor, so there must be a place to pay for it “up there” The cost was 50 yuan I think to have it delivered, less if you are planning on picking it up yourself. After the interview, we went to buy a white wedding dress, she wants to have pictures in both red and white clothes. There is a whole section in Guangzhou for wedding dresses, and there are much less expensive than in the US. She found a nice one for about $130 US. My guess the same dress in the US would cost around $300-$500 or more. Then we went to the hospital to get the vaccination shots. Though not needed for K1 to enter the country, I thought it would be simpler to just have the done there, so that is one less thing to think about once we are back in the US. I’ll post some other information about tips to do while in Guangzhou in the thread about first hand experiences in GuangZhou. So the Sept wave has started with a success! Hopefully others find it just as easy and successful. Even thought we both knew were had everything and there was no reason not to get the visa, the night before it was still a little hard to sleep, thinking of the “what if “ possibilities.

MengXin, I feel your sadness, I don't think it is something to be sorry or ashamed about. Your feelings are simply a reflection of the unfair process required for someone to come to the US, and also of the failed procedures that are in place for people to do so. There is simply no way to understand it, and no excuse for why it is so. Part of the problem is the processing that needs to be completed in the US, in some cases the service centers are just overloaded and cannot process the volumn of petitions that are coming in. Other parts of the problem is the single consulate in China where all immigrant visas must go through. In many other countries around the world, the process would only take a matter of days or weeks, while at Guangzhou it takes many many months, even years to complete. The competancy of our government to serve its citizens (you and I) is just a disgrace. And the even greater disgrace is its dealing of people coming into our borders illegaly. There is no excuse, no reason that I can rationalize, it is just a total failure of our government in this area to serve and protect its people and country.