hello123

My wife and I traveled to Greece in June. Basically, we went to the nearest Greek consulate (Chicago) and brought with us the required information. Travel itinery, some financial records to prove we can afford the trip, etc. and went for a small interview. The interview was really more about me than my wife. They just wanted to make sure we had the resources and were not any risk to go beyond the visa time frame. Once you have the visa it is good to travel to any other countries included. Good luck!

Hi, Well we finally received the AP! Good news but still waiting for the work authorization...Hopefully, that will come in the next week. Anyway, we never really had a chance to travel for a honeymoon and are now thinking about it. My question is basically, where can we go? I was thinking outside of USA and not China at this time. I understand that my wife will still need to apply for visa's as a Chinese national depending on what country we try to visit. Is there any resources to help regarding this? She does not have a green card yet and only the AP so I don't know if that will impact the situation. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Well I had some experience with music stores in Beijing. I had to buy a violin last fall for a birthday gift for my neice. It worked out pretty good and I got a better violin for the money than I could have bought in the states. However, guitar sales are a different matter! The only premium guitars were from America. The Chinese brands were not soo good and all the Chinese were trying to buy the American brands but paid through the nose... If I were you, I would hold on to your bass

Thanks Dnoblett! Again you know your stuff! We finally managed to crank out and mail the docs. Hopefully, everything will be smooth. I think one of our biggest problems was just working together. It always creates a problem when one person starts to talk and work on on doc and another a different one. Very difficult to maintain a line of thought that way I guess this is just one of the challenges of marriage that we need to work through.

Hi, My wife and I are starting to go a bit crazy just trying to sort out the forms for AOS, EAD, AP, etc.... We keep getting hung up on questions that "should be" obvious but it never goes that way... For example, The I-485 package: I-693 - Do we go to the civil surgen for vaccinations now before we submit anything? Does it make a difference between a personal check or money order? We need to enter "yes" for the CCP issue. We just entered "Former Chinese Communist Party Memeber in China. From mm/year To mm/year." I think then we add the 1 page explanation we created for the waiver process? What do you think? G-325 - The spaces are not large enough to enter in the entire address A little "+" sign appears in adobe. Any ideas on fixing this? oh yeah, another headache is her parents date of birth has always been wrong from the original K-1 visa forms. The parent's ID cards show the incorrect date of birth which is where the problem began. We tried to update the package for the K-1 but never received an acknowledgement We would like it to be correct in case they try to travel to the US sometime.. Would some letter attached finally get the message across? I-864 package My wife gets thinks we need the I-797 but we always received the I-797c for the I-129. Is there any real difference? I-765 package: #16 I entered © (9) but there is not enough space to have "I-485 pending approval" in the next (). Do I just hand write it on the side? The I-131 package: Part 2 we checked "d" as she is a K-1 Visa holder Part 3 Do we just make up a date? Part 7 I am not certain what they want. Do I just say something like "K-1 Visa holder with Adjustment of status pending"? Also, we would like to check "More than 1 trip". I don't know...maybe I am just missing the obvious but we both have been looking around and around and the information is starting to merge in my head If you have any suggestions...such as "hire a lawyer" feel free to say it! Oh yeah, My wife arrived on Oct. 11th to US on a K-1 visa and we already are married with a SSN#. Thanks!

"File No: leave empty the USCIS will assign a file number when you submit the case." Hi LeeFisher3. Is there going to be another "A" number assigned during the AOS process? I thought it was the same "A" number we have been assigned. I just wanted to double check as we will be sending the docs out soon and hope not to get stuck with something...

Thanks LeeFisher3 for the clarification. Good thing you told me about sending in additional G-28s for the other forms. For some reason, I thought 1 form was for all.

Hello, I have been reading about this in several posts. There seems to be some differing opinions out there. Are most people submitting the G-28? As of right now, I am planning on submitting the G-28 and I would be considered the representative. I originally had a lawyer assist me with the K-1 visa process but, like others here, I would prefer to do the next step myself. I am starting to wrap up the other documents for AOS but still have a couple of questions about the G-28. This is how I have the form filled out so far... In re: I-485 Adjustment of Status File No: The A# Name: Wife's new name after marriage with Beneficiary checked and fill out the current address normally. Check on "4. Others" and "Husband/Spouse" filled in I sign and print my name in the next box with address/date, etc. The final box that has "pursuant to the privacy act..." I print my full name again. Name of person consenting: Wife's new name after marriage then sign date, etc. Did I miss anything or am I missunderstanding this form? Sorry if these are obvious questions. Thanks in advance!

Great! Thanks Dnoblett! I guess I will just use the paper we created for any waiver process as the "additional explanation". As always, you seem to have the answer

Hello all, Well were moving forward with the process but some of the forms are a bit cryptic On the I-485 question 3 part 3... "List present and past membership..." I know we already need to check a "yes" for CCP membership but do we need to list this here too? Is the extra paper that we need to submit for the "yes" answer basically the waiver statement that we prepared for the interview? Also, the "I-94 number" blank in Part 1...I found a number but it seems shorter than the forms I have looked at for examples. Where is this number? I tried to search around for these things but so far no joy.. Oh BTW, this was for a K1 visa. We have since gotten married and received a SSN# in her new married name. Thanks!

ok a little update... We finally got our SSN It took a total of 20 days...so off to the DMV and bank to rap up those loose ends. I guess the 4-6 weeks was an overstatement

Ok, thanks. I guess nothing more I can do at this point but wait and see. So if they do require the SSN in her maiden name then when can I change it? I was reading earlier posts and I was under the impression this was the easiest road to travel...

Hi, We just went over to the SSN office on Friday and after about an hour waiting in a packed room, we got a window to talk to someone. The paperwork seemed to go pretty well but they told us that "The name change needs to be verified which takes 4-8 weeks". My new wife decided to take my last name but keep her original first name. She also moved her original last name as a middle name. The marriage license, which we gave the office, has the new spelling and format. My question is basically, where else are they trying to verify/confirm the new name?? Did we do something wrong? I have been reading some other posts where people received the new SSN within about 4-8 DAYS. BTW, we have not yet filed any AOS/EAD yet. I understand it might be easier if we get the SSN then state ID and finally apply for the AOS. Thanks!

I think the original post was too old. I just thought it might be good to start over. Let me know if that is a problem. Interview time 6th 10, 2008 First of all, I should mention that we did stay at Mr. Yangs at apt. # 1004. There are positives and negatives to this place. It is definitely a nice location for the interview but it could also use some repair and the air wasn¡¯t so great. If anyone is used to staying in basic Chinese hotels or hostels then you probably know what I mean. Overall, I would recommend it for the location and price but only if you don¡¯t stay too long. I think the air quality has a lot to do with GUZ and the hot/humid weather. I was in several small shops that seemed almost new but they had the same problem. Now about interview day¡­ We arrived at the Consulate around 7:15 and decided to stay in line. There were about 40 people in line and we were at the end of it. Thanks to the information on CFL, I knew it did not change our time of the interview and I was not worried about it. Around 7:45, security started to check everyone¡¯s appointment letter and let people in. I walked my SO into the building and we went up the escalator to the 4th floor where we said goodbye. My SO again was checked by security and went to the 5th floor. As far as I know, there was only 1 other foreigner there in my situation and ¡°Paul¡± invited me for coffee at the local Starbucks when walking out of the consulate. The caf¨¦ on 4th floor didn¡¯t seem to have much to offer so I decided to walk over and say hello. I think this turned out great for both of us as we managed to have a pretty good discussion for the next few hours while waiting for our SO¡¯s. It really helped to have another person in my situation to help pass the time and relax the nerves a bit. BTW, Paul¡¯s SO managed to end up with a PINK after about a 1 hour and 10 minute interview! Congratulations to both of you and thanks so much for the good company! Around 12 noon I was wondering if my SO had finished and was a bit worried that she was not going to find me. She knew about the Starbucks but I thought I should go to the apt. just in case. Due to the CCP issue, I was mentally prepared for the blue slip and was ready for the waiver process. I think I waited about 15 minutes when my SO knocked on the door. I let her in and she had a solemn face. It didn¡¯t look good so I let her in and asked her how it went. She said ¡°blue¡± and so I gave her a big hug and said ¡°That¡¯s ok we can work through this, what did they ask for at the interview?¡± My SO then started to rummage through all her paperwork and we sat down on the couch. The next paper that she pulled out had a bright ¡°PINK¡± color to it! I was in a bit of shock and said ¡°what? Is this a PINK?¡± She then had a HUGE SMILE on her face and said ¡°yeah, of course..¡± Like it was expected or something! Oh! She really had me good! We then hugged a lot did a lot of silly happy things. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡± I said. ¡°How did it go?¡± My SO then told me the details. Here is the translation of what my SO wrote: First, there are Chinese staff who will open the physical exam package, and let you sign three papers. They then ask a few questions ¡± have you ever been to hongkong or macau?¡± ¡° have you ever been abroad?¡± ¡° have you ever been to American?¡± ¡°Is there anybody ever apply the visa to American for you?¡± (I was so nervious because I was a party member, so I decided to answer ¡°no¡± if they ask ¡°are you a party member?¡±) However, his last question was: ¡°Have you even been a party member?¡± To be honest, I answered ¡°YES¡± but then I quickly said ¡°that was long time ago, and I already quitted 2 years ago.¡± The Chinese man hesitate and he asked: ¡± how long ago?¡± ¡° do you have any paper from the CCP can proof that you already quit?¡± ¡° No, I quit the CCP automatically. I stopped paying the fee after I left the college which is a long time ago now.¡± Then he wrote something on the file and gave me a number, I went back to wait. I think for a former party member, the most important part is with the Chinese staff. If you passed here, the next VO will probably not ask you about that again. Here is the interview with the next VO: Me: good morning!! VO: hello!! Passport pls!! Me: here is my passport, and here is my fianc¨¦¡¯s, do you need it? Vo: sure£¬thank you. Vo: how did you meet ¡°name¡±? Me: we met in beijing , *******(explain how we met each other) Vo: how did he propose to you ? Me :(I was surprised about this question, but then answered it quickly) Vo£ºcongratulations!! He is so nice! Can I have the tax paper pls? Me: here is 2004 to 2007, and the W-2 is on top of each folder. Vo: thank you. Vo: how many times has he been to China? Me : ** Vo: oh , really? What did he come to china for? Me: the first time is for traveling, the rest is for me. Vo: oh really? That is good!! (Kept on typing on the computer) Me: yeah, I think it is good too, I am happy about that, he is so good to me. Vo: do you have pics? Me: sure. (hand in the big folder of the pictures) Vo£ºcan you give me the I-134 pls? Me: ok, thank you. (then she brows the pics really fast and then take out a pink paper) VO:¡°congratulations !!You are approved! Now you can go to the post office counter, and you can set a time there to pick up the visa. ¡° Me : THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!HAVE A NICE DAY!! Vo£ºyou too!! Here is your pics and **¡¯s passport!! Me: thank you so much!! Then she put all the folders back the the backpack and say thank you again to the VO, go to the poster office counter to fill out the mail list. After the interview it took about 3 days to receive the Visa from the post office. We managed to depart 2 days after that on the next available flight. The one other thing I should mention is during the POE¡­. This agent was pretty good and seemed nice. We were moving right along but an ¡°a¡± number was missing in the sealed envelope. The agent tried to look around for it but mentioned ¡°the consulate may have made a mistake¡±. I quickly thought of all the extra copies of documents that I had brought with me. Finding a copy of the original P1 that was sent back, we were able to find the ¡°a¡± number that was missing. Thankfully, the agent was able to write in the ¡°a¡± number. Finally, the great ¡°Welcome to America¡± sentence that we waited for!!

Interview time 6th 10, 2008 I am sorry for not following up with this sooner but my new life sort of took over.. First of all, I should mention that we did stay at Mr. Yangs at apt. # 1004. There are positives and negatives to this place. It is definitely a nice location for the interview but it could also use some repair and the air wasn¡¯t so great. If anyone is used to staying in basic Chinese hotels or hostels then you probably know what I mean. Overall, I would recommend it for the location and price but only if you don¡¯t stay too long. I think the air quality has a lot to do with GUZ and the hot/humid weather. I was in several small shops that seemed almost new but they had the same problem. Now about interview day¡­ We arrived at the Consulate around 7:15 and decided to stay in line. There were about 40 people in line and we were at the end of it. Thanks to the information on CFL, I knew it did not change our time of the interview and I was not worried about it. Around 7:45, security started to check everyone¡¯s appointment letter and let people in. I walked my SO into the building and we went up the escalator to the 4th floor where we said goodbye. My SO again was checked by security and went to the 5th floor. As far as I know, there was only 1 other foreigner there in my situation and ¡°Paul¡± invited me for coffee at the local Starbucks when walking out of the consulate. The caf¨¦ on 4th floor didn¡¯t seem to have much to offer so I decided to walk over and say hello. I think this turned out great for both of us as we managed to have a pretty good discussion for the next few hours while waiting for our SO¡¯s. It really helped to have another person in my situation to help pass the time and relax the nerves a bit. BTW, Paul¡¯s SO managed to end up with a PINK after about a 1 hour and 10 minute interview! Congratulations to both of you and thanks so much for the good company! Around 12 noon I was wondering if my SO had finished and was a bit worried that she was not going to find me. She knew about the Starbucks but I thought I should go to the apt. just in case. Due to the CCP issue, I was mentally prepared for the blue slip and was ready for the waiver process. I think I waited about 15 minutes when my SO knocked on the door. I let her in and she had a solemn face. It didn¡¯t look good so I let her in and asked her how it went. She said ¡°blue¡± and so I gave her a big hug and said ¡°That¡¯s ok we can work through this, what did they ask for at the interview?¡± My SO then started to rummage through all her paperwork and we sat down on the couch. The next paper that she pulled out had a bright ¡°PINK¡± color to it! I was in a bit of shock and said ¡°what? Is this a PINK?¡± She then had a HUGE SMILE on her face and said ¡°yeah, of course..¡± Like it was expected or something! Oh! She really had me good! We then hugged a lot did a lot of silly happy things. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡± I said. ¡°How did it go?¡± My SO then told me the details. Here is the translation of what my SO wrote: First, there are Chinese staff who will open the physical exam package, and let you sign three papers. They then ask a few questions ¡± have you ever been to hongkong or macau?¡± ¡° have you ever been abroad?¡± ¡° have you ever been to American?¡± ¡°Is there anybody ever apply the visa to American for you?¡± (I was so nervious because I was a party member, so I decided to answer ¡°no¡± if they ask ¡°are you a party member?¡±) However, his last question was: ¡°Have you even been a party member?¡± To be honest, I answered ¡°YES¡± but then I quickly said ¡°that was long time ago, and I already quitted 2 years ago.¡± The Chinese man hesitate and he asked: ¡± how long ago?¡± ¡° do you have any paper from the CCP can proof that you already quit?¡± ¡° No, I quit the CCP automatically. I stopped paying the fee after I left the college which is a long time ago now.¡± Then he wrote something on the file and gave me a number, I went back to wait. I think for a former party member, the most important part is with the Chinese staff. If you passed here, the next VO will probably not ask you about that again. Here is the interview with the next VO: Me: good morning!! VO: hello!! Passport pls!! Me: here is my passport, and here is my fianc¨¦¡¯s, do you need it? Vo: sure£¬thank you. Vo: how did you meet ¡°name¡±? Me: we met in beijing , *******(explain how we met each other) Vo: how did he propose to you ? Me :(I was surprised about this question, but then answered it quickly) Vo£ºcongratulations!! He is so nice! Can I have the tax paper pls? Me: here is 2004 to 2007, and the W-2 is on top of each folder. Vo: thank you. Vo: how many times has he been to China? Me : ** Vo: oh , really? What did he come to china for? Me: the first time is for traveling, the rest is for me. Vo: oh really? That is good!! (Kept on typing on the computer) Me: yeah, I think it is good too, I am happy about that, he is so good to me. Vo: do you have pics? Me: sure. (hand in the big folder of the pictures) Vo£ºcan you give me the I-134 pls? Me: ok, thank you. (then she brows the pics really fast and then take out a pink paper) VO:¡°congratulations !!You are approved! Now you can go to the post office counter, and you can set a time there to pick up the visa. ¡° Me : THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!HAVE A NICE DAY!! Vo£ºyou too!! Here is your pics and **¡¯s passport!! Me: thank you so much!! Then she put all the folders back the the backpack and say thank you again to the VO, go to the poster office counter to fill out the mail list. After the interview it took about 3 days to receive the Visa from the post office. We managed to depart 2 days after that on the next available flight. The one other thing I should mention is during the POE¡­. This agent was pretty good and seemed nice. We were moving right along but an ¡°a¡± number was missing in the sealed envelope. The agent tried to look around for it but mentioned ¡°the consulate may have made a mistake¡±. I quickly thought of all the extra copies of documents that I had brought with me. Finding a copy of the original P1 that was sent back, we were able to find the ¡°a¡± number that was missing. Thankfully, the agent was able to write in the ¡°a¡± number. Finally, the great ¡°Welcome to America¡± sentence that we waited for!!

Congratulations to both of you! Best of luck in the future!

Hi Everyone! It's a little over due but my SO had her interview on Oct. 6th and she got PINK! We picked up the visa today (3 days later) at the post office in GUZ and plan on leaving for the US soon. This was a K1 and it wasn't all smooth going. We had to update somethings along the way such as a change of mailing address. We tried to prepare what we could and were mentally prepared for the blue slip. We were set for the waiver process and felt we had a good case for that as well. Special thanks to Bob&Haiqing for the details on there interview. We both had almost identical experiences! This time, the truth was the best policy. We never tried to hide anything and now we can enter the US with a clear slate. If anyone wants a bit more detail...I can update but might be in mid flight soon Take care

Hey Yaya44, Sounds like we have somethings in common. I also have an HTPC connected to a projector. The projector is a few years old now so it only does 1080i or 720p but the pic is pretty good. Nothing better than having a 10x6 foot screen on your wall! Also, having internet content on the screen is a huge bonus. Recently, I stuck in a blue ray dvd player to my rebuilt HTPC and have been playing with that. Picture is great! I havn't invested in new disks yet because of the prices but I am starting to rent...too bad I can't find less expensive bluray stuff in China yet

OK, Good luck! We are about to go through that too

Ok, thanks for the input. It seems buying a Chinese phone and popping a US sim card might be the way to go. US phones would be fine except for the text msgs part. The blackberry does have some ability to read but inputing characters is a problem. Too bad there are no International Texting plans/packages around. There are some wifi options on phones but then the receiver needs to have the same messenger software or they cannot return the txt. Also, a person is required to sign up for the data packages. "I just got a Motorola Q, I will have to try this one: http://msmobiles.com/news.php/1625.html I am using Viotel wireless, that uses Verizon as the carrier." dnoblett, Did you get a chance to try out the msnmobiles software?

Hi, I don't know if this is the right area for this question but.. Has anyone purchased a cell phone in the US that can read/write Chinese characters? I was thinking about this recently as my fiance loves to TEXT with her family. Each txt costs a few cents so maybe that trend will go down when she arrives. I currently have a blackberry that does just "ok" with reading Chinese txt but still cannot enter txt. I was even thinking about buying a chinese phone and pop in a T-mobile sim card. Anyone else go through this?

Whoops...for some reason I thought it was on Friday. I guess I won't have the chance to visit anyway (unless i scramble with some last minute travel changes). I can't arrive until the middle of the week before the interview and then her interview is the next Monday. Thanks for the update!

This is a great question and one I am still trying to sort out.... I have found out her siblings were married and had the "grattitude payment". I don't know how much as each husband had different wealth... I am a bit torn by this whole idea in many ways. Heck, just on the practical side after all the expenses of bringing her here I am not exactly flush with cash! I think I am leaning on the symbolic amount idea. BTW, this is both our 1st marriage.

Good Luck! I will be hoping for Pink for you! oh yea, would you recommend the place that your staying at?

I just realized that I should be in GUZ during the time of ACH (Its now on Fridays, right?). So I am wondering if there are any real benefits to attend this? What are some of the things you have discussed during the meeting? It appears some here have attended and some have not. I actually do have questions but...well...I don't want to give any impression that some paperwork is incorrectly filled out... We have already been required to submit a change of address and added a short term work history. I wouldn't want to create any more problems. This trip in October will be my 10th since I first met her so I hope proof of a relationship will not be a problem. Also, I have seen some references to have my US passport, or copies of, to be notarized. Have others done this? Sorry if this is an old topic....