Randy W

Ah where is a hukou expert when we need one??? Ken, I believe... that the whole hukou thingie has pretty much been thrown out the window... I know my wife lived in several places in China and no one ever told her she couldn't... There are some financial considerations that keep people in the towns where they worked...Those who worked for guvmint entities and have some sort of pension also have health insurance rights there...But as there are less jobs like that all the time that system will be naturally phased out...China needs a national health care system just like the US and since they have more $$$$ than we do they'll probably get it first... Beijing is a different case (it is harder to get into), but I'll leave that for someone knowledgeable to explain.

Is he working or is caught off guard? "Chinese officials are trying to make the stuff go away. Hundreds of soldiers cleaned it up by hand in a seaside park Wednesday. About 10,000 ordinary citizens were doing the same along the shore" It's apparently working

Excellent story - good to hear. Thanks

It won't take long with this guy on the job http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00684/algae-man_684138n.jpg

Yeah don't forget us come on back! Thanks for the pictures.

As of Sept. 11, you will be over the "Official Processing time". You may be able to get an EAD stamp in her passport at that time and/or an "emergency" AP

Yeah there's a person there - I just talked to her a couple of weeks ago. But they won't be able to tell you anything you don't already know. Don't remember what I pressed, unless it was "0"

Yes - they are very responsive, but selective about what they answer to.

Click on the FAQ's button and begin reading! You will need to file for AOS (the I-485 directions tell you everything you need there). EAD (employment authorization) and AP (travel authorization) are optional but free. K-1's can get an SS card if they apply before their visa expires. My wife was able to get her Texas driver's license without an EAD card, but others since then were not able to. So, apply for SS, get married, apply for AOS, EAD, and AP. Then when the EAD card comes in, get the driver's license. The I-130 would be needed for another relative, but not her.

No - your priority date stays the same, but the waiting period is cut almost in half. I think you need to send in one of the I- forms. I'll see if I can't find it.

My wife uses her handwriting pad with character recognition software (this is also built into Microsoft's Japanese IME). This is common in China, but slower than the professional (Wuxi or whatever) input methods.

Typically in the past it has gone something like this - They will begin scheduling interviews for the last week of Sept around July 22. They move backward through the month, and will usually finish scheduling for Sept by the 1st or 2nd week of August. Worst case (shortest notice) would be an interview on Sept 1 scheduled on Aug 15 (2 weeks notice), but this is rare.

http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Odyssey-Step...2902&sr=1-1 download via sneaker-net

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=415118 I wasn't that impressed with Ted

Dr Arnold is the only one we've heard of who will do this (in this way) by mail. All others require that you go to their office. The forms are filled out there.

A long way from the old blue slip in GUZ! Congratulations!

I would suggest above all to not give her any more attention than you would any other person in the room. When you treat it like she's the most important thing in your universe, she gets the same impression. It can be hard to shake and very difficult for them to deal with later in life.

Noone's ever called the BBC American before!

Goodnight Dennis

I'm shocked that they created a logjam, and have been using the fee increase as an excuse for almost a year now (I'm sure they're "busy" processing the tremendous pile of citizenship applications they got as a result of the fee increase). And that they're deflecting inquires as a result of the new policy to not hold up green cards for the FBI background check ("We will not process your inquiry at this time")

No ticket here, but it helped a little. We had been asked to submit a City of Houston police report (since they weren't able to use her fingerprints). She did verify that our file was complete, basically waiting for someone to rubber stamp it. She said to us as we started to walk away, "Check back if you haven't heard anything in 90 days. So here we are at 90 days - I wrote our congressman and submitted an inquiry to the USCIS ombudsman - again. I've never before heard of an organization able to increase fees in order to "improve service", and then turn around and provide no service at all because of the "increased business" the higher fares brought.

I would have the documents ready to prove all that with you at the POE - I'm sure you'll go through without a problem.

I've tried to read around a little bit, but it's very hard to find examples of what Dan is implying. I assume this means that it is extremely rare. I'm talking about being denied re-admission to the US, or having a green card revoked. As near as I can figure, you WILL be allowed re-entry with less than one year outside the US. However, since you were gone longer than 6 months, your case will receive extra scrutiny. Be prepared for questioning at the POE and have documentation ready of your US residence, your trip plans and purpose, domicile, employment, bank accounts, etc., etc. Then, if they don't like your answers, you MAY be mailed a Notice of Intent to Revoke the Green Card. You would appear at a hearing, and have a chance to refute their findings. So my suggestion is to have your documentation ready to show the IO at the POE, and consider applying for a re-entry permit (I-131) in advance of the trip.

It's good to hear that everything's still the same from when I was there in 2005. Keep us in touch.

Sending couples that are "too young" to the Visa Officer for marital counseling is an interesting idea, but one that doesn't hold any water. That would be one more power that they could wield over our lives. Sorry, but I disagree completely with that thought. Donahso has said a number of times - nowhere is it stated that love is a requirement. The VO's should not be evaluating your feelings, or if you are "old" enough to HAVE feelings