Randy W

VOMHTSYI:SYOPMD @@ (My 'Congratulations !!' keys are worn out, so I just used the ones next to them)

Congratulations, Mike !!

I know people at work who brought their parents over for a visit with no problem at all. Another's parents tried three times - made the 24 hr. trip to Shanghai and paid the $100 visa fee - just to hear the VO say "No". It's difficult to say from the circumstances why one would get the visa, and another would not. The only feedback given is the 'Yes' or 'No'.

Sorry, last two guys, but the pictures are copyrighted by the photographer (who wasn't Doug (Mengxin)). The Fuji FinePix IS a digital camera - the film that you and I usually buy would wash out in those kind of lighting conditions. Slide film would do a little better, but digital is best (especially with Photoshop). Many of the pictures were taken in the RAW (unprocessed pixels) mode.

Congratulations !!

CheffIE !! CheffIE !! Way to go, dude!

Conggratulations !!

Express Mail is n international system that most countries use (including the US) through the post office. Check the USPS website for tracking information.

Click on "full exif" to get the full details for a picture.

No matter how many times you say No, they will hold this option open (follow to join) for up to a year after your SO's visa is awarded. If he doesn't want to go, then he simply needs to NOT go to the interview. We were even asked at the AOS interview.

From a statistical perspective, parents are much more likely to get a visa than other family members. And only a 20-50% chance for them. Ties to ensure a return to China are the big issue, but we hear very little feedback as to why someone was rejected. Good luck.

Many thanks again, Lee!

Never mind! the steps to get her son a follow to join interview - I found this from the date on a PM that Lee had sent me about his wife's son last October. Thanks, Lee

My wife's son, now that he sees that his mother is here and happy, would like to come to the US also. What is the first step in this process? Would he file an application through the Guangzhou consulate? If so, what form? I guess the question is, how would we get an interview scheduled for him?

The IO should have in their stack of papers the medical exam from Guangzhou. If you have to spend the money, it's insurance that one will be there at the interview. We were fortunate that the the first civil surgeon we called gave us the vaccination supplement (only) for $10. Take a blank I-485 form with the part about the K-visas circled with you to the surgeon's office.

No matter how many times you say "No!", they still hold that option open for you. That is, the step-daughters may come with their mother up to one year after her visa is granted. If they don't wish to come, all they have to do is not show up for the interview.

What I've heard about F-1 visas is that you can stay one year after graduation. Most people spend the time to get a job at a company willing to sponsor the green card. I believe that the year would allow you to get married, and file the I-130 and I-485 like Frank suggests (AFTER consultation with an immigration attorney, like Frank suggests). No - the people I know who had F-1's were not allowed to go home, except (pre-9/11) to get a re-entry permit for a trip to Mexico, and from there go home to China and re-enter through Mexico. So the option here is to stay through AOS, either by marriage (I-130 and I-485), or by employment. Good luck

Yeah - congratulations!

No - this is MY suggestion about how to (possibly) merge the new data in with your existing application without appearing to submit a new application, if you want to do that. I am NOT optimistic - keep an eye on VJ for new developments.

Good question - the K-3's have been treated differently (they are NOT recalled from the consulates), but this new form requires that they answer the questions also. Check VJ.

I think you can count on NOT getting a straight answer - they are scurrying around trying to figure out what to do themselves. Under normal conditions, you might get 2 or 3 different answers from 3 or 4 calls. If you want to try, first check visajourney.com and see if there is any talk over there about it. There are many other countries whose applications are processed quicker than China's. Feedback from those might come sooner than what you'll hear here. If you want to try anyway, submit it with a cover letter explaining what you are doing and include your case number. Perhaps submitting ONLY new evidence (the new questions), and on a separate sheet of paper (not on the actual form). I'm NOT any more optimistic than the others - You will still need to respond when you get an RFE.

Go to the consulate's website (I can't find the address right now). Click on "immigrant visas" (yes immigrant), and "Contact us". You'll find a link to their web-based email form, and a fax number. Use both

If you will read some previous posts, you can easily find some where the idea has been suggested that they are "pre-scanned", very soon before the interview, so that the VO doesn't have to read 9 onths or more of notes. The idea of a quick scan and decision is very scary to me, and one I've made my feelings known about. I do not, however, remember anyone other than yourself, suggesting that ALL interviews are pre-determined. And I've only very rarely seen a you-vs-me approach to forum posting.

You and I disagree.

Who is "we"? You list two among MANY things people might notice as they review a case. You know about these things because they required communication with you. You do not know what other things may have been noted on your case or other cases. On what basis do you conclude that "someone at GUZ reviews the COMPLETE file BEFORE the interview (VERY shortly before)? You MIGHT be correct but I don't recall you offering any basis for your conclusion. It wouldn't surprise me if the VO's themselves could complete a cursory review of a case in less than a minute. They do it all the time. In my job, I analyze specific financial documents that all follow a similar format. I see less than one of these a day, on average and while similar in format they are not as similar or limited in options as K and IV petitions are. I can usually know how my final analysis is going to come out, within a minute of first seeing the documents and I always have my plan mapped out in that quickly. A VO who sees many every day can surely size up a case and come up with a plan for approaching the interview in a minute or two, particularly if somebody has already flagged any specific points of interest. There will always be some cases where TPC or other fraud issues would be flagged in advance as they came to attention of whomever first sees them. 224932[/snapback] "We" is me and anyone who happens to agree. When put in context: All anyone can do is offer observations. What is scary is what you said: Not that it's correct or incorrect, but that it might actually happen. The VO's are dealing with individual cases that should be treated as such. I don't know what kind of financial documents you deal with - that is not relevant to this discussion. You may be perfectly good at what you do (I have no reason to think otherwise). I like to think that the consulate does their homework before rejecting a case and after the file is complete - and does not simply toss cases aside, like a one-minute file. Many have reported that the VO appeared to have already made a decision before the interview began. Many have reported callous behavior on the part of the VO. CFL has many threads on these topics. I will not spend any time searching for them - some are very current. This is my observation - I don't think there is anything to disagree about here - please don't try. (sp. corrected)