Randy W

One of the questions asked is "Have you been turned down for a visa application before?" If Yes, it is a mark against them, unless they have new supporting evidence.

What I hear is that they have no plans to do so for now, but will make the change gradual when it does. So you are safe for at least one day (probably). Another way to be cautious might be to keep the funds in an American account until they are needed in China.

How about a B-1 Visitor's visa? Would that be worth a try?

The ones I know had both parents over at the same time.

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11537&st=30 Look at post # 31

They apply at their local embassy/consulate, with a support affidavit from you and enough evidence to prove ties in China that they will return to. It is quick (within a month, my Chinese friends tell me)

The U.S. is pressuring them to float - the Chinese are understandably reluctant to do so.

You're doing great, guy!

1. Check on what conversion rate you will get. 2. RMB, unless you do and can make special arrangements.

Good offer, but I've been through 8 CD's already. I'm surprised someone hasn't responded. It's a good course, very conversational.]

Basically, with her mind having a hard time letting go of the opportunity. Continue being gentle with her.

Incidentally, she may take the (Texas) written driver's test with an interpreter. The questions are given to the interpreter, who translates without seeing the multiple choice answers. A friend's father passed the test that way when he was visiting last year.

How close are youi to Houston? At least 20-30% of the people around me at work are Chinese, and most speak Mandarin regularly on the job. It sounds like she might be qualified, especially if she has a strong computer background. I don't know if we are hiring, but I'm certain that at least part of the interview would be in Mandarin.

The looks I got in Guangxi were all of the "hello, there" (very friendly) type. In Beijing, like I said earlier, they were far more interested in my SO than in me.

Of course, for backup purposes only! Watch out for PAL vs NTSC there, as well, however. PAL uses a different number of scan lines, different refresh rate, etc., and will not play adequately on a NTSC (American) TV.

I think staring is pretty much of a non-event. The most interesting stares I've received were in India - one on a very rural street corner. There were about 10 to 20 people, all just looking directly at me, no one talking, no motion, until one guy picks up a big stick, snaps it in two, and proceeds to clean the mud from his bicycle wheel well. Shortly after that, I saw a group of kids playing soccer. I took a picture and walked away. A short while later, I heard a noise and turned around to look. They were all there smiling, waiting for me to take another picture. Don't think anything of it.

She is my emotional twin.

My fiance returned her P3 to GUZ, and subsequently received a phone call on July 3 that her form DS-230 was left blank where it asked which family members would accompany her and would need to be resubmitted. She has an 18 year old son who will NOT be coming to the US. The DS-230 is an immigrant (K-3 spouse) form. The DS-156 and DS-156K are the non-immigrant (K-1 fiance) forms. Do they typically send out all 3 in the P3? Or does she need to make sure the the non-immigrant forms were included (she doesn't remember specifically which forms were included, only that she filled out and returned all of them). So what is the deal here? She still has not received the returned DS-230 that they told me they had mailed to her. I am suggesting that she fill out another DS-230 and send it in with a cover letter.

My experience is that the US drivers are the worst in the world for their competitive, possessive style. Everywhere else I have been, the style is much more cooperative and easy in my judgement. The rules of the road are the least clear in China, but decided cooperatively (and successfully) on the fly. That is, someone won't hog the right of way and block others just because he got there first. The week I was in Beijing, I saw less than 1 dozen accidents, and could see any actual damage only in 1 or 2 of them.

A Chinese DVD player might read either format, but would output the PAL format - no good for our TV's. Have you tried them on your equipment, David? I hope they work for you.

Careful - China TV is the PAL format, ours is NTSC. They are Region 6, we are Region 1 (although Chinese DVD's seem to be Region 0 - Universal - for the most part. "The MPEG video on a DVD is stored in digital format, but it's formatted for one of two mutually incompatible television systems: 525/60 (NTSC) or 625/50 (PAL/SECAM). Therefore, there are two kinds of DVDs: "NTSC DVDs" and "PAL DVDs." Some players only play NTSC discs, others play PAL and NTSC discs. " There are DVD players available which have been altered to play multiple formats and/or regions - I have one that works very well including on the VCD's which are very popular over there. VCD is roughly equivalent to VHS in quality. Watch out for format there as well.

make that "Lost Horizon"

Movies available here in English with Chinese subtitles include: Mulan Lost World Lady from Shanghai the last two were filmed in China in the 30's and 40's.

Apparently it is parents only - this from the Beijing embassy web-site: Non-Immigrant Visas Inviting Your Parents to Visit You in the U.S. We frequently receive questions from Chinese students, workers, and residents in the U.S. who want to know how their parents can qualify to receive visas to enter the U.S. for tourism. In our experience, many of these applicants are eligible for visas, but a significant number overstay or fail to return. In adjudicating visitor visa applications for parents of Chinese students, workers, and residents, our visa officers tend to focus on factors that help us determine whether the applicants possess compelling ties to China: If the applicants have traveled to the U.S. previously, how long did they stay? If they stayed longer than 6 months, did they have INS approval to do so? Please have the applicants bring their INS extension approval notices to their interview If the applicants have traveled to the U.S. previously, how long have they been back in China? How many children and grandchildren do the applicants have in China? Have the relatives in the U.S. ever returned to China to visit their families as is normal for foreign students, workers, and residents in the U.S.? Are the parents active professionally in China? If so, what is their income and the nature of their work? The answers to these questions relate to whether applicants can fulfill the statutory requirement of the Immigration and Nationality Act to show that they have a permanent residence in a foreign country that they have no intention of abandoning. In other words, persons who are absent from China for periods of a year or so may have trouble showing that they possess social or professional obligations in China that are sufficiently powerful to ensure that they will go home following a temporary stay abroad. Applicants are advised to be ready to address these issues during their visa interviews.

I'm not sure that we've heard of ANYONE coming here on a tourist visa, have we? I think the family members fall in a different category, but I don't know what it is actually called.