tucsonjim

Thanks for all the congratulations and good wishes!! Due to the excitment of the moment I was remiss for not thanking all the wonderful folks here at CFL!!! We definitely could not have done this without lots of help from all the wonderful folks here!!! THANKS SO MUCH to the founders, moderators and collective wisdom of all the fine people that participate here!!! Your gratious help, plus lots of helpful info really takes the mystery out of an otherwise mysterious process!! I must also add a plug for the folks at TianYu Gardens Hotel for all their help once we arrived in GZ!!! They went through all our paperwork and made a couple changes, they accompanied us to the hospital in the taxi and then handled the paperwork at the hospital, which is very busy and that was a big help. They are very nice folks and really helped us alot!! When we arrived in front of the Consulate we were met by a couple folks trying to get us to go to their hotel for less money and my SO went to see a room. I insisted we go see the folks at TianYu Gardens and see a room before going with a different hotel since I had read how helpful they are.... in the end we stayed here and soon after we arrived and they went through the paperwork, my SO was happy that Loa Cum insisted we come here.... Thanks again and best of luck to all the others to follow!!

My SO's interview was quick and easy since she showed my passport at the beginning and the man looked at the visa's to see when I had visited and asked 3 questions: How many times did he visit you in China? (he already knew the answer and asked in Chinese) Where does he live? (asked in English) What does he do for work? (asked in Chinese) He asked to see photo's .... looked quickly and said you pass!! My SO was so nervous she didn't understand at first that he said she passed... when she realized what he said she was so happy!! She has a permanent smile at this point!! We pick up the visa's on Friday and will go back to Nanning in the afternoon. They will both travel back to Tucson with me on 3/22. Couldn't have planned this any better and I bought the tickets last Oct! I hope everyone else that has an interview coming up soon has one as easy as hers was!! Happy Days are here!!!

Congratulations!!! My SO's interview is Wed morning... just finished medical work this morning. Hope it goes as easy as your interview did!! Good luck with the trip home!!

Congratulations and best of luck on the interview!!

Yes, TianYu Gardens Hotel is in the same building as the consulate and they are very helpful. I think the people at both hotels that are listed under GUZ info are helpful like this from what I saw others say.

Congratulations and best wishes for a successful interview!! That is 4 recent P4's with 2 week leadtime... maybe still a fluke around New Year end... we'll see.

Jesse, I agree, I don't know either, but 3 recent cases of P4 to interview of 2 weeks looks like more than what I've seen here before, so we'll wait and see if it is a qwirk or a trend as more P4's are received. My SO called the Hospital in GZ to confirm the 2 day processing with a 60 yuan fee so we will go to GZ on Sunday March 5, go to Medical first thing on Monday, then pickup the paperwork in afternoon on Tuesday before her Wed interview. Since the hospitals don't process medicals on Sat or Sun, this saved us 3 or 4 nights of hotel stay there. She also called and got a room reserved at the TianYu Garden hotel, so we should be all set after picking up the police certificate from the English translation place in Wuming tomorrow. I can see the nervousness in my SO already!! My "don't worry" words to her don't seem to help, so I'm glad the interview is soon, so the worry period will be shorter.

David, thanks for reminding me about the expedited mode at the hospitals.... had seen that mentioned before but forgot about it. We will look into that. That would save us 2 or 3 nights hotels if we could arrive Monday morning and get the medical exams done on Monday and pick up the paperwork on Tues, prior to the Wed interview.

Congratulations to both of you!! I see that our SO's interviews are the same day. Looks like you are in a bit more panic mode than we are though... I'm happy to be here... makes it a lot easier! Best of luck to you both for a successful interview and getting your wife home at last!!

Best of luck to you and your SO on the March 2 interview. Yes, a mild panic sets in when you see the interview will be so soon when you are used to hearing it takes one month here.... no complaining though! That's 3 recent P4's with 2 week lead time... hmmmm

Thanks to all for your good wishes! Carl, you may be right but I also just saw another P4 arrival with March 6 or March 8 interview here. Maybe there were a couple cancellations. Whatever the reason, I'm happy ours will be soon so I can be here for it!! It's a rainy day in Wuming today, but we are not minding a bit!! My SO is heading out to the police station now to get her police certificate... neither of us slept very well last night.... Cheers from China!!

My SO received P4 today at her address at the farm, so we took the bus to the farm this afternoon and I was speculating what the interview date would be the whole trip. Was I ever shocked and surprised to read that her interview date is March 8!!!...that is 2 weeks from now, given the short month of Feb!! Fortunately we have all but 2 docs we need so it should be no problem, but I sure wasn't expecting anything earlier than late March or early April!! Given this, I'm glad we didn't wait until we get P4 to do any other paperwork processing or I would be a nervous wreck!! My SO's interview is on a Wednesday so I have a couple questions: - Do we need 2 full business days in GZ for medical processing before the interview or 3? - Since a weekend comes into play if we need 3 days, are medicals processed at GZ hospitals on Saturday or Sunday? Well, we're very excited to say the least!! My scheduled return to USA is 3/22 and I was worried I would miss her interview by a week or two and was prepared to change the tickets to stay, but need to get back in time to file taxes by 4/15. That won't be a problem now and I'm very happy I will be her to go to GZ with my SO and daughter for the medical and interview. Thought I would be flying out of GZ after a survey trip so I only bought a one way ticket to Nanning... now I'll need to buy another one way from Nanning to GZ on 3/22. It's been pretty funny today seeing my SO so excited. First thing she did was put us on the wrong bus to the bus station when we were headed to the farm.... Later after we had been looking at P4 she had laid the papers on her chair and had gone off to do something and came back and sat right on the whole pile of papers.... she jumped up and said "I very happy" and pointed to her head and said "it no good today!" Best of luck to the others waiting for P4's!! GZ has really speeded things up. Maybe to the point where some of the process tips need to be modified a bit. 2 weeks in not a lot of time and since P3-P4 is down to a month, I think P3 is the time to start rounding up the paperwork, which for most cases will be well within the 6 mos... just my opinion... I know there is a 2nd name check that can cause delays, but I doubt if the 6 mos will be in jeopardy for many. I would prefer a little extra time. The interview prep is a nervous enough time just before the interview.

Congratulations Kurt and Sherry!!! Best of luck with the homecoming!!!

Jonathan, I agree with you. Do you know a better alternative hotel that is in the same general area of Guangzhou as the Consulate? Even a 10 minute cab ride is no problem. I'm just not familiar with GZ to know what are good hotels within reasonable distance. I appreciate any help in advance!! Jim

Thanks for the info Kurt! That is pretty steep, but if it is a nice place, it would be worth it for our last couple nights before I head home. The location is definitely great. Appreciate the info! Jim

Thanks David, I thought Carl was referring to vac's need for AOS and I thought there were several more required for that. I was thinking of trying to get them all done in China while we're at it. Some don't expire like MMR and Chicken Pox, but I know Tetanus does, but thought it was good for 5 years... maybe wrong. Jim

Hello Kurt, how is this Tian Lun hotel? What are the rates there? My SO and I will go to GZ to visit and familiarize her with the consulate area there in March, before she goes there for interview, likely in April. Maybe this would be a good hotel to stay for us when we go there to check things out before I return to USA. Thanks for any information you can share with me! Best of luck with the Interview!!! Jim

Carl, since several of the vaccinations's are a series of shots, I'm confused how we could wait until after the interview to have the vaccinations if we want to get them in China, where they are reportedly cheaper.... most people are coming to the USA soon (days) after the interview and visa is obtained. What is the shortest vaccination expiration that might need to be redone? I have been thinking about this, like many things in this process, planning for things to go right and if they don't, you have to redo some things. To me, my SO and daughter having these vaccinations is a good thing anyway. It seems the chances of expiring vaccinations is a low probability, but am interested in your views.... maybe I'm missing something. I was planning to have my SO and daughter start their vaccinations while I'm over there in the next couple months. Her interview will likely be in April. Should we wait? Thanks!

--- At least one report of a Civil Surgeon turning a head on the book having no english.. take the time and go somewhere that will provide it or at least have the shot abbreviation in english with the chinese... 182220[/snapback] Good information on the International Vaccination card... Getting this info in English and Chinese sounds like a great idea! Thanks much!!

Thanks much David! Hadn't heard of the yellow book before. Will be sure to get that.

I'm thinking since the P3 instructions say one year validity, they should accept what we have if it is within their stated requirement, but I know sometimes that is not how things work, so I'm looking for feedback from others that may have have experience with this, good or bad, to help me decide. Thanks Ty.

The OF-169 checklist says we need a non-marriage certificate with one year validity, which I understood previously. Question I have is how close to one year is acceptable?... My SO had a non-marriage certificate prepared when she was getting the doc's together for the I-129F submission. The single certificate is dated July 25, 2005. I'm outlooking her interview to be somewhere in the April timeframe, May at the latest, so we will be within the year unless something really bad happens. They say a year validity, but do they want to see them less than 6 months? I'm wondering if we should have it redone when I'm over there or just go with the one she already has. Thanks much, Jim

Thanks for this info Ken! I also plan to have my SO and daughter start and hopefully finish the immunizations while they are still in China. Can they get the immunizations from any hospital as long as they have the records or are there only designated places for that? My SO lives in Nanning so I'd like for her and her daughter to get them at a hospital in Nanning if possible. Thanks again and best of luck to you and your SO on the interview!! Jim

Great news!! Best of luck from here on!!

OMG, where did she get donkey skin?? Now I've heard everything!! Makes the black chicken sound tastey!!