Craig and Mingjun

Well, I haven't been here for a while, but my lovely bride to be (we are getting married 9-9-9) speaks English poorly, but she got a visa. It took over a year from filing 129-F to having a visa, but she is here now and we are living the dream!

Ah, the news dilemma. In China, you only see the news the government will allow, but it is generally true. In America, you see all news, but much is not true, or has been changed. It is hard to decide which may be better. Myself, I ignore the news and just try to enjoy life and help other people when I can. So far, I have found that is easier to do in America, but that seems to be changing. My advice would be to do whatever makes you happiest.

I feel very blessed then. Even though I live in a small town, the college here that I work for has quite an active international community. We have a visiting professor from China every year, and 5 of our permanent professors are originally from China (one who encouraged me to go to China to meet my future wife, and even happened to be in Beijing when we visited there on my first trip and showed us the bird's nest under construction). I have iTalkBB so she can talk to her friends, and fast internet and multiple computers. Not to mention her best friend in China has a boyfriend about 25 miles from us I see a bright future...

Ours took about a month, but did result in pink.

I like hitting Lowes, they will beat a competitor's price by 10% if they are lower (and of course, Home Depot offers the same)

I typed up a very polite letter of explanation to send with our requested information to overcome our blue. I said some nice things about the VO who did the interview (all true of course). I think if you are very thorough in explaining the situation and the documentation included along with polite praise for their office, you can't go wrong. Of course, if you have the funds, a good lawyer wouldn't hurt (a cheap discount lawyer may do more harm than good).

That looks like China, when they decide to do something, it happens. I have been very impressed with the progress of a new high speed rail line being built in western Hunan. And they seem to work on almost the entire length simultaneously.

I think tea is no problem, I have brought back so much tea, and received tea many times from people returning from China.

Heck, I took my Nintendo DS along, but found 3 other suckers , I mean, fellow petitioners to chat with while we waited

Send it all my way, my 1951 International Harvester freezer in the basement is almost empty

Well, not to be stereotypical, but women do not have the importance of men in China, including funerals. Depending on where she is from, there may be very little ceremony for her mother. A father on the other hand, may have them tied up for months. My sweetie's father died last October, and it was two weeks before our communication returned to somewhat normal. It was months before she was able to wear her engagement ring and the sunstone necklace I gave her again. The best thing would be if she has a friend you can ask about the rituals for where she lives. I do know that the younger you are, the more respect you must show (and the larger burden) at the death of an ancestor. Best wishes to you to find the information you need. I understand the traditions and rituals can vary greatly from place to place in China.

Congratulations. After our own blue overcome to pink, I know the feeling. 23 days to go for our reunion in the USA!

Pink thoughts from us! Get that visa!

I have been sending money to my sweetie as well, she did not ask for it, I offered, because I would rather her not slave for 12 hours to make what I can for about 15 minutes of light work. My guess is that the VO will look at it as paying someone to marry you, which of course they frown on, no matter who is doing the paying. My sweetie did not mention it in the interview or in any of the paperwork. What I spend my money on, including sending it to my sweetie, is not the government's business. What I earn so they can tax it, OK. After the taxes, it is mine to do with what I want. The only thing that you should provide for the interview is information on the I-134 to show she won't become a welfare recipient. Other information will bring extra scrutiny, and likely get you the "not bona fide" relationship, as it could be viewed as you providing financial incentive for your relationship. It's all about appearances. However, if they ask, definitely answer truthfully, because it is likely they somehow discovered it. Lying will definitely earn you a white.

My experience is that only Air Canada has the special bypass that let's you go straight to US Customs. My Cathay Pacific flight required me to go through Canadian customs and to a ticket counter to check my baggage onto the flight to the US.

Thank you all for the encouragement. I talked with Mingjun and let her make the decision. She wants to do it on her own, so that looks like how it will play. She should be in Guangzhou shortly, and we will be chatting in a few hours. Now all we have to decide is how soon she wants to come. I have suggested letting Chengji finish the school year before coming over, and she seems to agree.

There do not seem to be many flights that will get her directly to Portland to go through that POE. Right now, I can only find Northwest, and the bastards just started charging $50 for a second piece of checked baggage, Grrr. But we discussed it, and she would like to come on her own. I am a little concerned as she has never been out of China, and her English becomes very poor when she gets flustered (which could happen going through immigration). I think we will be discussing this some more before making a final decision.

Woo hoo I am talking to my sweetie, and she just received notice that she can come to Guangzhou with passport on Monday or Wednesday at 2 PM to receive her and the son's visa! Yay! Unfortunately, I have no vacation left, and really want to come through POE with them, so we are most likely going to delay coming to America until July.

I would suggest vayama.com or uschinatrip.com, I have found both to have a better selection of international flights. Also, if you are getting the ticket to fly out of China, ctrip.com is worth a look (I use them for domestic China flights).

Unless your SO lives in Guangdong province, you have to wait to pick up the visa at the special post office, at least according to the paperwork we received in our P4. Typically it is 2-3 day wait. The sheet we had stated they would not mail it anywhere outside of Guangdong province.

OK, I feel stupid for asking, but what is this DOS number I see people calling? If there is a way to find the status of our blue here in the states, I sure would like to know about it! Oh, and here is vibes for a pink! A blue is just annoying

Thank you all. My fiancee said the VO was very pleasant and understanding. She is a little upset with her son, as he told the VO that his father calls occasionally (maybe once every 6-12 months). The only way they can call him (not that they have any desire to do so) is to call one of his sisters and he calls back. If not for that comment from her son, the fact that the divorce was almost ten years ago probably would have put that painful memory to rest. We are hopeful that the consulate will be able to find out it took five petitions before she was finally allowed her divorce (she started 3 months after the marriage), and that her ex has been in jail numerous times. Needless to say, she has no desire to see him, nor does her son. When things calm down a bit I will ask why he even bothers to call at all, as it seems he does not care much about either my fiancee or her son.

Well, the interview seemed to have gone pretty smoothly, but due to delays, her certificate of eligibility to marry had expired. Also, they want complete contact information for her ex-husband because of her son. All things considered, it could have been a lot worse. Hopefully they quickly find out how bad her ex is (been in jail a few times, drug addict I hear) and allow us to get the visas. I know of at least 4 pinks over the past two days, so things are well for many I think it is time to spend some quality time with her family and friends with the rest of the time I have here.

I emailed my Congressman, one David Wu, who happens to be of Chinese descent...

Our original interview date was January 20th as well. However, my fiancee had an issue with her medical, so we are re-scheduled for April 8. The plus side of this is it sounds like more people are getting pink than was happening in January, and the time delay has allowed me to build up enough vacation to be there for moral support this time. As other have asked, did you overcome your blue?