[Not Marrying in China]

I just had to chime in about the red envelopes. We had just a ceremony for her family and friends when I was visiting in June, since we are unsure we will make it back in a reasonable amount of time once she is here (we did not register, didn't want to screw up the K1). We definitely had quite the haul, I think it was on order of 22,000 yuan. About a quarter paid for the spread and gifts to guest, but that left us quite a bit for a honeymoon :-)

 

I just received an email on Monday about my I-129F being approved and the NOA2 being in the mail. So soon we will be applying for a visa!

 

Craig

[Canada Layover/Transit visa]

I will let you all in on a little secret about flying to the US via Vancouver, Canada. If you fly Air Canada or United, when you land in Vancouver, there is a special direct route from your arrival gate to US customs. If you fly any other airline, you have to clear Canadian customs, and then go check-in through US departures. There is a special Air Canada/United baggage claim after you go through your special customs gate if your luggage has been checked through to a US destination. No Canadian transit visa required.

 

In addition, my experience is that US customs in Vancouver is much quicker and the agents politer than say LAX or SFO.

 

You don't have to. Your fiancee can get a canadian transit visa in a timely manner. You'll just have to show the travel plans and ties to the home country (or in this case, I would think ties to the US). In any case, it takes about 5 days from the canadian embassy and is free.

 

I was seriously thinking about an Air Canada flight home too, but we could not figure out how to get that stupid transit visa. I had emailed the Canadian embassy in Guangzhou, and they said they don't do the transit visa there. Then I tried the one in Hong Kong, and they never responded. We gave up on the idea, because I had no idea how to get this transit visa..