bearbear

No, it's just an example of the Cantonese superiority complex. So many people come to Guangdong from other provinces, there is a very clear line between locals and "beilao." Beilao is a term that literally means "old notherner" but has much more negative connotations (just as the Cantonese "gweilou" [foreign devil/ghost] has lost a lot of negativity over the years). It implies the person is dirty and ignorant, has bad manners, dresses their babies in split-crotch pants...a country bumpkin or peasant. The funny thing is, a Guangdong person will derogatorily call an outsider beilao even if they come from Yunnan or Hainan (south of Guangdong)! And they say the Shanghainese are uppity...... I just re-read this, and I hope you don't take offense to this, Bearbear. It's not a criticism of your SO or her family, just a general description of what I have learned and observed. I really think it's an ingrained response and most people wouldn't recognize it as some form of discrimination (except us uber-sensitive westerners). And really, who are we kidding - I learned to spit by watching the Cantonese! 154000[/snapback] Xulei, I understand what you're saying, and I noticed that too. Cantonese is same as Shanghai people - always thought they're the best, and they hate each other. Cantonese love to give nicknames to outsiders (out of the city, out of the province, out of the country). They call me "MeiCan", "Mei" for American, "Can" for rural people.

Audelair, I think you got enough evidence to prove your relationship. It's not fair they refused to issue your visa. My evidence is even worse, we only have less than 10 emails, we don't chat online. We plan to get a phone log, but the phone number wasn't registered under our names, before marrying, we lived with parents. What else can I present to the VO other than pictures? I'm getting nervous. I wish you luck. God bless.

According to the info I'm giving, could I be added to the timeline prediction?

I'm living in GZ with my SO and his family. The family told me real GZ people wouldn't do anything like that (spitting on the street... etc). Only outsiders would do so.

Well, I totally understand Mark62. I sometimes complain to my SO and his friends and family about several things that I saw on the street: 1. People spitting on the street and/or public places; 2. Cast garbage anywhere; 3. Cut lines; 4. Bad driving manner; They all agree with me, and they can't stand these either.

My SO believes in FengShui and "EightWords". He asked a FengShui master to observe the place before we bought a new home. The "EightWords" teller said we bring good luck to each other, and I'm his "lucky star" in making money. He likes red color because "red" brings good luck in general. I heard Chinese people shouldn't visit others in 100 days when there is death in the family, because that would bring bad luck to others. I think Chinese superstitious is from Chinese folk religion.

David, Thank you so much for your reply. I don't think my lawyer filed K3 for us. How do I know if my case is approved? By the I-797C? It's a Notice of Action, and on the Notice Type it says "Approval Notice". All I have done was filling out forms, like I-130, G-325A, I-864, and DS-230. I gave them all to the lawyer. He has no response. Whenever I call him up, he always asks me to wait. Oh, I was asked to pay bills before I was asked to file I-864 and DS230. We've never received DS3032. So far, I only received a copy of I-797C from USCIS. Nothing else, not even Packet 3 which has been mentioned many times here in this forum.

Dear all, Can anyone tell me the procedure of processing CR1 step by step, and the estimate time each step takes? I filed I-130 in April this year with VSC.

Congratulations!! A silly question: Am I allowed to appear at the interview with my SO?

Gene, you're definitely right. I'm still wondering what the next step is after I-864 and DS-230.

Thank you Gene. I guess I have to be patient.

I already paid the lawyer in full before he started the case for me. I know I have to have a case number before calling the NVC, otherwise there is no way they can tell me anything about my case, but too bad, I don't even know my case number. I always thought the receipt number on the I-797C is my case number.

Thank you Frank and Jenny for your precious advices. I guess what I can do is to wait for the next step from my lawyer. But what's next after the DS-230 and I-864 are sent? My lawyer keeps telling me to wait, sigh... Jenny, it took you about 8 months, right? May I asked which center you filed with? Mine is Vermont.

Dear all, I'm a USC married a Chinese in Guangzhou last Feb. I now moved to Guangzhou for my loved one, but I can't live here forever. It's been a year and I miss my parents in the states. I want him to immigrate to the US asap. So I filed I-130 for him this April. But recently I heard from friend that it's much faster to file DCF than to file with USCIS. Is it true? I asked an immigration lawyer to handle my case in the US. He charges me $1800 just for his service fee. How much it costs to file DCF? Here is my timeline: 4/19/05 filed I-130, G-325A 4/26/05 Received by USCIS 5/12/05 I-797C 7/13/05 generated I-864 and DS-230 as lawyer requested 7/21/05 sent I-864 and DS-230 I & II 9/10/05 still haven't heard anything from the lawyer yet. By the way, what's the difference between I-797 and I-797C? Thanks a million.