IllinoisDave

Speaking as a dnoblett fan and not so much as a Bears fan...I hope the Pats lose their hats the rest of the way.

I've only had experience with United. (ORD to Pudong and HK) I much prefer non-stops to get it over with. Three trips, no problems.

Welcome to Candle peacelove. Sounds like you're experiencing some common problems/anxieties that many of our wives/fiancees have. It's fairly normal and will most likely get better with time. This is a pretty good place to find others who share your experience.

I was just gettin ready to ask the same thing.

That's fantastic Charles. Congrats to both of you.

Count me among the skeptical. Heck, I'm usually feeling much better after three days of just advil and chicken soup.

I couldn't agree more. Imagine the shoe on the other foot. You want to communicate long distance with a Chinese woman in HER language. Do you hire a translator and then tell them to translate what you say verbatim and risk a major faux pas or let them finesse it a little allowing for cultural differences and language nuances in hopes of making the best impression possible?

You're not from Illinois, right? What's that supposed to mean?

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Congrats on the 10 yr Rog. Is it too early to start lining up my ducks?

And many American men are fond of imposing onto American women THEIR OWN idea of what being independent means and how women should act while being independent. Sheesh!

Jeff, Seems your dilemma has been resolved so I won't add my two cents on that. I would like to add a little perspective on the cost aspect though in case you decide to try again or a visitor to Candle is considering a visa adventure in China. I took three trips to see my now-wife. We stayed in nice hotels the whole time, ate out nearly every meal and did lots of touristy stuff. All that combined with all fees and incidentals involved in the visa process came to about $15,000. This figure has been cited by quite a few others here who've been two to four times. The $30,000 figure is too steep IMHO, especially for someone considering only one trip. Just didn't want you or anyone else to get scared off by that higher figure. Good luck with your future search.

A potential conflict avoided... http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/...&id=9442378

Great job! Congrats. I hope we're so lucky.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Sorry I haven't been back to check in. Things are a little crazy here what with our Gov. and all. Anyway, thanks to all for the input. It's all certainly something to consider.

Wearing anything resembling a wedding ring to the interview is also a bad idea for the same reason.

Hmmm... interesting. Thanks Rog. That addresses what the rules are when she returns from the "vacation". I wonder how USCIS would look at say, a 5 month "vacation" later at the interview.

Yep. What SteveK and Richard said.

Quite a few here waiting to exchange the 2-year GC for the 10-year. Gotta believe this economy is now or will soon be putting the pinch on some of us financially. Also gotta believe that some wives may be considering returning to China temporarily for work to help the family get by. What would be the ramifications of such a hypothetical situation GC-wise? Is there a maximum amount of time under the rules that she would be able to be out of the country before USCIS would cry foul? Would a few months gone, a few weeks back, another few months gone for instance cause problems at the AOS interview? Is there a way to do it and NOT raise red flags? Any thoughts?

Congratulations.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

From a purely economic standpoint my first response would be absolutely stay in China given the commitment to their rail system and our relative lack thereof. Obviously both country's economies are in for huge downturns. But at least in this particular area, China seems to have a brighter future for those employed in it. The real question though is how does Li feel about it? Does the maternal instinct to have a child close outweigh any possible economic advantages?

What about the cats?

Could just be the beginning.