IllinoisDave

Hope your ticker holds out there Mike. Dave, I appreciate your concern and thank you. I'm through the worst of my real estate nightmare now, so I think I'll be doing better soon. Nothing a trip to Nanning can't fix!

Hope your ticker holds out there Mike.

CONGRATULATIONS!! B) Nice job with the photos.

No other permits needed. But it would be a good idea to have a copy of your marriage cert. along for the trip. Especially if the GC name doesn't match the one in her passport.

Hopefully those in his position at other schools as well as the central gov't will learn from this quake and take some of those same measures to help prevent so many tragedies within a tragedy next time.

We use italkbb as well and highly recommend it.

Thanks for the heads-up. FRONTLINE is on my Tivo list. It consistently airs high quality, informative investigative pieces that should be required viewing in high school social studies classes IMHO. We'll be watching.

Good points Rog. I'm still curious as to whether it's true that the original VO does the review for the overcome. Anyone have a concrete answer to that? Dan? Randy?

Keep in mind that any claim you make is subject to being proven. So if someone in the future chooses to do what you suggest, they should make sure they have receipts and pictures from that "meeting" to back up the story if it comes to that. Otherwise, I think it's probably a good suggestion for guys/gals in your situation. Back to your situation. IMHO, if you provide the necessary facts and evidence that illustrate the evolution of your relationship via your trips, it SHOULD satisfy GUZ, especially if I'm right and the original VO handles the overcome. Good luck.

Congrats. Better late than never.

Homer, Sorry to hear about your blue result. I've been reading both of your threads and am a little confused and have a couple questions. You got pink at the interview but when you went to pick it up you had the blue slip correct? Your wife was only asked a couple questions at the interview. You wrote that one was: "1.) Do you know your husband lives in the USA?" Is that actually what the question was or was it: "Do you know WHERE your husband lives in the USA?" Then your wife was asked how you met and she said through her uncle in San Fran. Others may disagree, but to me this might raise a red flag for a VO. But, according to your posts, you got the pink from that VO at the interview right? That strikes me as pretty strange given the fact that you got blue later. Not questioning it, just seems weird. I assume from the limited info in your posts that you're Chinese born and your family has been living here since 1979 correct? Assuming I've got my facts straight I'll just throw out there my opinion about what may have happened and why you ultimately got the blue. I could be way off. It's all just my opinion. First,I think that either the VO your wife saw either had major second thoughts after the interview or obviously someone else did. I think at least part of the reason has to do with the fact that you're Chinese and that your wife indicated that you met through her relative in the States. As unfair as it would be, I think this may have raised a HUGE red flag with somebody, maybe that VOs supervisor post-interview? Asking if you had family in China adds to this point I think. I think the VO looked at your pictures and financial docs and was satisfied,at least at the time, that your relationship was bona fide. I say this because you mentioned that you had been there five times I think. So you obviously would've had plenty of pictures in plenty of different places. This tends to point more toward a supervisor having more questions after reviewing the interview IMHO. I think the super concentrated on the fact that you met through her relative in the States and probably didn't get past that fact to look at pics or financials. I think he/she decided then and there that you were going to have to provide more evidence. That's why I think your overcome slip asked for letter of evolution and more importantly, how you spent your time together during your five trips. This is pure speculation on my part, but, trying to get into the head of whoever is questioning your case, this is what I see: A Chinese citizen meeting a Chinese-born USC through HER relative in the US. He comes to China to marry her and makes numerous trips. Is he making those trips to see HER or his relatives who live here? Is this a marriage for love or for someone's financial gain? I'm not trying to be insulting, just trying to think like a very suspicious GUZ supervisor. Having laid out all this negative stuff, I actually think this COULD be a fairly simple overcome. I base this on the fact that someone seems to be very preoccupied with HOW you spent your time together in China. I think that if you can, through your evolution of relationship letter and DETAILED explanation of each trip to China and what you did while there, show that you were there actually building a relationship, that should satisfy GUZ. Someone else will correct me if I'm wrong on this but I believe the same VO who interviewed your wife will review your overcome evidence. And if I'm right and a supervisor has told that VO to make sure his/her original pink was justified, then the letters you provide should do that. So, in your letter, I would be VERY detailed about the trips, including exact dates and locations etc. Someone else may disagree and say it's overkill, and I know you included them at the interview already, but you could also provide the corresponding pictures from each trip, marked to show Trip 1, Trip 2 etc. That would make it much easier for whoever is reviewing your case to decide in your favor. I know you're thinking to yourself that "They had all this at the interview, why didn't they just ask?, why do I have to give it to them again?" You're right, it's stupid and unfair. But in some cases, that's the way GUZ is. You have no choice but to give them what they ask for. Sorry for being so long-windedly blunt. I'm just trying to give you a possible reason for why they're asking for what they're asking for to maybe ease your mind about having to do it. And I could be wrong about that WHY part. But the one thing that won't change whether I'm right or wrong is that you will have to give them what they want. Best of luck to both of you.

Flavored coffee,Frango's chocolate mints and ginseng all went over big. Have a great trip.

CONGRATULATIONS!

CONGRATS!!

CONGRATULATIONS!

CONGRATULATIONS!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Good points.

Not much we don't already know, but interesting nonetheless. http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=116&sid=1418292

Hell, this happens in my neighborhood every weekend!! Ya know Mike, if you'd stop slappin those Bush/Cheney bumper stickers on your neighbor's cars, things would quiet down. In my neighborhood everyone flipped over cars that had Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers. NOBODY would dare to put an Obama sticker on a car this time. Yeah, burned crosses in the yard and nooses hanging from trees is hell on property values ain't it?

Hell, this happens in my neighborhood every weekend!! Ya know Mike, if you'd stop slappin those Bush/Cheney bumper stickers on your neighbor's cars, things would quiet down.

Definately expect and prepare for it. If it comes, you're ready. If it doesn't, you're happy. There's really no rhyme nor reason for who gets to skip the interview and who has to go. It does seem that the less complicated the case (no divorces,kids or other snags) the better your chances of slipping by without an interview. But it's no quarantee. But there really aren't any hard and fast rules or patterns. We didn't have to go to one, but I have no idea why other than we had a simple case.

Ya, those damned liberal greenies--It ain't american to be against ruining stuff even if that stuff is our very own world!! I hate it when they try to make big buisiness and gov be responsible. Everyone knows that profit comes way before the people and that our right to consume is much more important than conserving anything for those who may follow us. Damned environmental buffoons!!! Yeah! Who needs a planet anyway? Let our kids and grandkids figure out where they're gonna live and get clean water, we had to. Effing tree huggers!

We filed AP along with AOS/EAD as it costs the same whether you do or not. Ended up not needing it as GC came fairly quickly. Can't hurt to file it as an insurance policy in case something goes wrong with AOS and she needs to travel in the interim.