IllinoisDave

You have a happy festival, too! Next year, make some moon cakes with your wife. They are easy and fun, and they taste good. I very much look forward to doing that. Can I make chocolate ones?

If they have chocolate, I'd vote for that.

And a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to you Joanne.

I agree with this totally Jim. However, the OPs post and some others have talked in a more general way about Chinese people being "uncivil". That's what I'm talking about. I think how we all deal with our SO exhibiting any of that behavior here is a very legitimate but separate issue. Wanting our SO to change her behavior to meet our standards when she's here is one thing. To expect the whole of China to do it in their own country is something else entirely.

I'm hoping we can uphold that tradition.

I guess I'm having a small problem with US calling THEM "uncivil." Who are we to say that their behavior is uncivil? It may be considered uncivil when measured against OUR standards of civility. But those are OUR standards no? When I was in China I saw all the things mentioned here,the bus lines (or lack thereof),the subway pushing, elevator jumping etc. I never once saw harsh words spoken or angry pushing and shoving in retaliation. Not even so much as a sideways glance, except the ones I was dealing out. And no one has even mentioned the driving yet. Everywhere we went there were people cutting each other off, passing on the right,not signalling etc. etc. etc. Guess how many dirty looks or fists waved or middle fingers flashed I saw in all that driving? Zero. Think about all those things happening here and then think about the reactions and ask yourself who's uncivil. It works for THEM in THEIR society and culture. Whatever the reasons are for it, be it the sheer number of people or the history of having to get there first or wait forever, they're used to it. It doesn't really seem to bother THEM all that much. Why should it bother US enough to call them uncivil?

CONGRATULATIONS!! Another CFL success story. I hope to join that club next month. Also nice to hear a no-hassle interview story. I hope my SO gets that guy.

We were supposed to go to Lijiang on my last trip but went to Beijing instead. From the research I did as well as suggestions from members here, I found that Lijiang is very nice and has many day trip type destinations as well.

Very interesting. At the risk of over-simplifying, I think it seems like Russia's advancement has been hindered by more of a greedy,enrich-myself/screw the state and everyone else mentality. Whereas China's leaders have been able for the most part to steer growth and global integration more towards the good of the country as a whole. I realize that there are many more factors at play but it just seems like that in Russia, a relative few have gotten very rich whether through sheer opportunism or outright thievery. In China, the new-found wealth does seem to be spread around a little more, though the gap between rich and poor is still pretty staggering.

This says what I was trying to say much better than I said it. I didn't mean to imply that anyone was China-bashing at all. I certainly know far less about China than many who've posted here so I respectfully defer to them on matters of apathy in China. My point should have been closer to what Joshua said, that people in other cultures have reasons for acting a certain way just as we do. We just shouldn't expect them to change to meet our own standards.

I WAS worried about this. For the same reasons you and others have expressed. I gave her as much info as I could about my financial situation so she would not be surprised. She understands now that we are,as she puts it, in the "middle of the class."

While the incidents in China you cite are certainly disturbing, I don't think it necessarily follows that Chinese society is "extremely cold and selfish." I don't know if you meant that to be such a broad generalization. If so, I would have to disagree. As for the job our culture does in looking out for those in trouble? I agree that we may do a better job than others, but I'm not so sure that bar is all that high. It's obviously a slippery slope to pick isolated incidents in any culture and use them to paint a true picture of that entire culture. And I'm not saying that you're trying to do that. I guess I'm just saying that for every sad act of human indifference we can find in China, we can probably find a thousand more of human kindness. And for every good samaritan we can find here in the US, we can probably find a thousand people who pass by without a second glance. Someone else could probably switch the names of the two countries in my example and make a valid point as well. In the end, I think it's just very difficult to compare two such diverse cultures when it comes to something like their relative compassion.

I would take issue with her saying that Shanghai is a bad place to look for a wife.

Chilton and Ty are right. All the info you needed to know was here. It sounds like you may have done just the bare minimum you thought you needed to do. You are at their mercy like it or not. Give them what they want and then some. Do some more research here in the Links and Resources section,especially David's extensive "kitchen sink" list. At this point it's not about what you think of the VO or what you knew before the interview. That's water under the bridge. You need to do all you can to prepare whatever overcome evidence they want. That's the ONLY way you're going to ultimately get it. Sorry if this sounds preachy, but from reading your posts it sounds like you kind of expected to just fill out some forms,send them in and have the visa handed to you as a matter of convenience. As the rest of us here can attest, it doesn't quite work that way. Aside from the inconvenience of some added time, it sounds like you won't have too much trouble if you just give 'em what they want. Good luck.

CONGRATS on the pink!

CONGRATULATIONS to both of you!! Best wishes and have a safe flight.

Good luck to both of you!!

So did you get the employment letter notarized?

Yeah, this one's a new one on me. We don't need the employer letter notarized do we? (I fixed the quotes on this on. You can thank me later ) Just kidding! The I-134 instrucions only say a letter of employment on business stationery. It says nothing about notarization but I think that has always been the norm that is popular among visa petitioners. It doesn't have to be notarized but I tend to think that it makes the document look more official and valid. Be sure to get the embossed seal and not just a signature from the Notary Public. Some states, like VA, they only have to sign and not seal but I always insist on the seal. So they just sign and put the seal right on the letter? I'm more familiar with the docs like the I-134 that have the space for the notary to fill in.

Yeah, this one's a new one on me. We don't need the employer letter notarized do we? Dave I got the following: 1. Notarized letter from bank. 2. IRS transcripts, they will send you for free and got them in 6 days. 3. Notarized letter from employer. 4. W-2's for three years to match IRS paper work. 5. Pay stubs for 2 months, I am paid salary, so they look the same. 6. Copied it and am taking a copy and the original. 7. My work notarized the 134. IllinoisDave screwed them up Oops. That's what I get for not checking my post. Sorry.

I have all that except for notarizing the employment letter. Is that required? Edit. Based on David's post I guess I'll have it notarized.

[quote Not sure why I notarized letter from employer (plus notarized copy of it) but don't mind over-kill. Notarization generally just means authentic copy or witnessed signing doesn't it? Why notarize originals? Yeah, this one's a new one on me. We don't need the employer letter notarized do we?

Can you explain "it's split off to the TC?" I'd love to read anything about ACH. Thank you David He means the posts about CFL merchandise etc. are split into a different thread in the Twisted Candle forum. TC = Twisted Candle It's probably not as informative as it sounds.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

This thread's evolved not unlike most here do. The OP asks a question, people in the know try to help the best they can, in this case Carl and Papa Bear, who offered great advice with Papa Bear even offering to help in a PM. Then some people offer encouragement and then people begin to offer opinions on the subject and a discussion ensues. What's wrong with that? The OP was given some great advice early in the thread and as David pointed out there's not much the rest of us can do in this case after that. So we discuss the subject it until everyone loses interest and it's on to the next thread. Geez. If we stuck strickly to the original topic and never deviated from the OP's original questions, not many threads would last very long or be very interesting IMHO.