IllinoisDave

Excellent news! Good luck!!

Welcome Hong.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Well said.

Depends how brave you are. http://i39.tinypic.com/2nak9wh.jpg

CONGRATULATIONS!

It must be filled out in English with the exception of her name listed at the bottom in her native alphabet. This form goes to the USCIS. They want English. Thanks, do we need to get the info on the form professionally/certifiably translated? Things like addresses previous employment history, etc? No. As Charles said, everything but her name should be in English. No need for translations.

We came through Chicago. The weren't asked for. I'd think the worst that could happen would be she'd have to re-take them here at some point. That's only if they decided to make an issue of it. I doubt it would ever get to that.

Don't worry, there'll be plenty of union-haters along to say it for you.

That's great news. Should make your big day just that much more special.

Excellent post Roger! Clearly what GUZ deems necessary to prove a bona fide relationship and satisfy the requirements of an immigration-based visa is an ever-evolving dynamic. Ignore current trends in favor of past experience at your peril. They¡¯re both crucial to understanding what it takes to navigate the minefield GUZ lays down. I remember when you were advocating for the ¡°more is more¡± approach to the initial filing over the conventional wisdom at the time of keeping it simple and worrying about bringing the big guns to the interview. And I may have even been one of those pooh poohing that idea at the time since we had gotten our visa using that CW of the time. If I was, I owe you an apology. It¡¯s become pretty clear since that when it comes to using ¡°conventional wisdom¡± when dealing with GUZ, it¡¯s nearly impossible to know what¡¯s conventional or what¡¯s wisdom.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Anything that drives a wedge between China and Russia can only be good for us.

Why make it a "pink guys" vs "blue and white guys" thing? Of course those of us who got pink can't feel what the blue and white folks feel, but we can still empathize and offer our opinions based on accumulated knowledge we've gained here. We read the same stories and debriefs that everyone else reads. We know potential red flags when we see 'em, whether we had them or not. As for it all being a matter of luck? I'll grant there's luck involved when it comes to whether or not someone gets one of the "bad" VOs or gets one who happens to be in a bad mood that day. But it's not all just luck. When someone says that they thought passing USICS was getting the visa or that making it to GUZ made the visa a foregone conclusion it's clear that preparation CAN have something to do with getting a visa or not. It's a damn shame that people in that position didn't find Candle sooner. But they didn't and now they're dealing with what to do next. And I think the more information offered here, the better to help not only them, but others who come along who may be in a position to avoid some of the issues that may have caused others' problems. Whether it's from someone who got pink, blue or white seems immaterial IMHO.

The AP didn't make this assumption, the Chinese gov't did. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoirs_of_a_Geisha_(film)

They could make the argument that it's also up to the petitioner to do his/her homework before filing such an important document.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

This is a bad thing or a good thing?

Good sense temporarily returns to South Carolina: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7893717.stm

The reason why Richard is so impressive for Mutianyu is he proposed to a Chinese woman on it. Then he has an excellent reason.

I'm with ya Larry. We went to touristy Badaling and it was way cool and I'm glad we went. But I definately want to go to some of the more rustic parts the next time we go.

Mutianyu has the more 'Home Depot' kind of finish to it - I can also see some of the same twists and turns. My avatar here was taken at the top of the mountain in the far background, which you can see in Jesse's photo as well http://i43.tinypic.com/e9ekvt.jpg The wall beyond that is unfinished and not open. I see it now. I didn't realize how similar the two looked. Both very impressive.

I thought it was Badaling. Does Mutianyu have one of those slides as well? we only saw the cable cars, but then there wasn't more than about a dozen people there that day. Your pic looks different than Jesse's. His looks more like Badaling as I remember it. But then I'm sure many of the locations look the same.

I thought it was Badaling. Does Mutianyu have one of those slides as well?

Wow. That's probably the most patronizing post I've ever seen here.