weiaijiayou

is it required to submit form I-94 (the arrival/departure card) when applying for adjustment of status? the immigration people at the airport kept ours. is there anything else they'll take as evidence of her status in the united states? thanks for your help.

reminds me of a few times ago when i was in beijing. apartment on the 20th floor, two elevators, at least one of which was out of order on any given day (sometimes the one not working switched mid-day -- only in china). the neighbor liked eating fresh walnuts first thing every morning, using a mallet. the first few days i thought there was construction going on next door -- only in china.

As far as I am concerned, the young lady is in charge of deciding what she is up for. She's not a little girl anymore, and her family is hundreds of kilometers away. I'm just going to be a Boy Scout about it, and Be Prepared, because she ought to have a good time whatever she wants to do. this sounds like a decent way to approach the situation, with one caveat: the decision shouldn't be completely up to her, as the seriousness of your own feelings toward her and your intentions for the future should also determine what you're willing to do (and, depending on the situation you may be walking into with a young lovestruck chinese woman, what you're willing to let her do with you). many of the chinese women i know are VERY willing to express their love for their man even before marriage. unfortunately, though, i've heard of a few cases where the american guy thought he would be in it for the long run, but then his plans changed. your intentions seem to be in the right place. but to play off of your metaphor: don't think like a boyscout (i.e., "i'll do it as long as she wants to"). be a gentleman, err on the side of caution and romance. if you do, she'll want you even more.

these are good suggestions. as mentioned, don't forget to call your bank to make sure they know you'll be in china and to remove any blocks they have on ATM withdrawals in asia (you can get the block back on your account once you return). also, while i've never had any stomach problems in china (aside from occasionally eating wayyyy too much), the food on the plane gives me gas every single time. last time i took some gas ex (the cheap "equate" version) and it was a very easy flight. edit -- one last thing. from reading the posts above it sounds like some people might be drinking tap water in china? you should buy bottled water at the store, ask for kai shui (boiled water) or tea at restaurants, and, if you can afford it, you might even want to use the bottled water when you brush your teeth...

your problem is rather unique on this forum, as the demands placed on you are somewhat higher than those placed on most other foreigners in china. moreover, you seem to have encountered people who aren¡¯t the best at conveying their expectations. my own feeling is that a lot of the animosity from this teacher comes from the fact that you are speaking english with her. although she was out of line in scolding you, it seems to me that she has every right to expect you to use chinese when in china. if someone has to struggle to communicate, make mistakes, and be laughed at by insensitive people, it should be you (i.e., you and me) because you chose to go to china; she and your other colleagues didn¡¯t sign up for daily english practice. my advice is to 1. use chinese with them at all times. (i assume it is good enough to at least ask questions and make educated guesses at people¡¯s meanings when you don¡¯t understand). 2. at least say hello and ask a simple question every time you see them gathered in the community teachers room. if your chinese ability is not that good yet, you¡¯ll probably find it easier when you ask the questions and can therefore have more control over the conversation and at least some idea of the kinds of things they are likely to say (e.g., ×î½ü治棿). 3. don¡¯t ruminate over any backwardness that you encounter. it¡¯s their loss if they can¡¯t think beyond china, just as it¡¯s our loss if we can¡¯t think beyond the usa. when you¡¯re having a bad day do something fun with friends who understand you and are more ¡°worldly¡± finally, as far as the language stuff goes, i can feel your pain, at least in a small way. my wife¡¯s family is from henan province, and they won¡¯t even speak putonghua with me, let alone english. according to gege, they feel funny hearing themselves speak putonghua, so i¡¯m expected to understand the colloquialisms and pronunciation of henan hua don¡¯t give up. even though you said it's everyday, i imagine that some days you experience tons of issues like this, and other days are much smoother and more relaxed

just out of curiosity... did the russian woman make it to the US? is she still here? your situation and moniker just sound interesting to me. was the other one (the first or second time) also from another country? you may know this, but the short time from meeting this woman until your filing the petition will probably throw up a red flag at USCIS and once you get to GUZ

me either, but i've had some confrontational-type experiences in china. once in beijing while walking on an overpass a guy who was selling stuff said to my fiancee in mandarin "couldn't you find a chinese man?" another time my fiancee and i wanted to take a picture with an old man's goat. he said "5 kuai." my fiancee asked why we would have to pay. he replied "why are you with a foreigner?"

Nice, I see. Thanks for your follow up ( I am a bit worried about this issue when my husband interviews since he really knows very very very little English so we speak Chinese too, so that's why I was curious about the VO's questioning. ) from my experience, his english won't be an issue as long as you show evidence that you speak chinese with one another. when i first sent our petition to uscis, i included email logs (sender, recipient, date, and subject) showing communication in chinese over the course of a few years. also, i sent copies of some letters my fiancee had written me in chinese, along with my english translations of them. this stuff got forwarded to GUZ and the vo used them for the interview (my fiancee saw him looking at them). the other two things i'd recommend doing are 1. go to ACH (on Mondays at 2:30, i believe) and request that the interview be in chinese. when i did this, the vo said "that's no problem." 2. handwrite a letter to the vo in chinese, explaining your relationship (e.g., your feelings, your history together, your hopes). this is what i did, and then i took the letter to ACH to request that they put it with the other materials for the vo to see before the interview. the vo said she couldn't take the letter then, but she did look at it and, i'm sure, made a reference to it in the notes she made for the interviewing vo to see. you could also ask the vo if he or she wants you to read the letter out loud, in case they have any doubts it was you who wrote it. finally, give the letter to your husband when he goes for the interview. he can hand it to the vo when he or she requests your husband's passport. (also include an english version of the letter, in case the vo can't read chinese). good luck! let me know if i can help in any other way...

First of all, CONGRATS! Secondly, question, if she's an English teacher & the interview was conducted in Chinese, what is the actual language you two use to communicate, if I may ask? I am actually surprised this question wasn't asked by the VO... we use chinese. but now that she's in the united states, we speak english if we're with other people (aside from when i have to translate something she doesn't get). i think the vo didn't ask about this because i had already told them at ACH the day before.

One other likely cause of the failure to help in some of these cases is diffusion of responsibility. When there's lots of people around -- i.e., lots of potential helpers -- any one of those people is much less likely to do anything. This phenomenon has been shown in studies using, e.g., college students in the united states, and there have been several documented cases in which dozens of us citizens watched or heard as someone was murdered and not a single person called the police or helped. I imagine this is likely part of the reason why you (OP) did nothing to help the crippled man. Instead, you said to yourself, "why isn't anyone helping this guy?" It's a human tendency, not a chinese one. Second, I have seen many cases in northern parts of china where people were helped by complete strangers. I can't generalize to southern china, though, as this sometimes seems like a completely different country with its own social norms. In one case in Beijing, my fiancee (I was not there at the time) fainted, and many people came to try to help her walk to a place where she could sit down. On subways, when blind or handicapped people walk through requesting money, I see many people helping them out.

She was talking about staying back a couple weeks or so but she said right now she is so tired of waiting with this very long immigration process she wants to just come straight away with me. The only thing holding that back would of course be getting PINK then if the seat is avail and the cost of said seat. you are buying one way ticket for yourself to fly there first? then buy a ticket together once you are over there? I am required to do a round trip ticket by the Navy in order to get permission to travel there. whether you are required to or not, you should get a round trip ticket. two one-way tickets would be almost twice as expensive, right? just pick a seat for your return flight that has a single open seat next to it, and hope it remains vacant until your fiancee gets pink... (edit -- until she gets a *visa*) Any one else gunna be in GUZ around 11 may? wish i was. even though i found several things about guangzhou rather disagreeable, it was still an interesting city to go to for a visit

I was at ACH on March 9 and the guy ahead of me in line told the initial VO: "My fiancee (or wife, can't remember) got denied a visa, and I want to know why! I paid good money, I flew all the way over here, and I want an answer! Give me a reason!" That guy had some guts, and I'm just curious. Was it anyone here?

She was talking about staying back a couple weeks or so but she said right now she is so tired of waiting with this very long immigration process she wants to just come straight away with me. The only thing holding that back would of course be getting PINK then if the seat is avail and the cost of said seat. you are buying one way ticket for yourself to fly there first? then buy a ticket together once you are over there? I am required to do a round trip ticket by the Navy in order to get permission to travel there. whether you are required to or not, you should get a round trip ticket. two one-way tickets would be almost twice as expensive, right? just pick a seat for your return flight that has a single open seat next to it, and hope it remains vacant until your fiancee gets pink... (edit -- until she gets a *visa*)

Your planned timetable is almost identical to what my fiancee and I did (March 10 interview, in Beijing on Feb 28th, train arrived in Guangzhou the 4th, flew to the US on the 19th). One thing you should do is be prepared to wait at least 3 business days in guangzhou after your interview. We wanted to spend a lot more time with our chinese family before leaving, but were left with only about 2 days after waiting an extra day in guangzhou and then having to take ~20 hour trainrides from guangzhou to nanyang (chinese family's hometown) and then from nanyang back to beijing. as for plane tickets, i can't speak for other airlines, but continental flights from beijing to newark usually have quite a few empty seats around this time, so you can almost definitely sit together with your fiancee on the way back if you fly with them (assuming you're waiting until after the pink to buy her plane ticket). good luck. also, at ACH, I'd recommend asking a question concerning a sentimental or unique piece of relationship evidence. the VO you talk to will make notes about what you talk about and the VO who interviews your fiancee will see those beforehand. Make sure it's a real question, though, as they don't like people coming to ACH just to prove they're with their fiancee in guangzhou.

no thats it!its a service number especially for the ems,then after you talk to them give them your mail number,which is right above your case number on the ems cover,then they can tell you where is your packet at. thanks pokie. just called, and they still haven't sent it yet. i'm starting to think about changing my flight to a later date (it's now for the 19th). even if we get the visa early next week, it barely leaves any time at all for us to visit my fiancee's family before we go...

The package receipt dates are estimations, but I think they're about right. Dec 2005 -- Met in Beijing April 2008 -- Engaged June 2008 -- Sent I129F June 6, 2008 -- NOA1 Oct 8, 2008 -- NOA2 Oct 17, 2008 -- NVC Out Jan 11, 2009 -- P3 Received Feb 16, 2009 -- P4 Received March 10, 2009 -- Interview Now the only problem is picking up the actual visa. When we went to the post office to get it today it wasn't there yet (and neither was another woman's who also interviewed on the 10th). Wish us luck! [/quote you could call the ems first,020-11185 this number working for 24 hours dont worry,am sure you can get it! seems like a good idea. are there a few more digits to that number though?

The package receipt dates are estimations, but I think they're about right. Dec 2005 -- Met in Beijing April 2008 -- Engaged June 2008 -- Sent I129F June 6, 2008 -- NOA1 Oct 8, 2008 -- NOA2 Oct 17, 2008 -- NVC Out Jan 11, 2009 -- P3 Received Feb 16, 2009 -- P4 Received March 10, 2009 -- Interview Now the only problem is picking up the actual visa. When we went to the post office to get it today it wasn't there yet (and neither was another woman's who also interviewed on the 10th). Wish us luck!

Thanks to everyone here who has helped us in preparing our application! I¡¯d like to share a little of my and my fiancee¡¯s experience at the consulate (as well as a few details about how we prepared) to help others as I¡¯ve been helped through this forum. Hopefully later I'll have some time to share some other thoughts (both mine and my fiancee¡¯s) that might differ a little from the conventional wisdom. Below are the questions my fiancee was asked (most likely some are in the wrong order): Fiancee: Ni hao. Consular Officer: Ni hao. Can you speak English with me? (still in Chinese (i.e., putonghua, not baihua, yueyu, or whatever else people around Guangzhou sometimes speak)) Fiancee: No, I can¡¯t. Consular Officer: (so continues for whole time in Chinese) Give me your passport. Fiancee: Here is my passport, my fiance¡¯s passport, and a letter my fiance wrote for you. (the letter, an updated ¡°intent to marry¡± letter, was notarized in the US and had a handwritten Chinese version on the top page and a handwritten English version on the second page. I wrote them both extremely neatly. Both were about a full type-written page long) Consular Officer: (Looked briefly at Chinese version and then carefully read the English version.) Have you gone to the US before? Fiancee: No. Consular Officer: Can your fiance speak Chinese? Fiancee: Yes. Consular Officer: How did he learn Chinese? Fiancee: He probably had a few classes years ago, but then he just studied by himself. We¡¯ve talked on the phone every day since the beginning of 2007. Consular Officer: When did your fiance first come to China? Fiancee: 2005 Consular Officer: What did he do in China? Fiancee: Research with his professor. Consular Officer: What is his research on? Fiancee: Economic psychology. Consular Officer: How many times did he come back to see you? Fiancee: 4 more times. Consular Officer: When? Fiancee: (Fiancee named each year and season when I was back to see her, Consular Officer counted on his fingers as she named each one) Consular Officer: What does your fiance do in the US? Fiancee: Graduate student. Consular Officer: What is the name of his university? Fiancee: (fiancee answers) Consular Officer: What do his parents do? Fiancee: (fiancee answers) Consular Officer: What is his father¡¯s name? Fiancee: (fiancee answers) Consular Officer: Does your fiance have a brother in China? Fiancee: No. Consular Officer: Are your fiance¡¯s parents in China? Fiancee: No. Consular Officer: Do you have work in China? Fiancee: Yes, I¡¯m an English teacher in a kindergarten. Consular Officer: Can I see your pictures? Fiancee: (fiancee gave him booklet with two pictures per page and a caption underneath each photo giving the names of the people in the picture, place and date it was taken. There were probably about 45 pictures, some with fiancee¡¯s family members, some with her and my friends, but most just the two of us. Consular officer starts from back of book (most recent photos) and pages through toward the front. He types on the computer after looking at each page, maybe writing places we¡¯ve gone together or things we did (e.g., I volunteered for about a month at a place she worked, and we got this place to write and stamp a short letter for us; then we put this letter in with our pictures.)) Consular Officer: ûÓÐÎÊÌ⣬Äã¿ÉÒÔͨ¹ý. There are no problems, you can pass. Finally, when my fiancee came down from the interview, I was waiting there with a rose for her. When we got outside, there were some Chinese people standing there and when they saw we got pink, they wanted to know what questions the consular officer asked. Thanks again to all who helped!

thanks for the help!

I'm curious about #36 on the DS-156 ("has anyone ever filed an immigrant visa petition on your behalf?"). Is an I129 F an immigrant visa petition? (At first I assumed it was and checked yes and wrote my own name, but now I'm not sure since the DS-156K and other documents say "NON-immigrant fiancee visa application.") Should every petitioner check "yes" and write their own name?

My fiancee is wondering if she should not eat before going in for the medical exam, in case any of the bloodwork requires fasting.

thanks! based on your responses, i will not.

In response to this item on forms like the DS-156: did you write your own name and address if you helped your SO fill out the form?

From what I read on 001 Forum, GIV-24 is no longer needed for K1, K3, IR-1, CR-1. Some on 001 has asked GZ why they didn't get GIV-24 in the P4 package, GZ's reply is if it is not in your package then it is not required. My Fianc¨¦e received our K1 P4 today, but has not opened it yet. (She is in a different city now from where P4 was send). I will have her check if GIV-24 is in our package this coming weekend. george lee's CR-1 P4 contains GIV-24. So, to be safe I would download and print out couple copies of GIV-24 if you do not have it in your P4. If you do have it in P4, then fill it out and bring it to the interview. we're doing a k-1 and my fiancee's P4 (received about 3 weeks ago) has a GIV-24.

Nope. Its safe I tell you. Safer than walking down to the corner store to buy a quart of milk. You can certainly be cheated out of money,or lied to about 'we will fix your visa' over and over again. Anybody looking to spend 3 to 6 months in China can do a bit of English teaching in a small town or village,just throw a dart at a map. In larger cities you can get $10 or $20 for hour long private tutoring sessions if you are good at it. This is small change. My Mexican friend has NEVER BEEN TO AMERICA,yet he told them he was a 'native English speaker',then led DIRECTLY to a classroom full of students. Of course thats the extreme. Its very safe,even for a college age single young woman to backpack alone just about anywhere in China. Nobody likes those filthy dreadlock hippy backpackers,usually found in SE Asia,but the backpacker style travel books are used by all kinds of people. Even stupid people can travel safely in China if they just follow their travel book. "Independent Traveler" can be used if you feel ashamed to call yourself a 'backpacker'. can she speak chinese? first, i agree china is pretty safe (aside from traffic), but there are »µµ° in china just like anywhere else in the world. second, would it be fun to be in china by herself if she can't? i personally don't really see what the point would be. she could look at buildings but probably wouldn't be able to meet many people. i guess i'm not really that familiar with the whole backpacker phenomenon. are the ones in china mostly able to speak chinese?