chengdu4me

I think 776 is a good price for one-way! So buy the roundtrip ticket and then either throw it away or pay the fee to reschedule so she can at least use the other half for a visit home next year.

Whatever goes on in China is monitored. Doesn't matter whether you are using Skype, Yahoo IM, cell phone, or talking to yourself and walking your dog, sitting in a restaurant talking with your mother in law....somebody, somewhere is listening...key words are picked up on and then they(whoever "they" is) are paying attention...

Good point Jin! If you have feet bigger than size 9, good luck getting the house shoes in the hotel to fit! If you are size 11 or larger, you won't even be able to get your foot in them.

Christopher, Just a suggestion. Take enough clothes for two days. Take all your electronics and stuff like that. Buy whatever else you need when you are there and then just leave it with her. Your hotel will have TP. Just stuff a wad in your pocket when you leave the room every day. Your hotel is 20 minutes from the airport. I imagine you will go straight to your hotel first thing to get checked in and settled since you will be arriving about 9:45pm(?) I used to cart all that stuff around, too. Now, it is tickets, passport, camera, pocket translator, cell phone, two days of clothes, razor, shaving cream, tooth brush, toothpaste, deodorant (so I can clean up on the plane before meeting her)....all of this fits in one carry-on. Everything else I buy there. For this trip, it's already there waiting for me. Bonus for doing it this way... No waiting at the baggage claim. More time to spend in the bar during layovers. Easier to get through customs. You get to see her quicker when you arrive. Also, you will lose one of your T-shirts by leaving it there with her. It will now become her nightshirt so she can curl up with you every night, even though you aren't there. My hotel is about ten minute walk from yours. Sending PM with my gals phone number...Call when you have time and we'll get together...

The list above is good...don't forget to pack an open mind and a humble heart...those two things will get you farther than anything else... Hope to see you there!

Do you know what Budweiser and sex on the beach have in common? They are both F**king close to water!

This is the kind of thing that I think will do more good than lawyers. Public scrutiny of unfair or erroneous actions. NOBODY likes it when these things come to light! TV, newspapers, radio will do more to bring a quick fix than anything else. There was an article I read to day about how ICE is deporting US born citizens because they get caught in raids. They may not know how to read or they make have speaking or educational disabilities and they end up signing papers that they have no idea what they signed and the next thing they know , they are in Mexico without funds, help or anything! The department head of ICE even said that he didn't think it was a big problem! It is a federal offense to remove a US citizen from the US by force or coercion...and he thinks its not a problem....I bet we see a different tune from him soon, or someone else singing the tune because he was fired......but the point is that this is now national news because it was in the newspaper, not because some lawyer wrote a letter. Try calling some talk shows and some investigative reporters and see if you can get some interest....as you have all said....ya never know!

Lee...I'm not "telling" anyone to do anything. If anyone can change the system, then great! More power to ya! All I have been doing is throwing out scenarios that they may run into...not saying this is the case, but when dealing with the government of the United States, it is always best to assume that you are dealing with unethical people that do not feel that ordinary citizens have the right to challenge their power and they can and will screw you over at their whim and that you should be prepared for the worst. Optimism is good! Idealism is good! But it should be tempered with a very guarded posture when it comes to the US government.

You guys think I'm bitter. I'm not the slightest bit bitter when it comes to this subject. As I posted before and obviously you didn't bother to read, so I'll say it again. Let me also say this. I am just playing devil advocate. I truly do feel everyones pain in this process. I went through the wait, but canceled due to other reasons before the finish line. But that doesn't make me any less sympathetic to your cause. Perhaps when dealing with the government, I have just learned it is better not to if at all possible. In any and all cases, I will find an alternate route. I learned a long time ago to pick my battles wisely. No matter how noble the cause or how great the injustice, if your chances of winning are so slim that it will cause you more harm than good, then it isn't worth fighting. If your win will just force the opposition to be more creative and even harder to defeat later, it isn't worth fighting. Find another way! I have spoken to my Congresswoman, in person. You know what she did? She laughed. Not at me, but at the system. Her reply was, "Oh gosh! That is a can of worms that I have no clue how to open!. There is nothing I'll be able to do about this and even though I have been in Washington for 12 years, I wouldn't know who would". Now, if that isn't warning enough to make a rational person sidestep the process, I don't know what is. She is a good woman. She is just an average Mom, wife and mother that also happens to be a lawyer and she ran because her boss, her predecessor died and she was asked to fill his shoes. I filed the I-129F for a K-1. It went to VSC, then to NVC. I canceled it before it left for GUZ. The lady and I ended our relationship due to family problems on her side that were insurmountable dealing with custody issues of her daughter. The more I spent in China and the more I looked at where American is headed, I decided that living in China was a better option. I don't like this process. I don't like the one-sided rules. I don't like the time it takes to get it done. I don't like the total lack of respect from GUZ as I read these threads and stories. But, as I said, I have no dog in this fight. I have no story to pass on to these attorneys. I have only offered what I have as a devils advocate, throwing out negative argument one after another just as an example of what you could be up against. I went to law school. I graduated. I know how to interpret law. I know how to pick apart an argument. A good analogy I learned is that an argument is like a piece of fabric. You don't have to take possession of the fabric to destroy it. You only need to get your hands on one single thread. The problem I see with the Immigration laws is that they are so loosely woven that even if you pull one entire thread out, you won't see any difference in the fabric. I'm also saying that the demographics of people wanting to tumble the USCIS/DOS merry-go-round is so small that if, in unision, everyone grabbed a different thread and started pulling, it still wouldn't make any difference. In the grand scheme of things, we are so small a group that at our loudest, we can't even be heard. I dare say that just about any other special interest group, and we are a special interest group; is going to be bigger than we are, so any voice we have is nothing more than a barely perceptible whisper in the throng of screams. I'm afraid that just doesn't garner the attention we would all like it to. This is my realistic opinion of the subject. If it doesn't conform to your opinion, I can;t help that. I wish you the best of luck and if there is anything I can do that would make a real difference, I would be happy to help.

A Florida Department of Health analysis found the Chinese drywall emits "volatile sulfur compounds," and contains traces of strontium sulfide, which can produce the rotten-egg odor and reacts with air to corrode metals and wires. Pipes and other metals in the homes are corroding. This could lead to premature plumbing failures and other problems....plus the house smells like rotten eggs

Ok...so, lets say he is sucessful in getting USCIS to review petitions in a timely manner. That only applies to active petitions. Petitions that have expired are no longer subject to review. It will just take a bit longer for your petition to be received by the USCIS from GUZ. There, problem solved. It arrived expired...No further action necessary. Yea, the old misrepresentation argument again. Ok..here we go again...this is an administrative finding. You do have the right to petition for a waiver, so your right to answer the finding is fulfilled. They don't call it a crime and you are never indicted or charged, so there is no trial to get to fight over. I tell you what...you go find an attorney that will take a case based on your arguments and will take it all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. You ask him what it will cost for you to have your "justice". You find out what it will cost to subpoena everyone, travel expenses for the witnesses, do the research, go to trial after trial, court after court, airfare for him and his staff, court costs, etc, etc, etc...and then you come back and let us know if you are going to get your "justice". Your arguments may have just a bit of validity, but very little, but the bottom line is this..you can't afford to fund the battle. So, your arguments are moot.

And, maybe I am seeing this through 55 years of pessimism concerning the government, but, IF the courts decided to "disturb" the ruling of GUZ, then you would still have to start over because your petition has expired...and don't ya think that you would be on their "when hell freezes over" list? They would just find another reason to deny when the paperwork hit their desk. That is, if you had any money left to pay to refile. Nope, idealism and belief in the "rule of law" and "justice" is noble and good, but it is way too naive to ever survive in the real world.

It is tragic that people spread misinformation because they simply do not know what they are talking about. Perhaps a review of American history and a civics class would enlighten you. First of all, it is absurd to claim that the U.S. Consulates do not answer to the U.S. Courts. Read Bustamante v MuKasey. The courts reaffirmed exceptions to the non-reviewability doctrine in instances where the visa application process has denied an Amercian Citizen due process as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. I have no doubt that my due process rights were blatantly denied by GUZ. I am a party to the actions taken by GUZ. Second, to say that the foreign national is the only person with a grievance is ludicrous. How about the American petitioner? I certainly have a legitimate grievance. Guz fails to follow the requirements of law and federal regulations and in doing so they have denied all of us our liberty to marriage and family. It is not a privilege, but a right. ¡°Freedom of personal choice in marriage and family life is one of the liberties protected by the due process law.¡± (Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart; Cleveland Board of Education v Lafleur, 1974) You are correct that there is specific right that entitles an American to obtain a visa for a foreign national, but there are laws that govern the process and if they are not fairly applied, them American citizens have the right to petition for redress. You apathy is disheartening. Our country was founded on principals of justice. Simply accepting things as they are, regardless of the rightness or wrongness of the circumstances is an open door to tyranny. Perhaps everyone on this site should recall what Margret Mead once said: NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL COMMITTED CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD. defendo It's not apathy. It is a learned response to a corrupt and unethical government. I fight the battles I can win and I make an end run around the ones I can't. Bustamante vs. Mulkasey? They lost! A crack in the door? Maybe, but I sincerely doubt it! The existence of a law and anyones ability to make an argument for their circumstances is two different things. The standard in such review is whether the agency gave a "facially legitimate and bona fide reason." Are you a lawyer? A Law School graduate? Do you have any idea the resources and money it takes just to get to this point? Just to serve a subpoena on a GUZ VO would cost thousands and thousands of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. And that is just to get the piece of paper in his hands. Then you have to pay to fly him to the states, pay for his stay while he is here, pay your lawyer to fly all over the country to go to court, pay for his stay, his paralegals stay, and other staff he needs with him. The US government may be unethical , but they aren't stupid. They would drag this out till you are bankrupt. Then they would deny the visa on grounds of insufficient support just to pour salt on the wound. Facially legitimate could be as simple as, "Your honor, According to the beneficiary, she had known the petitioner for two years. I asked her what his phone number is. She didn't know. I asked her what his mothers name is. She didn't know. These are questions that anyone that I know of that had been in a relationship for two years would know. I deemed that this was not a bone fide relationship in accordance with FAM blah, blah blah..." There will be no one in the court room that can dispute his testimony. In the above mentioned case, even though it was not proven that the man was a drug dealer, it was found that the VO was acting in good faith when he denied the visa based on that information. So, even a lie is grounds for denial if the lie is believable. Anyone can submit a third party communications with GUZ that is packed full of lies and that is all the evidence they need to deny. As far as I know, they don't even have to investigate the claims. I'm all for someone knocking DOS/GUZ off their high horse. I just don't think it is a reasonable expectation any time in the next century. If this fight was worth fighting, the ACLU would have taken it on long ago...ever wonder why they haven't? Our country may have been founded on principles of justice, but if you believe that has anything to do with todays world, you are sadly and pitifully naive. Justice has a price and most cannot afford it.

I don't think I'm giving too much to the government. The folks at USCIS don't give a damn what DOS/GUZ does. They are going to make their lives as easy as possible. They see a petition returned that is beyond the expiry date and as far as they are concerned, it is over. It is not USCIS concern what is legal for DOS. They have no dog in any fight that DOS picks. And, by the way, it is not illegal for a government organization to not follow its own rules. No more than it is against the law for you to violate your companies rules. Your quote about it being illegal for a consulate employee to falsely certify a document is not a good argument. The list of issues that can lead to a non bone fide is endless(if there is a list at all) and you or I will never see it. It can be as simple as "she didn't even know his phone number". The VO can give any reason he wants to and I guarantee that he can back it up by showing that questions were asked that a person in a relationship would know and she didn't know. That is if you could ever get the VO into a court and you won't be able to do that. And, to carry this further, lets say you could get a VO into court. Its his word against NOBODY! How are you going to get your lady into the US to testify if she doesn't have a visa to allow her past POE? You think waving a subpoena will get her in? It won't even get her on the plane to leave China! You can't testify. You were not at the interview. Whatever your lady told you about the interview is nothing but hearsay.

Lee, let me ask this...A petition is denied at GUZ, then it is shipped back to the Service Center for denial/rebuttal/whatever. Since the petition is only good for four months, a reasonable person would conclude that it was actually within the active time frame at the time of the interview. However, in the time it took for the petition to get back to the Service Center, it expired. OK...now...it is plainly known that the petition only has a life of 4 months. The government, at its whim, may extend that life. But if it chooses not to, so what? It expired. Nothing to inform the petitioner about. Its over. Nothing to do but refile. Since this is in the rules, no one has any legal complaint because you knew the rules going in and you agreed to them by signing/filing the petition. This, in a nutshell is what Marc Ellis, if I read his speal correctly is what he is going after. He wants a rule changed that is a known rule. It is in black and white and it is accepted/approved by the governing body of the USCIS...So, where is his complaint? USCIS is well within their jurisdiction to look at a returned petition and see that is has expired and just throw it in the trash. Seems like this is exactly what they are doing. Let me also say this. I am just playing devil advocate. I truly do feel everyones pain in this process. I went through the wait, but canceled due to other reasons before the finish line. But that doesn't make me any less sympathetic to your cause. Perhaps when dealing with the government, I have just learned it is better not to if at all possible. In any and all cases, I will find an alternate route.

OK...Splinterman, I don't think I'm being attacked. I just offer up that no matter who is in your sights, no matter who it is or what department it is. all they have to say is, "We didn't write the rules and we have no authority to change them". Ok....who did write the rules?.....answer...Congress...oh...thats a big organization.....who in Congress? well...those rules were written by such and such committee and most of those members are gone now. Can't they write new rules? Well, sure, I suppose that is possible. Who's job is it to write the rules? It is the Foreign Affairs Committee (for example). Are you on this committee? No, I'm not, your honor. I'm just a poor slub from Justice that has to defend this case. Case dismissed...you sued the wrong party. Oh? who do I sue? Such and such committee...oh, I forgot to tell you, you can't sue them. Ok..what do I do now? Pay me. What else? Nothing. The only way I see to change the rules is to get to the committee in Congress that has oversight and regulatory responsibility for the DOS. I don't even know who that is. I don't pay that close attention to the workings of DC. Only they can change the rules. Only they can enforce them. Only they have the slightest influence on DOS. Maybe, perhaps the IG office may have some influence because it seems that procedures weren't being followed that are in black and white. But the IG can't make them change existing rules or make them add exceptions to rules. Only the governing body of that department can do that. My suggestion would be to research what committees have authority over this process and write directly to those members of Congress...but, still..I think it is a shot in the dark...unless the letters come from their constituents, they won't mean squat...a guy complaining in California to a Congressman in Indiana is just wasted paper. You can't do anything for him..and he isn't going to do anything for you. These are the realities of the situation as I see them. I could be wrong, but I would have to see proof. I would be glad to relate my story if I had one, but I don't because I trust the US government so little that I'm not bothering with them. I just don't believe it is a good use of my time or money to fight with them.

There is no legal mechanism by which you can personally appeal the case here in China or ask to have it reviewed by US Consulate Guangzhou consular management. The proper channel for appeal or re-application is through the National Visa Center. " The above is copied from another post by DavidZixuan in a different thread. While there are some problems with USCIS that can be fixed and there are avenues to do this, the DOS foreign consulates do not answer to the US Courts. So, jump up and down, scream all you want, hire lawyers that don't have anyplace to present an argument. It doesn't matter. Most of the folks here that have had these problems with DOS denying a visa have found another path to take to get around the issue. One problem that those that want to find a legal solution to the issue of visa denial is this. YOU, the USC weren't denied anything. Your rights were not violated. You were not denied due process. There is nothing written anywhere that says you have a right to get a foreign national a visa to come to the US. There are rules that say that you may sponsor a visa. You did that. The person with the grievance is a foreign national, in another country, with no rights protected by the US Constitution or any law, code, or regulation. In other words, they don't have any complaint because they weren't legally entitled to what they were asking for in the first place. At least, this seems to be the position of the DOS, in a nutshell. Any litigation on this issue would be with the USCIS and they can go into court and tell the judge that they are sympathetic and they have done everything by the book and it is the DHS/DOS that has denied the visa. SO, you file litigation against the DOS and they come into court and say, we follow the rules that Congress tells us to follow. Ok...now who ya gonna drag into court now? Congress? All of them? Which ones? Oh, the ones that made those rules are gone now. So, who is your target? I feel your pain. I truly do, but this is a shell game of astronomical proportions and not you, or anyone else that has the slightest interest in this has the legal team or the financial resources to fight the house. The house always wins. It is in the fineprint. You are better off just learning all the rules, even though they are etched in pudding, and doing what you need to do to be together with your loved one, regardless of any outcome at DOS.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/AP-IMPACT-Ch...f-14904693.html PARKLAND, Fla. ¨C At the height of the U.S. housing boom, when building materials were in short supply, American construction companies used millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap. Now that decision is haunting hundreds of homeowners and apartment dwellers who are concerned that the wallboard gives off fumes that can corrode copper pipes, blacken jewelry and silverware, and possibly sicken people. <deleted the rest of the story and posted the link for anyone interested>

It's all just one huge global database. All you need is a password. Sometimes, you have to make up your own. They hack us, we hack them, we both hack someone else. It's nothing new.

And they have their hands in tin, copper, iron, gold, manganese, and any other mineral that is available in Africa.

China can be pretty subtle when its wants to be. They know that they need to buy our debt to keep the dollar stable. They need the dollar to be spent on their goods to keep their people working. They won't need to stop buying US debt. They can just buy a little less, watch the dollar take a bit of a dive, watch the speculators turn to oil, watch the price of oil go up, and then they invite us to have a chat. Its all handled very politely over a charming visit, a tour of the Great Wall and a bit of tea...

I'm thinking that this day calls for a few days off work, a tour of all the monuments as well as the Smithsonian and the Capital and White House. How much more special can it possibly get? Her Oath of Citizenship taken in the nations capital city!!!!

Then either the companies that moved there should pay to clean it up or if our taxpayers pay for the cleanup, then the Chinese should reimburse us for the lost jobs in the US. The American (and others) companies wouldn't be there if they and their money wasn't welcomed. When/if the Chinese government forces companies to clean up the damage their pollutants have caused, they will just shutdown and move to another country with open arms.. Capitalism..use and abuse...shareholders come first...everyone/everything else be damned No..I think we'll just stick to the way things are...

Wow .. a useful piece of information. Here is some more information on this from a Google search: http://www.aviation.com/business/081209-afwd-flat-tire.html This person at AirFareWatchDog didn't do their homework. It is a rule, a very old rule, as in back in the 50s'. I saw the actual rule in hardcopy in FAA documentation back in the late 90's. As far as I know, the rule was never rescinded, but then, it may have. I doubt it would be a highly publicized event. But, as they did say, depending on the airline, the ticket agent may or may not have heard of it or may choose to help you or not, so getting huffy about it won't help you.

Many years ago, my g/f was a management exec type at Delta. She told me way back then, that if I ever showed up late at the airport and missed my flight, to tell the ticket agent that I had a flat tire. She told me that under FAA rules, that whenever a passenger misses their flight that if it was due to a flat tire, the airline MUST put them on the next available flight without cost or delay to the passenger. She told me that they spend a great deal of time on this particular training subject because the fine for failure to comply is hefty. No other excuse is acceptable. None! Only a flat tire! This is still a current rule. Just something to remember.... Some airlines will do whatever they can for you if you miss a flight, but they don't have to. It really is up to the ticket agent that you talk to, but once the "flat tire" rule is invoked, their discretion to help you or not goes right out the window...