mikeymark

Very good information all. Has anyone traveled through Beijing airport recently.

My wife and I are currently in Changchun, Jilin Provence. We are not leaving to go outside and they shut down the train stations here as a precaution. So fa I am not aware of any people here that have contacted the virus. We are scheduled to return to LAX 2/9 through Beijing airport and hoping that there will be no problems catching our flight. Scary situation. Would appreciate any information from people currently in China.

Do I really need a lawyer to process my step daughter's I-864 & DS-260 or is it easy enough to complete myself. Just wondering if I need to spend nearly $2,000 for lawyer? Decisions....Decisions. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thank you very much Randy, That's a great idea to include a cover letter explaining my IRA plans. Another question, if I may. I also have a decent amount of equity in my home which I listed on the I-864 (less the remaining mortgage). Any idea or thoughts on how much they will consider this towards the required support?

Hello, I am now filling out form I-864 for my step daughter and I am concerned as to whether my income qualifies. I am retired and receive SS plus I draw monthly from my IRA. This gross total is sufficient to exceed the poverty level but on my Tax Form the Adjusted Gross Income is well below the minimum. Will USCIS use the larger pre tax total income described above. Mike

Best wishes and Happy Holidays to everyone from here in California

I love seeing your photos! You really capture the beauty of your surroundings with awesome pictures!

Thanks Randy. China Firewall is a big bummer!

Hello, I just arrived in China for family visit and I am frustrated at not being able to watch the Super Bowl online or on cable TV. Any idea how I can solve this dilemma?

"WASHINGTON (A.P.) — The State Department is issuing passports and visas again at overseas diplomatic missions after encountering a significant problem with a computer database earlier this month. Spokesman John Kirby says 45,000 visas were finalized Monday, a third of those in China. He says 33 U.S. embassies and consulates are back online and that visa interviews will restart Wednesday. The department hopes to get all its facilities back online soon and must work through a backlog of hundreds of thousands of applications. The U.S. announced the hardware failure June 12, causing delays around the world for foreigners and some Americans needing travel documents. The failure didn't affect domestic passport issuance. It was the second major glitch in the consular database in a year."

Thanks Dan!

I have a question regarding early B2 visa renewal (applying for a new 10 yr B2 visa). My wife's daughter has visited the US on a B2 visa, three times now. Her current B2 visa was obtained in October of 2014 and is only a one year visa. How soon can she apply for a new 10 year visa?

That's encouraging news. Thanks for your response.

Question: My wife's daughter has visited us here in CA twice now (each time on a new tourist visa). She only stayed less than 2 months each time and returned to China. On her last visit we started the process for an immigration visa which I assume will take many years until a number is available for her. Since she has had 2 previous B2 tourist visas in the past, do you think she will have a difficult time getting B2 visas while waiting for her immigration to become available?

I love reading about your experiences here in America. My wife also enjoyed reading your story and she can relate to your Changchun cold. She is also from Changchun and lived near FAW.

Fish with no bones!

Awesome, thanks for the quick reply!

My wife's daughter is coming to visit us from China and will be bringing her laptop. Does anyone know what I need to buy for her to use it with our electrical system?

No problem...... I did a search on Amazon and there seem to be a few choices. Good luck!

Does anyone know what a yellow slip denial means?

Thanks for the help! I think I will just supply him with the I-134 as you suggest.

Is it necessary if he can show sufficient proof that he has the funds to cover his trip?

My step daughter's boy friend and possible future fiancee wants to visit us and is applying for his B2 Visa. He has documentation to establish his strong ties to China. I have sent him a brief invitation letter stating that he can stay with my wife and I while in the US. My questions is, do I need to provide him with my financial documentation and ID information for him to bring to his interview?

Hi Dan. Perfect book for the long flight to China. You will need to add the Kindle App to your Android and other devices. After that just purchase the Kindle version of the book on Amazon. Amazon lets you download the book to all your devices and it also syncs your last reading position to the other devices so you can continue where you left off on another device. (The page syncing requires acces to the internet so not possible in flight but the books are on your devices) I usually read my books on my iPhone with no problem at all and my eyesight is not good. The Kindle app has many adjustments you can make including character size and background color. I'll never buy printed books again. However I do not think the books will read to you. I got a lot of insight into "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" from reading his books. It was fun on my short trip to Shanghai to see the Bund he writes about in his books. Great reading. Enjoy!

I want to recommend an awesome series of detective novels that I have been addicted to since beginning my China adventure. This author, Qui Xialong writes detective stories whose main character is Inspector Chen. Qui Xialong is a university professor here in the United States and these stories take place in Shanghai and contain rich cultural references to China especially as their people adjust into the modern China culture. The Chinese government is now allowing some of his books to be translated into Chinese but they require the removal of areas they feel are to critical. I buy the Amazon Kindle version and read them on my Apple devices. I am not much of a reader but once I start I can't put these books down. I recommend at least reading the first couple books in order of release to get a good feel for the characters mentioned in later novels. The quote below will give you an idea of which are the first books in the series. I think there about 8 books so far and I just started reading his lastest release. "Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai, China. He is the author of the award-winning Inspector Chen series of mystery novels, Death of a Red Heroine (2000), A Loyal Character Dancer (2002), When Red Is Black (2004), A Case of Two Cities (2006), Red Mandarin Dress (2007), and The Mao Case (2009). He is also the author of two books of poetry translations, Treasury of Chinese Love Poems (2003) and Evoking T'ang (2007), and his own poetry collection, Lines Around China (2003). Qiu's books have sold over a million copies and have been published in twenty languages. He currently lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter." I hope you find these book as enjoyable as I do!