ct_shore2000

In my humble opinion, seems to me if you are a US citizen you don't have to explain squat about why you are returning home to your land of citizenship. And since you seem to have a sponsor for your financials, you probably don't have to mention any of the specifics of a masters or why you have no assets because the only thing they will be interested in is if your marriage is real. If anything I would just focus on your relationship.

Sorry guys, but I know I am not duped. I'm not just a newbie on my first trip to China. Most of the last 5 years I've lived in China with my SO and know the drill. I was NOT shanghai'd unless the contact information listed here is wrong, in which case all of you have been talking to someone else too. You can stay where you like when you go for your interview. It's not important to me. But please read my previous post because no one can dispute any of those 3 items, not a one. They are facts. Period. As a sidenote though, my SO saw the postings replying to mine and the only comment she had was that "some people in Mr Yang's office must be logging on here posting these comments". I know some of you are real because I know you personally, but living in China for 5 years, she's probably right about some of you too.

We are absolutely positively sure it was Mr Yang's!!! We got the contact info here! We called when we arrived. There is zero chance it was someone esle's place. Mr. Yang was conveniently busy and not there when we had trouble. I am sure those of you who stayed more than a week received more attention than those of us who stayed one night. Still, the facts are the facts: 1) He has no hotel license. His business is illegal. (He has not yet posted a copy of his license as I requested in my original post.) 2) Anything and everything that may happen to you is your and only your responsibility when you stay at an unlicensed hotel, unlike a real hotel. 3) Yes, you too can get into trouble with the police for staying at his hotel. (How many of you actually go to the police department to register when you stay there, for example? A real hotel does that for you. I've lived in China quite a while. I've known at least two people who ran into trouble with the police for staying at an illegal hotel, one of them fined quite heavily). Anyone going to GZ can stay where they wish, but after our experience we felt it our duty to post what happened. Our experience may be in the minority of those posted here, but why would you want to take that kind of risk for such an important event?

Carlos, Could be many things. But I would suggest that you edit your signature here and put the steps and dates like many people here do. Then someone here can maybe pick up something about your process. For example, some processing centers like Vermont have a good reputation for being quick. Others don't. If we could see your process, it could help. Thanks

My SO insisted I write this about our stay at the TianYu Garden last April. She is proof-reading this to make sure I didn't leave anything out. Unlike many of you who travel to Guangzhou for your interview, we did not stay the 5-7 days many of you do. We had a tight schedule and so we made a reservation for one night for the night before the interview. After reading the reviews here and checking out the website we booked our stay one week ahead of time at Mr. Yang's TianYu Garden. We arrived in the afternoon and called the office. A woman came down to meet us. As we walked to the building she told my SO that our room was no longer available. We asked why since we booked a full week ahead and no one called to say there were any changes or problems. She gave us no answer. Instead we walked a little further along the sidewalk when the woman suddenly stopped, looked around and then waved at some other woman standing across the street. This second woman crossed the street while the woman from Mr Yang's told my SO they wanted to put us in another hotel. This second woman then proceeded to open her coat to show us a hotel brochure. The suspicious part was that she was trying to hide it from everyone else at the same time by covering it with her coat. Reminded me exactly of someone trying to sell me a stolen watch in Times Square with the policeman just a few feet away on the corner. We asked where the hotel was and they refused to tell us. They just wanted us to follow them. Absolutely refused to tell us where they wanted to take us. We insisted that we did not want to follow anyone especially if they did not want to tell us where we were going (very dangerous in China). We also insisted that since we made the reservation at TianYu Garden that they honor the reservation. So we went to the office to see what could be done. There was then a big negotiation. No way would they give us a private room like we reserved. My SO had to negotiate a shared room. And still, they had to ask two girls to move out of their shared room to stay in the office overnight so we could share the room with another two women. They made my SO promise not to tell anyone the rate since it "was so much lower" than anyone else's. We then went to the room only to find that it wasn't like the description. The room was dusty, the furniture old, the bed very uncomfortable, and most of all the A/C in our bedroom did not work. We roasted...all night long! Not one hour of sleep. Try putting YOUR SO through that and then having her be sharp at a very important interview the next morning. Everything about the place was second-rate, even down to the toiletries in the bathroom. And to top it off, we found the receipt from the previous two girls who left the room for us and found that they paid much less than us!!! The other two women who stayed with us freely told us their rate... also much lower!!!!! And I found it very interesting that when you make a reservation it's possible to find someone who speaks some English. But when there was a problem, suddenly no one understands English anymore!! We were very much let down by the whole situation. But despite that here is the part all of you need to be aware of and careful of. In China, when you want a formal receipt, you ask the business for a "fa piao". A fa paio is a formal tax invoice that every legal business in China must give you if you ask. It has the company's tax stamp on it. They are very common. When we checked out of the TianYu Garden, we asked for a fa piao as we do at every hotel or restaurant we go to. The people in the office just laughed and said of course they can't do that. They even told us point blank they don't have a real business. In other words, this is an illegal hotel operation!!!!!!!!!!!! I challenge Mr. Yang that if this is not so then please post a copy of your hotel license. I spend most of my time in China and I would be happy to take it to the Guangzhou police department to verify it. For those of you unfamiliar with the implications, here are some of the things that could happen if you stay at an illegal hotel. First, if anything happens to you, injured, robbed, anything, then you have no legal recourse like you do at a licensed hotel. Second of all, your trip could be disrupted if the police decided they wanted to crack down on illegal establishments and you ended up on the street with nowhere to stay. Third of all, in many places in China, you too can be arrested and fined (I've heard people say they've been fined 5000rmb) for staying at an illegal hotel. My question to you is: With so many legal hotels in the area even near the consulate, do you want to risk putting your SO through this the night before the most important interview of her life? These are only the comments about the hotel, not about the "help" Mr. Yang offers his patrons with their application paperwork. The comment I would make about helping with your immigration forms is that if you need to trust someone who runs a suspicious hotel who is NOT an immigration attorney with the fate of your application, then you probably will have problems anyway. Also, I venture to guess that the "help" he provides you is far different from the "help" he provides the Chinese who go there without their western fiancee. Our roommates shared their experience about the "help" he offered. As many of you who went through the interview process noticed, across from the coffee shop where you wait for your SO there are a few immigration services you can hire to help you. Mr. Yang offered to help these two women (one mother and her daughter, the daughter had an American fiancee) and introduced them to one of these services to check their forms, etc. My SO was aghast at how much money they were charged for simple things. They spent 100rmb per blank form to re-do their application!!!! This was just the fee for the blank form, forms you can easily download for free on the internet. Mr Yang's "help" had them pay hundreds of rmb just for free blank forms. This didn't even include any other service fees. My SO didn't have the heart to tell them how they were cheated. My SO could only think how gullible we Americans are when she saw the posts here saying anything good about this place. In her mind TianYu Garden is a scam run by cheaters that everyone should avoid. And from what I've experienced in my travels across China I agree 100%!

I feel bad for Curt-Ling being stuck in Guangzhou for so long waiting to pick up the visa they worked so hard for a couple weeks ago. But I just want to mention that ours was ready the second day after the interview as they told us after the interview last week. No delay. I am guessing that maybe one or two people called in sick and they fell behind in their workload. Also, my SO pointed out to me that on the pink slip it says that even though you get the slip and pass the interview, they can delay or even deny giving you the visa for any reason whatsoever. Even after the interview she did not want to celebrate until actually getting the visa in her own hand. I'm sure it's very rare to not get the visa after the interview, but even the pink slip has their excuse for any delay pre-printed. As my SO says, anything to torture you more.

Todd, Congrats! That was some day, eh? I only stuck around for the one coffee because it was so EXPENSIVE. Then took a nice walk around the park. It's the only good view of Guangzhou. You said your visa was delayed a day because of a computer glitch. Were you able to catch your plane ok? After everyone posting about delays and they were stuck in GZ for a week, we were expecting the worst, but they gave us ours on time. Interview on Wednesday, picked it up on Friday. Keep in touch and good luck!

I don't know if you should consider it that you are extracting your wife from her culture in China as much as you are really joining two cultures together. In some sense, both of you are standing on ground separated by a canyon. You've built a bridge across that canyon, bridging two cultures. For now, she will cross to your side. But later you may find you will need to cross over to her side too (and you'll probably enjoy it immensely). I think one of the most supportive things you could do, in addition to the other great recommendations here, is to start learning Chinese and Chinese culture. Even if you make small attempts to do what you can will be greatly appreciated by her. She's already taken a big step learning a language that is much more difficult than learning Chinese. She probably does not expect you to learn her language, so if you at least show some interest, you will really warm her heart and make her more at home here. The other advantage to this is that if you have children, you will not be left out of a great deal of their lives. Your children will most certainly learn Chinese (and they will have to in order to communicate with their maternal grandparents). Trust me, any little small effort to learn about her language and culture will make her feel so much at home and will be rewarded hundreds of times over. That bridge across the canyon will be a huge two way freeway.

Geez.... I don't know what to say. First, to SirLancelot. Thank you for seeing that my tone is better because I never intended to insult anyone or just rant and rave. That is why I keep replying to this instead of moving on with other topics here. I don't hate anyone. I know at this point it is irrelevant, but just one more thing about HK and Shenzhen. I see what you're saying about a HK man vs. and American man. Both are perceived as well off. I guess the big difference is that HK men who already have a wife flock to Shenzhen to hook up with the many girls there who seek them out knowing they are already married. Most westerners I know are looking for their one and only. Also, I am not sure you are implying that a Chinese girl would favor a westerner over a HK guy (forgive me if I misunderstood you), but that would give us westerners too much credit. There are a couple reasons that some Chinese girls prefer to be with Asian men. One is English. Not many Chinese speak English in Shenzhen especially compared to Shanghai or Beijing. But I think I see your point comparing HK men to westerners. Usually though us westerners are there to find a marriage, HK men are there to add on another marriage. As far as KTV girls go, sadly I've known many, but luckily not in the Biblical sense. At first I thought just like you that they were doing it because their options were limited. It was pretty eye opening for me to learn that most of those I met actually liked what they did, not for the sex, but for the money. The money they make is incredible compared to what legitimate workers make, and the hours are less, and they get to hang out with rich guys who not only pay them well but also have no problem taking them and their friends out for dinner or for fun things later. You are right when you say we don't look for wives at the KTV. The only problem is that they will never tell you that is what they do. And chances are, most westerners would have a difficult time finding out. If I trashed KTV girls, it would be for trying to hide this while courting a potential husband. Honesty is the best policy. To phantom1949, I would suggest you read through my posts and try to find one spot where I specifically said your SO was no good. I did not. As a matter of fact I said it was major points in her favor that she was educated and was a CPA! I guess you didn't see that part. I was only urging caution. Please refer to your own post of Dec 4 2006, 12:57 PM. You mentioned your previous relationship which you thought was going so well ony to be let down. That hurts a lot. You also mentioned your other marriage to another Asian woman. I would think these two experiences would tell you that no matter how emotional things are, you should always be prudent to insure your relationship is in fact the right one. As far as your SO, she was married before. No problem. But guess what? This is not an insult to you or your SO, but this is fact: You only know one side of the story. Good or bad, you only know one side. That is truth, not an insult. I never said your SO was to blame, but then again I never said her ex was to blame either. And here is one more fact: since your SO was divorced twice, you only know one side to two stories. Then again, I am not assigning blame to anyone in any relationship, but you nor anyone here can argue that you only know one side to two stories. My point to all this is that after your previous marriage to someone from a different culture and your other relationship that you were mistaken about, is it really a bad thing to just try and find out more about your SO before making what will be a permanent commitment of your heart (and your assets). Why is it such an insult to try to find out the other sides of the story you don't know, espcially since you've been burned not once but twice? And your SO should not feel insulted if you do this either. She would want you to feel as comfortable as possible with each other. You don't do this by hiding things. Trust me, you are experienced in life enough to know if her ex is a jerk. You would probably pick that up within the first few sentences of a conversation. However, as much as anyone here cares to differ, there is always the chance, even if its slim, that this guy had some reason. Maybe you would still think he's a jerk and the reason was frivolous. But there is always the chance. I know there are many happy stories here. I hope yours ends happily too. But don't think me rude for suggesting that you try to make sure you swing at a good pitch for a home run instead of getting strike three. It was your own concerns in that posting that even had me reply in the first place. Actually I am a bit taken back that you've done such a 180 and are so insulted after it was you who first expressed your doubts. My advice though verbose as it was,was to simply resolve those doubts by getting the facts. Doubts do not go away by ignoring them. If you have them now and ignore them, they will be back 1,5, or even 10 years from now. So, I cannot apologize for telling you to be careful. As for NUWORLD, yes I agree, there are many wonderful people here and I love this site. But if you explore this site you will find that a few people here have not had good experiences. I feel bad when I read their postings. When phantom first made his posting and himself mentioned that someone told him to watch out for Beijing girls or Nanning girls etc. I wanted to say that was not right, but then I wanted to share with him and others how Chinese men rate girls. I also wanted to express that Shenzhen is a very special place with it's own unique concerns. That is why my first question only asked him about education and employment. He actually answered in a very positive way, and I said so, but everyone started piling on so much about what I said abut Shenzhen that I had to defend myself. What I stated about Shenzhen was not just personal opinion. Please read the link I posted before: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/...,108014,00.html I guess not only me, but the HK goverment, CNN, and Time magazine are all just bigoted liars. The other part of the conversation about his SO's previous marriages raised a red flag but at no time did I say he should leave her or say she was not a good person. I did legitimately say that it would be prudent to get more info. Phantom later acted so insulted that I implied that his SO was not trustworthy. I never said that. But the fact is, he knows one side of a story. He only knows this girl online. He was burned by not one but two other girls he completely trusted. He should not be insulted about an insult that never happened. Instead if he were insulted at all it would be that I am in some way insulting his judgement. I don't know where everyone here lives. But when I do not live in China I live in NYC. All my friends are Chinese and the few American friends I have are all married to or have Chinese SOs. I have seen many happy stories. But I also have seen first hand many tragic ones. As bad as I thought one of mine was, it pales in comparison to what people I know experienced. I won't even post any of those stories because it may overshadow the good ones here. But I dont want to see anything bad repeated here. Those here who suggest phantom sit back and ignore something "small" as a temporary marriage to a westerner are not doing him any service. It would take very little effort to dispell his doubts or save him from a third bad experience. To anyone else who doubts my motives, maybe you think I distrust Chinese. If so why am I marrying one? Why are all my friends Chinese? If you want to know the truth, the people who distrust Chinese the most are other Chinese. And here's how you can prove it: Ask any Chinese person this question and then ask a westerner the same question: First ask if they trust Chinese. Almost every Chinese will say yes. Then say: "Suppose you have own a store. Your store does well. But you want to move to another city. Yet you cannot because you don't want to give up the business. Would you be willing to hire another Chinese to manage your business while you move to the other city? You could keep your business and at the same time live where you want." 100% of the Chinese I asked all said no way (and most laughed at me like I was stupid to even suggest.) . Most westerners said sure. Anyway, good luck to everyone.

Congratulations! Thanks so very much! All this insight should be a great help to the rest of us. Thanks again!

Congratulations!!!! And a BIG BIG thank you for the interview insights. I wish you all the best!

Bouzer, Did you use a Chinese travel agent to buy your ticket? (They get all the best prices on tickets.) If you did, they usually can do that for you. Else, any one of the services someone here has tried should work. Two weeks ago I bought my airplane ticket one day, had my visa the next day, and flew out the following day.

Congratulations!!! When you have some time can you fill us in on some of the interview details? You can never be prepared enough.

Well, first of all, though one HK dollar gets you about 1 rmb, you can buy a bowl of noodle in Shenzhen for about 8 bucks. In Hong Kong it's about 20. You want to buy an apartment in HK? It will be about 10 times the cost of a comparable one in Shenzhen. HK salaries are much more to keep pace. The point I was trying to make is that when someone from HK goes to Shenzhen, they are considered richer. Everything I said was not made up by me and is not just my opinion. The HK government has come out and said this is a problem. The people who clued me in to this are all Chinese, and not from one small group of friends but from many all over China. I lived there and I saw it. If you beg to differ, check this out: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/...,108014,00.html And as far as me being with a girl who lives in Shenzhen, you forgot I did not condemn every Shenzhen girl. I know some good ones. I am just saying that Shenzhen has such a unique reputation for being a "second wife city" that you need to use some extra caution. If the original poster said his girl was a CPA in Shenzhen and nothing more I would say no big deal. But when he mentioned that she was married to an American before and for such a short time, it's looking like this girl has a little "history" that should be looked at. There is nothing wrong with prudence. There could be a very good reason he divorced her so quickly. Why is everyone here so quick to blame the man all the time? If he called the ex-husband and talked with him about it he could learn a lot. If the guy had no hard facts about anything and was just toying with this girl I would think you could pick that up from the conversation. But let's face it, this girl is divorced twice. Even if you were in America with an American, that would urge some caution. As far as education, it was Chinese friends telling me this is what I should look for. Yes, I was burned by an educated girl, but the way I was burned was more a result of personal differences. She wasn't sleeping around making money as a karaoke girl prostitute like the uneducated one. My point is your chances of finding a good wife are much better if she has some education and is not right out of the village. Since Chinese culture is so different from American culture, there has to be some way of discerning how two people from such different worlds could be a good match. If not education or employment, then what? Maybe you think I have something against Chinese and Chinese culture. No way. I lived in China by choice. I am just giving the same warnings passed along to me by the natives who know the culture. My girl is a great girl and I couldn't be happier. I know a lot of other girls who've made people happy too. But guess what? I also know a lot who caused a lot of heartaches of the kind I would not wish on anyone. So condemn me if you wish, but there is nothing wrong with me telling anyone to be careful and passing on the same warnings I received.

Actually I just changed my address and was told to change it with all three USCIS, NVC, and the consulate. Best to cover all bases. The consulate changed my address even though they did not receive the physical papers yet from NVC. I guess they just used my case number.

Not to be dumb, but I am. How can one check with DHL to see when they sign for things? Thanks

Let me clarify what I said earlier. I asked you things like what her job is and her education for a reason. As far as what Juette says, I cannot condemn every Shenzhen girl. However, I lived in Shenzhen so I know just how much I can condemn.. As a matter of fact, I just returned from there again today, which is why I am late replying. First, it's very good your girl is a CPA. That means she has some education. I cannot stress how important this is. You mentioned that some people said you cannot trust Beijing girls and some cannot trust Nanning girls etc. This is taking it a bit too far and not justified. But there are two distinct classes in China. And the breakdown is not really based on city or province, but it is based on whether you are from a city (any city) or the countryside. In America, we view the "countryside" as a scenic, less populated area filled with easy going people; but people who are at least educated as much as anyone else. However, in China the countryside is filled with people with little or no education. Many places in the countryside are dangerous and have high crime rates. This is a way of life in many places. City people in China, if they are born and raised in the city, are typically more educated. Many countryside people go to the city to work. Every waiter, waitress, and almost any menial job you can think of is held by someone from the countryside. They are not given any respect whatsoever. If you even say thank you to one of them they get very happy very quickly and sometimes even shocked. If one Chinese talks with another Chinese, they will know right away who is from the city and who is from the countryside. Unless you live in China for a while, most westerners will not know this. Why is this important? Well, everyone knows how much Chinese love things like karaoke. If you go to China, there is a karaoke on every block, sometimes more. But Chinese karaoke is simply prostitution with a little singing. And where do they find enough girls to stock all the karaoke places? Yes, the countryside. So, within the big cities, there are two groups of people. A man from Beijing or Shanghai would not marry a girl from the countryside. They look on them a being prostitutes. So what does this mean for you and for us? Many uneducated countryside girls want to meet and marry a foreigner to improve their life. But at the same time, they lead very undesirable lives. So they will lie about where they are from and what they do for work. The more professional and higher educated girl you find, the better your chances of finding someone who is not one of these. It is tougher for someone with no education to lie about being a doctor that it is to lie about lesser educated positions. (Beware of girls who say they majored in Chinese. Also, beware of girls in their 20's or 30's who say they are bank vice-presidents.) Another thing to consider that is a more recent development: the Chinese economy is very good now and many educated Chinese are doing very well. Many of these who 5 or 10 years ago would have wanted to come to America now would rather stay in China. Life is good for them now. So you have to be a little inquisitive about the girls who want to come to America today. The good ones who do want to usually have reasons that are not economically related. In a nutshell, unless you are familiar with Chinese culture, the more educated a girl, the better off you are. Now, about Shenzhen and Juette's statement. The Hong Kong government this year estimated that 80% of all the children in Shenzhen are illegitimate. Why would that be? Understand that Shenzhen is an invented city. Before 1980 it was just a small forgettable village. but since it borders Hong Kong the mainland government thought it would be a good place to put a trade zone. So now there is a city where there was once nothing. No building in Shenzhen is older than 1980. It is a really new city. However, it is an immigrant city. Since it was a made up city, the whole population of Shenzhen is people from all over China who go there to find work. If someone says they are from Shenzhen, they are lying. Perhaps they live in Shenzhen, but they are from somewhere else. Now here's why the illegitimacy rate is so high. Shenzhen has the same cost of living as mainland China (relatively speaking). Everything is cheap. Hong Kong however has a higher cost of living but it's money has much more buying power. Someone of modest means in Hong Kong can live richly in Shenzhen. So, it's become common practice for Hong Kong businessmen to go to Shenzhen and set up a second home complete with a second wife and family. (Remember Jackie Chan did this and it made the news a short while back). This is not an obscure practice. Many girls go to Shenzhen specifically to find a Hong Kong man and be his second wife. The competition among girls for this is quite fierce. You will find soem of the most beautiful young Chinese girls in Shenzhen with hideously ugly old Hong Kong men. Life for a second wife can be very good. My apartment building in Shenzhen was filled with these second wives and their kids. However, many second wives are always looking for a better opportunity. And if you are not careful, it could be you. Seriously though, you seem ok with this girl's education. About the other problem you had with the girl from the other Asian country. You will also have that problem with many Chinese. As much as no one likes to talk about religion here, every Christian knows "Thou shalt not commit adultry." The only problem is, Christians think everyone thinks the same way. Well, Buddhism does not have that for a commandment. Too many Chinese (men and women) have affairs on the side. As long as no one finds out, everyone seems to have face and no one cares. Of all the Chinese women I have met, every single one without exception said their husbands cheated on them. Just remember though, that you are only hearing one side of the story. I've known many Chinese women who cheat on their husbands. Should this tell you not to get involved with Chinese women or men? No, because there are some good ones. The only problem is you have to discern who is who. Unfortunately for a westerner that is not always easy. In your case, especially since you already had trouble with one girl and at least one other American had trouble with your current girl, it would not be out of line for you to ask for a copy of the divorce papers (actually you will need it for a fiance visa). And then look up the other American and ask him what happened. I think you will be smart enough to know if the guy is a scum or if some issue really existed. But you will save yourself a lot of headache. (And if anyone thinks I am being too hard on Chinese girls or Shenzhen girls, I was burned twice, once by an educated girl and once by a supposed educated girl. My current fiance lives in...yes, Shenzhen. But I met her in the US and have lived with her a long time in the US and China and know her enough to make my choice.)

Phantom, You like to play with fire though you don't realize it. Shenzhen is famous for many things, mosty bad. You need to know two things: What is her education and what is her job? Please post a reply and I'll say more.....

How can you run a DHL check like that? I'd like to try that one of these days.

Not to keep beating the dead horse, but I think the form may have changed a bit since Ameriken originally applied. Question 19 now has to do with International Marriage Brokers on the I-129F. Yes, question 18 is similar but I think more important is the #7 section in the instructions, 7A and 7B. 7A asks for a description of the relationship and your meeting. 7B is about the letter of intent. About the intent letter, legally I would think that is designed to get both parties on paper and on record as knowing and understanding that they must marry in the given timeframe. No explanation seems to be necessary. So we each basically made a one sentence signed letter stating we will marry. I think the more important part is the description of the relationship. Don't forget that Immigration is trying to weed out fake marriages. So a detailed description of your meeting and the relationship's progression is really key. The more evidence the better. They need to be convinced it is going to be a real marriage. Ameriken did a good job in his description, but seeing the content of the letter I think it actually gives more credit to Jie's interview skills. It's really hard to give much evidence when you meet online. I think the officer focused on the letter because of that. Ameriken, if you read this, I would really be interested in hearing what questions were asked and how she answered them. Because when it comes down to it, the burden of proof ultimately will be on the person interviewed and how well they present their case.

I filed Oct 25 2006 via the Vermont office and yesterday (11/14/06) my case was already forwarded to Guangzhou. My question about timeline I guess was really about how much time they spend investigating each case. I know they think many marriages are fake, so I guess my real question is does it make it any faster if your evidence is stronger? Is most of the investigation done in Vermont before they approve the I-129F or is it done in Guangzhou when they look at the visa application? Thanks again

pkfops' suggestion is a good one. I've had good luck using www.ctrip.com to book hotels in my travels in China. However, to be on the safe side bring their customer service phone number with you when you go to the hotel. Also, I hear the train station in Guangzhou is a very unsafe place (makes Shanghai's look good). Be careful and try to stay elsewhere.

I notice many people here meet online and then meet once in person before applying for their I-129F. It seems the wait is quite a long time for the entire process to get a visa. Does anyone know if the timeframe is different (i.e. faster) if you've known your fiancee for about two years and have lived together (both in the US and China) for about the same amount of time? (We met in the US, lived together here and then both moved to China until filing for the I-129F). Thanks

From my experience, if you have not known your fiancee for a long while, a background check is very prudent. Actually, if you haven't known this girl a long time then a background check is just the tip of the iceberg of your checking. For you naysayers, marriage in the US is a very different concept than marriage in China. Anyone who has lived in China, as I have, knows this quite intimately. If this is someone you met briefly online, then all the more reason. If this is someone you've known for a while and see everyday, then your own judgement should give you an indication of what you should or should not do. I know there are many happy endings here, but I know also of many horror stories that started out nicely, yet the early warning signs were ignored. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade here, so if you want more info, please contact me privately. A little caution up front will pay off in the end. On the other hand, China's businesses are known for it's cheaters. Doing business in China is a world unto itself. Finding a reliable investigator will be the biggest headache out of this whole process. If you are new to dating or marrying Chinese, my advice would be to go slow. Then, most importantly, find other people (the more the better) who have a Chinese partner and share your experience with them and let them share their experience with you. You will learn the good and you will learn the bad. Most importantly you will discover how different the two cultures are and you will be able to decide if mixing them is something you can handle.

Just an FYI, if you call the NVC for a status and get a live operator, they will also accept your USCIS receipt number to look up your case. Also, about extending the 2 week period, that probably applies to some cases. USCIS sent my I-129F approval notification 11/2/2006 and today, 11/14/2006, NVC forwarded our case to Guangzhou. Any good magazines in the waiting room?