Dave G.

Hi All, Most of you don't likely know me. I've been off the board for a very long time. I was once quite active but time with my family took me away from this wonderful place. My wife passed her citizenship test today. 100%! I'm so proud of her. We started this journey in 2002 and finally have closure. She'll be sworn in as a US citizen on Dec. 5th. Thanks to everyone on this site for their help and advice. We couldn't have gotten to this point without you. For those of you who feel lost in the process...keep the faith. It does happen in time. God bless all of you. Best to all...one step at a time. Dave

Thanks for the question. Alas, I saved the new letter over the last. It basically stated our need for my sister's-in-law visa because of my wife's pregnancy. I discussed Chinese culture stuff. It obviously fell on it's face. I tried to play the "I'm a pissed of USC doing this thing right" card. Seemed to work better. The lesson I learned from this is that it's okay to be assertive. Kissing butt doesn't necessarily work. But, there's a fine line between being nice and being obnoxious. Take note.....

Thanks. Good luck with your visa. Alas, I fear if you try to bring both parents here together at the same time, you'll run into a huge barrier. If they both come, why go back to China? I got JM's father here easy...his wife stayed back. New Shanghai Restaurant over the Ranch 99? I know it well!!! I've never been there, tho. When I visited Shanghai, I hated the food. Not as interesting as the spicy food in Sichuan. I fear the food there would be equally as bad. My wife feels the same. But, if you say it's good, perhaps we'll go there when the sis-in-law comes.

Well, since I started this thread, I might as well use it to post a follow up. After the recommendations made here, we did indeed try again to get a visa for my sister-in-law. My wife called me and asked for some information from my passport. I figured she was gearing up for the next interview. Seems she left out one small, important detail. The interview was already scheduled...for YESTERDAY! Outcome? SUCCESS!!! The tourist visa is now in hand. My jaw hit the ground with the news. I wasn't expecting it. My sister's-in-law visit will make the transition with the new baby all the easier. What made the difference? Yes...it didn't hurt to try again. But, my wife said my letter cemented the deal. She never read it but the sis-in-law said that's all they looked at...for a very, very long time. No questions were asked...no other docs were really reviewed. Yes...I'm proud of myself. Let me share the letter with you with the hope that there is something in it that might help you someday. Let's not make a form letter out of it, tho. In time, the consulates will get wise and it will lose any value it may have. _____________________________________ The US Consulate in Chengdu No. 4 Lingshiguan Road Chengdu, Sichuan, PRC 610041 February 5, 2006 To whom it may concern: I am writing on behalf of my sister-in-law, Gan Xiao Ping. My wife and I have recently requested her assistance during the initial weeks after our new baby is born. Specifically, we need her help to assist my wife on her travels back to the US. My wife will be seven months pregnant when she returns to Las Vegas from China and will be traveling with a rambunctious two year old. She needs help. Xiao Ping attempted to get a US tourist visa recently but was turned down. After many discussions with my wife, we have decided to renew our request to my government seeking this help for my family. I entered into the visa process in 2002 after I met my lovely wife in Hong Kong. We waited the year to obtain her K-1 visa and followed all the rules along the way to get my wife’s green card. With the knowledge obtained along the way, I successfully helped my father-in-law obtain a tourist visa and ensured his return to his home in China. I’ve completed forms, paid fees, and have followed each step of every process for which the law requires. As I sit in my home in Las Vegas and watch incursions from others on US borders, I feel sickened by those who would illegal come to this country. I am now legally requesting a non-immigration based visa for a brief visit from a family member. I personally guarantee Gan Xiao Ping’s return to China if approved for a visa. She has no desire to stay in the States. She has a husband and daughter to whom she wants to return. There’s no life for her here. No one will violate US immigration policy if the visa is issued. As you can see from the supplied letter from my bank, my wife and I are in the position to sponsor all financial aspects of Xiao Ping’s travels to the US. It is my intent to pay for the roundtrip airfare between Chengdu and Las Vegas in addition to any other expenses that may arise. Xiao Ping will not be paid for her services to our family. Thank you for reconsidering our invitation to Gan Xiao Ping to Las Vegas. It is my genuine hope that a tourist visa can be issued for her travel to the US. When it is safe for my wife and infant son to travel again, I plan on personally returning to China with my family and Xiao Ping to show the new baby to my family in China. Sincerely, _____________________________________ Thanks for all the support, folks. This site really is invaluable.

I paid the $3000.00. It was worth every yuan. The result? No hassels. No grief. And, her father has a little more security. He gets $100.00 per month for his gov't retirement. At 67, he never knows what might come up. Maybe it helped me make my decision cuz I had it in the bank. If I didn't, I would have come up with something else. NO WAY I'd go into debt for that kind of coin and for that purpose.

It was Chengdu. They've done some amazing things for us since entering this visa mess (saved my unborn kid from extinction, got a tourist visa for my father-in-law). They turned down one kid who I helped try to get a student visa (it didn't break my heart) and now this denied visa. I'm a big believer in following the rules and presenting papers that are nothing less than perfect. A flat "No." with no explanation just don't cut if for me. So, what do we do now? Probably find some Chinese gal whom we don't know well to help out with the new baby. Will she have legal status in the US? I ain't asking. If, for some reason she doesn't, I don't feel bad. I tried to do it the right way and I (we) were denied.

Hi all...long time, no see. Just wanted to share a recent story we had happen to us. My wife is in China now and hoped to get a tourist visa for her sister-in-law to come to the States to help out with the new baby in May. The sister-in-law is married, has a daughter in college, and a husband who is quite successful. They have a house, cars, etc. Blah, blah, blah. She should have passed through the visa interview with no problem. Funny thing is that she did! She answered all the questions right. The interviewer said her papers were perfect. When all was said and done, they flatly said no. No excuses about her family. No excuses about the threat of her not returning. Nothin'. I found that bold and brazen. Just wanted to share. I hope all here are well.

Well, ty.... You beat me to the interview in GZ if you recall. At least I beat you to the AOS interview by a couple of months. Funny how it all works out. Congrats! No problem for the interview. Just have all your ducks in a row. Dave

Do I know you? Oh yeah...I do. Long time, no see here...... Thanks for the invite. We'll be talking.....

I know many here don't know me. I've fallen away from the site due to real life stuff. Now that the family is here, there's just not any time left over for CFL. Sitting here right now so early in the morning (it's hotter than hell and I can't sleep) brings back so many memories! So here, in the dark of the morning, I just wanted to share some news... Well, it's over. The journey eventually does come to a close. Our green cards arrived yesterday. Sure...they're conditional. But, hell...only one more piece of paper in two years (and one more fee ) and we can take the next step towards citizenship. I have to admit when I actually held the cards in hand, that it was like seeing my BCIS life flash before my eyes. All the waiting, all the aggravation, all the fees...but, it was worth it. Our interview for AOS was May 4th. On May 3rd, my petition to adopt JM's son (now MY son!) was approved. The AOS interview was nothing special...except the guy had no sense of humor/personality. To make it worse, he was an avid Broncos fan. Blech! I panicked when he asked JM our address (that's a long story) but she answered perfectly. When asked if she was a communist, the 11 year old wanted to give a long explanation about it all. Thank God he stopped talking when I gave him my evil gaze (JM isn't a commie...but it was close). The only other interesting snafu was my income. I had to teach the guy IRS 101 about how business expenses worked. He didn't get it. Eventually, he saw my new pay stubs and signed off. The best part of the interview was his last statement. He said, "Just looking at your family...your baby (now 14 months old)...I can see this is a legitimate relationship. You all look so happy. When you come for the interview in two years, have another baby and you'll do just fine." We've been thinking about another...hummm.....babies for green cards. Interesting.... I hope all are well during the tough process. Hang in there. It does work in the end. Dave PS: Yes...I contributed. Thanks, Don, for your efforts. I figured for all the time and all the posts I've made here, I certainly needed to give something back.

Sniff.... Guess those days are gone.

Sole custody is the correct answer. GZ won't deny a visa if that's included in the final divorce. The ex can cause problems but not legal ones. He's likely just looking for a pay off. Stand your ground and don't give him a dime. Just keep the kid away from him.

We should have a visit in Jason's "house." I'm sure there's lots of catching up for us!

Happy B-day! Just stopped by to see what's going on. Seems lots of the same. For us, JM and the baby will be coming back from China this week after nearly a three month stay. After she got AP, she went home and put our home together there. Her dad will be coming back with her for two months. Can't wait to see them all. For me? Back in corrections. This time at the city jail. I'm also still teaching on line and finally got a small private practice off the ground. My step-son and Isurvived our bachelor days without mom but we're really looking forward to eating real food. Dominos, hot dogs, Port of Subs, etc., taste good for only so long. Hope all of you are happy and well. Dave

Dang -- this really IS a scary reunion........ Oh, the memories.

PS: Forgot to ask.... Anyone here considering Canadian visas after the events of last week???

Just wanted to check-in with those who still might remember me. Long time, no see. Funny how life kind of takes over, eh? As we speak, JM in in China with the baby. Her AP finally came with some help of our new found "friends" at the local INS office. Long story. She was miserable for a while (homesick) and began to get unglued. Funny...after three days in Shenzhen, she was ready to come home. Seems the baby is adjusting well to his new digs. Hell...what baby wouldn't loved to be held around the clock by new family members? For me, I landed a nice gig in our city jail working semi-full time as their shrink. On top of that, I'm still teaching online and even got a nice face to face teaching job at a private university here in town. I'm ready to say goodbye to the nearly non-existent private practice and save some bucks on rent. I'm enjoying my new LS 430 and am trying to keep up with all my fourth grade homework assignments with my step-son. Halo 2 comes out today...could life be any sweeter? Hope you are all well. For those still stuck in the visa rut, hang in there. There really is life after GZ. Nov. 4th marked our one year together in the US. Damn...it went by soooo fast. See ya!

Since my wife has gotten here, movies have become sort of interesting. Long story short: I'd like to add some DVDs to our collection that have Chinese subtitles. I just can't seem to find them. If you know of any resources, could you please send me an email with some advice? Normally, I'd come back here and look for responses...but time is too tight these days. Of course, feel free to reply to this topic for others to benefit from what you know. Thanks a ton!

Yesterday, JM got her DL. The examiner still pulled us into that dreaded back office (you know...the one where you're told you failed) and started in with bad news. I listened and couldn't argue. I know JM was guilty of the mistakes, having made them during our drive to the DMV office. But, the woman ended by saying, "But, you passed. You score was really, really low. Be careful out there." Then, JM made the classic Chinese statement. "This drivers license cost $5300 (the accident at my friends house). I wanted to save the $40 p/hour and not take the driving lessons. I think it would have been cheaper to pay for lessons instead of paying for the wrecked car and destroyed garage door. But, it's nice to have gotten my DL on China's B-day (Oct. 1)." God, I love her.....

Something to laugh about now. Then (being very new to AAC), I thought I might need a restraining order....or buy Home Depot stock.

Gee...that kind-of reminds me of an old computer game I once played. Oops...sorry to open any old wounds, Mike. Now, put down the car keys. No need to go to Home Depot..... Oh, those were the days!

JM failed round three of the driving test last week. Something to do with pulling into the oncoming traffic lane to make a left turn. It's gotten to the point that the DMV won't let her come back for two weeks to test again.

Interesting tidbit... Leshan has the largest Buddah ever carved into a mountain side (so they say). 73 m tall. Amazing! http://www-db.stanford.edu/~qluo/pict/trip/leshan/buddah-frontview.jpg In that exact same area, if you take a boat out far enough on the river, you can make out a sleeping Buddah. It was first noticed in the early '70s (1970's, that is). Check it out.... http://nosvoyages.free.fr/sichuan/photos/ls3rivieres.jpg His head lies on the right side of the picture. Can you see it? And, as you study the picture more closely, you'll see that the Buddah is rather "happy" to see you (or is that a banana in his pocket?).

DaveG, Isn't this question generally asked "Have you ever been...... Also 143Xin how did the question arise? Oral interview W/ VO? 143Xin is the first ever that I've read of here on CFL to get denied for that. Hasn't it struck any else as odd that so many Chinese get visas despite the question? That issue caused me to ask my wife about party affiliation. Who joins and who doesn't, in other words. I've learned that it boils down to what job you want. Better paying, supervisory jobs require that fist to the head. Just today, my wife and I talked about it. In "the old days," joining the party was viewed by others as a great thing. Now, people laugh at others who join. Interesting.... It's my belief people are basically honest in the visa process. However, how do so many get around that little problem? Go figure.... There's a joke I'm dying to make in the very last question you posed to offer a solution to the problem. It has to do with inserting the word "during" somewhere in the question. But, I won't go there. Oops...guess I just did.

I've never posted this before despite the many opportunities to. My wife came within a couple of milliimeters of joining the party. She missed one single meeting and got snitched off. The snitch got praised for being loyal and my wife never got the supervisory position she wanted. Thank God. Now, my father-in-law has a tourist visa. I don't want to post what his job was...but it was very "red." Since he's retired now, we got around the issue easily. I do not recommend lying to the US gov't. It has a way of haunting you. But, if you can read between the lines I write now, there's always a way around the commie issue. Take for example our friend. She's a cop. To be a cop in China, you have to raise your right fist and place it against your temple and take the oath. She's fallen in love with a guy from back East. Both worry about the commie issue. As we've discussed, it's easy. If they decide to marry, she quits her job for a couple of months. He supports her and her baby. Their papers reflect she has no job. No one is the wiser.