frank1538

So glad to hear the wonderful news. I know everyone's tired. Get some rest, but let us know how things go. You can't start them too young, so teach Salina how to enter the following as soon as you can: http://candleforlove.com

Visa in hand - almost, but still worthy of congratulations Best of luck to you both.

hen hao!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another success in the record books. Congratulations and best of luck. Frank and Jingwen

The office on Buford Hwy. is the Application Support Center. The actual local CIS office is downtown in the federal building on Forsyth St. Atlanta District Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building 77 Forsyth Street SW Atlanta, GA 30303 You'll want to go downtown to talk, but it may be difficult to get in - first come, first served. Have you checked your status on-line?

Jingwen must have learned from your wife. Unfortunately, because the Sunday Atlanta paper is pretty thick, I'm still reading April. Jingwen still thinks that just about everything about America is "bu hao" (no good). My response continues to be "bu si bu hao, bu tong" (not no good, different). Slowly, she is beginning to realize that there are differences and that those differences add a variety to life. Now, if I can only get her to add a little American variety to the food. At least, she's discovered that habenero peppers are actually hotter than Chinese peppers and so, they're better. Chalk up one for the home team.

We moved about two weeks after filing the I-485. When I called the 1-800 number to schedule an appointment for biometrics/fingerprints at the ASC (Application Support Center), I gave our new address to the lady who (I hope) made the proper corrections and updated the address. I think you can also use the mails to notify CIS of address changes for applications, etc. Unless you are the applicant calling, CIS won't enter the updated information over the phone. My wife does not speak great English, so I called. The lady spoke to Jingwen for a minute, asked her her name and then talked to me to get the new address. Also, don't forget to file the AR-11 which notifies the CIS of your change in address. Filing this form, however, will NOT change the mailing address for your applications, etc.

Me thinks it's time to gird your financial loins.

Good luck. Let us know the outcome and your impressions.

Welcome to Candle. I hope you have thick skin.

Good to hear. Now prop up your feet, get a good book and a bag of Cheetos, relax and wait, wait, wait, wait.

P4 scheduling seems to be done in batches. If your P3 arrived just after the last batch of P4s went out, chances are that you will have to wait a bit longer. We waited about seven weeks between the time GZ acknowledged receipt of our P3 and the mailing of the P4. Add the May holidays to the pot, and 2 months, while a long time, is probably not cause for alarm.

I'm with Carl on this one. Jingwen had the same experience as Trigg. The VO only asked about four or five yes/no questions - in Chinese because Jingwen's English is less than fluent. The VO did not look at any paperwork either. I have nothing on which to base this, but I also think that a tentative decision had already been made when Jingwen went to the interview. Maybe it's the paper trail that we all leave during the long wait. I was in constant contact with GZ via e-mail. Jingwen's applications were prepared jointly and had definite clues about my involvement with helping her with the preparation. She had my passport with her. She carried 20% of her body weight with supporting documents. My thinking is that if the applicant looks like she is on her/his own during the process, chances are better that she/he will be scrutinized more.

I'm very happy for you two. Congratulations. Now, line up those cheesesteaks.

I can see it now. Be careful. If your wife weighs as little as mine, she'll be joining the umbrellas.

I suffer from CRS disease (Can't Remember S**t), but I do recall the following. Most were presented on the day of our ceremonial wedding. The principal gift was the payment to the family. Nine is a lucky number in China, so I had 9,999 yuan (about $1,200) for the mother/father. All money gifts went into little red envelopes. This gift was tendered to the father. Traditional teapot, cups, and tea. The teapot had a dragon and phoenix on it, the traditional symbols for male/female, yin/yang, and the state of marriage. This was given to mom (I think). Special red chopsticks, given to mom. Marlboro cigarettes (red box, of course) given to dad. Li shi (pronounced lie see). These are red packets of money to be used later. Most were stuffed with a twenty dollar bill, but a few had $100 (US) in them. For some reason, there was a preference for US money for these packets. One gift that was given in advance to Jingwen was a new bed (frame and mattress). Tradition apparently calls for a new bridal bed for the new couple. Of course, there were additional gifts to Jingwen, but I don't recall any special wedding gifts for the brother and sisters. I think a lot will depend on the customs and traditions observed by the family.

I think it depends on where you are in the process and the type of problem that may exist. Despite all their blustering to the contrary, our congressional representatives are virtually powerless to do anything to speed up the process. Problems like Cliffords are difficult to address by congressional reps since there is this cloud of security/secrecy that the FBI keeps throwing up. But, if a petition gets lost in transit from the service center to the NVC, or there is a unique problem at the local office, then a congressional representative might prove helpful.

My sense is that K-1 vs. K-3 is a coin toss when it comes to processing. Since you're at VSC, the service center processing will be among the fastest anyway. If I were in your shoes, I would not let possible processing differences dictate. Independently decide if marriage or engagement is right and proceed accordingly.

I think that you can file for EAD off your K-1 pre marriage, but it cannot be renewed. This would put you in the (a)(6) category. What I think this means is that you'll have to file again as a ( c)(9) category with your AOS or while it's pending. But, I'll be the first to admit that the instructions for the EAD are confusing. I think EADs for the (a)(6) category are filed at the Service Centers, but EADs for the ( c)(9) category are filed where you file the AOS - usually the local office. Since you would only be saving a month or so (assuming the service centers are as fast as the local offices in processing EADs), you might just want to wait, save the extra filing fee and do it at the same time as your AOS. Just my 2 cents.

If you want to spend your money twice, go ahead and get the kitchen ready The wok I got was not to Jingwen's liking (bought a second). The meat cleaver didn't feel right (bought a seond). The bowls were not the right size/color (bought more). The chopsticks were too Japanese (bought more). The towels weren't the right type (bought more). Fortunately, the cooktop vent was okay (didn't buy it since it was already in the house), and I did wait until she arrived before I bought a rice steamer. In hindsight, I would not have spent the money trying to stock the kitchen but would have gone shopping for the kitchen with Jingwen as soon as she arrived - ended up doing that anyway.

I would strongly suggest that you try to keep as close to the "normal" process as possible. This means fiancee and daughter go to the interview together, fiancee and daughter get their visas at the same time, and fiancee and daughter come to the US at the same time. While there are procedures in place that are supposed to handle deviations from the norm, the chances of a screw-up go up as you move away from SOP. If the daughter cannot travel with your fiancee, the next best thing would be for her to still go to the interview with her mom and get her visa. As others have pointed out, the visa is good for six months. But, as Dean mentioned, the potential screw up is what will happen when she shows up at the US POE without her "sealed brown envelope"? Maybe you can get the consulate to create two separte envelops for your fiancee and daughter.

Well, Clifford, this is indeed interesting and hopefully good news. Now I guess it's time to put more pressure on Moscow and maybe appeal to their sense of fairness - maybe put Irina at the head of the list given all the delays, etc. Good luck.

Ah Ha. Just like we all thought.

I think I've posted this link before, but thought you might find it interesting: http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/China...b_Opportunities This is my employer, but I make no warranties, express or implied.

Jingwen and the kids lugged those suckers with them from China. The IO at SFO didn't want them. The civil surgeon didn't want them either. They're now gathering dust in the closet.

Welcome back Carl. I had a similar concern with using e-tickets. The airline (United) assured me that it would not be a problem, but I made a special trip to the airport and popped for the extra $$ to get a paper ticket. We had no problems getting off the mainland. In Shenzhen, the passport with the visa was enough, but we had to present the actual tickets in order to get into Hong Kong. I think is was because Jingwen was "in transit", and we had to show that she was leaving within seven days. If Bing is leaving China directly from the mainland, I suspect that it will not be a problem.