frank1538

Me thinks the conventional wisdom arrow is pointed up. Good luck.

I debated whether to post this, but then decided to go ahead. Pretty difficult to argue with his logic. Instructions for life in the new millennium from the Dalai Lama: 1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk. 2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson. 3. Follow the three Rs: Respect for self, respect for others and responsibility for all your actions. 4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. 5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly. 6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship. 7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. 8. Spend some time alone every day. 9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values. 10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. 11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time. 12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. 13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past. 14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality. 15. Be gentle with the earth. 16. Once a year, go some place you've never been before. 17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other. 18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. 19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon. Supersition holds that sending the mantra to others brings you good life. I wonder if posting it counts for sending it to +700 people

Carl, this is another reason I am pleased with Bank of America. Jingwen has a similar problem at the BOC ATM - no money dispensed, yet the withdrawal hit my statement, about $300 worth. I shot off an e-mail to Bank of America with an attachment of the transaction listings. They immediately reversed the charges temporarily and did some investigating on their own. About a week later, the temporary reversal was made permanent. The bank intimated that BOC's ATM network is not the best. (really? ) I'm not necessarily plugging Bank of America, but I have had very good customer service with them. While we're on the subject of money, I did have an interesting experience with exchanging dollars at BOC. Before I left for China, I took about $500 in hundreds with me. When I went to exchange them at BOC, the lady rejected three of hundreds (not new enough, too faded, not crisp enough). I gave her others to convert. I know this was not unusual, particularly at BOC, but that day it really bothered me. As she start counting out 100 yuan notes, I kept saying "bu hao" and started rejecting her 100 yuan notes, and I demanded crisp, less faded notes. I haven't seen too many Chinese ladies blush as much as this teller did, but I figured turn around was fair play.

The infamous bespectacled one, I'd bet B)

so good to hear the great news. congratulations to you both. as for the king size bed, I'm sure the floor will be plenty big and almost as hard B)

Goose bump time. So glad to hear the good news. B)

I have been told that the polar route is actually faster than crossing the Pacific directly, so Newark to Tokyo might not be a bad route. Of all the carriers, I put Cathay Pacific (LAX-CLK) and Singapore Air (SFO-CLK) at the top of the list. I have never flown Northwest or United, but I would put Delta and China Southern (LAX-CAN) down there near the bottom. Given what Robert S. said about Northwest, I may have to give them a try. A buddy uses United a lot and is happy with the service.

Hopefully, having her leave her passport and returning the next day means that your daughter will get/has gotten her visa on Dec. 4th. I will keep you guys in my prayers.

I dug up my step-daughter's passport, and it clearly states that the visa expired on Oct 2, 2003, exactly 6 months from date of issue, the same as my wife's. So, I do not believe that you have up to a year. Maybe, I'd better go back to the books.

I am seeking two K-2's for Jingwen's children. I could be mistaken, but I think that the K-2 if valid for one year or until the child turns 21. So, it is my belief that a K-2 issued at the same time as the K-1 will still allow the child to come to the US within a year after it is issued. Congratulations on receiving your P3.

Had a similar problem when I gave Jingwen an ATM for a separate US account that I had set up. Despite available funds, the ATM kept rejecting the withdrawal. And, because the ATM was in my name, BOC wouldn't to a thing to help Jingwen. Ended up having to wire transfer some funds. It turned out that the ATM card had gone bad somehow. Ended up having to get a new one to send to her. Of course, trying to add her name to the account so I could get the ATM in her name was impossilbe, at least according to Bank of America - no SSN, blah, blah, blah. I might add that the B of A card costs $2 per transaction, with an exchange rate of 8.19:1

Jeezel Pete, Rob. It seems that you really have to take Old Murphy (aka Murphy's Law) by the scruff of the neck to keep him from running amuck. Glad you were able to accomplish your objective. Soon, this ordeal will be over.

Sorry to hear about your plight with TSC. I also went through TSC, and I know a couple of people who had the same problem with lost petitions. One petition even got "lost" between TSC and NVC. It took me about 6 months to get out of TSC. My experience has been that the TSC is the worst part of the process. Others may think that NVC or GZ is worse, but, so far, things have moved fairly smoothly, if not quickly, after the petition left TSC. I spent a little over 30 days at NVC, a very good time. Others have waited much longer, so don't believe the 2-4 weeks. Namechecks for Chinese (and Russian) fiancees take quite a long time, but be patient and persistent. Call NVC once a week, talk to a live person and inquire about the status of your case. One day, you will hear that the case has been cleared and your files have been sent to GZ. Be sure to get the GUZ # from NVC. Good luck, and welcome to Candle.

I'll be glad to give it a shot. I would like to make a suggestion, though. With +38,000 posts (okay, 37,000 if you don't count the Mick/Eric et al. blue thingie races), it might be better to see how many volunteers we have and then parcel out the posts for review, say by month. maybe assigning several months to the volunteers. This might save some duplication of effort. Also, we might need a little QC here. With things changing daily, a good piece of information from six months ago might be bad information today. Just let me know. I'm sure my boss won't mind.

Absolutely! No doubt about it. Happy Birthday.

When Jingwen arrives, I'll drop another hint. I'm drooling already

I find neither Washinton, Franklin nor you sophomoric. There are many ways to skin the cat, some better than others. I just don't think that trying to take on the government over visa processing would be a very productive endeavor.

Actually, Robert lives in Alabama.

Robert, you live in Atlanta, don't you? So do I. Hint hint

Frustration vents itself in sometimes strange ways. Mass protests in Guangzhou or Moscow? Interesting but futile. BCIS is unresponsive and inept? Sue the SOBs and waste more precious time. Yes, it is very frustrating, but, like Orrin said, we all went into this with our eyes wide open - at least most of us did. I started this K-1 process upon my return from China in October, 2002, but, because, I had to wait on getting certified copies of various documents, I did not file until sometime later. When I finally filed at TSC, the estimate was about 60-90 days for NOA2. Changes in priority processing resulted in a plus 6 month wait. Was I pissed? You'd better believe it. Did I want to protest? Sure, but not because it would have substantially changed things. Rather, while you sit there and wait and wait and wait, despair will set if you don't do something. But, my advice is to do something constructive. Prepare the paperwork, make the copies, build your case for the interview. These are the important things - important because you can control them. You should never worry about things that you can't control, because you can't control them. I am now an old Turk. In my young Turk days, I would have taken on the world. Now, the Turk in me will still fight, but I have learned to choose my fights a bit more cerefully. Would I like to take on the government over this entire family visa processing morass? Noble thought, but sophomoric. Better to spend my time shepharding my fiancee's visa through the mazes and traps that confront us.

I think maybe you're reading too much into Patrick's request. I remember when I was leaving Zhanjiang to come back to America, Jingwen's niece came up to me and very discreetly gave me some of her pictures. She asked me to see if any of my friends might be interested in writing to her. I took the pictures. I would like to think that her seeing how I treat Jingwen may have had some bearing on her wanting to meet an American. It never entered my mind that she was looking for an get out of jail card. If Li's friend wants to meet more Americans, maybe it's because she sees how Patrick treats Li and how happy Li is.

You're on your way. Never lose heart, and the time will pass. Good luck.

The boulder is gathering steam. Watch out Guangzhou. It won't be long now.

Patrick, here's a link to the IRS Pub 519 that deals with this issue. http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/page/0,,id%3D...3D11849,00.html I think that you can elect to treat your non resident spouse as a resident for tax purposes, allowing you to file a joint return. You would have to include all of her income, etc., and she would need a TIN. I think MoonCarolCafe has dealt with this. Maybe, he'll chime in.

While I do not doubt that HIV is less of a problem in China than elsewhere, I wonder how much the statistics are skewed due to inacurate reporting. Remember SARS? In any event, the thought or reuseable syringes and needles scares the hell out of me.