MarkLuvsShuPing

Do you think the lack of quality is a reflection of working under a communist system? One of the biggest flaws in socialist thinking is people do not raise to produce at the highest level, rather they drop to meet the lowest level of production. Why work hard to produce more if your hard work is only going to go to someone who produces less. There are no tangible rewards in a socialist system, so why knock yourself out? Maybe they've gotten used to producing without pride in the production, or reward for their labor so all they can produce now is crap. I agree with Kim, that will change as they move into a more market driven economy.

Thanks DCACT, I made a copy and I'll be sending it to my wife ASAP. Colorado doesn't have a Chinese version of the Driver's Handbook, but I'm sure it's close enough. Mark

I hadn't seen that bfore, thanks for bringing it out of the mothballs, Clifford. Thanks for hosting Darryl.

Clifford, I finally stuck my head out of the RR and wanted to congratulate you. Great news and I echo everyone's sentiments, it's about damn time. You and Irina deserve all the best of everything for hanging in there and proving that love conquers all, even a bureucratic government. It's been inspiring to watch you hang in there, only a little more to go. Mark

Clifford, if nothing else, you are persistent. You set an example that the rest of us can only hope we never have to live up to. This really is good news and I truly hope the dam has burst and the paperwork flows quickly.

I faxed it to her and she's already signed the copies. She'll do the Chinese equivalent of Fed Ex/UPS and for $25 they'll get it here next week. Luckily, the school she works at has a fax machine. I started signing her name, even practiced her Chinese signature, had it all ready to go, looked at it and had misgivings about it. As good a forger as I am, I could tell it was forged. All I need is to have it get hung up on something as simple as this. I even thought about signing her name and initialing it, but since that's not in the instructions... You're right Clifford, this is for the I-129F. I sent the same form, G-325A in for the I-130, not knowing I would need to send the same form in again. Which makes me think, if I get the gumption, I'll list out all the forms that need to be sent in and the order which they need to be sent and the fee for the forms. Then I'll post it in the "whatchamacallit" board for future pilgrims. I looked at the cost of filing all the forms last week, over $1800 from start to finish with the new fees for K-3. While it's true this is a negligable amount when I think about getting my wife here, it isn't compared to other things I want in my life. Add the costs of trips to China and weddings, mailings, etc. and this is an expensive proposition. Again, my wife is worth every penny, but I had no idea of the costs and time involved in marrying a foriegner. It wouldn't have changed my mind about getting married, but I would have planned a little better. Posting that kind of info might help others, especially when it comes to paperwork.

Thanks for all the advice, as I suspected, the best course of action is have her sign it. The problem with this is I will have to fed ex it. She doesn't have a computer and uses the kiosks or the school's. If they have the capacity to print it, I don't know that she has the knowledge to download it. Sending it as a jpeg would work, if she can find a printer. Otherwise, a fax machine will be best. To this issue, does anyone know if any other K-3 documents need to be signed? When I sent the I-130 off, I had no idea that I'd be doing the G-325A form again. If I'd known I needed another set of signatures, I could've sent it snail mail and had it here when the NOA arrived. Now I'm looking at more $$$ and more friggin' time. Sorry, I needed to vent a little about redundancy.

Here's a question that came to mind when I read someone else's comment that his lawyer had him get power of attorney for his wife so the documents could be signed here, thereby avoiding the delay of having to send them to China. Does anyone know if Power of Attorney (POA) is necessary in this case? I'm assuming original signatures or POA should be in place, but I seem to remember something about if you're signing for your spouse, it isn't required, only recommended. Any arm-chair lawyers want to give this a shot?

I blew it! I missed the deadline because I thought I was OK getting it in April 30th, but when I read the USCIS web site it said the rates went up on the 30th. Oh well, it was only a $55 increase for me, since I'm sending in the I-129F. No way I could beat any of the other increases.

Hey Darell, I've found that trying to buy tickets a couple of months in advance costs more than buying them at the last minute. Of course, you have to get your Chinese visa after you buy your tickets, so you really can't wait until the last minute. That may be why they're cheaper, most people try to allow 30 days to get the visa, so no one's waiting for the last minute to buy tickets. Since only a few people are buying them less than 30 days out, they lower the prices. Just my theory.

Thanks for the update, Carl. We've all been waiting to hear the story. Just hearing that Bing got the visa was great news, but not enough. I'm very happy for you and Bing, working together through this adversity will only make your love stronger, plus it'll be a great story to tell the grandkids one day. Gotta run, but tell Bing, "Welcome to America"!

YABBBA DABBBA DOOO!!!! http://merlin.alleg.edu/employee/p/preinhar/fred.jpg We knew you'd get it! Don't worry, a permanent smile is quite becoming.

Way to hang in there Patrick. It can't be long now.

Thanks Mark. At this point, no news is to be expected, but I don't know how much longer we can go without news.

I thought I'd put this out here as a kind of Carl and Bing update catch-all. It seems like we had a few topics going and anyone of them could've been about Carl and Bing's situation. I thought it would be good to have a one-stop topic to get info. Having said that... Anyone heard from Carl?

Carl, Go get 'em, this one's in the bag. Ain't it good to be back in Baby's arms again? Now bring her home with you. We're all behind you.

Hey! Trigg finally got something right! Sorry, couldn't resist. Kim, thanks for sharing your story. It really warms my heart. I can read the love you have for Jet behind the words of your story. How old is she now? Mark

Yeah, but where's Noni?

Congratulations! Glad to hear the good news! It Du feel great, don't it?

I'm still looking for a girl named Noni. Cliff, Cod-liver oil is just what it says, oils derived from cod fish liver. I've had it and I just remember that it was truly nasty stuff. Of course, now we know the benefit of fish oil is not just a bogus claim, it actually is healthy.

ShuPing gave me a couple of disks to load into my computer. One is the Chinese Windows or IE and the other, I think, is a translator. I never loaded them, I was worried about what they would do to my system. Has anyone had any problems withdoing this with XP?

When I saw the post, I thought someone's wife's name was Noni. I was looking for something kind of spicy posted here.

This whole situation is so upsetting to me. It is an injustice that none of us knows how to confront and one that many of us face in the near future. In some ways, when some of us tell you to be strong Carl, we're also trying to brace ourselves for the same possible injustice. I don't know how I can possibly help, I don't know about quick visas or discounted plane tickets. I don't have a video camera that will make the perfect VHS for you. I can't teach you a crash course in Chinese. And if that wasn't enough, I live in Denver, but I will do anything else I can to help. Whatever it may be. Godspeed Carl, for all of us who have yet to recieve the coveted visa. Your strength and persistence will be a source of comfort and strength for the rest of us.

Congratulations! I wish the best for both of you. Forgive me for noticing the irony, but it sounds like the same woman that denied Bing. Such tragic and happy news all from the same lady. From the recount of the interview it doesn't sound like this VO is such a pleasant person. It sounds like your wife's English skills and your being there really made things move quickly. In some ways it sounds as if VO #11 grudgingly granted the visa. But I digress from a positive mode, so I will focus on your happiness and wish you both, again, all the happiness and joy to you that we all desire.

Atta boy Carl! (You see, even a liberal minded individual like yourself can get an atta boy once in a while.) Just remeber, if they get you down, they've won. Don't give the bastards the satisfaction.