keelec

Maybe it is a letter calling her back in to pick up the visa. Try to confirm when or whether she can show up to pick it up and have her head back there to her "favorite city". Oh, also, don't pick a day with a half a dozen Li Hongs waiting to pick up their visas.... We wouldn't want to start the whole process over again would we :P :P ----- Clifford ------

Oh, Great!!!!! So, can't the embassy afford buying a digital camera so they can actually take pictures of the person as they come in for the interview???? Then, with digital, they can make it as small or as big as they want. Then, like our US passports and most drivers licenses, embed the photo into the documents. Well, I guess that would be the easy way.

Ummmm, That would be like suing a doctor for mental anguish while a father waits in the waiting room while the wife is off having a baby.... Of course, a lot of things have changed in the last few decades as rarely are expectant fathers pacing up and down in the waiting room floor anymore. ------------------ Looking at Carl's timeline....... 11 months is a LONG wait, but it has been a fairly smooth ride from start to finish. There is not a day I don't wonder how things would have been different had the "system" actually worked for me. Yet, I also know the system takes it's toll on each and every one of us in a little different fashion. Rohbon who had to leave his baby in China as they waited for the visa. Patrick.... who gets to the brink of getting everything completed.... And gets thrown back into the pit.... And almost completeted.... And back to the pit!!! Even those that finish quickly end up loosing more than a half year of their lives to our government. ------ Clifford ------

Can you fill out IRS Form W-7 and apply for an ITIN http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf This should also help with your taxes and etc. AND, HOPEFULLY IT WOULD GIVE YOU AN OFFICIAL US GOVERNMENT DOCUMENT WITH HER NAME & YOUR LAST NAME. Hmmm, it asks for the applicant's name, and passport (which I assume has the maiden name), but I assume you could try sending in your Chinese marriage certificates & etc. It also does ask for the spouses SSN. Did you include your wife's name on your 2003 tax forms? You can ask for an official tax transcript from the IRS which I would assume would include her name as you had written it. ----- Clifford -----

Heck, it is only 8:30 in Oregon...... Carl will have quite a hole worn in the new kitchen linoleum by the time bedtime rolls around..... Do you think he will be able to sleep until he hears from her? Best Wishes to both of you, Clifford

Bryan, One thing you can do is download the forms that you are supposed to return with the P3, fill them out and send them back. I believe that is what Robhon did. Somewhere someone has said what to return (I believe the DS-230 and the OF-169, and maybe something else too). After you get your P3 sent back, take some time to figure out what you are missing. I believe that the K1 sends a small P3 and large P4 (more forms), while the K3 is the opposite with most of the forms with the P3. ----- Clifford ------

Patrick, My heart is with you. How many namechecks is this? 3 or 4? And it was triggered by 3 women with the same name???? But, the similarity ends there. Different birthdays, different case numbers, etc. And, of course, they have already done the namecheck. Her name is verifiable (has it right in her passport). She applied for the visa nearly a year ago (not a spur of the moment thing). I could see how there would be an issue with say 3 men coming in for a visitor's visa at the same time with no history, calling themselves "John Smith"..... Of course, in America, it is not uncommon to have the Grandfather, Father, and Son all having the same name ---> Instant namecheck????? But, in your case, this is not just a spur of the monent thing. She hasn't just written down "Li Hong" on the sheet..... They have the entire year's history of working on the application. She couldn't even have predicted what day she would be invited to pick up the visa. I just hope the "Problem Namecheck" wasn't yours. And, if it wasn't yours... Then why are you still on hold? Hmmm, If there were 3 "Li Hongs" picking up visas 2 weeks ago, how many were picking them up the week before, or the 2 weeks after? ------ Clifford -----

Carl, Everything will be ok. As I understand it, the interview is a "piece of cake" for 90% of the interviewees. It is difficult, but survivable for the other 9% or so, and, well, a nightmare for the last 1%. Odds are that you won't fall into the last 1%. More than anything the wait will just be nerve racking for her. But she will be ok. ----- Clifford -----

N/A is Not Applicable (Does not apply). I.E. For those of us that have never been married, Names of previous wives --> Not Applicable. The problem arises that you could also have been previously married, and consider it none of the INS's business (and thus Not Applicable).

I am pretty sure you can get dog slippers at your local sporting goods store, or pet specialty stores http://store2.yimg.com/I/greatoutdoorsdepot_1786_30765775.jpg http://www.gearfordogs.com/products/thmb_5.jpg http://store2.yimg.com/I/worldpets_1778_106996323.jpg I think we tried it with our dog once. The granite rocks in Idaho were tearing up his pads. Unfortunately, we didn't have "booties" on the camping trip. The best we could come up with were wool socks which I think we ducttaped onto his paws He didn't really like them, but it helped keep him from hurting his feet. ----- Clifford -----

Mark, You should fill out essentially all lines in the form. There are a few places where the INS likes to be picky. On one of the forms (I-129F or G325a), it says: "Names of previous spouses, if none so state".... If this is your first marriage, you MUST write "none". Your app can get rejected if you fill in N/A ( happened to me ) Apparently the same is true for job experience (applies to younger couples). Many people recommend always using "None" rather than N/A (or putting both on the lines). As a general rule, if there is any way that "Not Applicable" could be considered as ambiguous, use "NONE" instead. Good Luck, ---- Clifford -----

That was the goal over 15 months ago ..... My government just doesn't seem to see things my way

Your wife is welcome to join us here on the Candle. Everybody here knows that foreign languages can be quite a struggle for many people and she should not worry about here language skills. There is a similar site for Chinese fiancees and spouses which is in Chinese. I would recommend her look at it. 001: http://www.001.com.cn/forum/usa/index.html Best of luck for a quick applicaiton process, and I hope your wife finds some new friends that she is comfortable with. ----- Clifford -----

Ok, The european / italian style of toilets are square, with a hole in the middle, and two foot pads. They look somewhat like a shower floor. http://www.geocities.com/clkeele/toilet.html http://mr_sedivy.tripod.com/tour/toilet_2.jpg I think you could just install one in your shower. It would then function as dual purpose..... Shower floor when you want to shower.... Toilet when you need to do your business. To flush, simply turn on the shower :D :D And, if you like to piddle in the shower.... No problem :D And, to save time in the mornings, you could do your business and shower at the same time :) Ok, Here is a platform that I found.... You could consider it. http://naturesplatform.com/images/nhright2.jpg http://naturesplatform.com/ Or, another one. http://healthrewardsyou.com/images/In-Lieu%2520May02.jpg This site has lots of "interesting info" :D http://www.cromwell-intl.com/toilet/

Good Luck, Carl & Bing, I hope you both have a wonderful celebration at about midnight tonight!!!! :) :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

The number is 125%. The calculations are the same for the I-864 & I-134. Here is the income chart: http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/f...-864p.pdf http://travel.state.gov/povert.html That would put it at $15,613 if neither of you have any children. You can add in 20% of the value of your assets such as the equity in your home. Thus, if you have 30,000 equity in your home, you can add $6,000 to your income figure when determining if you meet the minimum requirements. If you are short on requirements, you can find a "co-sponsor" such as a parent who can fill out the affidavit of support (I think you need both yours and the co-sponsors). Good Luck, ----- Clifford -----

Congratulations on the interview date. Wow, it seems like just yesterday that your application was stuck at NVC.... Mine was stuck in Moscow..... Except, now, mine is still stuck in Moscow... Yours got through NVC.... Got through GZ.... AND NOW THE INTERVIEW IS IN LESS THAN A WEEK. I hope all goes well at the interview. You have waited a long time for it. Best Wishes, Clifford

Hello Eric, I think Don slipped by a few weeks ago..... I'll be there soon.... Just another 2000 posts (I think I could do that in a weekend ) I hope your trip is going well. I thought you had AP quite a while ago, why didn't your wife join you? ----- Clifford -----

That is the story that many of us had. I had anticipated that it would take a few months to get the visa. We applied in January 2003. I felt she could be here by late spring. The first INS receipt seemed to indicate the same thing which said that the processing time should be 70-100 days..... I knew about the interview, but had thought that the initial processing would take about 3 months, then she would have an interview and the get the visa. Even if I had done better research, when I applied, the NVC didn't even esist (it appeared sometime while my application was at Nebraska Service Center). The FBI namecheck was dreamed up only months before I sent in my app. I had absolutely no idea that I would still be waiting 450 days later. And, I have no doubt that the total time will excede 500 days. At least it gives us some time to work through some "issues" we have been having lately. --------------------- Unfortunately, the two of you were in a difficult situation to plan the application around her school. If your fiancee had received her visa too early, she would only have been able to stay in China for 6 additional months before coming to the USA and might have had difficulties finishing her studies. Now she has finished school, and still no visa. Don't give up hope. Your application will be located, and you will get "back on track" soon. Good Luck, Clifford

Even after getting your petition through CSC, you are only at the halfway point. Don't be sad for small "bumps in the road". It will all be finished in a few months and you will be together again. NVC has been processing apps in about a month lately. It should have been "received" by now. Call BCIS on Monday (after checking with NVC). Maybe they can give you some shipment info on the package, or perhaps even resend it to NVC.

Give me a break that is the fastest service center. Maybe the writer should have gone to NSC or TSC. It may be that Vermont prioritizes the I-129 & I-130 applications. Other applications may suffer. According to their website, they are processing the I-485 from Feb 15, 2002 (Employment based). I am still a bit confused about all of the AOS forms and procuedures. I have thought that I would look it up when that time rolls around Of course, what I would like more than anything would be for my finacee to join me in the USA.... I can wait for everything else. Thus a fast K1 and slow AOS would be much better than a slow K1 and fast AOS. Since I am looking at least 1.5 years for my K1 app, I assume the AOS should take less than 5 minutes :D ----- Clifford -----

Se Lang, I was only going by what was posted on the Candle a while ago (which we all know is gospel). And, of course, my memory can be a bit poor. See these postings: Don's Notes on GZ Procedures: http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=3935 Dan's Description, DHL Packages NVC to GZ http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=4114

Don's Notes on GZ Procedures: http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=3935 Dan's Description, DHL Packages NVC to GZ http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=4114

Mari, I think as someone posted a while ago, the GZ consulate goes to the courier DH??? and pickes up the applications once a month (and then complains about them piling up) (maybe it was twice a month). I presume that the GZ consulate sends their own truck for the pickup for security purposes. There are also additional clearances that have to come from Bejing. If the timing is right, one's packet will arrive in GZ and get all of the clearances from Bejing just in time for the monthly pickup. If not, then it ends up waiting till the next pickup date. ---------------- Best of luck for a speedy application, Clifford

You know, I wonder if the US Government could actually be a bit more efficient with some things. For example, An Exhaustive background check was performed less than 3 months earlier for the K1/K3 visa.... Does it really have to be repeated? Hmmm, why apply for both K3 and I-130.... Double the paperwork, if the I-130 could be more efficient, there would be no need for the K3????? And, if everyone got their AOS processed in 1-2 months, there would be no need to apply for both AOS and AP concurrently. And, of course, having a good online application system would likely save the US Government several million dollars every year.... Couldn't they dump a few hundred thousand into developing it.... Oops, this is our government.... Can't possibly spend less than a million on anything.... Want a million dollar hammer? Well, I guess efficiency would be too much to expect from our government. ----- Clifford ------