keelec

Presumably you could fly through Mexico or Canada to the airport.... If you time it right, you would be able to be in the International Arrivals area shortly before she did (assuming none of the planes are delayed, you would hate to do something foolish and miss her arrival). When I flew to Egypt, I arranged to meet my fiancee in Istanbul. The arrivals area was wide open with benches to wait. Nobody seemed to care that I hung out in the arrivals area for about 4 hours. They even told me which gate she would be arriving on. However, most of the US airports funnel everyone to a baggage return area. You would have to hope both planes would use the same baggage return area, and nobody would kick you out while you are loitering around. Best to just wait for her outside. There should be interpreters and people to help with customs. ------ CK ------

King Kong, Best of luck with your trip, and I hope to be hearing in a couple of weeks that you have returned to the USA with your fiancee!!!! ----- Clifford -----

haha.. well, then I make this one constantly. I was never very good with French, anyhow.. Ok, Both versions seem to be accepted by the dictionary. Which is "correct"? Does it make any difference? (of course, with the proper accents). ---- CK ---- fiance is male; fiancee is female. I am surprised the INS doesn't use this as a reason to write RFE's. Think of how many they could write, Any man sponsoring a fiancé (except for Boston) ---> immediate RFE If he forgets the accent (finacee) ---> RFE Gets the accent on the wrong letter (fianceé) ---> RFE Makes the accent in the wrong direction (fiancèe) ---> RFE The only applictions that would be accepted would be the "correctly" written fiancée. And, they certainly would have reason to do so as one wouldn't want to have applications that were ambiguos about the gender of the fiancé(e). ----- Clifford -----

Louis, Have a wonderful trip, and bring back many pictures!!! ----- Clifford -----

haha.. well, then I make this one constantly. I was never very good with French, anyhow.. Ok, Both versions seem to be accepted by the dictionary. Which is "correct"? Does it make any difference? (of course, with the proper accents). ---- CK ----

King Kong, Yes, consulting a lawyer might help. I have read that often cases receive a "RFE" (request for evidence). Early in the process, it can be done because of little things like putting in N/A for names of previous spouses. At the time of the interview, you can also receive a "RFE". These are generally for two reasons. Not having the correct forms, or needing to prove the legitimacy of the relationship. Typically if you ask, the consulate will tell you what would be required to demonstrate that you have a legitimate relationship. Have you been back to China since filling out the I-129 nearly a year ago? How are your Fiancée's English skills? Your Chinese Skills? How do you talk? On rare occasions, the consulate has asked for evidence of the ability to communicate. This can be in the form of a short video of the two of you talking, or of you reading and writing Chinese. Apparently, in the past, at least one person has been able to explain to the satisfaction of the interviewer why his knowledge of Chinese was irrelevant (3rd or 4th hand story). The couple was able to receive the visa without the video. If you haven't been back to China for a while, book a flight back there. Plan on spending a few weeks together. Bring a video camera with some tape. No, they probably don't want bedroom tapes….. . What you need is a video of you and your fiancée sitting down drinking tea and talking about anything you find of mutual interest (and, not overly staged). This is a moment when a human interpreter would not be good. However, you could always use the aid of an electronic interpreter. See if you can schedule an appointment to meet with someone at the Embassy together. If your fiancée's language skills are poor, outline a plan to improve them. Have some ESL (English as a Second Language) courses picked out and have the information with you. And, of course, you have to demonstrate that you have maintained a relationship over the last year. Print out a mound of e-mail. Look for phone records, and etc. Best of Luck in a very trying time, Clifford

Mark, Well, another speedbump in the road. I sounds like you are getting back on track. Is there any real difference between the different financial forms? I-134, I-864, I-863-A? It would seem like in some cases the INS could continue to process what they have and ask for clarifications before the actual visa is issued... But, of course, that would make sense. Good luck and best wishes, Clifford

Should the US Government be in a situation where they judge the validity of a relationship (by "paper" standards), and based on that choose to deliberately sabotage certain relationships? ----- Clifford -----

Ok, Dell makes all of their computers in China. What is the purpose of a value added tax? Is it because it is a US company selling Chinese products? Is it just a high sales tax? ----- CK -----

My recent discussion about phones sparked a lively discussion that should be added to the archive: http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=4514

Oh, I had a good idea. I think we should judge the relationships by the size of the rock on her finger. The wait should be inversly proportional to the size of the rock. If the rock is bigger than the finger.... Well, it should be the same as having a visa. One should be able to show the rock, and walk onto the plane.... and on down from there. 1/4 ct..... Well, that is looking at a year, at least. Cubic Zirconium..... Worse than lying on the application!!!! no rock..... BAD NEWS!!! ----- Clifford -----

I certainly believe that those that have been married for 2+ years (and have been together for "most" of that time) should get some special treatment. In fact, I would think that those that have had a marriage that has endured for 2+ years should be able to get a visa within 24 hrs barring some significant risk to the USA. I.E. If you married a 30 year old Iraqi man, perhaps the wait could be a couple of weeks. Otherwise it is very difficult to quantify a relationship. If one person met their loved one in a bar in Beijing, got drunk that night, one thing followed another and they were EXPECTED to get married...... Does that make their relationship any more valid than mine? I met my fiancée on the internet. We started writing because we shared many common interests. Some of the little things really make her special. "Knew each other intimately before marriage"…. What does that mean? I thought it was considered immoral by Catholics and many other religions to "Know each other intimately before marriage"….. Maybe that brings us back to the idea of a drunken couple that were expected to get married because of their actions in a drunken stupor…. Yep, that qualifies. Staged Pictures???? Ok, we have 2 people and 1 camera…. How does one get both people in the pictures (to show that we are together as well as just having fun) without "staging" them? I think this brings us back to the question of quantifying a relationship. We can put two couples next to each other. If we have a paper checklist to quantify a relationship, everyone will fail on some points, and win on other points…… Well, that would be everyone except for my parents who are one of the rare American couples that lived in the same small town, met in high school, birthdays 10 days apart, waited until college to get married, have now been together for over 40 years now. Everything is shared in their lives. But, most international relationships are not like that. There can be age differences, income differences, (weight differences), language barriers, and a host of other things that could look bad on paper, yet not have any bearing on the ultimate outcome in the relationship. I would hope that most relationships would grow over time. Many things can even change in the year and a half between sending in the intial application to BCIS and hopefully receiving the visa. That is a good one….. What does that mean? I can just envision the interviewers at the consulate with their romance scale…… Unfortunately, perhaps I don't have a romantic bone in my body!!!!! Does that mean that there is any less love? That I can't share spectacular beauty beyond imagination? Relationship scores belong in Cosmo magazine, and not in the US Government. The job of the US Government is to protect the people. If there is no (apparent) risk to the US population as a whole and the relationship meets general basic guidelines, then there should be no other concerns by our government. ----- Clifford -----

Well, I tried calling Janice Jacob's office today. I got a receptionist. I explained that I was having significant problems with my visa application and needed help. She said "sure", then I heard a click, and suddenly found myself listening to the standard DOS greeting message. I realize that those of us with "problems" are a hassle to deal with. But, if the immigration process was streamlined, and if the government had better communication, then there wouldn't be so many people calling to ask for help. Thank you all who send me ideas and leads. I will be following up on then soon. ----- Clifford -----

I was browsing the Candle, and found some "HOT LINKS" http://www.foia.state.gov/MMS/OrgDirectory...OrgDir.asp?ID=1 http://foia.state.gov/MMS/OrgDirectory/Org...rgDir.asp?ID=27 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=2603 Colin Powell, Secretary of State 202-647-5291 Maura Harty, Assistant Secretary of Bureau of Consular Affairs, 202-647-9576 Janice Jacobs, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services, 202-647-9584, Fax - (202) 663-1083 (I think). Anyway, I had read earlier that some Candle Members had sent a note to Colin Powell, and actually got a personalized response from Maura Harty. But, I think that was in reference to the thousands of cases that were stuck earlier, not just a single individual. However, would Colin Powell, Maura Harty, or Janice Jacobs look at individual cases, or just trends? Thanks, ----- Clifford -----

Most universities have residency requirements so she wouldn't be able to necessarily just come to an undergraduate college and take a few classes to finish. They may also have some other "core" requirements (i.e. it would take at least a year to finish here in the USA). Perhaps US Business wouldn't like a Chinese Business degree. But with the undergraduate degree in business (assuming it is equivalent to a 4-year bachelor's degree), she could easily apply to an MBA program. Most MBA programs will even accept students from other undergraduate disciplines. If she completed an MBA program in the USA, nobody would care where she did her undergraduate studies. ----- Clifford -----

Hey Don, Calm down..... Move away from that delete button.... So far, I think everyone has been able to express their own opinions rather civilly. Ok, so some people like old presidents with lots of hair dye.... Some don't. I actually find the discussion quite interesting. Each person sees a different perspective. Yes, I do believe that there is a certain amount of "Momentum" in the economy. If I remember right, there were major economic issues under Bush-1. However, by the time Clinton took office, the economy was running away from him (probably caused by something late in Bush-1's term). It is likely that the economy was already crashing when Bush-2 took office. And, more than likely, the economy will be booming early in the next presidential term, no matter who is in office. And, 9/11 would have happened no matter who was president. Who was in office when the terrorists had enrolled in flight school here in the USA? Although I would definately rank FDR in the top half dozen presidents from the last 2 centuries, he was also the father of the tremendous growth of the federal government in the last half century, as well as the father of the budget deficit and the National Debt. Everythign good, and everything bad with Social Security was also invented during his administration. ----- Clifford -----

Clifford, I was going to make a joke about your question but.... OK, I'll answer it for him: The short answer to your question is no you silly fool. That is why it is so hard to find ballpoint pens in China! The long answer is yes, but: You cannot properly write Chinese characters with a ball point pen. The Chinese script was developed to be written with a pointed brush. A brush allows you to vary the width of the stroke by lifting the brush away from the paper. Unless you are using soft paper this effect is difficult to achieve with a ball point pen. It's like writing in Akkadian with a pencil. You can do it, but a #2 pencil is not the best tool for pressing symbols into wet clay. Same with Chinese (except for early Shang(?) dynasty script). By using a ballpoint pen you are able to make a decent imitation of the serifs. Replicating the varied stroke widths of the script as written for the past thousand years or 2 is nigh impossible. That is kind of what I thought. I had friends in college who were studying Chinese (sorry, not myself). Actually, if I remember right, he liked writing on the chalk board sometimes. I found it very interesting that not only was the type of writing instrument important, but the direction of each stroke in the character was also vital. Too much for me, I couldn't imagine someone trying to read anything I wrote in Chinese. I have enough problems writing in English. Cyrillic pushes me to the limit. So, If you were picking out (or making) a special pen to give a Chinese person, what kind of instrument would you get (short of buying a set of pointed paint brushes which sound a bit messy). ----- Clifford -----

Hey, I think you all forgot what this forum was all about. Nixon ended the Vietnam war. and I believe that he reopend China to US diplomatic relations. I believe that he was the first president to visit China since WWII. Without him, none of you would be here today. If he hadn't had a lapse of judgement in campaign policy (which was completely unnecessary), then he would be one of the great presidents of last century. As far as Reagan, True to the Republican ideals, he was very good at reducing taxes and increasing spending. Our National Debt increased to levels beyond anyone's wildest imagination. http://www.lafn.org/politics/gvdc/Natl_Debts_Chart.GIF (Budget Deficit) ------ Clifford ------

Carl, I love the idea of a handmade pen. It is small and easy to carry. But, most of all, it is something special from YOU. Such a gift also tells a little about who you are. Woodworking and crafts are important to you and your life. I would anticipate that they would cherish this much more than something from an airport gift shop!!! For Christmas presents, (in the USA), I make about half of the ones that I give away. The other half, I try to look for something "special" throughout the year. Of course, it is possible that the Chinese are different, but I would think that a homemade pen would be cherished for the rest of their lives. Hmmm, Maybe, there was a little snafu though. What did you put inside of the pen? Do the Chinese use ball point pens? Can you write Chinese carracters with ball point pens? I would think that the next one you make should be a very nice fountain pen. ----- Clifford ------

Eric, I have been wondering what happened to you as I haven't seen your name pop up for a while. Perhaps there is nothing new here. Some people's applications are moving along at a pretty good pace (relatively speaking). Others are going quite slowly. Advanced Parole has been a hot topic lately. A while ago I happened across your story about an AP application and a trip to Europe. Pretty amazing. Welcome Back, ------ Clifford ------

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't imagine the mix of joy and relief that both of you felt. :lol: Best wishes for a happy future TOGETHER in the USA. ----- Clifford ------

What an interesting web site. I had thought that there were slightly more women than men in the under 65 category, but according to that web site, that isn't true in most nations. Saudi Arabia had some the most disturbing M/F statistics that I had seen anywhere. For every 13 men, there are only 10 women!!!! at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.37 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.29 male(s)/female total population: 1.22 male(s)/female (2003 est.) I think the reason for the extreme shift in Saudi Arabia is employment in the oil fields. Add that with the legal polygamy (I think), and it definately wouldn't be a good nation to look for dates. Mexico, on the other hand fared a little better. at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) I would wonder if that population shift seen in Mexico has to do with male workers migrating to other countries (USA).

Bryan, I guess there are several ways to insert a hyperlink. I just surf to the page I want to hyperlink to. I then hilight the entire address line. On a PC computer, Ctrl-C will copy the line. Then I paste the whole line into the message (using Ctrl-V). This would include the http:// portion. The prompt and the actual hyperlink are then the same. You can use your method if you want to make the hyperlink and the prompt different (as blsqueaky just did).

What a creul twist of fate. Aborting the girls and keeping to boys in order to "preserve the family name" while at the same time condemming the sons to bachelorhood and killing off the entire family line. Of course, the answer to the population shift is to build an army and send them off to war!!! ----- CK -----

I have heard of similar concerns. Modern medicine allows us to determine the sex of children, and selectively abort fetuses for any reason including being a different sex than desired. And, of course, women seem to be leaving China in higher numbers than men with international dating. It is possible that such a shift in populations will occur that the status of women and family roles in the country might change. No longer will bride's families be expected to pay dowries, and no longer will infant girls be aborted (or put up for international adoption). What is the opposite to polygamy? 1 wife, multiple husbands? ----- Clifford -----