keelec

I wouldn't be surprised if one airline charged less than $1000 for a trip, and another charged over $3000 for the same trip and same class. My last trip to Russia, I had a heck of a time finding "reasonable" plane tickets. I paid about $1000, but most other tickets I could find were $2K to $3K. I am always amazed by the variability of the airline prices. I think there are several factors that influence the price: 1) Airline 2) How full they expect the flight to be (causing lots of price fluctuations) 3) Essentially a 2 hop flight should be proportional in cost of each hop. Thus a flight from USA to Japan to China might cost somewhat similar to a flight from the USA to Japan and another flight from Japan to China. 4) Code sharing may save money.... Allow one airline to book flights through on other airlines. COMPETITION & SERVICES...... Up to recently I would almost always fly St. Lous to Portland via AA because they had a non-stop flight..... Now that they no longer offer a non-stop flight, there is no reason for staying with the airline, and thus the playing field has suddenly been leveled and AA may have lost customers. Of course, everything is supply and demand.... Filling up the seats pays for the trip.... Empty seats cost money..... And, filling up all seats at $600 when they could have been sold for $1000 costs money. ----- Clifford ------

Robert, Now that is interesting..... You can have 2 different Avitars..... Your old lion, and the new photo. http://candleforlove.com/forums/uploads/av-51.gif http://candleforlove.com/forums/uploads/av-51.jpg (jpg vs gif). I do like the "new" standard of putting the faces on the system, although I must admit that I will miss the old lion..... Hmmm, now this opens up some "new" possibilities ------ Clifford ------

Robert S., Yes, "HUGE Photos" would waste a lot of space. But, the Candle doesn't host any of the photos. The only photos that actually reside on the Candle are the 40 or so built-in smilies, the Candle, a couple of chinese characters in the header, and a few navigation buttons. The "Avitars" also reside on the Candle. When I put mine in, it suggested 64 pixels x 64 pixels.... Actually, I think you have been breaking the rules.... yours is 102 x 116 pixels.... And pretty large at 11 KB too But in reality, even 600 or so avitars at 10 KB each comprises of only 6 MB or so which is very little. I haven't checked to see whether the system would allow a 10MB Avitar, but I assume that PJ watches that. There is only one copy of the avitars that is linked to in all the posts so that really doesn't take up much space either. Hmmm, What did you do to your avitar which is still on the system, just hidden a bit?????? http://candleforlove.com/forums/uploads/av-51.gif One of the things that I think adds up the most is the "QUOTE" function that can allow people to easily repeat HUGE amounts of text. But, that is still just text. ----- Clifford ------

Oh, There was also a discussion about Chinese/American dual citizenship earlier...... There may be advantages for the child to have both US Passports and Chinese Passports, especially for ease of visiting relatives and grandparents. ----- CK ----- Here are the notes on: http://travel.state.gov/china.html ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: A valid passport and visa are required to enter China. Americans arriving without valid passports and the appropriate Chinese visa are not permitted to enter and will be subject to a fine and immediate deportation at the traveler's expense. Travelers should not rely on Chinese host organizations claiming to be able to arrange a visa upon arrival. Visas are required to transit China. Persons transiting China on the way to and from Mongolia or North Korea or who plan to re-enter from the Hong Kong or Macau Special Administrative Regions should be sure to obtain visas allowing multiple entries. Permits are required to visit Tibet as well as many remote areas not normally open to foreigners. For information about landing visa requirements and other entry requirements and restricted areas, travelers may consult the Embassy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) at 2300 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008, or telephone (1-202) 328-2500, 2501 or 2502. For a list of services and frequently asked visa questions and answers, travelers can view the Chinese Embassy's web sites at http://www.china-embassy.org/, or visa@china-embassy.org. There are Chinese Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. Americans traveling in Asia have been able to obtain visas to enter China from the Chinese visa office in Hong Kong and the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Seoul, South Korea. Americans who overstay or otherwise violate the terms of their Chinese visas will be subject to fines and departure delays and may be subject to detention. Travelers should note that international flights departing China are routinely overbooked, making reconfirmation of departure reservations and early airport check-in essential. Passengers must pay a RMB 90 airport user fee (approximately $11 US) when departing China on international flights and RMB 50 airport fee (approximately US $6.10) for all domestic flights. In an effort to prevent international child abduction, many governments have initiated new procedures at entry / exit points. These often include requiring documentary evidence of relationship and permission for the child’s travel from the parent(s) or legal guardian if they are not present. Having such documentation on hand, even if not required, may facilitate entry/departure. DUAL NATIONALITY: China does not recognize dual nationality. Some U.S. citizens who are also Chinese nationals (mostly U.S.-born children of Chinese nationals or Legal Permanent Residents) have experienced difficulty entering and departing China on U.S. passports. In some cases, such dual nationals are required to use Chinese travel documents to depart China. Normally this causes inconvenience but no significant problems for affected persons; however, in child custody disputes, the ability of dual national children to depart from China could be affected. Chinese "Travel Permits" (Luxingzheng) are usually issued to U.S. citizen children of Chinese citizens in lieu of a visa. These documents are essentially one-way permits that allow entry into China, but do not permit the holder to depart. Persons holding Chinese "Travel Permits" are regarded as Chinese citizens by Chinese authorities. In addition to being subject to all Chinese laws, dual nationals may also be subject to other laws that impose special obligations on Chinese citizens. In some cases, such dual nationals are required to use Chinese documentation to enter China, in which case U.S. consular access and protection will be denied. Dual nationals who enter and depart China using a U.S. passport and a valid PRC visa retain the right of U.S. consular access and protection under the U.S.-PRC Consular Convention. The ability of the U.S. Embassy or Consulates General to provide normal consular services would be extremely limited should a dual national enter China on a Chinese or other non-U.S. travel document, including PRC documents issued to persons from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. If one or both parents of a child are PRC nationals who have not permanently settled in another country, then China regards the child as a PRC national and does not recognize any other citizenship the child may acquire at birth, including U.S. citizenship. This is true regardless of where the child is born. Such children are required to enter and depart China on PRC travel documents. Although Chinese consulates have frequently issued visas to such individuals in error, they are treated solely as PRC nationals by Chinese authorities when in China. Specific questions on dual nationality may be directed to the Office of Overseas Citizens Services, Department of State, Room 4811, Washington, D.C. 20520 or to the U.S. Embassy or one of the U.S. Consulates General in China. For additional information, please see the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov/ for the Dual Nationality flyer.

Well, I am a little confused.... Glad I waited and don't have to deal with all of this stuff....... In this thread, there is a similar situation where a American Father had his child born in China. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=4029 However, he was very worried that the son (Chinese/American) who was living with the mother had to have a Residence permith that had expired. I guess I don't understand why this wouldn't also apply to Sonny. ----- Clifford ----- P.S. I have also heard of some cases where children are allowed to travel without even obtaining a passport of their own.

Just make sure you get them out of China and to the USA before they enter the "Terrible Twos"..... Some can be real terrors!!!!!!!!!! ------ CK ------

Robert, That is the problem with using links to images on other servers...... If anything changes during the life of the post on the candle, things can get disconnected, and the images disappear. Of course, the same thing would do if you decided to dump images to save space on the Candle. I bet we will loose many of Dave's images in a year or so too. ----- Clifford ------

RFE Referred for Evidence (I think). I will look it up later today. Essentially it is a form asking for clarification. I just had to write NONE on the line for previous wives, and send it back in.... pretty simple, but it caused a month delay and LOTS of FRUSTRATION and AGGRIVATION. I used N/A throughout the form, except on a few lines where I wrote (above). The only line that required clarification was the one with previous husbands/wives. If you want to fill out the PDF forms, then e-mail them. The full Version of Adobe Acrobat will allow you to save the forms....The free version will not. You can download a free Acrobat Printing Utility from www.pdf995.com You can fill out the form in Acrobat, then print it using pdf995. That will allow you to print from Acrobat Viewer to an Acrobat file (and thus save your changes). However, you will loose the ability to do further edits. Best of luck for a speedy process ---- Clifford -----

A year old, and could have been written yesterday!!!

ahh, but Clifford I was eluding to the bet you proposed in you previous post. You had mentioned: "I am already at the 90 days Post NVC with still no P3/P4 or interview date from Moscow. (My application left NVC on almost the same date that nitrigon's application arrived). We will see who's application manages to make it to the next step first!!!!!!! " I propose a friendly wager taken to the ultimate goal: The first one of us to hug our finance/wife on US soil with a valid K visa wins. The stakes?? 1) A picture of a homecooked meal (with fiance/wife) posted to the forum. 2) Arrange to have Se Lang's blue thingies reset (lmao) 3) or you decide. Are you up for it? Louis Louis, Hmmm, that would be in interesting wager.... I think (or at least I hope) that I am 3 months ahead of you in the overall process..... I was just wondering who would finish the next step first: -- Louis&Fiancee waiting for NVC Approval (now at 90 days) -- Irina and Myself waiting for the P3/P4 from Moscow (now at 90 days). Don't forget, you still have to wait the 4 to 40 days for the application to be sent from NVC to GZ. Of course, I have heard rumors that Moscow is still using "White Slips".... A thought that terrifies me. I have kind of wondered about the "Yellow" slips (Brown ones too???) Did those begin as "White Slips"..... Only to be used for "emergencies"????? Hmmm, I will have to try to track down some web space and post some pictures sometime soon. Oh, and the real question is whether I will have finished reonvating my kitchen before Irina gets here. ----- Clifford ------ P.S. As far as Se Lang's "blue thingies" being reset.... It came awfully close to that happening a couple of months ago, which is the reason that his start date is not "real", and thus his posts per day are not calculated correctly.

True, Actually, I got back from my first trip to Russia less than a week BEFORE 9/11/2001 I felt awfully lucky that I didn't find myself stranded in the Moscow airport with an expired visa and no place to go. As far as the folly with security stuff. I have laughed about the airline security ever since it was implemented. 1) If one is doing Quality Assurance and the product fails a "Random Spot Check".... What is the response? THROW OUT THE WHOLE BATCH. At the airlines, if a random spot check is failed, they send the one person that they caught back, and continue processing the rest of the people as if nothing had happened. Just think about it..... Try to send 10 terrorists through Airline Security. If one gets caught.... Can they still do the job with the other 9? 2) Do I think I could get more "Lethal" weapons through airport security than the 9/11 terrorists used? YES, 100%. On the news, they publicized that if you drove anywhere near the St. Lous airport in a SUV, you would be stopped and inspected. But, passenger cars were not "inspected", even though most have trunks with nearly as large of capacity as SUV's. Hmmm, didn't the Washington DC Sniper just use a converted passenger car? I don't think they were even checking delivery trucks. Of course, the risks at the airports had nothing to do with what was happening on the ground. It was all a risk of what was happening in the air. But, they still used to stop all SUVs at the St. Louis Airport. Last February, I made a Steel Heart sculpture with a steel Arrow through it (securely welded in place, with a blunt tip) as a wedding gift for my brother. I was stopped by airline security and forced to check the sculpture on the plane. I am sure that the sculpture was less dangerous than the toenail clippers that some people inadvertently carry onto the planes. And, I couldn't imagine how much someone might laugh if I had tried to threaten them with it. Anyway, perhaps the Visa Scrutiny is more for show than anything else.... But, I am sure that it doesn't fool the "real terrorists" for a second. ----- Clifford -----

Hmmm, If you are a Native American Indian (no written language), then perhaps you should put N/A for the question "If your native alphabet is other than roman letters, write your name in your native alphabet here"....... I just left that one blank for my name and copied Irina's name in cyrillic into a GIF file and pasted that in on her application. I don't know about the middle name. I would put whatever is on your passport. If your Passport leaves it blank, then you should leave it blank in your application. I think some cultures (latin america) use a maternial name instead of a middle name, but I never really figured that one out. Just leave N/A on all lines of your fiancee's application EXCEPT THE ONLY LINE THAT "NONE" IS ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED IS THE LINE "NAMES OF FORMER HUSBANDS OR WIVES, IF NONE SO STATE". If your fiancee put in N/A on that line, you MUST fix it. Just put a (none) next to the N/A, either by hand, or typed. Oh, As far as "Legal" forms, NEVER scribble out anything. If you want to get rid of something, either put a single (or double) line through it, and write next to it, or use White-Out and make a 2nd generation photocopy (which then looses the original signature) I think most people just print out all 4 PDF pages of the G-325a. Some people just sent in a single copy and seem to be ok (even though their application is creeping along at the snails pace that every else's application is). However, if you look at the footer on the bottom of the pages, each page is actually different. A handwritten address in chinese would be fine. However, I would try to have it done by a Native Chinese Writer..... At least, I couldn't imagine any characters that I would write. If you can get a typed version, you might be able to cut and paste it on, then photocopy the page before signing. Hmmm, I typed my "original Statements"..... I don't remember anything about not typing it..... If they want to be able to actually read it, they should accept it typed!!!!!!!! :D I had my fiancee write and sign a statement (which she e-mailed to me so that I could proof read it). I did a seperate one. Each of us signed our personal statement. Some users on the Candle used a combined statement. Question 19 suppliment????? I just wrote a 1-liner (with an affirmative response). If the response is negative (you haven't met your fiancee)..... I would be very careful of that one. Hmmm, looking at your picture on the Candle, I would guess that you did actually meet her. Both of us mentioned our "meeting" in our "personal statements" as it was part of our history and our feelings of love. Oh, I was looking back at our application. My Fiancee didn't have a street name or number at her parent's house. I put (none) on that line.

Well, to be fair, there are Russian Terrorists.... Or more accurately, there are terrorists from the Southern Russian Republics like Chechnia (I probably have mispelled that)...... As far as I know, there are NO TERRORISTS from Central Russia or the republic of Mari-El where my Fiancee is from. But, what about our "allies" from Great Britain? Ever heard of British Terrorists? Where is Ireland? Irish Terrorists? I bet you would see something amazing if you ever tried to calculate the terrorist risk per capita in Great Britain and compare it to the terrorist risk per capita in China...... Great Britain: Perhaps 1000 - 5000 terrorists, 59,000,000 people. Risk, 1 terrorist per 59,000 or 0.0017 % up to 1 per 10,000 (0.01%) China: Perhaps 10 "terrorists" and 5000 mostly harmless radical students 1,319,132,500 people. Risk: 1 terrorist per 131,913,250 or 0.00000076% Even if you add in all of the "radical student groups", one's percentages are quite small. And, the students are generally reactionary to a situation, and have little risk outside of that situation. Now, What are the chances that the INS would miss the couple of VERY RARE "terrorists" that might possibly come from China, even if they really exist? Ever hear of "Identity Theft" with respect to credit cards? The same thing has to occur with passports. My guess is that there are only a half a dozen people in this world that the USA would have even a small chance of picking up if they really wanted to enter the USA through "legal" routes. And, those half a dozen people would have absolutely no problem entering the USA through "alternative" routes. Mmmm, perhaps fingerprints will start helping us track certain individuals, but I am not sure if the USA even has the fingerprints for the top 10 most wanted "terrorists". How many TONS of Central American drugs enter the USA every year? How many thousands (or millions) of people manage to make it across the boarders each year? The boarders are so porous, that some people freely come and go multiple times. Any sense of added security from these redundant security checks only demonstrates how much of a folly it all is. ----- Clifford -----

Wow, $500 or $600 to fly to China???? I must be flying in the wrong direction.... I always seem to spend about $1K anywhere I end up going. As far as airlines, the US Airlines are always the ABSOLUTE WORST as far as service. When I flew to Egypt, I went via Turkish Airlines. The leg from USA to Istanbul, they handed out free eye-covers, toothbrushes, and socks (I think I may still have my kit) to ALL PASSENGERS. Meals were served with stainless silverware (and a plastic knife)). Meals were followed with a warm damp washcloth. On the leg from Istanbul to Cairo, they dispensed with the foolishness of giving out a stainless fork, and plastic knife. The whole set was stainless. As far as flying US Airlines, perhaps all of my recent flights have only been 2/3 the way across the country, but it has been years since I have seen any onboard movies. It seems as if the airlines have become so competative on cost that they have forgotten to include any service. If on my next flight to Oregon, I am given a choice of an extra $5-$10 for a flight with a meal versus just peanuts.... Which will I choose? Part of the problem is advertizing. Companies like Travelocity don't compare meals vs peanuts. Sometimes I wonder if the "fare games" that the airlines are always playing hurt them more than anything else. Why can it be more expensive for me to book a flight home to Oregon than to book it to China? How often do 2 people sitting next to each other pay hundreds of dollars of differences in fares? ----- Clifford ------

Yes, it's either 15 or 16, I had that information at one time. However, if you wish to have a very legitimate piece of ID for her when she arrives in America, this works very well. Especially for school registration, vaccination requirements, etc. All of them looked at her passport (with visa inside) and most made photo copies as well. And when leaving it seemed to expedite everything as if you are divorced with children involved, you cannot get a passport for your child unless you have full legal custody (they don't want one parent taking the child out of the country without the other parent's permission if he or she has legal custody. By the way, the information I got regarding this came directly from a judge in China, as we had some difficulties at the beginning of the process with this, and we actually had to go through the Chinese court system to get it resolved! Doesn't this apply to those infant children of American Fathers too? For example Robhon's child? I think there was another child mentioned on the Candle that had a US Passport because of an American Father, but had been in China longer than the visa would technically allow. Couldn't they just enter the USA with the mother (or mother and father), and the birth certificate without ever showing the US Passport (or even letting anybody know that it exists), then get everything else straightened out over the next 10 years in the USA. ----- Clifford -----

Robert S. Actually, the system doesn't allow you to post "Graphics & Photos". It will only allow you to post a link to a picture on someone else's website. Thus, it doesn't really take any extra space..... Dave can post all of the funky smilies and it is ok. To post one, just click on the "IMG" button above your document. Put in the address for the picture. Move the line that it creates in your posting to the place you want the picture. Oh, also, don't forget to use the "Show All" button on the built-in smilies. ----- Clifford -----

I've gotten it figured out..... This is all a cruel experiment to determine tollerable stress levels, and the amount of pain that a person can be subjected to before converting an "Ordinary Citizen" into a "Terrorist"!!!!!!!!! :( :( :ph34r: :ph34r:

Hey Eric, Can you write up a top 10 list of the definitions for "Administrative Processing"......???? Yes, I know the pain from the Administrative Processing Limbo..... Especially when you get the point where almost everyone you know has already passed you up. I still recommend waiting about 1 1/2 months before getting too worried about your application at the NVC. But, after that point, it is time to try to figure out what is happening. And, now that you (natrigon) have passed 3 months, it is time to get your congressman and whoever else involved. I am already at the 90 days Post NVC with still no P3/P4 or interview date from Moscow. (My application left NVC on almost the same date that nitrigon's application arrived). We will see who's application manages to make it to the next step first!!!!!!! I have now passed 11 months in my application process. :( :( I am now anticipating a minimum of 3 more months (or so) to put me at 14 months. I will be thankful when it is over. And, according to my calculations based on NVC numbers, I am already well past the "average" time for P3/P4 applications and quickly passing the average (mode) time between packet arrival in Moscow and INTERVIEW. Hmmm, Why can't the INS use a system where they set a "reasonable" max time for doing each step (maybe 30 days) for each step. Any application that goes over the max would be flagged for immediate priority review without involving congressmen..... Maybe it is a conspiracy..... You would never talk to your congressman without the INS..... Now, if your application gets stuck for a mere 4 months at the NVC, you will think of your congressman as a HERO and will forever be grateful to your congressman that it wasn't more. If we have caseworkers that are getting bored in Vermont waiting for applications to trickle in.... Maybe truck some of the semi-loads of cases from Texas and Nebraska up to Vermont for processing. Perhaps some could be shipped to California for processing too, but they have a reputation of just shredding any extra applications they have just to make their statistics look good ----- Clifford ------

Mick, Find some of the hot posts from Early December and post the links for PJ to archive. I might browse a bit in the next few days, but it is not always best to have the "newbies" looking for info when we have absolutely no idea what the hot topics were a year ago. ----- CK -----

On the first month of my visa application, the INS rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in a treehouses. On the second month of my visa application, the INS sent me 2 e-mails explaining how much additional administrative processing my application needed, and rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in treehouses. On the third month of my visa application, the INS confused my applications with three French fiancée applications, sent me 2 e-mails explaining how much additional administrative processing my application needed, and rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in treehouses. On the fourth month of my visa application, the INS requested four copies of my g325a, confused my application with three French fiancée applications, sent me 2 e-mails explaining how much additional administrative processing my application needed, and rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in treehouses. On the fifth month of my visa application, the INS requested to see the FIVE GOLDEN RINGS given to my fiancée, requested four copies of my g325a, confused my application with three French fiancée applications, sent me 2 e-mails explaining how much additional administrative processing my application needed, and rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in treehouses. On the sixth month of my visa application, the INS explained the six government organizations laying around doing nothing with my application, and requested to see the FIVE GOLDEN RINGS given to my fiancée, requested four copies of my g325a, confused my application with three French fiancée applications, sent me 2 e-mails explaining how much additional administrative processing my application needed, and rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in treehouses. On the seventh month of my visa application, the INS changed their name for the seventh time, explained the six government organizations laying around doing nothing with my application, requested to see the FIVE GOLDEN RINGS given to my fiancée, requested four copies of my g325a, confused my application with three French fiancée applications, sent me 2 e-mails explaining how much additional administrative processing my application needed, and rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in treehouses. On the eighth month of my visa application, the INS confused my fiancée with the eight milking maids, and changed their name for the seventh time, explained the six government organizations laying around doing nothing with my application, requested to see the FIVE GOLDEN RINGS given to my fiancée, requested four copies of my g325a, confused my application with three French fiancée applications, sent me 2 e-mails explaining how much additional administrative processing my application needed, and rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in treehouses. On the ninth month of my visa application, the INS asked how anyone could possibly dance with 9 ladies, confused my fiancée with the eight milking maids, changed their name for the seventh time, explained the six government organizations laying around doing nothing with my application, requested to see the FIVE GOLDEN RINGS given to my fiancée, requested four copies of my g325a, confused my application with three French fiancée applications, sent me 2 e-mails explaining how much additional administrative processing my application needed, and rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in treehouses. On the tenth month of my visa application, the INS let ten leaping lords run off with my visa application, asked how anyone could possibly dance with 9 ladies, confused my fiancée with the eight milking maids, changed their name for the seventh time, explained the six government organizations laying around doing nothing with my application, requested to see the FIVE GOLDEN RINGS given to my fiancée, requested four copies of my g325a, confused my application with three French fiancée applications, sent me 2 e-mails explaining how much additional administrative processing my application needed, and rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in treehouses. On the eleventh month of my visa application, the INS hired 11 pied pipers to get rid of the rats and mice that had eaten my visa application, and they let ten leaping lords run off with my visa application, asked how anyone could possibly dance with 9 ladies, confused my fiancée with the eight milking maids, changed their name for the seventh time, explained the six government organizations laying around doing nothing with my application, requested to see the FIVE GOLDEN RINGS given to my fiancée, requested four copies of my g325a, confused my application with three French fiancée applications, sent me 2 e-mails explaining how much additional administrative processing my application needed, and rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in treehouses. Drum Roll, Drum Roll, on the twelfth month of my visa application, the INS sent my fiancée home with twelve white slips, hired 11 pied pipers to get rid of the rats and mice that had eaten my visa application, let ten leaping lords run off with my visa application, asked how anyone could possibly dance with 9 ladies, confused my fiancée with the eight milking maids, changed their name for the seventh time, explained the six government organizations laying around doing nothing with my application, requested to see the FIVE GOLDEN RINGS given to my fiancée, requested four copies of my g325a, confused my application with three French fiancée applications, sent me 2 e-mails explaining how much additional administrative processing my application needed, and rejected my application for not reporting any ex-wives living in treehouses.

Rohbon, I am glad to hear that you have been having such a fun time in China It sounds like it is best to get everything straightened out now with Sonny as a US Citizen (unless he has problems with needing a Visa to stay in China)???? However, I thought that in some cases a minor child could accompany the parents without a seperate passport. Is that true for coming to the USA? It would have made things so much easier if you could have done it with just an extra stamp in either your passport or your wife's passport. Too bad you couldn't have convinced the INS agent to squeeze in your wife's interview on the same day as your son's interview Best of Luck to you, Clifford

efrazier, Welcome. I hope you find this forum helpful in many ways. At times, it can be a good place to vent your frustrations. Other times it is a good place to share information about the INS process. What a tremendous Story. I just have to wonder about a story like yours. I realize that the INS deals with millions of cases to evaluate every year, but unfortunately, it is all too common to hear of cases being lost or misplaced. Apparently in California in spring 2002, some INS workers were even actively destroying files. Unfortunately, one hardly hears any apology for they pain that they caused you for the extra few months of delay, almost as if their having lost the file was more your fault than theirs. Texas Service Center has been known to be slow, but you have experienced about an extra half a year delay. NVC has been taking about 2 months to finish with the packets, although sometimes it is quicker. Your application will then be sent to China. It can take 4 to 40 days to arrive at the GZ consulate in China. You will then have about 3-5 more months before the interview and the visa is finished in China. Perhaps someone will take pity on you and try to rush the case since it is already so far overdue. Unfortunately, your July 2003 will more likely be July 2004….. But, the wait should be well worth it….. After a slow start, I hope you can get a speedy finish to your paperwork. We will all be rooting for you!!!! :angry: :angry: ----- Clifford ------ P.S. Look into a discount phone service. Domestic rates are dirt cheap, and it is supposed to even be reasonable to call CHINA!!! A couple of the cheapest services that have been mentioned on the forum are: http://www.onesuite.com http://www.bigzoo.com/

Hmmm, Anybody want to try to pull out all of the "good" top 10 lists? Maybe that should be a job for Eric!!!!!!!! I will try to get the "Great Owenkrout Classics" assembled soon. I think PJ was asking for FAQ sheets. I still think some of those should be rewritten from scratch based on user input. ----- Clifford -----

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....ct=ST&f=1&t=466

Problems for Santa, I promise - the last one http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....c2b23e83cc5dcc2