jkobman

GOOD LUCK!!!

Sarah bought a traditional dress in Nanjing at a very small shop before we came over. We went up a rickety staircase and spoke to some salesperson. It was under $50 and looked great. I saw some with fancy beading, etc for about $150. I recommend that she pkg. it up well as the nasty air in China can stain/discolor the dress. Sarah had to wash it before she wore it.

Getting the P4/interview date sure makes the sun shine a little brighter!! GREAT!!!

GREAT!!!!!

Last time I got the runs in China - the hotel gave me SMECTA (smectite powder), which they have at the "pill stores." It'll stop the runs, it works. They also gave me something that was like alka-seltzer, and it worked. Broke the fever and I felt better. HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER!

chicken hands = chicken claw eggo = cooked egg

What hotel are you staying at? Best wishes!

I have flow China Eastern LAX -> Beijing 2 times. Both flights were good. I flew United, Dulles -> SFO -> Shanghai, twice. I actually good experiences on United. Food was OK, good service. The plane was sold out, but it was a good flight. I think China Eastern costs more $

hahahahahahahhahahahahahha Does the new element have an atomic number?

I saw a "Chicago Oxen" gym bag in Beiging - it was supposed to be Chicago Bulls. So much for knock-offs! I wish I'd bought it!

I am not sure if contacting your US Rep. or your US Sen. makes any real difference, but the contact sheet and/or letterhead goes into your folder which GZ has/gets. So, your interest is kept track of............ does it make any difference? Maybe yes, maybe no.

...or list your PO Box on your paperwork and an addendum letter explainging the PO/Street address issue. I put several "addendum to 129-F" sheets in my appl., put a header on all of them with her and my name.

Phil, Sarah's birth cert from the Notary was just like you described. It went through GZ just fine.

Copies should be OK because computer generated forms (PDF) are OK. If you are copying them overseas, be sure they are 8.5x11? - that size has some "name" - Chinese copies are longer, probably 8.5x12" - a good copy place (particularly one who does US Govt crap) will know this - particularly in GZ (where the cottage-industry is "I help you with Immigration forms"). I had to trim of excess paper off of copied forms. I am not sure it was critical, but Sarah asked, "honey, why is this paper bigger?" Soooo, trimtrimtrim.

Hey Mark The guy at the Citizen Sevices was polite, helpful and seemed to be in the know. Some of the complaints might have filtered to the powers that be at State. I kept wondering who he reminded me of - I think it was Bob Saggett from America's Funniest Videos, or whatever it's called. I asked him several times if he could help me clarify this or that. As helpful as he was, I think that the DOS people can do little. BUT, I think the Immigrant Visa Unit might be under the juridiction of Homeland Security, so that's why there are delays, rejections, etc. which we all know (from personal experience) are frustrating to the max! I ended up going into the US Citizens Unit so often that the security guys at the front door and the glass enclosed checkpoint got to know me. The guy even had no problem spelling my name! When I got upstairs, I kept telling him we got to know each other so well I was going to make him a t-shirt with my picture with the words "THORN IN THE FLESH" printed on it. He laughed. AFter Sarah got her visa, I went up and thanked him for all of his help and good words - I was so happy that I was probably crying. He genuinely seemed to care. Whoever hired him and assigned him to that position had their head on straight. He helped a lot of people when I was there. He is a good guy. If he reads this, I hope he knows how thankful I am. Anyways, Sarah and Xiao Xiao are here and I am thankful!! Jeff

Dave I think you and BY might have the record. I think Darrell and his fiancee turned the P3 around in 1 day. Sarah in about 3 days! I feel strongly that getting the paperwork back to GZ quickly and in the queue makes a really big difference. GREAT!

Sarah and Xiao got their shots in GZ. It seemd to make sense - one less thing to do and possibly less $. It seemed to make more sense. I will know when we start working the AOS process.

I was in GZ when al of this came down and had a chance to speak to him very briefly. I hope everything worked through.

Sarah obtained all of her documents through the Notary in her city - Nanjing. What she will have to do to correct her inconsistent DOB is hard to say. All I know was the documents were costly - even by US stds. But, they were fairly prompt in preparing/issuing the documents.

I went to all banks, got a statement on letterhead and notarized. I asked for 3 notarized originals. I copied tax return (for past yr.) and ordered an IRS transcript for 3 yrs, prior. I contacted the 2 stocks I have and again, got a notarized letter. I contacted my employer and got a letter, with the school board seal. I also sent a photocopy of my 2004-05 teaching contract. I wrote a "table of contents" as a cover letter, explaining what was in the packet in addition to the I134 - documents to support the form. Also, I assembled the packet with a ACCO fasterner. If they wanted a blood sample, I would have had the blood drawn, bottled it up and gotten it friggin' notarized. I would get a notary seal (raised seal, of course) on my forehead if it would help. "Gee sir, that sure is a fine notary seal on your forehead - visa approved!!". IF they want this, also give them that, that, that, that...and yes, THAT too. http://selfstamps.com/selfstampsimages/newnotaryseals/fsmall.gif

...and WELCOME!!!!!

That's right - take several copies of the documents you will complete in China. I could not find a computer in Nanjing w/ Adobe Acrobat and therefore could not download the dox. I took a bunch of dox and tossed out the ones I did not need. You can get translated dox in China at the Notary. I think it was 1-2 days service in Nanjing. Maybe cheaper in China. The documents passes muster in GZ. We sat at Sarah's table and completed the documents - make time to do it. I was extra careful and it took a few hours to get everything done. I filed 2 days after I arrived home in the US. I sent the dox via registered, but think FedEx would have been better. I mainly wanted a signature showing receipt of the dox. I think FedEx is OK. Make sure you check list os OK. You will be busy (I was out of my mind!) when you are in China. Your checklist will help. I organized my 129F document with a cover letter, a header on all evidence of relationship documents (Joe Blow and Mei Lin - Fiancee Visa Petition - 129F documents), I photocopied everything 4 times, sent one to Govt, one to Sarah, and kept copies. I took all of my copies to GZ as a safety measure. A also tabbed everything and ACCO punched it (like a legal document). Staples, Office Depot, et al have ACCO fasteners. ASk the others about organizing dox. I got the ideas from them. I will try to go back through my 129 packet and list what I put in. YOU GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It will help to know if they were denials or a "we want a tape" or.... The Consular Office in the US Citizen section said that they are concerned about fraud (women coming to US to get a green card). I think they are issuing denials for this reason. Also, he said that many of the blue slips are not a "no", but a request for a tape, etc. I think he said that you have up to one year to resolve this. He said that the "no" is not a hard "no", but something that can possibly be resolved.

RE - 2008 Olympic caps and shirts Are available at the junk stores outside the White Swan in GZ - the merchandise might also be junk too. 15 RMB for a cap.

It's pretty strange to see the variance in days between P3 -> P4. But, it looks like there was a time when the paperwork cycle was really moving fast. Thanks for doing this! J