Charlotte

DOS info line also confirmed that my daughter's visa issued on 2/18. I can plan for her arrival now. Will keep all of you posted on what she actually receives, EMS or PMS (Pony Mail Service), just have to be patient!!! All of you, should be soon for you too!!!

Thank you all, Will keep you updated! Based on other threads, small towns get EMS; big cities get regular mail? But who knows!

PJ, I am really sorry for this happening to you.

You must be sending an email in HTML or Richtext format, try using plain text without any formatting. It seems they are limiting the email size of 1 KB... Jennifer, Most US business email gateway is under 5K, like my company. Some are even smaller. Try to reduce your mail size under 1K and resend it.

The girls on 001 did get through -- all they did is keeping trying until through. I often see them posting about talking to GZ info line....

She needs to wait for the notice for interview and most likely she will get the visa if she is approved the same day. You may want to inquire about her interview date from GZ than anywhere else.

One thing I have to add to this postal service in China is that if it is not more, it is certainly as reliable as it is in the US. Chinese take postal service very seriously. My 13 years of correspondence between China and here never got lost. Although they did not have the kind of privacy as most Americans enjoy here, in my opinion, whether it is regular or EMS, it is more of a matter of time than dependability. For those who live in a relatively nice size city, you should not worry too much. If your fiancee lives in a rural area, you may need to contact GZ to confirm the mailing, just in case.

You probably got this lady called Jenette, who does not want case # and takes forever to look up something. Obviously there is no cross-training in this look up deal -- don't know they function. Your best bet is to call back hoping to get a different person, good luck.

I am holding my breath and waiting for my daughter to call me. Here is a reply from CA to my yesterday's inquiry: Dear Ms. XXX I'm pleased to be able to inform you that, according to our records, the visa was issued yesterday. Can this be interpreted as notice mailed? I don't know! I don't have high hopes any more if I don't want to be disappointed. I will keep you updated on the progress. If they mailed on 2/17, I may hear something tomorrow or during the weekend -- thank God --Chinese postal service works on Sundays!

The problem is regular mail goes by the distance of the two locations. China does not use airmail for all letter mail. They use railroad. Nanjing is a big city; the service is not too slow. Shanghai is no problem, either -- a letter from Shanghai to PA only takes 7 days -- regular mail. The rule of thumb in China is -- where there is no direct flight or train route, there is a problem!!! After waiting so long, we need guranteed timely delivery, not another uncertainty!!! agreed ! We certainly need no more "what ifs" or " Geez, I wonder" crap.. I don't think they "pick" on Augusters frankly.. I think those snail-mails went completely at random again...What's new huh. Charlotte. Has GZ confirmed they show your case "cleared" in their computer btw? I have not heard anything from GZ so far. The regualr mail business worries me even more!

The problem is regular mail goes by the distance of the two locations. China does not use airmail for all letter mail. They use railroad. Nanjing is a big city; the service is not too slow. Shanghai is no problem, either -- a letter from Shanghai to PA only takes 7 days -- regular mail. The rule of thumb in China is -- where there is no direct flight or train route, there is a problem!!! After waiting so long, we need guranteed timely delivery, not another uncertainty!!!

If any of your ladies need steel toed shoes, I have several pairs to spare -- one size fit all type

A girl at 001 received regular mail notice for visa pick up as of this moment ( China time Wed morning). Postmark is on 2/13. She is from Nanjing. The notice uses the envelope she filled out in Aug. Here you go again: some EMS, some regular mail -- another random incident!!!

Filling out an envelope only means that they want to send the notice where the applicants designate to --- it does not mean they have to use that envelope per se. They can still use EMS using your envelope address. I see no conflict between the having the envelope filled out and sending the EMS. They just want to be sure they will send the notice to the place you want them to -- either via EMS or regular mail. Of course this is redundent work, but again what you say --- it is Gov't!!!

Guys, before we all get excited about this regular mail business, can we some facts here from Kaige? We need to find out where his lady lives in China, what is the postmark date? These are all important info as to how we will approach GZ. GZ should realize that using regular mail in those bulk mailing will cause delays and loss of mails. They are asking for more phone calls and emails this way -- this contradicts with what they posted on the webpage!!! Where is Kaige -- can he find more details about the notification letter?

Restaurant ones are very nice. But I don't think it is practical at home to have the table sitting there all summer long -- unless you have a special room for it. I don't know you want to use it in the states or in China -- either way, you may buy a high Watts electric pan. I do that all the time at home. It is nice in winter to do so without too much cooking involved, very healthy too.

No, Jon, I don't see any problem with legal Chinese name and English nickname. In fact I went by Charlotte the first 7 years I was here until I became a US citizen. Since I don't like my Chinese name too much -- sounded like a boy-- and difficult to pronounce -- it is not too much of a debate for me. Some Chinese names are very nice to keep. I would rather say this should be a personal preference. Name change does not affect anything in the future. All she needs is some document stating the name change. Keep her old passport if necessary. She can still conduct her China business with her Chinese Passport as long as it is valid. Once she has the US passport, she just has to save an extra piece of paper work all the time. Every now and then, I still need to send a copy of my name change to some agency, etc. So far, no complications.

If you want to change your first name, I would still prefer to pick an English name that sounds close to the Chinese name -- not in my case -- To answer Rob's question: I picked the "C" in my English class, my professor gave me Charlotte. I did not know better then. Xi is my last name and now I keep it as my middle name.

Changing last name only requires your marriage certificate. For SSN name change, you may want to submit a ceritfied copy. It does not hurt to get several certified copies from the court house when you get married for your immigration process and future name change references. Since my name is almost a full name change, I only gave them a copy of the INS name change document they sent me. To avoid confusion: it is advisable to put a comma next your last name and then first name, i.e. Yao, Min. It is difficult for Americans to figure out the what you last name is when you forget to write family name last. Yes, it is legal - I was even tempted to use Xi-Klein as my married name then. Hope this answers your questions.

Someone asked me about name change; I think I might answer it on board since visa news is a little slow these days. My first 5 years of marriage was in my maiden/Chinese name. When I became a US citizen, I became Charlotte legally and took my husband’s last name. The reason I took his name is because: 1. he is old-fashioned type, although he did not insist on it, I knew he would like it. 2. several secretaries at my workplace greeted him “Mr. Xi” when he called. 3. my Chinese name is a very funny game for Americans to pronounce. Many times I did not recognize my name when my professors tried to call my name – pretty good idea not changing name then – they usually left me alone in class. My personal views on this after being both ways for some times: Pros: · it is nice to have one family name, less confusing to friends, relatives, and employment. · Especially for people who are going to have kids together, there will be less confusion to teachers or TPA meetings. · Last but not least: do as the Romans do! Cons: · Being a Chinese all my life, kind of losing my self-identity although I kept my middle name. I have many Americans ask me my Chinese name; after several tries, they would give up and say : oh I would prefer “ Charlotte” (which was given by my English professor in my college days in Shanghai). · Confusion to my old family/friends in China -- have to print labels for them to correspond to me · A lot of hassle to get all documents changed · cost money if you want your first name changed too, but can be avoided if you want until your citizenship approval – you can change free of charge My personal opinion on this is: You may need to think hard and respect each other about the last name change. It is important to some people, not to others, since most of you are not as old-fashioned. As to your first name, if you have a very easy to pronounce Chinese name, no English name necessary. Be prepared the Americans say your names in a VERY American way. Chinese name: American would make it sound like Gao Wei --------- Way Gaio Gao Long Long --------- Lang Lang Gaio Wang Hai Bo --------- Hi bow Wan Some of the easy-to-say names: Min, ling, Li, Fan, Yan. If your first name starts with: Zh, Chi, Z, C, Q, X -- good luck to you! In a word, I am glad I changed my name; I have saved all the would-be pain and sufferings for my American friends here to struggle with my Chinese name and at the same time pleased my husband after 4 years of marriage.

I will give it to Friday, 2/21, by which time if none of the CA cleared names gets EMS, we have got a problem again -- Mick - you may need to glue back your shaved-off beard and march back to GZ

Don, thank you for your encouragement. I will consider you suggestion when I get the chance. As a matter of fact, I would write something about some conflicts of views/customs on the same subject in both cultures, i.e. greetings, table manners, social gatherings,etc. I will probably do it in English since most girls on 001 would be able to read English, just having trouble translating for their GGs in a more idiomatic way. I will do my best. I am waiting for this clearance is all over and when everyone is safe and sound here we will have time to deal with day to day life then. Incidentally I got caught in this mess for my daughter's visa, but for some reason, I feel for the crowds on both boards. Maybe it is because I am in the path that most of you will be on very soon. My time is just ten years ahead of all of you. For the fun of it, here is my timeline ten years ago: Marriage: 8/17/92 First application at INS in Dallas: 8/18/92 CR-1 visa - 10/17/92 - interview/approval and conditional green card in the mail. IR-1 visa interview 8/19/1994 and approved -- green card (actually pink) in the mail US citizen swear-in ceremony -- Oct 1996 How time has changed !!! -- our gov't gets really more efficient with more budget deficit. :angry PS: I came to US as a graduate student in 1989 and met my hubby on campus -- swear I did not take any credit courses from him, no requirement in my course plan

I've found it to be a mixed blessing. Personally, I find it very interesting to get a 'look' into the Chinese phsyche. On the other hand, my lady has read some things there AND INSISTED that I do some things for her interview that I know are not needed or desired. What the hell? Like Candle, there is wheat and chaff (and we know who the chaff is). But there is a gob of good info and commraderie on both sites. My lady posts very infrequently on 001 and only lurks here to see what I am up to. I still see it as two sides of the same coin...the difference is your native language and which side of the Pacific you are waiting on. They do complain about their American GG on 001. Sometimes, I mean, sometimes I can understand. Give my 2 cents here since I am a bilingual (not certified by any professional org, ) and surf both boards daily too. I started reading 001 for updates on visa pickups since they are 13 hours ahead of EST here. Although I never post there, I can see they feel the same frustration and worries like CDL here. They regard CDL highly. Nothing they say is really detrimental to any relationship or bad-mouthing any GGs. You may consider it a mere girl-to-girl talk forum. The board serves as an emotional outlet as well as a information center of visa application process. Unless you are totally fluent in Chinese, you can't really get the sense and feel of what they really meant in their messages. So reading it or not is totally up to you, but don't try to figure out what they meant I will be more than willing to help if you want to interpret certain messages on 001. If your sweetie does not read English like you do, 001 is a still a better place to kill time rather than sitting there waiting for "heavenly visa" to fall on her!!!

Unfortunately, I think the answer to both is: No way to tell. If anyone has any specific info on this, please post. Especially regarding the August cases. When I was at GZ in Aug, I was told they interview 100/day. Given avg. 20 workdays/month, 2000 interviews/month, which ties to Adams 10000 backlog theory -- while some were issued, most have not -- go figure!

For K visas-non-immigration, they have to print the visas on the passports, but for the real immigration visas, no stamp printing --- they will get big, sealed envelopes from the GZ to hand in at the port of entry, the passports will only work as IDs at GZ to pick up their visas.