dan_ling

You can also give your wife your passport so she can show that you are there with her for the interview.

I use microsoft essentials, it is free and was recommended from the security staff at work. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials

You just can't teach "STUPID".

Wow, glad we didn't wait. My wife got back from Guilin Saturday and we sent our I-751 out Tuesday. Let the waiting begin!

I also have to say the Yang's were very helpful, they advised my wife to get an EOR from me. They even printed my EOR for my wife to take to the interview as well as walk my wife through the interview process.

The minimum hassle might be to file initially as "married, filing separately", and NOT apply for an ITIN. You would NOT be able to claim the exemption or deduction, but once she arrives, you can file an amended return with filing status "married filing jointly", furnish her SS # once she gets it, and get your full refund at that time. Note the IRS terminology - your spouse may ELECT to be TREATED as a resident of the United States for tax purposes. Read Publication 519, Section "Non-Resident Spouse Treated as Resident" for more information on that. Note also that if your spouse DID have reportable income, it may be EXCLUDED by using Form 2555. This is exactly what I did since my wife was living in China when I filled my 2009.

You will need to play with the dates to find the cheapest price and then compare the different websites. I found that the flights are cheaper when leaving DFW on Friday and coming back on a Firday.

You can also try flychina.com, they had the best price for our trip to China next month. I haven't used Priceline.com as of yet.

You can include reciepts of anything you and your wife did together, photos of you 2 together with family and friends especially of the wedding, receipts of you sending her monies or buying her wedding ring. As much evidence of bonafied marriage is helpful.

As I said before I had called the Credit Uniion and tried adding my wife to my account for a joint account and was told my wife needed a drivers license or a state Id which has her photo on it and there was no way around it. I was wanting to do this for evidence when filing for the 10 year greencard. After this topic was brought up I decided to go there in person and give it a try and told my wife to bring her passport and SS card. When we arrived at the CU I asked asked about adding my wife to my account again I was told that I needed one of the mentioned above. I told them I had been a member for over 25 years and I was in the process of teaching my wife how to drive to get her license. The lady ended up giving me the paperwork and told me that it was policy that if my wife had been in the US for 6 months then she was required to show a drivers license or the state ID to add her to my account. I gave her my wife's passport for the photo ID to make a copy and also the SS card since the passport was in her maiden name. So if you were told you needed this ID over the phone I would try going to the Credit Union in person.

With a credit uniion you will need either a state ID or drivers license it is different, I have tried adding my wife to my credit union account and was told the same. I told the CSR that I would be closing my account then and they said they were sorry! With adding my wife to my bank account all I needed was her SSN#.

Well things are looking up, this article says the US vows to speed up Visa process. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/world/2011-12/02/content_14200516.htm

Do you think this will happen any time soon? It sure would give some of us hope for the wive's families to come to the US for a visit! Honolulu - HNA Group Co Ltd, parent company of Hainan Airlines Co Ltd, is urging the United States to lift restrictions on visas for Chinese visitors. "The United States government should give more visas to Chinese visitors and more support for direct flights from China to the US," said Chen Feng, board chairman of Hainan-based HNA Group, recently. "Limited visas mean a limited number of potential travelers, and that increases the risk of starting a new direct flight," he said. Hainan Airlines, China's fourth-largest airline by fleet size, buys aircraft from Boeing Co in the US yearly. However, Chen said, even the company's purchasing agents are denied US visas. "It's ridiculous." Although the United States and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2007 to facilitate visas for Chinese visitors, applicants might still have to wait for more than a month for the personal interview they need to obtain their visa for a trip to Hawaii and other US destinations. And travelers complain about the difficulties. Yuan Hong, a bank clerk from Hefei in Anhui province, said she was twice denied a visa last year to visit her son, who was pursuing a master's degree in Boston, Massachusetts. "I didn't know why. I met all the criteria listed on their (US Embassy) website," she said. "I would only have been looking around and shopping in the US." In October 2009, Hainan Airlines obtianed approval from the US Department of Transportation to begin regular nonstop flights from Beijing to Honolulu. These would have been the first Chinese flights carrying passengers directly from Beijing. But the airline never began the service, Chen said, because of the visa problem. "It is very hard to start a new direct air route if Chinese travelers can't get a visa to visit the US," Chen said. "The purchasing capacity of Chinese tourists is overwhelming now and definitely spurs local economic growth," he added. On Aug 9, China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd became the first Chinese airline to offer direct services to Honolulu with twice-weekly nonstop flights from Shanghai - though it had to cancel four flights in October due to passengers' difficulties in getting US visas. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/business/2011-11/23/content_14147948.htm

It is more like Romo sucks but he played pretty good this game.

Congrats!

I got the DirecTv Mandarin package for my wife, so she can watch the CCTV and other Chinese stations. When I go to work my wife can only clean the house and talk to her family so many hours of the the day so the TV helps her cope when I am not home. I am working on teaching her how to drive so she does not have to stay home and she tries to do things I do around the house. I went to work one day a couple of few weeks ago and she called and said she was going to mow the yard but I told her not to. I told her to wait until I got home but she did it anyway. I was happy about her mowing until today when I went out to start the mower and couldn't get it started. I found out that she had put diesel fuel in my gas mower and it took me a while to get it back running. Now I remember when she said she had mowed that the mover had smoked like a chimney. It is good that you are home to keep them entertained. I'm glad that things have turned out great for you!

Congratulations, has she asked about registering to vote yet.

Congrats, I know that is one huge boulder off of your shoulders.

Congratulations.

Also does your wife know where she will be staying when in Guangzhou? I would highly recommend the Yang's, they are good people and have rooms in the same building and they can walk your wife through the process and make her feel little more comfortable about the interview. They recommended I fax an EOR to my wife the night before her interview, which I believe is why my wife received PINK.

My first visit to China I was led to believe that my now wife knew English as we had communicated via emails, but I bought a translator to be safe. She had told me that she was taking an English class and that we would not have a problem communicating. When arriving at the airport I found she knew very little english and had an English teacher with her, who informed me that her English was not good, and she was also very shy. Anyway, she had also purchased a translator which we used for communication because the English to Chinese translator that I had bought was junk and the English teacher had left us after arriving at the hotel. After arriving back in the states we started skyping and this is how she learned English.

I have the same opinion, especially with my short courtship with my wife before our marriage.

What part of the US are you from? You mean you ain't never ate no possum? Obviously you ain't from the souff. I'm from the Dallas, Texas area. We have an armidillar digging up the yard, I can't wait until she sees this one!

Or maybe she is wondering why you're not catching and cooking them for supper. We have caught a few possums and released them in a park nearby and my wife says she would eat those in China, we eat everything. She even points at the pigeons and says the same thing. I have to remind her that we are in the US now!

Congrats on the approval after BLUE, great job!