Dean Hall

Hey Kaige and Group. Am in the same spot. 10 years were great. Ready for another 10. Blessings to all.

Dave, Well, I spent the month of September in China begining this process with almost the same things going on. First, we wanted to adopt one of the nieces, virtually abandoned, and left for the ageing grandparents to raise. The remaining parent (absentee parent - I have actually seen the 9 year old niece more than her own mother) signed the child over to us on paper with the red inked thumbprint and all. Then we traveled to Chongqing where the actual papers of the child were. We traveled from office to office being guided by well intentioned but clueless officials as to what we were to do. Finally arrived at the correct adoptive office. After an hour or so of chit chat and explaining, we were told we could not adopt the child at that place at that time. The lady in charge told us to go back to the states and do the adoption process there, and when that was complete, that the Chinese officials would rubber stamp anything that the US adoption agency agreed to. I was totally confused by this time. On the way out, I met some adoptive parents on the way out who gave me the address of the agency in Texas who helped get the China baby. I am now in the process of calling them to see what they know about all of this. I know that this has been not much help, only to prepare you to expect the most unexpected things. I wish now that we had just started with a Chinese lawyer. However the family in China was not at all for doing that. Now I wish I had insisted. My biggest regret is the time I am missing with my nieces. By the time we figure this out, they will probably be half way thru high school.

I have not read every single word on this post, and it is only my speculation, as many others have speculated. But I smell third party interference. For a visa officer to make a statement of "you lie" indicates to me that he may have had a third party piece of paper that had enough info to get his attention. Did any one other than yourself or your wife handle the documentation?

Where are you getting this from? The US always checks passports both incomming and outgoing. You may not have realized it because you never see a uniformed official doing it, but it is done, none the less. The airline agency will ask for the travelers passport, and the airline swipes the passport, and that data is transmitted to immigration. It is also the airline that removes the I-94 document stapled in your spouses passport when they travel back to their home country.

Marty and Wei Ping, So sorry to hear this. I hope your congressman has some pull. Dean and Lannie

I agree with ShaQuaNew - It's nice to have, but my personal experience was that more weight was placed on incomming test of the new student. Transcripts have little to no value in this state (VA), as class placement is determinied soley by ESL testing on entry to high school. Dean

My son came here at the age of 14. He had very little English, but despite starting 9th grade with no English, he will graduate in 4 years with his class. He has loved school from day one, and tell's his mom he's never going back to China except to visit. However, a word of warning. As Pushbrk mentioned, it is most likely that the school will require immunizations. In our case, this was done by the Health Dept. All of our other medical work does not count. They want there own medical before being allowed in school. Here's where you need to be careful. Health Service determined that he did not have all the innoculations that he should. They gave the correct shots. However, some of the shots were multiple, and spanned a six week period. Had we not got right on it as soon as I brought him here in June, he would not have been allowed in school until the series was finished. My point is, it's tempting to do all the fun stuff as soon as they get here, but you need to get with the medical and ESL people as soon as they get here and are rested. Finally, every state is different. Pushbrk has already worked a deal with their high school. In our state, it does'nt work that way. The ESL program within the State tests the students, regardless of their China placement or accredidation, and it is the ESL program which determines where they start school. I had made arrangements with them for testing before his arrival. Every place is a little different, so I suggest you start talking to your school now. Dean

I had the exact same situation with my (step) son. His first tb test was required for school entrance. This showed a false positive which then required a chest xray. The doctor then prescribed the treatment with monthly liver biopsys for 9 months. I did not feel that this was justified. A second, and much older doctor did the immigration interview, determined that the skin test would not be reliable, and went directly to the xray. Second opinion - no further action necessary. Bear in mind that these are all personal decisions and responsibilitys. Dean

Yes indeed - some very convoluted thinking we have in our Gov. After reading this thread, I distinctly remembered voting in Colorado and seeing CP-USA (Communist Party - USA) on the ticket, with Gus Hall as a presidential candidate. I remember this because of the similarity of our last name. (no relation to me) So I Google it, and sure enough, we have a legal communist party accepted by the US of A with voting members, blah blah blah. But your wife is trying to leave the CCP so that she can come to America where if she were to become a citizen, she would have the legal right to join the communist or nazi party. Boy is that messed up logic.

Congratulations. 2 year or 10 year card ?

I feel your relief. Bask in the LIGHT. It is soft, warm, and refreshing. Don't you feel so much LIGHTer now? Congratulations, Dean

My wifes I-130 had already been approved, however I did not have one for my step son (K4). I sent his I-130 in with the AOS paperwork, and never heard anything from them. After making some calls, I was told that the I-130 would be approved automatically and concurrently with the AOS approval. This turned out to be the case. If you are getting close on her visa (time wise), you can extend the K3 visa with the I-593. In my mind, this is better than the advanced parol because it is generally faster, and gives you another 2 years with multiple entry. I may be wrong, but I don't believe the AP is multiple entry. Dean

OK Hakkamike, I can feed you for 1 day, but I guarantee it won't be in your company cafeteria. Whoa !!! That place gave me the ......... Thursday enchiladas.! Ouch.

Thanks Hakkamike, For those of you who don't know, hakkamike donated a transformer that I took to China a few years ago. My employment sent me to his place of employment, and I was actually able to see Mike being gainfully employed on one of the fine aircraft that I support. Surprisingly, despite his many words of wit on this site, he seems to be a well respected and affable character. Character may better describe him. I owed him dinner for the gift of the transformer, but don't tell him, I would have taken him out any way. I was actually curious about what kind of girl would marry a guy like that. Alas, it is still a mystery. Hey - it's all in fun Catch you next time I'm in Texas old buddy. Dean

To MRMC, Yes, the stamp in the passport was red, and good for one year. However, looking at the passports, we have been in the process so long, the Chinese passports are about to expire. Glad we've got the cards so we're not dependent on the stamps