wawster

(Elvis voice) Thank you...thank you vera much....for the vote. Running for local grand poobah.... Yes...it's good being so much more refined.. Thinking of understated gifts...hmmm...perhaps a upscale branded leather wallet or Italian scarves might be a thought?

Hi There! The NVC is notoriously bad for letting folks know what's going on. You have to bug them, and the best way to do that is to call them. In the past, the phone lines opened up at 7:00 AM, and I found the best time for me to call them was at about that time. I would actually start calling at 6:55 or so, and when I got the message that they opened at 7:00, I'd hang up and call again. If it's busy, hang up and dial again, and again. Then select the options to talk to a representative. The wait time was in between 5 and 15 minutes, usually.Have all your data ready from the NOA2, your wife's birthday, etc. Before they'll do anything, you have to pay the fees and fill out the DS-261 online. Check their website for the status of these payments. Once they say that the status is paid (it took about 1 week for me to see it changed to "Paid") Then this will start the 60-day clock. You should have your appointment set up for the interview by then, or get an RFE to take care of. But call them, every few days. For me, they told me that the Package was accepted, and within 2-3 days, they told me my interview date. Then a few days later, I got the email with the interview date, and instructions.. You won't get anything else from them unless you bug them for it. That was my experience at least. your mileage may vary Warren

Greg, I can see that you have a big task ahead of you, and it will require lots of thought, no doubt. You and your wife definitely have a lot on your respective plates! I have faith in you, buddy. You've shown yourself to be intelligent and thoughtful here, and I'm sure that the family and professional connections see it as well.

Yup, +1 on the shopping, Greg. I'm pretty lucky that Rose's family is a bit older and less brand-conscious. Godspeed, buddy! I'm not too sure what brands that they might like. Here, all the younger Chinese ladies just want to go to Macy's and the Coach outlet store. Those are the two big buzzwords here...Macy's and Coach. It doesn't matter what the item is, as long as it has that buzzword attached to it. Larry... LOL... I think the brother-in-law was probably a bit disappointed that his request went unfulfilled.

I was a bit confused with the Hershey thing. Here - it's definitely not the best chocolate around. Maybe it's because Rose's family is so far up in the mountains in Hunan...they don't have a broader, more international taste of things, or maybe it just lends itself to their taste buds better.. Who knows? The first time I visited them I brought a few Hershey bars, a box of Godiva truffles and some Ghirardelli (sp) squares, among other candy to give them a taste of different American candies. They liked the Hershey bars a lot more than the other. so what mama wants, mama gets

LOL... I hear ya buddy. One whole suitcase of Rose's was gifts alone. She brought shoes for her nieces and nephew...shoes for her mom as well. Shoes were big for some reason.

Oh...and plain old Hershey bars and those packages of Hershey nuggets went over really big with the kids. Rose had me buy a couple boxes (12 in a box) to take with her. when i offered to buy more expensive chocolate, she refused. She said when I first visited them, they liked the Hersey bars that I brought so much, that they wanted more. and one of her friends, we gave a bottle of Jack Daniels to...she loved it. I think it had more to do with it being american whiskey than it had to do with the brand, though....

Hi Greg, One of the things that went over HUGE with Rose's parents and relatives were Vitamins and supplements. They don't trust any of them that are made in China, so we found a sale at Sam's club and bought about $200 worth of Glycosamine, fish oil, vitamin E, Vitamin C, etc.and Rose took them with her when she flew out to visit her relatives a couple weeks back. But Rose's parents are in their 70's..... If any of the relatives have infants, milk powder is another one that goes over really well. They don't trust the formula in China, but they take trips to Hong Kong to get it there. Depending on where your wife's relatives live, it might be easy or hard to get these things. Where Rose is from, in the middle of Hunan, it's very difficult for them to travel so far to get these things, so they try and schedule it for when one of them is travelling to Hong Kong or Shenzhen for a few days. American Ginseng is received very well by the relatives as well. Just a couple thoughts.... Warren

Yikes! What a pain in the butt! (cymbal crash)

Congrats! Good info on the interview. It seems a lot of us have that opinion, as far as pre-determining whether someone passes or not.

Good information! Thank you! My wife's relative passed away this weekend and she and my stepson are travelling to China on Wednesday for the funeral. It all happened quite fast, so we didn't have a chance to get their passports stamped. Their 2-year PR cards have expired in January, and we have received the 797 NOA extension letter. I was making copies for them to bring with them, but now I know for them to bring the originals. Again, thanks! Warren

We've done that for years. I was on the USS Farragut back in 77 when Kadafi claimed a 200 mile territorial limit off the coast of Libya. We paraded back and forth at 13 miles out, and when they sent out the Libyan air force, we put missiles on the rail, and the Independence 30 miles behind us sent out a bunch of F14s. We also sent them a message that if they came within 5 miles of our ships, we'd blow them out of the sky. The Libyan air force was recalled post-haste. This would be a different encounter, however. It could get rather nasty.

Oh...yup, I understand that part about Hong Kong, Randy. I meant that she didn't have to go through a checkpoint to go to the Economic Zone....and maybe it was because we were married, Or perhaps they just didn't bother with it. Either way, there were no stops or checking of papers, etc. to go to the Economic zone when we went in 2014.

The last time I was in Shenzhen with Rose was the end of 2014, and we had to go to the Economic Zone because I had to visit a business there for a couple of days for my work. We were in a hotel right across the street from Splendid China theme park....I mean RIGHT across the street. I think it was the Sea View O City hotel. We took the subway from her apartment in the Luohu area right to the stop in front of Splendid China and walked across the street to the hotel and checked in. There were no stops or checkpoints, etc. and no questions asked, but I know that Rose had to do some extra paperwork to go to Hong Kong whenever she visited there. Maybe it was because we were married? I'm not sure.

Again, thanks for the advice, Dan. Rose and Kerry just got their NOA letters this weekend, so their green cards are extended for another year. Now the wait begins for the USCIS to get through the paperwork. I sent my paperwork to the California Service center....estimates are that it will take them about 13-14 months to get through it, so I may need to get an InfoPass appointment around the end of the year to cover the gap....but that is then, and this is now. So far, all is well

Here is a link from IEN Engineering news. https://www.ien.com/supply-chain/news/20988001/china-tanker-still-on-fire-body-found Quote: China Tanker Still On Fire, Body FoundThe tanker was carrying nearly 1 million barrels of a type of gassy, ultra-light oil, when it collided with a freighter transporting grain from the U.S. to China. BEIJING (AP) — Rescuers have found a body believed to be of a sailor from the Iranian oil tanker set ablaze after a collision in the East China Sea, China's Ministry of Transportation said Tuesday, as the search continued for another 31 missing from the same ship. The ministry said the body recovered Monday had yet to be identified but was wearing a protective suit designed to withstand cold seawater. There was no further word about the others missing since the Panamanian-registered Sanchi collided with a freighter late Saturday. Chinese media said the tanker was still on fire Tuesday and at risk of exploding. The tanker was carrying 136,000 metric tons (nearly 1 million barrels) of condensate, a type of gassy, ultra-light oil, when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal. All 21 crew members of the Crystal, which was carrying grain from the United States to China, were rescued, the Chinese ministry said. The Crystal's crew members were all Chinese nationals. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the collision, which happened in open seas rather than a narrow channel where such accidents are more common. Ships of such size generally come with sophisticated radar and other technologies aimed at preventing collisions. The Sanchi was sailing from Iran to South Korea when the collision occurred 257 kilometers (160 miles) off the coast of Shanghai, China's Ministry of Transport said. Ships and aircraft from South Korea and the U.S. are aiding in rescue efforts, which have been hampered by fierce fires and poisonous gases that have engulfed the tanker and surrounding waters.

That is one cool story, Randy!

Thanks man. I reckon I ought to check off that we read and understand English (as it's joint) and then provide an interpreter if we go to an interview. Thanks for the help, Dan...it's appreciated! .

Thanks Dan, Ok then...should I then list myself as the interpreter? (1b) There is no way that Rose could fill out these forms,or understand them in English. But there's also no way I could be a true interpreter without my smart phone. #2 says: I have requested the services of and consented to (insert name here) who (check one) IS, or IS NOT and attorney or accredited representative, preparing this petition for me. This person who assisted me in preparing my petition has reviewed the Acknowledgement of Appointment at USCIS Application Center with me, and I understand the ASC acknowledgement. That looked to me to be the closest to the truth. I've filled out the forms and explained them to her. But part of that explanation was with using google translate. My Mandarin is good enough for everyday use, but we still use google translate sometimes for finer points or for things I don't know how to say. If I had to act as interpreter in a interview, then I'd have to use my phone to do it, I'm afraid. that's why I'm a bit worried about which one to check off on.

Scratch the question on filling in the areas needed. I updated Adobe Acrobat and I can fill in the areas needed now. I leaped too quickly! But the question still remains on whether to use 1B and #2, or just #2.....

Hi guys, Well, I'm in the middle of the Removal of Conditions for Rose and Kerry. The USCIS sent the package back, as I had used the wrong version of the I-751 form ( dated 11/23/15, Expiring on 11/30/2017) Dumb Mistake... But the returned package had a letter stating for me to use the I-751 form dated 12/23/2016. That form is no longer available on the USCIS website to download. They have a new version dated 12/05/2017 that becomes mandatory to use beginning February of 2018. i called the USCIS and spoke to them about this. After several conferences with supervisors, they agreed that even though the letter told me to use the earlier dated version, it is ok to use the one dated 12/05/2017. I just wanted to pass that along to folks. Now for the fun part. In filling out the new form, in section 7, the instructions aren't the most clear. It tells you to select 1a or 1b (1a - Rose can read and understand every question on her own. 1b-She has an interpreter listed later in the doc that read them all to her) Then #2 is that she has requested the services of someone else (me) to prepare the petition for her. So the question is, do I check 1b, and then also check #2? Or do I just check #2? Additionally, the new form allows me to check what I want, but won't allow me to write my name in on #1 or #2 like the older form did. It is an auto-fill PDF form....any ideas of how I can get around that to put my name in there as the person that either was interpreter or person who filled out the form?

Holy Moly Mick! you're accounting of the events in the truck had me laughing so hard I had tears!

Whew! Thanks for the heads up! I have just enough time to get a lil sumfin for my lovely Rose on the way home tonight!

Holy moley! This is going to impact a lot of folks heavily. It's also going to impact folks like us in trying to help others who are going through the process. I know this goes through cycles, but this is a bad downturn, IMHO.

Holy moley...This is just hilarious! Thanks, Randy! This is the best grin I've had all day. Who knows what'll be next..... any thoughts?