wawster

Congratulations Nick!!!

I have used WU in the past, and loved it! It was SO easy. Rose could pick up the money anywhere in China...like Tsap mentioned, so it didn't matter if she was in Shenzhen, or back home in Hunan. But now, no bank in Rose's backwater mountain town in Hunan does business with WU any longer, so we're at a loss as to how to send money to her mom. Some of Rose's Chinese friends here in town swear by sending money via the local Asian market. Others swear by sending money via Walmart, of all things. However, I think these folks probably live in a big city that actually HAS a Walmart, or some such. For folks that live in a small, backwater town in the mountains, I'm not sure how to send money now. Perhaps I'll have to try a wire transfer from my bank? Or maybe send it by carrier pigeon...

I also found out about this sad news late. RIP, Carl. He was very kind to me when I had a lot of dumb newb questions. A good man, with a good heart.

Yup, the follow up shots are set to a "minimum time" schedule. My wife was worried about them also, but no worries. Just schedule a visit with the doc when she arrives in the US

Holy moly! 10 kg....you'd have thought that they'd be smart enough to kick the weight down on the luggage to slip through easier.

LOL! Ok...that beats the Bud scheme hands down!

Wow...the garden looks great! And the big smile on your sweetie in the swing is just as great.... Rose has been doing the same at our place, but it's more about hot peppers and green beans. I hope your garden and sweetie flourish!

Yikes.....well, might have been hard to tell the difference...LOL...unless you're a Bud guy. Boy..innovation abounds! Who'd a thunk it was cheaper to make your own beer and re-seal a can than it was to buy a Bud? That's some entrepreneurial thinking, right there! Glad I make my own!

Sorry so late! Happy Birthday, Mick! Enjoy the giraffe... LOL!

And welcome ot the US!

Interesting thread here..... I live very near Kansas City, which has a pretty large Asian population. Not like San Francisco, or anything, but fairly significant. Before I met Rose, I never thought much about it... I mean, folks are just folks, y'know? After I met and married my lovely Rose, I actually worried a bit about how she and Kerry might be treated here in the good ol' USA. I mean, I grew up (as a lot of us did) in pretty race-turbulent times. I needn't have worried. Folks around here have been nothing but receptive to Rose and Kerry, and her smile, graciousness and demeanor has won over the hearts of folks here in my neighborhood. Shoot, there's ladies coming over every weekend when we're out doing yard work to give Rose a hug and tell her how lovely her flowers look. Maybe this is a Midwestern thing, or maybe we're just lucky, but I haven't seen signs of racism directed toward my wife or family at all. Honestly, I tend to agree with Tsap. There's still racism out there. You'll never eradicate it. But there's also a huge amount of sensationalism in the news...it's what gets people to watch it. And the news folks tend to blow things up to huge levels to get people going. For myself and my family....all we're seeing around here are good-hearted folks. Maybe all the racism is elsewhere?

We went through Chicago when my wife came to the US. It was very smooth, and the Immigration officers there were competent and quite nice to us.

Hi there, I can tell you my wife's experience with this. The scheduled medical exam was about a month before the interview. She also lived in Hunan, and it was a fairly long trip to Guangzhou. She traveled to Guanzhou with my step-son for their medical exam, and stayed in Guangzhou for a couple of days until she could pick up the results. Then she returned home until it was time for the interview. That might be a good option for your husband. Yes, they gave her a specific time to pick up the results. I believe that you can have them expedited for a fee, ( I think it is a day, but others can confirm) ,but usually they are available within 2 days anyway.

Back atcha Mick! I hope that you had a great day as well, and that you're feeling a tad better, buddy! Every Veteran's day, I get rather sober all of a sudden when it hits me that some guys I knew and cared for....just aren't here anymore. I reckon that's the point. As long as we remember them, they're still with us. Then I raise a whiskey glass....and get a bit maudlin for awhile.

Hi Yajie, A 'possum is short for opossum. It is a small animal with a long tail. When the opossum is threatened, he will pretend to be dead as a defense. So the slang "playing possum" means to pretend that you are dead, or are hiding from something. There are many opossums in Kansas and Oklahoma. You might even have seen one. When I said "possum partying with Clay", I was talking about a man named Clay Logan. He started a 'Possum celebration in Brasstown, North Carolina on New Years Eve. It is about a lot of humor, and having fun. They elect a Possum Queen that night, and many people compete for the honor of being the Possum Queen. Ronny's story was about him competing to be that Possum Queen. To me, it sounds like he did a great job!

Ksenia, Good luck to you on the interview!

Yajie,that is a rough way to get to school!! At least in Oklahoma, it's a little warmer!

Possum-partying with Clay! I think you'd have made a great possum queen, Ronny!

Very cool pictures, Randy! Thanks!

Pandacatfish, Glad it helped a little, and congratulations to you and your sweetie!! And thanks Dan, for making sense out of the N/A's versus blanks or "None"s. I was curious as to why one was one way, and others went another way. Had me kinda hornswoggled....

I also married my sweetie in China. Everyone has their own opinion, but for me, the K1 visa was too risky. The process was less expensive overall, but it took longer for a CR1 than a K1 . My wife has a son that was 17 at the time, and this was no problem during the process to include him. The single certificate is fairly easy for most. The process is hard to understand at first, but many visa services can help guide you through it. Basically, it is a notarized affidavit that you are single, with attachments of any past divorce decrees, and this is sent to your secretary of state, who stamps it with a seal, and sends it back. This is then brought to the Chinese consulate, who authenticates it with their own seal. Then you're good to go. The process varies a little from state to state, but that's the basics. I agree with others that if possible, bring your intended bride here to visit for a while. In my case, my wife was not able to visit ahead of time, and she has adjusted very well. Incredibly well, actually. That being said, it's a big culture shock for your bride-to-be. And there ARE many misconceptions about life in the US. My wife is from a smaller city, and all of her friends are still convinced that we are fabulously wealthy, and we just hide it. Be prepared for a wait. The average CR1 process takes about a year, if all goes well. For my wife and I, it gave us time to get things in order, but it was still a test in patience. For others, like tsap, it took much longer. Murphy can and does exercise his will. Best of luck with your decision, and if you need guidance or assistance, the folks here at Candle are always ready and willing to help!

Congrats buddy! As Greg said, now the real fun begins . Once your sweetie gets here, you're going to have a wealth of experiences that you never had before, and I think you'll end up looking at the world a different way, more than once. A few times, maybe like this... And there'll be more than a few of these.... But all in all, I hope it's smooth sailing all the way!

Ronny, you made me laugh until I had tears....that poor Tower. Don'tcha know that HAL9000 abuse is abominable...horrible.....aw hell....ok.....It's downright satisfying sometimes. Even to a computer geek like me. But to the subject of this thread..... I always thought that Rose was lovely. I mean, I know she's not a model, but her smile captivated me from the first time I saw her. And her eyes spoke volumes..... That being said, I didn't see her until after we had corresponded for quite a while, and I was already admiring her hugely for her personality, humor, and sense of values. So I think that my perception of her was colored by my admiration. And maybe that's the whole thing. I mean, every guy's head turns for a pretty woman. I think that's genetics. But when your heart is full of someone, you're going to believe they're beautiful no matter what.

I use both, with Rose and others. Wechat is much more popular, but there are a couple advantages to QQ, IMHO. That being said, however, it requires you to be at a computer to make the most of it. That's why Wechat is more popular...it;s a lot more mobile. If you're at your trusty ol' desktop, QQ can allow you to have a video call and simultaneously utilize the instant translation features built into QQ international. I do this all the time with Rose's mom and her friends in China who don't speak English. Wechat has a translation feature, but it takes a couple of steps to translate individual messages, and I can't SEND them translated (into Chinese) like I can with QQ. The person on the other end has to select the text, pull up a menu and tell it to translate. For conversations with family or friends, that minimizes the difficulty of the language barrier, QQ definitely has it hands down. That being said, the Chinese community here uses Wechat a lot for the sound-byte-walkie-talkie messaging, or video calls. I see it all the time....unfortunately when I see it, it's usually a lady who's also driving

Hang in there, Perry! you;'re closing in on it now. When Rose and Kerry came here at the end of January, it took almost exactly one month for the green cards to arrive. Granted, that was several months ago now, but it should give you an idea. and yes, after passing the interview, she'll get her CR1. In Rose's case, that took about 2 weeks to get to her, after the interview.