Mengxin

Why wait until June? Decemeber's a great time to get married in Harbin. that way you can get off cheap. You invited everyone, but for some reason nobody wanted to show up to your outdoor wedding. BBBrrrrrrrrr..... It's down right cold there.

Wow, I just read your timeline. Congratulations indeed.

I'm suprised it's been a week since you checked your mail. Sometimes I still check it on Sundays and Holidays too. (just incase. ) There is some flexibility with the DS3032 form, incase your wife's adress is incorrect. They mail a copy to the petitioner also. In the event your wife doesn't get the paperwork, you can fax a copy of the DS3032 to her, have her sign it and then mail it back to NH. I found a copy of the 230, but not of the 169. Things are going to be different for you than for me though becuase my 129f went AWOL on it's way to Chicago. i just noticed your 129F and 130 are only 2 days apart. So eny meany miney mo, don't pick the visa that is slow. Hey I'm a poet and don't know it. Door #1 is in the links below and door #2 is in the links in my signature. I don't know anything about a 169. Maybe you mean 864. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...hp?dlcategory=1 http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...php?pg=examples http://www.visajourney.com/gallery/packet2-3 It's so cold it's snowing on visajourney.com too. Cool.

Congrats Man. You started ahead of me. I passed you. Then you passed me again. Does anyone else here on the board have a timeline ahead of me for 130 approval from CSC? Appricaite it Mark. That just raised a flag for me. I'm worried that the mistake my laywer made with my wifes address is coming back to haunt me. I had to make a correction with my wifes address also. Did you get a copy of the P3 paperwork that was sent to your fiancee also? I expected to get the I-864 in the mail two weeks ago. Our processes are a little different, so I'm wondering how it effects the timeline too. Should I pull the last 3 hairs in my head, out or leave them in? Wait a minute, I can't compare my situation with yours anyway because you got one in the oven. Hopefully your situation will work out in your benefit. You must be even more stressed than I am. Must be down to your last hair. I'll shut up and be happy with the 3 I have left. I just did some more looking around. The time between the GZ# and P3 is almost 2 months. I got a little ahead of myself. Thanks Hlin! 9/28/04 - NVC Approved 11/16/04 - P3 Received

How about all the live webcam shots in NYC? Sounds like they are just trying to give you a hard time.

The people at the marriage office should be able to tell your fiancee in detail what she needs to do to get it. We went to a notary office to get copies of our marriage certificate translated into english and notarized. while we were there Lao Po had them make her a new Birth certifictate too. Your fiancee will need to have some pictures taken at the photo studio before she gets there. My wife took her pics looking straight forward. She will also need to bring her houshold regestration card for ID. It took the office about 3 or 4 days to complete all the paperwork.

Backlog elimination maybe? It's posts like this one that turns my stomach in knots. I'm all happy for everyone thinking that things are speeding up, then the cold reality comes out that I still have a long wait ahead and feel like I'm spinning my wheels in the mud again. Thanks for posting the dates John. That's extremely helpful. (...and depressing.) Especially good luck to Marty and J. You can finish your last stash of cheetos left in the cupboard now.

It's their world for sure, we just have to live in it. Thanks again for the heads up guys. I will really have to prevent myself from procrastinating now. (...don't count on it.)

Always call the CC institition and/or Bank, let them know your traveling and where before you go That happend to me too. Good advice Gene. Sinking feeling when the credit card doesn't work when you need them the most. I found out about my banks credit card fraud program the hard way. (just like everything else I have to learn. ) They locked my card out "for my protection". Thanks a lot guys. Lesson learned. I call my bank before every trip now.

Congratulations. Check out these links. CR-1 process What do you do now. Visa Journey You'll be getting a copy of the DS3032 that is being mailed to your wife for her to sign and mail back to them. You'll also be getting a bill for the i864 application. It's not too expensive. Send a money order payable to the Dept of State. The DS3032 doesn't need to be notarized and tell your Lao Po to write you down as her agent and mail it back to NVC New Hampshire. Your check goes to NVC St. Louis Missouri. Wait for the bill. NVC NH is really good about replying to case status. NVCInquiry@state.gov Send them an e-mail in about a week. You'll get a reply like this one. From: NVC Inquiry [mailto:NVCInquiry@state.gov] Sent: ....... To: ....... Subject: RE: WAC#....... Inquiry Dear Sir/Madam, The National Visa Center (NVC) recently received this petition. We are in the process of entering the petition information into the computer system and assigning a case number. Upon completion of this process, the appropriate agent (applicant, petitioner, or attorney) will receive instructions for the further processing of this petition. Regards, National Visa Center cph/eac -----Original Message----- From: ....... Sent: ....... To: NVCInquiry@state.gov Subject: WAC#...... Inquiry Dear NVC, My I-130 was recently recently approved through ...... I was inquiring about the status of my case. My I-797 case # is ....... My Name is ...... My wife's name is .......(Last name....., First name.....) Her birthday is...... Thankyou and have a nice day, ...... __________________ see my timeline below.

Sorry Darrell, Just one more comment on the timelines. We had this same topic come up a few weeks ago. I suggested trimming the lines down too and after inputs from other members, I decided to write down my timeline in detail. The details and information we share is the main benefit of coming to CFL.

Passport advice: Don't carry your passport on your person when overseas. A black and white photocopy of the 1st page with your face and info on it is all you'll need, unless you plan on going someplace you know you will be requested to present it, like checking in at the hotel or for your 1st day in the job in a foriegn country. Leave the passport in a secure place at the hotel. Always carry the photocopy on you. This is another example of the confusion that is caused by "winging it", at the embassy. All requirements for the interview should be made up front before you get to the interview, not after arriving at the interview. It's unrealistic to bring a large suitcase of documents to the interview. Some interviews are a quick and dirty 15 minutes. Seems like interviews that take longer, usually have an issue that the embassy could have requested before hand, but instead make you appear at the interview to request the documentation they need. Are all embassy's this way? I haven't seen any formal list of documents that need to be brought to the interview. If it exists, I'm sure I'm probably not the only one that hasn't seen it. Maybe we can make our own as a guideline. Example: Notarized Passport Ex-Husbands photo taken with the daily paper. Note from Ex-Husbands employer to prove he is still working in China. Bring your husband to the interview with you. ...There are many more I can think of. Jason, I agree with everyone else about the sending the notarized copy to Jun. Tell Jun I wish her good luck at the interview.

Paul, Don't buy into to "Saving Face", all descisions should be made in the best interest of what's best for you and your wife. "Saving Face" is a BS line. Just make yourself and your family happy regaurdless of what others say. Go Bills!

I noticed two flags here for the VO's. Having a prior connection with America and a Previous marraige. Women who have been married before always seem to get the heat lamp treatment. At least they didn't make your wife prove her ex-husbands where abouts my making her track him down and getting a picture of him with a recent newspaper, and then going to his employer and getting signed paperwrok from him stating that he was still infact in China. (...Like they did to Alex.) Thanks to people like you that share your information with others. You've been a great help. I'll share my information with those behind me also. Just as an FYI... Not only have I met my wife's parents, My wife has met my Parents.... via webcam. Merry Christmas and Congratulations on your new lives together.

I'll ditto that ditto. "American Express, It's everywhere you want to be"... except China. Figures, that's the only other place I'de rather be. BOC ATM's is what I use also. There are other's besides BOC, look for the visa and mastercard symbols on the ATM's as you walk by. I never noticed the smell of a BOC ATM before. Can you describe it for us? Ha hahttp://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons6/24.gif

I asked my employer about the taxes too. I can't claim my wife on my w-2 until after she arrives. Same for her health benifits too. That's the rules in CA anyway. Another great post Carl. Thanks.

That's the part that stinks about the visa, it forces the marraige issue. I figure K1 or K3 doesn't matter too much. Eitherway, you have made a commitment. It forces you to back up the feeling in your heart with a peice of paper. That's why I have so much sympathy for those guys that get burned. It's very easy to be sucked into lies given "our" circumstances. It's really easy for people to sit back in there chairs and pass judgement on others, until it happens to them. It doesn't make much sense that anyone would vest the time, money and agony into this visa process, only to rip thier own hearts out in the end. Mark, Very nice post. I feel the same way about my lao po. Good thing I had my garbage can near by. That was about the mushyest post I've ever read.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...hina_pageant_dc Here's another interesting article. Since when do Chinese women need plastic surgury? I thought that it was already determined that they were the most beautiful in the world.

That makes for a very Merry Christmas. Thanks for shareing your good news. That's great.

Squeak, How about dual sitizenship? Does Ling even need to do either process right now. Last trip to Biejing, I spoke with some friends that told me the US permits dual citizenship, but China doesn't. There is a loop hole in there that they explained to me. Besides the 2 other choices, you even have a third right? I thought the K3 turned into CR-1. Now that your 130 is approved you are technically CR-1 now and K3 is history. ...and Squeak, what is the I-1130? Butter fingers!!!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ina_weddings_dc weddings now and then BEIJING (Reuters) - Children of China's "one child" generation are splashing out on weddings, spending as much money as their parents managed to save in a lifetime, state media said on Saturday. Brides and bridegrooms are spending an average of 200,000 yuan ($24,000) on an apartment, furniture and household appliances as well as banquets for relatives and friends. The amount is equivalent to their parents' life savings, Xinhua said, citing a survey of 1,000 newly-wed couples in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. That sum was based on the average annual income of about 2,000 yuan ($240) their parents could have expected in past decades. Urban residents' annual incomes have surged past 12,000 yuan in recent years, spiking along with China's economic growth, it said. This has brought marked changes in the typical wedding gift list, which in the past consisted essentially of a wardrobe, a bed and bedding and some candy and cigarettes. ---end--- My wife and I had a very nice wedding. She made all the arrangements with the help of her friends. I didn't expect much at all, but it really turned out much much better than I expected. Just wondering how many K3's had weddings in both the US and China? It would be nice to have one in both places, but if not, then we can still look back and say we did it right. Some of her friends were able to speak pretty good english so they could explain the tradition, what was happening and what to do next while I tried my best to keep from stumbling over myself. Just remember these important words when going to take your wife away with you on your wedding day... Wo yao chi lao po. (not, I want to eat my wife.) My Chinese has improved alot since last May, so it's a little more different for me to watch our wedding video now vs back then

Yea, I tell Lao Po about kepping warm in the winter and shady in the summer to keep cool. Think about all the money we'll save. Enight, Your gonna love this video. Poor kitty. The Cat And The Fan Of Terror

I sort of ran into a similar situation at the embassy in Biejing. They wouldn't let my wife past the 1st gate. I went to the visa building and the lady there said oh, tell the gaurd it's ok for your wife to come to the visa building. The gaurd didn't speak english, so my wife translated and they let her in. We got to the visa building and then they made her wait outside while I went in. I spoke to somebody that told me to go to the ASC arond the block. When we got to the ASC they let us both in together. The Marine at the front door checked our ID's and told us the office was down the hall to the left. Strange... Doesn't look like we have a very pleasant story to look forward to from your GZ expirience. There have been a handful of off the wall stories from the last few waves of interviews. Seems like they are telling people to show up for interviews already knowing that they will refuse them before they even arrive. It would be nice if they could notify people of the necessary paperwork before they got there or gave an appointment for the interview. I heard them doing that only one time in the last few weeks.

How about yourself? Your websites loom great!

You get upset and bothered too easily. relax.