Maui & China

Congratulations and thanks for the words of encouragement.

Ohhh Noooo!! My last name is a common one!!

Mari, Keep the faith my good friend. Like you we are stuck in that second name check pit of despair for almost 4 months also. In fact, when I get back to Maui will be exactly 120 days since they started. I contacted my congressman before I left, but still no news from him. Guess he's too worried about getting re-elected. I guess I'll have to try the FBI or my Senators once I get home. I've being trying to console Ling about our delay, but its been really difficult watching all the others who filed after us get their P4 and interviews. But like I tell her, we will overcome all these obstacles in the end. It just seems the finish line is so far away. Let us resolve ourselves to not letting the government's idiocy drain us of our emotional resolve. As Moses said, "Let my people go!!" Jon

John, The 4 month waiting period is GZ estimate on when the interview will take place. So you are correct in that 6 months is a minimum once GZ gets the application from NVC. This assumes you return your P3 back to GZ promptly and GZ does all their screening and the second name check comes back within that 2 months. Of course if you are like me and I think a few others the second name check drags out, then the wait will be longer. I believe the second name check begins once GZ enters the P3 into their system and requests whoever is in charge of the name check in DC to begin. I was not able to ask that specific question because they cut off my questioning. Perhaps another CFL member who is attending a later session can follow-up for everyone? It sounded to me that the second name check is done concurrently with GZ screening processes. I agree with you assessment that a better indicator of time to interview would be from when the second name check is completed, not when P3 is returned. At one time that may have been a good estimator, but I believe GZ now needs a postive yes or no clearance on the second name check. In the recent pass I thought I had read that if GZ did not receive a response in a certain time period regarding the name check they assumed it was OK. No longer the case. Supposedly if your name check takes longer than 120 days, then there is a number and agency you can fax your info to and try to nudge the governement wheels. If I can get that number I'll let you know. jon

Mark, I'll try to answer your questions. 1. No registration required, as an American Citizen you are welcome to attend. 2. Sorry, you can not bring in Pei Yun. The session is restricted to US Citizens only. Ironically, during my session, over half the people attending could not speak any English. Ling waited outside for me, along with dozens of others. Have Pei Yun bring something to eat and drink and an umbrella because it was pretty warm and sunny out there. 3. I brought in a notebook, pen, passport and wallet only. Ling held my camera and pack outside. Not sure if you can bring in a mobile phone. If you can't take it in I believe they will hold it for you at the security checkpoint until you depart the Consulate. 4. The Consulate apparently breaks for lunch and they wouldn't let me stand in line until about 1:15pm. You will see a mass of people in front of a guard trying to get into the Consulate grounds for various purposes, just sort of work your way up to the front showing your US passport and they will let you in before the others. 5. Registering is done on the second floor of the Consulate at the American Consular Services Desk. You register your presence in China and give them an address and phone # to contact you at if there is any kind of problem in China. It is also another piece of evidence proving you really have been to China to prove you have a valid relationship. I picked-up this piece of info from another CFL member, I think it was BLSqueaky if I'm not mistaken. Ling and I went to GZ just for the day. She lives in Shenzhen, so it was only a 1-hour train ride. Then took the GZ subway from the train station to the Huang Sha subway station. Only 5RMB/person each way. About a 40-minute subway ride. Exit the station from the "D" exit and its a short walk across the bridge to Shamian Island and the US Consulate. Good luck and enjoy the time with your wife. Jon

Robert S, I've been to all the major islands except for Molokai and Niihau. But Niihau is restricted to Hawaiians only. Of all the islands I like Kauai the best. I think most of the islands have high-speed internet now. Either DSL or cable. Just got cable service myself about 1-month ago. That's a definite yes that things are more expensive in the state. Plus, some things on Maui itself are more expensive than other islands. For example we've been paying around $2.65/gallon for gas for quite a while. On Oahu, it's going for maybe $0.30/gallon less. But its still a great place to live. Come out and visit when Ling finally gets here. jon

Robert S. Actually, she's a little apprehensive about moving to Maui. I shown her pictures of the island, and her first thought was it looked like a village!! She asked where the buildings were and I pointed out the county building of 11 stories as the tallest building on the island and she had a look on increduality!! I guess I'll need to fly her over to Honolulu to get a big city feel every now and then.

Wade, From the info I got, they said that the second name check is standard for everyone now. By everyone, I mean the Chinese fiance(e). Her or his name is run through a number of different agencies databases to acertain if there is a name match with a known criminal, terrorist, previous visa fraud, etc. If the name does match, which it can with similar sounding names, then the process takes longer because they must do further checks to verify your fiance(e) is not the name on their databases. Which government agencies do this checking is a "secret" according to DOS. So you never know who is holding up your application. At least this is what I believe happens. There are other CFL members who are more knowledgable than I on this matter. You also might do a search. I think you are correct about the interview time. Otherwise, when Ling fianally passes the second name check, she would get an interview almost immediately because we have been waiting since July 6 on the name check. But the earliest I think we could get the interview is February according to GZ timeline. That is if the namecheck clears today.

George, Sorry about being unclear. I meant the screening and examination that GZ does in China on your fiancee. So we have GZ doing work on the application as well as the "super secret agencies that refuse to be named because of national security concerns" that perform the second name check. Jon

Hlin, From my attendance at the American Citizen Info session on 10/29, they are saying it is averaging approximately 2 months. Sorry about being the bearer of bad news. jon

Congratulations Jim, Now you get to join that big CFL/Oregon contingent!! jon

Wade, I just attended the latest info session. Check out my post about it. Is it worth it? There wasn't much I could ask since they restricted our questions to a time limit because there were so few K1/K3 visa cases present. Most of the info I knew already, but got a few tidbits that I thought were interesting. Most importantly, I registered in person at the American Consular Services offices on the second floor. You fill out a short form and they copy your passport. It's just another layer of proof that you have been to China to visit your fiancee. I would say go, just to get a feel for the place and where your fiancee will have to go on interview day. Jon

Just attended the info session on Thursday 10/28. Here is some info and observations that you all may find of use. Approximately 30 people were in attendance. Only 3-4 were there for K1/K3 visas that had not yet had their interview scheduled. This included myself. All the others were there becuse of "Blue Slips." Most were applying for other relatives they were trying to bring over to the US. Because there were so few K1/K3 people they limited questions for us to about 25 minutes. There were 2 US Consulate officials in attendance, one was a Deputy Vice Counsel I believe, but didn't get the name. The other may have been a VO from some of the remarks he was making, but could not be sure of this. The following are answers given by the 2 gentlemen. *From NVC to GZ will take approximately 2 months. *For GZ to exam documents and screen will take another 2 months. *Wait in line for interview will be an additional 4 months. But the second name check must be completed before you are put into this wait line. *The second name check "usually" takes 2 months but can take longer. *As of 10/28 they are scheduling interviews for applications that were completed with name checks/screening/examination on June 20th. *There are 2 main reasons for "Blue Slips." A. Not enough evidence of a "VALID" relationship. (I'll get into this later.) B. Public charge concerns due to age, health, family situation, or financial situation. They do no not want the beneficiary to become dependent on the US Government for any support. *You have up to 5 years to subit additional evidence in the even of a "Blue Slip." *They answer approximately 200 e-mails a day. *For the I-134, submit the very latest info that you can obtain. I was able to get the last question in which was, In regards to the interview and avoiding the "Blue Slip", is there any conclusive evidence that could be brought to prove a "VALID" relationship. Up to that time the 2 gents mannerisms and attitude was relaxed and a little bored. As soon as I asked this though, their body language became more alert, and they got a little more attentive to myself. The way they spoke was not quite defensive, but I sensed they were being careful with their words. Of course this was just my observation, but that was the vibe I was getting. Here is their reply: There is nothing absolute that would prove a valid relationship. Anything that could be faked is always questionable as evidence. This includes photos, documents and yes, even videos that could be altered. The number of visits and the amount of time together is important in their eyes. A video is not required. It may or may not be viewed if submitted during the interview. It may be requested with the 'Blue Slip" in which case then you would definitely supply a video. Bring everything that you can that you think will prove the establishment of a valid and genuine relationship. But the man I thought was a VO greatly emphasized that the interview is not about documents. It is first and foremost an INTERVIEW. It is usually something during the interview that causes the VO to question if the relationship is valid and there is a need to scrutinize the application in greater detail. (How they can do this during such a short interview seems a bit suspect in my opinion.) He also said even though your fiance(e)'s verbal english is not good, as long as you can show evidence of some kind of communication and how that can work for you and can establish a relationship, that would not be a stumbling block. On a personal note, have been here in Shenzhen for 1 week. Got to meet Mark and Bea today (Friday) and their beautiful daughter Elizabeth. She has these incredibly dark blue eyes and a full head of dark hair. Mark had better keep a close eye on her when she gets older, the boys are going to go crazy for her!! Also got to meet some of the lovely 001 ladies, Anna, Maggi, and June and Mark's place. Oh yes, my Ling was there also of course. There was also a beautiful arrangement of flowers from Carl and Bing to add to the festive mood. Will be here for another week before heading back to Maui. Also Saturday 10/30 will mark 1 year since Ling and I filed for her K1 visa and we are still waiting for the second name check clearance. So it looks like at least another 4 more long and torturous months for us. Oh well, I will certainly enjoy the time I have with her now. Hope you all have a Happy Halloween!! Sorry for the length of the post. Jon

Congratulations Mark and Bea!! I guess Elizabeth didn't want to wait until I got there. And I was practicing my delivery skills just for the event. Well maybe I'll get to see all of you soon. Jon

Congratulations Bryan. That is very good news. Can't wait to read about her experience.

Alright!! It's about time. Now she can be here for Thanksgiving!!

Clifford, Once again I agree with what you are saying for suggestions to overhauling the process. I have another one. If the Second Name Check is standard in all cases, as was stated on the e-mail to my Congressman from GZ, then why don't they start the name check earlier. In fact why don't they start it when you file the I-129F? Shouldn't we find out if your fiance(e) is a terrorist in the beginning of your application instaed of near the end? Also, if the VO does not have the time to look over all the material you bring to the interview, then why do they even ask for you to bring it to the interview?

October 11th??? That must be Columbus Day. Or as they say in Berkeley, CA "Indigenous Persons Day." Its amazing that any work gets done with all the holidays!!

Fantastic News PJ. Congratulations!!!!!

Neal, Don't forget that Thanksgiving is coming up November 25. Do the get Veteran's Day off too on November 11th?

I agree with Mari on both her posts. If you can't get your answer from one "visa specialist", call later and hopefully you get a different one. The clearance of the Second Name Check appears to be a stumbling block for many of us. Like Mari wrote that some CFL'ers (say isn't that the Canadian Football League too?) submitted their P3 packets in September and passed second namce check, there are others like us who are still waiting. Neal waited for over 6 months I think, and Clifford was the unfortunate recipient of a year I believe. After talking to a "specialist" this morning I asked to speak to a supervisor who looked at our case. She informed me it was on "Hold" meaning Ling's name generated a hit on some agency's list, and until they investigated and cleared her name nothing will be done. So after 3 months, what I thought would be the final stretch run is becoming a marathon. And I really hate running!! I just don't understand why in this day and age of computers, internet, electronic data gathering, etc. it should take so long to check someone's name even if they generate a hit. Shoots, I can get approved for a home mortgage over the internet in less than a week and never interact with a human. I remember getting clearance to do some work at a nuclear weapons facility to do some work there and it only took 2 months to get clearance. This was years ago too, when people were using XT and At computers, and the monitor was amber in color. Ahhhh, we're dealing with the U.S. government. Need I say more.

Leave Maui on Oct. 22 and arrive Hong Kong/Shenzhen Oct. 23. Leaving Nov. 6 My 4th trip.

Mari, I bet if you had bought a seat on the plane for the duck, they would have let it in. I really would like to see the face of the Customs agent if you had brought a whole duck with you. Jon

I think it is now US policy not to allow any food products through the mail system. At least into the US. Ling tried to mail me some cookies and tea 2 months ago and China Post said she couldn't because the US will send it back. Not even the tea. I mentioned this to some coworkers and they commented that they are experiencing the same problem with relatives in Japan. No food stuffs allowed. Not sure if it terrorism related or US fears of imported diseases and pests. I'm pretty sure they will not allow any kind of meat product, even if dried and cured into the US. That includes bringing it with you. Fear of Mad-Cow disease I suspect.

Robert, Good to hear you and Ping are safe. But when you wrote to say if you lost power, you were going tp break out your best whiskey, all I could think about was Ping breaking out some homemade pickeled radishes and watermelon to go along with your good stuff.