Sebastian

woo hoo ! Time to take some moon cakes out of the freezer and have a celebration !! Is she still in town (or off on travel vacation?) - what are you two planning to do , to celebrate?

samsong - unless you reside in the consular jurisdiction of the Embassy. - which embassy? I'm happy to further mince words, but hei. The Chinese Consulate Districts in the USA are very well defined. The USA Consular Districts in China are very well defined. WHICH countries foreign 'consular district' were you referring to? also - please don't get hung up on consulate vs embassy. From a jurisdictional standpoint - these two words are functionally equivalent.

samsong - let me try to explain it with geography? In the CONUS, no matter WHERE you live, you live / reside within a Chinese Consulate District. The 'things' you've mentioned are USEFUL for a USC who resides OUTSIDE of the UNITED STATES, ie - an expat living in London or Dubai, for example, who cannot get these documents handled IN LONDON or in DUBAI EXCEPT to go to the US Consulate in London or Dubai. Thankfully, there are no US Consulates/Embassies IN THE CONUS, and even more thankfully, ALL FOLK LIVING IN THE CONUS reside in a CHINESE CONSULATE DISTRICT. whew ! I don't wanna butt heads with you about this - however... If yer aiming for clarity, think of it all from a geographical standpoint. Warmest Regards.... *CONUS - Continental United States

For any complaint to be successful (ie - apology given and / or free stuff / booty ) - she'll need to get the name of the employee, the employee's company ID number, and keep meticulous records. How's her BullSh|t meter, anyway? This is one of those areas where it's best, IMO, to scream for the supervisor on the first SMELL of bullsh|t. Good Luck !

cook bamboo? oh i never think about that - but i do remember young tender bamboo shoots are edible, also some foods can be steamed in a piece of 'timber' bamboo - very nice. I make paper from the leaves, wok brushes from the small stems, and trellis's from the large pieces. I sell stuff through The Farm's Website - but... it's only to help me pass the time till she gets here (right ? ). How does your wife prepare bamboo for cooking?

I wanna see a pic of that "comb" you make. Right now the comb is our fingers. Have many wild black berries and muscadines here. The wife says the muscadine leafs will help my ailing arm? It was some bamboo concoction that I hastily threw together .. I'll try to get a photo tomorrow .. (Did I mention I do strange stuff with bamboo?)

Emergency ? Now? Use WU. Otherwise .... lets say you send her some money via paypal. To receive it, SHE needs a paypal account. Then the paypal account MUST be able to 'send out' monies to a bank account, somewhere in China. In USA, clearance is 3 to 5 business days - I've NO IDEA what it is to a CHINA BANK. I totally circumvent this by having a Business Premiere Account, and she has a debit card in her name to use at an ATM machine, anywhere in China. You can accomplish the same thing with a Personal Premiere Account, as well. If she has a card, usually is a 1 dollar withdrawal fee in China. The PayPal Help system is extensive - what did you read? If you just got the basic, mamby-pamby account - you might want to review the limitations. When I see 'Emergency' and 'Now' in a sentence, I always use WU - show up at a desk with hard currency. But is possible that my $$ levels aren't the same as yours - maybe you just want to send your 'basic' account limit of 400 to her? I dunno man... I sent XX,XXX this month, will send the same again in June - we're buying a flat in Chengdu. I've scared some clerks at the WU office recently - but they have all my history to my wife of prior XX,XXX - so I was able to shrug it off. Anyway - really - check out the Paypal Account Limitations Grid, it compares the 3 account types and what you can do...

That's the best news I've heard in a longish time. GOOD FOR YOU ! Good On Ya !!! Hang in there - things are never easy. Warmest Regards...

it's an act - when will it become a law ? I worry 'others' will fiddle around with the wording...

yes our packet 3 came from embassy in Guangzhou and yes they ask for I-134 in packet 3 in china The I-134 is sent in with the P3 ? That's some new bits - but hei - GUZ IV does change things up a bit - must be the season. In other recent cases, the I-134 was presented at Interview Day. Perhaps this is something new? Warmest Regards...

You might want to call NWA and get the ticket reworked for THEM, I really don't feel she'll be ready to jump on the third of June. You should be able to use the bereavement argument in reverse... (They cannot fly now, they must mourn this death) - IMO, best bet for 2 weeks later, or on the 17th. But - do talk with yer lass, as others have said - as customs vary widely (but grief doesn't)..

Eric - way back when (ca 2005 and a bit before) - the black hole at GZ (Guangzhou USA Consulate, IV UNIT) occurred because of the TIME it was taking to get name checks done. It was a mess - what now takes 1 to 2 months, took anywhere from 3 to 13 months THEN. The 'name check debacle' is over, and IMO, when a person is up for the interview at GUZ, she should ASK during the interview IF the name check is complete. The envelope that you mailed in, we call 'P3' here. The 90 day window is solely 'to get married' - ie - from the POE date, she has 90 days in which to get married to you. There is no hard/fast rule for WHEN to file the AOS package. Going back to China for work - she'll have to maintain usa domicile (as well as you, btw) and there's some 'duration' rules-o-thumb - usually if gone for 6 months, come back to usa for a month, return to china for another 6 months - well - that's on the edge of the envelope. Regardless of the 'duration outside o USA' - it's helpful if she has her greencard. If you wanted to get AP solely to have a wedding in China - ok - but it's not immediate - figure 2 weeks to 8 weeks, depending on where the AOS package is filed. Welcome Aboard !

There doesn't appear to be much consensus in the medical community that wearing a surgical mask has much if any effect at all: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-fl...eally-work.html http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art...rticlekey=99809 A far better practice is to avoid touching your face with your hands when you're in public. Wash your hands frequently with antibiotic soap, and use a paper towel, when you open and close the bathroom door. Jesse - not to beat you up AT ALL - but - the folks quoted did not live through the SARS epidemic - and as such, I can't take 'their advice' at all. Masks work, to a degree. Twofold. 1. keep the air particles containing the airborne virus OUT of yer respiratory system and 2. keeps others' effluents from sneezing and spitting OFF of your face. I lived through the SARS epidemic in Guangzhou. Masks were useful. But it's got to be the 'right' mask - something that can filter the air particulates...

Randy - yup - thanks for checking in - but ya know what? He raised this issue in March - and got some response / answer here, and I think he didn't see it. Now it's the END OF MAY, and his wife and younger daughter were already interviewed. I am sad, he got some advice for THEN, and IMO, didn't see it or act on it. The reality - he had from March 10 (the day the older daughter arrived) to April 24 (the day of the AOS appointment for his wife and younger daughter) to make an infopass, and MAKE IT HAPPEN, but for some reason, he chose not to do that. NOW it's gonna be a battle, based on the 20 yr old's calendar.

April, you say? It's now the end of May. Get a move on, man !!! She's got a potential AGE OUT (and if successful, a voluntary departure) staring her in her face. Did you call anyone at DOS or USCIS in APRIL ? Did you make an infopass appointment ? (these are seperate things) .. I had mentioned to you to make an info pass appointment for March, to try to get her IN with the mother's and younger daughter's interview - did you try to set up the info pass appointment then? IMO, the paperwork has gotten crossed up. I DO REMEMBER an I-130 for a K-2 being filed here by some member - but it's been about 2 years ... If I find it, I'll post it here. In the meantime - please make a phone call and straighten this out. I was surprised you haven't done anything with info pass - you had some good advice back in March (which I think fell on the floor) - see http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=481797 I can understand WHY an IO might ask for an I-130 - this is a K-2 follow to join, with possibility of 'one year' window to close soon.

I assume you have copies of what you sent in - take a look, see if the daughters info for any K-2 stuff is on the I-129F. I'm betting that the G-325 form also doesn't have her info on it. (that's the closest form number to 365). Warmest Regards (and Good Luck !)

Ya - there was some 'trial' last year - now it's gonna be more teams and a smallish schedule. tom.com USED to handle all the rebroadcast rights - no clue who has it this year - maybe espn star outta singapura?

Great News on the Pink !!! I was reading hard, but missed any news about the son.... We'd all love a longish write-up when you have some time... GO PINK !!! http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4839/v268505lf8.jpg Warmest Regards....

Ya, don't mention school at the interview. OTOH, once yer stateside, be prepared to pay international rates at most colleges, for anywhere from the first 6 to 12 months. It's a catch 22, but you may find it so exhorbinant that you'll decide to do something else for that first year. Good Luck with the interview..

Hey guys - if you got pegged for electronic processing at NVC, then you'll have a 'GZO' case number. If you did paper processing at NVC, then you'll have a 'GUZ' case number. I'm watching the flow this month and next for CR-1s, as the pilot program has kicked in. What I'm looking at is the 'dead-zone' time - the difference in dates between 'DHL notes 'clearance delay'' to 'GUZ opens physical case file'. Historically, this duration has been anywhere from 1 to 4 months... With the new electronic program at NVC, I'm watching for 'total electronic casefile' - hopefully the dead zone duration will decrease, if not altogether VANISH.

Bert-Jie Lin - well, if you had gotten married in China, you'd need to have this 'affadavit of marriageability'. Getting it done at a US Embassy/Consulate in China is the easiest way - it's ONE PLACE to go, ONE DOCUMENT, about 20 minutes with a small queue. It needs to be officially translated into Chinese - what I recommend anyone to do is to go to the Marriage Office in yer lass' city, and inquire as to WHICH translation office you should go to - they'll point you to the right place. For us , it was dead easy, as 'that translation office's work' is accepted by the marriage office. MeteorRain - you have two avenues available to you - 1. do it stateside before you jump or 2. do it in China at a US Consulate/Embassy. let us know which route you choose. GOOD LUCK !

What a Great Outcome !!! Warmest Regards...

Where is the son now?

If you don't want to get this form in USA, you can get it from any US Consulate/Embassy in China. I got mine done in BeiJing, took about 20 minutes. Was a nice side trip. Bring certified copies of any divorce certificates / death certificates. If you've never been married before, that's ok - the ConOff will know what to do.

drink in a bag... yum !!! I miss my morning yin yang peng !!! always served in a bag, straw out the top. yin yang peng - black tea, black coffee, milk, sugar, served over ice.