Sebastian

I re-read your post a few times, and have a coupla inane questions. 1. were you married to her in HKG before you filed the K-1 ? 2. if you were married already, what made you decide to NOT go the K-3 route (file I-130, wait, file I-129F) ?

Yes. The divorce decree will be available to purchase at the courthouse where it was filed/granted.

There is a version of the I-129F in adobe format that is FILLABLE - IE - you can open it up in Adobe Reader and type in the boxes. IIRC, this box is also fillable. Now, if yer father has some chinese language support on his computer (for IE, for Adobe, for IME) then he can copy her name in chinese characters from YIM, MSN, email, even a MS Word document, then PASTE it into this form whilst filling it out in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If that's not doable for you - then it's time for a bit of old fashioned copy/paste - take the form thats filled out (mostly), then take a printout of her name in chinese, cut it down to fit the block in the form, tape/glue it into the block, then make a photocopy of it all. The photocopy is now his MASTER document. hth !

I have some sideways info for ya - it's a matter of FACE. Her Face, her family's FACE. Face is a big deal.

Hey losfer1 - I'll be filing at the end of this month, so lets see how 'the race' goes for the appointment dates. I-130/I-129F/K-3 as well. If you don't mind, would you find the area here, where you can input your timeline data ? I'll be doing the same the day I mail off the packet.

Weird - the DHL website claimes it was 'delivered' in HKG on 12/27.

OK - my own followup. From here - http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/guangzhou/iv/kvfaq.html It's not possible anymore.

No - is only one year for 'local tuition rates'. She can attend the local college on 'international tuition rates' or 'out of state' rates immediately.

Time for CraigsList ! see www.craigslist.org - then look or post in the garden/farm area - pick the city closest to you. If you were in Houston, I'd say go to Hong Kong Market to buy - they have them. I grew 3 batches of garlic in my garden in 2007, maybe it's time to start yer own garden ?

Has anyone ever heard of requesting the opening of a 'provisional file' at GZ ? I remember two friends of mine doing this 7 years ago, once the A number had been assigned (and that was assigned when the packet left to go to GZ). Ring any bells ? or am I having a fog of a memory?

my take is a little bit different. I have several unlocked tri-band gsm phones that require a sim card. when i'm in china, i buy prepaid from a service. when i'm in usa, i use t-mobile. For me, it was never about 'the carrier', but always about 'the phone'. I made sure they were unlocked before i bought them. they also work with local country sim cards in italy and the uk.

Try here? http://www.china.embassy.gov.au/bjng/Visas..._Migration.html

Thanks for those data bits, David. I'll study more on CR1 timelines and see if it makes sense for us.

Actually- a friend of mine did this in May. He brought his document sets, but the Officer didn't ask for them. He went to the USA Consulate/Embassy in BeiJing. I believe he's going the CR-1 route as well. I'm not sweating getting it done locally in the USA (the proof the Chinese Marriage Registry Office will require) as it really is messy - the local 'State Department Office' for verification/stamp isn't all that 'local'. I'm guessing that if I did it here locally, including the Chinese Consulate processing - it'd take at least 6 weeks in my locale. Ug Ug. David - ya - it's just 2 things, near as I can tell - 1. the cert from the USA Consulate/Embassy in China 2. a notarized translation copy (into Chinese). Both can be accomplished in the same morning. I've been told ya need to bring some documents to the consulate (basic stuff like death certificates of prior spouse, divorce documents) and thats it. We both will go to BeiJing for an overnight trip - besides - tripping with her is FUN ! - Well ok - BeiJing is gonna be BRRRRR COLD, but thats ok too. If divorce papers have that little 3" X 4" stamp attached it might be easier??

David - ya - it's just 2 things, near as I can tell - 1. the cert from the USA Consulate/Embassy in China 2. a notarized translation copy (into Chinese). Both can be accomplished in the same morning. I've been told ya need to bring some documents to the consulate (basic stuff like death certificates of prior spouse, divorce documents) and thats it. We both will go to BeiJing for an overnight trip - besides - tripping with her is FUN ! - Well ok - BeiJing is gonna be BRRRRR COLD, but thats ok too.

Hey David - Thanks for the data points. Gives me a lot to think about!!

Thanks David - but I thought the K-3 was marginally faster than the K-1 ? I wasn't concerned about the money or additional forms to file.

I'm planning to get married in China next month. Here's my steps for proposed paperwork processing. I'm asking for a reality check - just in case I'm missing something. 1. go to US Consulate in BeiJing, get certification of 'single man'. Get it translated and stamped. 2. get married in her city. 3. return to usa, file I-130 4. as soon as recv receipt on I-130, file I-129F for K-3 visa process. Thanks in advance !