LiuXia's Husband

The American Red Cross has a very good rating from Charity Navigator- 94% program expenses means only 6% overhead for admin and fundraising. Many others are also 4 star rated. http://www.charitynavigator.org/

LiuXia is from Chengdu. Her family and friends are OK. Mom was outside walking when the quake hit, said it was VERY violent and lasted a long time. Son was online chatting with former classmates at that time, could see the internet cafe damage occurring. He later found out his school was hard hit, probably will be demolished. We have also donated to Red Cross China Fund.

We had a similar problem: the custodial father would not allow the son to immigrate with LiuXia. He finally relented shortly before the son turned 18, so we were able to start the process. Needless to say, the father and grandparents were not too happy that the son wanted to leave them. Add to that the stress of being twice denied for a IR2 visa (great first impression to make on a potential future citizen) and its a wonder the kid hasn't gone postal. Anyway I guess my point is that a follow-on visa is not a guarantee. It would seem like a slam dunk that a child would get a visa if the mother had already gotten hers and all the child's paperwork was provided, documented, matched up, approved by NVC, etc... But when you are dealing with a(n) <insert adjective here> governmental agency like GUZ, anything can happen. Best if you can get the mother and child approved at the same time.

I just saw the movie on Showtime

Thanks for all the advice. This must be true- I read it on 001.

And the beat goes on. Congratulations.

As I read it, we need to file AOS (or removal of conditions) within 90 days of her 2 years anniversary of CR1 issuance. But my wife INSISTS it is within 90 days of our 2 years marriage anniversary. Can somebody please verify the correct timeframe. (BTW- My native tongue is English and the instructions seem clear to me, but... 001 disinformation is hard to overcome).

Dateline: Chengdu LiuXia gets a phone call from GUZ on Friday- Wednesday interview will be CR1 instead of K3. I arrived Chengdu Saturday night and we travelled to GUZ Sunday. We stayed at a hotel about 4 blocks from the embassy, off the island. Don't know the name of the place (001 sisters can find out), but it was new and the price was right-about $15/20 per night. The proprietor (Mr Yong) was extremely helpful as a guide, escort, and travel agent. Monday and Tuesday were full days at hospital, etc. Wednesday morning we met Ron(SoCal) and Eva(K3), Will(NYC) and Susan(K1). Girls enter embassy, guys wait at Blenz. About 10, Eva and Susan show up at Blenz- where is LiuXia? At noon we go to lunch, after which, the girls return for interviews. By 230, my nerves are frazzled- still no LiuXia. Did she get lost, abducted, or what? Then at 315, they all show up back at Blenz, trying their best to look sad. But they couldn't pull it off, the excitement was too great- 3 for 3, we're batting a thousand! En masse, we go to the Post office right around the corner. Later that night we have a victory celebration at a hotpot across town. Thursday we take the subway to another medical center for additional shot records. Friday morning, we all pick up and compare visas at yet another post office. Later that evening , back to Chengdu. Interview details: CR1s interview all day long, have to pay extra $45 in RMB(373.50 exact change) only. LiuXia's VO was a tall handsome blonde at window 7. He rejected the previous applicant, so she was very nervous. But her interview was a slam dunk, especially considering it was all done in Chinese. Q1: What is your husband's name? A1: Duh. She also gives my regards to VO. Q2: Where does he live? A2: slight twist- She answers Portland, my residence is actually across river in Washington. VOs consult. OK. Q3: What is his work/employer? A3: she answers and shows him a company monthly magazine that highlights our Chinese operations. Q4: How many times has he visited you? A4: hands him my passport, answers. Q5: Do you have pictures together/ correspondence? A5: passes him a Chinese newspaper article showing us together. Also shows him an email (some of which is written in Chinese) that I sent her prior to applying for visa (apparently the email with Chinese writing BEFORE the application seemed to have great importance). VO: Congratulations, you are approved!

LiuXia and Brian will be there for sure! Sign us up for the dinner at Jake's, too. Yum.

Believe it or not, I have received personalized and timely responses to every email that I have sent GUZ.

Our interview is on June 8

June 18th or later. Picnic in a park.

Email from GUZ was waiting for me tonight. As the saying was in the military before enlistment expiration, "short 41 days".

This is really gonna mess up nooneufo's charts. Hope the visa unit move in June doesn't make this boat any slower.

With K3s from Missouri moving slowly and CR1s progressing rapidly, I think our CR1 will arrive Guangzhou before the K3 interview. Correct me if I'm wrong, but then the interview will be CR1. This means vaccinations are required. Some confusion exists about where to get the shots. Are only the medical examiners on the list acceptable to give the shots, or can they be done at a clinic in the hinterlands?

May1 is International Labor Day. The holiday extends until the 7th in China. I wonder if the embassy is on holiday the entire week?

The Chengdu 001 sisters will celebrate again at next month's get-together and hotpot.

I like May 25. What do the numbers say?

I thought we were getting normal window-size curtains made. Surprise! Normal means to the floor. But the price was right. So, when LiuXia gets here (she told me I am NOT to hang them prior), my whole house will have ceiling to floor curtains. This is not a bad thing, just another quirk I will have to adjust to.

The painter's name is Won Chang Hon Rembia.

I like the water colors. Went to a small shop and the owner showed me magazines and books featuring some of his works. He also has some paintings in the National Museum and is well known in the Sichuan art circles. Forget his name. Anyway bought 5 hanging-scroll type paintings for gifts and personal collection. total cost $35. At a specialty store, I save a nice wood carved boat and a beautiful jade carving. The workmanship was world class. But so was the price!!! $35K for the 3 foot long boat, $12K for the jade piece. Wow!

I am in China now, just reading some 001 with the wife. here is another(?) of the same situation. Can this be happening so often?? translated:" Jms of hi (123 words ) (zlm123 read 12 at 19:04 today ): One is signed today, took the white form in the morning, took the yellow blue form in the afternoon, it say need time of CASE of me it deal with,please going back news. Why? That sister is experienced. Please give us your comments. " I am by nature somewhat suspicious. On the one hand I hope this is your case Alex, but on the other hand I hope it is not. Either way it is not good news to hear.

Congratulations to you and all the other recent P4s.

Here is our package's recent travel journal. It was among 4 packages in a shipment. The other 3 cleared customs within 8 hours. I hope this means the consulate will get it soon. 12/9/04 2 : 16 am Arrived at DHL facility. Guangzhou, China 1 : 42 am In Transit. Guangzhou, China 12/8/04 9 : 31 pm Clearance processing complete. Guangzhou, China 11/14/04 9 : 02 pm Clearance Delay. Guangzhou, China 11/13/04 5 : 19 pm Processed for clearance Guangzhou, China 3 : 49 pm Arrived at DHL facility. Guangzhou, China 4 : 48 am In Transit. Kowloon, Hong Kong 1 : 42 am Arrived at DHL facility. Kowloon, Hong Kong 11/11/04 4 : 45 am Departing origin. Erlanger, KY 12 : 44 am In transit. Erlanger, KY Picked Up by DHL. Shipper: Receiver: NATIONAL VISA CENTER AM. CONGEN GUANGZHOU Portsmouth, NH 03801 Guangzhou, 510133 Us Cn Shipment Detail: Service: International Express Ship Type: Document Special: Description: Weight: 13 Shipper's Reference: EXP 09 NOV 2004 A Pieces: 1

Just last week one of my wife's co-workers died after she was hit by a car while walking home from work.