Jeikun

In virginia at least, her word that she had Chicken Pox as a child was enough to waive the vaccination requirement for it, and sign off on it anyway.

Similar thing. I submitted a change of address for Jun when we moved to CA, and got a letter (sent to my old address) stating they recieved my letter stating our greencard had been lost in the mail... WTF?

Jun was the same way. No cold drinks, and especially nothing cold during her period. But she "Americanized". She still stops short of eating ice cream during "that time", but will only drink water and other things cold. She would NEVER admit that to her mom though.

Incorrect on the 1st point. While not AS likely, Hep B can be passed through semen and vaginal secretions. It is in higher concentration in blood, though so it is more likely to be passed that way. In the 2nd, yeah drug users are the most common cases in the US. In China it is at birth, or through poor sanitation and reuse of needles and IVs at the doctor or dentist. On the 3rd, that is too scary, and not truely accurate. In a healthy adult person, Hepatitis only has about a 5% chance of becoming chronic. In an immune compromised person or a child this can be up to 25%. In an infant it is almost 100%. This is probably where the 10% average comes from. But Chronic hep B doesn't "lead to death". Only about 25% of chronic Hep B cases are eventually fatal, which means 75% are not. This is usually through liver cancer or cirrosis caused by the frequent liver damage, or changes in liver cells DNA form the virus.

Her blood test as part of the physical will likely detect it and it will be noted by the doctor on the form. Other than that, no reason to mention it at all. It has zero impact on her ability to get the visa. Put your mind to rest. Do, however pay attention to whether she has it or not. It's not a visa problem, but it is a life-long health concern.

She probably has Hepatitis B if any. A does not become chronic ever and is highly contageous. C isn't very common in China. B is rampant. Liver cancer caused by hep B is a huge killer in China. And Hep B IS contageous. It is often not very contageous if it is in an inactive state as it is for most Chinese who have it because the majority of them contract it at birth, but it is contageous through blood and through sex. You should get vaccinated. Anyone who will be living with her should get vaccinated. Research it, don't believe ANYTHING the Chinese doctors say about it without consulting someone in the states or even on the web to confirm it. For the country with the highest level of Hep B infections, the Chinese medical community knows NOTHING about it. If you don't believe me, PM me. It will not affect her K-1 at all. But keep this in mind going forward: 1. Get a full liver exam with a specialist in the US. This should include ultrasound at a minimum and preferrably a liver biopsy. 2. You and anyone who will be living with her should be vaccinated against Hep B. 3. She should be vaccinated against Hep A. It is a much less severe disease, but for someone who already has Hep B, getting Hep A also can be devistating. 4. Ask the specialist about recommendations for control. Sometimes they will suggest antivirals, but they all have their own risks associated. In some rare cases Interferon can cure it completely, but with the most common Chinese strains the chances are nearly abyssimal. 5. Have her get regular liver exams. Every 6 months is recommended. Every year is a bare minimum. 6. If you have children in the future, make sure the doctors are aware and administer the baby a shot of Hep-B immunoglobulin and the vaccine within 14 hours of birth. This will reduce their chance of contracting it to less than 5% 7. Be cautious of what medications she uses... you know that warning on Tylenol that says "People with liver problems... blah blah blah..."? This is for her. Be aware that Chronic Hep B if left completely untreated carries a 25% chance of fatality. If treated this is much much lower. This isn't meant to be "oooh scary"... Chances are she will be just fine for her whole life. I just want to point out to you that her condition has probably been ignored or mishandled by her doctors her whole life, and now is the time to be proactive. If you have any questions, PM me, or ask me here. I'll do my best to point you in the right direction. - Jason

I see from a material that Chinese have more white teeth than Americans due to they eat more veges and less sugar. Your grey teeth is an individual feather. Good luck for the dental trip. I don't know the exact age group or timeframe, before my wife's time for sure... but for awhile the Chinese gov't tried putting antibiotics in water supplies in certain areas much like we do flouride. It caused a lot of kids to have weak grey teeth. I recall several members who's wives had this problem (I'm thinking the age range was mid to upper 40's but don't quote me). I kept by Jun through all her dental treatments and kept trying to help her overcome her fear/loathing of the dentist... then at 31 I got my FIRST cavity... I was so nervous and had her sit in the dentist office with me like my mommy... lol But I have a better understanding now

For that matter, did you know that capsaicin doesn't actually burn you? It causes your nervous system to create the sensation of burning, but there is no physical burn. Birds are immune to it's effects. There IS a such thing as a fatal dose, but it is generally thought to be impossible for a person to consume that much in a short enough timeframe. So without knowing anything about it myself but taking a guess based on that line of reasoning, perhaps it IS possible to consume enough to harm an embryo in the earlier stages if enough is consumed in a short enough period of time. As for the OP, a lot of Jun's dishes are stir-fried, but many are also steamed dishes, stews and soups, etc. She goes through phases of wanting to eat nothing but Chinese food, to wanting to eat nothing but western food. When she first got here, she thought western food was all fatty and "heavy". Now (she's in China now) she just talks about all the western food she wants when she gets back. Steak (which she has actually requested "extra-extra rare" in a restaurant before), cheese (up to and including fried mozerella), baked sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar, cheesecake, bread pudding, Fettucini alfredo... lol I think diet is the one area where she actually "westernized". Moreso than me even.

Just for an example, the 1st time Jun went to China she used her married name. Her passport was still in her Maiden name. They were more concerned with the greencard though which was in her married name, and she had her US driver's license also in her married name. Of course it may have helped that her maiden name is now her middle name, so in a sense, both names were on all documents.

Virginia took My DL# instead of my SSN, and Jun's Passport and visa number. Didn't even have to show proof we were divorced from our previous marriages or anything, just raise our right hand and swear we weren't lying.

Jun needed deep cleaning and root planing. Also discovered that the Chinese dentist who pulled one of her teeth left a root in. Another had given her a crown over a root canal that hadn't removed all of the root. She also had to get another root canal. The bridge she had was already chiping porcelin, but we left that in for the moment... yet her breath still occasionally smelled like death. Finally the wisdom teeth came out. That finally took care of it. That was just all the steps necessary to get to the stage that braces were feasable. And that chipped bridge still might have to be replaced... She'll have a $20,000 mouth.

The vast soy conspiracy is even scarier. Look in your refridgerator and cabinets and try to find 3 processed foods that do not contain soy. Bread? Soy. Mayo? Soy. Doritos? Soy. Peanut butter? Soy. Almost everything has soy in it. Oh, but soy is healthy right? hahahahahaha..... we shall see... Soy... it's the asbestos of the future.

Same thing with Jun and pidgeons. "I can make it into soup and just not tell dad where it came from!"

Jun used to run a pet store in China. This is actually how we ended up talking to each other on the internet, talked about pets. One of her dogs was one she had taken form a lady who had used her as a breeder, the other was one from her pet store she couldn't part with. She was nervous about cats, but after meeting my dad's cats loved them too. She will kiss and share food with the dogs, and they sleep on the bed unless her mom finds out. It did take me a while to convince her that having a dog or cat while pregnant wouldn't make your children retarded (though a pregnant woman should avoid cat feces as there is a small risk for a pregnancy complication as a result). She tried to convince others of this on a Chinese pet forum and was basically run off for being "crazy". Her ex mother-in-law hated that she refused to cook dog meat for her son. A couple of years ago, we were about to go to a friend's home when this flea-bitten half starved kitten came up to her in our driveway. We immediatly had to postpone our plans to take it inside, feed it, and clean it up. The little turd bit clean through my fingernail when we were bathing it, it was ATE UP with fleas. She nursed it back to health, it got fat and happy, she named it... Then we found out it belonged to my aging neighbor's son. He was in his 60's and had terminal cancer. He had been taking it to the vet, stopped to visit his mother (our neighbor) and left it in the car with the window cracked. My dad had offered to not tell him she had it, if she would rather keep it, but she felt sorry for the guy because he was divorced, dying etc... so gave him his cat back. He cried and thanked her, and took the cat home. A month later we found out it had died. He took very poor care of it, and had let it stay outside and it contracted some skin disease and he had it put to sleep... two months later the man died. Jun just coldly said "Good. I'm glad." and went on with what she was doing... Anyway... I rambled way too much. What I was trying to say is there are a large growing number of Chinese people who are becoming more willing to treat a pet as a family member. Though it still isn't really the cultural norm. The pet business is actually having huge growth in China now, and many purebred dogs sell for an insane amount of money (like US 6K for an AKC border collie). Though it seems they are also often seen as "status symbols" for the rich, and are treated like a diamond ring or new purse. Many Chinese people as others have said, have an image of dogs and cats as filthy animals, because in their experience they really are... strays and feral animals. We passed another Chinese-American couple in Monterey while walking a golden retriever puppy. It took 2 bounds twoards them, and the Chinese girl shreiked like someone was peeling off her skin, jumped I shit you not 2 feet in the air, and hid behind her husband. He saved her by petting the foul beast and throwing its stick. China is just so diverse... Any 4 of you could probably ask your SO if ____ is Chinese culture, one will say "yes" one will say "no" one will say the opposite is true, and one will say sometimes yes, sometimes no... and they are all correct.

A lot of people have got a lot of mixed results depending on where they went. I only brought the I-693A and proof of her immunizations. That should really be all they need, because all they are doing is certifying that she has had them, and you are paying for that service. It's not really their business why you're doing it. I remember some members having it out with someone who insisted they needed another full physical, and they wouldn't do only the supplement. Under no circumstances should you unseal that envelope, no matter what they ask you for.

Isn't prior sponsorship issues more of a problem for the original application, than for the interview? I was married to a Japanese citizen, and sponsored her for a green card. We divorced, she attempted to change of status without me, failed, and had to exit the US before she could have deportation orders against her. She then got a work visa and returned. It caused me no problems at all with my application for Jun, but I was definately sweating it. Of course since my ex had failed to get the greencard, it may have looked better for me. I would advise as others have, have all the evidence you can possibly have... but don't show your hand by sending it all to them right away. It might appear as a red flag to them, and leave you with nothing up your sleeve in the event you have to overcome an initial denial.

Me too. Yeah. Who dug it up and for why? I, for one, am very glad Frank dug it up again. I spent the last two hours reading all 140+ posts. Very interesting. Honestly, I sincerely hope Don would PIN this thread so every new member has a chance to read this thread. There are plenty of comments on both sides of the spectrum that a new member should be thinking through and be exposed to. This is a great thread. I appreciate reading everyone's thoughts. I can't help but think of Jeikun's haunting but profound words: Such profound words. For all the people who like to post (almost brag) about how great and wonderful their current SO's are today, it may be that same person next year writing about how their "loyal" and "devout" SO/wife suddenly cheated on them and how it has all been a "scam" from the beginning. Irony is an ironclad bitch.

i agree Charles, its better to regret something you have done then to regret something you havent lol good quote

Yep. Because some programs with multiple language support (like Nero) check the default non-unicode language and assume that's your language. Nero was an easy fix, your language can be changed in a drop down menu. negative.... actually it kept going back even after i changed the default language under regions. half in chinese / half in english Whacky. That's the windows "XP"erience for ya. Two people, same program, same OS, same procedure - different results. lol (And I assume you mean you changed the language setting within Nero, as changing your windows language setting would do nothing at that point. I wasn't too clear on that in my post)

Yep. Because some programs with multiple language support (like Nero) check the default non-unicode language and assume that's your language. Nero was an easy fix, your language can be changed in a drop down menu. Thing is, without Chinese set as the default for non-unicode, files named in Chinese won't load (in MOST programs), and chinese programs will not function properly. While with Chinese as the default, English filenames have no problem, and english programs run fine (with the few noted issues). So unless you want to go into your language properties, and switch back and forth rebooting your computer each time, if you both use the PC frequently it is far easier to just set it to "Chinese" and leave it alone. Please note, this is not the same thing as "default input language" - that is a simple little switch on your language bar (right now I can switch by hitting <alt> <shift>) and only affects input, nothing whatsoever to do with how your programs themselves function. "Default language for non-unicode programs" cannot be toggled - it is a major setting and required a reboot whenever it is changed. It all comes down to how often your SO uses the computer, how many Chinese programs she feels like she needs, and how many files with Chinese filenames she has - and whether the minor inconveniences caused on the English side by using Chinese as default for non-unicode are worth it to avoid the HUGE problems with Chinese by not. For example, Jun used: QQ, a realtime translation software/dictionary, music editors, and several other programs... none of which would install or run until Chinese was set as default for non-unicode. She also had thousands of mp3's, jpg files, pdfs, word documents, etc etc... renaming all of them so they could be opened would have been a real pain. Other suggestions: 1. Tell your wife she is an American now, just like your computer, and doesn't need to have any gobbelty-gook Chinese programs installed on your computer. Then after you're settled in your hospital room, browse the yellow pages for a good divorce attorney. Seriously though - if your wife doesn't use any chinese programs, and can name all her saved documents in English characters - you can avoid this all together (unless her friend, mom, etc, sends her a picture with a Chinese name, which will probably display as "boxboxbox.jpg" and will need to be renamed before opening). 2. Install Chinese windows as well as English and set up a dual-booting system. (If you have or can afford this option, it will be the cleanest for both of you) 3. Let your wife have her own computer and while she can use Chinese input if she uses yours, tell her not to install any Chinese programs on it. You can use English input on hers, but resist the urge to try to install NERO burning rom on it without assistance. 4. Use Chinese as default language for non-unicode programs - but switch back to English before a major software install (I consider this a pain in the butt and don't recommend it). 5. Go to Bill Gates' home, tell him you hold him presonally responsable, and shoot him in the head. Chop him into little pieces, and use them as bait to fish in his indoor trout stream. Have some trout, and think about what you've done. mmm trout...

Yep, milk products and fatty meats give us westerners a distinctve reek. Kimchee gives Koreans theirs (hoo-boy). And Chinese have their own as well. Jun always used deodorant, and often complained to me about how Chinese guys do not. She definately noticed. She always tried to subtely turn her male friends on to the concept, most of them refused thinking of it as effeminate. Her brother however got his as a "gift", and had no real choice but to comply with big sister.

If you're using an English version of windows XP like I am with Chinese set as the default language for non-unicode programs, and Chinese input enabled... which is the best way to get Chinese file names, etc to be recognised barring switching to Chinese windows... then unfortunately, that is going to happen. If there is a way around it, I haven't hit on it yet. I don't seem to have that problem with word (what version do you have?) But notepad and wordpad (.txt) documents, and .pdf documents which were created from .txt files, and some websites do the same thing to me. I haven't found a way to get both yet. If you change the default language for non-unicode programs back to English in your advanced language settings, that should fix it, but then most programs won't recognize Chinese filenames, and Chinese programs will often display as a bunch of gobbelty-gook. So you kind of have to accept whichever scenario is less inconvenient for you. If it's word you have the problem with, try either converting the file from a .txt to a .doc file (if that is the problem), or try experimenting with different fonts. May or may not have some results. If anyone has any other suggestions, please post.

If I ever mentioned death, sickness, injury or anything along those lines, Jun would put her hand over my mouth if close enough, or give me a look if not and call me "Crow Mouth!"

Well, I think location is important, especially if you're already living where you think you would most like to live... HOWEVER you describe your current salary as "great" so more than double "great" in my vocabulary of ballpark estimates would be "fucking great". For a "fucking great" salary, I'd be willing to live ALMOST anywhere. I don't think it's an easy decision. I would recommend finding out all you can about the location, and if possible flying out and seeing it first hand. Are there activities you enjoy you won't be able to there? Are there new things there you think you may like? Are all the stores, entertainment, etc that you love or something comperable easily available? How is the real estate market? Can you live with snow? Make yourself a list of pros and cons and take some time to see if you think one outweighs the other.

Can still do that in Virginia too. Not like California where if you smoke within 50 feet of a building, sirens go off and men in white coats run out, stamp out your smoke, and give you a nicorette suppository. Today I lit up while walking out of a restroom near Big Sur. A pretty guy said to his pretty girlfriend "Hold your breath." as they walked past me. "Fuck you!" just died in my throat, what would have been the point. I'm totally outnumbered by slack-jawed, estrogen poisoned, tofu and alfalfa sprout pudding sucking, enviro-fags here. Just take it with the territory I guess.