sailorboy Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 I arrived in GUZ on Sunday, 11/6...our interview was 11/7. Everything was fairly typical of previous posts regarding forming lines around 7:00am and such. They started letting us in around 7:45am and as we got close to the guy handing out the green cards, my wife (in a fit of haste) surge forward and grabbed the next card. Bad idea!!! The number on the card was 00013!!! We went up the escalators to the 3rd or 4th floor (I forget) and my wife gave up her card and proceeded up the next escalator. I went to the coffee shop and began the wait from h***. As I looked around, I did see 3-4 other US guys waiting. I finally joined one of them and we small talked for awhile and then just sat in nervous silence. Two hours later, they started coming out...my heart started to explode almost! My first and permanent impression of the scam artists was very bitter. These poor girls coming out have no defense against them! What a total scam! Anyway, as some of the ladies with the US guys came out, everyone was saying it was too easy. Just got asked a couple of easy questions, then the "OK, you pass...you get visa". For them it was a slam dunk. Then my wife comes out and I could tell by the look on her face the news was not good. She was given the blue slip!! I was stunned to say the least! She apparently got the Black Widow and she asked my wife numerous questions and looked at everything my wife had brought in detail. Finally, she found her power trip reason for denial. Among the top 10 questions posted here is "how many times has your SO visited you." Anticipating that question and knowing I had only been there once to marry my wife, I wrote a letter of explanation and had it notarized. Further, as added incentive for the VO, I offered letters of reference and recommendation from family and friends. 25 of them to be exact!! Well, the VO saw where I stated in my letter that I was not entitled to vacation in my job and would have lost my job if I made follow-on visits. So she blue slipped my wife and stated for us to bring a letter from my employer stating I was not entitled to vacation as I had said in my letter. Some of you more knowledgeable than I type guys/gals may know more, but I was of the impression that a notarized document is legally binding. Thus when I notarized my letter, I was legally bound to it in a legal proceeding. But that isn't good enough for the Black Widow. Instead, she wanted a non-legally binding letter from my boss. Go figure!! Long story short, we made an appointment for the following Monday. I had my boss FEDEX the letter immediately. I came back to the US on that Thursday (11/10) while my wife stayed behind for the Overcome Interview. The letter arrived the day I left. On Monday, 11/14, my wife took it in with the blue slip and a copy of my passport with visa stamps for good measure. Was told to come back on Wednesday, 11/16 for answer. She did so and got the red slip. All that was said to her by a nice Chinese VO was "You are OK now" and she handed my wife the red slip. My wife picked her passport and packet up at the China Post on Friday. Said she had to wait for 2 hours!! She spent Saturday partying with her friends in GZ and celebrating. And now, just the flight remains. Oh, total time from NOA1 to her arrival in the US will be 424 days. Speedy, eh? Better luck to all who follow us!! Dave Link to comment
cosmiclobster Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 (edited) Great news, Dave!!! So I guess the next question is when is her flight arriving and when is the party on H dock? And I guess the moral of the story is not to include any notarized letters of explanation??? Edited November 20, 2005 by cosmiclobster (see edit history) Link to comment
warpedbored Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Good thing you were there to act promptly. It could have been much worse. At least now with visa in hand the nightmare is over. Congratulations. Link to comment
notrevorich Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Congratulations Dave your story is somewhat similar to ours , I think it just is a matter of luck as to which VO you get for the original interview . But I think you did get lucky as you did get the Same VO for the overcome materials as we had .She was a very nice and was highly professional - as I said on my previous post -she deserves a Big thank you. Link to comment
raineedaze Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Congrats, you handled that very well. Now your new life begins.. Link to comment
frank1538 Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Congratulations. I'm glad everything worked out. Link to comment
tonado Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Rough interview but the result is good. Congrats. Link to comment
LeeFisher3 Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Congratulations Link to comment
Randy W Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 (edited) . . . Some of you more knowledgeable than I type guys/gals may know more, but I was of the impression that a notarized document is legally binding.?Thus when I notarized my letter, I was legally bound to it in a legal proceeding.? . . . 170202[/snapback] No - the notary simply verifies your identity, not the content. It is not binding in any way, although there can be penalties for misstating facts. I can understand that she would prefer a statement from your employer to a notarized statement from you, but I find it distressing that this little door would be opened when she looked at your notarized statement. This follows the minimalist, less is better, unless asked for, philosophy. That being said, the letter from the employer about vacation time is NOT a requirement. To send you scurrying at the last minute, and witholding the visa, even if only for a couple of days, is cruel, especially considering the evidence which WAS presented. But . . . http://bergoiata.org/gif/Feu4.gif Congratulations !! http://tinypic.com/erfmns.gifhttp://tinypic.com/erfmns.gifhttp://tinypic.com/erfmns.gifhttp://tinypic.com/erfmns.gifhttp://tinypic.com/erfmns.gifhttp://tinypic.com/erfmns.gif We have 6 interviews Monday and Tuesday. Watch for more. Edited November 20, 2005 by Randy W (see edit history) Link to comment
amerchin Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Congratulations! Sorry to hear the Black Pearl threw a wrench in the works, but at least the overcome turned out all right. Link to comment
stacato Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Congratulations!!! Link to comment
LiandLarry Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Congratulations from an old Shellback. Larry Link to comment
ameriken Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Congratulations on the good outcome, and thanks for sharing everything. Its amazing to hear stories of how those who try to be so complete with the evidence, that it actually works against them Link to comment
david_dawei Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Very glad to hear you overcame this !! To borrow what Carl said in another post: Don't lie, but don't tell more than is needed ... There is clearly a struggle in this type of situation: to proactively give the reason for low number of visits or wait to see if it's an issue. I would think that if a person has at least two visits (obviously once for meeting/marriage and once for interview), that is a toss up to give evidence before it is asked. I know that Boba's SO was asked why he visited so infrequently.. and they got the blue slips and asked for a video... Anyway.. sharing your experience is valuable for us all. THANKS! Link to comment
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