Newbie

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

Matt, when in Feb are you going to China?

175580[/snapback]

Going to Hong Kong Feb. 8th -Feb. 16th.

175787[/snapback]

Well, do enjoy your time there and have a safe trip. Good luck....

[cdrobin66]

Hello to everyone,  I,m new here, My name is Mat.  I have found reading the posts here to be very informative. Looks as though I have  a challenging journey ahead of me. I met a wondefull woman online who lives in China, Her name is SongHongmin, We have been writing about three months now and I am going to Hong Kong to finally meet her in Feb. We both have a very good feeling about each other and I will no doubt come home engaged. I am in the process of learning mandarin and she is trying to learn english as much as she can afford to in her spare time. I have no doubts that we will commuicate just fine with translators and electronic dictionaries, my biggest concern is the Guangzhou consulate video tape thing. I'm  a government employee so I understand they are just doing their job. One of the guys I work with has a brother who works at Guangzhou, Hoping he can be of some help but not counting on it. Any advice would be greatly appriciated. Hope to meet some wounderful people here!

Mat

175318[/snapback]

Hello Mat

Welcome!! I just join not to long ago myself. I have learned a great deal from just reading the post here. Good luck to you:)

 

Carl

[obxtrainman]

Welcome aboard, and good luck

 

Now for the big question, does your SO live in Honk Kong? If she does, you don't go through Guz. If in fact she lives in HK, you will do buisiness there. It is time warp faster than Guz. Wishing you two the best, and HK.

[tucsonjim]

Another Newbie here. I was very pleased to find this site as I have a lot of questions, and you folks seem to have a lot of answers.

 

Mat, our tales are very similar. I met Diana online as well.  We have corresponded almost daily, and I am going to China (Beijing then Hong Kong then Sanya than back to Beijing) from February 6 - February 16th. I, too, am certain that she will be coming to Washington as my fiance someday at the end of this long road.  I hope that you and I will be able to compare notes, support each other, and get the help of others through this site.

 

For now, my biggest question is whether to engage a lawyer or not. I am a lawyer, but don't do immigration. I have often seen the name "King" mentioned here, and hope I can get more information.  What is his full name?  What are his fees, start to finish?  Does he do it by flat fee or is it hourly?

 

Thanks, everyone.

 

David.

176184[/snapback]

David, most of us are doing this on our own and most normal cases are very straightforward. With the info and support of lots of folks that are very experienced and knowledgeable here on CFL, I don't know why you think you need to hire a lawyer, whether you do immigration work or not. It's not rocket science.... it's mostly a waiting game, so stock up on your Cheetos and relax. Assuming you have time to read the info here on CFL.... there is tons of info on the process, forms, Q's&A's, etc, in the links section... you can do this yourself... you are in good hands here. After you follow CFL a while you will understand more about what I mean. I was thinking of hiring a lawyer too until I was told about this site... after browsing it a few days, that thought was gone forever!

 

Welcome to CFL and best of luck to you and your SO!! You've come to the right place!!

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

For now, my biggest question is whether to engage a lawyer or not. I am a lawyer, but don't do immigration. I have often seen the name "King" mentioned here, and hope I can get more information.  What is his full name?  What are his fees, start to finish?  Does he do it by flat fee or is it hourly?

 

Thanks, everyone.

 

David.

176184[/snapback]

Unless there is something very out-of-the-ordinary with your case, there is no need to hire a lawyer. I suggest you buy this book...

 

Marriage and Fiance Visas

 

Take a look at:

 

Visa Process Link

 

Often times those that start out with an attorney end up wishing they hadn't. I recommend you do a little reading and learn about the process; then, start the paperwork yourself. If at a later time a snag emerges, then, you can hire an attorney. The vast majority of cases don't require one.

[Guest Paul]

Hello to everyone,  I,m new here, My name is Mat.  I have found reading the posts here to be very informative. Looks as though I have  a challenging journey ahead of me. I met a wondefull woman online who lives in China, Her name is SongHongmin, We have been writing about three months now and I am going to Hong Kong to finally meet her in Feb. We both have a very good feeling about each other and I will no doubt come home engaged. I am in the process of learning mandarin and she is trying to learn english as much as she can afford to in her spare time. I have no doubts that we will commuicate just fine with translators and electronic dictionaries, my biggest concern is the Guangzhou consulate video tape thing. I'm  a government employee so I understand they are just doing their job. One of the guys I work with has a brother who works at Guangzhou, Hoping he can be of some help but not counting on it. Any advice would be greatly appriciated. Hope to meet some wounderful people here!

Mat

175318[/snapback]

WELCOME ... I'm new too, well, at least here - have too many grey ones to say I'm really new. But I'm not so new I can't give you a warning - if you start getting mail from one of the members here named "Trigg" you'd better run, and run hard the other way ... haha, kidding, just kidding. But my hope is that this site will be good for you ... speaking of good - good luck learning Chinese .... Paul

[frank1538]

Not to highjack Matman's thread, but welcome David. February in Beijing? Can you say coooold? Maybe Beijing is far enough north that the residences actually have heat.

 

The fact that you are a lawyer (don't spread that around ) will likely make it easier for you to determine whether specific immigration expertise is needed in the form of another lawyer. Usually, you won't need one, but a number of folks like to have a second set of eyes checking things. Once nice thing about CFL though is that you'll have about 2,000 sets of eyes looking over your shoulder.

[Matman]

Thanks to tucsonjim, ShaQuaNew, donahso, CW and frank1538 for your warm welcomes and advice. I invited my SO (what does that mean, BTW) to view this thread, and we both agreed that we don't need any stinkin' lawyer to get through this process.  I hope!

 

I do realize that I made a major faux paus by asking a question on Mat's thread. My humblest apologies. I just thought we could combine our experiences on one topic, but now I see that the effect has been to inadvertantly hijack Mat's thread. In the future, if I have questions of my own or news to report I will start a new thread. 

 

Mat, I do hope we can compare notes and support one another through this process.

 

DD.

176811[/snapback]

buyongxie, no offense taken. Right know I'm looking at all the options, mostly at getting married In HK.

 

Mat

[shyaushu]

Thanks to tucsonjim, ShaQuaNew, donahso, CW and frank1538 for your warm welcomes and advice. I invited my SO (what does that mean, BTW) to view this thread, and we both agreed that we don't need any stinkin' lawyer to get through this process.  I hope!

 

I do realize that I made a major faux paus by asking a question on Mat's thread. My humblest apologies. I just thought we could combine our experiences on one topic, but now I see that the effect has been to inadvertantly hijack Mat's thread. In the future, if I have questions of my own or news to report I will start a new thread. 

 

Mat, I do hope we can compare notes and support one another through this process.

 

DD.

176811[/snapback]

buyongxie, no offense taken. Right know I'm looking at all the options, mostly at getting married In HK.

 

Mat

176852[/snapback]

Welcome Mat (that's actually a pun, isn't it?).

 

Having just reunited with my wife after the success of our frustrating/humiliating/inhuman - but necessary CR-1 visa process, my feelings are that the focus definitely needs to be on the two of you and not on documenting a relationship that hasn't even really happened yet.

 

There are other, and perhaps even more challenging chapters ahead, apart from the visa process, itself. Making one life out of two entirely different cultures is no cake walk, and there are many factors that go into making something like that work. And many of them can be very stressful.

 

Communication is important, of course, but it is actually just a 'mechanical' element. More to the point is ensuring the relationship you may work so hard to get a visa for is "worth" the effort. A marriage between a Chinese national and an American (or other westerner) is first and foremost a marriage.

 

As a Chinese friend once told me, with love, happiness is shared, so you have twice the happiness (you both can enjoy the same happiness). Conversely, since hardship is shared, it is halved, since you each shoulder part of the burden the hardship imposes.

 

But the opposite is true, too. When there is no love the hardships can seem unbearable, and happiness seems non-existent.

 

So, basically, though it may be elemental, but don't let the very real challenges of getting the visa distract you from the task at hand. What do the two of you mean to each other and do you both have the very strong, special connection necessary to not only overcome the tsunami of applications and other visa crap, but to make your relationship work in the long run?

 

So, my advice is to video tape yourselves enjoying your life together and share the videos with your families and friends.

[Matman]

Thanks to tucsonjim, ShaQuaNew, donahso, CW and frank1538 for your warm welcomes and advice. I invited my SO (what does that mean, BTW) to view this thread, and we both agreed that we don't need any stinkin' lawyer to get through this process.  I hope!

 

I do realize that I made a major faux paus by asking a question on Mat's thread. My humblest apologies. I just thought we could combine our experiences on one topic, but now I see that the effect has been to inadvertantly hijack Mat's thread. In the future, if I have questions of my own or news to report I will start a new thread. 

 

Mat, I do hope we can compare notes and support one another through this process.

 

DD.

176811[/snapback]

buyongxie, no offense taken. Right know I'm looking at all the options, mostly at getting married In HK.

 

Mat

176852[/snapback]

Welcome Mat (that's actually a pun, isn't it?).

 

Having just reunited with my wife after the success of our frustrating/humiliating/inhuman - but necessary CR-1 visa process, my feelings are that the focus definitely needs to be on the two of you and not on documenting a relationship that hasn't even really happened yet.

 

There are other, and perhaps even more challenging chapters ahead, apart from the visa process, itself. Making one life out of two entirely different cultures is no cake walk, and there are many factors that go into making something like that work. And many of them can be very stressful.

 

Communication is important, of course, but it is actually just a 'mechanical' element. More to the point is ensuring the relationship you may work so hard to get a visa for is "worth" the effort. A marriage between a Chinese national and an American (or other westerner) is first and foremost a marriage.

 

As a Chinese friend once told me, with love, happiness is shared, so you have twice the happiness (you both can enjoy the same happiness). Conversely, since hardship is shared, it is halved, since you each shoulder part of the burden the hardship imposes.

 

But the opposite is true, too. When there is no love the hardships can seem unbearable, and happiness seems non-existent.

 

So, basically, though it may be elemental, but don't let the very real challenges of getting the visa distract you from the task at hand. What do the two of you mean to each other and do you both have the very strong, special connection necessary to not only overcome the tsunami of applications and other visa crap, but to make your relationship work in the long run?

 

So, my advice is to video tape yourselves enjoying your life together and share the videos with your families and friends.

177036[/snapback]

Yes! I agree 100%

 

Welcome Mat