We got the blue :(

[Tom and Ling]

My wife and I are 35/56 so we may have tripped the age-flag. My attorney told me to request an English speaking VO even though we knew her English skills were not great. I hope that advice did not screw us.

 

I also bought my wife a sentence translator but I was not sure if we should use that as evidence. My last trip we only had to pull it out once, and that was because I needed to tell my wife I thought I had an "ear infection" in Chinese. ( WORD OF CAUTION: My translator translated "do you miss your work..." into "do you prostitute your work" so be careful of those gadgets should you decide to use them.

 

We will be ready to re-submit next week and hope for the best. I just hope that by the summer my wife and I will finally be living on the same side of the planet.

 

Best of luck to all of those not lucky enough to be "in the pink" !!!

 

Hi Jim,

 

I am 63 years old and my wife is 37 years old...I don,t believe your age is a factor.

 

About the sentence translator....You get what you pay for. When I went to China for the first time..we were adviced to buy the best and our sentence translator cost $300.00 USD. We have never had any problems with translation. It is the type of translator that Ling could write in Chinese on the screen.

 

I don't know why your attorney told you to request an English speaking VO..that was stupid,,however all the VO's are english speaking and than some are good at Chinese speaking and some are not. Don't request the interview in English ,,they will allow the interview in Chinese.

 

Tom and Ling

[nandj]

I paid $200 for my translator. Apparently the word "MISS" can be translated in several ways, and my translator chose the first one, which just happened to be the wrong one. We survived this fiasco and were married 3 days afterwards.

 

I am still waiting to see if my Congressman can interviene, but I am not holding my breath on this one. I think those VO's have a lot more power than they deserve and once you get to GUZ we are at their mercy.

 

Always hoping for the best though. Thanks and take care,

Ning and Jim...

[Henry and Mei]

Talking about the translator is a little off thread, but I paid the same for what I had determined was the best and really shopped price to get it at 1800 yuan with extra memory chip. Asked 2600 yuan.

 

My fiancee had the older black and white version of the Besta CD 900, I bought. Has all the bells and whistle, but only Chinese manual. Since the manual was printed nearby, I requested an English version with no success.

 

The translator has a nice keypad with the New Oxford English dictionary version, so I was sure I was onto something, since I tried more tedious translators. And yes, she could write on it to find Chinese characters.

 

Bottom line is the translation is really poor. Lucky, we do not need them often and I too had an ear infection

 

The translator that requires you to key in each letter on the screen in English actually rocks in English translation. But extremely tedious and not cooperative if your spelling is not good or you make a mistake.

 

The ones we used though left me scratching my head many times.......she had to scratch also

 

So after a while these became toys and something to amuse ourselves with when were taking the bus or train.

 

Good luck.

[Henry and Mei]

Oh and two more thoughts while this thread brings up ideas.

 

Back to the translators that had great translation. About half the price of the Besta. They also make different sizes of this one, since I had the chance to use them often on my first trip. Just difficult to use

 

And while in line at ACS, one older gentleman was very bitter, since he thought he followed and played by the rules.

 

He met her on the first trip. Married her on the second. She got a non bona fide at the interview due to the VO asking her if her husband spoke Chinese (No), when she requested a Chinese spoken interview. He was right behind me in line, so I missed the conversation at the window. My fiance is taking English class after work to be safe, but I am still thinking of asking for Chinese for her being nervous at the interview........

 

Why this process has to be so subjective can cause a lot of sleepless nights....

[nandj]

I think you hit the nail on the head here: "subjective". It could be they have a personallity clash, or the interviewer is jealous of the lady being interviewed. There is no rhyme or reason here. It appears to be mostly luck.

 

I think that if your wife does her interview in Chinese, they will want assurance that you can also communicate in chinese too. I think the language is not the issue, but the abilty to communicate in a common language.

 

I wrote to my congressman and pleaded for help. While I do not necessairly enjoy grovelling, I felt that I should try everything I can. I do not want that dreaded "white" slip. My letter was received yesterday so I hope I will at least know if he will or can do something for us soon. There is too much at stake here to let a little pride get in the way. If everyone that had a problem with this embassy in GUZ would take the time to write letters to congress and senate, maybe they would start to take notice...

 

Best of luck to all...

[Henry and Mei]

From what I have read, there are 2 problems associated with getting someone in Congress involved especially early.

 

First is that your case can get pulled due to Congress stepping in and may add unnecessary delays from the "normal" and I use that word loosely process......

 

I look at so many petitions filed months ahead of mine and really wonder what they are experiencing.....right now, since I know what I am. Trying to patiently wait and let it run its natural course. Of course, how do you define natural.....

 

Second is that most don't know they have a problem until they have a problem. And even then a lot of times the true reason for the quote problem is not properly or adequately identified, if that makes sense.....

 

So as I wait for word, I do feel your concerns like others, but most I am sure if not all of us want to get through GUZ as quickly as possible. To have her here with us....

 

Good luck to us.......

[nandj]

It is difficult to know what to do. We waited 8 months for our initial application approval. I wrote to my congressman and 2 days later it was approved. I think once you get to the embassy in China it is a whole new game though. They seem to be on their own and out of control.

 

I have where others have hired attorneys like the one located downstairs in the consulate building. I am leary about doing that because I feel they may keep milking for more money based on the conversations my wife had with them.

 

Yesterday was the two year anniversary since I met my wife, and now I think we are both feeling a little desparate. I have a feeling even congress will be unable to do anything against the consulate but I am hoping all the same for even a small miracle.

 

With or without governent intevention, I hope the re-submission process at least goes quickly. Our new submission totals about 20 new pieces of evidence. Just hope they believe this new and improved set of documents.

 

Take care and best of luck to all...