Our Journey to the Pink

[sichuan red]

I am writing a fairly detailed overview of our ride on the visa roller coaster for the benefit of those who will travel this I am writing a fairly detailed overview of our ride on the visa roller coaster for the benefit of those who will travel this path after me. I have benefited from the writings and advice of those who went before me. Now it is my turn to share with the community for the benefit of others. First, I would like to share our timeline and red flag list with you.

 

Red Flags:

 

Recently divorced before meeting (Filed 02/2010 and finalized 05/2010)

Multiple previous divorces

Engaged on my first trip to China

Short relationship prior to filing the petition

 

 

Timeline:

 

06/26/10 - met online

08/12/10 - 08/23/2010 - 1st trip/meeting in Chengdu

09/27/10 - 10/11/2010 - 2nd trip/meeting in Chengdu/Deyang

11/02/10 - I-129F sent to NSC (stoopid da lawyer sent the petition in da slow mail)

11/12/10 - NOA1

12/07/10 - 12/14/2010 - 3rd trip to Chengdu/Deyang

01/27/10 - 02/17/2010 - 4th trip to Chengdu/Deyang (Spent a week together in Thailand with a Chinese tour group)

05/12/11 - received P2

05/19/11 - NVC received

06/01/11 - NVC file scanned and uploaded to Guangzhou

06/13/11 - P3 sent from GUZ

06/23/11 - P3 forms sent to GUZ (Did not receive the packet from GUZ yet)

06/28/11 - P3 received by GUZ

07/04/11 - P4 documents received

07/26/11 - Interview Day - Approved!

 

 

 

Other than the 6 month wait for P2 things were fairly smooth. We had everything prepared long before P2 was received and wanted to try to get an August interview date. Surprisingly, our file went to Guangzhou solely via SAFEFILE, a fact I was very happy about. I was calling NVC regularly to stay on top of the process. Now, we only had to time the P3 docs to be received at the consulate. Watching the timelines I estimated 30 - 45 days out from receipt of forms to interview date. I tried to strike the balance so the interview would occur some time in August. No luck, GUZ receives the packet on June 28th and the interview gets scheduled for July 26/27. Oh well..... We did not want to take the chance on a reschedule so we let it goes as it is and sent in the P3 docs right away.

 

Well, the twists and turns now begin and here is our first twist. It comes in 2 parts. First, she realizes that she did not sign the DS-230. The second part is that now her son has changed his mind after she submitted the first P3 packet and now he wants to come to the U.S. I think it would have been difficult for her here without him, but we both felt it was better to let him make the decision. I had no issue with her son changing his mind, in fact I expected this to happen at some point and I really wanted him to join her.

 

Having recently read a horror story about contacting GUZ and making changes with the P3, I was concerned about the impact this may have. However, I didn't say anything to her about that situation and I contacted GUZ immediately. I had GUZ void the irst package and we sent out a new one right way.

 

 

Ok, that issue is now taken care of and we recieve the P4. The twists and turns only continue at this point. Now, her son's name is not on the appointment letter. SNAFU. Apparently they went by the first packet's information. Damn, this ride is beginning to get a bit wild. More emails to GUZ, again. I'm thinking that this is now a major a disaster in the making. GUZ decides to bypass me and work with her directly which is fine by me. It gets resolved quickly and her new appointment letter is good! Now, this wild ride is not over yet, it only gets better. I sent the I-134, tax returns, etc. to her on the 8th with an expected delivery date no later than the 15th. Sorry Charlie, time for P4 turn 2. This is one hell of a hairy ride now. On the 18^th we both try to track the package from our ends. We can't find the problem and she leaves for Guangzhou in a few more days. Considering that she leaves for Guangzhou on the 22nd, I begin to prepare a new package to send her. On the nineteent we find out what the problem is. Apparently there was a suspicious package in the EMS shipment that had my documents to her. The shipment (with my financials in it) could not go by air and had to travel over land. I guess if a truck blows up it'sier to sweep under the rug than if a plane does. Good gravy, can this get any worse? Maybe I shouldn't ask.

 

Ok, we steel ourselves for a Blue slip on the financials while I prepare a new package to send to her. I manage to get all the info together again and I am ready to overnight it to the Yang's in the morning so that she will have it for the interview. We coordinate so that her and the Yang's will expect the package as I will send it overnight first thing in the morning. The following morning (let's not forget the 12 hour time difference, it is now her evening) She tells me that she recieved my original package. Whew! What a relief! Ok, so 12 hours of scrambling on my end for naught but now everything is good and she is ready to head to Guangzhou. Man, it has got to get better now.

 

 

On Saturday they have their medicals at United Family. She had a medical exam for work in April so we knew this would be a walk in the park. Once again, sorry Charlie, enjoy the ride. After getting all the preliminary work completed and the X-rays taken she is notified that there is a problem. She has another X-ray taken and she is cleared. She thanks them but the doctor makes a comment that stops her and her son in their tracks. It troubles her but she continues on. Since I have not been able to accurately translate this portion of her narrative, I will leave it to those who are better versed in the language than I am. Here is her original narration of the medical. If you can accurately translate this, I, along with others, would be grateful:

 

Ìå¼ì²¨£ºÆßÔ¶þÊ®ÈýÈÕµ½´ï¹ãÖÝסÔÚÑî¼Ò£¬ÏÂÎçÑîÏÈÉúÅãͬÎҺͶù×ÓÈ¥ºÍÄÀ¼Ò£¬ÕâÊÇÖÜÁù£¬ÏÂÎçûÓÐʲôÈËÌå¼ì£¬Ìî±í¡¢»»Ò¡¢È»ºó³éѪ¡¢Á¿Éí¸ß¡¢ÌåÖØ¡¢ÅÄÉãÐØƬ£¬ÎÒÏÈÅÄÉãÐØƬ£¬È»ºóÊǶù×Ó£¬´ó¸ÅÓÐÎåÁù·ÖÖÓ£¬ÅÄÐØƬŮҽÉú±íÇéÑÏËàµØ½ÐÎÒÔÙ´ÎÈ¥ÅÄÐØƬ£¬ÎÒµÄÐÄһϽôÕÅ£¬Ììѽ£¬ÕⶼʲôʱºòÁË£¬²»ÒªÔÚÕâÉÏÃæ°ÑÎÒ¿¨ÁË£¬ÄǾÍʲô¶¼ÍêÁË£¬ÎÒæ×ß¹ýÈ¥£¬ÐÄÀïàÖ¹¾ÎÒËÄÔµ¥Î»²ÅÌå¼ìÅÄÐØƬûÊÂѽ£¬²»»áÄÇô¿ìÎҷβ¿¾Í³öÎÊÌâÁË£¬ËýÈÃÎÒ°ÑÍ··¢ÔúÆðÀ´£¬»»¸ö·½ÏòÔٴθøÎÒÅÄÉ㣬ÅÄÉãÍêºó²»ÔÙÀíÎÒ£¬ÎÒÐÄÀïÒ»¸ö¾¢Äî×Ų»Òª³öÎÊÌ⣬²»Òª³öÎÊÌ⣬×îºóÊÇÈÕ±¾Ò½ÉúÄÇÀï¼ì²é£¬»¹ºÃ·Ç³£¼òµ¥£¬Ò»»á¾ÍÍê³ÉÁË£¬·µ»Ø×øλÉÏÎÒÓÃÑÛ¾¦Ãè×ÅÅÄÐØƬŮҽÉú£¬¿´Ëý×øÔÚÄÇÀֻ¿´µ½ËýµÄÒ»µãµãÍ··¢£¬ÎÒ°´ÄͲ»×¡×ß¹ýÈ¥ÎÊËý£ºÎÒûʲôÎÊÌâ°É£¬Á³ÉϳäÂúÌֺõıíÇ飬¼ûËýµÄ×ì½ÇßÖÁËһϣºÃ»ÊÂÁË£¬Å¶£¬ÕâÏ·ÅÏÂÐÄÀ´£¬È»ºóÊǵÈÄÃÌå¼ì°ü£¬´ó¸Å30·ÖÖÓ£¬Ð¡Ò½Éú½ÐÎҺͶù×ÓÃû×Ö£¬¹§Ï²ÄãÃÇ£¬Ìå¼ìºÏ¸ñ£¬Îҷdz£¸ß£¬Ã¦ËµÐ»Ð»£¬ÓÖ×ßµ½ÈÕ±¾Ò½ÉúÄÇÀïÓëËûÀñòµÀ±ð£¬ËµÐ»Ð»Ä㣬ÐÁ¿àÁË£¬Ëû΢Ц×Å˵£¬²»Ð»£¬È¥ÃÀ¹ú¿´Ò»ÑÛ£¬ÎҺͶù×ÓÕýתÉí×ߣ¬Ìýµ½Ëû×îºóÄǾäͻȻÐÄÀï²»ÊǺÜÊæ·þ£ºÊ²Ã´£¿¿´Ò»ÑÛ£¬²»»áÎÒµÄÐØƬ»¹ÓÐʲôÎÊÌâ°É£¬²»»áµ½ÃÀ¹ú»ú³¡¼ì²ìÐØƬ²»Õý³£ÈÃÎÒ·µ»Ø£¬ÔÎŶ£¬ÎÒµÄÃô¸ÐµÄÉñ¾­Ò»Ö±²»Í£µÄת£¬ÕâÄõ½Ìå¼ì°üÐÄÀïÔõô²»ÊǸö×ÌζÄØ¡£¡£¡£¡£

 

 

Document turn in was pretty much uneventful except for a minor incident and the scorching sun while they waited outside. The Chinese person taking the materials in seems to have a bad attitude but it is chalked up to the person just being very serious. The document checker reviewed a welcome letter from both a friend of mine as well as one from my son that was attached to my I-134. After going back and forth about it they finally decided to include them with my I-134 during the checkin. She was then questioned about the way her hair was done in the passport pictures and why it was different today. The implication being that it was not the same person and that the pictures were old.

 

 

On interview day, she begins her review at 4 A.M. since she could not sleep. She wants to make sure her answers are short, accurate, and decisive. At 7 A.M. they are lined up and ready. Fortunately, it is not hot at that hour of the morning. She receives 2 text messages, one from me and one from her eldest sister, wishing her good luck and to take the Pink slip.

 

 

The interview itself was surprisingly easy. Naturally, Yuhong was nervous. She was worried because her English is not very good. However, she knows that this is her only weak point and is confident of our relationship. About 10 A.M. her number is called and her and her son gather the materials and head towards the window. As she approaches the window she takes the initiative and blurts out "Good morning, nice to meet you!" in English. The VO responded with "nice to meet you, too" and immediately followed it with several English sentences spoken very quickly. At this point she was expecting a simple interview question and was totally unprepared for a long string of quickly spoken English. She is initially flustered and filled with fear at not understanding what the VO said to her. Fortunately, we had practiced this scenario and she quickly regains her composure and is able to reply right away. In English, Yuhong apologized and said that she only speaks a little English and asks if she can use Chinese. The VO said "OK" and switched to Mandarin and said "Chinese is fine". Now that the interview is in Chinese she is fully confident in her ability to answer any question.

 

The questions she was asked (in no particular order) were:

 

VO: How many times did he come to China?

Y: 4

VO: When was the first time?

Y: Gives the dates

VO: When was the second time?

Y: Gives the dates

VO: When was the third time?

Y: Gives the dates

VO: When was the fourth time?

Y: Gives the dates

VO: What does he do for a living?

Y: Tells her my occupation.

VO: What city does he live in?

Y: Jacksonville, Florida

VO: What do you love about him?

Y: She provides very specific things

VO: Your fiance has several children?

Y: She tells the VO about my children

VO: When was he divorced?

Y: Divorced in May 2010, but seperated in February

VO: When were you divorced?

Y: Gives the date

VO: Have you been to the U.S.?

Y: No

VO: Where have you traveled?

Y: Thailand with my fiance

VO: How do you communicate?

Y: Some English and Some Chinese

 

 

Her son was asked:

 

VO: Are you are a student?

S: I just graduated

VO: What will you do when you go to the United States?

S: The first thing I must do is study English

 

 

Returning to Yuhong:

 

VO: Do you have photos?

 

Yuhong hands the photos over to her.

 

The VO looked at some of our pictures (many of them include her family and close friends), read some of our video chat screen shots (shows us writing English, Chinese, and Pinyin). The VO then picked out a screenshot of me holding my grandson during one of our chats. She asked Yuhong "Who is this?" while pointing to him. She tells the VO that it is my grandson and tells her his name.

 

The the VO immediately pulls out the pink slip (apparently it was already prepared) and said "You Passed" She replied "Thank you, have a nice day" and went to sit down and gather her materials and put them away. The others mentioned how quick it was and her son replied, "about 10 minutes". They all laughed and said "No, maybe two minutes at the most"!

[Mick]

Great news and a big Congrats on the pink. Sounds like you guys were very well prepared.

[bobbyA]

I am writing a fairly detailed overview of our ride on the visa roller coaster for the benefit of those who will travel this path after me.

 

Vince,

 

I waited a loooooooooong time for this

 

Congratulations and thank you for sharing your roller coaster ride.

 

I'm very glad Yuhong had a short lived medical anxiety at United Family unlike my fiancee's 3-day ordeal.

[honeybun]

the japanese doctor told her "È¥ÃÀ¹ú¿´Ò»ÑÛ", which I would have interpreted as instructions to keep an eye on the chest, not the X-ray (though I'm not a native chinese speaker, so i could obviously be wrong). the comment made your fiancee worried that they might examine the X-ray at the POE and send her back if it's not normal. to my knowledge they don't usually check the X-ray at all and the couple just ends up keeping it.

[bullmastiff]

Your relationship is a bonafide one ; no suspicion of any foul play . So, you got approved easily .

as you can see, they didn't try to give your sweetie a hard time , even though you are a grandpa. age difference doesn't matter as long as you can show it that it is a bonafide relationship .

 

Now, this is done, since she got K1 , both she & her son and YOU must do this again with USCIS 3 months after arriving at POE .( I-485 ; application for adj. of status to that of permanent residence ).

 

Anyhow, my lao po comes from the same area as yours ( Deyang city ) . Feel free to PM me if you & her want to , once you guys settle down already . They can talk in their dialects and eat " la jiao " .

[Ryan H]

Congrats again and thanks for the write-up!