SHE'S HERE!!!!!!

[oregonknl]

Greetings ghall !

 

Didn't realize we had yet another local ! Great!

 

Our last Portland (and Oregon) get together was in June, hope to have another soon --- (but like you, also hope to get the appointment!)

 

-- Kim

[hypoclear]

Congrats Jim and Juxin...

 

The long wait is over...

now the long life together begins! Best wishs in health, happiness, and wealth.

 

mark and Bea and Elizabeth

[C4Racer]

CONGRATS

 

Best of wishes to you and Juxin....

 

It will be nice to meet her at our next get together.

 

Pingxiu just returned her P3 packet to Guangzhou. So cross your fingers for us.

 

Again, this is such great news.....

 

Congrats,

Michael

[warpedbored]

Jim ~!  Great to hear it went so smoothyl for Juxin !!!

 

.....  was hoping for a report from you !  

 

I'm with Carl, hope we get a chance to meet her soon!

 

Warmly, Kim

That's great..

 

I would like to meet all the Oregon couples in a few months as I don't have Yi here yet.. but Im close...

Welcome Ghal

 

Always room for one more Oregonian. Don't worry if your sweetheart isn't here yet. You are still welcome. There are quite a few of us from the Willamette valley here on candle.

[Robert S.]

Of course I must also join in for the big congratulations. I think the VO never had a question in his mind when he saw how she felt. It is easy for them to approve people who have an easily readable personality like you obviously have, going by your writing, and I assume she must be that way too. Not that people who have a reserved kind of demeanor are lacking in love, far from it, but it perhaps is more possible for them them to be wrong in that kind of case. Thank you for your excellent storytelling and Portland should be thankful to have a bit of sunshine added to their climate.

[cosmiclobster]

CONGRATS JIM AND JUXIN !!! Welcome to the USA!!!

geee, so I'm guessing that in your case, the end result does justify the wait . . .

Glad to hear your good news and thanks for all of your posts!

 

When my Amy finally gets here, we may have to head north to join in one of those famous Portland get togethers to meet in person and say hi to some of the great people that have helped us and are typical of the best of CFL members. Which month is your sunny season up there??? hehehe

[warpedbored]

Lol we do have two seasons here you know. Rain and summer. Summer is July through September and is very nice.

[Jim - Portland, USA]

Thank you everybody for your kind regards and warm wishes!!! I so much wish everybody else could also be re-united with their loved ones and feel as happy as we feel. I guess all I can say is ... It's worth the wait!!! :D

 

The sense of safety, security, and surity (of her being here) is so very comforting. Such a drastic change from the insecurity of the pre-visa days when everything was left to the will of a cold, heartless government bueacracy.

 

Now we are free to love each other and it feels SO GOOD!!!

 

And we are adjusting to life together in America quite well so far. She loves it here and can't wait to see more and do more. No problem sweetheart! The weather is a bit of a damper, so dark, gray and rainy here in Portland these days, but we both agree it's great snuggling weather!!

 

I'll be sticking around CFL, helping others as best I can, helping them to get where I'm at today, heaven on earth!!!!

[Jim - Portland, USA]

Congratulations! Live happily ever after.

 

A quick question, what's the  brown medical packet? Is that from the

medical exam? Also i thought you have to wait for p4 (including

medical exam forms) to do th exam, right?

 

Thanks,

wade

The brown medical packet is what the beneficiary gets after successfully completing the medical exam. The medical staff stuff a bunch of documents in there and it gets sealed shut until the interview.

 

Yes, you do have to wait to get P4 before scheduling a medical exam.

[Jim - Portland, USA]

Just remember whether she wants to become a citizen or not, you have to file the AOS in the required time if you want to keep everything legal.

 

You should also apply for the EAD even if she does not plan on working, she will need that also as another  form of ID..

 

Anyway best of luck and congratulations!!!

What does EAD stand for? Hahaa, so much to learn about the AOS process AOS, Adjustment of Status, right?

[Jim - Portland, USA]

Hurray for you Jim!!!!!!!!! I'm happy to hear the interview was successful.  Methinks it must be time to schedule another Oregon get together to welcome your finace and Ray's wife.  Since she just got here she will need some time to settle in.  When would be a good time for you guys?

Yes, let's have another get-together! Holy cow, I just realized that our weekends are booked soild for all next month! How doable is sometime in December, other than December 11th/12th?

[Jim - Portland, USA]

!!!!!!!!!  CONGRATS  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Would like to know how you arranged the flight back. Did you plan ahead for this, or have travel agency there help with that ?

I had everything arranged, booked, and pre-paid BEFORE the interview. I know that the consulate discourages that. And it's a bit risky, but I took out trip insurance for the tickets from China to America. And it was worth the risk!!!

 

I was able to buy (2) of the cheapest round-trip tickets I've ever seen in my life (to/from Asia and America) ...

 

Each round-trip ticket, from Bejing to Portland then Portland to Beijing, cost a grand total of $362!!! That includes all taxes and fees and everything!!! So $724 for (2) round-trip tickets. It was with Northwest Airlines, and I bought them on Expedia.

 

Even just as one-way tickets, that's a great price! But as round-trip tickets ... that's the cheapest I've ever seen, air courier cheap, but these were regular coach class tickets, with full baggage allowance and frequent flier miles too! And oh those Northwest/Airbus A330 are very nice planes

 

So what I did was ... I booked the Beijing to Portland leg on 10/26/04 and the Portland to Beijing leg on 4/16/05, with hopes that Juxin and I can travel back to China at that time (provided we can find some cheap one-ways back to Portland).

 

I was shocked when I found those round-trip tickets for $362 each, I thought it was a mistake But the funny thing is ... the same route but going the other way (Portland>Bejing>Portland) was double the price. Doesn't make any sense to me, but I guess Northwest knows what they are doing.

 

I guess Northwest is hurting for people to take the Bejing to Portland route. On the flight from Tokyo to Portland (the route was Beijing to Portland with a stop in Tokyo), the flight was about 2/3 full. Still plenty of empty seats. I hope Northwest doesn't cancel this flight.

 

Anyway, I took the risk of buying tickets in advance, and it worked out very nicely for us. But I also think that good deals can be had by getting one-ways from a Chinese travel agency after your sweethearts get the visa.

[Jim - Portland, USA]

My own experience was that after she got here I was drained and didn't even want to look at another government form.

Same here, I feel drained and exhausted from all the redtape, I don't want to look at another government form for at least a month, maybe two!

[Jim - Portland, USA]

CONGRATULATIONS JIM & JUXIN!  

 

A new life together begins! You sound like one HAPPY guy Jim!  

Happier than I thought possible!!!!!

[Jim - Portland, USA]

Good deal....GREAT NEWS Jim.....really is...I can not wait to be in your shoes....

I can't wait for everyone else to be in my shoes too. It will happen! The government just decides to give some of us more crap than others, thus some of us have to put up with more than others, and wait longer (like poor Neal!), but it will happen and it can feel like a dream come true