The 2012 solar eclipse came and went, and it sure was fun to watch. I tried the simple method using binoculars to project the sun’s image onto a white board, and it worked surprisingly well. Basically, I held a pair of binoculars and pointed the wide end at the sun (never look through the eyepiece directly!). On the other end I put a piece of white board on a lawn chair. Using my own shadow as the background, the eclipse was clearly projected to the board for safe viewing and picture taking. Below are a few images I took:
Another look later:
You can see the setup and the shadow of a dedicated dad, showing strong desire to teach his kids science, despite their little interest:
Although I felt lucky to be able to watch the eclipse unfold right in front of my eyes, these guys probably had a better view:
For truly amazing eclipse photos, of course, Google is your friend.
May 10, 2012:
According to the delivery confirmation from U.S. Post Office, my N-400 application package was delivered early this morning to USCIS (P.O. Box in Phoenix, AZ).
May 11, 2012:
USCIS accepted my application and entered it into their system (as I later found out from the email notification I received).
May 15, 2012:
I received an email from USCIS notifying me that my application has been received and a receipt number has been assigned to my case. USCIS sends out notices by email only if the applicant completed Form G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition, which is optional.
Dear Applicant/Petitioner:
Your USCIS application/petition has been received and routed to the National Benefits Center for processing. Within 7-10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number NBC*00269xxxx. With the official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) you may visit www.uscis.gov where you can check the status of your application using My Case Status. We suggest you wait until you have received your Form I-797 before checking My Case Status.
In addition to the email, I also received a text message on my mobile phone with essentially the same but shorter notice:
USCIS: Your application was received. Receipt # NBC*00269xxxx. Official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) to follow in mail. Msg & Data rates may apply. NO NOT REPLY.
Even though I haven’t received Form I-797, I was able to check the status of my application online using the receipt number included in the email above. Surprisingly, my case status is already at the Initial Review stage (not Acceptance as I was expecting).
On May 11, 2012, we received this N400 APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you…
During this step, USCIS initiates the background checks of the applicant/petitioner and identifies issues that may need to be addressed either during an interview or by asking the applicant/petitioner to submit additional information or documentation. USCIS reviews the applicant’s/petitioner’s criminal history, determines if there are national security concerns that need to be addressed, and reviews the application/petition for fraud indicators.
Also on May 15, 2012, my check for the payment of $680 was cashed.
May 17, 2012:
Received Form I-797 via regular mail. The notice contains three dates:
- Received Date: May 10, 2012
- Priority Date: May 10, 2012
- Notice Date: May 14, 2012
Today is the start of my journey to U.S. citizenship. I mailed my N-400 application to USCIS this morning, and will be blogging and recording each step along the way until the Naturalization Certificate arrives.
I will try to be as specific as possible, with hopefully enough details to help other DIYers. At a minimum, I would like to document the entire process so that people thinking about becoming a citizen have a live example to reference to. However, please keep in mind that your situation may be different from mine and adjustment in your application may be necessary.
Eligibility
First thing first, let’s check to see if I’m eligible to apply for citizenship, by going through the requirement list line by line:
- You are a lawful permanent resident (green card holder): Sure.
- You must be 18 years of age or older: I wish I had to think twice about this but yes, I met this requirement years ago! Oh well……time flies.
- You have resided in the US as a lawful permanent resident (LPR) for at least 5 years, with no single absence from the US of more than one year. Absence of more than 6 months may restart the clock of counting Continuous Residence: Check. I did leave the U.S. several times on business and personal trips, but none exceeded three weeks, so I’m good.
- You have been physically present in the US for at least half of the last 5 years (30 months): No problem. The total time I spent outside the U.S. in the last 5 years was less than two months, so I definitedly meet this requirement.
- You have resided within a state or district for at least 3 months: Yep, been calling California home for 10 years now.
- You must be a person of good moral character: I certainly think so
- You can read, write, speak and understand basic English: No problem.
- You have a basic knowledge of US history and government: Check (Note to myself: Go over the test questions before interview just in case).
- You must show attachment to the principles of the Constitution: Done.
So, it appears that I’m indeed eligible. Now the question is when to file an application.
Note that my case is based on permanent residence through employment, but there are other ways to become an LPR and their naturalization requirments may be slightly different. For example, if you obtained your green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen, you only have to wait 3 years instead of 5 to be eligible for citizenship. Also, members and veterans of the U.S. armed forces, as well as their dependents, may be eligible for citizenship and may even qualify for expedited processing.
When to file?
You can apply for naturalization at any time as long as you meet the requirements at the time of filing. But if you want to become a citizen as soon as possible, you need to figure out the earliest date you can submit your N-400. USCIS will reject your application if you file too early.
You may submit Form N-400 up to 90 calendar days before your 5th (or 3rd if marriage-based) anniversary of becoming a permanent resident. For example, if your green card says “August 1, 2007,” you meet the 5-year permanent residence requirement on “August 1, 2012.” The earliest date you can apply for naturalization would then be May 3, 2012.
I’ve built a date calculator that can be used for this purpose. All you have to do is to select your anniversary date, and subtract 90 days (not 3 months) from it to get your early filing date.
The USCIS considers an application “filed” when they receive the package, and they don’t go by postmarks. So if you are in an absolute hurry, and want to make sure your application is received on exactly May 3rd as in the example above, you can actually mail it on the 2nd if you choose Next-Day courier service. If you use regular mail you have no control over when your application will be delivered, so the risk of filing too early would be higher. If possible, give it a few days of cushion just to be safe.
Form N-400
The Form N-400 is fairly straightforward. It took me less than half an hour from start to finish. One thing that helped was my habbit of scanning all immigration related documents, making it easy to search for information. My scanned old passport, for example, allowed me to quickly figure out the exact dates I was outside the country.
USCIS has the form, instructions, eligibility worksheet, and document checklist on their website for free download.
Form N-400 requires the following information, and some of them , if applicable to you, may need extra time to gather:
- Part 1: Your Name and A-Number, including opportunity to change your legal name
- Part 2: Your Eligibility
- Part 3: Personal Information: SSN, DOB, Date of Becoming Permanent Resident, Current citizenship, Marital Status, Waiver Requests, etc.
- Part 4: Address and Phone Number
- Part 5: Information for Criminal Records Search: Gender, Height, Race, etc.
- Part 6, Residence and Employment History for the Last Five Years
- Part 7: Time Outside the U.S. including Exact Dates for Each Trip
- Part 8: Marital History (including Current Spouse’s Marital History)
- Part 9: Information about Your Children
- Part 10: Long List of Yes/No Questions
- Part 11, Your Signature
- Part 12: Signature of Person Who Prepared the Form for You
- Part 13: Signature at Interview (Don’t Sign Yet!)
- Part 14: Signature for Oath of Allegiance (Don’t Sign Yet!)
Application Package
My naturalization application package included only five items:
- Form N-400
- Copy of both sides of my green card
- Personal Check for Payment of $680 ( = $595 + $85)
- Two Passport-Style Photos
- Form G-1145 for Electronic Notification (Optional)
Photos
The photo requirements for naturalization are the same as other immigration related applications. You can get them at any place that offers passport photo services, such as the Post Office, Costco, CVS, or even online. However, it is also quite easy to do it yourself with a digital camera and an inkjet printer.
I did mine at home: Stood against a white wall, made sure the lighting was good to avoid shadows, used a tripod, and took a bunch of pictures. Then I simply picked the best (looking) one and used the State Department’s online photo tool to crop it. Finally I printed two photos on glossy media using an all-in-one printer. The hardest task was actually cutting out the 2″x2″ photo and I used a precision knife and a metal ruler to do the job (and it worked out just fine). My camera is a DSLR, but even point-and-shoot cameras in recent years should have sufficient resolution and image quality for this purpose. Cell phone cameras shouldn’t be used, however. The State Department has a resource center offering extensive information on passport photos, including the photo tool I just mentioned.
After all the work, the photos you submitted are probably useless. USCIS will most likely take your photo during your biometric appointment and use the digital image instead. But since they still require actual photos, we’ll have to submit them.
Good enough for now. I’ll update whenever there is a status change.
USCIS began accepting new H-1B petitions on April 2, 2012. If approved, beneficiaries of these petitions may start working in H-1B status on or after October 1, 2012 – the first day of FY 2013 cap season. The following table includes every cap count released by USCIS. The table will be updated on a regular basis to show the pattern of this year’s H1B filing.
The first count, conducted on April 9, 2012 is about three times more than last year’s. If this turns out to be a trend, H-1B visas could be exhausted much faster than last year, during which the regular cap was reached on November 22, 2011.
| Date of Last Count | Regular Cap (65,000) |
Advanced Degree Exemption (20,000) |
| 4/9/2012 | 17,400 | 8,200 |
| 4/13/2012 | 20,600 | 9,700 |
| 4/20/2012 | 25,000 | 10,900 |
| 4/27/2012 | 29,200 | 12,300 |
| 5/4/2012 | 32,500 | 13,700 |
| 05/11/2012 | 36,700 | 14,800 |
The graph below will be updated regularly to show H-1B visa filings for FY-2013:
Below is last year’s H-1B cap count (FY 2012) for reference:
Over the past ten years, my parents have visited us six or seven times. Every time they fly between China and the U.S., however, my anxiety level would skyrocket for the duration of their entire trip. I keep telling myself they’ve done it so many times without a glitch, but mentally just can’t help it. I guess the fact that they are getting older, and less mobile, every time I see them is a good enough reason to be concerned. And on top of that their English skill (Ok, they don’t speak any) doesn’t help either.
I know I’m not the only one, though. In fact all my friends face more or less the same problems. So I’ve been thinking about posting some easy-to-follow travel guides on immigrationroad.com to hopefully make their cross-ocean journey less stressful. I already did the first one: A list of English/Chinese translations of frequently used terms around an airport, on board an airplane, and going through Customs inspections. If it turns out useful, I’ll add more content and maybe even have it translated into other languages as well.
Other than translations, I also did a few things that may have helped my parents previously. I’ll list some of them in case you haven’t thought about them:
- Fill out a sample Form I-94 so that they can simply copy all the information while completing the real I-94 card during a flight;
- Explain and translate all items on the Customs Declaration Form as well;
- Have them carry a card with your phone numbers in case of emergency;
- If they have medical conditions, have them carry a brief description (in English) with them at all times;
- Book non-stop flights if at all possible. It is easy to imagine how struggling they will be to catch a connection flight at a foreign airport, not to mention a potential delay or cancellation. I know some of you live too far from a major airport, and direct flight isn’t an option; what I meant was that if you do have a choice, even if the ticket may cost a bit more or you have to drive farther to pick them up, a non-stop flight should really be on top of your priority list.
- Send them a detailed airport map and instructions if they do have to deal with connection flights;
- Have them bring a copy of the entire itinerary with them so that airport staff may be able to help without a translator;
- Although most airlines flying to and from China will have Chinese-speaking attendants, it is not guaranteed. If this is important (they need special assistance, for example), then obviously China-based airlines would be better options. Air China and China Eastern sometimes have Chinese-speaking staff at the airport to help passengers going through Customs inspection, which is very important for first-time visitors.
If you have other tips or materials that you would like to share, please drop me a line.
Updated 4/1/2012: Added Airport Inspection Process in Simplified Chinese (and English)
A prediction from Charles Oppenheim about EB-2 retrogression has sent a shock wave among I-485 applicants, likely prompting a protest against the much easier venue classified as EB1-C for international managers.
Mr. Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the Department of State, announced at the AILA Midwest Regional Conference on March 16 that EB-2 priority dates for India and China could potentially retrogress all the way back to August 2007! Any this may happen during either the May or June 2012 Visa Bulletin.
His prediction, always considered trustworthy given his position, caused widespread frustration among EB-2 filers. It seemed particularly disappointing because the category’s cutoff dates have been advancing rapidly for months. However, many people were kind of expecting the bad news, since Mr. Oppenheim did warn about potential retrogression at some point this year. So it was his other prediction that appeared to be hurting: No EB1 spillover to EB2 this year.
A visa “spill-over” means that unused visa numbers for a given EB preference are re-allocated to the next category. In recent years, spillover from EB-1 has helped the EB-2 category tremendously. But Mr. Oppenheim believes that all EB-1 visa numbers will be consumed within the category this year. On top of that, due to the government’s heavy promotion of investor visas, the EB-5 category will likely exhaust their allotment as well.
So all of these have painted a bleak future for EB-2 for the remainder of FY-2012. Coincidentally, there is now a petition proposing a thorough investigation into EB-1C, reserved for multinational managers or executives. A group has set up a petition to Congress: Stop EB1 C ABUSE and FRAUDULENT filing. Here is what the petition says:
We would like to appraise you of a particular area of United States Immigration law that has a huge potential of fraud and misrepresentation along with being unfairly biased in favor of the people who choose to abuse it. We are talking about the Employment-based first preference category EB1C (International Managers). As you are already probably aware, the requirements for eligibility in that category is just a year of overseas managerial experience in a company that conducts business in both US and abroad. We are sure you will agree that compared to the fair and stringent requirements of EB1A (persons of exceptional ability) and EB1B (outstanding researchers), this is a rather simple qualification to prove. Moreover it opens up avenues for fraud and misrepresentation particularly by overseas companies doing business in USA to unfairly take advantage of this simple requirement.
In some cases, a journey from L1 visa to EB1C green card does appear to be much shorter, compared to those who studied in the U.S. for a degree and then had to wait many years for their EB2 or EB3 green cards. On the other hand, there are indeed people who worked really hard overseas, climbed up the ranks, and eventually got transferred to the States as managers. So I hope the petition, if fruitful, will help block the loopholes where (staffing) companies simply assign manager titles to people for the purpose of gaining an advantage in immigration, rather than closing the door for legitimate candidates.
The Department of State today released the Visa Bulletin for April, 2012. The rapid forward movement of EB-2 in recent months has unfortunately come to a stop. Cutoff dates for both China and India EB2 categories remained the same as March: May 1, 2010. The Visa Office warned about potential slow down or even retrogression of cutoff dates in January, and today it became reality.
Visa bulletins are used to regulate the allocation of visa numbers. When demand goes up, cutoff dates may have to be moved back to prevent accidental over-consumption of visas. On the other hand, if demand level is low and there is a possibility of having unused visa numbers in the end, cutoff dates will be advanced accordingly to avoid wasting any. So there is still a chance that BE-2 will move forward again, and if it does, it will probably happen around July time frame. In addition, if there is visa spill-over, meaning that unused EB-1 visa numbers are being passed down to EB-2, we might see another jump in the Summer.
Below is China EB2 visa bulletin movement so far for fiscal year 2012 (India EB2 is the same for this period):
| VB Year | VB Month | Cut-Off Date (Y-M-D) | Movement (days) | Wait Time (days) |
| 2012 | 4 | 2010-05-01 | 0 | 701 |
| 2012 | 3 | 2010-05-01 | 120 | 670 |
| 2012 | 2 | 2010-01-01 | 365 | 761 |
| 2012 | 1 | 2009-01-01 | 292 | 1095 |
| 2011 | 12 | 2008-03-15 | 135 | 1356 |
| 2011 | 11 | 2007-11-01 | 109 | 1461 |
| 2011 | 10 | 2007-07-15 | 91 | 1539 |
All EB-1 categories, as well as all EB-2 other than India and China, remain current. This means that anyone who belongs to one of these classifications is eligible to file new I-485, and if they already did, their applications are eligible for approval.
All EB-3 categories are still heavily backlogged, while moving at an extremely slow pace from month to month. Here is an comparison for April:
| EB-3 | Visa Bulletin | Cut-Off Date (Y-M-D) | Movement (days) | Wait Time (days) |
| ROW | April 2012 | 2006-04-08 | 24 | 2185 |
| China | April 2012 | 2005-03-01 | 59 | 2588 |
| India | April 2012 | 2002-09-01 | 10 | 3500 |
| Mexico | April 2012 | 2006-04-08 | 24 | 2185 |
| Philippines | April 2012 | 2006-04-08 | 24 | 2185 |
Interestingly, as of late Friday night, the Department of State hasn’t updated their Website to show the April 2012 Visa Bulletin. However, the PDF version was posted earlier today and the voice recording (202-663-1541) has been updated with new cutoff dates for April. So the visa bulletin is indeed official, but it appears that someone at the Visa Office simply forgot to update the visa bulletin page before leaving for the weekend.
When submitting an immigration related application, you must have all foreign language documents translated into English. You don’t have to hire a professional translator to do the job, however. In fact, the translation can be provided by anyone who is fluent in both English and the foreign language. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) does not judge or determine the translator’s qualifications, but does require a Certification of Translation attached to the document being translated.
There is no formal template for a Certification of Translator. However, the translator (you or someone else) must certify that s/he is competent to translate the foreign language into English, and that the translation is accurate to the best of his or her abilities. The certification should also include the person’s name, address, signature and date of translation.
Below is an example preferred by the USCIS:
Certification by Translator
I, ____________________________ [typed name], certify that I am fluent (conversant)
in the English and ____________ languages, and that the above/attached document is an
accurate translation of the document attached entitled ______________________________.
Signature________________________________ Date_________
Typed Name__________________________________________
Address______________________________________________
This is another sample, provided by the Immigration Court:
CERTIFICATE OF TRANSLATION
I, __________________________, am competent to translate from
(name of translator)_______________________________ into English, and certify that the translation of
(language)_________________________________________________________________
(names of documents)is true and accurate to the best of my abilities.
_________________________________ _________________________________
(signature of translator) (typed/printed name of translator)___________________________________________________________________________________________
(address of translator)___________________________________________________________________________________________
(address of translator)_________________________________
(telephone number of translator)
Question 1: Can I, as a petitioner, translate my own documents?
I’ve seen articles on the Internet stating that a petitioner or beneficiary of an immigration application/petition cannot translate their own documents. However, I have not been able to find any official statement from any government authority supporting that claim. So I’m not sure. If anyone can point me to the correct source, I would highly appreciate it.
In any case, you don’t necessarily have to use a professional translator. Anyone who is competent can translate the document(s) and certify them.
Keep in mind that what we are discussing here is about translating documents for immigration purposes. It is different than acting as an interpreter during an immigration interview. In that case, I know a petitioner is not allowed to be an interpreter for his/her relative during interviews.
Question 2. Do I still have to submit my documents in foreign language if I already have them translated?
Yes, the English translations are required to accompany those documents in a foreign language, not replacing them.
Question 3. Must each document have its own certification for translation?
Each document not in English must have a translation attached, but if you have multiple documents in the same foreign language in the same package, my personal opinion is that you can include one certificate of translator listing all documents translated and certified by the same person. However, if you choose to attach a certificate to each document (in addition to the English translation), it is certainly acceptable too.
Question 4. Do I need to have the translations notarized too?
Notarization of the translations is not officially required, but obviously won’t hurt. I personally wouldn’t do it, but if you’re extra cautious, go for it.
Question 5. Can I use a computer or Website-based automatic translating service?
I wouldn’t recommend it. Although you can use them, such as Google Translate, for certain words, you really don’t want to rely on them for translating an entire paragraph or even a full sentence. As a minimum, you need to double check and verify its accuracy before using it as your translation. Your birth certificate, marriage certificate, degree certificate, etc. are all important documents supporting your application, and you want to make sure they are translated completely and correctly. If you don’t feel comfortable, you should consider hiring a translating service to do it for you.
Question 6. Should I follow the same format of the original document while doing translation?
Yes, absolutely. Your translation must resemble the original document in layout and general formatting.
Today we added another feature to our Visa Bulletin Toolbox: Instead of reading visa bulletins by month, you will be able to select just your category and see years of cutoff dates all on one page, plus month-to-month movement and your overall wait time. Both employment-based and family-sponsored categories are included, covering every visa bulletin released since 2002. That is 10 years worth of data at your finger tip.
Although visa number consumption is carefully regulated by the Department of State, there are occasional hiccups, or even big mess up sometimes, like the one in 2007. You can spot those patterns and sudden changes easily with the new table format. Visa allocation is dependent on demand data, which always fluctuates making it difficult to predict next month’s bulletin. But over a longer period of time the overall trend stays relatively stable. The retrogression tracker has a graph showing this effect for EB2 and EB3 only, but the new data tables cover all categories and all countries. Here is an example for India EB2′s Cutoff Dates:
| VB Year | VB Month | Cut-Off Date (Y-M-D) | Movement (days) | Wait Time (days) |
| 2012 | 3 | 2010-05-01 | 120 | 670 |
| 2012 | 2 | 2010-01-01 | 365 | 761 |
| 2012 | 1 | 2009-01-01 | 292 | 1095 |
| 2011 | 12 | 2008-03-15 | 135 | 1356 |
| 2011 | 11 | 2007-11-01 | 109 | 1461 |
| 2011 | 10 | 2007-07-15 | 91 | 1539 |
| 2011 | 9 | 2007-04-15 | 0 | 1600 |
| 2011 | 8 | 2007-04-15 | 38 | 1569 |
| 2011 | 7 | 2007-03-08 | 144 | 1576 |
| 2011 | 6 | 2006-10-15 | 106 | 1690 |
| 2011 | 5 | 2006-07-01 | 54 | 1765 |
| 2011 | 4 | 2006-05-08 | 0 | 1789 |
| 2011 | 3 | 2006-05-08 | 0 | 1758 |
| 2011 | 2 | 2006-05-08 | 0 | 1730 |
| 2011 | 1 | 2006-05-08 | 0 | 1699 |
| 2010 | 12 | 2006-05-08 | 0 | 1668 |
| 2010 | 11 | 2006-05-08 | 0 | 1638 |
| 2010 | 10 | 2006-05-08 | 0 | 1607 |
| 2010 | 9 | 2006-05-08 | 68 | 1577 |
| 2010 | 8 | 2006-03-01 | 151 | 1614 |
| 2010 | 7 | 2005-10-01 | 242 | 1734 |
| 2010 | 6 | 2005-02-01 | 0 | 1946 |
| 2010 | 5 | 2005-02-01 | 0 | 1915 |
| 2010 | 4 | 2005-02-01 | 0 | 1885 |
| 2010 | 3 | 2005-02-01 | 10 | 1854 |
| 2010 | 2 | 22JAN05 | — | — |
| 2010 | 1 | 22JAN05 | — | — |
| 2009 | 12 | 2005-01-22 | 0 | 1774 |
| 2009 | 11 | 2005-01-22 | 0 | 1744 |
| 2009 | 10 | 2005-01-22 | 14 | 1713 |
| 2009 | 9 | 2005-01-08 | 465 | 1697 |
| 2009 | 8 | 2003-10-01 | 1369 | 2131 |
| 2009 | 7 | 2000-01-01 | 0 | 3469 |
| 2009 | 6 | 2000-01-01 | 1506 | 3439 |
| 2009 | 5 | 2004-02-15 | 0 | 1902 |
| 2009 | 4 | 2004-02-15 | 0 | 1872 |
| 2009 | 3 | 2004-02-15 | 45 | 1841 |
| 2009 | 2 | 2004-01-01 | 184 | 1858 |
| 2009 | 1 | 2003-07-01 | 30 | 2011 |
| 2008 | 12 | 2003-06-01 | 0 | 2010 |
| 2008 | 11 | 2003-06-01 | 61 | 1980 |
| 2008 | 10 | 2003-04-01 | 1218 | 2010 |
| 2008 | 9 | 2006-08-01 | 61 | 762 |
| 2008 | 8 | 2006-06-01 | 791 | 792 |
| 2008 | 7 | 2004-04-01 | 0 | 1552 |
| 2008 | 6 | 2004-04-01 | 91 | 1522 |
| 2008 | 5 | 2004-01-01 | 31 | 1582 |
| 2008 | 4 | 2003-12-01 | — | 1583 |
| 2008 | 3 | U | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| 2008 | 2 | U | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| 2008 | 1 | 2000-01-01 | 731 | 2922 |
| 2007 | 12 | 2002-01-01 | 821 | 2160 |
| 2007 | 11 | 2004-04-01 | 0 | 1309 |
| 2007 | 10 | 2004-04-01 | 0 | 1278 |
| 2007 | 9 | 2004-04-01 | — | 1248 |
| 2007 | 8 | U | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| 2007 | 7 | C | Current | Current |
| 2007 | 6 | 2004-04-01 | 449 | 1156 |
| 2007 | 5 | 2003-01-08 | 0 | 1574 |
| 2007 | 4 | 2003-01-08 | 0 | 1544 |
| 2007 | 3 | 2003-01-08 | 0 | 1513 |
| 2007 | 2 | 2003-01-08 | 0 | 1485 |
| 2007 | 1 | 2003-01-08 | 0 | 1454 |
Her time is running out, but there is still hope:
Janet’s personal blog: http://janetliang.wordpress.com/
Save Janet Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/events/236450299768633/
In short, here’s how you can help.
1) Register in the National Bone Marrow Registry.
2) Spread the word to your friends via social media, word of mouth, whatever means you can think of. We really need to spread the word!
3) Start a Bone Marrow Drive! Depending on where you live, there are excellent resources of people and organizations that can help and through your personal connections, we can continue to spread the word and get others to register too! – Janet Liang
Today the Department of State shared a plan to greatly speed up visitor visa processing, in response to a White House Executive Order calling for measures to boost U.S. tourism, economy and job creation.
With the establishment of a new Visa Pilot Program, the department plans to reduce the amount of visa interviews for certain foreign visitors, including people renewing their visas, and children or elderly first-time applicants. This will not only save foreign travellers a considerable amount of time and money, but also free up resources at Embassies and Consulates to focus on higher-risk cases. In the end, a much more streamlined visa application process for everyone.
This is, in my opinion, long overdue! Take my parents as an example, they are over 70 years old and have been to the U.S. six times in the past ten years. We have taken many out-of-state vacations together, as well as frequent weekend trips. Despite their contribution to the travel industry and their track record of never over-staying their B2 visas, they had to re-apply every couple of years. Even with automatic visa re-validation (they were eligible once or twice before), it was still a hassle. And they are even considered lucky because there is an U.S. embassy in the city they live in. Others may have to travel by train, stay at a hotel, and wait for several days just to get a B visa which they had before.
I’m glad the administration recognizes the unbelievable waste of resources on processing these low-risk applications, and are taking initiatives to improve it. The pilot program (details still to be released) is certainly a step in the right direction:
The pilot program will streamline visa processing for certain low-risk applicants, such as individuals renewing expired visas, or some categories of younger or older first-time applicants. We expect that this will benefit tens of thousands of applicants in Brazil and China; saving them time and money, and encouraging them to choose to visit the United States again. However, given that national security remains this Administration’s highest priority, individuals identified as higher-risk will remain subject to interviews – in addition to the full screening and review all visa applicants receive.
The department also provided some figures to demonstrate the economic impact of the new policy:
For example, this will make it much easier for many Chinese tourists to renew their visas – a group that spends more than $6,000 per person, per trip, according to the Department of Commerce. Over the course of the year, this policy could open as many as 100,000 interview appointments for Chinese travelers applying for visas for the first time. That increase in tourism could support as many as 1,500 travel and tourism-related jobs.
We visited Alaska from July 16 to 24, 2011. Although we planned early, we couldn’t start making reservations until early May because of some uncertainties in my parents’ visa application, and that turned out to be a bit late for many things. If you are planning to visit Alaska this summer, I recommend that you start looking around as soon as possible. This way you will have more choices with regard to hotels, rental cars, etc. In addition, you will have better chances to score those “coupon-only” deals if you book early.
Alaska Coupon Books
Even if you are not a typical “coupon clipper,” don’t overlook the Alaska Coupon Books. They can easily save you hundreds of dollars. The one I bought is called Alaska TourSaver
Some places, especially hotels, accept only a limited number of coupons per day. So again, book early if possible. The TourSaver’s website lists all the coupons in the book. You can find out beforehand if a particular activity offers a coupon, and whether there are validation or other limitations. Do not tear off the coupons just yet; many places require the entire book, with the coupon still attached, to honor the discount. Alaska Railroad, on the other hand, asked me to mail the coupons to them, which was interesting.
Other than the Tour Saver, another coupon book called Northern Lights is also quite popular. Although there are overlaps, the two books do offer different coupons. Another tip, if you’re planning a trip for later in the summer, you can probably grab a lightly used coupon book off eBay for half the price.
Best Time to Visit Alaska
Alaska is open to tourists all year round, but obviously the majority of people go during the summer. Alaska’s travel season is usually May 15 through September 15, peaking from mid-June to mid-August.
Continue reading »
Last year we spent our summer vacation in Alaska. For a family that tends to choose nature over big cities, the trip was truly amazing and unforgettable. I always wanted to write something (sort of like a user review), or just post some photos, but never got to it until the other day when I talked about fee-free entrance days in the national parks.
I realized that if you are thinking about visiting Alaska in 2012, the time to start planning is about now. Alaska is a busy and expensive place to visit during peak travel seasons, so it pays off to get a head start. In the next few posts I’ll talk more about the trip, and along the way provide my personal reviews, a few tips and of course lots of pictures.
Our itinerary, although not perfect, worked out quite well for us. As a family of six (grandparents, two kids, wife and me), we felt that we experienced Alaska as much as we could, without feeling exhausted or rushed. We certainly missed some “adventurous” activities, but no regrets whatsoever.
- Day 1: Fly to Alaska on JetBlue (non-stop Long Beach to Anchorage), check in with Homewood Suite
- Day 2: Anchorage downtown, local fair, Anchorage Zoo
- Day 3: Alaska Railroad 5-hr train tour to Seward, Major Marines 3-hr Wildlife Cruise, same train back to Anchorage
- Day 4: Pick up rental car, drive to Whittier, take 6-hr glacier cruise by 26Glaciers, back to Anchorage
- Day 5: Drive to Denali National Park, check in at Faith Hill Bed-and-Breakfast
- Day 6: Take Denali’s 8-hr Tundra Wilderness Bus Tour
- Day 7: Denali Wilderness Center, Sled Dog Show, Savage River
- Day 8: Return to Anchorage
- Day 9: ULU factory tour, local parks, evening flight back to Long Beach
Now off to trip planning.
There are nearly 400 national parks in the United States. Many of them are not only spectacular, but also suitable for family vacations. In fact, visiting a national park has been our top choice for vacation trips ever since my kids were old enough to enjoy travelling. The National Park Service (NPS), in my opinion, has done a fine job maintaining the balance between tourism and preservation.
Some national parks don’t charge an entrance fee, but others do. However, every year those parks that usually charge a fee will be open for free on given days. For 2012, the fee-free days are listed below:
- January 14-16 (Martin Luther King Jr. weekend)
- April 21-29 (National Park Week)
- June 9 (Get Outdoors Day)
- September 29 (National Public Lands Day)
- November 10-12 (Veterans Day weekend)
A beautiful song about Annie Moore, the first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island to the United States, on January 1, 1892. Below is a well made YouTube video of the song with lyrics; and here is another one showing live performance by the Celtic Woman. Enjoy.
New Grounds – Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears
by Brendan Graham
On the first day of January,
Eighteen ninety-two,
They opened Ellis Island and they let
The people through.
And the first to cross that threshold
Of the isle of hope and tears,
Was Annie Moore from Ireland
Who was all of fifteen years.
Recent Comments