Please ignore this one if you've checked my message following your answer as this is just a repeat.
Thanks for your reply. The B-1 visa episode sounds very interesting. I'm not sure whether it's their standard treatment to people with CA PR but I heard that a guy with similar situation was also issued B-1 visa when he tried to come back, and it's TEN YEAR MULTIPLE ENTRY! I don't know if yours was the same deal but I would definitely take it with a heart beat. Anyway, is your F-2 multi-year multi-entry or just regular one year two entry?