PJ

You should look into onesuite (http://www.onesuite.com) It's 2.4 cents/minute to China, and it's crystal clear. Plus you get a call log, which is great for evidence. Please note: I am not affiliated with them, I don't get any money or anything, I'm just sharing the site that I always use. P.J.

I have been absolutely floored at a lot of the statements made here and have seen a lot of negativity. This was the reason that the RR was closed down, and I was hoping to have seen the end of that. In response to some requests, no I will not ban cookie or anyone else involved in this little debacle. I'm going to trust to the best in human nature for this to be peacefully resolved. I am not going to take a side in this, and I would hope that it will resolve itself as people calm down and realize that it's a cultural difference, and you know, there will be a lot of them. I hope you realize that now, and if you are not up to the challenge of being tolerant and patient with a different culture and a different language, you really should take the time to reconsider. Trust me, there will be conflicts and misunderstandings, and it all depends on how you deal with it. I am disappointed to see how many people are dealing with this. P.J.

Jason ... yes, that would have been more clear. I would not have taken issue with "people who don't undersand harmless english-language humor". I just didn't like to hear "those Chinese ... " just as many would take offense to hearing about "those Japanese" or "those Jews". It immediately makes someone in the "those" group feel like they're part of some undesirable category of sub-human. Perhaps this wasn't what Kim had intended to convey, but it was definitely a statement that made me feel unwelcome. I do agree with this statement. But I still feel that a certain amount of sensitivity is needed. There is an appropriate time and place for all comments. For example, I will say jokingly when out with my pals, "I'm gonna kick your butt." I would not, however, say that in the office because that would likely lead to termination of my employment. P.J.

As many of you know, I am a U.S. born citizen and raised in a 100% american environment. However, I have tried hard over the past few years to learn as much as I can about Chinese language and culture. Although I don't believe oregonknl had any bad intentions with his original post, I can definitely see from a Chinese perspective how this could be embarrassing and construed as a loss of face. I think hotclick makes an excellent point here. As americans, we should strive to understand and respect other cultures, and if another culture sees something as disrespectful, we should try to understand and avoid doing it. Since we have so many different cultures and peoples here in the US, which is part of what makes America so great ... all the different cultures and mutual respect. And I believe that *ANYONE* who happens to have a significant other coming from another country (I believe this applies to many if not most people on Candle) should strive even harder to be tolerant and respectful of other cultures. You mentioned that you are an advocate of the first amendment. Well I will post openly my thoughts on this. I felt this statement had an xenophobic tinge to it. As someone with Chinese heritage, I took offense to "those Chinese that DON'T UNDERSTAND HARMLESS AMERICAN ENGLISH HUMOR". I really hope that all of us on Candle can take a step back and realize that yes, we may not understand fully other cultures and people from other cultures may not understand fully the American sense of humor, but we should try hard to be respectful and considerate. P.J.

Hi All, For submitting the I-485 AOS, Anyone know if an original copy of my wife's birth certificate needs to be submitted, or if we could make a photocopy of that little stapled booklet? I suppose we do have 3 original copies already that they gave us, but I don't know if we'll have need for these later. Also, how come Tampa wants so much more for the AOS package than other places? P.J.

I can address this from a tech perspective. If you are entering Chinese text GB2312 into a form, it will hose the application, unless specifically built to handle GB2312. It's rare and expensive to find engineers that can build a multinational app. I would just stick to English. P.J.

Hi All, Well, I have an opportunity to take a great job in Louisville, Kentucky, big solid company, lots of growth potential for my career. Or I can stay here in Tampa, Florida. I'm trying to find a place where my fiancee can be comfortable, people friendly, stuff to do. Is anyone from Louisville or have been there? What do you think, as opposed to Tampa? P.J.

Question #3: From Eric's list, A2/ CHECK #xxxx FOR $ 255 I-485 FEE A3/ CHECK #xxxx FOR $ 50 FINGERPRINTING FEE When I went to the USCIS site, I didn't see any info about a fingerprinting fee. I just saw a $315 fee for the I-485. Did they just combine them and increase the cost by $10, or am I missing something? Question #4: on the G-325A, the question "This form is submitted in connection with application for ..." Which one do we select when doing the AOS? P.J.

Question #2: On the I-864, it asks for household size. I'm kinda living with my folks and kid sister right now (being ethnically Chinese this is quite normal, even though it seems strange by US standards since I make a perfectly good living as an engineer). Am I supposed to include them in calculating household size? P.J.

As long as he is over 20 there will be no problem. Don't worry about it. When I saw "too young" I thought you were going to say he was 12 or something. It's actually good you're close in age, it will make things go a lot smoother. P.J.

Hi All, Well, we're going to go do the justice of the peace thing next week. Question #1: Does she need to get an SSN before we file the AOS? If so how long does it take to get an SSN? P.J.

Actually, that is not correct. A blank VHS tape is the same whether you buy it in the US or China. It's the encoding format you use to record it that determines where it can be played back. There are two formats, NTSC and PAL. The US Consulate in Guangzhou uses NTSC, even though the rest of China uses PAL. I've also noticed that their papers are standard letter size, instead of A4 like the rest of China. The US Consulate uses NTSC ... this has been confirmed by numerous members. Please see this link. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=7&t=6492 Thanks, P.J.

Beijing road my friend. Give her a couple hundred RMB tell her she can buy whatever she wants, it's her money, and all worries about pending interview will be forgotten. Not sure if it is setting a good precident for later on though.

It's okay to fret and worry about the details (I sure did more than my share of it), but I would be careful not to let your fiancee know you are worrying and fretting and stressing. I think a lot of the blue slips and unreasonable demands are caused by a VO sensing (whether right or wrong) that something is "out of place". These feelings can be triggered by simple nervousness. If they think everything's a-ok, I'm sure you can take a 2 year old bank letter. If they think something's amiss (again I'm not saying they're correct in thinking something is amiss, I'm just saying that's their thought) that's when they want videotape, all your bank statements for past year, etc. etc. etc. About the "gut instinct" ... I have only been stopped and searched thoroughly going through customs once coming back from China. It was because I got in line and some a--hole had the nerve to tell me "I was here first, get to the back buddy". I told him "hey I was here first" and was irked by the time I got to the front of the line. I think the customs agents sensed something was "out of place" because that time my bags were thoroughly searched, all the clothes even dug through and every single zipper opened. The rest of the times, they just asked me a simple question like "are you bringing in food?" and wouldn't even check the bags. When you see so many people, genuine, and people pulling scams, you just sort of develop an ability to "read" and "go with your gut". I don't blame the VOs for this, I have no doubt I would do the same in their situation and I am certain that most people on Candle would as well. The day before my fiancee's interview, we went shopping on Beijing Road in Guangzhou (you know all the stores and bright lights and stuff). We talked about purses, and what we would have for lunch the next day and the day after that. I don't think "interview" or "consulate" was mentioned more than once, just talk about purses and lunch. P.J.

Alex, It's okay to fret and worry about the details like the bank letter (I sure did more than my share of it), but I would be careful not to let your fiancee know you are worrying and fretting and stressing. I think a lot of the blue slips and unreasonable demands are caused by a VO sensing (whether right or wrong) that something is "out of place". These feelings can be triggered by simple nervousness. If they think everything's a-ok, I'm sure you can take a 2 year old bank letter. If they think something's amiss (again I'm not saying they're correct in thinking something is amiss, I'm just saying that's their thought) that's when they want videotape, all your bank statements for past year, etc. etc. etc. About the "gut instinct" ... I have only been stopped and searched thoroughly going through customs once coming back from China. It was because I got in line and some a--hole had the nerve to tell me "I was here first, get to the back buddy". I told him "hey I was here first" and was irked by the time I got to the front of the line. I think the customs agents sensed something was "out of place" because that time my bags were thoroughly searched, all the clothes even dug through and every single zipper opened. The rest of the times, they just asked me a simple question like "are you bringing in food?" and wouldn't even check the bags. When you see so many people, genuine, and people pulling scams, you just sort of develop an ability to "read" and "go with your gut". I don't blame the VOs for this, I have no doubt I would do the same in their situation and I am certain that most people on Candle would as well. The day before my fiancee's interview, we went shopping on Beijing Road in Guangzhou (you know all the stores and bright lights and stuff). We talked about purses, and what we would have for lunch the next day and the day after that. I don't think "interview" or "consulate" was mentioned more than once, just talk about purses and lunch. P.J.

My fiancee had her for the interview, unless there is more than one African-American woman doing interviews. She was fine, got a white slip, but did tell me she was very intimidated by her interviewer. I guess that's normal to be intimidated by an interviewer regardless of who it is, since they're about to make a decision that affects you. P.J.

You may want to check into it, but I believe that you can send a Global EMS that would get to China in 4 business days. I know I checked into it at one time and this is what I seem to recall. I'm sure a handwritten letter from Mum would go a lot further than an email, if you can get one. If you go to the Post office and ask for the fastest they've got to China, they can tell you. Good luck! P.J.

Thanks. Anyone know about the 3rd question: 3. Getting married - uhh we'd like to have a wedding, but 90 days ain't much, plus I have a lot going on right now. If we just do the, how do you put it, go to the county courthouse and register a marriage, can we file the AOS and then eventually have a wedding when life is less hectic? Will the USCIS people who do the AOS interview look at this negatively?

Hi Don, If we're going to register a marriage with the courthouse soon, do you think we should apply for her SSN before then or afterward? P.J.

Hi All, Has anyone filed AOS in Tampa, FL? Any accounts or stories? P.J.

Hi All, I need some help, and I'm sure a lot of you all have been through this before, anyone who has gotten the K1. It's been rough lately, we just got back to the States and I'm exhausted, I have like a million things to do. I'd like to post my account of our travels but that will have to wait for another day. I'm really glad I got Candle's disk space issue resolved before leaving for China, because I would have not been able to do anything on it at this point and we'd just be flat out of space. Questions: 1. If my fiancee and I get married this year (before 12/31/2004) do I file my taxes as married joint return? http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=3643 This is the only thread I could find on it and it seemed to be more for people supporting a wife still in China. 2. Name change - can't you legally get a name change somewhere along this process (getting married or AOS). I mean obviously I know the last name changes, but can't you also change first name to something more American? Or is that when you get your citizenship, as it sounded like on this thread: http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....t=ST&f=1&t=6068 3. Getting married - uhh we'd like to have a wedding, but 90 days ain't much, plus I have a lot going on right now. If we just do the, how do you put it, go to the county courthouse and register a marriage, can we file the AOS and then eventually have a wedding when life is less hectic? Will the USCIS people who do the AOS interview look at this negatively? Sorry, I know a lot of this probably can be found in our archives but I really haven't had the time to look very hard. Thanks, P.J.

Neal, Geez, after all you've been through, I *really* hope they get your P4 soon. If it makes you feel any better, after I got the "shortly" email back from GZ, we were included in the next batch of P4s. P.J.

Dan, I can definitively answer this as being untrue. I am ethnically Chinese, US born, taught myself Cantonese (which I'm really proud of, incidentally, it's a tough language to learn ) . I communicate with my fiancee about 50% in English, 50% in Cantonese. My fiancee's interviewer was an African-American woman (as far as I can surmise from my fiancee's description) who did not speak any Chinese and had a translator. Incidentally the interviewer did ask my fiancee if she spoke English and she said "yes". I can't remember if I had mentioned that earlier or not, but now that you mentioned language yeah that was asked. They have a number of windows, and they assign you to one, I think it's just like rolling the dice. I wouldn't worry about your fiancee not speaking much English if you can speak Chinese (?) You just have to prove you can communicate, doesn't matter what language. I told my fiancee many times if they hassle her about your English just tell them she and I use Cantonese to communicate. P.J.

I do agree that fraud is a big problem. However, I am a firm believer that it is worse to deny one valid case then to approve ten fraudulent cases, just as I believe it is worse to send one innocent person to prison than to let ten guilty criminals off the hook. Just my humble perspective on things. P.J.

Foshan is about a 30-45 minute drive by taxi to Guangzhou, assuming traffic is decent. P.J.