[Better Guess on # of applications]

The visa information is published. It is a document called "2002 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics". It's published by Homeland Security, office of immigration statistics.

 

I found it on a BCIS website somewhere, but I don't remember the site

 

Ok, I googled it....

 

look here: http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/s...IMM2002list.htm

 

The 2002 book is the current edition, and there were 2252 fiancee` visas issued. This DOES NOT include Hong Kong, but there isn't a separate line for Taiwan, so it probably does include them. That means that less than 2252 fiancee visas were issued in Guangzhou in 2002. I think that's about five per workday.

[when will it end?]

sorry about the typo in the fifth paragraph above ....

 

I wrote ...elaborated on his point to day...

 

I meant ...elaborated on his point to say...

[when will it end?]

Johnxiaoying,

 

Your question 2 seems pretty straightforward, but the reply from the consulate is really not a surprise to me. Yes, it is annoying and evasive, but not surprising.

 

If they said 'yes, the telephone card records are acceptable evidence' then the next thing you know they would be "required". The word would spread very rapidly and everyone would show up with telephone card records as evidence. With many people repeating similar questions about other types of evidence there would quickly be a standard of evidence that is 'endorsed' by the visa officers. This would lead to a checklist of required evidence to show the relationship and all visa requests would have the same 'required' evidence.

 

I'm sure that you and I, and probably most people reading CFL and other websites, wouldn't see a problem with that approach, but the visa officers probably would object to the standardization of the proof of relationship.

Afterall, isn't every relationship unique?

 

Some time ago I had a fairly long discussion with a visa officer at the consulate in Shenyang and he made me understand something. That is, the consulate will not tell you what evidence is needed, what is acceptable, and worst yet what is not acceptable. They leave it up to the petitioner and applicant to make the case.

 

That seemed a bit strange to hear that from him, but he elaborated on his point to day that the person must provide true evidence. The visa officer will look at the evidence presented and render a decision. It seems that some people have reported that the visa officer didn't even look at their package of evidence. My theory here is that the visa decision had already been made at that point.

 

If I were you I would compile the telephone records and send them to your fiancee` as evidence of relationship. I would use them as one piece of evidence of your relationship. Unless there is a case that clearly demonstrates that this type of record is inadmissible then I'd pursue it that way.

 

For my evidence package I will use telephone records similar to yours and also my telephone bills with the calls itemized. I will also have photographs and four years of email and cards and letters between my fiancee` and me.

 

All I can do is show the visa officer that my relationship with my fiancee`is true and hope he sees the truth.

[Anger]

I wanted to respond to wolf about a statement made above.

 

The US Gov't. has more than 'one small consulate' in China. The embassy is in Beijing, and there are consulates in Shenyang, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. All of the consulates, and of course the embassy, issue visas for Chinese citizens wanting to visit USA. However, all immigrant visas are issued at the consulate in Guangzhou.

 

As far as the '3000 per month' I really can't say much about that, except to say that in 2002 there were only about 2250 fiance visas issued in mainland china. This is published in the 2002 Immigration Yearbook, which is the most current issue. When you account for the other types of visa, and the inevitable number of denials, I suppose the number of 3000 per month isn't totally unbelievable, but I would like to see the source of that information because the number does seem a bit high to me.

 

I know that there are many other types of visa, but I do have difficulty with the number '3000 per month'. Do you have a source for this information?

 

The primary reason for delay in issuing visas is the time required for performing all of the checks required. As we have seen here on CFL recently there has been discussion of visa fraud. It seems that the US Government has two main problems, terrorism and fraud, and the visa approval process attempts to counter both of them.

 

I don't like the delay and administrative bureaucracy any more than you do, but I do try to understand what our government is trying to achieve.

 

You know that your fiancee isn't a terrorist or a visa fraud, but the visa office doesn't!

 

Is our government efficient? No Way!

Is our government fairly and equitably handling all visa requests? No Way!

Do the visa officers capriciously deny applications? It seems so.

 

Am I willing to put up with all of the US and Chinese government bureaucracy to have my fiancee with me? ABSOLUTELY! It's worth ten times the hassle and delay!

[Collecting Opinions]

When I took an assignment in China in March 2000 marriage was probably the farthest thing from my mind. I wasn't opposed to the idea of a Chinese wife, but that certainly was not my objective when I took the assignment.

 

About a year later I found myself dating one of the most wonderful people I have met in my life. I left China in Oct 2001 and have only returned for one visit almost two years ago. I'm hoping to make another trip this fall to see this wonderful woman again.

 

Since leaving China in 2001 I have grown much closer to her through mail, email and telephone conversations and around the first of the year we decided that we wanted to be together forever. This relationship really has nothing to do with her being Chinese and me being American. The relationship is based on love and mutual respect and I would be in love with her no matter what her nationality or ethnic origin.

 

Yep, she is Chinese, but that is really just a coincidence.

[What have I got myself into?]

Hi,

 

I can talk a little bit about Shenyang because I lived there for two years.

 

The airport in Shenyang is old, but the terminal is new and has only been in use for about two years. Shenyang is about an hour flight from Beijing.

 

I think it's possible to arrive in Beijing and still get a plane to Shenyang on the same day. There are quite a few flights, and I think some leave Beijing as late as 8pm or so. I think most Int'l arrivals from North America come in between 10am and 2pm, so there should be plenty of time to continue on.

 

The drive from the Shenyang airport to the center of the city is about 30-40 minutes, depending on the traffic and exactly where you're going in the city.

 

Are you planning to continue on to Fushun the same day? Will your fiancee` meet you in Beijing or Shenyang or Fushun?

 

I think Fushun is about an hour, maybe a little less, by train from Shenyang. There are at least two train stations in Shenyang, there may be a third but I'm not sure. Anyway, it's important to know which one you will use! It would be easy to go to the wrong station, and if you're alone it could be difficult to get help unless you speak Chinese.

 

On my last trip there in October '02 I went by train from Beijing to Shenyang. We rode 'soft seat' and the train was very nice, but it is a rather long ride of about 9 hours. It's a great way to see the countryside if you take a train leaving Beijing before about noon or 2pm.