Argyle

Hi Tom, As I understand it, the pictures are now standard passport style photos. My fiancee lives in GZ, and had the photos made last week. I'm going to talk to her tonight, and I'll ask her about it. I'll let you know. Best Wishes

Hi All, I believe that our letter writing campaign has been enormously successful, but there is still much to do. So many of us now have our clearances and many others are finally reunited. Let's not forget the others who are still waiting. I would like to nominate Luke as our next focus case. Best Wishes

My Heartfelt Congratulations to Both of You! I hope that you will enjoy a long and happy life together! Let's not forget the rest of us who are still waiting though. I truly believe that our combined efforts have resulted in clearances for many of us in the recent weeks. Let's continue to work together and leave no one behind. Best Wishes

Thanks for the email address R2D2. It's sure a shame that such a few people who abuse our freedoms in this country seem to get all of the attention. I suppose it's a lot more sensational to print a story about two brothers who exploit a few dozen people than to tell the story of a government system that through it's own inertia and incompetence, abuses hundreds of us. I like the new avatar too! Is that an old squadron patch? Take Care.

Well done R2D2! Would you share your contact information? I would like to reply to Carol as well. You can email it to me if you feel it is appropriate. Thanks

Hi R2D2, I will be happy to write another group letter if you think it is best. I have already written a solo effort on behalf of SBS and Orbitalpunk, but another letter certainly couldn't hurt! I'll get started on it. Best Wishes

Hi All, I had no idea what the costs of hosting this board were, and quite frankly, I'm surprised that it's so inexpensive. I imagine that the real cost of a website lies in the administration, and I am sure that PJ's tireless and invaluable efforts in creating and maintaining this board would be way out of my tax bracket! I do appreciate everything that you've done here PJ, and I'll be more than happy to do my share to help defray some of the costs of hosting this board. I suggest that each person willing to help contact Donahso. (Thanks for volunteering Don!) He can then divide the yearly costs by the number of donors, and tell us what we need to pay. Best Wishes

Hi Luke, You are certainly a good candidate for PJ's Black Hole focus. There are still too many of us who have been waiting more than one year, and that's just unacceptable. We've seen a good bit of action taken on some of our long term cases, but we can't give up until everyone is cleared. We can make a difference in the on hold and pending cases, but only if we act together. Our strength is definately in our numbers. Best Wishes

Hi All, I certainly want to do my part to support this board. PJ has been very gracious in creating it and supporting it so far. I am willing to do my part in keeping this board alive. One person should not be expected to create, administer, and fund this website. This board has been invaluable to me in the past, and I am sure that it will continue to be as my fiancee and I move on to the next phase of our lives. It is only fair that we help support it. Let me know what you decide PJ.

Count me in PJ! I feel strongly that we should leave no one behind. This board has been a source of information, inspiration, and support for me during my long wait. I feel indebted to the members of Candle For Love who supported our letter writing campaign. I believe that our combined efforts helped to bring about my fiancee's recent name check clearance. I will continue to do my part until all of us are reunited, and I encourage everyone else who has benefited from Candle For Love to do likewise. Best Wishes

Hi Gail_loves, You have some excellent points in your letter, but I believe it would be more effective if you made it more personal. For example, instead of saying "the U.S. citizen", try "I". And in place of "the fiance", go with "my fiance". Also, remember that we live in a society where most people have an extremely limited attention span. If you overload them with too much information, the point that you're trying to make will get lost. Good luck, and best wishes!

Hi All, They might not answer your letters, but you can be sure they read them. Don't stop writing. It works! Best Wishes

Way to Go R2D2!!! I am very pleased for you! By the way, your package might not have to age very long on that mailroom floor. I don't know how long my fiancee's package sat on that floor, but by the time I learned that her case had cleared the name check, her P4 had already been mailed. I have been rushing around like a crazy man trying to get everything ready for my trip there, and hers here! By the way, I sent my passport to flychina.com on Monday for their visa service. When I got home from work today, a Chinese visa was waiting on me. Seems kind of crazy doesn't it? Counting transit time, it took me five days to get a visa to China. I've been trying for more than 15 months to get my sweetie a U.S. visa... Anyway, my heartfelt congratulations again Jim. You've certainly put in your time, and helped many others along the way, myself included. Best Wishes

Excellent letter R2D2!

Hi Luke, Yes, I had our names and case numbers listed at the bottom of the letter. I still haven't gotten a reply from assistant secretary Harty concerning that letter. Best Wishes.

Hi All, On July 7, I emailed acting DOS Inspector General Anne Sigmund (oighotline@state.gov). On July 8, her office answered my email. I received their response via U.S. Mail today. Their reply follows: This letter is to acknowledge your complaint to the Office of Inspector General's Hotline... We conducted a review of your concerns and determined that the appropriate office to address this matter is: U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affaris Office of Executive Director 2401 E Street NW Washington, DC 20037 We have forwarded your complaint to the above office for action and have asked that it contact you directly for more information, if necessary. Please refer future correspondence, or if you have questions, to the Bureau of Consular Affairs. Sincerely While Assistant Secretary Maura Harty has STILL not answered our group letter directly, I did get an email from KC. She didn't mention our group letter, but I am sure that they read it. (See my post above) We have seen a great deal of movement on this board in the past few weeks. Some of the more recently cleared cases have been stalled for several months. Write those letters and emails, and let's not leave anyone behind. Best Wishes

Welcome to The United States of America Sarah! I wish you and Dave many, many happy years together! This is indeed a very beautiful country. I can't wait until I have my sweetie here so we can travel and discover the wonders of this marvelous land together! Best Wishes

Well Said R2D2! And if anyone needs any suggestions about where you should direct your letter writing efforts, just look back through the "Letter Writing Campaign" thread. There are several great media outlets and government officials listed. I'll say it again, and again, and again. Write those letters and emails. It works! If I hadn't found out (by writing to my senator and the consulate) that they had submitted the WRONG NAME for the name check in September 2002, I am sure that we would still be waiting! Best Wishes.

Hi Chicagoman, Congratulations on the P4! My fiancee got hers via regular mail on the 11th also. It was mailed on the 8th. Here's to hoping that this is just the beginning, and soon all of us will be reunited with our loved ones! Best Wishes

Hi All, This afternoon I received a reply from Maura Harty's office to an email I wrote asking about our group letter. She didn't address the group issue, but I am convinced that she read the letter. Things are moving for several of us who signed that letter. I hope that all of us are cleared soon! Basically, they acknowledged that I'd sent them an email, and then wrote the following in reference to my petition: We are happy to inform you that the required security-related vetting has been completed and that the Consulate has received permission to continue processing this case. An appointment has been scheduled for Ms. xxx on August 5. I hope this information is helpful. Sincerely, Kathryn Cabral Chief Public Inquiries Division Visa Services Write those letters folks, it works! Best Wishes

Hey R2D2, I think we're talking about two different kinds of wildlife here! My sweetie did a remarkable job of keeping me well shielded from the two legged variety while I was in GZ! Best Wishes

Hi All, This is an interesting thread, and I am looking forward to facing these issues in the near future! I've done a little to prepare my fiancee for life here in the US. I did buy a new bedroom suite, and got an extra firm mattress! The thing I slept on while I was in GZ felt like a block of extra firm concrete! I live in a fairly small town in a semi-rural area, and wildlife abounds here! My fiancee is from GZ where wildlife is pretty much limited to the large parks. It's not uncommon for me to look out into my back yard and see deer grazing on my shrubs. They're better at pruning them than I am! I've told my sweetie about watching the birds, rabbits, and the occassional armadillo, raccoon, and oppossum rummaging through the flower beds. She seems a bit concerned about the raccoon because I described it as sort of a little panda. Apparently it's not in her Chinese-English dictionary. Best Wishes

Congratulations ChicagoMan! I am so happy to see that many of us are finally getting cleared! I truly hope that this is just the beginning. There are too many still waiting, and we can't rest until all of us are reunited with our loved ones. Best Wishes

Thank you so much Daniel, I feel that it was our combined effort that got so many of us through this mess in the past few weeks. We don't need to let our guard up yet though. There are still plenty of us who are on hold and pending. Let's keep this thing going, and help each other along until this system works the way it's supposed to. Best Wishes

Keep writing. It works! We have to keep the pressure on DOS until this system works the way it's supposed to for all of us. We can do this in two ways. First, we can write directly to the Maura Harty and/or the inspector general at DOS: oighotline@state.gov Anne M. Sigmund, Acting Inspector General U.S. Department of State Office of Inspector General Second, write to the media, and tell them your story. Don't be afraid to personalize your story either. It's much more interesting reading and will make the editor more sympathetic to our cause. When reporters, especially well known reporters, start nosing around, you can bet that the good people at DOS and FBI take notice! Best Wishes