Robert S.

I would love to see you be successful but will you please tell why you believe you are even going to be allowed inside the building? I went to my congressman's office once--in 1972. But now I would bet the building is off limits completely. Do you have an appointment?

Forgive me, my good man, but I do not understand how YOU can actually EDIT something that she wrote. I saw it and it was flawless. Maybe you updated it. Sorry, I am just trying to get another blue thingy.

Can I get one or two bonus blue thingies?

Our new letter to Maura Harty has been sent to Consular Affairs and received there by fax. I would like to thank PJ, Don and Jim for their good job of shepherding it along, and thank all our co-signers for adding their voice to our cry for help.

No it has not been sent yet. We are waiting for names. There would not be as much impact for it to arrive in the late afternoon. It will be sent first thing in the morning, just as before, and really make their day right off. We have 67 names so far! More coming. Victoria says there are *24* previous signers who have not responded to email yet. Perhaps they will check either their email or here on Candle this evening. - Robert

Hey Luckybabe, I enjoy your posts and am glad you are here. The blue thingies are just for how many posts you have made. Oh yes, and I like your avatar very much. Good choice.

Those who want to co-sign please send an email to Victoria at blivvit@yahoo.com with the word "co-sign" or "sign on," or "yes" or something like that in the subject line. If you did not sign the first letter then you are not on the list which Victoria has already. Therefore you will need to give in the body of your email your full name, city and state where you are living, and the email address you wish used. Thanks. Unfortunately, we will not be able to entertain any suggestions for changes, additions, subtractions, etc. The letter: December 16, 2002 Assistant Secretary Maura Harty Bureau of Consular Affairs Department of State Washington, D.C. 20520 Dear Ms. Harty: It is somewhat reassuring to us that you have so kindly expressed your personal concern for family visa processing in Guangzhou in your reply to our first letter; however, from your closing statement that the immigrant visa unit will have family visas as its first priority it seems we have failed to convey our belief that, though they may be working very hard, this small number of employees will not be sufficient to process the family-based visas in a timely manner. If we may, we would like to make a number of specific suggestions. The degree of delay and the number of cases involved surely must warrant that the Bureau of Consular Affairs assemble an emergency response visa processing team from the US and send them to China. In addition, we need to be able to access information about our case status via the consulate web page. We also request that someone at Consular Affairs be charged with the task of monitoring the web sites dedicated to this visa delay problem and investigating the recurring stories posted about failures in processing. For example, this week there have been several ladies with visa pickup letters in hand who were turned away and told to return tomorrow but were not even given the assurance that their visas would be ready by the next day. Mr. Simpkin this afternoon had not yet heard about this kind of thing when I spoke with him. The fiancée of one of our members inexplicably had to return to the consulate four days in a row before she was finally issued her visa. Ms. Harty, if you could take a few minutes and just read the stories of how our loved ones are treated it might give you a better sense of why this is a crisis situation. Also, the problem of clearances for August and early September interviewees needs more particular attention and we would like to know that Consular Affairs and the consulate together have a plan to deal with it. We do very much appreciate your efforts to improve the overall clearance process; however, in view of the difficulties the consulate is experiencing, and our lack of means to find out what is happening there, we feel compelled to request that Washington intervene by sending an emergency team to Guangzhou. Without the support of additional expert personnel, and especially considering the huge number of cases, the consulate cannot clear the backlog and we will be facing months of further delay. Sincerely, Thomas Robert Shelton, Jr. TRS/trs The __ US citizens listed below have agreed to be signatories to this letter:

New letter coming very soon. You have email from me.

NOT your fault!!!!!

Sorry to make so much trouble but I had to have it. Just now I got off the phone talking the Mr Simpkin, who had first issued the 5000 number to Mark. He again re-confirmed this amount for me.

I have talked to JUZ on the phone and it seems when he talked to the info line last Thursday he was told there were actually "very few" clearances sent for Chinese people. I told him this was probably wrong, that the info line people don't know anything, but I would check into it some more. If someone remembers where the 5000 number originally came from will you please help by finding it and posting where I can look at it? Despite this further confusion the letter will continue to go forward and is nearly finished. I am going to add a line to the effect that we don't have any *official* word about what is actually going on and this is very distressing to us.

JUZ, I need to talk to you about this. Have sent you an email. - Robert

Don and Jim, I plan to cast it in the context of family-based visas, which will include everyone, including cases such as Charlotte, who is waiting for her daughter's visa. Thank you for your support. I am putting heart and soul into it tomorrow but am over and out tonight.

Due to overwhelming demand the time frame for the new letter has been moved up. I am taking the day off tomorrow so there can be no doubt that this will be completed. I will try to incorporate as many of the various points which are appropriate for a group letter. Victoria, our talented writer and editor, has promised to assist.

Last night and on waking this morning the letter has been molding and shaping itself for me. It will be more strongly worded this time and more clearly express our expectations. Their initial response did have some content, mainly Maura Harty's own statement of concern, but was nil on specifics. It was not a form letter response but there was an element of attempting to put us off. WE will not be turned aside so easily. - Robert

Victoria already got her clearance and the letter has been sent to her fiance. She is in her words out of here. Somehow we will have to struggle along without her.

I too am very enthusiastic about our new writer!!!!!! Good job, new guy! Very happy to have you!!!! I was not looking forward to trying to hammer out the details of how to express these things in good English like you have already done so gracefully!!! I think that Don is correct in saying that it would be best that I sign the new group letter again. When I called the CA the man I spoke with actually knew who I was when he asked my name! I would like to work together with Seafloor and we can have a beautiful letter, but we have got to get away from the numbered list and put it in paragraph form. May I propose that everyone just keep adding their comments and questions for a couple of days? We need to give it a chance and see how it shakes out with whether things start to improve over there or whether it just continues in this tiny dribble like it has done so far. - Robert

Kandy, that is how we say "children" in Alabama! It came to me as a fax and I retyped it, with a typo, ooooohhh I could kick myself. ==>Corrected the original Did anyone notice that the guy had corrected his first post on G7 where he said his lady had told him the visa machine was broken? He said he found out it was just the computer system was turned off because it was late in the day.

Very good point and this will be one of the main topics of our new letter to Powell. We need to know much more specifically what is going on. - Robert

United States Department of State Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Washington, D.C. 20520 December 14, 2002 Dear Mr. Shelton: This responds to your fax of December 5 to Secretary of State Powell regarding processing of fiancé/ée (K) Visas at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. Let me assure you that I regret that delays in visa issuance are complicating the lives of applicants and of those who are waiting for their arrival. One of my first priorities as the new Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs is to look for ways to solve this problem. As you note in your letter, we have had some forward movement in the process recently and many of the immigrant and K visas pending in Guangzhou were among those most recently cleared. The staff at the Consulate in Guangzhou is working overtime to process all of the immigrant and K visa cases that have been cleared and the Immigrant Visa Unit is contacting applicants directly with instructions on how they can pick up their visas. Meanwhile we are working hard here with other government agencies to eliminate the remaining backlog and to rationalize clearance procedures in ways that continue to protect U.S. borders, our first priority, while facilitating legitimate travel. Please be assured that as visa clearance messages are received at post, visas will be issued. I have been in contact with senior management in Guangzhou and am certain that we share a common goal. The visas for parents, children, spouses, and fiancé/ées of American citizens will continue to be the highest priority for the immigrant visa unit in Guangzhou. I hope that this information is helpful to you. Sincerely, Maura Harty Assistant Secretary Bureau of Consular Affairs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This response came this morning. It was extremely interesting to note that the handwriting on the fax transmittal cover sheet matched the Maura Harty signature on the letter. If this was really her signature then it was Maura Harty herself who was in the office taking care of business this Saturday morning. - Robert

Old Cat, Lao Mao, I am sure you do not believe this!!! There is nothing a cat loves more than sleeping I hope you take care of yourself , OK?

Mark, sorry, but even though I was at home all day somehow when the guy called me to fax me the response I was not here. I had forgotten to find my owner's manual for how to switch the fax machine to receive automatically (well I'm not too sure I could find it). And I failed to check my caller ID in time before it got too late in the day. On Tuesday I had been told the response was coming the next day or Thursday but this was late Friday afternoon when he tried to call. I will call CA on Monday morning. - Robert

Brother, I mean *this* whole thread, and you would have seen how it developed, this idea of writing a new letter. But no worry, no biggie. But I will be calling on you for your insight and comments, in a few days. - R

I love it. Keep 'em coming!

Eric, you must not have read the thread.