skibum

oops, change that last to Consular Affairs. Also forgot the request for AF1......... I have this on WordPerfect if it will help.

My shot at a letter. Should be signed by the same people. Please add the date of the original. And delete any thing that was covered in the first letter. December 16, 2002 Dear Ms. Harty, Thank you very much for your reply to my fax sent to Secretary Powell on December.......... First, let me say that everyone involved with the fax knows that you are not to blame for the problem but have inherited a difficult situation. This situation has not made any of our lives very easy. Many applicants for K visas went to the Consulate in Guangzhou in August of this year expecting to receive their visas as the Consulate web site continued to say that visas were being issued the next day. It was almost a month before the web site was updated causing much hard feelings toward the DOS. I cannot think of any excuse for this delay. Every enquiry to the DOS was answered with the same message that was posted on the Consulate and DOS web sites. No specific information was available. Needless to say that this caused much speculation on the various Internet message boards that sprang up to address the problem. Rumors were rampant. Facts were few. We were given the impression that the delay would be 6-8 weeks. Many are now in the 4th month of waiting. This made it very hard to make plans and caused many plans to be scrapped. Because of the lack of information, it is hard to understand why Chinese applicants are undergoing this additional check. It does not seem that our county's safety would have been compromised by allowing the applicants into the USA under a plan such as that used by the expired "V" visas. Here are some of the opinions given on the message boards and I think that they should be addressed to help clear up the confusion. I hope that you think we deserve this because of our treatment by your predecessor. 1) Many people feel that applicants from Middle Eastern countries are being given special consideration for some reason. There have been allegations that K visas have been issued to people from Pakistan and Saudia Arabia. Also, the Philippines where we are actively fighting a terrorist organization. Is this true? 2) There was a posting that stated that a woman was told to show up to get her visa at 4:30 PM on December 13th along with 9 or 10 others. She stated that about 5 applicants received visas but the others were told that the computers were shut down and they would have to come back another day. If true, this caused a problem with her reservations on her flight to the USA. Is this true? 3)Many wonder how Yao Ming and his parents were able to get visas so quickly. Was the same check done to him or the parents that is being done to our loved ones? Was special consideration given them at the request of a Texas Senator? 4) Is the delay in clearance of applicants interviewed in August due to improper handling by the DOS either at the Consulate or in DC? 5) Why was such a large number held and sent to the Consulate rather than smaller batches sent that they could handle? I think that this may give you an idea the issues raised by the lack of information from the DOS. I hope you will clear the air on these issues. Many of us are veterans, all taxpayers and some Servicemen afraid that they will be shipped to the Middle East before the visa comes through. I hope you think we deserve better information than what we have gotten in the past. Some suggestions: 1) Have personnel from other Consulates in China help Guangzhou get through the back log. 2) Waive the time limit on documents such as the police certificate. In many instances the applicant had to spend several days and travel to another city to get these and the reason they have, in some cases expired, is due to the additional checks taking so long. 3) Post more information on the Consulate web site. This will actually save time because there would be fewer e-mails and phone calls that they would have to deal with. 4) Have Mr. Boucher address these issues in a realistic manner at the press briefing so that the public will know what we are going through. 5) It is our understanding that there are about 7 people who answer the help phone in DC. One of these is described as having an Indian accent and is very uncooperative. She does not deserve to be getting our tax dollars. Please investigate although another rumor has it that you cannot tape their conversations without giving prior notice. But you could ring the number and make an inquiry like we do. 6) Give us the target date for clearing the backlog in Guangzhou. We hope that a new day has dawned at Consulate Affairs. We wish you luck. Signed: Copy: Secretary of State Colin Powell

I would say send it again with a cover letter saying that we are afraid it got lost since we did not receive a reply.

Just remembered, need to ask if the time limit on documents like the police check can be waived and if we can use Air Force One to get them here since most airlines are booked solid for the next month or so.

Here is my little bit of negativity. If you ask for case by case info, you will never get a reply. You need to ask if resourses from other consulates can be used by GZ. You need to ask if the story about the computer being shut down and the applicants having to come back another day is true. Point out the additional cost involved in second and third trips to GZ as well as canceled reservations to US. Point out that this does not look like this is being given priority if this story is true. You need to ask how Yao Ming and his parents were able to get visas so quickly. You should ask if it is true that there was something wrong with the way the August clearances were sent to DOS and they had to be redone. I will bet that we do not get a second reply no matter how it is worded. All I can think of right now.

When writing the next letter you may also want to ask how hard would it be for some of the other consulates in China to help GZ. They all have experinced people.

In any letter to Harty or Powell how about asking that the time limit on the documents be waived since they caused the problem. I would offer to help write it but some how I always wind up with the word assholes in a letter to the govt. I am older than any of you!

It is hard to be assured that it is a top priority when you read the post about the visa printer and the actual reason. Is it time to write our Senators and Congressmen asking for Powell's resignation?

My Senator is GOP and my Congressman Dem. Neither did anything. Now if you were an illegal, they would fall all over themselves trying to help.

I thought that GUZ has it before DOS knows it has been cleared. So if DOS says it is cleared, GUZ has it already.