Proposed Group Letter to Powell

[Robert S.]

December xx, 2002

 

 

Dear Mr. Secretary:

 

We would like to thank you and all the staff members at the Department of State for the hard work that you have been doing. It is a great relief to us that some K visa clearances have now finally been provided to the consulate at Guangzhou and we are sure that the DoS intends to start actually issuing visas again in China as soon as possible.

 

Our concern is that given the huge backlog and very limited qualified staff resources at Guangzhou this issuance process is going to take quite a long time. Whenever one of us talks with a staff member at the consulate we are always told how they are so busy, they have so much work to do, and that they are trying to do the work as best they can – and we believe them. We are aware that Guangzhou processes tens of thousands of different visas every year. However, it is of little comfort to any one of us to think about all the other people whose visa issuance for their Chinese loved one is similarly delayed.

 

Mr Powell, we have waited a long time already, but now our frustration stands a good chance of becoming even more acute, in the knowledge that the visas we are waiting for could very well be cleared for processing but remain further delayed by lack of adequate staffing. Surely this unique situation is worthy of some number of personnel beyond the mere seven presently working on visa issuance. If more clearances are received this will create an even bigger backlog. We would like to request that you take a personal interest in this matter and see if you could do something to alleviate not only the overworked state of the Guangzhou employees but also assuage the frustration we are all suffering.

 

Sincerely,

 

(How Many People Can We Get?)

[Mike and Ying]

Count me in. Very nice letter

[Guest Victoria]

Great letter, Robert. Let's all sign on and send it asap. In case this makes it easier, I've got a database of 60+ people from the Laura Bush letter. If you were on that and want to be on this, just send me the "go-ahead" here and we're on our way. Of course, if you weren't on that list but want to be on this letter, still contact me and I'll add you.

 

Maybe there are other offices where we could send the same or similar letter, like the human resources departments at CA and DOS, with maybe a cc to Donahue at GZ.

 

Wouldn't it be funny if we, who have been perhaps their worst nightmare, wind up being their biggest champions, lobbying to make their lives easier?

 

Victoria

[Guest JJwaiting]

Great letter...count me in...PUSH PUSH PUSH

[LaoMao]

Very nice, thank you. We should send the letter to give them thanks and that will courage them to do the job even faster in future. Count me in but I would suggest to wait for a couple of days to see if the 5000 are real and for family visa.

[LaoMao]

Victoria, this is Charles( You know what LaoMao mean :-)), I am in that list. Count me in please.

[sysy]

Hi, nice to see everyone here. And nice site.

Robert, very nice letter, count me in. Victoria, "go-ahead" please.

 

Not to delay the time by which the letter is sent, no revision should be considered. Perhaps we could also send a follow-up letter to offer help -- making coffee, or tea, buying glues in case they run out, policing the interview line, volunteering to answer the phones, or sending Christmas gifts for the staff members, so they can concentrate on doing their work. I know government does not take bribes, but some kind of fee to pay for overtime sounds reasonable to me.

[markimwaiting]

Why dont we all copy the the letter with all our names on it, and we all send the letter?

just a thought

[Guest whilkemann]

Please put our names on it .

 

Rev. & Mrs. Walter Hilkemann

 

Thanks

[Guest enight]

and me!

[Mike and Ying]

Why dont we all copy the the letter with all our names on it, and we all send the letter?

just a thought

Mark, I don't think that would be a good idea. It would make them angry rather than getting our point across (just my feeling) The last one got a responce.

[PJ]

Hi All,

 

I agree and I would like to be added as well. I think it's a great letter. We just need some way to keep this organized. Victoria, your post said you would add any names already on your list that give you the go-ahead. I am not on that list ... what information do you need from me? Also, when will the letter be sent? Finally, are you sending it, or is Robert sending it?

 

Just trying to keep things organized so nobody gets left out accidentally.

 

Thanks,

 

P.J.

[Guest Victoria]

Hi P.J.,

 

I'll make a clear post above under a new topic, "Powell Letter", but FYI I need full name, city and state of residence, and email address to add a name. As of this moment, Eric is sending the letters, and we're shooting for tomorrow.

 

Victoria

[PJ]

Victoria,

 

Yes, please do make a new topic stating content of letter, what you need, who is sending the letter, and when it is getting sent.

 

Actually I think we should have some formal structure for signing onto group letters.

 

Too tired to think about it now. Had like a million things to think about at work, just need to sleep now.

 

Good night. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

Thanks,

 

P.J.

[Guest kazoo]

You can add me to that, I was on that letter to Laura, Wayne and Fiona. Good luck to everyone.