Consulates Getting More Bold...

[warpedbored]

this is the first I can remember

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4124

[Dave G.]

Well, since I started this thread, I might as well use it to post a follow up. After the recommendations made here, we did indeed try again to get a visa for my sister-in-law.

 

My wife called me and asked for some information from my passport. I figured she was gearing up for the next interview. Seems she left out one small, important detail. The interview was already scheduled...for YESTERDAY! Outcome?

 

SUCCESS!!!

The tourist visa is now in hand.

 

My jaw hit the ground with the news. I wasn't expecting it. My sister's-in-law visit will make the transition with the new baby all the easier.

 

What made the difference? Yes...it didn't hurt to try again. But, my wife said my letter cemented the deal. She never read it but the sis-in-law said that's all they looked at...for a very, very long time. No questions were asked...no other docs were really reviewed. Yes...I'm proud of myself.

 

Let me share the letter with you with the hope that there is something in it that might help you someday. Let's not make a form letter out of it, tho. In time, the consulates will get wise and it will lose any value it may have.

 

_____________________________________

 

The US Consulate in Chengdu

No. 4 Lingshiguan Road

Chengdu, Sichuan, PRC 610041

 

February 5, 2006

 

To whom it may concern:

 

I am writing on behalf of my sister-in-law, Gan Xiao Ping. My wife and I have recently requested her assistance during the initial weeks after our new baby is born. Specifically, we need her help to assist my wife on her travels back to the US. My wife will be seven months pregnant when she returns to Las Vegas from China and will be traveling with a rambunctious two year old. She needs help.

 

Xiao Ping attempted to get a US tourist visa recently but was turned down. After many discussions with my wife, we have decided to renew our request to my government seeking this help for my family.

 

I entered into the visa process in 2002 after I met my lovely wife in Hong Kong. We waited the year to obtain her K-1 visa and followed all the rules along the way to get my wife’s green card. With the knowledge obtained along the way, I successfully helped my father-in-law obtain a tourist visa and ensured his return to his home in China. I’ve completed forms, paid fees, and have followed each step of every process for which the law requires. As I sit in my home in Las Vegas and watch incursions from others on US borders, I feel sickened by those who would illegal come to this country. I am now legally requesting a non-immigration based visa for a brief visit from a family member. I personally guarantee Gan Xiao Ping’s return to China if approved for a visa. She has no desire to stay in the States. She has a husband and daughter to whom she wants to return. There’s no life for her here. No one will violate US immigration policy if the visa is issued.

 

As you can see from the supplied letter from my bank, my wife and I are in the position to sponsor all financial aspects of Xiao Ping’s travels to the US. It is my intent to pay for the roundtrip airfare between Chengdu and Las Vegas in addition to any other expenses that may arise. Xiao Ping will not be paid for her services to our family.

 

Thank you for reconsidering our invitation to Gan Xiao Ping to Las Vegas. It is my genuine hope that a tourist visa can be issued for her travel to the US. When it is safe for my wife and infant son to travel again, I plan on personally returning to China with my family and Xiao Ping to show the new baby to my family in China.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

_____________________________________

 

Thanks for all the support, folks. This site really is invaluable.

[shyaushu]

That's a very nice and well-written letter.

 

I admire they way you approached the outright begging them for the visa line -- ever so closely -- but you never actually touched it.

 

There's something about "begging" elected officials (or their appointees) for a taxpayer paid for service and the notion of a democracy that seems contradictory and distasteful.

 

Issues should be decided on their merits, and not the subservience of the applicant.

 

But I suppose it's only human nature, and that power is intoxicating to most people.

[Randy W]

Congrats !!

 

Good job!

 

[Dave G.]

Congrats!!!

 

Thank you very much Dave for posting the follow-up and letter. I'm about ready to embark on a quest for tourist visas for baba and mama myself.

 

That get together in LV was pretty good about 15 people there- REAL good CHINESE restaurant- they changed the location, thank god. The Tai Yu is just another name for the New Shanghai rest. ok.gif above Ranch99 market . ok.gif

 

Thanks. Good luck with your visa. Alas, I fear if you try to bring both parents here together at the same time, you'll run into a huge barrier. If they both come, why go back to China? I got JM's father here easy...his wife stayed back.

 

New Shanghai Restaurant over the Ranch 99? I know it well!!! I've never been there, tho. When I visited Shanghai, I hated the food. Not as interesting as the spicy food in Sichuan. I fear the food there would be equally as bad. My wife feels the same. But, if you say it's good, perhaps we'll go there when the sis-in-law comes.

[Dan R]

Congratulations on a job well done. Thank you for sharing the letter with us for future reference. How did this invitation letter differ from the previous attempt? Was the initial attempt without an invitation letter?

[Dave G.]

Congratulations on a job well done. Thank you for sharing the letter with us for future reference. How did this invitation letter differ from the previous attempt? Was the initial attempt without an invitation letter?

 

Thanks for the question. Alas, I saved the new letter over the last. It basically stated our need for my sister's-in-law visa because of my wife's pregnancy. I discussed Chinese culture stuff. It obviously fell on it's face.

 

I tried to play the "I'm a pissed of USC doing this thing right" card. Seemed to work better.

 

The lesson I learned from this is that it's okay to be assertive. Kissing butt doesn't necessarily work. But, there's a fine line between being nice and being obnoxious.

 

Take note.....

[cosmiclobster]

Congrats Dave!

You apparently had the right "mix" of subservience, lawful request and genuine need.

Edited February 14, 2006 by cosmiclobster (see edit history)