Letter from Congressman

[Maui & China]

Just received a letter from the immigration aide to my Congressman Ed Case - Hawaii in regards to our Packet 4. Here's the letterwhich was e-mailed to her on August 15, 2004:

 

Dear Ms. Conant,

 

Thank you for your inquiry. We have only recently received Ms. Ling's documents from the National Visa Center. We have initiated a second name check (standard in all cases) which takes approximately one month to complete. Once the name checks and paperwork are complete, it may take up to an additional five months before the actual visa interview. Therefore, our best estimate is that an interview may take place in February 2005.

 

We understand this may be quite a wait, however, given our current case backlog and resource constraints, this timeframe reflects our best efforts at customer service.

 

Sincerely,

U.S. Consulate Guangzhou - Congressional Team

 

 

So there's the bad news. I thought after waiting in the CSC purgatory for 189 days was bad, but to get to waiting for the P4 and be told that will take 8 months before an interview after submitting the P3!!???

 

I feel like Henry V by Shakespeare "I was not angry since I came to France

Until this instant." Substitue GZ/USCIS/DOS and any other US bureaucratic nonsense for France. I am just so ticked off right now. I am embarressed to be an American, and have to explain to Ling how the most powerful, the most advanced, the most richest country in the world cannot process visas in a timely manner!

 

For the GZ Consulate to claim on their website that "IV Processing Continues As Normal" and yet also state "Due to the recent installation of new computer software and U.S. biometric requirements however, case processing requires more time. Therefore, applicants may experience a longer wait for their interview. This delay can be expected across the board, i.e. in all visa categories." So then processing is NOT progressing as normal.

 

So almost all those forms GZ tells you to get when you receive the P3 will be close to being out of date. Plus, they'll probably want a 2004 tax transcript which will not be ready because business do not usually send out W2 forms until the end of January. What a crock of %#$@*&^!!!

 

Maybe we can just hope that GZ is covering their rear ends by projecting so far ahead. That way if you get the interview earlier, they can say, "Hey, look were good, we're ahead of our forecast," or if they're on target the say "See, we told you so."

 

Sorry to vent and be the bearer of bad news. I've got so much stomach acid churning and anger at the moment. Will just have to look foward my trip to China to see Ling and her daughter in late October now, and pray for a miracle. I remember a saying "The vissicitudes in life will make you strong." After this, I'll be ready for the Olympics in Beijing for the weightlifting competition.

 

Aloha my brothers and sisters

[hypoclear]

Jon..

 

I am so sorry to hear this. I thought Bea and I were the poster child and last of the long visa processes.

 

I don't know what to say or have little advice beyond contacting your congressman again and asking what they can do to move this along faster as 17 months is NOT an acceptable time table. Maybe contacting your Senator?

 

I also noticed your Ling is here in Shenzhen, if she would like pm me and I'll give you/her Bea's contact info.

 

Darrell and his MM will be here this weekend and if she has time... well!! come join the party..

 

Stay strong and know Oct isn't far off.

 

Mark and Bea

[Razbre]

Damn!...you know...I wish that someone would be able to do some resonable organization in scheduling in GZ and at least be able to give a ball-park figure so some plans can be made...instead of being in the twight zone.

 

I don't know if to plan a flight to see Yunling...or if they are just saying the wait will be long to cover themselves and then be able to claim how well they are doing when they do get the P4's out in a reasonable fashion. Good for business when you can beat your projections for the year. I would hate to make a flight in Sept/Oct, then to have her get her P4 while I'm there, then try and get out of work to fly back in a month.

 

I wonder if the US government would be so patience and understanding if I told that I changed financial software and my income taxes would be 4-5 months late due to a second opinion.

[turtle]

Well, look at the past few months and do the math... GZ has been scheduling a month's worth of interviews for every 1-2 weeks worth of p3s since April. Even if they get back to an even ratio, it will take a while to clear up the backlog...

 

The next batch of p4s should be enlightening, if they can schedule interviews for all the May p3s, then I'd say they are firmly in "CYA" mode with this letter. If it's just the end of April and week or two of May p3s, then I'd say February is a very real possibility...

[oregonknl]

Really Sorry to hear about this Jon,

 

Fei and I are in exactly the same boat time-wise (June p-3).

 

3 or 4 months ago I would have agreed that they are probably telling you Feb. for two reasons: One to cover their a$$ if further delays take place, and two, because they are tired of having to respond to customer complaints coming through congressmen --- and puting the vias wwwwwwwway out there keeps everybody quite for a while ...

 

Now I'm not so sure: Turtle and I have noted the same thing. Almost 4 months ago, another person got a similar message from the Consulate, and certainly, Turtle is right about the p-4s falling way behind......

 

Same dilemma: Do I go now to visit Fei on the deeply discounted NWA flight or do I wait hoping for an interview date?????

[Jim - Portland, USA]

Hi Jon,

 

I feel just as angry as you do. This super-long wait for interview dates really sucks. We've been waiting 4 months for an interview date and we still have no sign of one. We are praying that we can go from P3 to P4 within 6 months.

 

Back in April when we submitted P3 the average wait for P4 was 4 to 6 weeks. Those were the days. Now we are praying we'll get a P4 within the 6 month mark.

 

So that February 2005 date they gave you may be a bit inflated. If I had to bet money, I think your honey's interview will be more like December, but it's really hard to say. Could be much sooner, could be much much longer.

 

Don't worry about going on your rant Jon, you fully deserve it and I sympathize with you 100%. No one should have to wait more than a year to be re-united with their loved ones in China. There is no excuse for it. Other US embassies/consulates around the world fly through such cases in just a couple of months grand total. And the extended wait from P3 to P4 is especially difficult because it results in a lot of expired government forms and paperwork which we (as petitioners) now to have to do all over again because of the 6-month expiration date (of the very same forms they told us to quickly round up for P3).

 

The worst of it is ... there is nothing we can do. Powerless. Completely out of our control. Not even the work of our "elected" politicians can help. It's as if GZ thinks they are their own kingdom and they are answerable to no one. Sad thing is, it's true.

 

Not one single US government entity will ever even notice how backed up GZ is, let alone have concern about it, and no government entity will ever do anything to improve the situation there because none of them care. Not one bit.

 

And then to think that after our painfully long waits ... some visa officers deny visas on a whim because they are having a bad day or for some sadistic thrill for the afternoon. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

[warpedbored]

You can't really count on that email time frame being accurate. It is their standard canned response. I got basically the same letter when I emailed them once. We recieved P-4 a few days later.

[Razbre]

Carl is right....I sent an email to GZ about Yunling getting her P3, they stated more or less, that we get it when we get it, no time frame metioned at all when it may be expected...she had it the next day....

THATS what kills me Jim....no control over the situation, at the mercy of whomever...and it really burns me. lol..I am trying to think of who I can really vent to, ask and bug until SOMEONE is able to come up with some definite answers as to WHY it takes so long, as I am not one to keep my mouth shut, but....this time, I am trying really hard so I do not end up on someones list of...'hey...he gave us a hard time...lets do the same for him'.

[Trigg]

Yup, canned response. CYOA. What confuses me is they stated that the second name check was standard. I thought after last december the were doing all security checks at NVC. Someone correct me this if it is wrong but I thougt a second name check in GZ was only for certain cases or random. Is it SOP for everyone?

[warpedbored]

A large part of the problem at GZ I think is The USICS keeps tinkering with the system. As soon as they get the bugs out one system they change things and start the whole mess over again. For instance once they started sending petitions to the NVC for security checks before sending them to GZ a lot of people fell into the cracks between systems. Once they got that figured out things were fairly smooth until they dumped bio metric scanning on them. In all fariness to GZ it is the government that is causing the delays. GZ barely gets time to figure out one system before they get thrown a new one.

[ndjarrett]

Let's just HOPE your name check takes the (unusually short) 1 month that GZ always quotes in their responses. It sucks waiting. I too thought things would go well and have my Yaya here this summer at the latest. YAH RIGHT!! Got stuck in name check limbo for 6 months. Now we have been waiting since June for the P4...IF we are lucky she will MAYBE get it in October with a November date

[Maui & China]

Yup, canned response. CYOA. What confuses me is they stated that the second name check was standard. I thought after last december the were doing all security checks at NVC. Someone correct me this if it is wrong but I thougt a second name check in GZ was only for certain cases or random. Is it SOP for everyone?

Trigg,

 

I caught that too about the second name check. When I spoke to the DOS a few days ago, they said the same thing. Everyone goes through it. I asked who was doing the checking, and their reply was some anonymous Washington entity, and I couldn't even contact them to find out the status. If it's some Washington entity, why do they need to send our applications to GZ, only to have GZ ask this Washington office to do another name check? Heck, couldn't they have started this secondary name check while all the paperwork sits in the DHL warehouse in China, waiting for GZ to pick it up? That would have saved at least 1 month right there.

 

Oh well, I've finally calmed down a little and just have to view the bright side of the situation (OK, maybe not so bright, how about a glimmer? ) This will give me more time to do finish more remodeling on my house in prepartion for Ling's arrival.

[Maui & China]

Same dilemma:  Do I go now to visit Fei on the deeply discounted NWA flight or do I wait hoping for an interview date?????

Oregonknl,

 

So have you decided to go or not? I say go and screw trying to coordinate your visit with the interview. Ling and I decided that not seeing each other since February is just too painful, so I'm coming out in late October. If and when she gets her interview date, we'll deal with that then. Unfortunately at the hotel where I work, they black out about 25% of the calendar year for the busy times, so I can only get away at specific times. Hopefully her interview will land on one of those dates I can get away.

 

Come in October and join us. We'll drop in on Mark and Bea while they are deliverying Elizabeth in the backseat of a taxi stuck in Shenzhen traffic.

 

Jon

[hypoclear]

Come in October and join us.  We'll drop in on Mark and Bea while they are deliverying Elizabeth in the backseat of a taxi stuck in Shenzhen traffic.

 

Jon

Taxi!!! Jon... you know these women.."Why spend the money.. shut up and wait for the bus.. ouhhhhhhhhhhhhhhch!" hehehe

 

But yes that would be great.. You and Kim can run interferience and I'll sneak in for the delivery and if we can pull it off a live feed to the hallway where you two can up link it to CFL... hehehe

 

Maybe we can make a little sign for her to hold up as her little arms move about.."GZ SUCKS!"

 

Mark and Bea

[Maui & China]

The bus, that's a good one Mark. I can just see Bea pushing her way onto the bus, elbowing a couple of Grannies out of the way, while looking back at us saying "come quickly, I have a seat for you."

 

Maybe when Elizabeth is holding up the "GZ Sucks" sign, Ling and I can debate on how it sucks while you do the video. Then we can use that as our video conversation for evidence.