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Breakfast with Maura

beijingjenny

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david_dawei

david_dawei

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Great job Jenny ... Our very own CFL ambassador !

 

As much as I prefer to stay out of these types of issues, I agree with Robert's idea of a follow up letter from CFL.

 

I do think it needs to be tactful and not gripe... and should avoid any comparisons between the visa issues (immediate family vs adoption); Instead just focusing on a few strong, well thought out points and suggestions that could make her eyes open a bit more.

 

Ideas like separate areas to process visas needs to realize the lose of centrality and synergy that gov't might not consider moving away from.

 

I would invite her [staff] to cooperate with CFL in discussions, as GUZ has done... I wonder if she is even aware of this or would this be a surprise to her?

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tywy_99

tywy_99

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Sorry Frank. Didn't mean to cause any trouble. I just thought it was a fresh idea, being three with a birthday, to dig up an old post from each than just posting the same, mundane Happy Birthday line!

I don't know what it is lately but I seem being a "bad influence" here.

It's not by design I assure you. It must have something to do with the way the planets are lining up against me!......:P

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HanLi

HanLi

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This was a great post and I am glad some re-visited it, I really admire Jenny's efforts..... oh, and happy birthday toooooooo

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Guest Gene

Guest Gene

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Sorry Frank. Didn't mean to cause any trouble. I just thought it was a fresh idea, being three with a birthday, to dig up an old post from each than just posting the same, mundane Happy Birthday line!

I don't know what it is lately but I seem being a "bad influence" here.

It's not by design I assure you. It must have something to do with the way the planets are lining up against me!......:P

165117[/snapback]

:lol: Good job Ty.......It shows how blindly some post are put up :lol:

 

Oh and Happy Birthday Jenny :D

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mercator

mercator

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I'm glad this old post was resurrected because I would have had to dig a long time to find it, and I read every post. I think this is a great thread. I think the quickest solution was perhaps on paper the simplest, and that would be to divert some of the GZ workload, for those people with GZ/GD domiciling, to the HK consulate. HK is ostensibly part of China, so why not let Chinese use that facility? They speak Mandarin and Cantonese in Hong Kong, so it wouldn't be a big deal to shift workload because of language. It would be a small burden on the SO's but much less than the SO having to come from BJ or SH to get to GZ...

 

I think this is a really viable short term solution while a long term solution is entered.

 

I think the next thing to do is to dedicate staff to a task. Adoption visas should be an interview and get your visa. The placement agency should have the burden of support and other issues, as they do here in the states. They can work with someone not in the consulate on the precursory steps so that the visa process is a slam dunk.

 

Traveller / business visas to China take umm 5 minutes, and you don't even have to show up! I have an agent go to the PRC consulate in DC and I have a visa in my passport in the mail the next day if I want one. The background checks and other services do not need to be conducted by the consulate, but can be done by a stateside cadre of VO's or other agencies in support. Student visas could be easily as efficient.

 

I see a huge time draw at the consulate itself, and unnecessarily so. Shift the burden to those lesser used local consulates (HK is a short and cheap train ride from GZ. My SO would go there without question to streamline the process, and I am sure others would too).

 

They have a precedent for doing just this. Do they not forward NSC petitions to CSC for certain applications? Is this not to speed things up or to be more efficient (at least in theory)?

 

If we all had to go to Florida to get a visa to go to China, we'd rant about it, but that is what is asked of our Chinese SO's. I can't imagine the extra burden for people from SH, let alone BJ, Harbin, Urumqi, or other places so far from GZ. More frustrating that SH and BJ have consulates that are inaccessible to this process.

 

From the sounds of the interview process it is fairly quick and more a formality than anything. A chance to 'humanize' the applicant and maybe read some body language. if they spend 15 minutes on each, with even a 15 minute break between each, they could see 16 people in an 8 hour workday. 80 people a week and 4000+ each year. Have 10 people that do that, and the workload is handled.

 

I'd sign up to be a VO without hesitation if they would give me the language training in Cantonese and bring my Mandarin up to fluency. I could manage GZ's heat once I got used to it. The pay is not stellar, but for entry level it is decent, and you could save alot of your money or live lavishly in China on $35k a year. Unfortunately the VO application process (and most other federal jobs) is as time consuming and complex as the visa process!

 

I didn't mean to come out as a rant, but the HK overflow idea is just too simple to implement not to be irritated that it hasn't already been done...

 

Merc

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