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| Guangzhou, China |  Review on January 3, 2010: |
Poindexter
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Everything was fine with one exception, the whole experience being very similar to that of another member's fiancee. The visa officer liked my fiancee's organization of my financial documentation so that she didn't have to ask for each part, and the fact that not only had I visited China three times, but that she and her son visited Toronto and my mother flew in to meet them as well. The final question on CCP membership led to the visa officer's disappointed expression and the blue slip for more information and an exemption.
The whole experience was very professional; the last question confirms the same one in the pre-interview registration. If your fiance(e) is honest, there isn't a lot one can do about it. Under federal law it's still illegal to give a de facto immigrant visa (as K1 and K3 are treated by the consulates)to someone with membership in an organization that wants to overthrow the U.S. government. It doesn't matter if nations run by that Party have most Most Favored Nation trade status, an awful lot of highly skilled emigrants as students and workers in the U.S., or a couple of hundred Party members visiting the White House with the Party leader. Bringing a form explaining the professional reasons for Party membership (the university where she teaches is run by the city and the Party) would not result in approval because all admitted Communists from China, N. Korea, Vietnam, Laos, or Cuba have to have their applications for exemption under court decisions reaching back to the 1950s reviewed by a committee at the Department of State, in both English and Chinese.
Naturally my fiancee was distraught after her emotional and financial investment in the trip. We discussed this issue rather briefly before. She didn't think it that important because her Canadian visa application was not interested, the student visa application she received two years ago didn't ask, and the K1 is nominally not an immigrant visa. At the same time she was rather coy about her membership because of her assumptions about American attitudes towards Chinese party members. In any case we agreed that it was best to be honest, despite the number of people she met in China or online who lied. Incredibly enough the western-based firm through which she received her Canadian visa told her she should have lied. If I had researched this more on this site and especially Candle for Love, which caters to Chinese K1 and K3 visas, I could have prepared her better.
The application for exemption is not well structured for visa applicants still living under the Party, especially those still with Party membership. I wrote the Consulate through its website to point out that while it discourages applicants from making any financial or political commitments to emigration until they receive their visas, this form asks for the date of resignation and the level to which the applicant accepts the terms and goals of the CCP. If my fiancee tries to resign from the Party now, she faces unemployment or at least a freeze in her career if the U.S. does not accept her. I have few illusions about the ability of Chinese intelligence to gain a copy of the completed form she faxes to the Consulate as well; criticizing the Party is not healthy for fiancees or other living things.
To its credit, a consulate representative called my fiancee and explained that, no, she didn't have to resign the CCP, just fill out the form questions that explain when and why she joined, for what benefits, and attach a copy of her C.V. that helps show her career's progress. The consulate rep also mentioned that if my fiancee hadn't admitted membership, there was no way the visa officers could confirm it. Given the volume of interviews, and the difficulty of tracking individuals within China, that's not too surprising. My concern has been that if someone in the U.S. contacts her university ten years from now and finds out even inadvertantly, back she goes.
So she has faxed her response, focusing on career advantages and the point that the CCP likes successful people; a number of high-achieving Chinese technical workers here have told me their stories of recruitment in college or even grade school (Young Pioneers). I will contact my congressional representatives to explain her situation and ask if they can help expedite the review process. The whole situation is embarrassing to all concerned, but I don't see a change in this useless question and appeal process as long as some politicians find partisan advantage in raising red flags to communists and their now meaningless political ideals.
The rating below is based on the professionalism and efficiency of the Consulate and its representatives, less on the disappointing outcome. A pink slip would have merited a 5, though.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #5486