Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
China	CCP/BLUE SLIP	Still looking for someone who has received a BLUE SLIP at their interview because of being a member of CCP (for a K1 visa). PLease share your story with me about the process after the interview (all the details etc. would be greatly appreciated)..... Someone has had to have gone through this? this is the second post on the subject. Thanks My fiancee was interviewed December 17 in Guangzhou and received the blue slip after we agreed she should be honest. The visa officer was not happy because everything else was fine and the law against CP member immigration is a Cold War hangover. We didn't research the implications of honesty and I don't know if bringing her C.V. and an explanation would have made a difference. As it was, I emailed the consulate to point out that if she quit or even asked about her CCP status before receiving her visa, she would be in great professional danger, contrary to the general instructions from US consulates (don't quit jobs, buy tickets, etc. before receiving visa). The consulate called my fiancee and told her not to quit, just fill out the rest of the form: why she joined, her benefits, how much she believes in CP ideology, etc. The caller estimated 3-month response and also said that until my fiancee admitted, they had no idea. This is a little peculiar because I would assume that U.S. visa officers would have some understanding of the role of the CCP in high-status, government positions. My fiancee is a professor in education and her C.V. demonstrates her productivity in that capacity. Her supervisor kept pushing her to join 15 years ago because the CCP likes having elite people as members. There are about 76 million members or about 5 percent of the population, and those who aren't living the comfortable life as a party official are the sort of people any society would like to have. Most people lie as my fiancee discovered afterwards; even the western firm that handled her Canadian visa told her she should have lied (Canada doesn't bother to ask). Even the National Security Agency doesn't have a full membership list for China or Russia, and because of the many repetitive names in China, identifying individuals is very difficult. She filled out the form in English and Chinese with my editing and consulting, and submitted it just after New Year's Day. She received notice of approval this morning, and will return to Guangzhou in a couple of weeks with her passport. The key for us for speedy response was, first, that I contacted my senators and congressional representative. One of them takes the lead for the others in contacting the consulate to inquire about the case, and express an interest in the outcome. Second, my fiancee teaches in an area that this country could use and she was recently promoted in China in a competitive process. I also pointed out in my letters to my congressmen that the State Department, whose Security Advisory Committee also reviews these CP immigration/K1/K3 exceptions (for China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, and Laos), has more important visa reviews to perform for the sake of national security. So, if your fiancee/fiance is a CCP member and is employed by the Party, that may take longer. In any case, make sure the C.V. matches the explanation or justification for CCP membership. You might also petition your representatives to repeal this meaningless law, which does not keep out subversives (they can always come on a student, work, or business visa) and encourages lying, hypocrisy, and cynicism about the process from immigrants from any nation with an active CP.	Poindexter	Male	China	2010-02-04 11:37:00
China	CCP Process	Because it's a federal law forbidding CCP members from China, Vietnam, North Korea, and two other countries from getting resident visas (K-1 defined this way for this purpose b/c of long-term intent), I believe the visa officer is duty-bound to give blue slips to admitted CCP members. Bringing a letter of explanation and C.V. to the interview may relieve one of the blue slip, depending on the visa officer. See the Foreign Affairs Manual for our government's instructions to its staff on this subject, and use the relevant parts for citation purposes as necessary: www.state.gov/documents/organization/86972.pdf. My fiancee had her interview 12/17, faxed her response or "appeal" (my word) on 12/28, and received approval on 1/28. I went to GUZ with her to fill out final forms on 2/24, at which point the consulate express mailed the actual visa in her passport to her address. An expensive second trip, but we visited the amazing South China Botanical Gardens (15-minute city bus ride) while we were in Guangzhou--best place to avoid the pollution, I think. In the letter my fiancee explained the pressure on her to join and remain a member for professional reasons. She explained that her resignation would take place on her departure. Per the FAM above, the U.S. State Dept. recognizes that visa applicants should not endanger themselves in totalitarian countries by asking for letters confirming resignation from the governing party. Presumably the resume/C.V. is to show that the CCP member had no involvement with the political side of the party, which is in other ways like Phi Beta Kappa and a fraternal organization combined. The CCP recruits the top students in each department at every university for good PR and provides direct employment to any number of placeholders and officials' children or relations. It's that political side that may be the deal breaker although obviously a great many CCP members come here on student and work visas, and the US recognizes the PRC government, which in theory is trying to overthrow our democracy, while it serves as our federal credit line and biggest trading partner. One could lie and my fiancee met or read of several women who did so. The US security bureaucracy doesn't have a membership list, which contains about five percent of China's population, many with the same name. Unless you're beloved is related to Hu Jintao, she or he could lie and probably get away with it, but we didn't want to take that chance now or down the road. Although the forms indicate that the justification for exemption from the law (threat to livelihood in my now-wife's case) may be sent to DC for review by a visa security committee, I don't know if they were. At present they digitize everything and email it, so the processing and transfer is faster. I also wrote my senators and congressman, and one senator's office contacted GUZ to express an interest in the outcome of the review. Politicians cannot request a positive outcome. (I also suggested in my requests that my representatives consider revising this part of immigration law so that the State Dept. and Homeland Security could apply their limited resources on more serious threats, like that would-be Christmas Day bomber who got on two airplanes despite many warnings.) The same question arises in the AOS 485 form, for which my fiancee revised her letter and updated her C.V. Another website, www.candleforlove.com, is devoted exclusively to Chinese-American K-1s and K-3s. It overlaps with VJ but has a great deal of useful information specific to China in its links and forums. Judson	Poindexter	Male	China	2010-05-07 09:55:00