Sunday, August 7, 2011

Government Bureaucracy... A Response!

I got a reply from the US Consulate in Guangzhou. To recap from my previous blog post, I received a request for evidence as part of my I-129F application for Sindy. The US government wants more information regarding our respective divorces though the request was kinda vague:
Submit a legible copy of the final divorce decree signed by a judge or magistrate that shows proof of filing, or the death certificate issued by the civil authorities, that terminated the prior marriage(s) between xxx, and between xxx.

When I called USCIS here, the agent that helped me had no idea what their own department was asking for. Sindy also checked with her government friends in Beijing and they have not heard of such a document. I also sent a long email to the US Consulate in Guangzhou asking for their help since they process all the immigrant visas from China. First, I'm surprised that they responded so fast as I only sent the message on Friday. However, as expected, they weren't much help. This is the entire response:
We regret that no such information is available here.

Sincerely,

Immigrant Visa Unit
U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou
1 Shamian South Street
Guangzhou, Guangdong 510133
PRC

Dang it! Who do I ask then? I get a (basically anonymous) request for documentation but can't reach anyone to clarify what they want. More than anything else, I was fearing such an encounter with the bureaucratic black hole that is the US government. I know they want to be thorough and not let any fraudulent cases through but a least give me a name so I can ask questions when necessary.

Sigh... our next step is to get an official statement from the Beijing government/court that the only document is the divorce settlement and what the USCIS is asking for does not exist (and translate it to English). Heh, that should be easy...

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