All I want for Christmas is...
When I walked through the doors of the cafe near Wudakou, my friend was already sitting at a table quietly drinking a cappuccino. He acknowledged me with a nod of his head and a wry smile, but the slump of his shoulders and the dark circles under his eyes told me he had had a long day.
"Any luck," I managed in the most sympathetic tone possible.
"No," he responded, "I have been running around all day ... Joseph I am exhausted." We both sat for a moment in silence as he blankly stared out the cafe window. Finally, he turned to me and said, "All I want for Christmas is a visa."
At some point in our journey through the Middle Kingdom, every foreigner has had to worry about how to get or extend a visa. For some it's an easy task thanks to their connections or employer. For others, who are between jobs or searching for one, it can be a hellish experience. The stress headaches, paperwork, bureaucratic hurdles, and unscrupulous visa agents are enough to wear out even the most determined visitors.
My friend's problems had begun a few weeks earlier. He was hunting for the quickest and cheapest way to get a visa; he walked straight into the trap of an unscrupulous visa agent. "F visa no problem," promised the agent. "But don't I need an invitation letter from a Chinese business," my friend questioned. "Yes no problem," the agent replied, beginning to sound like a broken record. "But I don't have an invitation letter and don't know where to get one," my friend said. "Listen, no problem, you just pay us the money and we will take care of everything else," the agent said.
After a few more questions a deal was sealed and to ease any remaining nerves the agent ended in a five-minute speech about how his visa agency was like a Mercedes-Benz - reliable and trustworthy. Too bad it wasn't. A few weeks later my friend got a call. "Sorry sir, regulations have changed and we can't get you an invitation letter."
Now instead of relaxing with a visa in hand, my friend was spending his days rushing about Beijing trying to get his paperwork in order and his evenings in local cafes trying to recuperate from the jumbled mess.
As I watched him wearily rub his fingers across his brow I leaned forward and said, "It's enough to ask yourself if you really want to stay here, isn't it?" He paused, then looked me straight in the eye and said, "You and I both know this is the place to be."
He's right about that. Even in the face of the ongoing economic crisis, China has continued to grow while most other countries slip into recession. My friend realizes this and so I am sure he will not let a trip home for Christmas turn into an exile from China.
He will find his place at the table, it's just a shame that Santa can't process visas.
The lesson is simple. If you are going to use a visa service stick with the ones that encourage you to get your own invitation letter and that clearly let you know your responsibilities in securing a visa.
Don't waste your time and money. Life in a foreign land can be difficult enough, so don't let a visa-vendor take you for a ride.