Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 128 Rejection of Visa
Zhang Chao did not want to open a column in "Meiwen", but Jia Pingwa invited him to write as a teacher after all, so he could not refuse directly.

Fortunately, they now have the excuse of "Youth", and finally the two agreed that Zhang Chao's series of essays would be first published in "Youth" and "Meiwen" would be reprinted.

The end of semester is always extremely busy. In addition to dealing with final exams at two schools and daily writing, the most important thing for Zhang Chao is to get a visa to the United States.

His situation was rather special. Firstly, he did not hold any public office. Secondly, accepting the invitation from the "International Writing Program" did not count as a government-sponsored study abroad in the United States, so he had to apply for a visa on his own.

But this is not difficult. These days, it is a popular time to go abroad. There are visa agencies everywhere on the street, and visas to the United States are the most common.

Zhang Chao asked his classmates about a more reliable agency. The boss was a law student at Yan University. After studying in the United States, he did not work in law when he returned to China, but directly started working as a visa agent.

Zhang Chao was received by the boss personally. After listening to Zhang Chao's situation, the boss assured him that for a Yanda student like him with excellent assets and an official invitation from the University of Iowa, it would be a sure thing for him to get a visa.

One day in late June, Zhang Chao received a notice that he would go to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing for an interview the next day. The boss of the agency specifically explained some key points when answering the interviewer's questions.

When the time came, Zhang Chao took the materials to the US Embassy and queued up.

At 9 o'clock in the morning, a long queue had formed here, winding and stretching across two streets. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was a sea of ​​people.

From young people blowing bubble gum to old men and women with silver hair; from poor young men in poor clothes to rich ladies wearing gold and silver...people of all ages and classes are available.

The weather in Yanjing was already quite hot at the end of June. But Zhang Chao saw that the dozens of people in front and behind him were all in high spirits, not affected by the weather at all, as if the visa issued by the embassy in front of him was not a visa to the United States, but to heaven.

This wave of going abroad continued from the late 80s to the early 21st century. It was not until China joined the WTO and its economy began to take off that it gradually became rational. In 2005, when the trend of going abroad was still at its tail end, there was always a long queue at the entrance of the US Embassy on weekdays.

This situation is also reflected in literary and artistic works. The first one to attract people's attention was the movie "Big Scatter", written by Feng Xiaogang and Zheng Xiaolong and starring Ge Daye.

Later, in novels and movies based on the growth of college students from the 20s to the early 90s, it was almost a standard plot feature that an unfaithful man left the infatuated heroine to go study in the United States. The more representative ones are "So Young" and "Fleeting Time".

Zhang Chao waited in line for nearly two hours before he was able to enter the embassy and came before a bald visa officer in turn.

After Zhang Chao greeted the officer, he handed the document bag containing the documents to the visa officer. The officer did not open the document bag to look through the documents, but looked down at the DS form and asked directly, "Why are you going to the United States?"

Zhang Chao answered this most common standard question honestly: "I received an invitation from the International Cooperation Program of the University of Iowa to go there for a three-month exchange study."

The visa officer then asked: "What is your occupation?"

Zhang Chao replied: "I am both a student and a writer."

The visa officer then asked, "Do you have any relatives in the United States?"

Zhang Chao replied: "Yes, but we have hardly ever been in touch, and we are not close."

The visa officer asked again: "Are you going alone?"

Zhang Chao replied: "Yes, I will go alone."

The visa officer then looked up at Zhang Chao, took out a big seal and stamped it with a "snap".

Zhang Chao saw the red "REJECTED" on the visa and knew that he was rejected. He was not too upset because this was the norm for US visas, so he asked casually, "Can I know the reason?" The visa officer shrugged in an American way, indicating that he had no comment.

Zhang Chao had no choice but to get up and leave with the documents. When he walked out of the embassy gate, he heard a lady who was passing the visa application cheering.

After being rejected, you need 24 hours to apply for a visa again, but you can only apply twice within a month. Zhang Chao and the agent checked the documents and felt that there should be no problem, so he went to the US Embassy again the next day.

But he was still rejected, and this time he was even more straightforward. They only asked Zhang Chao one question and then stamped a big "REJECTED" on his application, and again refused to tell him the reason.

Zhang Chao was a little angry this time. He looked like he had the intention to immigrate! Look at my property certificate! Look at my deposit certificate! Immigration is a lie!

"Junior, you don't look like an immigrant, it's your ID number that has an immigrant attribute..." The agency boss carefully checked the materials again and said to Zhang Chao regretfully: "You are from Fuhai. Although your household registration has been moved to Yanjing, the visa officer saw the first few digits of your ID number..."

When Zhang Chao heard this, he wilted like a deflated ball.

The illegal immigrants in Fuhai are notoriously aggressive in developed countries. Although Changfu is not a region where people are keen on going abroad, it is affected by other places and it is not easy to get a visa normally.

With Zhang Chao's current status, it is impossible for him to worship Mazu and then board the ship to set off...

The agency boss comforted him, "June is not possible, but there is still one month in July, so we can improve the materials."

But within two days, the boss said to Zhang Chao with regret: "Your visa may not be approved in July."

Zhang Chaoqi asked, "How do you know if I haven't been there yet?"

The boss looked at him resentfully and said, "It's because of your fellow villager - Sister Ping's case has been tried in the United States. Except for a few cases in the near future, most people in Fuhai are very sad and have to wait for the storm to pass. This happens in waves."

Zhang Chao was confused: "Sister Ping? Who is she?"

The boss explained for a long time, and Zhang Chao finally realized that Sister Ping was from Fuhai. She came to the United States in a container in 1981. Later, seeing that this business was so profitable, she started her own business and gradually became the largest human snakehead on the west coast of the United States, known as the "Godmother of Human Snakeheads."

However, the two container tragedies in 1993 and 1998 eventually put her on the US wanted list and she began to live in hiding. She was eventually arrested by Hong Kong police in 2000 and handed over to the US two years later.

After a long interrogation and judicial process in the United States, the court finally opened this year. Because the criminal network that "Sister Ping" has woven over the past decade is so huge, there are still many people in China and the United States who want to "protect" her, so the United States simply tightened all Fu Hai's visas.

Zhang Chao had no choice but to say, "It's better not to go to this 'International Writing Program'."

After returning to Yanjing University, Zhang Chao first looked for Xu Ruiya and told her that she didn't need to tutor him in English anymore.

Xu Ruiya was surprised and asked the reason, and Zhang Chao told her about the problems he encountered with the visa.

After listening to this, Xu Ruiya thought for a while and asked Zhang Chao: "Not all visas are blocked, only a large part of them are blocked, right?"

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "I definitely won't be able to get a student visa or a tourist visa. I don't have a company or business in the United States, so I won't be able to get a business visa either. A labor visa is even more impossible. So forget it."

After listening to this, Xu Ruiya suddenly smiled and said, "If I can help you with your visa issue, how are you going to thank me?"

(Next chapter in the afternoon.)
(End of this chapter)