TNAG-0906-FCO40-1116-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 8

BY BAG

CONFIDENTIAL

2278

3CR 6/2091/55

HKK3H1

RESERVE

9 November 1979

K sullivan Esq PĚXING

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

PA

No! REVER

J

See

9718

DMMIGRATION FROM CHIBA

चाल

I said in my letter of 26 October that I would write further about the way in which Chinese travellers with valid US visa-promise latters might be handled if the Chinese propose that passport holders without onward visas should apply to you for a transit visa,

2.

Ir. general ye see no reason why all travellers to the US should not have visas for the 13 before they come to Hong Kong. This would sliminate the problem of those with valid visa petitions but he would face a long wait in Hong Kong before a visa could be granted. However, until the 3 Consulate-General in Canton starts issuing immigrant visas, we think it would probably be best to co-operate in giving transit visas to those who could obtain their US visas Fairly quickly after arrival here,

3.

I spoke this week to Ed Kreuser in the US Consulate- Jeneral and also to Barbara Watson, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs in the State Department (who has just left for a visit to Canton and Peking), The present position on the various V3 preference categories is as follows:

Preference 1 - for unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens. Few applications from China and processing is current so that visas can be obtained here in, at most, 3 to 4 months.

Preference 2 - spouses and unmarried sons and daughters of alien residents: petitions filed before 1 February 1979 are current.

Preference 3

from China.

professional employment: no applications

Preference 4 – married sons and daughters of US citizens together with spouses and any unmarried children under 21. Current numbers are available only br petitions filed before 1 June 1975. backlog may get unstuck fairly soon.

CONFIDENTIAL

This

2/Preference