Bump in the Visa Road.

I found out this week that my visa application has been rejected. The couple who run the orphanage had asked the Chinese landlord to write me an official 'letter of invitation' to include with my visa application package - we thought this would be of help in obtaining one for twelve months. Instead, it turns out that this letter implied to them that I'd be receiving an income while in their country, and they rejected it. Since I'm not going to be holding an actual job while there, I can't further pursue a work visa. Thankfully, a very kind woman is acting as my application courier to the consulate in Chicago, and she is helping me to resubmit in a timely manner.

This time we will leave out the letter of invitation and go the 'tourist' route. Now that the Olympics have passed, it's possible to get a twelve month tourist visa. However, even though the visa is good for twelve months, you are only allowed to stay in the country for a duration of 90 days at a time. This means that every 90 days, I will have to hop over the border to Hong Kong, and simply reenter. I've talked it over with the orphanage, and they agree we should still pursue this route. While it will mean having to pay extra travel fees to repeatedly travel to Hong Kong and back, it might also be nice to know I'll be able to 'get away' and travel independently.

We should hear about the visa status by Monday. Please pray I'll be approved, and that my passport will make it back to me before my departure date.