The big news at AIT's Travel Services Section (TSS) this summer is the departure of our long-serving Section Chief Ronald Harms, who is leaving to head up the US mission in the Republic of Palau. Harm's replacement, Keith Powell, will be arriving in July from Washington, where he formerly served as Director of the Office of Computer Systems Development in the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Regardless of who is in charge, the main aim of AIT's Travel Services Section is to provide assistance to American citizens and to facilitate legitimate travel to the US. Comprehensive information on all our services can be found on the AIT website (www.ait.org.tw). American citizens in need of help can call American Citizen Services during business hours at 2709-2000. Americans with after-hours requests for emergency services should contact AIT's Duty Desk Office at 2709-2013/14.
People with questions about visas should call our new automated information service at 0204-58858. This service contains complete and up-to-date information on both non-immigrant and immigrant visas. Given the volume of information requests, callers will be charged NT$6 per minute to use the system. Access to our website, of course, is free.
Our most important responsibility at the AIT is the protection of American citizens. We encourage all American citizens to register with AIT's American Services unit. Whether it's a large-scale disaster such as the 1999 earthquake or a sudden medical emergency, registering at AIT will help us help you. Registering is easy.
You can register in person at either of our Taipei and Kaoh-siung offices, or you can register on line at the AIT Web site. We also encourage you to join our new American Citizen Services group e-mail network to receive the latest travel warnings, warden announcements, and other news. Sign up by sending a blank email to aittaipeiacs-subscribe@egroups.com.
AIT's American Citizen Services unit offers a host of other services as well, from accepting passport applications, to issuing reports of American-citizen births, to taking notarials. We can assist you in applying for absentee ballots or in finding an English-speaking doctor or lawyer. We also have a large stock of IRS forms, though specific US tax inquiries should be addressed to the IRS office in Tokyo (tel: 81-3-3224-5466, fax: 81-3-3224-5274, email: irstokyo@beehibe.twics.com).
A note on passports: Effective July 2, 2001, a new US law will require that both parents sign passport applications for children under the age of 14. When only one parent is available to sign the application, that parent must provide documentary evidence that she or he has sole legal custody of the child or has obtained the written consent of the other parent. This law, applicable worldwide, is intended to lessen the possibility that a US passport might be used in the course of an international parental child abduction.
Visa Services
AIT's Visa Unit is one of the busiest in the world. Last year, we issued over 275,000 non-immigrant visas to the US for business, investment, study, and tourism. As part of our continuing effort to make the visa application as quick and easy as possible, more than half of all Taiwanese travelers can apply for a visa without an interview. In addition to the tour-group, visa-renewal, and over-40 applicants, applicants for "H" employment visas no longer need to appear for an interview, provided they have all their documents in order. We have also established a new procedure for interview-free visa application in cooperation with the Taiwan branch of the American Chamber of Commerce. For complete information on all our visa categories and application procedures, visit website or call 0204-58858. Given the sheer number of nonimmigrant visa applications -- during the summer months it is not unusual for us to receive 1,500 to 2,000 applications a day -- we need four working days to process a visa. Please plan accordingly. For those applicants who do have to apply in person, you can reduce the time you have to spend waiting to enter and exit AIT by leaving your cell phones and other electronics at home.
Of course, AIT's Travel Services Section also handles applications for immigrant visas. Applicants whose American citizen or legal permanent resident family members have petitioned for them should check our website to see when their petition will become current. Please let us know if you have changed addresses. We will make every effort to let you know when it is time to begin preparing your documents and to schedule an interview, but we cannot find you if we don't have your address. Applicants for employment-based immigrant visas should double check to make sure that all their documents are complete.
AIT's Immigrant Visa Unit is pleased to have begun processing both Diversity Visas and V visas. The Diversity Visa program -- better known as the "visa lottery" -- has been around for a few years, but is new to Taiwan. Winners are selected at random and the application is free. (Participants should beware of unscrupulous agents who claim to be able to improve the chances of winning.) The V visa is a product of the Life Act of 2000 and is available for certain categories of immigrant visa applicants who have been waiting three years or longer for a visa number. For information on the Diversity Visa program or to see if you qualify for a V visa, call our automated information system.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique