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He Huifeng

While life in Venezuela may have become unbearable, the thousands of people who have returned to Enping, in South China’s Pearl River Delta, in the past few years are finding it can also be uncertain back home.
“About 50,000 to 60,000 Chinese have come back from Venezuela to Enping but they’ve received little help from the local authorities,” said Mingli Zhong, who lived in Venezuela for two decades before returning to Enping this year.
“Some have used their savings to invest in properties and restaurants in Jiangmen. But many of us are trapped here and jobless. We are looking for a way to move overseas again.”
 ​
Local developers have sensed the opportunities offered by returnees from Venezuela, and property agents are offering discounts on Spanish-style villas and gifts for those able to show airline tickets from Venezuela.
But Zhong said Enping was still poor and undeveloped compared to other parts of the delta.
“It ‘s hard for people like us, at our age, to find work as a farmer or an employee on the mainland,” he said. “We’ve been living overseas for years and got used to that local culture and society.
“I miss Venezuela so much. Latin American countries have seen cycles or rise and fall every few years. But it’s so dangerous this time. We had to leave.”
Baby deaths soar amid Venezuela crisis and severe shortages of medicine
David Hou decided to stay in Venezuela but his wife has been in Canada, which she entered with a tourist visa, since June.
“She will stay there and won’t be back in the coming months,” he said. “She can at least earn a few thousand US dollars working there illegally. We need the income to support our children and family.”
His sister, Mey Hou, and Zhong said they were not interested in working illegally overseas but were looking into work visas that would allow them to live permanently in the United States.
“Employment-based (EB) immigrant visas might be a possible path to an American green card for these people from Venezuela,” said Liu Zhenbiao, who runs Kit Hei, a company in Jiangmen that provides emigration advice and assistance.
America’s EB-3 immigrant visas allow certain professional workers, skilled workers, and unskilled workers to obtain a US green card, which gives them permanent resident status.
The EB-3C subcategory is for unskilled foreigners able to work as babysitters, housekeepers, abattoir workers, caretakers and gardeners, among other occupations. However, there is a limit of 10,000 such visas a year, and applicants can expect to wait for at least seven years before being granted a visa.
“Many people from Venezuela have come to ask about processing of visa applications,” Liu said. “They are trying any possible way to emigrate again.”


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Venezuelan crisis

Returnees from Venezuela eager to leave China again

Jobs hard to find for people who’ve spent years overseas

Liu Zhenbiao (left) runs a company in Jiangmen that provides emigration advice and assistance to people like Mey Hou (right) who returned to China in December 2015 after 15 years in Venezuela. Photo: SCMP Pictures

As Venezuela implodes, so do the dreams of thousands of fleeing Chinese

Tens of thousands have returned to China following implosion of economy and descent into violence

This March 21, 2016 photo shows a railroad factory in ruins after it was abandoned by its Chinese managers in Zaraza, Guarico state, Venezuela. Now all but abandoned, it has become a symbol of economic collapse and a strategic Venezuela-China relationship gone adrift. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Mey Hou was one of thousands of Chinese who had to pack bags and flee her adopted home leaving their shops and restaurants robbed and abandoned in Venezuela. She said she's been trapped and jobless in Enping for two years and look for labour worker visa to live & work permanently in the US. The man is Liu Zhenbiao, who newly set up Kit Hei, a company in Jiangmen, providing immigration assistance for these people. Photo: SCMP Pictures

FILE - In this April 15, 2001 file photo, China's President Jiang Zemin, left, and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez applaud during a welcome ceremony at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela. Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 that Chavez has died at age 58 after a nearly two-year bout with cancer. (AP Photo/Fernando LLano, File)

Protesters throw stones at a public transport bus during a demonstration against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas on July 4, 2017. A political and economic crisis in the oil-producing country has spawned often violent demonstrations by protesters demanding Maduro's resignation and new elections. The unrest has left 90 people dead since April 1. / AFP PHOTO / JUAN BARRETO

epa04324823 Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro (R) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping (L) make statements after a meeting at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, 20 July 2014. Xi Jinping arrived in Venezuela for an official visit of 24 hours. EPA/MIGUEL GUTIERREZ

Returnees from Venezuela eager to leave China again

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Jobs are hard to find for people who’ve spent years overseas

Jobs are hard to find for people who’ve spent years overseas