Howdy folks, So my wife passed her IR1 visa interview today! The whole consulate process took just over an hour for document collection and interview... very impressive!! For those who don't know, the new consulate is located three subway stops south of the old location at Zhujiang New Town station (珠江新城站) on Line 3, so a lot of information about stuff around the old location is still somewhat applicable to the new one, especially in terms of accommodation, as the area around Guangzhou East Train Station, just north of the old consulate, is extremely convenient and full of cheap hotels. We are staying in the Shanshui Shishang Jiudian 山水时尚酒店 just above the train station (the entrance to the hotel is actually "inside" the station, just outside the I exit of the subway and Gate 3 of the train station), and for about US $40 a night for a decent room with a queen size bed, we are very happy with this place. Coming in from the airport we took the subway to Guangzhou East Station (on Line 3, same as airport, didn't even have to change trains) and didn't even have to leave the station, which is great because it was pissing down rain outside. This morning it only took about 15 minutes to get from our hotel to the consulate by subway. And the area around the consulate looked pretty posh and I didn't see any hotels nearby (I'm sure there are some), so there may be far fewer budget options (or any options) in the near vicinity of the consulate. As for places to wait on your spouse nearby the consulate, I found a small Starbucks in the back left side of the lobby of the office building directly across the street from the consulate. If you don't mind trekking just a bit further (and are confident that your spouse can find it after a grueling interview), you can take a right on Huali Road when you come out of Exit B1 of Zhujiang New Town station (the consulate will be right in front of you) and go down about two blocks to the first stoplight, where you will find a full-size Starbucks on one side of the intersection and a full-size Costa Coffee on the other side of the intersection (always good to have a choice between American and British coffee I suppose). There are also several convenience stores, Western restaurants, and banks (China Construction Bank is in the 1F of the building right next to B1 subway exit) along Huali Road and at "coffee intersection". More importantly for you folks who love to do things last-minute, I spotted a large printing store in the "alley" between the first and second building on the right side of Huali Road (there is a Lanzhou Lamian restaurant at the end of the alley, and the print shop is just next to it I think, about 3 or 4 stores deep into the alley). As for the experience at the new consulate, for my wife things went VERY smoothly. Our appointment was for 10:30AM. We arrived at exactly 10:30, and there was NOBODY in the immigration visa line (at the far end of the consulate from the B1 subway exit). They let her in immediately, and I feared it would be many long hours of waiting before she would emerge again. I chose to wait at the small Starbucks across the street from the consulate (which was quite busy, and will most likely be packed in coming months as more and more people waiting for people in the new consulate discover it), and expected to be there for several hours. At about 11:45 (only a little over an hour after my wife entered the consulate!), my wife walked up and sat down across from me at the table with a glum expression on her face. "Oh crap" I thought as my heart skipped a beat, but before I could even open my mouth to ask, my wife began to laugh and told me the good news. She thinks she's really funny when she does that. And she should, because she learned it from me. =0) I just want to add that I think the consulate's new visa system through CGI Stanley is working GREAT. We submitted our I-130 to start the process off through DCF in Beijing in mid-May, and have already had the interview and been approved in less than 2 1/2 months, which seems to be almost twice as fast as the average wait time for the old system when applying through DCF. And in fact, when we signed up for our interview in late June, a July 1st interview date was actually available, which wasn't feasible given how much documentation we still had to collect (as well as getting my wife's medical examination), but had we taken that date it would have come only a month and a half after initially applying! And one more thing to note here as a warning. I had failed to look up more info about the visa application fee that is listed as the last item of the "Immigration Visa Instructions", and since it said you could pay in RMB or US dollars I assumed it would be ok to pay with a Chinese bank card. I was going to send my US credit card in with my wife also (which is what I paid the initial I-130 fee with in Beijing), but realized this morning as we were getting everything ready that I didn't bring it to Guangzhou with me. So I sent my wife in armed with only two Chinese bank cards and very little cash. After she submitted her documents and before her interview, she was asked to go pay the visa fee. She tried to pay with her Chinese bank card, only to be told that only cash or credit/bank cards with the Visa logo are accepted. She asked if she could leave the consulate to get cash and come back in, and was told that if she left she would have to schedule a whole new appointment. She pleaded with the lady for other options, but with no luck. Finally she asked if she could borrow the money from another applicant, and the lady laughingly told her she could try but obviously didn't think she would have any luck. Sure enough, the first person she asked only had enough cash for herself. The lady behind her had overheard my wife's plight though and stepped forward with 1400rmb and plopped it down in her hand (my wife handed over her ID card and bank card in return and told the lady she would wait outside the consulate for her with cash in hand). Don't take a chance that your spouse might be so lucky, and please send her in with enough cash or a Visa credit/bank card (just make sure you take the credit card back as soon as she gets out of the consulate... you know the damage women can do with those things, hehe). Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this site and made it such a great resource for all of us barely staying above water in the immigration boat. I hope this small post of mine can help at least a few of you out there just as so many posts from others helped me. Good luck, and good times to all once you finally get your loved one back to the US!
