llamagatekeeper

I think they require 8 photographs now. I know it's habit of Westerners to cut everything as close as possible and make things efficient, but you have to remember...you are in China and you abide by their processes and norms. If you get there late on a Monday you are almost 100% guaranteed not to get it done by the next day. I went in the morning and they were even saying the next day pickup was ending in the morning. If you don't get there early enough you will be SOL especially on Mondays. Just bring whatever the consulate says. I forget what my wife really brought with us, but I think it was only the email/communication from the consulate. The doctors and staff all are aware of protocols from the consulate so no worries on that end. Just show up with what the email/s say and battle through the lines. You'll be fine. God speed and good luck!

Yes, I know. He just made it seem as if there was some other very specific physician he should go to. You can only go to the ones they list and thus are obviously approved.

As I stated in the first post, the only shot my pregnant wife received was the flu shot and she passed her interview without the other required shots. The card/report will simply state not needed as contraindicated/pregnant. You don't go to any specially approved physician...just the one that's closest to the consulate that they list.

Turnaround time was the following afternoon. We didn't request morning or inquire about anything as our interview was Wednesday. Pick-up time is the time they start calling names. You can actually drop off the slip prior to your time, but not sure it's worth worrying about too much. TBH, the medical was the hardest part of the whole ordeal. You just get in line and wait and wait and wait. There are chairs to sit in, but they go fast and the grandmas and grandpas will have bags with them to save seats of people in their party who won't be back. I'd suggest grabbing some food or drink from family mart so your wife/husband can get some fluids and sugar in their body immediately after giving blood. Everyone was complaining about being lightheaded and super hungry. Good luck and just be patient! We passed interview on Wednesday (4/15) and visa has already been issued as of tonight. I'll write another post with more details though.

Oh god. Why did no one warn me about the #$%^ show that was the medical exam on Monday. Got there at 7:10-7:15 and line was already from one door to the other in that small hallway. It gradually gets more packed people can't even get off the elevators. They open the doors and of course all the Chinese wanting to immigrate to the US and adopt cultural values of the US rush the doors and ignore the line that was made. Then you have the Chinese who formed a line yelling at those who tried and budge, but get then they themselves try and budge/cut in line when they get the chance. What do you know...the people with terrible medical issues and all the reasons for denial are the ones who cut in line and rushed to the front so the number calling takes forever. Didn't finish the entire process until 11:15. Positive side: Doctor immediately said that only shot you could do while pregnant is the flu shot and every single exam the first question was always "are you pregnant". X-Ray is of course required, but they do make sure you have protection/shielding for everything. All the nurses/doctors were very pleasant and even more so for having to deal with the type of people that are coming through this process. Be prepared for lots of yelling and pushing and waiting. So, just don't go on Monday and you should be fine. Edit: Forgot to mention that they require 8 photos now.

Good luck. Do report back if you run into problems. Wife's interview in the next few days and hopefully I'll be done with this process once and for all, or until we have to extend/change things etc etc.

Well...that's a different story. As you know by living in China nothing is guaranteed and low-level workers are notorious for being inflexible outside of their pre-defined daily responsibilities. I recommend going to the largest/busiest citic bank you can find in your city. The first citic bank I went to only knew how to deal with chinese tourist visas and kept telling us that we needed documents that we didn't have. They called multiple people and just said "meh go to this branch as they are the ones who know how to do really do it", and we walked in with just the document and pictures. They made an extra copy of the confirmation page for us as that's what their "guru" demanded and he assured us it was taken care of. No envelope needed on our end. Just cover letter, confirmation, and pictures. Got approved/email update less than 1 week after we did the citic drop-off.

As I mentioned in another topic, just go to any citic branch and they will deliver to the consulate for you. No need to register drop off location as that isn't part of your process as a DCF.

Correct. On entry you present both passports and it will be accepted in China.

Just go to any old photo shop and bring a thumb-drive/USB stick with the pictures on it. Print off in collage format or individually. This is assuming you are doing DCF and in China as the prices here in the mainland are way cheaper! I just printed them off in collage format and laminated them and then paper clipped them to the whole package. Honestly, the VO will take apart everything and put stuff together how they want it. It doesn't matter how you bind anything as it seems they will do their own binding/envelop after you submit your documents.

Q1 works as long as you have a residence permit. Q2 does not grant you the ability to get or turn into a residence permit. I'm almost finished and am currently on a Q1 that was turned into a residence permit.

Don't worry about registering. They didn't ask for UID or anything of that sort. Bring everything on their list and drop off at any CITIC bank that is designated and they'll forward it to Guangzhou for you. My experience: 1.) Received email to submit DS-260 online and did so same day 2.) Tried to login to usatraveldocs/cgi.federal, but wife had forgotten password and doesn't use that email anymore 3.) cgi.federal takes 2 business days to respond to you and then asks for a response back, so took 4 business days for them to say case was closed, but I gained access to old email account myself 4.) Realize that it's impossible to register pick-up location as case # isn't recognized. 5.) Go to nearest CITIC and have them say they have never done this before and claim they needed a receipt with confirmation of payment and DS-160 etc forms. They are too used to only dealing with Chinese tourist visas to the US and not immigration. 6.) Give up and go to main financial district CITIC bring the following: Confirmation of DS-260 printed outCopy of biographic page of passport2 color photosCover letter filled out (leave address blank as you might have to go to different location if get turned away as I did)This branch also requested one more copy of the DS-260 confirmation and cover letter, but they made the copies for us7.) Go online and check your status with your original case ID starting with GUZ 8.) Receive confirmation and interview email with details/explanation to register on cgi.federal (this came less than 1 week from CITIC document drop off, dropped off Friday and email received Thursday) 9.) Now, you can register your pickup or delivery location as your case ID will be recognized and you can schedule your interview. 10.) Get ready for interview and hope the I-864 form (expires 3/31/15) doesn't change and the co-sponsor doesn't have to re-mail any documents since your interview isn't until April... Long story short -> Go drop off your documents! Hope that helps!