New Inquiry Rules

[king]

Just this week the IV unit changed the rules about making inquiries via email for case information. Basically, for inquiries about a case before the interview has been done, you need to call the US Visa Information Center in Shanghai. Check the Web page for the Consulate for particulars, such as the telephone number, hours, etc., and it costs to make the call.

 

Inquiries made after the interview are to be done by the email system.

[amerchin]

Thank you once again for your updates King. Can you please repost your address and phone number(s) in case CFLers in China need your services. How far are you in getting the new office opening near the new visa center?

[bobmal99]

Thank you once again for your updates King. Can you please repost your address and phone number(s) in case CFLers in China need your services. How far are you in getting the new office opening near the new visa center?

160072[/snapback]

Unbelievable, before you could get a response from GZ, within a week by e-mail.

 

Now we have to use a credit card and pay additional money for something that should be free!!!!

 

Only in America!!

[jbray]

I learned about this new policy the hard way, this week...

 

My question was simple, a yes/no question. I don't want to have to pay (what it is, like $35) for a yes/no answer.

 

Have any of you ever called the "hotline"? Do they actually give useful info? Or is it the same canned response?

[xtal]

Yeah I saw this also on the GUZ website yesterday. They charge 56 yuan for 12 minutes - so around $0.60 / minute. I hope the service is worth the cash.

Edited October 14, 2005 by xtal (see edit history)

[Tian9426]

Yeah I saw this also on the GUZ website yesterday. They charge 56 yuan for 12 minutes - so around $0.60 / minute. I hope the service is worth the cash.

160146[/snapback]

The U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou Immigrant Visa Section wishes to answer your questions and process your cases in the most timely manner possible. To help accomplish this goal, the Immigrant Visa Section asks that inquiries about cases that have not yet been interviewed be directed to the U.S. Visa Information Center. The U.S. Visa Information Center will be able to provide immediate answers to your questions while allowing the Immigrant Visa section to devote more resources to the processing of pending cases, benefitting both petitioners and applicants alike. The U.S. Visa Information Center currently can assist callers in Mandarin, Cantonese, Taishanese, Fuzhou dialect, and English.

 

Please call the U.S. Visa Information Center at 4008-872-333 within China or 86-21-3881-4611 from other countries, from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. (China Time) Monday - Friday and 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. Saturday. Be prepared to provide the primary applicant name in pin yin and case number. There is a charge to access the Visa Information Center. Prices are 54 RMB for 12 minutes or 36 RMB for 8 minutes. The Visa Information Center charge may be paid at any CITIC Bank office or on the Internet at https://www.usavisainformation.com.cn/eng/index.aspx. Once the charge is paid, you will be given a PIN number that must be given to the Visa Information Center when you call to verify the payment.

 

Additionally, the most commonly asked questions are already answered on our website here

 

If your inquiry is about a case that has already had an interview you may still direct those inquiries to the Guangzhou IV Section using the email form below.

 

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[Mick]

Thank you once again for your updates King. Can you please repost your address and phone number(s) in case CFLers in China need your services. How far are you in getting the new office opening near the new visa center?

160072[/snapback]

Unbelievable, before you could get a response from GZ, within a week by e-mail.

 

Now we have to use a credit card and pay additional money for something that should be free!!!!

 

Only in America!!

160108[/snapback]

I'm with you Bob. This bites the big one (sorry Don Don't wanna end up in the PC )

 

What makes it even worse is that this outfit in Shanghai is a Chinese company, contracted to handle the inflow of requests. Our tax dollars at work.

[sterling]

yea,, i called twice so far, i paid the for the 12 mintues 6.5 usd.

 

I am a K-3 person

 

I quickly said my case # as soon as someone answered, and he answered eveything i wanted. I also called a second time a week later. Near the end of the phone call, the lady said, "you have 1 minute left"

 

I asked,

-Case status, yes/no

 

-Questions about aff of support, The lady told me, i needed 864, since GUZ considers the k-3 a Immigrant visa,,,but i still will call agian and ask another person to see if i get the same answer, I know i just need the 134 for a k-3. ughhhh

 

-I asked how long it takes from my the date DOS said they sent the Noa2 till she gets P3, she said, 6 to 8 weeks.

 

peace!

[tywy_99]

Thank you once again for your updates King. Can you please repost your address and phone number(s) in case CFLers in China need your services. How far are you in getting the new office opening near the new visa center?

160072[/snapback]

Unbelievable, before you could get a response from GZ, within a week by e-mail.

 

Now we have to use a credit card and pay additional money for something that should be free!!!!

 

Only in America!!

160108[/snapback]

I'm with you Bob. This bites the big one (sorry Don Don't wanna end up in the PC )

 

What makes it even worse is that this outfit in Shanghai is a Chinese company, contracted to handle the inflow of requests. Our tax dollars at work.

160183[/snapback]

Yep!...Long gone are the days of chatting with Linda D., consular extaordinaire, and her protegee!...

[wpc76180]

yea,, i called twice so far, i paid the for the 12 mintues  6.5 usd.

 

I am a K-3 person

 

I quickly said my case # as soon as someone answered, and he answered eveything i wanted.  I also called a second time a week later.  Near the end of the phone call, the lady said, "you have 1 minute left"

 

I asked,

-Case status, yes/no

 

-Questions about aff of support, The lady told me, i needed 864, since GUZ considers the k-3 a Immigrant visa,,,but i still will call agian and ask another person to see if i get the same answer, I know i just need the 134 for a k-3. ughhhh

 

-I asked how long it takes from my the date DOS said they sent the Noa2 till she gets P3, she said, 6 to 8 weeks.

 

peace!

160211[/snapback]

 

In my experience, one phone call may yield

one answer today and a different answer tomorrow.

So, I'm just erring on the side of caution

and doing both the I-134 and I-864.

 

I just don't think the person answering the

phones and the person processing the applications

share the same brain (or read the FAM manual).

[Joanne]

I learned about this new policy the hard way, this week...

 

My question was simple, a yes/no question. I don't want to have to pay (what it is, like $35) for a yes/no answer.

 

Have any of you ever called the "hotline"? Do they actually give useful info? Or is it the same canned response?

160128[/snapback]

According to my experience, they don't.

 

They may clarify the application procedure issues, if you could not figure out from other online information sources. They are nice to you, but they don't have much case specific knowledge, and no authority to make any decision, and don't take any action(I think they don't record your inquiry).

[jbray]

I always say to my wife (usually regarding Chinese, but I guess it is also the US government), you ask 3 people the same question, you get three different answers... You ask the same person, the same question 3 times, you get three different answers.

[esun41]

Yeah I saw this also on the GUZ website yesterday. They charge 56 yuan for 12 minutes - so around $0.60 / minute. I hope the service is worth the cash.

160146[/snapback]

I had to pay the fee twice because I kept getting bumped or put on hold or....

 

The service really is for the beneficiary, not the USC. Just like any other business... the customer pays the way ultimately...

[Guest Gene]

It sounds like they got there training from the USCIS "help you not" service

[goneflying2000]

This is totaly unacceptable. WHAT A BLOODY JOKE

And I really like ther reasoning. it is to benefit us by assigning needed personnel to other duties

Lets face the real reason. They do not know how to answer valid questions about their inefficency from the people who pay there salary and are supposed to serve, (unless you consider condesendig B.S. an answer.) And the best way to avoid this situation is to make the ability to question them unavailable, just like every other agency involved in the visa fiasco.

Edited October 16, 2005 by goneflying2000 (see edit history)