Petition Status After Arrival At GUZ

[rogerinca]

I noticed a footnote comment attached to the K- Visa 'Flow Chart' for K-visas, on the VJ site.

 

It states: “5-7 business days after the NVC sends the package to the Embassy, you can begin contacting the Embassy to see if they have received it“. I thought to myself….”yeh, sure !!”

 

It is my impression this does not hold true for the Consulate in GZ ?? Looking at most timelines of CFL members, it appears that other than the NVC log entry of having forwarded the file on to the Consulate, there are no more entries made, nor can you call anyone, to get an update on the file once it has left the NVC and it arrives at GUZ ??

 

It is also my understanding that the DOS call center will not have any additional info, until such time as the P-3 is generated ??

 

Accordingly, is the footnote at VJ just a generic one, for Embassies and Consulates which have smaller case loads ?? And for us, it appears we face a three month or more black-hole, with respect to any updates or new info, once the file exit’s the NVC ??

 

Has anyone here ever tried calling GUZ or even e-mailing them, to inquire as to the status of their petition, or if it had been received/logged in yet after arrival from the NVC ??

 

 

As a sidebar, and something which made me laugh, I read one case today over at VJ, wherein a guy from England e-mailed the Embassy and 'complained' that it had been a few weeks since the file had departed the NVC, and he had not yet received the P-3. He also mentioned he would be coming to London, later in the week to get a medical exam. The US Embassy, [phoned] him and advised that since he would be in London anyway, for his medical, “would he mind” dropping by the Embassy for his interview that same morning !!

 

It is interesting to note that many other Embassies/Consulates process the file at (relatively speaking) lightning speed, once it has left the NVC. Looking at some other timelines over at VJ, for petitions filed outside of the PRC--examples such as Peru, England, and the Czech Republic, are issued the P-3 within days or a week of receipt of the file from the NVC and the interview is often scheduled in less than two or three weeks, after return of the P-3. It must have something to do with the case work load.

 

Just some thoughts/observations, on a rainy morning, while missing my Lao Po.

Edited December 30, 2007 by rogerinca (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Some terms you may hear, if you contact DOS (from the FAQ's):

 

Terminology used by DOS personnel, in reference to a case:

 

LOADED = NVC has sent an electronic copy of the petition to GUZ, but hardcopy petition information has NOT been entered by GUZ.

 

OPEN = This does not occur until AFTER GUZ signs by STAMP for the DHL package sent by the NVC. Within days to a few weeks after that, GUZ will enter information into the computer and the case is then considered to be "Open." The P3 is then mailed.

 

IN QUE = Namecheck, if any, and other paperwork is clear. Indicates that an interview date has been set. This is the final stage at GUZ before the interview.

 

Sounds like you have a good idea of what's coming up, except that GUZ won't repond to much of anything until you are "In Que"

Edited December 30, 2007 by Randy W (see edit history)

[david_dawei]

VJ serves people going to consulates around the world... so they have to be general in most cases and most consulates are closer together; China is an outlier consulate.

 

I remember a few years ago when I participated more on VJ, most people were shocked at the kind of issues regarding china, whenever I mentioned something.... any visa process over 2 months was cause for a riot there...

[yanjeff]

I did call GUZ 1 TIME!

About a month ago.

The woman (I would usually say "lady"), but she was no lady.

She was very short and rude. "Call back next year!".

I know it will be next year. I wanted to ask a question about my future step-son. But I did not dare ask another question.

DOS is more helpful, 50/50 on getting a nice person. Last time i called. I spoke to a very nice, happy (maybe spanish) LADY! I have called DOS 4 time in the last 2.5 months.

 

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!

It will be worth the wait!

[rogerinca]

VJ serves people going to consulates around the world... so they have to be general in most cases and most consulates are closer together; China is an outlier consulate.

 

I remember a few years ago when I participated more on VJ, most people were shocked at the kind of issues regarding china, whenever I mentioned something.... any visa process over 2 months was cause for a riot there...

 

 

Thanks David and Randy !!!!

 

I wonder what the real numbers are for K-1, K-3 and CR-1 petitions are at GUZ annually. It is difficult to determine based only on CFL and VJ membership. My guess is many petitioners are not aware of CFL or VJ, so our collective numbers are just a small % of the total ??

 

I wonder how the PRC compares to Russia and/or the Philippines or some of the other high petition number countries ??

[Shenzhen K-1]

Roger

 

I did not call "DOS" until my time line started to be close to what the average was on VJ!. I got better results by comapring my NOA1 date to others here on CFL and VJ as well!

 

In rounded numbers my NOA1 was late........ Got there in April, had to call and then did not get the actual receipt in the mail until June?

 

NOA1 to NOA2 about 3 months or so!

 

NVC was about a month!

 

NVC to GZU was also about 3 months or so!

 

My paper work checked in at GZU, and until my feng got the real P-3 7 days!

 

I e-mailed Guangzhou once about a K-2 question, took two e-mails to get a response and about 13 days.

 

I was also told during my last call to DOS, they will know the interview date as soon as GZU inputs it. So I will call in about 30 days or so again!

[rogerinca]

Roger

 

I did not call "DOS" until my time line started to be close to what the average was on VJ!. I got better results by comapring my NOA1 date to others here on CFL and VJ as well!

 

In rounded numbers my NOA1 was late........ Got there in April, had to call and then did not get the actual receipt in the mail until June?

 

NOA1 to NOA2 about 3 months or so!

 

NVC was about a month!

 

NVC to GZU was also about 3 months or so!

 

My paper work checked in at GZU, and until my feng got the real P-3 7 days! B)

 

I e-mailed Guangzhou once about a K-2 question, took two e-mails to get a response and about 13 days.

 

I was also told during my last call to DOS, they will know the interview date as soon as GZU inputs it. So I will call in about 30 days or so again!

 

 

Thanks Mark and Jeff, I understand !!

 

Mark, on your comment NVC to GUZ at 3 months, do you mean it sat (in the box) at GUZ for 3 months, after leaving the NVC ?? Usual transit time, NVC to GUZ time is about a week or 10 days ??

 

I will continue to check with DOS, about every week or 10 days. I will forget about calling or e-mailing GUZ, at this juncture, per Jeff's comments and experience.

[Shenzhen K-1]

Roger

 

I did not call "DOS" until my time line started to be close to what the average was on VJ!. I got better results by comapring my NOA1 date to others here on CFL and VJ as well!

 

In rounded numbers my NOA1 was late........ Got there in April, had to call and then did not get the actual receipt in the mail until June?

 

NOA1 to NOA2 about 3 months or so!

 

NVC was about a month!

 

NVC to GZU was also about 3 months or so!

 

My paper work checked in at GZU, and until my feng got the real P-3 7 days! B)

 

I e-mailed Guangzhou once about a K-2 question, took two e-mails to get a response and about 13 days.

 

I was also told during my last call to DOS, they will know the interview date as soon as GZU inputs it. So I will call in about 30 days or so again!

 

 

Thanks Mark and Jeff, I understand !!

 

Mark, on your comment NVC to GUZ at 3 months, do you mean it sat (in the box) at GUZ for 3 months, after leaving the NVC ?? Usual transit time, NVC to GUZ time is about a week or 10 days ??

 

I will continue to check with DOS, about every week or 10 days. I will forget about calling or e-mailing GUZ, at this juncture, per Jeff's comments and experience.

 

Yes Roger that is what I mean but.............

 

When you call DOS they tell you that your case has been logged in electronically and they are waiting on the paper version which is stuck in Chinese customs. There have been a lot of good guesses here on CFL, but is that really where it sat for that long?

 

E-mail giving me the GZU number was 9/27/2007, P-3 in her hands 12/28/2007. B)

[Guest Rob & Jin]

Frustrating for sure, Roger , I agree. Already 6 months down just to get it there and in another black hole.

I have also been wondering why other consulates/ embassies can be so much faster. You would think they would staff the higher volume places with more folks, but thats just logic, right.

2-3 months for GUZ to even open a file is crazy, other countries people are getting their interviews by then (and that includes other high volume countries). Also I also wonder what the numbers really are for china as compared to other countries. If you look at VJ the UK , phillipines and Russia seem to have way more filiers but are considerably faster through the embassies.

 

But its China right, nothing moves fast there.

 

All we can do is eat our chetoos and wait

[Shenzhen K-1]

Frustrating for sure, Roger B) , I agree. Already 6 months down just to get it there and in another black hole.

I have also been wondering why other consulates/ embassies can be so much faster. You would think they would staff the higher volume places with more folks, but thats just logic, right.

2-3 months for GUZ to even open a file is crazy, other countries people are getting their interviews by then (and that includes other high volume countries). Also I also wonder what the numbers really are for china as compared to other countries. If you look at VJ the UK , phillipines and Russia seem to have way more filiers but are considerably faster through the embassies.

 

But its China right, nothing moves fast there.

 

All we can do is eat our chetoos and wait

 

Rog and Rob, one person told me during my many call to "our government" that the only other really slow consulate/embassy was Manila! They said it was because of fraud and corruption was so high in both places! But who knows maybe they like reading our stories in Chinese customs.

 

I do know this that my "paper work' was only there 1 day before the P-3 was sent on so I do not think GZU is sitting on anything!!

[rogerinca]

Frustrating for sure, Roger , I agree. Already 6 months down just to get it there and in another black hole.

I have also been wondering why other consulates/ embassies can be so much faster. You would think they would staff the higher volume places with more folks, but thats just logic, right.

2-3 months for GUZ to even open a file is crazy, other countries people are getting their interviews by then (and that includes other high volume countries). Also I also wonder what the numbers really are for china as compared to other countries. If you look at VJ the UK , phillipines and Russia seem to have way more filiers but are considerably faster through the embassies.

 

But its China right, nothing moves fast there.

 

All we can do is eat our chetoos and wait

 

Rog and Rob, one person told me during my many call to "our government" that the only other really slow consulate/embassy was Manila! They said it was because of fraud and corruption was so high in both places! But who knows maybe they like reading our stories in Chinese customs.

 

I do know this that my "paper work' was only there 1 day before the P-3 was sent on so I do not think GZU is sitting on anything!!

 

 

 

Many long time members here, have always talked about the files sitting in storage at the (contract) White Swan Hotel storage room, and then being fed over to the Consulate on a first-in first-out basis. Some others have raised the issue of them being tied up in China Customs.

 

Not sure if I buy the latter, as this is all very personal information and should have some sort of diplomatic correspondence status, since it is going from the NVC to the USCONGUZ ?? With so much personal data in our respective files, there could be a tremendous ¡®identity theft¡¯ issue, if foreign nationals were allowed to let their fingers, do the walking, though our case files !!!

 

However, this is all speculation, and maybe we will never know what really happens between the NVC and the Consulate ??

 

I do know that what really RF¡¯d us all, who have filed since April, May, June, and beyond, is the flood of petitions which caused the NOA-1 to NOA-2 times to increase so dramatically. If you look at the timelines for those who made it from NOA-1 to the interview in 7 to 7.5 months, they each had a fast NOA-1 to NOA-2 timeframe. Then the NVC to GUZ to interview time was slower.

 

Unfortunately, we each lost so much time early-on, that until things stabilize again, we are all now looking at 10 to 10.5 months to interview, as being the 'new' norm.

 

I am just thankful that my I-129F, for K-3 and K-4, is now in Guangzhou and not still stuck somewhere in the system in the US.

 

I have one other thought/observation with respect to those of us who were delayed so long in getting the NOA-2, and the potential impact downstream, at the Consulate review level; but I will save that thought for another thread/post¡­¡­¡­.

[Shenzhen K-1]

Frustrating for sure, Roger , I agree. Already 6 months down just to get it there and in another black hole.

I have also been wondering why other consulates/ embassies can be so much faster. You would think they would staff the higher volume places with more folks, but thats just logic, right.

2-3 months for GUZ to even open a file is crazy, other countries people are getting their interviews by then (and that includes other high volume countries). Also I also wonder what the numbers really are for china as compared to other countries. If you look at VJ the UK , phillipines and Russia seem to have way more filiers but are considerably faster through the embassies.

 

But its China right, nothing moves fast there. B)

 

All we can do is eat our chetoos and wait

 

Rog and Rob, one person told me during my many call to "our government" that the only other really slow consulate/embassy was Manila! They said it was because of fraud and corruption was so high in both places! But who knows maybe they like reading our stories in Chinese customs.

 

I do know this that my "paper work' was only there 1 day before the P-3 was sent on so I do not think GZU is sitting on anything!!

 

 

 

Many long time members here, have always talked about the files sitting in storage at the (contract) White Swan Hotel storage room, and then being fed over to the Consulate on a first-in first-out basis. Some others have raised the issue of them being tied up in China Customs.

 

Not sure if I buy the latter, as this is all very personal information and should have some sort of diplomatic correspondence status, since it is going from the NVC to the USCONGUZ ?? With so much personal data in our respective files, there could be a tremendous ¡®identity theft¡¯ issue, if foreign nationals were allowed to let their fingers, do the walking, though our case files !!!

 

However, this is all speculation, and maybe we will never know what really happens between the NVC and the Consulate ??

 

I do know that what really RF¡¯d us all, who have filed since April, May, June, and beyond, is the flood of petitions which caused the NOA-1 to NOA-2 times to increase so dramatically. If you look at the timelines for those who made it from NOA-1 to the interview in 7 to 7.5 months, they each had a fast NOA-1 to NOA-2 timeframe. Then the NVC to GUZ to interview time was slower.

 

Unfortunately, we each lost so much time early-on, that until things stabilize again, we are all now looking at 10 to 10.5 months to interview, as being the 'new' norm.

 

I am just thankful that my I-129F, for K-3 and K-4, is now in Guangzhou and not still stuck somewhere in the system in the US.

 

I have one other thought/observation with respect to those of us who were delayed so long in getting the NOA-2, and the potential impact downstream, at the Consulate review level; but I will save that thought for another thread/post¡­¡­¡­.

 

Yes Roger and I looked at many time lines on VJ in the start and really figured on getting her here before Christmas, not by April Fools' Day!!!

 

The only good thing is my basement will be done and both her and daughter will miss there first year of weather!!

[MikeXiao]

If I remember right, when our case left the NVC it took 7 days for it to arrive in customs hold in GUZ. It sat there for about a month and a half. About another month and a half we had our interview date.

[Shenzhen K-1]

If I remember right, when our case left the NVC it took 7 days for it to arrive in customs hold in GUZ. It sat there for about a month and a half. About another month and a half we had our interview date.

 

Yes times have changed a bit!!

[Guest Rob & Jin]

If I remember right, when our case left the NVC it took 7 days for it to arrive in customs hold in GUZ. It sat there for about a month and a half. About another month and a half we had our interview date.

 

Yes times have changed a bit!!

 

 

Agreed, and not for the better. As for futher delays due to increased #'s , not sure I buy this whole argument. Its increased world wide but its still only taking vast amounts UK/ Phillipino filiers 1-2 months from NVC to interview.

Plus i'm still not convinced about Guz being the busiest, most understaffed embassy in the world, does not make sense. JMHO