P4: Is this something new?

[AZwolfman]

USCIS is moving so fast, I am finding it hard to keep up. On 9/28 we received an email notifying us of our visa interview appointment in Guangzhou on 10/28. They are now dispensing appointment letters and P4s electronically. I guess no more waiting for EMS snail mail. Is this something new, or has it been this way for a while? These are the instructions we received via email:

 

Please note that the Consulate is now using electronic invitation letters for certain categories of applicants. Applicants will not receive a separate Packet 4 by mail.

 

Please have the applicants named above print this letter and bring it to their appointment with the panel physician and to their interview. Failure to bring this letter to either appointment could result in the applicant being turned away, which will cause significant delay to the processing of this visa application.

 

Please use the following link to access the necessary forms ...

[dnoblett]

Yep been like that for a while everything needed for interview can be downloaded from consulate site and printed.

 

If did eProcess at NVC, will need the physical docs brought to interview that were emailed to NVC.

[Randy W]

I don't see anything on the consulate web site about the electronic invitation letter - it seems to still indicate a paper mailing.

 

If you are a K visa applicant and you have opted in for electronic processing, you will still have to wait for paper Instructions via mail from the Consulate.

 

If you have not received Packet 4, please contact the Immigrant Visa Unit of U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou through our on-line form and request that it be resent. In some cases, it will be necessary to reschedule interviews for a later date.

 

Of course, follow the directions you were given (and DON'T expect a paper mailing) - they'll bring their web site up to date when they're good and ready.

 

I see that they have brought it (and the appointment letters) up to date for the separate document intake and interview dates.

 

Immigrant Visa (IV) applicants processing at Guangzhou will be required to go to the Consular Office at 12:30pm on the date specified on the appointment letter for fingerprint and document intake. The applicant(s) will then be required to return the following morning at 7:30am for their interview.

[Mr. Don]

We had interview in March 2012 and our P4 was email only. No letter

[tsap seui]

Congrats on the interview date, Wolfman.

 

 

Like Dan says, it's been going on for awhile. We had our interview in July 2011 and I had done the electronic NVC route. Everything including the invite letter was e-mail. I had heard from others ahead of us that they had the same thing. If I had to guess I'd say sometime in early 2011 the State Department stared using e-mail for interview appointments, and I reckon they were for electronic NVC folks, maybe others too.

.

 

Good luck with the interview

 

tsap seui

[Randy W]

This is apparently new for K-'s, and only for P-4's.

Edited October 3, 2012 by Randy W (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

This is apparently new for K-'s, and only for P-4's.

Mr Don was a K-1/K-2 case so yes fairly new at least going back to beginning of the year.

[William Lee]

“Please download and review all the forms for this cases visa category. Fiancé(e) visa applicants should download K-1/K-2 Appointment Packet (“Packet 4”); K3/K4 visa applicants should download K-3/K-4 Appointment Packet (“Packet 4”); all other visa applicants should download IV Appointment Packet (“Packet 4”).EB5 (C5, I5, T5, R5) applicants should also bring proof that their investment funds have been transferred to an escrow account or made available to the U.S. investment project.]”

 

I also got a question from the email appointment P4.

 

The email is asking for "escrow accounts" or "US investment projects" being transfered ???? I am assuming if I have investments like Mutral Funds, 401K, stocks, IRA's in the USA is what they are asking, then I will be fine.