CGI shows "NO APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE"

[Xingxing]

My wife just received her CR-1 Immigrant Visa interview letter for the US Consulate Guangzhou, but when I signed on to CGI to schedule her interview, when I finally got to the last step to schedule the interview, it is showing “There are currently no appointments available”.
My wife actually already had an interview appointment for July 7^th, but I was not allowed time off from work for that time so I emailed the US Consulate Guangzhou and they replied back and said that they would send instructions on how to re-schedule the interview and we just received that letter this morning stating:
"Dear Applicant, Petitioner, or Agent of record: This office is ready to begin final processing of the immigrant visa applicant(s) named above in this case. Please follow these steps to schedule and prepare for your visa interview:"
And following the instructions the letter provided, I signed on to CGI, (where I had already created an account and selected a delivery address for the Visa), but after getting to the last step where I confirmed our case number, it is showing “There are currently no appointments available”.
Because of the available times my company will allow me to take time off from work here in the United States AND I will need to apply for a Visa to go back to China again AND I will need to book airline tickets, we were hoping to schedule an interview appointment for the 3^rd or 4^th week of August.

MY QUESTION IS: Will we able to schedule a CR-1 Visa interview appointment 7 or 8 weeks in advanced once dates become available?
Would we be able to choose a specific date like August 24^th or 25^th?
I will be going to China for about 2 and a half weeks, but I know we will need time before the interview for the medical exam and time after the interview to wait for the Visa to be delivered, so I was trying to have the interview date so we will have a week before the interview and a week after.

Thanks for any information that anyone can provide.

 

Mark

Jacksonville, Florida

 

[Randy W]

Appointments are released regularly, but for a limited time in the future. You may have to wait until late this month or early next to find your time frame allocated.

 

There are some QQ groups that monitor this availability, if your wife cares to join one.

[Xingxing]

Posted Today, 06:07 AM

“Appointments are released regularly, but for a limited time in the future. You may have to wait until late this month or early next to find your time frame allocated.”

 

 

Thanks for the reply.

Does that mean that appointments are only posted on CGI just 3 or 4 weeks prior?

That really makes it difficult to make preparations in time such as booking airline tickets, applying for a Visa to visit China, scheduling time off work, etc..

Looking on CGI today I see that they have appointments for July 21-29^th and there are plenty of appointments for all days.

I am thinking it might be safe for me to book the airline tickets etc., now for the timeframe that is good for us in August/September and then schedule the interview date for a day during that time once they are posted on CGI 3 or 4 weeks prior.
(It is also a requirement to have copies airline tickets to apply for the Visa to China which also takes time to get).

 

Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Randy W]

 

Posted Today, 06:07 AM

“Appointments are released regularly, but for a limited time in the future. You may have to wait until late this month or early next to find your time frame allocated.”

 

 

Thanks for the reply.

Does that mean that appointments are only posted on CGI just 3 or 4 weeks prior?

That really makes it difficult to make preparations in time such as booking airline tickets, applying for a Visa to visit China, scheduling time off work, etc..

Looking on CGI today I see that they have appointments for July 21-29^th and there are plenty of appointments for all days.

I am thinking it might be safe for me to book the airline tickets etc., now for the timeframe that is good for us in August/September and then schedule the interview date for a day during that time once they are posted on CGI 3 or 4 weeks prior.

(It is also a requirement to have copies airline tickets to apply for the Visa to China which also takes time to get).

 

Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

 

Yes, you seem to have a handle on their approach which unfortunately DOES leave people in the lurch as far as their arrangements. But, also as you surmise, the schedule is USUALLY much more open than what you have seen.