Guangzhou USCIS Question

[jemit0]

Another topic in section kind of covered this, but I am still unsure and would love input from anyone who has gone through the process or is going the process.

1. I filed my wife's I-130 form at the Guangzhou USCIS Dec. 20th, 2019, and then got an Approval Notice Jan. 21,2020.

2. The approval notice said that it would be forwarded to the consular section at the Department of State. I contacted them and they said they haven't received paperwork from the Guangzhou USCIS yet. I copy and pasted their response below

"Dear petitioner,

Thank you for your email. Please note that we have yet to receive your case file from the USCIS of Guangzhou. As of February 3, 2020, regular visa services at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the U.S. Consulates General in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang are suspended. Due to the ongoing situation relating to the novel coronavirus, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates have very limited staffing. Intending applicants should note that on Sunday, February 2, a Presidential Proclamation was issued that suspended entry for individuals who have been in China less than 14 days prior to their arrival in the U.S. More information about the Proclamation can be found on our website here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/Presidential-Proclamation-Coronavirus.html.

Updates on the status of the proclamation will be posted on our website: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/. Once the proclamation is lifted, please contact us regarding your case via our webform: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/visas/immigrant-visas/contact-us/immigrant-visa-unit-question/.

Sincerely,

Immigrant Visa Unit

U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou"

3. So am I screwed until the presidential proclamation is lifted? Does anyone think that is going to happen soon? It seems like the US is a shit show right now. The Guangzhou USCIS site says things are going to be processed by the DOS? I am quite confused and would appreciate any insight.

[Randy W]

No, you got it in under the deadline, and it WAS (apparently) adjudicated. So you SHOULD be okay, IF it can be located and passed along to the proper desk.

You may need to do a little detective work, though, to track it down, including possibly making an appointment to talk to someone face-to-face.

According to the USCIS, (this is at the following link)

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-a-uscis-office/international-offices/china-uscis-guangzhou-field-office

 

As of Feb. 1, 2020, USCIS will no longer accept and adjudicate routine Form I-130 petitions at its remaining international field offices. Petitioners residing overseas who are unable to file with DOS must file Form I-130 by mail with the USCIS lockbox facility in Dallas or online using the USCIS website.

 

so if they didn't complete the processing by forwarding it to the Dept. of State, maybe you can persuade someone to take that last little step for you, or at least tell you what happened to it.

 

There is a "contact us" button at the above linked page to see if someone can help you. This is for USCIS, NOT the Dept. of State.

 

If not you may just need to start over by filing a new I-130 stateside.

 

You've apparently fallen into no-man's land there. It's up to you to track it down, or refile.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[newacct]

The proclamation doesn't apply to your wife because she is the spouse of a US citizen or permanent resident.

[Randy W]

The proclamation doesn't apply to your wife because she is the spouse of a US citizen or permanent resident.

 

 

He is correct, and is referring to this proclamation

 

Intending applicants should note that on Sunday, February 2, a Presidential Proclamation was issued that suspended entry for individuals who have been in China less than 14 days prior to their arrival in the U.S.

 

[jemit0]

That is awesome news, thank you very much for telling me that

[jemit0]

Ok, so actually according to the seemingly auto-generated emails I've been getting to my inquiries, the proclamation does apply to my wife in a broad sense:

Thank you for your email. As of February 3, 2020, regular visa services at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the U.S. Consulates General in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang are suspended. Due to the ongoing situation relating to the novel coronavirus, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates have very limited staffing. Intending applicants should note that on Sunday, February 2, a Presidential Proclamation was issued that suspended entry for individuals who have been in China less than 14 days prior to their arrival in the U.S. More information about the Proclamation can be found on our website here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/Presidential-Proclamation-Coronavirus.html.

Updates on the status of the proclamation will be posted on our website: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/. Once the proclamation is lifted, please contact us regarding your case via our webform: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/visas/immigrant-visas/contact-us/immigrant-visa-unit-question/.

We will resume routine visa services as soon as possible, but we are unable to provide a specific date at this time. If during this period you have an urgent need to travel, and you believe you may qualify for an exemption under the proclamation, please submit your request via our webform: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/visas/immigrant-visas/contact-us/immigrant-visa-unit-question/.

It seems as if they're not processing anything until the proclamation is lifted? True or not true? Is this just an auto-message to keep people from bothering them?

[Randy W]

If during this period you have an urgent need to travel, and you believe you may qualify for an exemption under the proclamation, please submit your request via our webform: . . .

 

 

- and -

 

 

Some exceptions include, but are not limited to: foreign diplomats traveling to the United States on A or G visas and certain family members of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents including; spouses, children (under the age of 21),

 

Finding an affordable flight to the US may be another matter you'll have to wrestle with.

 

Good luck - we're with you.

[jemit0]

So I've hit a wall here and any help would be appreciated.

1. My approval notice from Guangzhou USCIS did not have a receipt number. Is that normal? Because not having one has really screwed me in terms of finding out where my case is in the process and it seems like they're supposed to provide them

2. Every time I try to use the webform to talk to anyone, I get an email about the Feb 2nd proclamation.

3. I tried calling the Guangzhou USCIS phone menu but I can't reach a human being. I just get menus that repeat information from the website. Does anyone know how to contact a human being there?

4. I tried calling 1-800-375-5283 for the USCIS office stateside. The first woman was very helpful but said she couldn't help me yet because 90 days from the approval notice hadn't elapsed. I called after 90 days and the woman was terrible, refused to help me, and made me register on the USCIS site https://myaccount.uscis.gov/. I submitted a webform query using this website. They gave me a notice saying they called my Chinese number to reply and apparently didn't reach me and suggested I contact the phone line that made me register for the site.

5. I realize that Trump has banned immigration but it seems like this excludes spousal immigration.

Is there a way to talk to a human being on the phone? Emails and web forms have gotten me no where and I believe my case is sitting somewhere because of the corona virus.

[Randy W]

Nothing is normal these days. Is it possible for you to go to the Consulate and inquire in person? Unless you can find someone to answer, you won't get any answers.

 

You may wish to try again in May. No activity is simply no activity.

[jemit0]

Someone finally responded at Guangzhou and cited this link:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/suspension-of-routine-visa-services.html

So they are basically not working on immigrant or non-immigrant visas right now it would seem? Before they just kept talking about presidential proclamations as the reason for not proceeding, despite as noted above them not seeming to apply to spousal visas. Are they blowing smoke to put people off? Anyone got any silver bullets for this or we just stuck until they decide to resume services?

[Randy W]

Your only other option would seem to be to go there in person to see if you can find someone to talk to in person.

 

You may have better luck now that we're in May.

 

But yes, it's up to them unless you can find a way to rattle their cage sufficiently to get someone's attention.