ALL VISAS are on hold!!!

[otter5535]

Okay...

 

I just called the DOS at 8:50am EDT on April 30.

 

The lady said that ALL visa (k1, k3, k4, xyz, abc, blah blah blah, etc.) interviews at GZ are NOT being scheduled until further notice (and it has nothing to do with the Chinese holiday)!!!

 

Visa interviews that have already been scheduled are still being completed.

 

UGGGGGGGGGGHHH!!!

[se_lang]

I just called at 9:50 CST said mine was waiting "administrative approval". I think the person you talked to may not have any more info then anyone else and does not know GZ schedules there own interviews and I could be wrong.

[otter5535]

Hello se_lang

 

Yes, everything (security et. al.) is approved for us and ready... we are just waiting for the P4 and the interview date.

 

My DOS lady said she had no information on why interviews were not being scheduled at GZ but she did know they weren't currently being scheduled.

 

The Chinese holiday and new fingerprinting in the middle of this interview pause adds to the frustration. Hopefully things will get moving soon.

[Jeikun]

Wow, lots of mixed up information out there, isn't there? From "The World is ending" to "Everything is fine" and everything in between.

 

I COULD be wrong, but from the news on Guangzhou's website, news my fiancee read in China, and the Voice of America article this is what I understand:

 

1. The All China visa call-center, which is located in Shanghai was closed due to complaints by the Chinese that it was overcharging, and perhaps other things. The US insists nothing was wrong with it, but...

 

2. The center handled information calls, and scheduling for ALL visas including K visas. It has done this since sometime in April.

 

3. This means that NO interviews are currently being scheduled. It does not mean that visa's aren't being processed. The process is unaffected up to the point that an interview must be scheduled. This is why those who already have a date, were instructed to proceed as planned.

 

4. As far as a fix, and when interviews will be scheduled again, who knows. I imagine, it will begin when either the call center is allowed to re-open, or the embassy and consulates go back to scheduling their own interviews as they did up to just a few weeks ago. The only delays will be those caused by a backlog of unscheduled interviews when the flood gates finally open back up.

 

Again, I'm not the "master of information" here, and I could conceivably be wrong. But if you read the various news sources, it is pretty self-evident, if you understand what the visa call center's function is/was.

 

Basically, it's screwed up, but no reason to panic as I'm sure there will be at least a patch-up temporary fix to get things moving again coming soon. In the face of all the months of waiting, a few extra possible weeks probably won't seem like too much.

[Jeikun]

For further information, there has been a new announcement on the embassy's website.

 

 

We are continuing our discussions with the Chinese on the reopening of the call center and are hopeful of having a positive result in the near future. In the meantime, the Embassy and the four Consulates General (Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang) will continue to process the applications of individuals with appointments. We will post any changes in status regarding the call center on our website as soon as possible.

[se_lang]

Like I said in a different thread - TAKE A DEEP BREATH

 

Forget the hysteria and rampant suppositions about what *may* be going on. Folks here are dealing with IMMIGRATION visas. Until anyone can report that their case is affected.......THIS DON'T MATTER TO US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with Don I would like to hear from just 1 person that scheduled their K-Visa through the call center, I only called it once and the message said for K-visa I need to contact GZ, This was right after it opened. So until I hear GZ has stopped scheduling K-visa interview my bet is this don't matter to our process.

[otter5535]

Thanks for the info Jeikun!

 

I know that my wife should be one of the first one to be scheduled for an interview when things get going again. Her P3 got to GZ on about March 15. I think the P3s that got to GZ by the end of February were the last to get a P4 & their interview appointments.

 

Now we all have to wait through the Chinese holiday before they get around to fixing things!

[keelec]

I would still say to hold on a few days before making any rash decisions and we find out what the USA has planned with the call center and the K visas.

 

The Candle site was born nearly two years ago when GZ and Moscow stopped issuing visas for a period of nearly 6 months. Those who had interviews scheduled were given white slips and told to come back later...... sometime..... Yet, they were not called back to pick up the visas for nearly 6 months.

 

The effects of those delays were felt for nearly a year later as the consulates attempted to catch up with huge backlogs of their work.

 

I have serious doubts that any amount of political games in GZ would bring them to do the same thing again. Of course, they still answer to whatever Washington DC throws at them.

 

As I understand it, the Consulate has a pretty full interview schedule for at least the next 2-3 months. Even if they stopped scheduling new interviews for nearly a month, the biggest effect is that some individuals would lack the time to hop on a plane to be with their honey for the interview.

 

I would suggest waiting 2 weeks until the dust settles and all holidays are history. Then send out a query to everyone on the candle and 001 to try to find anybody that has gotten a newly scheduled P4/Interview for GZ.

 

If, by May 15, nobody has gotten a newly scheduled P4/interview, then it would be time to start hitting up our congressmen, senators, and DOS. If you have a little patience now, I am sure you will even get some of the "oldtimers" who have been through a terrible and frustrating wait in the not too distant past to champion for your new cause.

 

Of course, you may point out that my application is already stuck, and awaiting an eventual interview in another country so I have very little at stake for this.

 

----- Clifford -----

[robandbolor]

this kinda stuff peeves me. luckily, my fiance had her visa and picked it up april 19th, before this situation fell - we're lucky i guess.

 

but, with the $165 fee increase, where else can there be a 65% increase in fees for services, and things get even more screwed up than ever? wtf? is wrong with this picture?

[frank1538]

I read on another forum that a fiancee just had her interview scheduled for mid May. Sounds like GZ is still cranking them out (drip, drip, drip)

[Guest tintin]

I heard from a Chinese friend that the shut down of VISA service center was legitimized by the Public Safety Bureau's finding that the VISA service center was run by a Chinese subcontractor that has no business license in Shanghai.

[PJ]

Whew ... finally the weekend. Just had a chance to log onto Candle again. Feels like it's been a while.

 

I'm learning a ton of new stuff at work. In fact, I can honestly say I've learned more this past week than I have for the past 6 months at my previous job.

 

Okay, I am going to look on the positive side of this. K visas were never handled through this call center anyway.

 

Maybe if the consulate is not scheduling interviews through the Visa center for student and business visas, then they will have more time to deal with fiancee/spouse/family visas (which I have always believed should be a priority anyway).

 

I haven't told Candy about this yet because she gets worried easily. Probably wait until something's confirmed before I say anything.

 

P.J.

[mari]

Clifford, why did they closed for 6 months back then?

[otter5535]

PJ, Remember the Chinese holiday going on now so it will probably be at least a week before we hear anything new.

 

frank1538, I hope you are right about the drip, drip drip! I hope we are one of the drips!!!

 

mari, Good question for Clifford! What's with that six months delay back then... was it a similar circumstance?

[keelec]

As far as the previous delays, you can browse the bowels of the Candle and get some additional information. Don, Mick, PJ, Owen, and a host of others would have first hand knowledge of it. Everything I can tell you is a summary of what I've heard.

 

I believe that in August 2002, the US decided to tighten up visa procedures in reaction to the 9/11/2001 events. Hmmm, it took them a whole year to figure that out.

 

Anyway, they abruptly stopped issuing visas in both China and Russia (and perhaps other countries) as they struggled to come up with new procedures for issuing visas.

 

They finished all of the scheduled interviews, sending each of the applicants home with a "white slip" rather than a visa. Everyone was told that the delay would be short, but days and weeks rolled into months as very little information was forthcoming from anybody. The FBI Namecheck was extended to all applicants and everyone had to await the results of the namecheck no matter where they were in the process. Perhaps even the FBI was overwhelmed as the number of routine namechecks multiplied very quickly.

 

Eventually with the diligent efforts of many individuals the visas started being issued again. But, GZ was buried in the backlog of 6 months of visa applications being put on hold, and at first there appeared to be no rhyme nor reason for the order that the visas were being issued.

 

People who had to endure those extraordinary delays dubbed themselves the "Black Hole" group. I believe that the typical overall wait was about 18 months. But, for several months, there were no promises of future movement of the visas, and they just had to wait and wait and wait.

 

----------

 

Since then, other lengthy delays have been felt by the applicants. Last fall, the waits for the P3 packet ranged from 3 to 4 months. GZ made a big push to catch up, but apparently forgot those who were already "in process", so many individuals who had already waited over 3 months for their P3 packet continued to wait another month after GZ started issuing them to other applicants in about 2 weeks. Thus, frustrations mounted again.

 

Robhon was the "leader" of that group of applicants who dubbed themselves the "pit crew".... My application also found itself stuck at about the same time, but at a different embassy. Unfortunately, mine has remained stuck as I have observed many others getting their visas.

 

----- Clifford -----