Call Center closing

[jkobman]

I called the DoS this morning to inquire about Sarah's visa. The operator confirmed what has already been determined here on CFL - the closing of the Call Center does not affect visa processing, and she specifically said that the closing does not affect K visas.

 

B)

[Trigg]

One from the horses mouth. a lot of people will eb glad to hear this. Now maybe the rumour mill can rest.

[PJ]

Yeah! Thanks, Jeff. I know that I will sleep better tonight.

[otter5535]

Hmmmmm...

 

I wonder what the DOS meant when they said K visas were not affected.

 

They are affected in that the process for K visas stops once they get to the interview scheduling phase (P4).

 

Those of us waiting for P4s, the wait continues..................................

[se_lang]

Hmmmmm...

 

I wonder what the DOS meant when they said K visas were not affected.

 

They are affected in that the process for K visas stops once they get to the interview scheduling phase (P4).

 

Those of us waiting for P4s, the wait continues..................................

K-Visa does not use call center for any stage of the process.

[otter5535]

The call center may not be used by K visas but P4s are definitely on hold.

[keelec]

The call center may not be used by K visas but P4s are definitely on hold.

Wait until everyone gets back from vacation next week and we will scour the boards to see if anybody has gotten a P3 or P4.

 

Everything that I have read indicates that they are supposed to continue scheduling K1-K4 interviews.

 

One or a combination of several things is likely to happen:

 

1) No tourist/business visas will be scheduled, and they will divert more resources to K1-K4, V1-V4, CR1, and etc visas. Thus you will see a benefit.

 

2) They will divert resources that normally would be used for K1-K4 and use them for returning to the old method of scheduling interviews, thus there may be a brief slowdown.

 

3) They will reopen the call center ASAP.

 

Have a little patience. I know firsthand that it is difficult to do when you are nearing the end. Yet, I have thought that I was "nearing the end" for nearly a year now.

 

----- Clifford -----

[PJ]

Clifford,

 

Put my vote in for #1.

 

I had thought of that myself, it could end up being a benefit, no tourist/business visas.

 

Otter,

 

I don't think we'll be sure if it's affecting P4s or not until after the Consulate returns from holiday. Hopefully it won't have any impact, but since the news and rumors coincided with the holiday, it's impossible to know for now.

 

P.J.

[otter5535]

PJ,

 

I hope you are right!

 

I am going on our current status and from what I've read and been told.

 

Our P3 was received in GZ on 3/15. The time it had been taking between GZ getting a P3 and a fiancee/wife getting their P4 had been between 3 weeks minimum to 6 weeks maximum. Before the holiday would have been more than 6 weeks for us. We checked on our status at GZ and the DOS just before the holiday and was told everything is fine with our visa but that all interview scheduling is on hold for now because of the call center incident.

 

The holiday may have delayed things but it was already looking like things were on hold before the holiday which went along with what we were told.

[mari]

I think this thing is another arm wrestling between our governments, the chinese responding quickly to what they consider unreasonable, and in the end their citizens are caught in the middle. I do hope they keep in good terms, resolve their differences so that we all can get our appointments scheduled on time.

[se_lang]

Here are pastes from the GZ website Which BTW is open today, the holiday for them was the 3,4,5 Nuf said

 

NOT K-Visa

 

Non-Immigrant Visa Section

Visa Call Center Services Temporarily Unavailable

On instruction from the Chinese Authorities the Visa Call Center services are temporarily unavailable. Requests for new appointments cannot be serviced until the Call Center resumes operation. If you have previously made a visa appointment, please go to the Consulate at the scheduled time. Thank you for your understanding.

 

K-Visa

 

Welcome to the Guangzhou Immigrant Visa Unit

Foreign Service Officers of the Guangzhou Immigrant Visa Unit adjudicate all immigrant visas for residents of the People's Republic of China. This is the only office handling immigrant visas in China. The post also accepts Third Country Nationals on a discretionary basis.

 

The Guangzhou Immigrant Visa Unit will set the date for the appointment and mail the invitation packet of interview-related information to the applicant or to the Addressee and Agent. The packet is mailed out one month before the interview.