What to expect at the Consulate on interview day

[yave20b]

Only 4 days after the interview I was thinking how lucky I was to have talked to a friend who also went through the interview 4 weeks previous to ours about the Consulate and the interview. It really made things go well for us. Whether you are going to the interview with your fiancee or they will go alone it is good to know exactly what to expect because the Consulate does a poor job explaining the process and I witnessed many girls having absolute nervous breakdowns outside in front of the Consulate that day.

 

First, I would recommend that the girls arrive at least 5 to 7 days before the interview in Guangzhou to take care of all the prelimary stuff such as physical exam, paying fee, etc just to make sure there are no problems, especially with the physical exam. A friend of ours came damn near close to missing the interview because the clinic in Guangzhou screwed up her stuff and she had to start all over. They made her pay the fee again and also the extra fee to rush the service with her getting it finished just 1 day before the interview.

 

Stay on Shamian Island at either the Victory, Shamian, or White Swan hotels. Shamian is an old British Colonial enclave still consisting of the original 100 year old buildings and quite in good shape. Very nice there and very peaceful for China. It is very quiet in this area and full of foreigners. The three hotels are all within about 6 to 10 minutes peaceful walk to the Consulate. This is important because you have to go to the Consulate at least 3 times over a 2 day period.

 

I believe everyone's letters say the interview is at 8am on the day of the interview. It doesn't mean they will be expecting you to be in front of the VO at 8am. Unfortunately many girls thought this and they were still at the back-ass of the 150 person long line outside the Consulate and its now 9:30am. I saw so many girls just in a panick and some crying as they tried to force their way up to the Consulate guard and get in only to be turned back by the guards and/or police. The 8am only means you must be standing in the long line to get into the Consulate at about 8am. It takes about 2 and 1/2 hours for them to check everyone's letters and documents in this line to get everyone in. Just getting into the Consulate is a long process but normal apparently. My recommendation is that you go there about 6:30am because some people will already be there. If you wait till 8am you will have about 100 or more people in front of you.

 

The line itself is basically starting on the sidewalk about 100 feet outside the Consulate. You cannot just go into the Consulate even if you are American. The police and Consulate guards keep everyone out at least 100 feet from the building and then outside this area the Chinese police keep order. The line itself is sort of like those roped off areas you see at the airport check in areas with blue rope. They have it set up to make about 2 lines of people. This area is located along a sidewalk that houses many visa related businesses and their touts will greet you as you approach the area and also as you leave the Consulate. However, I did not find them very aggressive and they aren't a harrassment. The crowd was a bit chaotic but not too bad for China. There wasn't a lot of cutting in line that I witnessed and the Chinese police who keep order along the line seemed to be taking their jobs quite seriously and kept control very well. There is a parking lot next to this area where one could see the entrance into the Consulate very well but they don't let you stand there. The police chase everyone away....even me....I got chased away twice. But they were polite and fair about it.

 

The Consulate guards take the next person in line after viewing their interview letter and passport. Then they go about 50 feet into another line closer to the building and wait. From that second line people are admitted into the Consulate. You can accompany your fiancee only in the first line but not the second.

 

The first time into the Consulate they just process your forms and information. Then they will give you an appointment time for the actual interview. I think most get the appointment in the afternoon so you have to leave the Consulate and come back in the afternoon. They tend to finish the morning things at around 10am if you got there early and for the appointments you must return at 1pm. So that's why its good to stay on Shamian Island, You can walk to a restaurant nearby in 5 minutes or just walk to your hotel in 10 minutes. Before you leave the Consulate gives you a white piece of paper that says you must return at 1pm and another very small piece of paper with a number on it. Bring both with you at 1pm.

 

Now the 1pm thing is the same thing as in the morning with the line outside the Consulate. Get there at 12:30pm before the line gets too long. The 1pm line is not as big as the 8am line and it goes pretty fast taking only about 30 - 45 minutes to let everyone inside. Then the girls go to a waiting area inside the Consulate and wait for their numbers to be called for the interview. The interview itself takes only about 5 or 10 minutes. When they finish they leave the Consulate immediately. Now assuming your fiancee got her visa then she gets a white piece of paper to take. And she is instructed to return usually the next day at 4pm with that paper along with her Chinese ID card since they kept her passport.

 

The next day go to the Consulate about 3:30pm and do the line thing again. This line is the smallest of all because not all the girls passed. They check the paper and ID card then let them go line up in the second line. They just wait outside this time until they call out the girls names over a loud speaker and when their names are called the girl goes inside to get her passport and a big brown envelope that are both in large clear plastic envelope. That's it. You can open up the clear plastic envelope to take out the passport but DO NOT open the brown envelope. If you open it up you are screwed. They check the brown envelope upon admission into the US and if it has been tampered with you are in a World of hurt.

 

To be honest with you I read so many accounts about the famous Consulate guards and the lines in front of the Consulate. Some people described the guards as abusive and the lines as absolute insanity. But after standing there all day one day and part of a next observing I did not have this feeling. I felt is was fairly orderly, especially for China. The lines getting out of and onto Chinese airlines are a whole lot worse, The Consulate guards themselves were not all smiles but they have a big responsibility and seemed to take their jobs seriously. If you had the letters and your ID in order they were cool. If you tried to force your way in line or tried to sneak in they were not cool. They chased you back to the line. Same for the Chinese police. The only complaint I heard from my fiancee and some other girls was that once inside the Consulate and going through the security screening one Consulate guard manning the metal detector made some "fresh" comments to several girls about how "beautiful" or how "gorgeous" they looked. Obviously not really appropriate but considering those guys were Chinese citizens working for the Consulate and knowing what I know about Chinese guys in China I'm not too surprised and it seemed relatively lame for them. Also she said the guy processing her forms in the morning was a little gruff with her because he did not believe she was really 29 years old. She really does look about 18 or 19 years old because of her body build and baby face. So I'm guessing he thought she might be trying to pull a quick one on them. I don't have any complaints about anything at this point. Of course we got the visa. For those who don't get the visa I know it is not such a pleasant experience.

 

The Consulate will supposedly move to a new building in another section of Guangzhou in June according to my fiancee. She says it is supposed to be in really nice building and says she has seen it. Whether they will become fully operational by June who knows. Man they need a whole building I think only for processing K1 visas.

[nooneufo]

Thanks for the report, all information is useful, and this one I will keep in mind for certain.

[MRMC]

Does standing in line first get you an earlier interview time?

[Trigg]

Does standing in line first get you an earlier interview time?

Not according to my darlin' it jsut gets you inside out of the weather sooner.

[kfman]

I just wait for the chance to stand in the line.

 

Actually I went in the embassy last year to get my certificate of singlehood notorized.... walked right past all the people in line, was ushered in immediately and pushed way ahead of everyone. Of course, as a USC, I expected nothing less... hahahahaha.. oh well. I hope its that easy next time I get to go there.

 

[ed and ying]

Just a few days ago, I saw a report that the adoptions were going to be moved to new building in June. It did not mention anything about K-1. I guess we will see what happens.

 

Looks like something is moving in June

[C4Racer]

I agree with your observation of the guards. When we were there, they were constantly chasing off the cottage industry ladies. A few times the guards even cracked up laughing about the new way these ladies tried to get places they knew they could not stay. The guards were always professional.

 

Chaos is an understatement, controlled yes, but then look at how many visa cases they see in a day. Stagers the mind to know how many Chinese want to come to Amercia each year.

 

The adoptions are processed at a special time during the day. They already have them gathered at a different location, then march them straight into the consulate visa section. This happens after they finish pre-processing the other visas in the morning, just before they break for lunch. I doubt if they are getting a new building just for the adoption cases, but you never know. I heard they were moving the whole operation. I think King posted about this already.

[DocMartin817]

Your description of the interview wait was excellent. It is posts like this that really help me in my prepartions for the interview, Thanks

[cosmiclobster]

Your description of the interview wait was excellent.

I agree. It was also very accurate from my observations.

[Jason+Joanna]

This was excellent info, and I passed it along to my S.O. I think this will help a great deal .

[ed and ying]

Sorry for the redundant info - found king's post - at that time I was with my SO in Juizhaigou - not obsessed with CFL and case status.

 

Give me a mop slap or a dirty look - or both - pleassse !!!!!

[mlspyl]

yave20b:

 

 

Your information about the Consulate on interview day is informative and greatly valued. I did not realize this was the case.

 

 

Thanks

Mark