Actual visa

[M and L 0]

Hello,

We have our interview on the 24th in GUZ. If we get pink, how long before we get the actual visa? Im trying to plan our return flight. Do we pick up in GUZ or will it be mailed to my fiancée in her hometown Nanjing?

Thanks,

Matt and Lili

[sichuan red 5]

Matt,

The hard and fast rule is, "don't make plans until the visa's in hand."

My fiance passed her interview on the 27th. They issued the visa 8/2 and we don't know when they will mail it out.

Since you fall under the new rules, they will mail it directly to her. See this link

Good luck to you and Lili.

[tan&tuyet 15]

It depends on the country but visa usually takes about two weeks or more. Like I said on the other post I wouldn't plan any tickets purchases until the visa is in hand cuz a lot of things could delay the process. I don't know if pick it up or if it is mail to you maybe some experience poster could tell you that.

[Andrew_Qin 0]

My wife's interview was on July 29, and her visa was available on August 2. As noted above, there is no hard and fast rule. One thing regarding booking your flight, however: though logic dictates to have your visa in hand before you make travel plans, it is sometimes better to book your flight early before the less expensive seats are sold out. At the cost of about $90 you can purchase travel insurance (Access America) that allows an unconditional 80% recovery of your fare if you do not receive your visa in time. Worse case scenario is that you'll lose about $300 if you must cancel, whereas if you wait until the last minute to book your flight, you'll most likely pay a much steeper price. This course of action, of course, would be followed in the case where you want to bring your spouse/fiancee to the USA as soon as possible.

[FoundNanning 0]

So, it is not possible to wait in Guangzhou and pick up the Visa at the Embassy when ready? I am also concerned about flights, since I plan to return with my wife after she gets her Visa. Should I only buy a one-way ticket to Guangzhou (one way usually very expensive)? If I buy myself a round trip from the US with a 'guessed' return date, and bought the Travel Insurance mentioned above, whist are they insuring? One half of my round-triip ticket cost? My wife is in Nanning. So, I guess I could buy a round trip to Guangzhou with a 'guess' at the return date (if I can somehow insure only the return flight), then fly domestically with her back to Nsnning and wait for the visa to be mailed. Then, we could both fly domestically back to Guangzhou, and then we could both fly back to the US from Gusngzhou (which would mean that I would have to buy her a one way ticket on my exact flight back. Or is the only logical way for me to buy the (expensive) one way ticket there, and then buy two one way tickets back? I need ideas! :-)

Also, no matter whether I need to buy one or two tickets from China to the US, where/how is the cheapest way to buy tickets from China to the US while in Chins?

Edited August 4, 2011 by FoundNanning

[Andrew_Qin 0]

So, it is not possible to wait in Guangzhou and pick up the Visa at the Embassy when ready? I am also concerned about flights, since I plan to return with my wife after she gets her Visa. Should I only buy a one-way ticket to Guangzhou (one way usually very expensive)? If I buy myself a round trip from the US with a 'guessed' return date, and bought the Travel Insurance mentioned above, whist are they insuring? One half of my round-triip ticket cost? My wife is in Nanning. So, I guess I could buy a round trip to Guangzhou with a 'guess' at the return date (if I can somehow insure only the return flight), then fly domestically with her back to Nsnning and wait for the visa to be mailed. Then, we could both fly domestically back to Guangzhou, and then we could both fly back to the US from Gusngzhou (which would mean that I would have to buy her a one way ticket on my exact flight back. Or is the only logical way for me to buy the (expensive) one way ticket there, and then buy two one way tickets back? I need ideas! :-)

Also, no matter whether I need to buy one or two tickets from China to the US, where/how is the cheapest way to buy tickets from China to the US while in Chins?

It is possible to wait in Guangzhou for the visa but, as mentioned above, there is no definite time frame between visa approval and when they'll have to documents ready. In my case, it took four days (Friday to Tuesday). Others have waited longer. Usually the best choice is to have your wife return home after the interview. If she is staying at the Yang's hotel, Mr. Yang will send her documents via EMS as soon as they are ready (RMB300). There are also other arrangements to get the documents sent to her home.

If time is not an issue, wait for her visa documents to be ready before you make your booking. Otherwise, if you want her to arrive in the US as soon as possible, you'll have to accept the risk that you may have to change your ticket. In most cases, your international ticket can be changed for $200 plus any fare change (the closer you are to the date of departure, the more likely there will be a fare increase).

Other points about airline tickets:

1) Lowest fares sell out first.

2) August is an expensive month to travel to and from China. September is less expensive.

3) Taxes are higher for tickets originating in China (even if you purchase the tickets from the US and they are with a US carrier). It is easier to plan travel time with a ticket originating from your home country. Since she will be visiting China on occasion it is usually better to buy a one-way ticket. Check All Nippon Airways, they often have attractive one-way fares into LAX. They also service several large cities in China.

3)

[LBeachey 44]

It is possible to wait in Guangzhou for the visa but, as mentioned above, there is no definite time frame between visa approval and when they'll have to documents ready. In my case, it took four days (Friday to Tuesday). Others have waited longer. Usually the best choice is to have your wife return home after the interview. If she is staying at the Yang's hotel, Mr. Yang will send her documents via EMS as soon as they are ready (RMB300). There are also other arrangements to get the documents sent to her home.

This just changed. See this link to the Guangzhou Consulate. You should be able to send the visa directly to your wife's home unless she lives it a very rural area.

Edited August 4, 2011 by LBeachey

[Casprd 167]

Nice that they are sending all visas out now instead of just to the 9 cites listed before. Really it is up to you and depends on your wifes schedule. In our case the visa was ready the next day, but we had elected to have it mailed to an address in guangzhou so we couldn't pick it up. The pink slip says if you choose this option they will hold the visa to give you a chance to pick it up at the post office, but when we arrived, they told us it had gone out about 2 hours after they received it. A lot will depend on how busy they are and what time of week you have your interview. it seems like they do all the interviews then process visas at the end of the week but that may not always be the case.

One thing to note. Make sure your wife keeps the original receipt of the EMS package. This was required for the visa to be delivered in our case. They wouldn't accept a copy even with the proper ID from my wife.

[diamondeve21 0]

Does anyone know how long would we receive a visa after mailing in some missing documents? More specifically, how long does it take for them to review the documents and granting a visa?

[bobbyA 20]

Does anyone know how long would we receive a visa after mailing in some missing documents? More specifically, how long does it take for them to review the documents and granting a visa?

From what I read and people I talked to, everyone's experience is different when it comes to visa issue date.

It seems the consulate does background checks just before issuing the visa. One person I know had to wait for "facial recognition verification" from Washington D.C. It delayed their visa a couple of days. So there is no telling, unfortunately. Some people get it the next day, some a few days, some much longer.

My fiancee said there was a sign at the counter where she filled out her EMS label for receiving her visa. It was a Tuesday she got approved, and the sign said something like "the earliest anyone who passed their interview today will receive their visa on Friday."

[diamondeve21 0]

From what I read and people I talked to, everyone's experience is different when it comes to visa issue date.

It seems the consulate does background checks just before issuing the visa. One person I know had to wait for "facial recognition verification" from Washington D.C. It delayed their visa a couple of days. So there is no telling, unfortunately. Some people get it the next day, some a few days, some much longer.

My fiancee said there was a sign at the counter where she filled out her EMS label for receiving her visa. It was a Tuesday she got approved, and the sign said something like "the earliest anyone who passed their interview today will receive their visa on Friday."

Yea but because we are mailing our documents in, I was wondering how long would it take Guangzhou to actually review all them documents...

[bobbyA 20]

Yea but because we are mailing our documents in, I was wondering how long would it take Guangzhou to actually review all them documents...

Anna,

It's anybody's guess.

If the US Citizen were in Guangzhou, he or she could politely ask the officer at the American Citizen Services (ACS) for status update.

When I was at the ACS, I spoke to two k-1 petitioners who were there due to issues with their fiancee's visa. All 3 of us were able to get our questions answered or issues resolved. We may get an answer we don't like, but at least we got our answers

To this day, I have not received a reply to the email I sent the consulate asking whether or not my fiancee could go ahead with her interview without medical report. I went to the ACS and got my answer.

The other petitioner found out that his fiancee had to wait for Washington D.C. to clear her "facial recognition" background check but was told to come back in a few days for her visa.

The 3rd petitioner found out that his fiancee's birth date did not match her other documents and were told to go back in person with all other ID's and documents.

So every case is different and it depends on what they are looking for and their workload.

The US Citizen being in Guangzhou is definitely the best way to find out anything about a case or at least get a push. Not being there, one can only wait and hope for a quick turnaround.

[diamondeve21 0]

Anna,

It's anybody's guess.

If the US Citizen were in Guangzhou, he or she could politely ask the officer at the American Citizen Services (ACS) for status update.

When I was at the ACS, I spoke to two k-1 petitioners who were there due to issues with their fiancee's visa. All 3 of us were able to get our questions answered or issues resolved. We may get an answer we don't like, but at least we got our answers

To this day, I have not received a reply to the email I sent the consulate asking whether or not my fiancee could go ahead with her interview without medical report. I went to the ACS and got my answer.

The other petitioner found out that his fiancee had to wait for Washington D.C. to clear her "facial recognition" background check but was told to come back in a few days for her visa.

The 3rd petitioner found out that his fiancee's birth date did not match her other documents and were told to go back in person with all other ID's and documents.

So every case is different and it depends on what they are looking for and their workload.

The US Citizen being in Guangzhou is definitely the best way to find out anything about a case or at least get a push. Not being there, one can only wait and hope for a quick turnaround.

I definitely agree with you that it DOES make a difference to appear in person. However, I am currently in school and I don't have a break. This is my last year and I am on rotations. I been sending multiple emails go Guangzhou and if I do not get a response, I resend it until I get a answer. E-mailing does slow the process down and their answers are quite clear cut... But this is all I can do right now. We are giving them everything they wanted so hopefully they can issue our visa soon.

[bobbyA 20]

I definitely agree with you that it DOES make a difference to appear in person. However, I am currently in school and I don't have a break. This is my last year and I am on rotations. I been sending multiple emails go Guangzhou and if I do not get a response, I resend it until I get a answer. E-mailing does slow the process down and their answers are quite clear cut... But this is all I can do right now. We are giving them everything they wanted so hopefully they can issue our visa soon.

Anna,

My fiancee's Guangzhou experience wasn't a smooth one either, so I understand your frustration. You're doing what you can, and that's all anyone can ask for

My point is, even after they approve our petition, they still may put us through background checks, etc.

I sincerely hope that you'll hear good news very soon

[ifearyeti 0]

We were approved on July 20 and we picked the visa up at china post on July 26. We had been checking at the counter everyday and it wasn't ready on July 25. I bought one way tickets from Korean Air on July 26 to depart on July 29 to Las Vegas for $1284 a piece. Those were the cheapest available, but they turned out to be pretty good. We had an 8 hour layover in Seoul and are POE was Las Vegas. Seoul is the best looking airport that I've ever seen and our plane was the only one passing through immigration and customs so everything was easy.