Introduction, and advice needed..

[jasmith 0]

Hi all,

I and my fiancee Xiaodong are in the process of (hopefully) getting a K1 visa.

She is the finest person I know. We both are in our 50s and avid learners and love to share our exploration of the world of ideas and human history. I work as a software architect, and she as a language teacher. We have been a couple for two years. We really enjoy each other’s company and get along very very well. My parents love her.

I visited her and her family in China four times, she has visited me and my family (with a tourist visa) in the U.S. twice, and my mother visited her family in China. Her first trip to New York was during hurricane Sandy, and we has to survive a week without power, water, or transportation in my tiny apartment in lower Manhattan. The second time she stayed with me for five months, and every Friday, after my work, we walked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and explored the galleries in roughly chronological order beginning with Egypt and the Near East.

Our I-129F petition was filed in February and approved late July. Our case was approved by the NVC and forwarded on to the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou on 12 August. Our I-129F approval expires on24 Nov 2013, and also some of the documents she has obtained (in particular the police report with translation) are time-limited.

The Guangzhou consulate asked Xiaodong to file an additional application for a visa, which she did, and then sent instructions by email for paying her fee, registering for an interview date, and completing the required medical exam. Xiaodong payed the fee, but apparently, according to the Department of State sponsored web site, there are no interview dates available for the foreseeable future. She has been checking the web site every day, but nothing has appeared.

The consulate does not accept calls, but it does have a web form for asking questions. I sent a message asking why there are no interview dates more than a week ago, but I have not yet received a reply. My first guess is that the consulate has stopped holding interviews in anticipation of a government shut-down. If a shut-down occurs, clearly they will also not be able to extend the expiration deadline.

Some of the posts I have read online raise another very troubling possibility. There might be a business “working the web site” and re-selling appointments. I really hope this is not the case.

The worst part of this is that before this, in the process, we knew where we stood. Now we both have no idea, and the separation is hurting both of us. We very much want to be married but we have to wait for the K1 process to finish. Also Xiaodong has put many of her own projects on hold waiting for us to be together. I am not at all sure what we can do at this point. Suggestions would be very appreciated.

In any case I will do all I can (legally) to live with Xiaodong, no matter how long it takes. She is my heart.

Thanks!

Jonathan

[Darnell 8,478]

hey - I wrote a longish reply to you, but I can't find it now. I just assume you double posted, and a mod hid your double post and my reply.

[Ontarkie 14,221]

~~Reposting a response from the other removed thread. ~~

1. can set appointment via telephone with ustraveldocs call center.

2. usually a new group of 'qq ladies' forms, on qq, and they chase down appointments . suggest to your wife to join in a new group of 'qq ladies' and chase this down.

3. ultimately, if she's paid the visa application fee AND her casefile is actually OPEN at GUZ IV, then she's eligible to self-schedule. The pain and suffering you are going through right now, all hinges around the very poor website (ustraveldocs.com) and how appointment dates are released from GUZ IV into that ustraveldocs website.

4. the duration of validity, printed in the I-129F approval notice, will be automatically extended by GUZ IV - no need to 'talk' with the IV Unit about it, as long as progress is made with the IV Unit. Proof of payment is one example of progress, fwiw.

I suggest you read a bit , in the China sub-forum, and get some idea for how to handle stuff on appointment getting.

Ages past (or rather, earlier in the year) - a K-1 visa chaser could not get scheduled without the casefile being actually opened at the IV Unit. The casefile is shipped from NVC to GUZ IV, but (per treaty) all consular documents are held in a China Customs warehouse prior, anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months. There's nothing you can do to expedite the release, it's just what it is. IMO, that's still the case, even with ustraveldocs being involved. So, ultimately, when the casefile is released from the China Customs Warehouse, then sent on to GUZ IV, GUZ IV still has to log it, then open it, then review it.

When the casefile is opened at GUZ IV, is 'safe' to self-schedule, IMO.

hey - I wrote a longish reply to you, but I can't find it now. I just assume you double posted, and a mod hid your double post and my reply.

Hi Darnell I reposted your response, the other thread was removed for personal info.

Edited September 29, 2013 by Ontarkie

[jasmith 0]

Sorry Darnell, Your very helpful post ended up getting hidden in the shuffle.

1. Should we just call the phone numbers on the site and ask for an interview date? We emailed the ustraveldocs site and they just replied to us that the consulate sets up the interview dates, that they had no control over when those were released. (And you are very right, the web site is pretty bad.)

2. How can we know when her file is open .. made it out of the customs warehouse?

3. How do we self-schedule?

I very very much appreciate your help.

Jonathan

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

~ Moved from Introducing Our Members to China regional forum- topic is not so much an intro as needing advice specific to China and that forum is the place to get the best answers ~

[Darnell 8,478]

2. DoS Hotline knows all. call DoS Hotline once a week, until you hear 'casefile opened' as casefile status.

3. study a bit in the China forum - you've a screen shot showing the 'right place' to self-schedule - so that's a plus, you know WHERE in that PoS website to self-schedule.

[Darnell 8,478]

Hi Darnell I reposted your response, the other thread was removed for personal info.

Thanks for doing this. You rock, and stuff. Tell yer friends I said so.

[jasmith 0]

How can we find the QQ group Darnell mentioned "qq ladies"? We are both a bit mystified on how to search for it.

Thanks!!

Jonathan

[Darnell 8,478]

eh - send some pm's around to the k-1 visa chasers that post in the China forum. They'll give you a number or two for the prior groups - maybe even a current group.

[Pitaya 2,577]

Check some recent threads in the China regional forum for QQ group numbers. There have been some numbers posted recently. Try using the site's Google custom search function.

Don't waste your time trying to call the Guangzhou consulate, their preferred method of communication is by email. They can be slow to respond, but they do respond.

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/contactiv.html

Follow Darnell's advice, he is the man! To contact DOS: (202) 663-1225, press 1, then 0. Like he said keep calling them until they say that your "case file is opened."

[Darnell 8,478]

oh - DoS Has a new # - I need to update my profile page

[Pitaya 2,577]

OH...right......is (202) 485-7600 the new number?

http://travel.state.gov/visa/about/how/how_1463.html

[DJ&L 83]

OH...right......is (202) 485-7600 the new number?

http://travel.state.gov/visa/about/how/how_1463.html

Can they actually help with scheduling?

I've only heard of folks self scheduling on CGI Stanley's website. I see Darnell mentioned calling the call center for an appointment...is that possible?

[Darnell 8,478]

yup- it's possible - the CGI /Stanley / ustraveldocs telephone numbers are here;

http://cdn.ustraveldocs.com/cn/cn-main-contactus.asp

http://cdn.ustraveldocs.com/cn/cn-main-contactus.asp

http://cdn.ustraveldocs.com/cn/cn-main-contactus.asp