US embassy at Guanzhou

[jeannie689 0]

Do you really have to get to Guanzhou 5 days before the interview date? What for?

[Pitaya 2,577]

BTW: There is only one US embassy in China, it is located in Beijing. There are five US consulates in China, they are located in Chengdu, Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenyang and Guangzhou.

~Moved from K1 Process to China Regional Forum~

~Inquiry is consulate-specific~

Edited July 30, 2016 by Pitaya

[jeannie689 0]

I meant US Consulate - it is for K-1 visa

[jeannie689 0]

This is why I posted this in the K-1 forum. Did you move it to China?

[Pitaya 2,577]

This is why I posted this in the K-1 forum. Did you move it to China?

Welcome to the forum.

At the interview phase of the K1 visa process instructions/requirements can often be consulate-specific. Guangzhou consulate-specific K-1 visa inquiries are usually discussed in the China Regional Forum. Hence, you are more likely to get a focused response in the regional forum, that was my rationale for moving your thread to the China Regional Forum.

I would advise you to refrain from multiple posting of the same/similar topic. It is considered poor forum etiquette, could be considered spamming, and will be removed.

Pitaya

VJ Moderation

[Fastruck 5]

In answer to your original question about arriving in Guangzhou early:

I believe K-1 visa applicants arrive a few days early because of the requirement to get a medical examination by the certified clinic located in Guangzhou. My Fiance and I have decided to try and schedule the medical exam 5 days before the interview to allow the doctor enough time to process the results and send them to the Consulate. This is probably a generous amount of time, but since she has to travel hundreds of miles to get to the Consulate we are trying to get this all in one trip.

-Steve and Guiying

[Chris and ZhiJia 146]

The short answer is no, you do not need to arrive 5 days early.

The long answer is as follows. You can have your medical exam performed at any of the approved places provided with Packet 4. It is advised to have your medical exam as close to your interview as possible because the validity date on your K-1 visa is based on the expiration date of your medical exam (approximately 6 months).

If you have your medical exam 1,2,3, or more months in advance, then have your interview, and you get stuck in administrative processing for a lengthy amount of time, it is very possible to see a K-1 visa issued with only a couple weeks of validity before it is expired. It is also possible to get stuck in AP for such a time that the medical exam expires, and you are requested to have another one performed.