GUZ IV Unit Closed?

[g&x 2]

Anyone know details behind this message on the GUZ Immigration visa website?

The Immigrant Visa Unit is closed for all visa operations through May15. Please check this webpage for updates to the status of operations. Persons with interviews scheduled for May 14 or May 15 will be contacted with instructions on how to reschedule their appointments.

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

[Darnell 8,478]

Wow. I have no clue - I have a murky opinion though -

Pick 1:

1. CGI Stanley workers need retraining...

2. The bonded China Customs Warehouse released 30,000 casefiles over the weekend

3. Office of Inspector General is in, doing an all-hands audit

4. The plumbing broke and workers are frantically fixing it.

[unlockingsky 94]

thank god! b2 visa appt for parentsinlaw on 16! safe!

i pick #5 - pretend there is a emergency while taking a few days off just because they can!

[g&x 2]

My fiancee's visa was issued on May 10th and we are anxiously waiting for the passport to be returned. It seems as though the passport has not left the consulate yet... the wait continues.

If nothing else, the K-1 visa process has made me realize that when working with a government agency get used to many unexplained delays and having things out of your control.

Time line post AP

April 17th - Received email from consulate to submitt passport using the CGI Stanely group and to register on their website. Given instructions do not match the website's interface (K-1 not an option in the area that we need). I think it is a glich for the people whom interviewed and were placed on AP before March 16th.

April 21st - After multiple discussions with CGI stanely and consulate by email, we finaly figured out what needed to be done. The passport and all documents they told us were needed were delivered to the local CITIC Bank.

April 22nd - Call from regional CITIC Bank saying one document was missing. Call to CGI Stanely and we were told that it is hard to find the document and it is not clearly stated that it needs to be included.

April 23rd - Completed form forwarded to Regional CITIC Bank.

April 24th - Form added to file and entire document sent to Guangzhou.

April 30th - Documents arrived at consulate

May 8th - Status updated date changed

May 9th - Creation date changed to this date and now states Non-Immigrant Visa. Status 'Ready' and later changes back to AP.

May 10th - Issued

Currently passport still has not been delivered to CGI Stanley.

[Darnell 8,478]

fwiw, DoS Hotline knows some status about the visa,

when you call in, and hear 'visa packet sent' as status,

then EMS is coming by GUZ IV tomorrow to pick it up ..

[Pitaya 2,577]

This unforeseen business interruption is but another good example supporting the general recommendation, not to make ANY plans until you have your visa, in your passport, in your hand.

[pnp 0]

well apparently the reason for that notice is becuz suspicious white powder was delivered in envelope to gz consulate on may 13th.

they need to investigate on the powder and hopefully they could reopen within a week.

[Darnell 8,478]

aiyo ! really ! gaaaaaaaar...

[XiaoyunJohnson 3]

From Fox News:

U.S. officials say an envelope containing an unidentified substance was sent to the U.S. Consulate General in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, disrupting operations at the diplomatic building.

Deputy spokesman Justin Higgins at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing says the envelope was opened Monday in an office where visa interviews are conducted. Higgins says interviews scheduled for Tuesday have been cancelled while an investigation is carried out.

He says no one was injured and that precautionary measures have been taken for employees present when the substance was discovered. He would not describe the substance, which he says has yet to be identified.

The website of Guangzhou's Yangcheng Evening News reported that the substance was a powder and that it had sprinkled onto an employee's clothes.

[Darnell 8,478]

aiyo ! I was fearful that this , was exactly the thing. GRRRR. Mr/Mrs Johnson - thanks for the report !

[Darnell 8,478]

---

some info from the HuffPost:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/us-consulate-china-mysterious-substance_n_3270895.html

[g&x 2]

Article from South China Morning Post

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1237576/updated-suspicious-powder-found-us-consulate-guangzhou

[Darnell 8,478]

g&x - what news from DoS Hotline , current status and timetick ?

[bigdog 376]

I was hoping for a plumbing leak, not this stuff.

[g&x 2]

So the consulate is closed for the rest of the week... When I talked to the DoS, they say it was issued Friday and that is all they can tell me. The CGI Stanely group does not have the passport in their system so that means My fiancee's visa is issued and setting at the consulate just waiting to be sent.