GUZ Paper Filers with fast case complete to interview stories

[Cheng and Dustin 0]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone can share a positive story about the time it takes for an NVC case complete to reach Guangzhou and result in an interview date? It seems that all I am seeing is doom and gloom, and I was just hoping us "paper filers" could hear about some more hopeful experiences time wise.

Thanks so much,

DL Aaronson

[Ryan H 3,790]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to China regional forum; OP is asking for specific information about a specific Consulate.

[Cheng and Dustin 0]

Don't everyone jump in here at the same time

[Daveykins 17]

Please see my timeline. I have all the dates listed in it and it'll give you a good idea of time it takes. It was almost 2 years ago, but likely still valid as it was in the new Consulate.

[Cheng and Dustin 0]

Wow!

Thank you so much for your response Daveykins!

[vitaminhan 1]

Yes I am a paper filer too. I was going to do EP but before I received my GUZ number I called NVC and was told the EP was really slow at that time, and she recommended me to go the paper path.

Well I have to say NVC did wrap up my case quickly. From the day NVC received my AOS/IV packages to case complete only took 25 calendar days.

I saw my AOS fee status became N/A on 4/20/15 so I called NVC and was confirmed the case was complete. Since the case was paper filed so it must be sent to Guangzhou embassy before an interview date could be assigned.

There is no update since then. It has been 4 weeks since 4/20 and my case has not been sent yet. I call NVC everyday and the answer is always the same: it will be sent but we do not know when.

I have heard paper case would have to wait in a custom warehouse for a few months before it could be shipped to the embassy? It really freaks me out. Though I see DHL website shows mostly 1 week of delivery time instead of few months.

My case status on CEAC is always AT NVC. It never changed to anything else.

I wonder if anyone has the experience about when my case will be shipped out? Also is that true we the paper filers must wait a few months for custom clearance in China?

Thanks

[Cheng and Dustin 0]

Hi Vitaminhan,

That is strange because my status says "Ready". I e-mailed the consulate, and they told me they had received the electronic "safefile" and are waiting for the paper file to "be delivered". I am certainly not an expert, but maybe you could ask the consulate to check and see if they have received your safefile. Once they do that, your CEAC status might change to Ready. I have been watching timelines, and it looks like the case complete to P3 letter is running 6 weeks for paper filers.. sometimes even 4 weeks, and 8 weeks on the outside. After all the hoops we've already jumped through, this last "surprise" has been brutal.

Good luck to you, and let me know if you have some luck soon,

DL Aaronson

[vitaminhan 1]

Hi Vitaminhan,

That is strange because my status says "Ready". I e-mailed the consulate, and they told me they had received the electronic "safefile" and are waiting for the paper file to "be delivered". I am certainly not an expert, but maybe you could ask the consulate to check and see if they have received your safefile. Once they do that, your CEAC status might change to Ready. I have been watching timelines, and it looks like the case complete to P3 letter is running 6 weeks for paper filers.. sometimes even 4 weeks, and 8 weeks on the outside. After all the hoops we've already jumped through, this last "surprise" has been brutal.

Good luck to you, and let me know if you have some luck soon,

DL Aaronson

if 6 weeks or 8 weeks after the case complete to an interview letter, then I am fine with it, but now it has been 4 weeks and according to NVC call representative, my case has not been sent! Sometimes I doubt if my case has been sent but the NVC status just not got updated...

[Darnell 8,478]

errata:

SAFEFILE casefiles arrive at GUZ IV electronically within 48 hours of case complete at NVC.ALL Casefiles at NVC, regardless of Consular Post Designation or Visa Type, are scanned into SAFEFILE.

K-1 visa chasers are not a good metric, as GUZ IV sometimes relies solely on the SAFEFILE version of the casefile for a K-1 visa application, and when that happens, the 3 to 6 month wait diminishes to 2 weeks.

CR-1/2 ; /IR-1/2/5 paper casefiles must wait it out in the China Customs Warehouse in Guangzhou, per treaty with the USA as 'consular documents', for 3 to 6 months. Once GUZ IV receives the paper casefile, they 'open it', and somehow get word out to the beneficiary.

[jfrankli512 3]

You can look at my recent posts to get an idea of the paper process...

My case happened earlier this year and went from 1/6 case complete to 3/7 P4 receipt, so expect about 2 months of waiting...

The most frustrating part is that there's no indication of how much longer you have to wait.

My DHL status tracker showed it clearing chinese customs on 1/23, but that didn't correlate at all with the actual results.

I e-mailed the Guangzhou embassy every week for an update, but they had the same response every week and wouldn't provide an ETA.

The best think you can do is monitor the CEAC Status website for the "case updated" date. Whenever that actually changes, that's when the consulate actually has your file and has started working on it, so you can expect the P4 e-mail within a couple days. Note that if you e-mail the embassy, that "case updated" date gets updated when they respond to you, so it's almost better to just sit and start at the status screen instead of trying to push them to find out where things are at.

[Cheng and Dustin 0]

jfrankli512,

Thanks so much for your help! I guess we should be close then

I'll be in Shanghai on Tuesday which puts us at just over 7 weeks since case complete.

Hopefully I'll have about 6 weeks or so before we can put a bow on it.

Thanks so much,

Dustin

[Cheng and Dustin 0]

Received our P4 e-mail exactly 8 weeks after NVC approval.. and easily scheduled our interview for 2 weeks after that. Pretty much all of the timelines of "Paper Filers" this year show the same schedule, sooo there we have it.

[Darnell 8,478]

yay !

[TinaSun 0]

Hi Frank,

Where do you see on the CEAC website that says "case updated" date? Thanks!

You can look at my recent posts to get an idea of the paper process...

My case happened earlier this year and went from 1/6 case complete to 3/7 P4 receipt, so expect about 2 months of waiting...

The most frustrating part is that there's no indication of how much longer you have to wait.

My DHL status tracker showed it clearing chinese customs on 1/23, but that didn't correlate at all with the actual results.

I e-mailed the Guangzhou embassy every week for an update, but they had the same response every week and wouldn't provide an ETA.

The best think you can do is monitor the CEAC Status website for the "case updated" date. Whenever that actually changes, that's when the consulate actually has your file and has started working on it, so you can expect the P4 e-mail within a couple days. Note that if you e-mail the embassy, that "case updated" date gets updated when they respond to you, so it's almost better to just sit and start at the status screen instead of trying to push them to find out where things are at.