P&T23

Hi Fellow K1s,
 
The number one thing we can do right now to ensure that we get reunited with our loved ones, is to contact your US elected officials. Let them know that you are a constituent of their district or state, that you are in the K1 process, and that you are concerned that K1s are not being addressed adequately during the pandemic. Include a few sentences of your personal story so they remember you. Urge them to speak to their contacts at the State Department and ask the State Department to:
 
1) Clarify the position of K1s in regards to the EOs on immigration (we believe they should not be affected as they are non-immigrant visas which are not specifically denied) 
 
2) Deem K1 visas mission critical visas during the pandemic and provide travel exemptions as such
 
3) Make a public statement regarding their intended plans for K1 processing so that we all can be informed 
 
I contacted my representative last week and was surprised with how quickly they responded and how seriously they took my concerns. The more noise we make the better! The squeaky wheel always gets the grease!
 
Contact your representatives and post below with confirmation so we can shower you with applause and likes! I’m going to contact my senators (North Carolina) tonight.
 
Find your House Representative here:
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
 
Find your Senator here:
https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
 

Yep, we're in the same boat.  We've been getting that same response from the consulate for months, and I have to leave next month, so he's staying in China until the consulate opens back up and finishes his green card so he can join me in our home in the U.S.  I hope it doesn't take too long.  I get knots in my stomach every day, over this....  I couldn't have imagined, back in February, that this would take so long.  It's awful.

I MADE IT!!! POE was a breeze!!! Absolutely no problems traveling from Mexico into the US with a K1 visa!! Wow I’m so relieved right now it’s insane. What an adventure! I really hope all of you can make it into the US too!! I would definitely recommend traveling to Mexico! My POE was Charlotte btw, nearly empty. It was super fast  

Thanks! we are in the same boat. My fiancé is also waiting. 

I feel the same way, long-distance relationship is already challenging and on top of that, we have to deal with this ban.
I still believe love is stronger, we will find a way to go through these tough times! 

Justin and Sara,
 
My Brazilian fiance' and I are in the same position (and probably many others), so with her entry to the U.S. in just 10 days from now, would you mind please re-posting after Sara has entered and let us all know how her entry process went?  I assume she'll be entering in Atlanta.  My fiance' is scheduled to arrive in early June through Chicago.
 
And please keep your eyes open regarding President Trump's musings about banning flights from Brazil.  Don't get caught with no way to get Sara here -- make sure she's ready to move on a moment's notice.  If a ban is announced, there will probably be a few days before it goes into effect (similar to the EU ban), so if that happens, do everything possible to get her on a flight immediately.
 
Good luck,
--Mark

As much as it's in inconvenience, I'd rather be in your shoes right now, this is just delaying till further notice, I got k1 approved, was supposed to fly to the states beginning May, my visa expires 21 May, 😭. Have contacted the US embassy here in Amsterdam, but as of yet ive heard nothing. Still hopeful but stressed to the max, being only weeks away, it's awful, but remind myself there's so many people out there in the same boat. 

This week all Chinese airlines will slowly restart international flight. Each airline will resume their routes but only to one country each week instead of 4 or 6 times a week per country. So flights out of the country will resume and for those who have travel authorization into China, they’ll be able to get flights. Diplomats and consular staff have been allegedly told to return after May 15th, whether they do or not, we’ll see.

It won’t. K1’s are classified as immigrant visas. Non immigrant visas being cancelled makes sense, immigrant visas, especially those ties to being a dependent of a US spouse are exempt under the presidential proclamation. While technically K1’s are not dependents yet, the presumption is that they will be. So I think we are safe in that regard. 

I lowkey feel like moving back to China. At this point it’s safer than the states anyway, and I can’t keep being apart from my fiancé, this is maddening and I feel like everyday I’m one step closer to losing my mind. 

Same here. WFH in the US, might as well WFH in China at this point.

Update for people who have their fiancé or fiancée with their K-1 Visa in hand and still in China because of the US travel restriction, I emailed Guangzhou consulate to ask and see what they would do. They said, "Once the proclamation is lifted, if your visa is expired, please contact them through webform and explain your situation. Hopefully they eventually extend the visa due to this SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) worldwide health crisis. 
https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/visas/immigrant-visas/contact-us/immigrant-visa-unit-question/

 

Ok, maybe have some good news. I check the USTravelDocs China site every day for any updates. I noticed tonight that the message saying “visa services has been suspended in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenyang, shanghai etc until further notice due to limited staff due to the coronavirus” has been removed. It says nothing now about visa services being suspended, so I think this may mean staff are returning to the embassies and case processing will resume. I’ll verify this in the morning when DOS opens up, but things may be on the up and up for us you guys!! Cross your fingers!!!

No problem, hope it helps. I flew AirAsia from Guangzhou to Kuala Lumpur, and I don't reccomend it. It's cheap, but terrible plane, and the bag cost was ridiculous. We didn't pre-buy our baggage online, and they charged us about $500 for 3 bags of normal size and weight at the airport. Crazy.

So, my fiance and I just got into JFK today after spending 16 days in Malaysia. I asked many questions, and hopefully I can clear some things up for everyone.
 
1. The rule for America is *more than* 14 days out of China, meaning you need to be out of China for *at least* 15 days.
 
2. K1 Visa absolutely is not exempt from the 2 weeks ban. A fiance is not an immediate relative, and they will not let them in the border.
 
3. Many airlines are uncertain on the rules set by America, or just don't want to deal with the hassle and will turn your fiance away, not allowing them on the flight, and they will blame the U.S. Thus, the more airlines your ticket is through, the higher the risk is. For minimal risk, book your ticket through a single airline going all the way from your origin to destination so you only have to check in once.
 
4. If you are travelling in a group,  or especially with your American fiance there is a MUCH higher chance of being allowed in. JFK's CBP Warden sepcifically told me that if they have been out for at least 15 days, and are travelling with an American citizen, they will absolutely not be turned away at JFK unless there is some special circumstance.
 
----------------------
 
I left China, stayed in Malaysia for 16 days, then booked a flight from Kuala Lumpur to JFK, transferring through Dubai via Emirates. Emirates was hesitant to let my fiance check in at Kuala Lumpur, but allowed it after consulting the computer.
 
Once I got to Dubai, we had to go through a special security screening before being allowed to board the flight bound for America. They were much more serious with their questioning of my fiance there, and I am fairly certain that if I wasn't there to firmly and confidently talk with them on her behalf, Emirates would have denied her entry, leaving her stranded in Dubai. I have many other contacts on WeChat reporting similar experiences at virtually every airport around the world before the last flight to America.
 
Once at JFK, we were separated into different lines since I am a citizen. However, I made a point of saying that I am with my fiance, and explaining our situation to the immigration agent. She took me aside to a special room to have the warden ask me question as I had been in China so recently myself. There my fiance was already waiting, as she had been taken there for the same reason. The warden then asked me and my fiance a series of questions about our journey. He was very professional, but I feel he would have been less understanding and willing to help had I not been there again. Once more, I have WeChat contacts who have reported similar situations by themselves, and being denied entry.
 
Hopefully you all can learn from my experience, and be a little more prepared for what to expect.

This is what I got from my contact in Guangzhou. My contact does the immigrant visa interviews at the consulate in Guangzhou. Long story short, it seems like watching the travel warnings and levels on the state department website may be the best indicator we have that things are returning to normal. So I would assume when it goes from level 4: do not travel; to a level 3 or 2, we’ll see some movement. And also I was wrong about the backlog, apparently there will be a backlog, but for the immigrant visas that have limits (ie: non-familial immigrant visas). My contact’s response is below:
 
“Due to the outbreak the Embassy and all Consulates in China are in a state of partial draw down. The Department has stated publicly that all children of American personnel have been sent back to the U.S. This also, by extension, means that spouses have also been sent back. It’s also possible that some non-essential staff have been sent back or at least have the option of returning. 
 
In situations like these normal Embassy functions are halted and this includes visa services and non-emergency American Citizen Services. The staff are instead focused on crisis management, which must necessarily focus on providing assistance to American citizens in China. You can also say that due to the contagious nature of the disease, the government wants to limit who is entering Embassy or Consulate facilities. 
 
There is no hard and fast rule for how long the closures will take place. During a crisis there are task forces set up in Washington which monitor events 24/7 and coordinate across the federal government and with foreign governments as leadership tries to grapple with events. I wouldn't expect normal functions to resume in GUZ until the coronavirus situation is deemed to be sufficiently ‘under control’ that the Department is comfortable ‘sending personnel back to China’. I don't think anyone knows how long that will take. 
 
Once normal functions resume in GUZ, we will need to process the case backlog and I expect a fair amount of retrogression for numerically limited immigrant visa categories. You certainly should periodically check in with GUZ and the NVC, but don't expect them to tell you much. My advice is to watch the news and keep an eye on the travel warnings for China on travel.state.gov. That will help you know when the Department is reassessing the situation and they tend to post updates quickly. In the short term, however, you're going to have to endure the black hole of delay. Good luck and stay strong my friend”

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
 
 
Remember:  The Chinese are not the enemy, the virus is the enemy.
 
Let’s hope this does not turn into a pandemic.

I know. It’s horrible. I’m sorry this has happened to you, and all of us. The timing is just horrible. Why did it have to be us? But it’s ok, all things are temporary and this too shall pass. We’re all here for you to support you and we’ll get through it together. I’m monitoring the situation closely and following all updates from the state department, NVC,  the embassies in China, and Guangzhou IV unit and I’ll let you guys know anything new I find out. 
 
yes everything is suspended now except US citizen services. The last batch of visas printed and sent out were ones who had completed the interviews right before the embassy closed at the end of January. They all should be picking up their passports this week from Citic bank locations. 
 
other than that, everything is on hold. The daily rate of infection from the virus has been decreasing everyday, the recovered numbers have been increasing, so things are on the up and up. Let’s give it a few more weeks to see what happens. Nothing can keep us apart from our loves, nothing, we just need patience and faith. 

Hi everyone. I thought I would create a thread fo all of us who have petitions pending in China during this outbreak to share information. The embassy was closed last week due to the Chinese extension of spring festival holiday, and now the embassies have suspending visa services due to the US government’s limited staffing at the embassies and due to the president’s proclamation banning entry of foreigners who have been in China in the past 14 days. 
 
For myself, my fiancé visa petition was scheduled to be shipped to Guangzhou embassy last week and it didn’t ship, the next scheduled shipment is supposed to be next week on the 18th. At this point I don’t even think that’s going to happen. NVC says that they will of course extended the validity period of petitions they couldn’t be processed by the Embassies in China due to the outbreak, but that doesn’t worry me as much as trying to figure out when my loved one is gonna be able to get here. Anyone else out there in similar circumstances? 

I wouldn't count on the travel ban or the virus being controlled by March. These things are more of a half-year to yearlong timeline. I'm planning to see if I can extend my fiancee's K-1 visa past her 6 months.

Hello I need help advice from people who filed K1 Visa for Guangzhou China US Consulate. While I am waiting in North Carolina, USA. I am at the point where NVC status is at ready.  My fiancee in Shenzhen, China told me to wait for package 3 to arrive at her mailbox according to her suggestion peer WeChat group.
Should we wait till that (Package 3) instructions for my fiancee arrives and do the DS-160 and submit it? or should we go ahead and submit DS-160 first before the mail arrives in her mailbox? Also I see that you can create an account as well at https://www.ustraveldocs.com/cn/index.html?firstTime=No, should we go ahead and do that too?  
I know this is all on my fiancee's (China) side for her to do, but I'm curious how this would work for her. I just want this to be smooth and flawless. 
 
I'm a bit confused here because there is no instructions on what is the next step after I called in to get the case number. Other than I got the straight up NVC status message out of the blue saying "READY" ready for interview. You can see my screen shot attached to this post.
 
Thank you in advanced and be kind.

 

Visit the fiancee visa page for the consulate in China .  Much good information is available 

Suggest that your check-in at the China Regional Forum for any consulate-specific information/directions/requirements.
 
https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/94-china/

We are at the interview stage in Guangzhou as well.  READY means just arrived from NVC.  When it switches to administrative processing, P3 is on the way.  The dates are updated daily.  Once you get the P3, return the requested items.  You can start your DS160 and pay first (include the receipt in the package you return in P3), but wait til P4 to schedule.  Yes you can start your ustraveldocs.com account now as well (this is where you pay - we used alipay.. easy and fast confirmation)
 
Then you will be like us.. waiting to go to the interview ... ours is in 3 weeks time 8-)

I was sharing my files experience.    After READY at embassy, it was AP for a day, and updated the next day and we got the P3 in 2 days.    After we returned the P3, it was still AP and updated in 2 days (when P3 arrived at US Embassy).  1 day later updated again in AP status, and we received the P4 email.  It is still AP status up to today.     It has been 1 week already, but we had already obtained interview date and are all set to go.    Still AP as we speak.
 
The link you provided is AFTER interview AP.