Report from Guangzhou

I returned this past Monday from a 10 day trip to Guangzhou, China. I had only limited success in trying to determine why the U.S. Consulate has been so hostile to K-1 and K-3 visas in recent months. The Consulate has been steadfastly silent about why such a trend is occurring or why they are coming to the conclusions they are reaching on individual petitions.

As many of you who follow developments relating to Chinese fiancées and wives, the incidence of 221(g) refusals has risen sharply in recent months at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China.

221(g) refusals come in two variants. One - the "blue sheet" 221(g)- is a request for additional evidence from the beneficiary and often from the petitioner as well. These cases typically take the Consulate one to two months to adjudicate (although we have heard of them taking far longer). At the end of the review, the case is either approved, sent back to the USCIS for revocation, or there is a request from the Consulate for yet more information.

The second type of 221(g) refusal is the "white sheet" notification, which indicates that the the case is being sent back to the USCIS with a recommendation for revocation. Such cases are currently taking approximately two years to come to adjudication. The USCIS Service Centers have admitted that such cases are "low priority" items in their queue. While awaiting adjudication, the USCIS will provide no information (except, perhaps, where the case is located) and hear no appeals until an adjudicator makes a decision. At such time, the case is either sent back to the forwarding Consulate with a recommendation for approval (which the Consulate is NOT obligated to follow), or a denial notice is issued to the petitioner with an explanation of the grounds for the decision. The petitioner has 30 days to appeal.

Many people have reported a refusal rate of 80% or more for K-1 and K-3 visas in the Guangzhou Consulate lately. Making the matter worse is the unresponsiveness of the consular staff in Guangzhou. Most people are shocked by the indifference and arrogance one can encounter at U.S. Consulate and Embassies abroad. Some are better than others, however. In my lengthy complaint letter to the Consul General in Guangzhou, I start as follows:

"I have been visiting U.S. missions overseas for over 13 years now and, while about half of posts will readily or with some cajoling meet with immigration attorneys, the other half relate to attorneys as they do to all others seeking information - by engaging in all manner of insincere "advice", tricks and dodges to move the often naïve supplicant from one place to another within the Consular structure until they get to the inevitable dead end. This has been my clients’ experience with the Guangzhou Consulate, and, regrettably, it has been mine as well.

I have received a reply from the new Immigrant Visa Unit Chief. However, there was very little noteworthy in her reply. My office is now collecting "horror stories" from other immigration attorneys and petitioners with a mind to making a formal complaint to the Department of State. Send your comments to john@ttorney.com