The Immigrant Visa Unit of the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China has one of the highest visa refusal rates in the world. The Consulate is particularly skeptical of U.S.-Chinese couples seeking a K-1 Fiance(e) visa or an I-130 / K-3 visa. The Consulate has never clearly articulated the reasons underlying its skepticism of US Chinese couples, although it's clear that they believe that a certain percentage of married or affianced couples appearing before the Consulate are sham marriages or sham engagements. The Consulate also appears to believe that a large percentage of U.S. - Chinese relationships lack sufficient indicia of genuineness for an immigrant visa to be issued. Our firm has been very critical of these views (see John Roth's 3/15/09 complaint memorandum), and the Consulate has recently shown itself more open to a discussion with our firm about these matters (see John Roth's blog entry describing 9/28/09 meeting with Guangzhou Consulate's Immigrant Visa Unit Chief); nonetheless, the Consulate continues to report a 50% visa refusal rate.

Visa refusals at Guangzhou come in one of two varieties:

1) a 221(g) (referring to Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) Section 221(g)) refusal request for additional evidence, or

2) a 221(g) request for review and possible revocation.

When the Consulate requests additional information it means that it takes the view that the Chinese-American couple has failed to convince the Consulate that they have met the requirements for visa issuance, but that the couple may be able to cure the defect(s) by submitting additional information requested on the visa refusal letter. A 221 (g) request for additional evidence typically delays visa issuance anywhere from three weeks to three months, depending on the complexity of the issues involved, the Consulate's backlog of similar cases at the time, and the adequacy of additional evidence presented by the petitioner or beneficiary. In some cases (probably the majority) the petition is ultimately approved and the visa is issued. In a substantial number of cases, however, the Consulate decides to send the case back to this USCIS with a recommendation for revocation.

A request for revocation means that the Consulate is so skeptical of the relationship that they believe that the USCIS erred when it initially approved the I-129F or I-130 petition. Cases returned to the CIS for revocation await processing by the USCIS of anywhere from two to six months. This is a vast improvement over the 2+ years waiting time prior to May 2008, when waiting time for a decision often exceeded two years, but is still represents an onerous burden on the Chinese-American couple, particularly since the Guangzhou Consulate does not advise the couple of its reasons for refusing the visa in revocation cases. Once the petition appears before a CIS adjudicator, (s)he may either let the original petition lapse (if a K-1 case), whereupon the petitioner may re-file the petition, or else issue a Notice of Intent to Revoke (NOIR). The NOIR must include the consular officer's reasons for refusing the visa. The petitioner is given 30 days to appeal the revocation decision. Unfortunately, thereafter the petitioner faces a 2+ year wait for a decision on the appeal. Given the long wait time, most petitioners seek a different visa type to qualify the beneficiary, or lacking that, attempt to qualify for the same visa type by re-filing the original application.