The U.S. Mission in China announced on Dec. 27 that Consular Sections at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and Consulates Guangzhou and Shenyang will resume routine consular services on January 3. Consulate General Wuhan has resumed providing limited U.S. citizen services. Shanghai will continue operating in emergency operations status until further notice. Please note that the number of appointments available for routine services will be based on staffing.
Dec. 15: China’s national government has eased its stringent “zero Covid” restrictions, following an economic slowdown and a spasm of protests across the country. Covid rates have spiked in many cities. As a result, the U.S. Mission in China has reduced consular services, according to a Dec. 15 announcement posted to its WeChat account:
All routine Visa Services, with the exception of some previously scheduled for the U.S. Consulate General Shanghai, are temporarily suspended.
All regularly scheduled appointments at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the other Consulates General (Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang) have been canceled.
A slightly different message is posted on the Mission’s ustraveldocs.com site:
Visa services at the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China are currently disrupted. You will be contacted if your visa appointment is impacted.
On Dec. 13, the U.S. Mission in China released this “status update“:
Alert: Reduction in Non-Emergency Consular Operations at U.S. Consulate Shenyang and U.S. Consulate Wuhan
Event: Reduction in non-emergency services in response to increased number of COVID-19 cases:
- U.S. Embassy Beijing is open for routine and emergency services. Passport pickup from 10:30am to 11:30am, only.
- U.S. Consulate Shanghai is open for routine and emergency services.
- U.S. Consulate Guangzhou is open for routine and emergency services.
- U.S. Consulate Shenyang is open for emergency services only.
- U.S. Consulate Wuhan is open for emergency services only.
Mission China makes every effort to ensure full consular services are available to U.S. citizens living in the PRC, but further disruptions are possible. This could include the cancellation of appointments or other services with little to no advanced notice.
The gist of the announcement is that non-emergency visa services have been suspended in Shenyang but remain open in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
On December 12, the U.S. Mission in China announced on WeChat that visa appointments were cancelled at all posts in China:
Due to COVID-19, Nonimmigrant visa applicants scheduled for routine visa appointments in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang should use the applicant portal on https://www.ustraveldocs.com/cn/ to reschedule their appointment for a later date. Immigrant visa appointments remain unchanged.
Our law firm will continue to monitor and follow up on the situation.
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