U.S. Embassy in China - Visa Appointment Advisory for Summer 2025
US Travel Docs, the visa appointment booking site for the U.S. consular posts in China, has announced that visa application processing and wait times will increase this summer and that it anticipates that the U.S. Mission in China may only be able to process half as many visa applications as last summer. The announcement explains that this is due to the PRC government’s refusal to allow the U.S. Embassy to hire new local employees for over 3 ½ years.
Visa applicants are urged to book their visa appointments as soon as possible, and to keep travel plans flexible. Visa appointments may be booked at any location in China that is most convenient, regardless of their place of residence or the location of their Hukou.
While the U.S. Embassy indicates that visa processing time is typically three working days, it is essential that travel plans not be finalized until the visa has been issued. Actual processing time for specific cases may lengthen due to individual circumstances and other special requirements, such as Administrative Processing and the “Enhanced Vetting and Screening” processes under the new Administration’s Executive Orders. Because of this, we recommend visa applicants notify their manager and HR teams well in advance about the possibility of security background checks and visa delays that can take weeks to clear.
Current wait times and appointment availability information for the visa-issuing posts in China are available through the links below. Note that the information provided is only an estimate and that the actual appointment calendar may not be viewed until MRV fee payments are made and a DS-160 visa application form has been prepared and submitted:
Current appointment wait time in Beijing
Current appointment wait time in Shanghai
Current appointment wait time in Guangzhou
Current appointment wait time in Shenyang
Current appointment wait time in Wuhan
For those with expiring visas, we advised in our December 12 Alert, that persons who are residing in the US in a temporary status avoid leaving the country if they will need to apply for a visa while abroad, and will not be returning to the U.S. until after Trump has taken office. While it is unlikely that the new Administration will take immediate steps that would prevent such persons from returning, we believe it would be prudent to avoid international travel until there is a better understanding of how the new Administration may change visa issuance/re-issuance policies. This recommendation applies to all nonimmigrant classifications, including H-1B, L-1, and O-1 temporary workers, as well as F-1 students, and J-1 exchange visitors.
What this means for our clients:
Visa applicants are urged to book their visa appointments as soon as possible when the need arises, and to keep travel plans flexible. We note that in the past years, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China have occasionally experienced disruptions, where visa appointments were canceled with little or no advance notice. Many visa applicants were required to rebook their visa appointments several times. We will provide updates as more information becomes available.