The US Embassy and Consulates in China has announced that consular services will be suspended for the time being.
According to an official press release issued by the US Embassy and Consulate in China last week, the mission has decided to suspend such services due to the high number of Coronavirus infection cases that have been registered across China, VisaGuide.World reports.
In addition, the same explained that the US Embassy Beijing and the US Consulate General Shanghai will be providing only passport and emergency services until further notice. On the other hand, US Consulates General Wuhan, Shenyang, and Guangzhou will not be providing passport services. These three Consulates General will only be providing emergency services.
“Due to the operational impacts caused by the surge of COVID-19 infections across China, U.S. Embassy Beijing and US Consulate General Shanghai are providing passport and emergency citizen services only. US Consulates General Wuhan, Shenyang, and Guangzhou will only be providing emergency consular services until further notice,” the statement of the US Embassy and Consulates in China reads.
In addition to the above-mentioned, the US Embassy and Consulates in China pointed out that all routine Visa Services, except for those that were previously scheduled for Consulate General Shanghai are suspended for the moment.
Moreover, the appointments that have already been scheduled at Embassy Beijing and the other Consulates General have been canceled.
Taking into account the current situation, the US Embassy and Consulates in China highlighted that nonimmigrant visa applicants are able to reschedule their visa appointment for a later date, and at the same time, highlighted that everyone must follow the instructions that the Mission provides before doing so.
All nonimmigrant visa applicants have been advised to contact the Mission through its immigrant visa unit if they have any questions.
“The Mission uses the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to send messages and updates to US citizens in the community. To receive these messages, US citizens are strongly encouraged to register in STEP at https://step.state.gov/,” the US Embassy and Consulates added.
In addition, the same stressed that in case of any emergency, applicants can reach out to the Embassy or Consulate General in their consular district.
While the US Mission China has decided to suspend its services due to the COVID situation, the Chinese authorities just recently said that the country has decided to loosen some of its Coronavirus rules.
China has already ended the requirement to undergo mandatory testing. Nonetheless, such a requirement may come into force again if the situation starts to worsen.
By no longer requiring its citizens to undergo mandatory testing, China plans to gradually introduce the so-called ‘Zero-Covid’ scheme. Such a step is being taken in an effort to restart the declining economy of the country, which has been highly affected by the restrictions.
Data provided by the World Health Organization show that the total number of COVID infection cases in China has reached 10,139,199. Additionally, the same reveals that 152,742 Coronavirus cases have been reported in the last seven days. During the last seven days, China has also reported 452 deaths.
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