u/Dangerous_Year7304

I submitted my passport today first thing in the morning to the NYC Chinese consulate after my preliminary review got approved last week on Friday for my tourism visa. I paid for the expedited process. I was told I will be able to pick my passport up along with my visa on Thursday morning as long as there are no issues.

Is it common for them to only take your passports and not ask for any supporting documents when I drop off my passport? I thought that I had to bring in a bunch of supporting documents, but the person who took my passport said no. I also mentioned that I have a turkey stamp in my passport since I was there in 2022 and they also told me that this shouldn’t be a problem. She actually seemed confused to why I brought that up, but I heard that having turkey in your passport can delay the process.

Do you think I’m in the clear to get it on Thursday? Is there anything that would hold it back? Does it normally come first thing in the morning if I paid for expedited?

I applied for my Chinese tourism (L) visa through the NYC Chinese consulate on Saturday, April 18th. My flight to China is on May 8, which is 15 business days from the day I submitted my application. It has been 7 business days since I applied, and there is still no change to my status.

My application still says that it is in the preliminary review process. I went to the Chinese consulate in NYC and they told me that it can take up to 14 days to get approved to the bring in passport stage. However, I let them know my situation and was told to just hold off and keep waiting with no assurance that it will happen.

It is starting to look like I should reroute my trip. Does anyone have any advice or similar experiences?