I am currently on a 2-week business trip to China. I went to US consulate at Guangzhou for finger-print this afternoon. The consular told me due to the back-ground-checking policy adopted recently, he need addtional documents--
(1) a complete and detailed resume and work history in English
(2) a complete list of publications and abstracts in English
The blue notice he handed to me includes a fax number for these documents. He also told me that it may take as long as three weeks for the back ground checking.
I got my H1B approved easily last year at GZ when I went back to visit my family there. Just the orignal I797 needed. Everything has changed this year.
I am a telecomm engineer so I don't think I may have any problem except waiting for another 2 or 3 weeks.