I've been told by several airlines / agencies in China that unlike in the past, they will not call you in for an interview and will not be processing your application at all, unless all limitations are removed from the license first.

Does anyone have any recent experience with that? I know that they used to allow you to start the process in the past. I also know that some agencies paid for the checkride. Now it seems like nobody is willing to offer any help in removing this thing...
Thanks!

I would get it removed if you want foreign work. But it's not really needed in the US...IMHO..

Agreed. Get it removed. Think of a small box, and all things normal fit in the box. Anything that requires thinking outside of that box is an issue. Limitations on your licence, medical, driving record and they don’t want to figure out a way around it. They think that there are enough people out there to fill the seats without you.

Thanks guys. I've come to this conclusion and i have it scheduled later this month. I was just wondering how come the agencies do not offer any help with it these days.
I talked to a guy who had it paid by VOR Holdings a couple of years ago. They paid for it and arranged everything..

It's actually the airline that will occasionally pay for it. They just paid VOR and VOR handled the logistics. If you have an airline in mind, contact them directly and you can get them to reimburse. As far as not allowing you to begin the process, you can still take the medical exam and ATP written exam before having the VMC circle removed.