Hello,

I posted a couple of weeks ago about the snag my fiancee and I hit with getting her German police clearance. To make a long story short, they spelled her name wrong on the document and had to send it back to Germany to be corrected. that was almost three weeks ago and we have not heard anything since. My fiancee will be contacting the Germany emabssy about this soon to hoepfully get some sort of status update.

I wrote to the Consulate in Johannesburg to explain this situation and hopefully get them to get us the earliest possible interview date once we have everyhting together. Their response is below:

Dear Mr. Dagle,



As soon as your fiancée returns her checklist, we will do our very best to ensure that she get the first available appointment for an interview. However, our appointment schedule is very busy and currently we are about to start scheduling appointments for the month of June. Please keep in mind that we may only be in a position to schedule an appointment six weeks out.



Thank you,



Consular Section Johannesburg



I cant believe that once she sends in her checklist that it will take 6 weeks to get her an interview!!!!! This is yet another blow to us and the time apart and the process are really starting to get to both of us! Does anyone have any advise for us or any history with dealing with things liek this? My head is spinning!!!!!!!!!

No doubt the waiting is hard, I feel you on that. But you just have to be patient. The error on the police certificate is a minor one, but it can be fixed, that is the good thing. Once it is fixed you can get your interview date.

I know you are feeling down right now, but I am going to attempt to point out the bright spots :

(1) You noticed the error on the police certificate. If the error was noticed by the CO there is a possibility that you could have been put on AP, or asked to go and get another police certificate with some other kind of documentation to prove your fiancee's identity. Much more frustrating dealing with it after the interview than before the interview.

(2) 6 weeks is not that long to wait for an interview if you think about it. Montreal is a 3-4 month wait, Ghana is 3-5 months. The 6 weeks will go by in a flash

(3) Your consulate actually communicates with you. Imagine if they did not respond to your e-mails, or could not give a time frame. At least you know what to expect

In the end, you will be together, and that is what matters.

It is completely frustrating to have to wait any longer. 6 weeks will fly by and you two will look back and realize the wait wasn't so bad after all. Zee pointed out some good things to think about, especially #1. AP can suck and it is definately best to fix something now and have a small wait compared to a possible 6 month wait while they do security checks for a mistake. Don't get discouraged...everything happens for a reason and your time will come soon.

All of that sounds great, but doesn't help much with the frustration, does it?
But it's true. I just got off the phone with the Joburg embassy and they were very helpful. But they have very little control over when the interviews are. It wouldn't hurt to talk to your case worker though, just to let them know what's going on. Maybe they can keep an eye out for a cancellation...

I'm sending relaxation vibes to all my friends who are having to deal with inefficient bureaucracies...

Thank you for the kind words. I know that we need to be patient and that everyhting happens for a reason. I have calmed down and talked to my queeen and we are all good. Just a minor set back and we will get through it. Eye on the prize right....

I understand your frustration. I am also waiting waiting waiting. I was very upset when I realized the interview was a year after filing my peitition. It's incredibly frustrating. I found that when I'm busiest it's best. So try to keep busy. It helps to distract from the process. Right now, I'm going through a particularly hard time cause me and my daughter have birthdays in April and Bassi has a birthday in May. It's hard to spend another birthday apart. But next year, we'll be together for our birthdays, so I'm just trying to stay positive and busy. Bassi's even got closet space now. But still no drawer space. I'm working on that.