Search the Community

Hope everyone is doing well. I have an unusual situation regarding my IR2 visa applications, and I'm curious if anyone has experienced something similar or has insights. Here's the scenario: I submitted three IR2 applications to the Montreal USA Embassy. On November 21, 2023, I received an email stating that the National Visa Center (NVC) had completed processing and scheduled visa interviews for two out of the three applications. All was seemingly on track. However, today, I received a new email stating, "Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have to cancel this interview. We will schedule a new interview appointment as soon as possible and notify you of the date and time. There is no need for you to take action at this time." I'm a bit puzzled, and I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered a similar situation or has any idea about the potential reasons behind such cancellations. Any insights or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated! Thanks,

Hello, I am an american and brought my husband (on the IR1 visa) and 2 daughters (on the IR2 visa) to the US (from Canada). How long do I need to wait until I can apply for citizenship for my husband and 2 daughters? We entered the country 5-1-2021 and they all have their green cards. Thanks.

My spouse and two stepchildren (one minor, one 23 year old adult whose age was frozen due to CSPA) got their respective (independent) IR1 and IR2 visas to travel to the US. The adult stepchild has now decided to stay back in the home country and effectively abandon their IR2. Will this affect in any way my spouse or minor stepchild who will be traveling to the US soon?

Hello all, I have 2 questions but first let me layout all the important details...I submitted an I-130 for my wife and another for my stepdaughter in August 2019. USCIS approved the I-130 petitions in April 2020. I filled out, signed and uploaded 1 I-864 into CEAC May 2020. I did not "Submit Documents" until much later due to a custody case that we were waiting on for our daughter. (Biological father has never been in the picture or helped out regardless of how much my wife tried. So he lost custody in 2021, which he never exercised to begin with.) All of our documents were approved and documentarily qualified in May 2023. Our visa appointment is in Ciudad Juarez, Mex on 21-Jul-2023. So, I've had 3 tax seasons in between that time. The I-864 has an "expired" expiration date. I used 1 I-864 for both my wife and our daughter. Questions: Expired I-864: Should I complete, sign and upload another document into CEAC? Or should I complete and sign an updated one so that my wife can hand carry it juuuuust in case they ask for a recent one? We have all of my tax documents for the last few years already. I cannot find where I read that 1 I-864 would be good for both of them. Even though the forms have been documentarily qualified, should I fill out one for my daughter? The one i uploaded to CEAC was the same one I did for her mother. If I should complete a second one.....upload it? or have it on hand in case they ask? Thanks in advance!!!!

Hello, I recently completed the IR2 visa interviews for my 2 children in Philippines. The officer held on to their passports and explained that everything is good. However, they need a certified copy of our marriage certificate. My county tax office offers an electronic certified copy. Can I go that route and just upload it in CEAC? Or do I need to get a physical certified copy too and have it shipped to Philippines and dropped off at LBC? The post-interview document checks off both options, but I’m not sure if it’s just an either-or thing. Has anyone else had experience with this situation?

- IR2 question: In her visa interview, can my 20 yr old stepdaughter refer to me as "Dad" as she usually does when answering relationship questions or does she have to say "my stepdad" or "my stepfather" ? (If she gets a direct question from the form such as "who sponsored you" of course she will say "my stepfather") - Will she need to take relationship evidence such as call and chat logs, cards etc ? (she is taking photographs with her)

Hello, IR1 / IR2 case - I have 2 submitted DS-260s , one for my wife and one for my stepdaughter, and there have been minor changes since we submitted the forms nearly a year ago. In my wife's case, spouse (me) was unemployed at the time of submission, but now am employed. In daughter's case, her job title has changed, she also passed out of her college degree which she was pursuing at the time of submission. Also her secondary phone is no longer valid. Would it be prudent to ask the consulate to reopen the DS-260 for these changes? alternately, can we just inform the officer at the interview? Thanks!

Hello, anyone got the same situation as mine before? got interviewed last tuesday USEM Manila (april 4, IR2) and it went well until the end of the interview, I got a 221g white letter. CO asked for a joint sponsor and its documents. In the letter it is asking me to upload those docs at CEAC before mailing it to the courier. But the only option is uploading it through my petitioner's additional documents since the option to add joint sponsor is long gone. My question is, is it okay to upload it through petitioner's additional docs AND how long will this process usually take? I know this is a case to case basis, but for those who had the same situation before, any response is appreciated :)

Hello everyone, creating this thread so we can be up to date on where the Lagos consulate is as regards interviews. As it is, they now send interview letters (IL) on the last Wednesdays of every month for IR/CR categories. A new batch was sent today being the last Wednesday of the month for people documentarily qualified (dq’ed) june and july 2021. The latest case was july 28

So my I-130 for my adopted daughter finally got a reply from the National Benefits Center. I got an RFE asking for additional evidence for my child. I came to Belarus from United States in 2013 to live while helping my parents there. I married and adopted my wife’s daughter. I’ve been her dad for the past 8.5 years. She’s 15 now. I sent in all the required information to USCIS that was asked of me. We left Belarus for Poland when Russia began the conflict with Ukraine. We cannot come back for the documents because of possible political prosecution of me and my wife. My father has the power of attorney in my name to get documents for me in Belarus. In the RFE, I’m requested to send in her original birth certificate which was issued upon her birth before she got her new birth certificate after her adoption by me in 2015. So basically the birth certificate with her original birth parents’ names. Unfortunately, in Belarus, they take away the original birth certificate upon adoption and replace it with a secondary birth certificate in my name and my wife’s. We do have a photocopy of the original birth certificate, but we're afraid to send it as evidence because it might be requested at the interview at NVC. So we'd rather go with getting an official letter from BY govt. Or would NVC accept such a copy?! In this case, the RFE states I can submit: I can get an official document for the 1st request. However for the 2nd one asking for secondary evidence, we might have issues finding a church record or schools records with both of her birth parents’ names. It would usually just be my wife’s name and daughter’s. She divorced 1.5 years after marriage and the father signed away his parental rights. We have a medical record book with both her birth parents names, but the whole book is handwritten with a bunch of ink stamps (this was typical in Soviet countries and still is). Does this count? Same goes for her baptismal records. It has a signature, name and stamp of the priest. Another item the RFE requests which has us worried is the they commonly ask for all sorts of affidavits. Could someone with experience or knowledge clarify what these can look like? From what I understand, I don’t need to have the notary public notarize these. Here’s an example of such a request from the letter: An affidavit detailing the exact dates and locations where you physically resided under the same roof with the adopted child outside the U.S. before or after the adoption, together with corresponding evidence. Can this be hand written or types? Do I just sign my name, address, etc.? -------------- Another interesting item in the RFE is that it mentions a bedsheet-long list of requests for evidence in case of the I-130 application going through as “Evidence that the child meets the definition of an Adopted Child under 101(b)(1)(E)”. However at the end of the letter they say the following: So it seems like if we don’t satisfy their request for the child going through as adopter, they can “easily” qualify her as a stepchild with just her original birth certificate or letter required?!?! Any useful information greatly appreciated!

Hi, My biological daughter was born in Indonesia while I was a green card holder then I became a U.S citizen through Naturalization. My daughter came in to the U.S using IR 2 visa when she was 9-month-old but then received a 10-year green card instead of a Certificate of Citizenship. I heard that we can just apply for a U.S Passport as proof of Citizenship or apply for a Certificate of Citizenship. What is the best way? Please advise... Thank you in advance

I submitted I-130 application for my son which just got approved and now my case is with National Visa Center, I have been living in Canada for last 14 years and for that reason I do not have any bank account in USA. Now I need to make payment to CEAC for further process. Can someone please advice how can I make payment to CEAC since I do not have any account in USA bank, and we aren’t allowed to make payments using credit card. Can we make payments from Canadian bank? Or from USD account in Canadian Bank. Following are some information from CEAC website about my application VISA CLASS: IR2 FOREIGN STATE OF CHARGEABILITY: CANADA INTERVIEW LOCATION: MONTREAL

Hello! I want to ask abou me son's visa (IR2). At this time our case is in NVC. We have downloaded all documents and it is still SUBMITED since 5 June. How long we have to wait ACCEPTED? And then how long to wait Interview? Thanks!!!

Hi guys! We had our Interview on the 19th and told by the consular that we were APPROVED, and on the day itself CEAC said, and still says, "ISSUED." I know it's only been two days, but we just received an email from Manila Embassy and I'm a little confused. Part of the email says, Dear Applicant, Kindly read the attached instructions carefully, and then inspect your passport and visa immediately upon receipt. Some applicants may receive a yellow visa packet – DO NOT OPEN THIS ENVELOPE which should be hand-carried and turned over to an immigration authority at the U.S. port of entry. Each applicant must register or update the preferred delivery/pick-up address at https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-iv-documentdelivery.asp. Additionally, a working contact number in the Philippines for notification of delivery must be included. ... The rest of the email has instructions about the fee, social security, etc. I do remember we registered at US Travel Docs, but only for the delivery address. Our Ir2 was added as a family member, so she doesn't have her own account. Does this mean I have to register again? It says "each applicant" so does this mean there has to be two separate accounts? We also still can't track our passports on US Travel Docs but it's only been two days, so it's understandable. But all of this is a good sign that our visas have truly been approved, right?

Submitted my son's paperwork to NVC back in August last year. I got a RFE note in Nov about a marriage certificate that was already submitted prior. Which I resubmitted. Again in Feb I received another RFE about my income which again is enough. On the website it said accepted on both but no DQ email. I call NVC and the rep told me all was looking good and forwarded my case to supervisor. Told to wait 6 weeks. It's been 7 weeks now still no response. Now NVC phone line is suspended. Anyone that had to wait for a case at supervisor desk and how long of a wait ?

Hey guys, I am onthe last stretch of my visa journey and it’s so frustrating that I decided to share my story. I know I am probably not the only one who is going through this, however, I do feel sometimes alone in my journey. So first, a back story. My father who is an American citizen filed for me in August 2018. At that time I was going to school in the states and I wanted to my adjust my status. Unfortunately , I had to come back to my home country due to financial reasons and I strongly believe that caused a delay in my journey because I had to tell USCIS that I’m not in the country anymore. It took a whole year for the petition to be approved and another year for them to approve that I was no longer in the United States. So it was in 2020 when NVC contacted me stating that they have my case. That was in September and by December I was DQ. So we all know that due to coronavirus as well as the ban that Donald Trump placed on an immigration it further delayed my case for another year and a half. Surprisingly I received an email from NVC stating the embassy has my case and my interview date is April 5, 2022. Fast forward the interview was horrible I felt as if I was a criminal being interrogated and to be honest I bawled my eyes out because I really believed that it’s not going to be a good outcome. The officer did take my passport and documents and gave me a 221g requesting tax documents and a marriage certificate for my parents and I submitted everything within a week time which was April 11, 2022. It’s been over a month now and I heard nothing from the embassy regarding my case and I check my status each day and it states that my visa has been refused. I am worried and anxious practically a ball of emotions and I don’t know what else to do. I have been waiting on this so long. I paused furthering my studies because of this and I have just been doing odd jobs to keep my self occupied until my time came. Now I feel as if I am wasting my years away and I need to get the ball rolling. I started my visa journey at 18 now I am 22 years old. As anyone been through this, please let me know your experience🙏🏾

My child case at NVC says civil documents and i894 accepted. But email says I need to send evidence of support. Does that mean now or when they get to interview?