contacting embassy re: interview schedule?

[aba anoma 0]

i just spoke with a "supervisor" at the NVC who actually proceeded to read me the standard "due to the limited capacity..." spiel when i tried to get some real information about 1. why it is taking so long to schedule my husband's interview and 2. if i could get a general idea of when it might be scheduled. short answer: no, despite you paying us $470, we will give you no actual information.

this woman confirmed that we were not scheduled for april (case completed JANUARY 22) and said i should call back in april. um, no. you should give me some idea of when the interview might actually be scheduled. in between talking in circles and putting her foot in her mouth, she said that case completion date is "one things" they consider in scheduling the interview. good to know. she said for security purposes she could not tell me the others! helpful. anyway, i guess it is possible that the embassy in ghana is just really backed up- the most recent case i can find on VJ is someone whose case was completed december 16th who received a march 30th interview...still, i don't think it's unreasonable to receive some idea of when it might be scheduled for at this point. it's not as if my case was completed yesterday and i'm just being impatient.

so my question is- do you think it would be helpful to call the embassy in accra to try to get an idea of when we might be scheduled? ie how many openings they have each month or i don't even really know. i'm not asking for a specific day- just a general 'may' or 'september' would be nice!! here's where it gets really fun. we are scheduled to have an american "wedding" on june 6th. this date was picked in 2007 when we thought my husband would be moving here fall '08. long story. i thought of cancelling the wedding, but when we were finally approved on christmas eve and completed the NVC so quickly, i foolishly thought we would be home free. every other case i could find for ghana last year was scheduled for an interview in the month following their case completion- some in just three weeks! now it is march, we have no date for april, and i am losing my mind. my husband still has his first visa (B1/B2 multiple entry, expiring in august)- if we are not going to get his interview before the wedding- which would be incredible- 4.5 months!!- then i would rather have him be here now on that visa. i know it is risky traveling on a tourist visa with the IR1 visa pending, but I also feel like a 3+ month wait for an interview is outside standard processing.

i don't know what to do. i would appreciate any advice. i am angry and sad and i just want to hold my husband's hand. i am sorry for the outburst- i am really just losing it. i never thought this would be the slow part of the process!

thanks so much for any advice!

[OBX 51]

Well if it's any comfort at all we got the same response about our interview date in Montreal! I don't have any advice but I do feel your pain,you have been waiting 3 weeks longer than I. The embassy may give you some information, at the very least you will feel as though you are doing something. But don't give up. I know that some filers were still receiving interview dates through the last week of February so perhaps we may still hear something next week.

Edited March 17, 2009 by OBX

[Carlos and Jocel 2]

Well if it's any comfort at all we got the same response about our interview date in Montreal! I don't have any advice but I do feel your pain,you have been waiting 3 weeks longer than I. The embassy may give you some information, at the very least you will feel as though you are doing something. But don't give up. I know that some filers were still receiving interview dates through the last week of February so perhaps we may still hear something next week.

**** For ABA....

I am so sorry to hear that, unfortunetly the NVC operator you talked to is not the same people that make the interviews date, NVC operators check computer for any information pertaining to you... like a customer service in the mall... they can't really tell you much. You need to call the SUPERVISOR that did your case and ask for an explanation...not the NVC Operator...( they are like phone operator, they just there to hook ur lines ). Go ask if you can talk to a SUPERVISOR handling your case.... they may give you more info than the NVC operator... goodluck!

[OBX 51]

**** For ABA....

I am so sorry to hear that, unfortunetly the NVC operator you talked to is not the same people that make the interviews date, NVC operators check computer for any information pertaining to you... like a customer service in the mall... they can't really tell you much. You need to call the SUPERVISOR that did your case and ask for an explanation...not the NVC Operator...( they are like phone operator, they just there to hook ur lines ). Go ask if you can talk to a SUPERVISOR handling your case.... they may give you more info than the NVC operator... goodluck!

Thanks for the info, we will keep that in mind as well next time we call.

[aba anoma 0]

thanks for the advice! i actually did ask for a supervisor. once i found out that we were not scheduled for april, i requested to speak with a supervisor to try to get more information about what is going on. it was the supervisor who told me that she couldn't answer any of my questions due to security. basically i was just trying to get an idea of how backed up the embassy is and if we could reasonably expect to be scheduled in may. i understand that they can only tell me so much, but she was very uncooperative. it's not like i was asking for the names and addresses of the people ahead of me! after paying almost $500, i don't think it's unreasonable to get a little information.

i did call the embassy in ghana today. it was quite an experience. the person on the phone kept trying to explain to me that they did not have my case yet, and i kept trying to explain that i understood that and that if they had my case, i would not need to call. finally i was able to get out my question- how long are people waiting now for immigrant visa interviews? he told me that "generally" people wait 6 weeks to 3 months. by not getting an april date, we are already beyond three months.

so my new question is- if we do not get scheduled for may, do you think my husband could come visit in the meantime on his tourist visa? if he is not scheduled for may, that means we will be waiting 4+ months for our interview date, which seems beyond general processing. i am worried about the POE- but obviously he would be returning to ghana for his interview. who would pass up a green card and SSN for a six month visa? i am trying to avoid canceling the wedding. i have a cousin traveling all the way from japan to be here. i understand we should have waited for confirmation, but as i said, when our case was complete in january, i really thought- and reasonably so- that my husband would be here by march or early april...

thanks so much for the advice and support! i really need and appreciate it!! sorry for the long posts.

[jsand78 0]

Hi,

I'm not sure if the process you are going through is any different that that of those like me who have applied for K1 visas. My petition was approved at the end of last October. January came around and we still had not heard anything from the Embassy, so I e-mailed them. They replied the next day stating that my fiance could come to the Embassy to pick up his interview packets. When he went, he got the packets 3 and 4 and they scheduled the interview for April 20. Right after I received the e-mail, I received a letter in the mail from them that was dated in December that said basically the same thing (about him needing to come to the Embassy to pick up the packet). I think the Embassy is overloaded and it just takes them some time to get the necessary information out. Like I said, I'm not sure if the spousal visa experience is any different than the K1, but I do hope that you get your date soon.