Embassy Slow Processing

[jdclover 0]

Visa was approved on Feb 26th but it still has not yet arrived in Caloocan City. I went to the ustraveldocs online chat yesterday (http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-main-chat.asp) and they said it was still in process at the embassy. They then directed me to this site: https://ceac.state.gov/CEAC/ and told me to click Check Visa status under immigration. I did as instructed and the popup indicates it has been issued. I'm at a loss as to what to do. Is there a disconnect somewhere? I've tried tracking it on 2go and it's not available there, I tried tracking it here: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-main-contactus.asp#passport and it states no status update available when I put in my fiance's passport number. This is getting really annoying. Many people received theirs in 3 to 4 days and I'm already approaching the 10 day mark, which after chatting with the online persona has indicated don't book any flights, which to me means the 10 days may not actually be the max. This is the last step, it wouldn't irk me so much but I have already booked my return trip back to the US based on the assumption that it wouldn't actually take the full 10 days.

Anyways, just wanted to vent, it would be nice if they had a better way to track and a better way to give an ETA. If the visa has been approved per the embassy last week and has been issued, per the site above, then what the heck is left?

Oh and don't even get me started on how out of date their chat seems to be, only supporting up to Firefox 3 (Firefox is on release 19 now) and Internet Explorer 8 (I have 10) and then not supporting chrome. I had to find an older computer I had just to use it. From the site: Chat (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.): To chat with a customer service representative, please click here. Chat software works with Internet Explorer 8.0, Internet Explorer 7.0, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 2, and Firefox 3.6.

Edited March 7, 2013 by jdclover

[Tintin and Mike 127]

Email 2Go, customerservice@2GO.com.ph

Congrats and good luck!

[jdclover 0]

Email 2Go, customerservice@2GO.com.ph

Congrats and good luck!

Just emailed them. We'll see what happens, but if it hasn't left the embassy yet, not a lot 2go will find.

[X Factor 1,110]

The good news is that you were approved. Hopefully you will hear something in the next few days

[apple21 953]

It may actually take 10 working days to get the visa.

[jdclover 0]

It may actually take 10 working days to get the visa.

Yes I am aware of the working days part, but when talking to customer support via their online chat, when I asked if it was 10 working days from the day the visa was approved or 10 working days from the day the visa left the embassy, they avoided the question and just kept telling me to not book a flight. To me that would indicate it could actually take longer than 10 working days. Also from everything I've read on this site of other people, it rarely takes longer than a few days max, so based on experiences of others, this one is taking a long time. Also it would be nice if they were more transparent in the tracking process.

They also told me once it made it to 2go it usually takes 1 working day within metro manila for delivery and it could take longer if it were going to somewhere outside metro manila.

[jdclover 0]

Email 2Go, customerservice@2GO.com.ph

Congrats and good luck!

2go confirmed what the customer support already told me, visa is still in-process at the embassy. What exactly do they have left to do after the Visa has been approved that it would take over a week to complete?

[Tahoma 2,291]

Many people received theirs in 3 to 4 days and I'm already approaching the 10 day mark,

Also from everything I've read on this site of other people, it rarely takes longer than a few days max, so based on experiences of others, this one is taking a long time.

On the contrary, visas are rarely delivered in a few days. Very often, it takes longer. Ten days is perfectly within the normal time frame. Some people get their visa sooner than ten days and some people get it later than that.

If a 221g had been issued, the case would have taken longer. If the case is in AP, it could take much much longer.

[YourHumboldtBud 2]

this is why people keep saying don't buy a ticket until you have the visa in hand, or be ready to spend extra time in PI if needed. once the visa leaves the embassy it's on 2go to handle it from there. as with just about any company in the PI things move at a slower pace. following updates are more of a headache than anything else. there are so many factors that can delay the process.

let me share an example my aunt after going through the entire process +25 years in the making; made it all the way to the approval and all she needed to was wait for the visa. on route to delivery the delivery person from 2go DROPPED her passport in some other part of manila. luckily someone who was honest found the passport and called my aunt directly. when my aunt called the 2go customer service they completely denied that had happened, and they gave every excuse in the book why the passport never got delivered on the scheduled day. so my aunt made arrangements and picked up the passport from the person who found it. anyways you can imagine what happened when my aunt showed up to the main office with her passport that was still in "transit" in hand to yell at someone at the company. anything can happen, especially in the PI.

Edited March 7, 2013 by YourHumboldtBud

[jdclover 0]

On the contrary, visas are rarely delivered in a few days. Very often, it takes longer. Ten days is perfectly within the normal time frame. Some people get their visa sooner than ten days and some people get it later than that.

If a 221g had been issued, the case would have taken longer. If the case is in AP, it could take much much longer.

The 221g and AP aren't apart of the 7-10 working days as those are not yet approved Visas. I am talking only of what could make it take so long after the approval. Since the CEAC page states issued, that would indicate to me that there is little processing that is left, the visa itself has been issued.

Also in reading about the 221(g) and AP in general, the applicant is usually informed at the time of their embassy visit, they aren't told they are approved because AP and 221(g)s mean the Visa has not been approved yet due to a lack of information or some other miscellaneous reason.

As for the delivery time, in looking at timelines and date of interview vs date the visa was received, most fall in the 4-7 day range, and that's total days not just business days, some do fall in the 10-12 day range, but again that's total days. Very few take more than that, although there are outliers.

[jdclover 0]

this is why people keep saying don't buy a ticket until you have the visa in hand, or be ready to spend extra time in PI if needed. once the visa leaves the embassy it's on 2go to handle it from there. as with just about any company in the PI things move at a slower pace. following updates are more of a headache than anything else. there are so many factors that can delay the process.

Mine hasn't even left the embassy yet. I understand that things in the PI can move at a slower pace, but it's still in the embassy. I guess the US government operates at a slower pace too, unless it gets someone votes.

[Hank_ 9,173]

Visa was approved on Feb 26th but it still has not yet arrived in Caloocan City. I went to the ustraveldocs online chat yesterday (http://www.ustraveld...h-main-chat.asp) and they said it was still in process at the embassy. They then directed me to this site: https://ceac.state.gov/CEAC/ and told me to click Check Visa status under immigration. I did as instructed and the popup indicates it has been issued. I'm at a loss as to what to do. Is there a disconnect somewhere? I've tried tracking it on 2go and it's not available there, I tried tracking it here: http://www.ustraveld...us.asp#passport and it states no status update available when I put in my fiance's passport number. This is getting really annoying. Many people received theirs in 3 to 4 days and I'm already approaching the 10 day mark, which after chatting with the online persona has indicated don't book any flights, which to me means the 10 days may not actually be the max. This is the last step, it wouldn't irk me so much but I have already booked my return trip back to the US based on the assumption that it wouldn't actually take the full 10 days.

Anyways, just wanted to vent, it would be nice if they had a better way to track and a better way to give an ETA. If the visa has been approved per the embassy last week and has been issued, per the site above, then what the heck is left?

Oh and don't even get me started on how out of date their chat seems to be, only supporting up to Firefox 3 (Firefox is on release 19 now) and Internet Explorer 8 (I have 10) and then not supporting chrome. I had to find an older computer I had just to use it. From the site: Chat (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.): To chat with a customer service representative, please click here. Chat software works with Internet Explorer 8.0, Internet Explorer 7.0, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 2, and Firefox 3.6.

Relax! It took two weeks before my wife saw her passport with the visa. The CEAC site always says issued once its approved, its not a very good site for tracking. For tracking stay with the first site you used, it will update to when they release the visa to 2GO.

And now you know why they say NEVER BOOK ANY FLIGHTS.

I will confess I did book flights before the interview, but they were for two months after the interview so I felt fairly safe.

[Tahoma 2,291]

The 221g and AP aren't apart of the 7-10 working days as those are not yet approved Visas. I am talking only of what could make it take so long after the approval. Since the CEAC page states issued, that would indicate to me that there is little processing that is left, the visa itself has been issued.

Also in reading about the 221(g) and AP in general, the applicant is usually informed at the time of their embassy visit, they aren't told they are approved because AP and 221(g)s mean the Visa has not been approved yet due to a lack of information or some other miscellaneous reason.

As for the delivery time, in looking at timelines and date of interview vs date the visa was received, most fall in the 4-7 day range, and that's total days not just business days, some do fall in the 10-12 day range, but again that's total days. Very few take more than that, although there are outliers.

You said in your original post that you booked your flight based upon your "assumption" that it wouldn't take ten days for visa delivery. That's called gambling. Using your own estimates of visa delivery times, you gambled that your visa wouldn't fall into the category you describe as "some," "very few," or "outliers." Now you seem upset because you gambled and it looks like you may lose. Like the old saying goes: if you don't have it to lose, don't bet it.

By the way, Chinook and I have first-hand experience with the 221g. Chinook's visa was approved at her interview even though she received a 221g.

Also, I've never heard of an interview where the consular officer actually told the K-1'er that their case was going to be put through AP. Further, a visa can be approved, yet still be assigned to AP. The Embassy often double checks cases. For example, after a successful interview, the Embassy still may decide to order a CENOMAR or an NBI clearance which will delay the visa. The Embassy works in mysterious ways.

I'm not convinced that a visa listed as "issued" is a done deal. There was a K-1 case recently at the U.S. Embassy Manila where the visa was listed as "issued" but ended up being revoked. On the other hand, "issued" could mean that the approved case is still be sitting on a desk and waiting to be sent to the printing office.

Okay...I get it...the waiting is h*ll. Been there...done that...(although Chinook didn't book a flight until after she received her visa). I hope you guys get your visa without having to reschedule your flight.

Vent on...

[jdclover 0]

You said in your original post that you booked your flight based upon your "assumption" that it wouldn't take ten days for visa delivery. That's called gambling. Using your own estimates of visa delivery times, you gambled that your visa wouldn't fall into the category you describe as "some," "very few," or "outliers." Now you seem upset because you gambled and it looks like you may lose. Like the old saying goes: if you don't have it to lose, don't bet it.

By the way, Chinook and I have first-hand experience with the 221g. Chinook's visa was approved at her interview even though she received a 221g.

Also, I've never heard of an interview where the consular officer actually told the K-1'er that their case was going to be put through AP. Further, a visa can be approved, yet still be assigned to AP. The Embassy often double checks cases. For example, after a successful interview, the Embassy still may decide to order a CENOMAR or an NBI clearance which will delay the visa. The Embassy works in mysterious ways.

I'm not convinced that a visa listed as "issued" is a done deal. There was a K-1 case recently at the U.S. Embassy Manila where the visa was listed as "issued" but ended up being revoked. On the other hand, "issued" could mean that the approved case is still be sitting on a desk and waiting to be sent to the printing office.

Okay...I get it...the waiting is h*ll. Been there...done that...(although Chinook didn't book a flight until after she received her visa). I hope you guys get your visa without having to reschedule your flight.

Vent on...

I'm just taking my anger at myself out on the embassy really. My own stupidity, I've rebooked the flight again and hopefully this time it makes it in time. My whole hope was to get my fiance to the US before my mom comes to visit me on the 23rd. No more counting chickens before they hatch.

On a side note, my original plan was to book my flight with an open ended return date, but apparently Emirates doesn't do that. Most of the cost of rebooking was on my flight not my fiance's, hers was really cheap to rebook, mine cost more than half the price of the ticket. And I chose Emirates so that we could visit her sister in Dubai on the way to the US.

Edited March 7, 2013 by jdclover

[jdclover 0]

This site: http://ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-main-contactus.asp

Under track the passport had always said no status available or some such thing, now it says In Transit from Post. I hope that's a good thing.