has anyone dealt with withdrawing a k-1 visa? getting inconsistent information from USCIS

[limitedition 0]

argh! i feel like i'm taking crazy pills! lol.

so i have spoken to about 4 different USCIS reps via telephone and i've been told that if i want to submit a new petition for a k-1 fiance visa, i have to withdraw my current petition, which is more than 2 years old (was approved by USCIS, sent to NVC then sent to embassy but they never contacted my fiance so we just gave up on it and the petition expired after four months so it was just sitting at the embassy). the last rep i spoke to sent a request for withdrawal to the service center that processed the petition. he said if the service center needed any additional information from me that they would contact me. so here we are, 3 weeks later, and i received a letter from USCIS saying that the service center that processed my petition no longer has jurisdiction over it and that i would need to contact NVC. ummm...the 4 people i spoke to at USCIS clearly knew that the petition was approved and forwarded to NVC and then to the embassy because we went over this each time i called in. so why would they tell me to contact the service center instead of NVC to withdraw the petition? i have to pray that i am able to get through to the NVC customer service # as it's always busy when i call. the reason i called USCIS multiple times is because i've received incorrect information from them before. i call more than once so that i can speak to multiple reps to see if i get the same information, which i did this time (other times it's been different from one rep to another) so i trusted that what they said was right. i even checked the USCIS website, which said the same information. i contacted NVC via email about the status of my petition not long ago and their response said they had completed the processing of my petition and forwarded it to the embassy and if i had any questions about my case, that i should contact the embassy. i feel like i'm being given the runaround since something similar happened when i was just trying to follow-up on it before.

i will be calling NVC to confirm that i have to withdraw the petition through them but i just wanted to seek out other sources (a.k.a. visa journey) that may have gone through the withdrawal process. any information is appreciated. take care!

[Kastrs 723]

YES! I am trying right now to withdraw my own old petition! So what you need to do, is contact the embassy that your case was processed at-where your interview should have been. I contacted mine via email, and had to send a signed letter (I did it in email attachment) stating all the info about the case- petitioner, beneficiary, our respective birthdays, and the USCIS and NVC case #. The embassy confirmed the receipt of the letter, and returned my petition to the NVC, which I confirmed by checking the case status in CEAC. Currently, the status is returned to the NVC. Since that time, I have contacted the NVC a couple of times and what they said is, you must mail, as in snail mail, them a letter- same as the one you sent to the embassy. So that is what I did. Now, I have to say, after letting the petition sit at the embassy for well over a year, you would think it would have been canceled on its own but apparently that is not a priority for the embassy staff. Also, the NVC informed me it could be several months, especially considering how backlogged the NVC is, before I should expect confirmation that the petition is withdrawn AND it is possible that although I have contacted them and written a letter, that the petition will be sent from the NVC to USCIS again. In that case, I will need to follow up with USCIS to get the petition withdrawn. Hope that helps!

[Taskova 15]

We had the same problem. We called USCIS NVC and everybody told us that the petition is no longer there. We emailed the embassy asking for the petition to be withdrawn and in couple days we got this email

You do not need to do anything. The petition has been already destroyed physically and electronically.

Sincerely,

Public Liaison Unit

Consular Section

This petition was approved in 2012 but never forward to an interview. I didnt have any issues at my interview. But i print out the letter for a prove of withdrawing

Good luck

[limitedition 0]

OMG! kastrs, that sounds terrible. so do you have to wait for a confirmation letter from them regarding the withdrawal before you can submit the new petition? if so then you could be waiting several months before resubmitting and then having to wait the several months to have it go through the process. that can't be, can it?? i wish they would have just told me this months ago.

taskova, my petition was supposedly sent to the embassy in july 2012 and they claimed to have contacted my fiance in august 2012 but he never received anything. my fiance is from algeria and apparently, they hold on to old petitions for at least two years because when i contacted them in october of 2014, they said that they had the petition but that they were going to send it back to USCIS since the petition expired. i sent them an email asking when they would be sending the petition back to USCIS but i never received a response. i've been calling NVC for the last 40 minutes and the line has been busy this entire time. this is usually what i've experienced when i call regardless of the time of day. how is it busy all the time????

if i send written withdrawals to both the embassy and NVC and send a new petition to USCIS shortly after sending the withdrawal letters, will USCIS not process the new petition? has anyone sent a new petition without waiting for confirmation on the old petition being withdrawn from NVC/USCIS? i just want to submit a new petition.

the thing is, i don't know where my petition is since the embassy claimed they were going to send it back to USCIS. it's been more than a month since i sent the email to the embassy, asking when they would send the petition back to USCIS and i haven't received an actual response. however, since USCIS just told me in the letter dated like 10 days ago that they're not the ones to contact about withdrawing my petition, that means that they haven't received the petition back from the embassy (unless it goes to NVC first but the embassy said they were sending it back to USCIS). i just got through to NVC's automated message, which told me to call back during business hours but these are their business hours. it just feels so hopeless because it was this difficult to get in touch with anyone the last time and on top of that, there's all this back and forth between the agencies.

this is so depressing...

again, any information is appreciated.

[Kastrs 723]

OMG! kastrs, that sounds terrible. so do you have to wait for a confirmation letter from them regarding the withdrawal before you can submit the new petition? I have gotten some inconsistent information on this, I person said yes to wait the other said no need for me to wait. I am getting married in a couple weeks, and would like to file my petition

if so then you could be waiting several months before resubmitting and then having to wait the several months to have it go through the process. that can't be, can it?? i wish they would have just told me this months ago. I know exactly what you mean. It is partially my fault I know, but serious you would think that USCIS/NVC/embassy would want to clear out overdue pending applications too. I am sort of praying that I will get conformation from someone that the petition is closed while I am away, but if I do not get it, I think I will take my chances and file as I have planned in January and hope the old petition does not create problems. And I think it making problems or not depends on luck.

taskova, my petition was supposedly sent to the embassy in july 2012 and they claimed to have contacted my fiance in august 2012 but he never received anything. my fiance is from algeria and apparently, they hold on to old petitions for at least two years because when i contacted them in october of 2014, they said that they had the petition but that they were going to send it back to USCIS since the petition expired. i sent them an email asking when they would be sending the petition back to USCIS but i never received a response. i've been calling NVC for the last 40 minutes and the line has been busy this entire time. this is usually what i've experienced when i call regardless of the time of day. how is it busy all the time????

if i send written withdrawals to both the embassy and NVC and send a new petition to USCIS shortly after sending the withdrawal letters, will USCIS not process the new petition? I think at worst it will cause a delay, just include a letter of explanation with your petition detailing your efforts to withdraw the old petition. has anyone sent a new petition without waiting for confirmation on the old petition being withdrawn from NVC/USCIS? i just want to submit a new petition.

the thing is, i don't know where my petition is since the embassy claimed they were going to send it back to USCIS. it's been more than a month since i sent the email to the embassy, asking when they would send the petition back to USCIS and i haven't received an actual response. Follow up with a certified mail letter to the embassy and NVC. Also, check your status using CEAC, if it says ready you will know your petition is still with the embassy. however, since USCIS just told me in the letter dated like 10 days ago that they're not the ones to contact about withdrawing my petition, that means that they haven't received the petition back from the embassy (unless it goes to NVC first but the embassy said they were sending it back to USCIS). The petition will follow the reverse steps it has taken so it returns from embassy to NVC to USCIS. i just got through to NVC's automated message, which told me to call back during business hours but these are their business hours. it just feels so hopeless because it was this difficult to get in touch with anyone the last time and on top of that, there's all this back and forth between the agencies.

this is so depressing...

again, any information is appreciated.

Response is in bold