Flight dates for interview (GYE)

[bluebook14 32]

As the interview will be at the famous Guayaquil consulate, I am going to be attending it along with my fiance. We just got our NOA2, and I'd like to be able to have things move as quickly as possible...

In respect to flight dates, I am wondering as to the leave/return dates. Ideally I'd get there 2-3 weeks before the interview/medical stuff, and return as early as possible after the interview.

I'm assuming (My NOA2 was July 10) that it will be in GYE at the beginning of August, and that an interview will happen somewhere around late august, and assuming the interview is OK, we can return mid-September.

Of course there's a chance that things can slow down, but I'm trying to aim for the correct dates so that I don't have to pay change/cancellation fees.

The 'Consulate Information' page for GYE seems a bit outdated. If http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/general/wait-times.html/?post=Guayaquilis to be believed, the wait time for an interview is very short.

Is my timeline too optimistic? Judging by the time tables for K1 visas in Ecuador in VJ, it seems to hover between 2-3 months between the NOA2 and the actual interview, but I'm unsure if that's because of the visa process itself, or because of applicants' time constraints (we both have very flexible schedules..)

(Sorry if this is under the wrong forum)

[Shauna&Wael 211]

why 2-3 wks before the medical + interview? i would think 1 week before could be sufficient. pay extra for a changeable ticket so you won't have to stress about the return date. in my humble opinion.

[bluebook14 32]

The 2-3 weeks ahead (rather than 1 week) is mainly out of personal preference than anything absolutely required (also, I tend to get pretty sick with the flu for the first 1-2 weeks of each visit..)

Obviously I'm anxious to see her again (and would go sooner, but I don't want to get myself in the mess of having to get an extended visa for Ecuador, since I've already stayed 47 out of my 90 yearly limit already).

I'm mainly trying to figure out how to plan a timetable for this so I don't go too early (and end up having to get an extended Ecuadorean visa) nor do I go too late (and end up being rushed/sick/etc. by the interview). But maybe if the wait times are indeed just a matter of days, I can just time my trip based on my NVC process and schedule the interview together once I get there..

Edited July 12, 2015 by bluebook14

[TBoneTX 45,447]

You might want to check the timelines of folks whom GYQ has approved within the last several months, to see how long it took their visas to be in hand. My unscientific impression is that they're slow to print and ship visas. Assuming no 221g or AP status, you can ask them if you can pick up the visa at the consulate when it's ready, rather than having to wait for DHL or whatever service would otherwise send it.

Consulates worldwide are currently digging out from their visa-printing backlog, caused by the security breach not long ago. Things should be back to normal relatively soon.

[bluebook14 32]

Seems that AA doesn't offer 'flexible' tickets for their international offerings, and that changing a flight between US and south america is $300. I'll see if I can hunt down some of our recent Ecuador folks and ask how long it took to schedule medical, interview, etc.

[SantyAndAllie 155]

Hi! Congratulations on the noa2!

I'm responding here since you sent me the link and this can help others like us who are reading this remember you can always message us and ask any questions since we've recently finished! I can't promise to be able to answer, but we're always willing to help! Have you seen my post on post noa2 steps so you guys are ready?? It's in my signature.

My personal opinion, though? Don't book your flight or make any plans without knowing. Otherwise you may be in for disappointment. I know thats probably not what you want to hear, but take it from me. We JUST finished our k1 process (literally we're getting married today lol), as you know, and spent hundreds of dollars (a good $250 fee for each change) changing our ticket.. And we had insurance on it. I know this is a typical answer that you've heard before, but you can absolutely 100% never ever be sure. Others around us got their interviews and visas right before us, and even the consulate gave us dates. Yet it took us more time. But trust me when I tell you that you cannot ever rely on the timelines or 'estimates' of others. I know you would like to in order to prepare, but this process is awful for planning in advance. It's nearly impossible to know. We definitely did not think we would hit July without the visa. At all. But things happen. We had someone tell us it would take 2 weeks. VJ said on average 2 weeks for an interview. They had nothing open for at least a month. We called literally every single day of that month to get a cancelation, since the consulate said they usually have at least one. They had none! Then we were told we could get it the same day or a few days later. We got it almost 4 weeks after the interview. Granted, there was a technical issue for a while, but it was fixed shortly after our interview. It didn't take some others as long as it took us. but ecuador is STILL clearing the backlog because we were part of the backlog, and it took them weeks to clear ours.

Again, historically it could take a month to get an interview or visa, but for you it could take less. Or it could take more. But do I think you should take the chance and book things without knowing for sure? I don't recommend it. It's up to you, but like I said, take it from us! We knew we had a risk in booking, but we were desperate for dates. We ended up paying for it big time. Listen to the cautions of others here because we only want to help prevent you losing time and money over this!

I could tell you that august would be a reasonable estimate for an interview, but I don't want to steer you wrong if that doesn't happen. The consulate, our lawyers, and other members here gave us estimates that didn't end up happening. We also checked recent ecuamerican couples' timelines. They didn't happen like ours. Check out our timeline to see how long things took for us. That can give you a rough idea!

Good luck to you two and don't hesitate to let us know if you need any help!! keep us posted on your progress!

Edited July 14, 2015 by SantyAndAllie

[SantyAndAllie 155]

Ps you can't schedule medical without the interview. See my post in my signature about post noa2 to see "average" times it takes to and from NVC, etc. we scheduled our dr appt (Quito) the day before, so that part was fairly quick.

[SantyAndAllie 155]

One more.. TBone mentioned something that others told us.. That we could request pick up to save time. That was a no go. They don't allow it. Someone said to me that they did that recently, but when we asked multiple times, they said no. They only send via dhl. They ship them in big shipments at the end of the day. It's an expedited 24 hr service, so it's usually quick to ship to somewhere far like Quito (that was ours). But it's long to print. Once CEAC said issued, it took them over a week to print ours.

[TBoneTX 45,447]

Bummer about the no-pickup, but good to know.

It would probably be chaos for them to have an extra line of people clamoring to pick up their visas.