Kyiv Embassy wait times

[Hazah 0]

I'm curious to find out the typical wait time someone has between the time they enter the embassy and the time they actually get attended to. This is for a K1 if it matters, and will be on a Monday. My fiancee told me that the past 2 attempts at tourist visas went very slowly. She said she had to wait outside with over 100 people just to get inside, and once inside she had to wait with another 100 people. They would only call 8 or so people at a time for the interviews. I did read somewhere though that most interviews take less than 15 minutes.

Does she have to use the DS-156 forms that the embassy provides, or can she bring copies of her own already filled out?

[payxibka 10,044]

A K-1 has an appointment time so they "jump" pass the queue and go directly to the guard who will check her ID and then direct her to the proper place.

When my SO arrived she went to the window and handed in her documents and then sat down to wait. She waited maybe two hours before she was called for the interview (if you can call what she got an interview). Kiev is very particular on the paperwork so make sure it is complete and organized and everything should go much better.

[Hazah 0]

A K-1 has an appointment time so they "jump" pass the queue and go directly to the guard who will check her ID and then direct her to the proper place.

When my SO arrived she went to the window and handed in her documents and then sat down to wait. She waited maybe two hours before she was called for the interview (if you can call what she got an interview). Kiev is very particular on the paperwork so make sure it is complete and organized and everything should go much better.

Did they give her any documents to fill out when she got there?

[payxibka 10,044]

A K-1 has an appointment time so they "jump" pass the queue and go directly to the guard who will check her ID and then direct her to the proper place.

When my SO arrived she went to the window and handed in her documents and then sat down to wait. She waited maybe two hours before she was called for the interview (if you can call what she got an interview). Kiev is very particular on the paperwork so make sure it is complete and organized and everything should go much better.

Did they give her any documents to fill out when she got there?

We had all items needed prepared in advance... I believe the only thing she had to preapare was the delivery instructions for her passport/visa, which BTW arrived TODAY!!!

Edited May 10, 2007 by fwaguy

[Hazah 0]

We had all items needed prepared in advance... I believe the only thing she had to preapare was the delivery instructions for her passport/visa, which BTW arrived TODAY!!!

That's good to hear about the documents. I read that some embassies provide the DS-156, and the one on the net has a barcode which i wasn't sure if it'd be what they wanted. I sent her some copies of the net form and told her to go ahead and fill it out and if they wanted a special one she could fill that out instead.

That's awesome news obtaining the visa!! You must have gotten lucky to have your interview scheduled so soon after the NOA2 was approved. It took me a ridiculous 4 weeks for the petition to get from NVC to Kyiv and then a couple days trying to get through to the Call Center. They finally gave us an appointment of May 21st which is 1 week later than what we wanted, but hey we're not complaining since there have been no problems so far.

BTW, how are ya'll doing the flight arrangements? We figure she'll be packed and ready on the first week of June, but i'm not trying to rush her. I haven't spoken to any airlines to find out the best way to travel, but i figure a round trip ticket from Kyiv to Atlanta with a possible stopover in Amsterdam would be good. That's the flight i chose last time and it went very smoothly. I just need to find an airline that will accept an origination in a non US country, and allow me to pay for her ticket even though i'm not the passenger. I spoke with someone from Expedia and they said that since 9/11 many airlines will only let you pay if you're the passenger, and the flight has to originate in US.

[payxibka 10,044]

That's good to hear about the documents. I read that some embassies provide the DS-156, and the one on the net has a barcode which i wasn't sure if it'd be what they wanted. I sent her some copies of the net form and told her to go ahead and fill it out and if they wanted a special one she could fill that out instead.

That's awesome news obtaining the visa!! You must have gotten lucky to have your interview scheduled so soon after the NOA2 was approved. It took me a ridiculous 4 weeks for the petition to get from NVC to Kyiv and then a couple days trying to get through to the Call Center. They finally gave us an appointment of May 21st which is 1 week later than what we wanted, but hey we're not complaining since there have been no problems so far.

BTW, how are ya'll doing the flight arrangements? We figure she'll be packed and ready on the first week of June, but i'm not trying to rush her. I haven't spoken to any airlines to find out the best way to travel, but i figure a round trip ticket from Kyiv to Atlanta with a possible stopover in Amsterdam would be good. That's the flight i chose last time and it went very smoothly. I just need to find an airline that will accept an origination in a non US country, and allow me to pay for her ticket even though i'm not the passenger. I spoke with someone from Expedia and they said that since 9/11 many airlines will only let you pay if you're the passenger, and the flight has to originate in US.

I leave next Friday! We return on May 27th... It is not true about requiring the flight to originate in the US if it is bought by someone else. I did however, use a travel agent this time to coordinate the ticket purchases so that we are all on the same flight....

[bcartr 0]

Hey folks, hope you dont mind me jumping in on this post.

My packet has been sent from the NVC to Kiev on May 9th.

I know what is required for Packet #3 and #4 however I dont know what to do from here forward.

So do I call the embassy and ask if they received my packet or do I have my Anna do it?

I guess I am looking for some guidance moving forward.

Thanks,

T.

Also for FWAGUY, what was the lead time they gave you for the interview approval?

[bcartr 0]

Just read this on the site

If you have assembled all the documents necessary for your interview, please contact the Call-Center at 044-207-7071 to schedule it.

The earliest available date is June 19, 2007

. The Immigrant Visa Unit no longer schedules interviews.

So am I supposed to contact them once I have packet #3 and #4 done?

This sounds like great news to me!

http://kiev.usembassy.gov/visa_K1K2_eng.html

T

[payxibka 10,044]

Just read this on the site

If you have assembled all the documents necessary for your interview, please contact the Call-Center at 044-207-7071 to schedule it.

The earliest available date is June 19, 2007

. The Immigrant Visa Unit no longer schedules interviews.

So am I supposed to contact them once I have packet #3 and #4 done?

This sounds like great news to me!

http://kiev.usembassy.gov/visa_K1K2_eng.html

T

Yes, but be careful, if you call the phone center before your case file has been loaded in the system they cannot schedule your interview and it will cost you $12 for the effort.......

[Hazah 0]

Yes, but be careful, if you call the phone center before your case file has been loaded in the system they cannot schedule your interview and it will cost you $12 for the effort.......

Yeah what i did was email the embassy to find out if they had the case file first. They sent me a reply with several attachments of what they wanted, basically the essentials from packet 3 and 4. Then i called the Call Center and they gave me an appointment. I didn't try to haggle with them to get a sooner date, but you might have success. I found it interesting to notice that most of packet 3 and 4 is instructions and guidelines and there is only like 2-3 forms to actually fill out.

[bcartr 0]

I emailed the Embassy yesterday and I received a response early this morning.

Currently your case is in our database in its electronic version. However its hardcopy has not yet been received. Upon the receipt of the approved hardcopy of your petition from the National Visa Center the instructional package will be sent to the applicant.

So I am just confused based on others that have been through the process already.

I did not get a reply with any documentation, I am assuming this is due to the fact that they do not have our package from the NVC just yet.

So in once sense the Embassy (from the email above) is stating they will contact the applicant. Then on the website at http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/visa_K1K2_eng.html they state to call them once you have all the documents to set up an interview.

So can someone do a high level process on what should be done based on the latest info?

From the NVC sending the documentation to getting the Interview.

I have all the Packet #3 documents already so that is a none issue.

Thanks,

T

[Hazah 0]

So can someone do a high level process on what should be done based on the latest info?

From the NVC sending the documentation to getting the Interview.

I have all the Packet #3 documents already so that is a none issue.

Thanks,

T

It kinda depends on when the NVC sent the approved petition to the embassy. For me it took about 4 weeks for some reason. This seems absurd given today's postal efficiency to major cities. I believe the embassy says not to bother them unless it's been 4 weeks since the NVC sent the petition, but i don't they're strict about it. It's the American embassy, you have a right to the info as an American.

If it's been 3-4 weeks since the petition from the NVC was sent to the embassy, and they still tell you they haven't received it, i'd just keep emailing them every few days. Other than that i think all you can do is wait. Once the embassy has the petition, they'll send packets 3 & 4 to your fiancee. They'll also let you know by email if you ask when they have it.

Next step is call the Call Center to schedule the appointment. The KEV1 form is obsolete, it's now just a checklist, not something you send in. They'll schedule you an interview appointment. You can go ahead and schedule a medical exam as well as long as it's within 30 days of the interview i believe. You might want to verify that by email as well.

I hope this helps, bcartr.

As an update for me, my Julia had her medical exam Monday and all is well. They don't give vaccinations for fiance visas she said, but they did check to make sure hers were current.

A question for you guys. On the DS-156 form it has a place to put the date you'll go to the US. Are they picky about that? We haven't scheduled the plane tickets yet because we want to make sure she gets the visa first. Would it be better to put an early date or a later date?

[payxibka 10,044]

I emailed the Embassy yesterday and I received a response early this morning.

Currently your case is in our database in its electronic version. However its hardcopy has not yet been received. Upon the receipt of the approved hardcopy of your petition from the National Visa Center the instructional package will be sent to the applicant.

So I am just confused based on others that have been through the process already.

I did not get a reply with any documentation, I am assuming this is due to the fact that they do not have our package from the NVC just yet.

So in once sense the Embassy (from the email above) is stating they will contact the applicant. Then on the website at http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/visa_K1K2_eng.html they state to call them once you have all the documents to set up an interview.

So can someone do a high level process on what should be done based on the latest info?

From the NVC sending the documentation to getting the Interview.

I have all the Packet #3 documents already so that is a none issue.

Thanks,

T

If you are willing to bet $12 I would phone the call center and try to schedule an interview. DO NOT wait for the P3 info to arrive as you may be waiting a very long time.