Transfer from one embassy to another

[O & R 0]

Hey! Is there anybody here who has ever transferred their case from one embassy to another? I might have some questions! Than you so much 

[geowrian 22,337]

Yes, my now-wife changed from Riyadh to Manila back in 2017.

[O & R 0]

29 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Yes, my now-wife changed from Riyadh to Manila back in 2017.

How long did she wait to get her status « ready »? And how long after that did they receive the physical file? 

[geowrian 22,337]

11 minutes ago, O & R said:

How long did she wait to get her status « ready »? And how long after that did they receive the physical file? 

Most of the info is in my signature (click on the "Reveal Hidden Contents" bar to expand it), but a summary is below:

• 4/16/17 Case received at Riyadh
• 4/21/17 Case formally requested for transfer to Manila*
• 4/24/17 Case transfer approved by Riyadh
• 5/1/17 Case received by Manila, CEAC READY.
• 5/3/17 Scheduled interview**

* We requested the transfer 3 times via Manila. The first 2 times they just sent back a generic response w/o apparently reading any of the question. The third time they actually made the request for transfer from Riyadh. This was about a week of delay going back & forth for the 3 responses.

 

** She needed to contact ustraveldocs.com to move her account there. She previously applied for a tourist visa from Riyadh, so her account was still showing as being in KSA and you can't create a new account with the same passport number. They responded within about 2 days.

Edited August 8, 2019 by geowrian

[O & R 0]

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

Most of the info is in my signature (click on the "Reveal Hidden Contents" bar to expand it), but a summary is below:

• 4/16/17 Case received at Riyadh
• 4/21/17 Case formally requested for transfer to Manila*
• 4/24/17 Case transfer approved by Riyadh
• 5/1/17 Case received by Manila, CEAC READY.
• 5/3/17 Scheduled interview**

* We requested the transfer 3 times via Manila. The first 2 times they just sent back a generic response w/o apparently reading any of the question. The third time they actually made the request for transfer from Riyadh. This was about a week of delay going back & forth for the 3 responses.

 

** She needed to contact ustraveldocs.com to move her account there. She previously applied for a tourist visa from Riyadh, so her account was still showing as being in KSA and you can't create a new account with the same passport number. They responded within about 2 days.

That was fast! 

My situation is the following :

 

Case ready in Paris : 07/26

Transfer requested to Madrid from Paris : 07/28

Transfer approved : 07/29

Transfer in progress : 07/30

Case ready in Madrid with the MDD letters at the end of the case number : 07/31

 

So basically since 07/31 my case is ready out there but they keep on telling me they haven’t received anything so I can’t move on to the next steps 

I am getting so frustrated... did the same happen to you guys when it showed ready or everything went smoothly?

[geowrian 22,337]

6 minutes ago, O & R said:

That was fast!

Yup. Riyadh isn't a particularly busy embassy, and Manila issues almost 1/5 of the world's K-1 visas, so they have the process really streamlined once they get the file.

 

6 minutes ago, O & R said:

My situation is the following :

 

Case ready in Paris : 07/26

Transfer requested to Madrid from Paris : 07/28

Transfer approved : 07/29

Transfer in progress : 07/30

Case ready in Madrid with the MDD letters at the end of the case number : 07/31

 

So basically since 07/31 my case is ready out there but they keep on telling me they haven’t received anything so I can’t move on to the next steps 

I am getting so frustrated... did the same happen to you guys when it showed ready or everything went smoothly?

I can't say anything about Madrid as I'm not familiar with that embassy. It's in their hands now to get the file and do initial processing to get it into their system and proceed. It may be possible to proceed with the DS-160, medical, etc., already even...I don't know what the requirements are for Madrid in terms of that (Manila has no Packet 3...you just submit the forms and do the medical and schedule the interview yourself once the case is ready).

[O & R 0]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

Yup. Riyadh isn't a particularly busy embassy, and Manila issues almost 1/5 of the world's K-1 visas, so they have the process really streamlined once they get the file.

 

I can't say anything about Madrid as I'm not familiar with that embassy. It's in their hands now to get the file and do initial processing to get it into their system and proceed. It may be possible to proceed with the DS-160, medical, etc., already even...I don't know what the requirements are for Madrid in terms of that (Manila has no Packet 3...you just submit the forms and do the medical and schedule the interview yourself once the case is ready).

Paris sent the file to Madrid as soon as Madrid asked. It showed ready 2 days later. Ready is supposed to mean that the file has reached the new embassy, isn’t it?

I honestly think they received it but haven’t processed it yet in their computer. Because usually it stays as « transfer in progress » for people whose transfer took a long time 

[FreyandRyan 330]

This is all really good to know as we will have to transfer embassies in the future from Manila to London.

 

Is waiting for the case to get to old embassy and then emailing the new embassy to transfer it the best option? I've read that trying to catch the case during the NVC stage for a change may be possible yet difficult?

[Greenbaum 12,259]

10 minutes ago, FreyandRyan said:

This is all really good to know as we will have to transfer embassies in the future from Manila to London.

 

Is waiting for the case to get to old embassy and then emailing the new embassy to transfer it the best option? I've read that trying to catch the case during the NVC stage for a change may be possible yet difficult?

If you wish to have your immigrant/fiancée visa file transferred from one Embassy to another U.S. Embassy/Consulate, please contact the appropriate U.S. Embassy/Consulate directly in the country where you wish to apply and follow their instructions for case transfer. Please click here for the full list of all U.S. Embassies and Consulates overseas.

The old Embassy will need to receive a formal file transfer request from that U.S. Embassy/Consulate in the country where you wish to apply. Upon receipt of this request, they will immediately forward the file for the New Embassy to process. (Expect up to a 30 day delay)

Once you contact your New Embassy you then can discuss the transfer of your fee if you have paid it prior to the decision of transferring your case to your new embassy. Be sure to have your payment receipt available.

If your case goes from embassy to embassy then NO you don't get a new case number. The case number will began with original alpha nomenclature ie. AAAXXXXXXXXXX. If her case comes from NVC then you will have a case number starting with the embassy that you will interview in. To make your payment using your old embassy's case number you establish your profile with that case number then you link your payment to your profile.

[geowrian 22,337]

1 hour ago, O & R said:

Paris sent the file to Madrid as soon as Madrid asked. It showed ready 2 days later. Ready is supposed to mean that the file has reached the new embassy, isn’t it?

I honestly think they received it but haven’t processed it yet in their computer. Because usually it stays as « transfer in progress » for people whose transfer took a long time 

Generally, it does.

That's possible. I wish I had more info specific to Madrid on how they handle incoming cases, but I don't want to misspeak as when and how to do the steps at that point vary from consulate to consulate.

 

1 hour ago, FreyandRyan said:

This is all really good to know as we will have to transfer embassies in the future from Manila to London.

 

Is waiting for the case to get to old embassy and then emailing the new embassy to transfer it the best option? I've read that trying to catch the case during the NVC stage for a change may be possible yet difficult?

If you can catch it at NVC and get a hold of somebody who knows what to do - then yes, changing at NVC is possible and preferred.

My experience with over a dozen phone calls (both to the IV and NIV numbers - both handle K-1s) and 2 supervisors, I was unable to get in touch with somebody who could make the change before they sent it out. I have heard of a small handful of people who were able to do so with an I-129F (I-130s are different as they are at NVC for months).

Edited August 8, 2019 by geowrian

[O & R 0]

1 hour ago, FreyandRyan said:

This is all really good to know as we will have to transfer embassies in the future from Manila to London.

 

Is waiting for the case to get to old embassy and then emailing the new embassy to transfer it the best option? I've read that trying to catch the case during the NVC stage for a change may be possible yet difficult?

I actually tried to call NVC the time my case was there 4 times and my fiancé did 5 times. There’s no way they’ll do it on the phone first of all... and you have to send them a request online through their inquiry form. The thing is that I sent them this request on July 15th and you want to know the funny part? They answered me only yesterday telling me my case isn’t there anymore so it’s not up to them to do this change anymore lol 🤦🏼‍♀️

So yes it might be the best option to catch it at the NVC but honestly it’s IMPOSSIBLE! 

[geowrian 22,337]

41 minutes ago, O & R said:

I actually tried to call NVC the time my case was there 4 times and my fiancé did 5 times. There’s no way they’ll do it on the phone first of all... and you have to send them a request online through their inquiry form. The thing is that I sent them this request on July 15th and you want to know the funny part? They answered me only yesterday telling me my case isn’t there anymore so it’s not up to them to do this change anymore lol 🤦🏼‍♀️

So yes it might be the best option to catch it at the NVC but honestly it’s IMPOSSIBLE! 

Same experience. I also sent the notice via email to the supervisor's email address to no luck. I have seen a couple people get really lucky and have the email reviewed to make the change in time.

But yeah, my experience was essentially the same - it took a few months to get a response form NVC just to say they don't have it anymore.

[Ryan H 3,813]

Moved from K1 Progress Reports to US Embassy and Consulate Discussion.

[FreyandRyan 330]

Bumping this with an update of sorts for a similar situation. My fiancee recently moved countries for work and we are in the NOA1 waiting for NOA2 phase. I wrote a letter to the USCIS CSC asking for an address change for the beneficiary as well as an embassy change. I included both of our DOB and addresses as well as her old address and case number. This was about a week ago, never got a touch on the site  for the case so I decided to call USCIS and they confirmed that the new address was on file. i asked if they changed the embassy too and they stated that if it was put in the letter it would be updated. We'll see if it actually worked eventually, but I'm hoping it did. I know a lot of people say wait for the NVC stage to change stuff, but an official letter to the USCIS might do the trick.

Edited September 17, 2019 by FreyandRyan

[geowrian 22,337]

11 minutes ago, FreyandRyan said:

I know a lot of people say wait for the NVC stage to change stuff, but an official letter to the USCIS might do the trick.

I did this as well. The letter was acknowledged (we even got an RFE after acknowledgement, in which I provided another copy of the letter in the RFE response).

But yeah, it's a bit of dumb luck if they actually take action on it at the USCIS stage. Good luck.!

Edited September 17, 2019 by geowrian