Interview in Guayaquil, Ecuador consulate

[iznar24 1]

Guys, I was wondering if any of you have gotten an interview for a resident visa based on marriage during the pandemic, specifically in Ecuador. If so, how long did it take for you to get the appointment after NVC approved all the documents? Any advice?

[kris&me 572]

At this time (if you check the US embassy site )   you will see the Consular section is closed until further notice (check under either US citizen services or visa services to see the announcement on right hand corner) as Ecuador is under State of emergency announced December 21, 2020

 

also the August announcement that said they would try to resume services said "be patient as there is a big backlog " and now all that is halted again

as you can see on the right side of the Ecuador portal page,   there are no interviews listed to take place

[JKLSemicolon 331]

On 1/10/2021 at 6:01 PM, kris&me said:

At this time (if you check the US embassy site )   you will see the Consular section is closed until further notice (check under either US citizen services or visa services to see the announcement on right hand corner) as Ecuador is under State of emergency announced December 21, 2020

 

also the August announcement that said they would try to resume services said "be patient as there is a big backlog " and now all that is halted again

as you can see on the right side of the Ecuador portal page,   there are no interviews listed to take place

Can you provide any direct links or screenshots from the pages you were referring to?

 

Right now the U.S. Embassy/Consulate in Ecuador mentions that CR-1/IR-1 visas are being processed in Guayaquil, and have been since August. I was visiting in Ecuador when the state of emergency was announced in December but I thought it was quickly rescinded and I wasn't able to find any reference to this when it came to visa processing at the Consulate.

 

I have been checking the monthly immigrant visa issuance statistics from the Department of State and will list the total number of CR-1+IR-1 visas issued by month in Guayaquil since the beginning of last year. Since interviews are required for these visas, this the best proxy that I know of for judging what is happening there:

• January 2020: 101 visas
• February 2020: 77 visas
• March 2020: 36 visas
• April 2020: 5 visas
• May 2020: 2 visas
• June 2020: 7 visas
• July 2020: 21 visas
• August 2020: 51 visas
• September 2020: 58 visas
• October 2020: 70 visas
• November 2020: 44 visas
• December 2020: 71 visas

It will be interesting to see how many were issued in January, but those statistics aren't out yet. Overall it appears that things are being processed again but not at the same rate as before.

 

On 1/10/2021 at 5:26 PM, iznar24 said:

Guys, I was wondering if any of you have gotten an interview for a resident visa based on marriage during the pandemic, specifically in Ecuador. If so, how long did it take for you to get the appointment after NVC approved all the documents? Any advice?

I can't offer any personal experience because we are not at the NVC stage yet. But it would be great if you completed your VJ timeline so there are more data points from Ecuador.

 

[JKLSemicolon 331]

Just adding, here is the list of all visas currently being processed in Guayaquil if anyone wants to look up those statistics:

• Guayaquil
  • Nonimmigrant Visas: Interview Waiver Cases, F, M, J, C1/D visa applications, as well as limited H, L, O, P, Q, R, and E visa applications.
  • Immigrant Visas: IH, IR1,IR2, CR1, CR2 and K visas

I listed the IR-1/CR-1 (spouse) statistics because that's what the OP's profile said, despite this being posted in the forum for non-spouse family member visas.

[Sabi76 6]

Hi, in an effort to try to give you a little bit of a point of reference by using our current data and data provided earlier in the thread I would guess that 7 months from date NVC accepts your paperwork is when you will be notified for your appointment.  Our scheduled visa appointment is March 30th, 2021 so it takes an additional 2 months before actually attending it.

 

Case Completed at NVC :	2020-07-24

Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter :

2021-02-09

This took us 7 months to be notified but as JKLSemicolon, pointed out with actual data,  processing slowed down to almost a standstill and the Consulate has since then started to pick up speed again. It appears that the slowdown added 5 months to the total wait time because of it. Previous to COVID-19 processing times had expectedly been about 30 days of a delay between when NVC accepted documents and when Ecuador was then contacting beneficiaries for an appointment at the Consulate which then meant another 30 days at least before going to the appointment.  Then it might have been that we would have had an appointment as soon as October 1st.  Now if we look at the fact that we got an appointment for March 30th which is basically April to make estimates easier then from October to April that is actually a 7 month delay .  We finished paperwork at beginning of August, rounding up.  So August to October is 2 months plus the 7 months for a total of a 9 month delay of estimated time from when your paperwork is accepted by the NVC and you a set appointment to go in for an interview.   This is just an estimate but the best that you can go by using current data and from our dates as a point of reference.

 

 

Edited February 22, 2021 by Sabi76

[jayman111 4]

1 hour ago, Sabi76 said:

Hi, in an effort to try to give you a little bit of a point of reference by using our current data and data provided earlier in the thread I would guess that 7 months from date NVC accepts your paperwork is when you will be notified for your appointment.  Our scheduled visa appointment is March 30th, 2021 so it takes an additional 2 months before actually attending it.

 

Case Completed at NVC :	2020-07-24

Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter :

2021-02-09

This took us 7 months to be notified but as JKLSemicolon, pointed out with actual data,  processing slowed down to almost a standstill and the Consulate has since then started to pick up speed again. It appears that the slowdown added 5 months to the total wait time because of it. Previous to COVID-19 processing times had expectedly been about 30 days of a delay between when NVC accepted documents and when Ecuador was then contacting beneficiaries for an appointment at the Consulate which then meant another 30 days at least before going to the appointment.  Then it might have been that we would have had an appointment as soon as October 1st.  Now if we look at the fact that we got an appointment for March 30th which is basically April to make estimates easier then from October to April that is actually a 7 month delay .  We finished paperwork at beginning of August, rounding up.  So August to October is 2 months plus the 7 months for a total of a 9 month delay of estimated time from when your paperwork is accepted by the NVC and you a set appointment to go in for an interview.   This is just an estimate but the best that you can go by using current data and from our dates as a point of reference.

 

 

I also know one other person with July DQ and one person with June DQ got appointments for March. I'd agree 8-9 months is about the timeline for DQ to interview at the Guayaquil consulate. Hopefully the timeline's getting faster, which seems like the case with people from June AND July getting interviews next month. I know one person with a May DQ has an interview this month.  

[J&C2012 2]

I am applying for an IR1 at the Guayaquil consulate. I was DQ by the NVC on December 3, 2020. I estimate a wait time currently of about 7-8 months until I am informed of the interview. 

Others who are going through the same process, please share your dates!

[JKLSemicolon 331]

A hopeful sign for everyone: Looks like the Guayaquil consulate issued 23 CR-1 visas and 136 IR-1 visas in March 2021. That is about double the amount issued the previous month. Not sure if the current estado de excepción will slow things down again, though.

[GabyLu 0]

Hello! Are all immigrant visa appointments being held in Guayaquil? Do u have any information if the Consulate part of the embassy in Quito is processing ir1’s? 

[J&C2012 2]

Hi GabyLu,

 

Unfortunately, only the Guayaquil consulate processes immigrant visas in Ecuador. The Quito embassy offers only non-immigrant processes normally.

 

Also, at this time the Guayaquil consulate has reduced staff because of the pandemic, and the Quito consular services are technically closed and only processing emergency requests for things like US citizen services. You can check the status here: https://ec.usembassy.gov/specific-inquiries-about-visas-during-covid-19/

[J&C2012 2]

Hello, an update from our case: we were documentarily qualified with the NVC on Dec 3, 2020; received email from NVC from Jun 17, 2021 with interview information; interview will be on July 14, 2021. A little more than 7 months after being DQ.

[Cmat22 1]

The entire process from start day 12/26/20 to interview day 8/11/21 about 8 months 

Cr1 

Edited July 20, 2021 by Cmat22

[Cmat22 1]

On 6/30/2021 at 4:22 PM, J&C2012 said:

Hello, an update from our case: we were documentarily qualified with the NVC on Dec 3, 2020; received email from NVC from Jun 17, 2021 with interview information; interview will be on July 14, 2021. A little more than 7 months after being DQ.

Why is taking so long for you? I got an interview date a month after I got DQ

[JKLSemicolon 331]

On 7/20/2021 at 8:37 AM, Cmat22 said:

Why is taking so long for you? I got an interview date a month after I got DQ

Please fill out your VisaJourney timeline as that will help others on this site.

 

The few people who have reported on VJ during the past year had been waiting 7-9 months between the DQ date and interview date in Guayaquil.

 

My wife's interview has been scheduled for August, which will be 5 months after the DQ date.

 

 

[Cmat22 1]

That's really good I, see thag your interview is scheduled for August 10th mine is for the 19th keep us posted on how yours goes.