Which consulate to apply with

[Lana and Tom 1]

Hello everyone,

I am in a little bit in a panick mode right now. Me and my husband filed I-130 last Monday  for CR1 /consular porcessing after being SUPER careful about every damn step, took us forever to do it. I was about to check which specification my consulate in Munich has and can't find any information about it processing CR1 visa AT ALL. Not just during the pandemic, but just in general. Did I just make a big mistake in our application by chosing Munich as the consulate?

[SteveInBostonI130 3,493]

I believe Frankfurt is the consulate that handles immigrant visas.  If you wrote "Munich" then it wouldn't be much of a concern.  NVC will know the correct consulate office for Germany and will route it there.

[payxibka 10,048]

1 hour ago, Lana and Tom said:

Hello everyone,

I am in a little bit in a panick mode right now. Me and my husband filed I-130 last Monday  for CR1 /consular porcessing after being SUPER careful about every damn step, took us forever to do it. I was about to check which specification my consulate in Munich has and can't find any information about it processing CR1 visa AT ALL. Not just during the pandemic, but just in general. Did I just make a big mistake in our application by chosing Munich as the consulate?

A mistake not to worry about 

[Lana and Tom 1]

Puh so glad to hear that. I feel like " a mistake not to worry about" does not happen often with immigration, but I am very relieved to hear that.

[JKLSemicolon 446]

4 minutes ago, Lana and Tom said:

Puh so glad to hear that. I feel like " a mistake not to worry about" does not happen often with immigration, but I am very relieved to hear that.

Different country, but a similar thing happened to us back when we did a K1 visa. After it went through NVC it was routed to the correct consulate and there were no issues.

[pushbrk 13,801]

For general knowledge of the reader, the US now has no more than one Immigrant Visa Unit in any country.  Often, they are NOT attached to the "Embassy".   India used to have 3, but now only Mumbai.  Some countries have none, or none open, so interviews are arranged in another country.  NVC will always assigned to the correct information based on the residence information in the petition.  They will also change, on request, if an applicant has a choice.  the only choices are country of citizenship and country of legal residence, unless there is no IV unit in country of residence.

[Lana and Tom 1]

Thank you pushbrk , helpful as always. It is amazing how much knowledge you have about the immigration process.

Edited March 27, 2021 by Lana and Tom

[jan22 3,184]

21 hours ago, pushbrk said:

For general knowledge of the reader, the US now has no more than one Immigrant Visa Unit in any country.  Often, they are NOT attached to the "Embassy".   India used to have 3, but now only Mumbai.  Some countries have none, or none open, so interviews are arranged in another country.  NVC will always assigned to the correct information based on the residence information in the petition.  They will also change, on request, if an applicant has a choice.  the only choices are country of citizenship and country of legal residence, unless there is no IV unit in country of residence.

Almost accurate.  There are a couple of countries that still have a small, secondary IV processing site in-country.  But, your most importrant point is, of course, correct -- NVC will assign the correct interview location based on residence.

[payxibka 10,048]

5 hours ago, jan22 said:

Almost accurate.  There are a couple of countries that still have a small, secondary IV processing site in-country.  But, your most importrant point is, of course, correct -- NVC will assign the correct interview location based on residence.

Where would those be?

[JacobP 187]

24 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Where would those be?

The consulate in Naha, Okinawa, Japan still does some Immigrant visas including CR/IR and Ks alongside Tokyo.

[pushbrk 13,801]

1 hour ago, payxibka said:

Where would those be?

Even if visa interviews are conducted in satellite locations, there is still only ONE "IV Unit" in any given country.  A little outreach is not uncommon, particularly in special circumstances.  Enhancing an assertion with actual data is always appreciated.

[jan22 3,184]

16 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Even if visa interviews are conducted in satellite locations, there is still only ONE "IV Unit" in any given country.  A little outreach is not uncommon, particularly in special circumstances.  Enhancing an assertion with actual data is always appreciated.

Sorry, but this, too, is not quite accurate.  In any Consulate or Embassy that processes IVs, there is an IV Unit -- which is essentially nothing more than the part of the consular staff that is designated to handle the IV function.  Even though Consulates are branch offices of an Embassy, and all parts of a US foreign mission try to have similar operating procedures that are agreed to by the Posts in that country, they have separate staff units and managers.

 

Although it may not be true right now due to COVID retrictionss, the two examples that first come to mind are New Delhi and Mexico City (neither of which could be considered a satellite of the main IV processing Post in their countries).  They make separate requests to NVC to schedule appointments and may restrict the categories of immigrant visas they process, even during non-COVID times.

[pushbrk 13,801]

2 hours ago, jan22 said:

Sorry, but this, too, is not quite accurate.  In any Consulate or Embassy that processes IVs, there is an IV Unit -- which is essentially nothing more than the part of the consular staff that is designated to handle the IV function.  Even though Consulates are branch offices of an Embassy, and all parts of a US foreign mission try to have similar operating procedures that are agreed to by the Posts in that country, they have separate staff units and managers.

 

Although it may not be true right now due to COVID retrictionss, the two examples that first come to mind are New Delhi and Mexico City (neither of which could be considered a satellite of the main IV processing Post in their countries).  They make separate requests to NVC to schedule appointments and may restrict the categories of immigrant visas they process, even during non-COVID times.

So, you are saying Immigrant Visa interviews occur in New Delhi and Mexico City?  A "unit" has a manager.  That some of that manager's staff may conduct interviews in separate locations, does not constitute a different unit.  I can see that any qualified Consular Officer...COULD....conduct an IV interview ANYWHERE, and that the any visa printing equipment can print any visa, but in the context of the OP's question, there's one IV unit in any country, only one Consular Post typically processing Immigrant Visas.

[payxibka 10,048]

New Delhi and Mexico City have not done IV interviews for several years. 

[jan22 3,184]

19 hours ago, payxibka said:

New Delhi and Mexico City have not done IV interviews for several years. 

Sorry -- you're right about Mexico City.  My bad -- forgot they stopped again around 2018.  But New Delhi still processes some IVs.  They had stopped, but resumed again around 2014.  They don't do a lot (especially compared to Mumbai!), but they do a few routine cases and focus on some of the more complex cases.

Edited March 29, 2021 by jan22