Rescheduling an Embassy Appointment

[AlexJW 0]

Dear all,

 

I hope everyone is progressing well on their visa journeys. I was hoping someone could answer a question I had about scheduling an appointment for my wife's CR1 visa. Here's a little bit about my situation: I am American and my wife is Japanese. We had initially applied for the CR1 visa in August, 2018 and the case had proceeded, sometimes with a complication or two, until the pandemic hit. Borders closed and the immigration process slowed down even further. Still, the embassy received our pre-interview documents and we were approved for an interview which was to happen in September 2020. 

Due to safety concerns, the pandemic, and closed borders, we decided to reschedule the embassy appointment for a later date. We still haven't scheduled an interview, but we're planning on doing it early in the spring. I was wondering, is there a deadline for rescheduling the interview? Could our case possibly be thrown out if we wait too long? I've tried to get reassurance from embassy staff, but their answers to my concerns are not always clear. They seem to be telling me that our case is fine, but I can't help feel a bit worried.

 

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

Alex 

 

 

[SalishSea 17,928]

8 minutes ago, AlexJW said:

Dear all,

 

I hope everyone is progressing well on their visa journeys. I was hoping someone could answer a question I had about scheduling an appointment for my wife's CR1 visa. Here's a little bit about my situation: I am American and my wife is Japanese. We had initially applied for the CR1 visa in August, 2018 and the case had proceeded, sometimes with a complication or two, until the pandemic hit. Borders closed and the immigration process slowed down even further. Still, the embassy received our pre-interview documents and we were approved for an interview which was to happen in September 2020. 

Due to safety concerns, the pandemic, and closed borders, we decided to reschedule the embassy appointment for a later date. We still haven't scheduled an interview, but we're planning on doing it early in the spring. I was wondering, is there a deadline for rescheduling the interview? Could our case possibly be thrown out if we wait too long? I've tried to get reassurance from embassy staff, but their answers to my concerns are not always clear. They seem to be telling me that our case is fine, but I can't help feel a bit worried.

 

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

Alex 

 

 

Are you sure your petition is still at the embassy?  Approved petitions expire after four months, and they can be reinstated, but I'm not sure that an approved petition sitting idle for 14 months wouldn't be sent back to USCIS.  Have you been communicating with the embassy regularly during the 14 months?

[arken 4,197]

5 hours ago, AlexJW said:

I was wondering, is there a deadline for rescheduling the interview? Could our case possibly be thrown out if we wait too long? I've tried to get reassurance from embassy staff, but their answers to my concerns are not always clear. They seem to be telling me that our case is fine, but I can't help feel a bit worried.

When was the last time you contacted the embassy? If 12 months have passed, you may be required to start New DS260 process again including the fee.

[AlexJW 0]

6 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Are you sure your petition is still at the embassy?  Approved petitions expire after four months, and they can be reinstated, but I'm not sure that an approved petition sitting idle for 14 months wouldn't be sent back to USCIS.  Have you been communicating with the embassy regularly during the 14 months?

Hi Jorgedig, after reading your message I became quite worried. I've been in touch with the embassy, and they never told me about time limits for the reschedule, although I have tried to press them on it each time. Each time they just say, here's a link to reschedule, and make the appointment for when you you're planning on leaving for the states. And when I search for the status of my case through CEAC, it says my documents have been sent to Japan and the next step is to do the interview. So I guess I'm okay for now? But I'm not 100% certain, and that's nerve-wracking.

 

 

49 minutes ago, arken said:

When was the last time you contacted the embassy? If 12 months have passed, you may be required to start New DS260 process again including the fee.

Hi Arken, the last time I contacted the embassy was mid-October, I believe. But I also contacted them towards the end of August (less than one year after the appointment was supposed to be held). I specifically asked them about time limits for scheduling my interview, but they just gave me the link to create my appointment and told me that I could schedule it for whatever date works best. I'm assuming they would have told me if I needed to pay the DS260 processing fee again? I really hope I don't have to pay that again, but it would be much better than starting the process over from scratch.  

[arken 4,197]

As long as they don't send you an email that it has been cancelled due to no contact for more than 1 year, you can schedule or ask to schedule the interview any time you want within that year.

[Chancy 6,241]

1 hour ago, AlexJW said:

I also contacted them towards the end of August (less than one year after the appointment was supposed to be held).

 

The 4-month expiration does not apply to you.  That's only applicable to I-129F petitions for K1 cases.  Your CR1 case may be kept active indefinitely, as long as you communicate with the consulate at least once a year that you intend to continue with the case.  You've done that, so no need to worry.  Follow the instructions from the consulate on how to proceed.

 

[AlexJW 0]

9 hours ago, arken said:

As long as they don't send you an email that it has been cancelled due to no contact for more than 1 year, you can schedule or ask to schedule the interview any time you want within that year.

 

9 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

The 4-month expiration does not apply to you.  That's only applicable to I-129F petitions for K1 cases.  Your CR1 case may be kept active indefinitely, as long as you communicate with the consulate at least once a year that you intend to continue with the case.  You've done that, so no need to worry.  Follow the instructions from the consulate on how to proceed.

 

Arken and Chancy, thank you for the clarification. I'm glad that I can keep my CR1 case will remain open as I keep in contact with embassy staff. That's a huge relief. My question has been answered.

Edited November 11, 2021 by AlexJW