Passport Stamps

[Tim&Pashy 5]

Hello all,

My fiancee is a Zimbabwe citizen, but had her interview in Johannesburg, South Africa. She was issued a 221g requesting police clearance and they kept her passport. She submitted her police clearance on April 5th, thinking it would take maybe 4-6 weeks or so. But as of June 1st we still have no updates other than "they received it and are reviewing it". 

 

Her visitor passport stamps expire on June 20th. Should she try to get her passport back in order to renew the stamp again/go back to Zimbabwe and wait there, or should we just let it expire if it takes another 3+ weeks? I'm not sure if that will affect her ability to travel if she overstays the stamp, but I'm also worried if she asks for it back, we'll be in for another several months wait when she submits it again.  

[Chancy 6,233]

16 minutes ago, Tim&Pashy said:

Her visitor passport stamps expire on June 20th. Should she try to get her passport back in order to renew the stamp again/go back to Zimbabwe and wait there, or should we just let it expire if it takes another 3+ weeks?

 

There is no guaranteed timeline for visa issuance, so no one can predict if it will take another 3 days, 3 weeks, or 3 months for your fiancee to get her K1 visa.  But if she overstays in South Africa, she will have to pay a fine and/or face a ban.  Not sure if she may even be detained when she tries to leave (tagging @ROK2USA, @SusieQQQ for input).  Are you willing to risk any of those penalties?

 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Is the “under review” an actual response to an inquiry? When was the last time she called them? My experience with the JNB consulate is that they are pretty helpful, but sometimes …a little inefficient letting people know when they have actually finished processing something submitted later. Was this a Zim PCC or another country?
 

I’m not sure what the penalties for overstaying in SA would be, I am pretty sure they wouldn’t bother detaining her but if she needs to get back to SA - for example to catch a flight to the US - it could make it problematic. 

 

 

[Tim&Pashy 5]

Yes we emailed them on May 26th and they replied yesterday saying that they have the documents and it is under review. 

[Tim&Pashy 5]

5 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Is the “under review” an actual response to an inquiry? When was the last time she called them? My experience with the JNB consulate is that they are pretty helpful, but sometimes …a little inefficient letting people know when they have actually finished processing something submitted later. Was this a Zim PCC or another country?
 

I’m not sure what the penalties for overstaying in SA would be, I am pretty sure they wouldn’t bother detaining her but if she needs to get back to SA - for example to catch a flight to the US - it could make it problematic. 

 

 

This is what they sent us yesterday.

 

"Your documents were received and your case is with the interviewing office for review. Please allow time for the completion of this process."

 

Johannesburg Visa Unit

[Redro 4,590]

12 hours ago, Tim&Pashy said:

Hello all,

My fiancee is a Zimbabwe citizen, but had her interview in Johannesburg, South Africa. She was issued a 221g requesting police clearance and they kept her passport. She submitted her police clearance on April 5th, thinking it would take maybe 4-6 weeks or so. But as of June 1st we still have no updates other than "they received it and are reviewing it". 

 

Her visitor passport stamps expire on June 20th. Should she try to get her passport back in order to renew the stamp again/go back to Zimbabwe and wait there, or should we just let it expire if it takes another 3+ weeks? I'm not sure if that will affect her ability to travel if she overstays the stamp, but I'm also worried if she asks for it back, we'll be in for another several months wait when she submits it again.  

You might be in for a few months waiting with or without the passport. 

I would send another email to the consulate. Explain your situation (she is here on tourist visa and it expires June 20) and request an expedite. 

If they refuse the expedite and she stays in the country she'll be facing a fine and maybe a ban from SA (depending on how long she overstays). 

 

You don't want to deal with any potential issues if you have to fly via SA to the US. 

[Tim&Pashy 5]

On 6/2/2022 at 12:18 AM, ROK2USA said:

You might be in for a few months waiting with or without the passport. 

I would send another email to the consulate. Explain your situation (she is here on tourist visa and it expires June 20) and request an expedite. 

If they refuse the expedite and she stays in the country she'll be facing a fine and maybe a ban from SA (depending on how long she overstays). 

 

You don't want to deal with any potential issues if you have to fly via SA to the US. 

I've emailed them and again they responded telling us to wait for a response as if we have time to wait. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[Redro 4,590]

1 hour ago, Tim&Pashy said:

I've emailed them and again they responded telling us to wait for a response as if we have time to wait. 🤦🏻‍♂️

Oh no! Hopefully that means they're planning on issuing the visa super soon~ at least Zimbabwe is right next door and it isn't too difficult to travel between the two countries. 

[Tim&Pashy 5]

On 6/11/2022 at 9:21 PM, ROK2USA said:

Oh no! Hopefully that means they're planning on issuing the visa super soon~ at least Zimbabwe is right next door and it isn't too difficult to travel between the two countries. 

I'm really stressing now. Over the past month, we've emailed them four times and called twice and they will not expedite nor let us come get the passport back. They just tell us to keep waiting. 

[Smile4rill1 64]

On 6/14/2022 at 11:23 AM, Tim&Pashy said:

I'm really stressing now. Over the past month, we've emailed them four times and called twice and they will not expedite nor let us come get the passport back. They just tell us to keep waiting. 

How did it go, have you gotten the visa yet and how did you go about it. My husband has interview next week but his physical is a day after. He is from botswana. We won't want him to overstay his tourist visa.

[Tim&Pashy 5]

On 7/28/2022 at 6:18 AM, Smile4rill1 said:

How did it go, have you gotten the visa yet and how did you go about it. My husband has interview next week but his physical is a day after. He is from botswana. We won't want him to overstay his tourist visa.

Yes we got it. She took it to the immigration office in Durban to get it fixed. She is here in America now.

[AnnaNana 0]

On 7/28/2022 at 12:18 PM, Smile4rill1 said:

How did it go, have you gotten the visa yet and how did you go about it. My husband has interview next week but his physical is a day after. He is from botswana. We won't want him to overstay his tourist visa.

Hello! I’m also from Botswana as well and I have my CR1 interview in JHB very soon. How long did your husband have to wait until he got his passport back? How did it go for him? I’m very worried about this.

Edited February 3 by AnnaNana

[AnnaNana 0]

On 8/21/2022 at 9:08 PM, Tim&Pashy said:

Yes we got it. She took it to the immigration office in Durban to get it fixed. She is here in America now.

Hello! How long did it take for your wife to get back her passport? Seems like it took a while. I’m from Botswana and I’ll also be having my interview in Johannesburg 

[Redro 4,590]

10 minutes ago, AnnaNana said:

Hello! How long did it take for your wife to get back her passport? Seems like it took a while. I’m from Botswana and I’ll also be having my interview in Johannesburg 

 

[powerpuff 5,884]

Old thread closed for comment. You can try to send a PM but OP hasn’t logged in in over a year.