CR1 is DQ, current wait time for interview in Manila?

[An D 20]

As someone just DQ'd today, this isn't a fun thing to learn...

[aaroncv3 106]

13 minutes ago, An D said:

As someone just DQ'd today, this isn't a fun thing to learn...

Yeah, I can relate.  No fun that this seems to drag on.

 

A few days ago, my wife and I were talking about the uncertainty of this process, when it occurred to me that--really--this is the last big push.  After this, it is plane tickets.

 

Sometimes I forget that the longest part is behind us, and we're really in the home stretch.

 

Congrats on DQ, BTW.

Edited May 10, 2023 by aaroncv3
Add congrats

[An D 20]

42 minutes ago, aaroncv3 said:

Yeah, I can relate.  No fun that this seems to drag on.

 

A few days ago, my wife and I were talking about the uncertainty of this process, when it occurred to me that--really--this is the last big push.  After this, it is plane tickets.

 

Sometimes I forget that the longest part is behind us, and we're really in the home stretch.

 

Congrats on DQ, BTW.

Thanks! And yeah, that's important to remember.

 

Anyone have specific fb group names that are worth following for this phase of the visa? Searched but didn't find much. 

[Chancy 6,233]

On 5/10/2023 at 4:30 PM, aaroncv3 said:

After this, it is plane tickets.

 

Don't forget CFO, if you don't already have a certificate.  No CFO certificate/sticker = no boarding the plane no matter how much you cry.

 

[seanmic 0]

Thank you for the CFO advice. 

 

We were Documentarily Qualified on May 12, but still waiting for the appointment date in Manila. Hopefully it comes soon. 

 

Was thinking of making the appointment at St Lukes, but not sure. 

[An D 20]

20 minutes ago, seanmic said:

Thank you for the CFO advice. 

 

We were Documentarily Qualified on May 12, but still waiting for the appointment date in Manila. Hopefully it comes soon. 

 

Was thinking of making the appointment at St Lukes, but not sure. 

I think previously it made some sense to do the medical in advance, but not anymore considering CR1/IR1 visa interview scheduling has seemingly stopped since mid January. It's hard to imagine you wouldn't have the visa within the six month expiration of the medical, but there is no indication of what's going on or when they may resume normal scheduling. So it may have be re-taken if you do it now.

 

Should note that none of this interview scheduling speculation is factual since the US Embassy in Manila hasn't provided any update on the matter, and seems to deny it is the case when contacted, even when contacted by a congressman (I tried this already). The US Embassy's last reply to my congressman was this:

"This is in further response to your May 19, 2023, inquiry on behalf of a constituent, concerning visa interview scheduling for spouses of U.S. citizens (CR1/IR1).

 

The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines has been processing immigrant visas across all categories.  The CR1/IR1 visa class has always been one of the prioritized visa categories.  There is no need to request to expedite the interview appointment since appointment scheduling for this visa class is available through the U.S. Embassy’s Visa Information and Appointment Service Center.  We suggest that the applicant contacts our service center as soon as s/he can while there are still available slots and schedules his/her appointment accordingly.

 

Appointment scheduling may also be done online at https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/.  English- and Filipino-speaking customer service agents are also available through the Embassy’s Visa Information and Appointment Service at telephone numbers (632) 7792-8988 or (632) 8548-8223.  The service center is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Manila time), except on Philippine and U.S. holidays.  Callers in the United States should call (703) 520-2235 on its Eastern Standard Time equivalent of operation hours.

 

We are working hard to process immigrant visa cases as quickly as possible.  Immigrant visa processing is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.  As we increase interview capacity, the scheduling backlog will continue to decrease.  Visa appointment wait times are improving and we have been issuing more and more immigrant visas that reunite families.

 

Requests for expedited appointments are considered on a case-by-case basis.  When requesting expedited processing, petitioners or applicants should provide reasons and documentary evidence justifying the request (e.g., urgent medical, humanitarian, a child turning 21 years old in the next six months, etc.).

 

Your constituent may visit our website at https://ph.usembassy.gov/tag/update for updates regarding consular services and operations.

 

Petitioners and applicants may contact the Embassy directly using the contact form found on our website, https://ph.usembassy.gov/contact-us-visas/.

 

We hope this information is helpful."

 

They claim CR1/IR1 are prioritized yet people are still waiting from January DQ. They say immigrant processing is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels but it's obviously not the case at this moment at least for this category. Plus, the reply doesn't even make sense. Why are they telling me to schedule on the website and/or by calling? My case isn't even at the US Embassy and the case cannot be found when entering it on the website. Plus, I don't have an expedite so I'm not supposed to schedule it myself. Our case was DQ'd in early May.

Edited May 24, 2023 by An D

[An D 20]

6-9 months to clear the backlog per consul general. so, it's now faster to get a tourist visa from scratch than a spousal visa awaiting interview. how backwards is that? truly unbelievable. 

 

 

[aaroncv3 106]

1 hour ago, An D said:

6-9 months to clear the backlog per consul general. so, it's now faster to get a tourist visa from scratch than a spousal visa awaiting interview. how backwards is that? truly unbelievable. 

 

 

 

Yep, pretty discouraging.  I'm here in the Philippines with my Filipino wife--and though it is great to be with her--we both want this journey to be complete.

 

I'm homesick, and my wonderful wife knows I just long to give her the stability of life in the US.

 

So we do our best and hope and pray for progress on our immigration case.

 

I try to keep in mind that not everyone has the luxury of being with their foreign spouse while they wait, and that I should count my blessings.

 

Not to enter a political discussion, but for all the trouble in the US right now, Americans have so much to be grateful for, and so much to be proud of.

[Swafford25 16]

That is discouraging to hear since I am currently working on our documents and DS-260 for submission. Though it I have looked at the visa statistics for April which just came out yesterday and they issued 200 plus IR/CR visas in April, so they are conducting interviews. They are also still scheduling visa interviews for K1 visas, so it does not make any sense that though visas would come before immigrant visas. So the only thing to do is wait and see and hope for the best. The NVC has been moving a lot faster in my experience than the processing times on the website suggest, I am hoping this will be the case with the interview process as well. 

[seekingthetruth 1,218]

13 hours ago, An D said:

6-9 months to clear the backlog per consul general. so, it's now faster to get a tourist visa from scratch than a spousal visa awaiting interview. how backwards is that? truly unbelievable. 

Another version of the story:

 

GMA News Online
GMA News Online
Shorter waiting time for US visa application eyed
Story by GMA Integrated News • Yesterday 10:46 PM

Shorter waiting time for US visa application eyed
Shorter waiting time for US visa application eyed
Expect a shorter waiting period in making an appointment for United States visa application as the US Embassy in the Philippines expects to process 325,000 US visas this year.

According to JP Soriano's report on "24 Oras," due to the pandemic, Filipinos had to wait up to two years to get a visa appointment, but the embassy targets to shorten the waiting period by four to five months.

"It is now about four to five months. We are hoping have it within two to three months by the end of the year," US Embassy in the Philippines Consul General Mark McGovern said.

He said that the application for a fiancé visa since last year was also record-breaking.

"We're issuing record numbers of these, I believe last year was almost 4,900 fiancé visas that we have issued and close to 22 thousand of the immigrant visas that we have issued last year," he said.

 

Continued...

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/travel/news/shorter-waiting-time-for-us-visa-application-eyed/ar-AA1c00lJ?ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=5fa1d47af0494d4496221a598cd41218&ei=7

[Gsmith2 1]

8 hours ago, Swafford25 said:

That is discouraging to hear since I am currently working on our documents and DS-260 for submission. Though it I have looked at the visa statistics for April which just came out yesterday and they issued 200 plus IR/CR visas in April, so they are conducting interviews. They are also still scheduling visa interviews for K1 visas, so it does not make any sense that though visas would come before immigrant visas. So the only thing to do is wait and see and hope for the best. The NVC has been moving a lot faster in my experience than the processing times on the website suggest, I am hoping this will be the case with the interview process as well. 

I’m a member of a Facebook group.US Embassy DQ. As of right now over 820 members. People waiting since January for interviews. Only people that have been getting them are expedited cases, even those are getting denied over and over…

not one interview from those members as of today. 

[aaroncv3 106]

Just checking in.  Nothing to report on our end.  The silence was too loud, so I thought I would break it.  🤣  Hope everyone is having a good week.

 

Oh, we decided to take a risk and schedule the medical exam for July before receiving an interview letter.

 

I think we might be able to do the CFO online.  I'm not completely sure.  Ang pinay na asawa ko is the one in the Facebook group.

 

I'm here in the Philippines with her, and I need to extend my visitor visa again.  We'll need to commute to Sta Rosa this week or next for that.

Edited June 13, 2023 by aaroncv3
Grammar

[An D 20]

3 hours ago, aaroncv3 said:

Just checking in.  Nothing to report on our end.  The silence was too loud, so I thought I would break it.  🤣  Hope everyone is having a good week.

 

Oh, we decided to take a risk and schedule the medical exam for July before receiving an interview letter.

 

I think we might be able to do the CFO online.  I'm not completely sure.  Ang pinay na asawa ko is the one in the Facebook group.

 

I'm here in the Philippines with her, and I need to extend my visitor visa again.  We'll need to commute to Sta Rosa this week or next for that.

I am DQ waiting IL, too afraid to schedule medical at this point, and in trying the online CFO, the counselor said to come back when we have the visa and won't schedule anything until then. 

 

Nothing is ever easy. 

[NeonParticles 120]

Just getting to the NVC process, so a bit anxious about the building backlog at USEM.   

[An D 20]

1 minute ago, NeonParticles said:

Just getting to the NVC process, so a bit anxious about the building backlog at USEM.   

It's ridiculous and unacceptable. Seems that tourist and fiancee visas are faster than spousal visas at this point. Screw spouses right?