US Immigration from Russia

My wife s visa is now issued . We selected a post office for delivery but we have no other information about how to pick them up. Are we supposed to have a code or other identifying information to pick up our passports? How do they prevent someone from taking their passports from the post office?

My Russian wife had her interview on July 19th in Bangkok Thailand. At first, they asked us to provide marriage certificates from all our previous marriages. We had never seen a request to send marriage certificates from previous marriages. We uploaded our certified divorce decrees as requested. They wanted to cancel her interview and have us reschedule the interview in the future, which would mean we would have to go back home to Russia and America and spend the $$ to come back to Bangkok at a future date.

We were devastated. We were thorough. We were careful. We worked with a very experienced advisor. We were very confident that we had done everything required and that we had uploaded all required docs. Our advisor helps 75 cases per year and she hadn't seen a situation where they wanted the marriage certs, in addition to divorce documents.

My wife pleaded with the COs and they eventually relented. They allow my wife and stepdaughter to sit for the interview. The usual questions were asked. There was only one missing piece which was my wife's old passport which had her active B1 visa in it. She had a new passport with her new name, but she kept her old passport because of the tourist visa. Unfortunately, she didn't bring it to the interview with her.

They told her they needed the passport with the tourist visa so it could be cancelled which would allow them to issue her a CR1 visa.

They wouldn't let us go to our Airbnb and get her passport and bring it back the same day. They would only let us mail it to them, which we did that day.

So, the result of the interview, as we understood it was she and her daughter would get their passports back in 7-10 days with their CR1/CR2 visas.

Now it's August 7th and we haven't heard anything. We contacted them to confirm they received the passport we mailed to them and their form letter kinda said they received it, but it is written with some ambiguity.

We asked about the status of their cases a week ago and got a form email back that our case is in Administrative Processing and they'll let us know when they either issue the visa or need anything else from us.

The problem is, we have no clue whether it will be 1 week, 1 month or 3 months. How do we deal with such uncertainty. We're in a timezone 12 hours away from my home in Texas which makes it very difficult to work remotely. Today is the first day of school in Texas so we've missed that. It's all very depressing.

We contacted our US Senator and they were zero help. They just told us what we already know.

Is there anything we can do? Does a consulate ever give an indication as to how long the wait is going to be? We don't know if the wait is due to an issue with our case or due to a backlog. As I mentioned the CO said they would send their passports in 7-10 days and that timeframe has come and past.

What can we do?

Thanks.

Hello, i had a interview July 22nd for my Russian fiance, K1 Visa. The interview went well and the agent said its approved. Its been 7 business days and nothing changed on ceac website it says still status ready . We emailed them, they said that the case is in Administrative Processing . Does anyone have experience with Thai US Embassy? We had all documents super ready with my lawyer. They said up to 10 business days to get passport back. Did anyone also go through this? Please help

My mom was initially scheduled her interview on June 18th this year, but we couldn't go, because it's too hot for her there in the summer, she is an elderly and not a well person. I called the embassy in Almaty, and they told me, after the scheduled date passes, I'll be able to open the scheduling page an pick my own date.
I've been trying to do that since June 18th. So far there were only 2 available dates - on July 11 and 18th. Neither of those suit us. We'd prefer September the 27th. They don't schedule it for you over the phone. I also tried to write an email to the office, which scheduled the interview initially, they are saying, they can't help and just refer me back to the scheduling page.

My concern is if there is any deadline after the case has been approved, for obtaining the interview date.
Also, does anyone have a recent experience scheduling the interview for IR-5, like we are trying to do now?
Can you give any tips to succeed?

My wife has her CR1 interview scheduled for July 19th in Thailand. We anticipate success and that she will enter the US and become a LPR a few days later. We want to file an I130 for her 19 yr old son as soon as possible. I've read (I don't remember where) that when her CR1 visa is stamped upon her entry into the US, that she becomes a LPR and can then file an I130 on behalf of her son, even before receiving her green card.

Is that correct?

I've already started the paperwork on USCIS and they are asking for her A#, USCIS Online # or her SS#. She doesn't have any of these. On the next page, the online I130 application asks when she entered the US and where, which we will fill in when she arrives.

Is it acceptable to only provide the date & location of her entry to validate her LPR and allow her to file the I130 form?

Thanks!