Linds&Youssef

Just a quick note to say how friggin' excited I am that I leave (technically... now that it's 12:14a on Thursday the 30th) tomorrow for Morocco to see houbi, and his interview is in less than a week!! Please send happy thoughts our way! I promise it'll be completely reciprocated....

by the way, in your question you state that the packet 3 asks you to "send to the NVC" this information/these documents. For the record (just in case that wasn't a mistake and you think you're supposed to send these to the NVC), these are the things you BRING WITH YOU TO THE INTERVIEW. Do not send them to the NVC. If you've gotten your packet 3 it means your case is already at the Casablanca consulate, and NVC doesn't really have anything to do with your case any longer. Good luck!

1.) Due to the bad record keeping in Morocco, my fiance's father doesn't have a birth month or day, only a year. Should we only put the year? What should we do in regards to that?

We have the same situation with my fiance's mother. Just use 01/01/YYYY. That's not unusual, particularly for those born in rural areas.

The answer to this question depends on what country we're talking about. Since your case is for a fiance from the UK, you don't need to worry about it. Typically where you'll see the petitioner trying to be present for the interview is when the case's beneficiary is from a "high fraud" country. For example, my fiance's and my case interview is in Casablanca because he's from Morocco (a high fraud post). As such, the COs who interview there are a lot harder on the beneficiaries when they interview them, often trying to trip them up, catch them off guard, and subsequently catch them in a lie that proves the relationship is not legitimate (since it's their job to always assume an illegitimate relationship until proven otherwise). Even though the consulate's official stance is that the petitioner is not allowed into the interview, there have been documented cases where the CO has asked something like "why didn't your fiance come to be with you at the interview" to which the beneficiary has replied that the petitioner was waiting outside, and the CO sent for the petitioner to then enter the consular office and meet with the CO personally. The couple of cases that I've seen like this cite this, specifically, as what tipped the vote in their favor. Just so you know the story. This is not the rule, but the exception, and it's more of a precaution than anything. All that said, you should be fine... Best of luck!

I always recommend including as much evidence in support of a bonafide ongoing relationship as possible. This is because the Consular Officers are not trained to give you the benefit of the doubt. In fact, this is quite the contrary. They are trained to assume your relationship is fraudulent and to look for holes in your evidence that support this assumption, basically until you've given them no recourse but to find the relationship "bonafide". Therefore, the onus is on you as a couple to show the CO beyond any shadow of a doubt that you are in fact a legitimate couple. Although providing proof of an itinerary is a start, it's by no means going to blow the CO away with confidence in your relationship. I've seen people get denied with much more evidence than that. So I suggest gathering as much proof of interaction and of relationship as you can possibly muster. If you don't have any then maybe you ought to consider spending the time to compile some before filing... best of luck!

That's true, but Ramadan and Eid will be finished by September. Though the student visa thing's an excellent point!!

Congratulations!!!!

ewww... so when is your interview, then? ours is still the 24th... no word yet.

Why not just apply for it and file for AP at the same time? AP should arrive fairly quickly (much more quickly than the AOS) and then she'll be able to go home without fear of not being able to come back (as long as she isn't gone for a full year or more). This is, after all what AP is actually for--despite the fact that many people seem to use it because they want to be able to go on vacations outside the US. To my knowledge, AOS cannot be postponed.

Hi Linds&Youssef, the same thing happend to us today. We had our interview date.. I have my ticket to go and bam.. the date is changed to 20 days later... The Moroccan man who called my fiance to tell him told him something about the CO taking vacation. He was also sent an email that we responded with a request to please retain the original appointment if possible... we'll see what they say.

When was your interview originally scheduled to happen before they changed it? And what did they change it to, if you don't mind my asking...?

Sorry about that, Ryan H, I thought I was posting in the Morocco/MENA forum...

Hey there, SaharaSunset! I had a detailed conversation about this with my immigration attorney, and she actually said that they're gearing toward opening a separate facility to handle the upcoming onslaught. I wouldn't worry too much about it, because they'll hire new staff into a new/different physical location who'll likely deal with nothing but these new "illegal" cases. As for service requests, I don't know if this'll give you any hope or not, but I filed one with VSC a week and a half after my 5 month mark. They said to give it 15 days to expect a response. A week and a half later I got the NOA2 approval. Is it possible that it's a coincidence? sure. Is it also possible that the service request prompted our case's adjudication, you bet. Hang in there... best of luck!

Can you just change the travel date and pay the fee? I had to do that once...

Yes, I could, but I'd also have to shorten my trip by 4 days because of the way my PTO works out (currently my travel spans Labor Day Weekend). I mean, if it comes down to that I'll do what I have to do... it's just really an inconvenience and a point of frustration... that's all. So yes, thanks for the suggestion; that's what I'll do if they won't work with us on the date. I'm just sort of blown away that some people seem to get their interview dates moved for random BS reasons, and yet I'm getting responses saying they won't change it just because I already spent $1,600 on a plane ticket (after waiting for written verification of the interview date). Thanks again for your support, you're always so helpful!

You won't be allowed to go into the interview with your spouse. They will not change it back.

Although there is one documented case where the Casa consulate allowed the petitioner to come into the K-1 interview (and it actually made the difference in the couple receiving the visa),I know that, in general, they won't let the petitioner into the interview. On the other hand, they do frequently ask why the petitioner didn't come with them to the interview (from what I've read), and they've been known to verify responses to this question by sending officers out of the consulate to "check up" on what the beneficiary says. These are two reasons I want to be present for the interview (if even just to wait across the street at the cafe). But more importantly this is a life-changing moment, and I want to be there because the boost in his confidence will show through in his interview, and as his partner I want to be present as a show of support to him.

Untrue....there have been couples who have had their interviews changed back to the original date. A very close friend here had theirs changed back by simplying emailing the consulate.

Also, I believe the OP is just stating she wants to be with her fiancé during the time of his interview, she is not stating about going to the interview with him.

Can I get an Amen...

I don't think it is being smart to buy anything remotely close to a ticket because you do not know the outcome of the interview, you could could be in A/P, they may request new documents or even denying your visa. Now I know that we are all waiting for the same "outcome" approval for our love one but I would suggest you cancel the ticket if you can still get a refund unless it is for you to visit your partner. Good luck and don't be so hard on yourself this is just a mistake and I pray that things do work out for you.

Just for clarification, I bought the plane ticket to be present for the interview... not for him to come to the US. And I didn't buy it until I had a formal statement of the interview date in writing from the consulate...

So in light of my clarification (see above), I'm looking to find out if it'd be possible to get them to change back to the original interview date so that I can be present for it! Any takers?

We received notice today via email from the Casablanca consulate saying that our K-1 interview that was originally set for September 6th, has been changed to September 24th (without us requesting a change of date). Has anyone experienced this? Is there any way to get it changed back? I had already purchased a plane ticket based around the original interview date (I thought I was being smart by waiting until the interview date was issued...)

Thank You everybody!!!

I wish I can know that but we are going to wait for the NVC and then packet 3 so I am hoping we get the interview date a week before I leave to go see her if not I will be staying longer

Hopefully you'll be able to have your interview while you're there!! That said, and I don't mean to put a damper on your hopes but I feel you might (or might not--who knows) benefit from reading my observations, so here goes:

CSC may be processing petitions at a much faster rate than VSC, but they're taking significantly longer to send them to NVC. I've personally noticed an increased volume of cases from CSC taking upwards of a month or even 5 weeks just to arrive at NVC. I've also noticed recently that several VJers have complained about longer than normal processing times at NVC (though I didn't witness this personally... ours took less than a week from NVC receipt to mailing to consulate). I also noticed that you, like my fiance and I are subject to the Casablanca consulate. Our case was received Monday of last week (July 23rd), and though our original interview date was set for September 6th, it has been moved out to September 24th. All this doesn't necessarily mean you're out of luck... after all, your case is different from ours (purely on the "no two cases are the same" premise). But if I were to make an educated guess as to when, roughly, you might expect an interview, I'd say you're probably looking at mid-October or thereabout. All that said, I do hope that your process goes more smoothly than ours appears to be going. If your interview happens before the 24th, I hope you'll share all the gory details..... and best of luck to you both!!

Nice! Congrats to you both!!! So when's the interview?

sritco123, congrats! You should fill out your time line so others from our Morocco portal can use your information to give them hope for their own cases!!

On July 16,2012 I called the NVC for the first time and was told that i had been assigned an mnl number on July 13, 2012. I have since been calling the NVC each week since on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday asking about the status of my case. Each time I was told it was under "additional processing". Today on my Friday call, I was informed that my case was under "administrative processing". Can someone please explain the difference and what additional steps have to be preformed now. I am so trying to remain patient but the process seems to be one delay after another. Please help me to understand.

Read this thread that outlines responses to the exact same question: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/378639-administrative-processing-at-nvc/page__p__5538492__fromsearch__1#entry5538492. I had a similar experience about 2 weeks ago with NVC. Now (not even 3 weeks after the NVC received our petition) our case has already been received at our consulate and we have an interview date. Pay special attention to the 9th message down, posted by Mitexi. In Mitexi's post there's another link with a very detailed outline of how NVC works. Good luck!

Thanks so much, everybody!! I'll be sure and keep you posted on how the interview goes and what they ask us...

did you schedule your interview? or did the emabassy schedule it for you?

The consulate scheduled it. It came along with the Packet 3.

I got a call from by fiance today telling me we have our interview in Casablanca on September 6th!!!!!!!!!!!! We're both so excited.... I can't even see straight I'm so happy!!

Thanks, I'll give that a shot.

Does anyone have any tips for getting through to a live person at the consulate in Casa? I've been calling for 2 days and all that happens is it goes straight to a voicemail greeting that says the voicemail box is full (without even ringing). I've tried the main number, and I can't seem to get out of the auto attendant loop. Any words of advice would be appreciated!

If you're going to hire an immigration attorney, you need it to be someone who is versed in US immigration law. Therefore, it should be an attorney here in the US. Where, geographically, is your fiance? My attorney's fantastic, but I don't know what the typical stance is on taking cases for couples where neither one is geographically able to meet with the attorney in person. Also, the attorney (if he or she is a good one) will want to help you through the entire process at least through AOS, and not just through obtaining the K-1. This means they should be well versed in how the local visa office where you'll be living works so they can help you navigate that system's beurocracy. If you can give us an idea of where she is geographically someone might have a recommendation for you.

will it be ok to follow-up with them everyday? i want to do that, but i don't want them to get irritated to me and it might affect our application.. so 2 weeks is the minimum turn around time for my case to be forwarded from NVC to my consulate? i appreciate all your advise guys. thank you!

Not necessarily. I got our NOA2 by text on July 11th. By the 17th, they had received our case at NVC and assigned it a case number. By the 19th, it had been sent to our consulate, and it arrived today. So that's 2 weeks from NOA2 to consulate receipt... which means it is completely possible. And I wouldn't (and didn't) feel bad about calling every day for a status update. I just kind of played dumb like I hadn't called before and asked if they'd received our petition, and if so, what were the next steps. Hope this helps--good luck!