rsempv

You need to detail everything that was asked that day including the interviewers presentation. I would contact your senator who can get more details about your case than any attorney can promise you. I know from experience! You need to prepare a rebuttal letter NOW. Time is of the essence. Read my story I think that it may help you.

4ever mine - where can i read your story?

Hi-

I am really sorry to hear that your case is taking so long. Our case also had to undergo further administrative processing but in the end, my husband got his visa within 2 months.

It's always good to get your representatives involved-- I would also contact your senator. You're in NY, right? I got Senator Gillebrand's office involved, and while there is no much they can do (since it's really an issue with Homeland Security) it's nice to know that someone is lobbying on your behalf.

I wouldn't leave your job as a community organizer. Really, the security clearance issue has to do with your fiance and not with you. Does your fiance work in a science or technology related field? Did he work for the government? These are possible reasons as to why his case may have been flagged. For some reason, his name came up in one of Homeland Security's databases (he may just have a common name).

In any case, it's good you're thinking about your options, since unfortunately, AP can take up to two years to complete. However, I would caution you against eating in to your savings. When your case finally is approved, and he comes to the US, you will need a reserve to tide you over the first couple of months. My husband arrived to the US in September 2012 on a K-1 visa. He didn't get his work authorization until January 2013 and it was another 5 months until he found a stable job. So, it was good that I had enough money to keep us afloat those 9 months.

If the most important thing right now is to be together, I would consider getting married in Cuba and moving there. But know that if you start the visa process all over again, you will most likely have to endure administative processing again. Whatever is causing your case to be flagged will surely resurface when you apply for the CR-1 visa.

Personally, if I were in your situation, I would continue to look for and apply to jobs in Cuba but I would also keep my job in the US as well as my apartment, etc. Perhaps a substitute teaching job would give you greater flexibility in terms of spending more time in Cuba. But in the end, I think it's really important not to use all your savings since you will need that money for when he arrives and for all the other paperwork you will need to do along the way.

Anyway, sorry if this long winded. I hope that all of this gets resolved quickly. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Sarah - Thank you for the response. This is really helpful. We've considered setting a date by which if the visa is not ready, I'd move to Cuba. We have been a couple for over four years, both have graduated from college in the past few years, and are looking to buy a home, travel, be present with our families in Miami and Havana.

My fiance and I both have very uncommon names. My fiance does not work in science, technology, nor the military. He is a historian. He was part of the Juventud, but joined at age 14 and has been inactive. He tried to officially leave the Juventud but it turned out it would require a lot of formal steps that seemed unnecessary. Nobody asked about it at his interview, and if they had, we believed it would be a non-issue. I'm not sure if this is a random case of administrative processing taking a long time, or a problem that will be resolved, or won't be resolved.

I'm not really sure what couples do when their visa get denied. I'd be interested in hearing stories from people who have stayed with their partner after having a visa denied.

I should have clarified about work - my fiance has also done construction in his own home and friends' homes, and my father is a subcontractor in Miami. My father has said that my fiance can work with him part-time until he finds more stable work. Not ideal, but good. There have also been detailed conversations about my fiance and I taking over my father's business within the next few years. This would require a lot of work and lag time, but is an option for us.

It's also been suggested by family members that I leave my current job as a community organizer, because they think my organizing could be what is tying up the security clearances.

Hello fellow visa-journeypeople,

My fiance and I have been waiting for our visa for 16 months.

Yes, 16 months. We sent in our application Sept 2012. We had our interview at the Cuban Interests Section (equivalent of an embassy) in June and the visa was approved. My fiance turned in his medical review just after July 4th. We have been waiting in administrative processing since then. In December we got my Congressperson involved and finally saw an update through the CEAC website, but nothing more.

I've poured through old threads on VJ. I've been submitting resumes to work in Cuba and looking into getting a Master's in Cuba. My fiance gave up a professorship at the University of Havana. My living situation in NYC has been unstable as I had estimated him arriving by May, then August, then September, and then it changed to "sometime very soon."

What we know from my Congressperson's office and from the Interests Section (I got to talk with somebody) is that the visa is stuck in security checks and there is nothing we can do about it.

I'm looking to crowd-source ideas. Some ideas so far:

• I have savings, and have considered leaving my job and moving to Havana until the visa is ready. This would require traveling back and forth to Cuba every 60 days, which will eat out of my savings, and mean that I don't have work when I get back. I am getting certified to be a substitute teacher so that I have something to fall back on, and my fiance can work as a day laborer.
• Get legally married in Cuba. This will allow me to travel to Cuba more easily from the US. It will also allow me to apply for Cuban residency and look into a job/Masters program more easily. I would have to rely on savings, and we would have to begin the visa process all over again - this time for a spousal visa.
• Consider moving to a third country together. This feels like more of a stretch. He can apply for academic fellowships. We are especially considering Mexico because I am eligible for Mexican citizenship.

Thank you.

hello i was wondering my fiance went to the interview 6 weeks ago and still have not gotten his visa what number is that your saying about department of state? im going crazy running out of options thanks

It's been over 14 months since we first started applying for the visa, and 5 months since our visa was approved and still nothing. Has anything changed for your case?

The same thing happened to my fiancé. He was interviewed in Havana, Cuba on 07/10/2013, but we needed phone records so the consulate gave him a pass to come back with the evidence and that he could come back in a week. He later realized that he still had his passport so he had to return to the consulate and give it to them. After getting home, he got a call form the consulate stating that they needed another form completed, which he took today. Up until a year ago, he was part of the Union for Young Communists in Cuba and I'm really scared that might cause a problem with him getting the visa. They told him to return in two weeks!!!!!!! That's killing both of us! It is under Administrative Review.

Hey Nissy and Yani,

My fiance was interviewed 06/24/2013 and approved that day. He brought back the medical review right after the Fourth of July. He is still in administrative processing. My fiance goes back each week and I check the status online. Still nothing.

Has your fiance been approved yet?

Congrats! When was your interview? Trying to approximate when our visa should be ready for pick-up.

Hi,

My fiance went for his interview on June 24 and it was approved. We had a ton of evidence and my fiance said it made it easy.

He still did not have his medical check ready though. The official kept his passport, told him to come back with his medical check, and it wouldn't be a problem. He turned in the medical check on July 6.

He has gone back every week since then, and his visa still is not ready. He's talked with other people he's seen week after week, some of whom have finally gotten their visa. It seems there is a big delay (also given recent posts by others on visajourney) but it seems that his delay is maybe longer? My fiance has also talked with Cuban employees at the consulate who have said they will try to talk with a consular worker from the US.

When I check the status of the visa online (https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?eQs=o/iS8zDpeAKjMWCuebHqOw==) it says that the Case Creation Date was not until July 16. The Status Updated Date is August 6, though we never heard anything on August 6.

Greatly appreciate if anybody knows anything. I was expecting him to arrive at the end of August. I am trying to figure out our housing situation.

Rose

Thanks J and Y.

Hey compas -

I've been getting messages asking specific questions and I realized that there is a need for a centralized place with information on the Cuba K1 visa process.

I've been working for several hours on a Cuba K1 wiki page! I tried to make it as comprehensive as possible, with a focus on that time between your NOA2 and when you are able to schedule your interview and your partner picks up the packet. Click here.

This is not complete. Anybody is free to edit. You can find directions if you click on Wiki in the blue toolbar at the top of the VisaJourney website.

I think it'd be good to include more Cuba-specific frequently asked questions for the I-129F packet, and also for the DS forms and the I-134 Form which are filled out for the interview. If people want to list their FAQs - WITH ANSWERS - I can update them on the Wiki.

Peace,

Rose

.

Attached is a scanned image of a letter from the National Visa Center. You must download it to your computer.

Hope this can be helpful!

Click here for the Cuba K1 Wiki.

Attached is a picture of the envelope that my letter from the National Visa Center came in.

Thanks!

I just called and paid the $11 and set up an interview. They had interviews as early as June 12, but I scheduled it for June 24 to have more time to get the documents in order, bring them with me when I go to Cuba in mid-June, and so that the interview won't conflict with my fiance's defense of his thesis. We're not planning on my fiance coming here until at least mid-July at least anyway, when he's graduated from college.

I asked the person at the Interests Section which documents to bring to the interview and was told I could find out online. It's a bit confusing on the US Interests Section website - between the immigrant and non-immigrant pages. Can somebody give me a list of the documents they had to bring?

Thank you!!!

Rose

I did some more searching on visajourney and the US Intersection website and figured out:

1) Some notice will be delivered to my fiance, but it could get lost and that's ok. As far as the actual packet of forms, my fiance needs to pick that up at the US Intersection. He can call a Cuba-based # to coordinate that.

3) I need to call the 1-866 number with our HAV number and schedule an interview ASAP since it's been a week since our NVC letter was postmarked. I pay $11 for 8 minutes talking to somebody, to schedule our interview.

4) See #1 and #3.

Hi Folks,

My fiance is a member of the Union de Jovenes Comunistas (UJC) - Cuba's youth communist organization. He joined around age 15, in high school I think. He is not active in the organization though. We've just gotten our NOA2, approval from the National Visa Center, and are about to schedule an interview for the fiance visa. I have read that it is a common question in fiance visa interviews - whether or not folks were part of the UJC.

For the Interview

Should my fiance resign from the UJC asap? Or should he just be prepared to explain his membership as something ordinary at his high school?

DS-230

On the DS230 form, there is a question:

c. An alien who seeks to enter the United States to engage in espionage, sabotage, export control violations, terrorist activities, the overthrow of the Government of the United States or other unlawful activity; who is a member of or affiliated with the Communist or other totalitarian party; who participated, engaged or ordered genocide, torture, or extrajudicial killings; or who is a member or representative of a terrorist organization as currently designated by the U.S. Secretary of State."

Should my fiance mark yes to this? He is not a member of the Communist party, but rather the youth Communist organization.

I've seen questions like this asked with respect to other countries, but am looking for info specific to Cuba.

Thank you so much,

R

Hi there,

We filed in September and in April we got our NOA2! Finally! A couple weeks ago we received notice that the National Visa Center is forwarding our case to the US Interests Section in Cuba.

I've looked through the past several months on the Cuba page and tried searching the visajourney, but I couldn't find some information I'm looking for. I also looked at the US Interest Section webpage, which was really helpful, but still left some questions unanswered.

Forms & Checklist

According to the timeline we've been looking at on visajourney, the next thing is for "forms and checklist sent to beneficiary." My fiance and I are wondering:

1) How will the forms be delivered? To the address we've listed? If he is not home, will they leave the forms with another person? Could he pick up the forms in person instead? We just don't want them to get lost!

2) Which forms will we need to turn in ahead of the interview? How far in advance?

Scheduling Interview

3) Do we need to call the US Interests Section to get an interview? If so, when should we begin calling?

4) I remember reading that calling from the US to the US Interests Section is costly. Is the number that we should call a Cuba-based number? My fiance and I were wondering if he could call the number from Cuba.

Thank you,

R

I know this is kind of late but I just want to follow up in case other people are interested -

I was able to get the A2 visa even though we aren't married. We went to the immigration office in Vedado a few days after my arrival. The wait wasn't too long. The officer asked for us to come back the next day with proof of our relationship, like photos. Then she saw that I had a student visa (a visa from Cuba, glued into my passport) from 2009 and said that it was proof enough of our relationship - that I had first been to Cuba as a student in 2009. She told us to come back the next day. We did and she turned my normal visa slip into an A2 visa.

Then I came back after a month and got the prorroga.

I've made 2 trips to Cuba since then, both times for less than a month. I did not bother getting the A2 visa because I did not want to pay the 40 CUC fee or for health insurance. It was not a problem entering or exiting the country. I fly through Mexico on a US passport.

Thank you Srey and A&B!

Hi all,

What does the form I-797 (NOA1) look like? Could somebody type up what their form says? Are you required to keep it for anything?

I posted the other day that I had written my address incorrectly and I want to know if I can just do a change of address online: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/393845-wrote-address-incorrect-on-visa-fiance-application/page__p__5751997__fromsearch__1#entry5751997.

Thank you! This forum is awesome.

- What is on Form I-797?

If anybody could look at their Form I-797 for NOA1 for a fiance visa and tell me what exactly it says, that'd be great.

Thank you so much!

Hi there,

I recently sent in my application for a fiance visa. I received an E-Notification on September 27, that my application had been received. I have yet to receive the "official Receipt Notice (Form I-797)." I realized that I had written my address wrong all over the application: I wrote 10th Street instead of 10th Avenue.

I just called the USCIS hotline and was on hold on and off for 20 minutes. First the person said that I need to write a letter explaining my situation. Then, they said I need to contact customer service but there are technical difficulties right now that wouldn't allow for me to be connected to customer service. They said I could call back later, leave a voice mail, or send an email.

According to the E-Notification, "With the official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) you may visit www.uscis.gov where you can check the status of your case using My Case Status. We suggest you wait until you have received your Form I-797 before checking My Case Status." I won't get the I-797 in the mail because it's going to be sent to 10th Street.

I just signed into "My Case Status" though with the Receipt Number from my E-Notification.

My questions:

- What is on Form I-797? Do I really need it? Or can I just do a "Change of Address" online so that future forms come to my correct address?

- Has anybody experienced this before? What did you do? Is it a big deal that my address is also wrong on my biographical forms (listed repeatedly, because I've moved back and forth)?

Thank you!

Esperamos, I don't think I can order insurance online beforehand because I don't have a US permit to travel. I think I'll have to get it in Havana at the airport or maybe in Mexico.

Ide & Sam, when you renewed your visa did you also have to show a receipt from a registered casa? This is what we're trying to avoid. I read a bunch on the Lonely Planet thread. I didn't post a new question because there were fairly recent threads about the A2. Marley is going to the Oficina de Imigracion today to ask about getting me an A2 visa.

It sounds like it makes the most sense to get the insurance as soon as I get to Cuba. Do you remember how much you paid for it? Locations I can look up in Lonely Planet, but the price for US citizens wasn't clear.

Thanks!

Hi Tim and Mav, thank you for your opinion about whether it is needed or not, but that is not my question.

I asked for feedback on the letter itself. Thank you to R and F for emailing me some examples. I probably should not have used the word affidavit, I am not going to have them notarized, the ones in Spanish will be translated and attested they are a truthful translation. There is no need from what I've heard to have them notarized.

Hi Ann and others,

Could you also send me the sample letters? Ann, do you think they made a difference?

Rose

PS Thank you Ann for always posting?

Hi there,

I am planning on going to Cuba for 60 days to visit my companero Marley. My understanding is that 60 days is the maximum I can stay as a US citizen. I just did a ton of reading on Lonely Planet forums and found out that to renew my tourist visa after 30 days I need to do the following:

- pay 25 CUC (not a big deal)

- pay for health insurance for my entire time in Cuba - Last time I didn't have to do this. They asked at the airport if I have insurance, and I said yes.

- provide receipts from a registered casa - Last time we stayed at a friend's place.

The renewal complicates things.

Right now Marley and his family are building another room for us. Our plan was to either stay there for the 2 months or find our own small (not registered) place to rent for a month or two. A casa particular for the month costs about 500 CUC.

Marley and I plan to apply for a fiance visa once I've returned to the US, but for now we are not married. On Lonely Planet I read that it's possible to get an A2 family visa even though Marley and I aren't married. This would cost $40 CUC and then $25 for renewal for the second month. This sounds really great. I just wrote to my compa suggesting that he should go by the Office of Immigration to look into the possibility of me getting an A2 visa.

Do any (non-Cuban) US citizens have experience getting an A2 visa in Cuba, allowing them to stay with their partner at their house, without being married?

Thanks!