Cheryl-Hossein

K-1s in Turkey go through Ankara, not Istanbul. You can see my embassy review I posted. They don't allow fiancées inside generally, but I got invited to interview the next day when they found out I was in Ankara. My fiancé (now husband) was approved on the spot. Just be polite and honest and there should be no complications provided there are no causes for concern.

Thanks everyone for making this a little clearer in my head. Good to know that it might be easier for him to get visas to European countries as a Green Card holder. He has a sister in Canada, so I'll double check all the regulations before we go there. Our first major trip together will most likely be to Iran (so excited), so he may even be a citizen by the time we have the cash to book such a trip.

That makes sense. I suppose it's seeing the US and taking a trip to Iran in the next few years.

I searched the forums, but didn't find this particular version of my question.

My husband is Iranian -- we've filed for his AOS and are waiting for EAD/AP and eventually his Green Card. We amuse ourselves sometimes by planning exotic vacations to take one day. I know his AP or Green Card when he gets it allows him to re-enter the US, but how about travel to other countries. Will he need to travel under his Iranian Passport and get visas to European countries (nearly impossible for Iranian males) or does he enjoy the benefits of being a US Citizen and be able to travel visa-free. Iran's passport pretty much limits travel to locales in the Middle East or a few Asian countries without visas. Or do we just visit family in the US and Iran and save up for 3-4 years down the road when he has his US Passport to visit Barcelona, London and Paris??

Thanks!

We got our NOAs just three days after we sent the package, and he already has an appointment for Biometrics in 2 weeks. We were transferred to the Nebraska Service Center (MSC), so hoping for speedy approvals.

I hope AP goes quickly for you. We were surprised about no AP too, but I think we had a couple of thing in our favor. 1) he had a military waiver, so he didn't do the two years of service; 2) I was in Ankara with him and when they found out they had me come back the following day to be interviewed also; 3) I'm a legal assistant, so our paperwork was flawless.

Also, I think the Ankara embassy is probably more used to dealing with Iranian applicants than the German embassy. I know it's difficult, but I'm sure you will get your visa soon.

I think technically he was in AP for one day (the day following his interview), but he left the embassy knowing that he would have a visa. He told me several other Iranians were immediately approved that day too (though the others were all women), so I don't know how strict those guidelines are.

My fiance's interview was in January, but no AP. Kept his passport and visa issued 5 days later. What's a "T" country?

Same thing for my fiancé. I just noted in the cover letter for the embassy packet that he had gotten a new passport since filing the I-129F, in order to comply with the six months of validity beyond the visa issue date. No problems. No worries. Visa issued without any problems.

In my experience of talking to Persians about visas, women seem to have a much higher chance of approval on visitor visas than men -- but, as everyone said above, they have to prove strong ties to Iran and that they will return.

I set up our interview as soon as I got the case # -- no need to wait for the email. I believe the email from the embassy came maybe a day or two after setting the appointment at the embassy. You can only make medical appointments one month in advance, so you need to see when you embassy appointment is before scheduling the medical exam.

Thanks, that was very helpful. Yes, he has a couple of parts marked "insufficient time interval" -- those were the ones I was concerned about, but it seems he's okay.

No one??

Combined with the nagging threat of AP against my wife, because she has a common Muslim name, I lost it.

My fiance has a very Muslim name (even though he is secular himself) -- two prophet names, plus an honorific meaning that he is directly descended from the prophets. We're K-1, but he was approved without AP, and received his visa a week later. I think the embassy interviewers are smart enough to see beyond common Muslim names.

I know if we apply for AOS within a year of my soon-to-be-husband's embassy medical exam, there is no need for another exam and the civil surgeon will transcribe the DS-3020 onto a I-693. Prior to his medical, my fiancé got some vaccines and boosters. There were one or two vaccines that he needs to get the second shot in the series. Can he do that in Iran? (It's much less expensive there.) Will the civil surgeon accept new additions to his vaccination record since the embassy medical, and transcribe those too?

I don't want him to finish vaccines in Iran if they won't be accepted by the civil surgeons. Anyone have experience with this?

Yikes! Well, I hope it's only a formality and you'll be approved soon. Fingers crossed for you both.

I think the email from the embassy was in response to receiving the package from NVC. I scheduled an appointment as soon as we got the ANK #, but like I said, it all happened within just a few days of each other. Don't get caught up in which comes first. Ankara was very responsive to emails and I usually got an answer in less than 24 hours to the 2 queries I sent them.

Their email walks you through all the needed forms, how to set up a medical exam, etc. Everything went very smoothly. Read my embassy review I wrote.

My fiance just had his interview a month-ish ago in Ankara. As soon as you get your ANK # from NVC, you can go online and schedule an appointment and pick your PTT location. You have to pay your $240 fee online in order to make an appointment. Shortly thereafter, you'll get an email with instructions from the embassy. Actually, I think it was less than 24 hours. There are some documents you send to them prior to the interview, but others you need to bring with you the day of the interview.

Nope....I was doing Immigrant Visa. For some reason it wasn't working on an IE browser. When I switched to Firefox, it worked. Our status has been updated -- looks like they got our paperwork. Hurray!!

Anyone else getting an "application error" when checking your status today?

No update yet, but the first package was only delivered to Istanbul on Thursday. The FedEx package is scheduled to be delivered on this Friday. Cutting it a little close to the 15 day deadline, but Hossein was waiting for his new passport and we sent in as soon as we could

Hey Chuck --

I've had good luck with getting email responses from Ankara -- usually in less than 24 hours. However, the person I've been talking to is not a native English speaker, so they don't seem to know what I'm asking.

I sent a 2nd set via FedEx today, just to be safe -- but would appreciate if you could see what your tracking receipt said.

I land in Istanbul in just 3 weeks -- so excited!

Although the Ankara embassy has responded quickly to my emails, they haven't answered the question of whether or not petitions are forwarded from Istanbul to Ankara. We've come this far relatively painlessly, so I'm just going to send another set of documents via Federal Express (with a note saying they are duplicates). I'd rather be out $100 than not having our documents logged at the embassy prior to his interview.

I sent all the required embassy documents for Hossein's K-1 visa interview in a couple of weeks. They were delivered this morning -- but to the embassy in ISTANBUL, not ANKARA. I called UPS and they said this is standard protocol and that the Ankara embassy does not accept incoming deliveries. If that is the case, why do they say to send to Ankara address? I have an email into the IV unit, but I thought I would see if any VJers had a common experience.

I have a duplicate set that I can send if they're not going to reach their destination, but I paid almost $90.00 and I'd like them to be where they're supposed to be.

Thanks.

Happy holidays to everyone!! Celebrated the Persian holiday of Yalda with my dear fiancé yesterday via Viber. His interview is in Turkey in about a month. I'll be flying there for emotional support even though the embassy doesn't allow me to enter. Looking forward to spending 10 days in Istanbul and Ankara with him, and quite lucky that we will hopefully be done with this part of the process in less than six months (barring a long AP, which I don't think will happen). Here's to everyone being reunited with their loved ones in 2014!!