Rebecca.V

We are OK. In Brazil, even people that are not very wealthy have maids to do everything for them, so my husband can barely tie his own shoelaces, but he's learning

I need to VENT:

the AOS process is taking WAY too long. I am in the process from a K-1. Being prcessed @ Baltimore. Filed and accepted in early february, biometrics mid march, interview WAIVER letter in June, ans STILL nothing.

I truly wonder, what these folks at that field office are doing all day long? it is 9 (!!!!) friggin months now! I am truly fed up and still can't do anything. But it is proof that the work ion these offices is truly bad. And it is not the case, that they would have benn "flooded" with applications these last 6 monhs or so.

What are YOUR experiences?

Just wondering -- why are you being processed in Baltimore if you're in Arizona? We're actually in Baltimore and filed in September

Wanted to check in and see how everyone was doing?)) We will be married Friday and filing for AOS next week. Anyone else filed yet for AOS?

We filed and have biometrics appointment next week

I just came back from my visit in the USA, when I went through US Immigration they asked me what I was doing here, I said I was visiting a friend. They asked how we met and under so much pressure, I said we met through a friend when he was visiting the UK but this was actually false. We met online and this was going to be our first time of meeting. They let me through when I gave names of my friends I was visiting and my job information. Would they have kept exact notes on what I said?

I am now going back in December and I am so terrified of going through Immigration again. What would you suggest I say this time?

I cannot believe how stupid I was.

I really doubt they actually took and kept any notes based on what you said for your permanent record. There's a lot of bureaucracy involved here but more incompetence and disjointed systems than anything else.

How about.. don't marry someone you've never met. It's a horrible idea.

We're so sad. My fiancee was supposed to have had her interview last Friday! It's so hard sitting here thinking that she would have received her visa probably next week sometime and been here shortly thereafter! But when she went to her medical just the week before they told her that since she had had TB seven years ago she had to be re-tested for it. And do you know how long that stupid test takes? It takes TWO MONTHS!!! So now we have to just sit around aimlessly waiting for a whole 'nuther two months! And only God knows when the interview will be rescheduled after that - probably another one to two months.

That's really horrible. I'm so sorry.. But the time will pass and you'll be together

We got married on Monday. It's so surreal!

Best wishes for everyone still waiting.. I'm sure it will be worth it!

Congratulations!! After all that stress you've gone through with the issuing of the visa, you deserve it! Good luck with the marriage ceremony!

Can you apply for the SSN right after US entry? For some reason I thought you had to wait a bit?

You do not need to wait! We did it successfully the next day

I wish VisaJourney would include these smaller but universal things in their timelines

My fiance will enter the States in a few hours I can't believe it's finally happening! It's been just about 9 months since we filed

I'm so grateful to be at the end of this process.. I feel sorry for the people who are only at the beginning, and wondering how long it will take for NOA2.. Such a horrible process. I finally got to leave my review of the embassy also. Haha!

We got it!! Finally!! He is arriving Monday morning

Ours finally says Issued! I'm trying not to get too excited until it's actually in my fiance's hand but I can't help it... Please don't let this be another false alarm..

Obviously it's not a quick fix.. This happened on the 20th and here it is the 31st...

My lying consulate said they issued our visa on the 18th after an excrutiating 6 weeks of waiting after my fiance's interview, only to backtrack and say the visa hadn't been interviewed because of this delay. IDIOTS.

Should've just sent my fiance up through Mexico!!! This process is taking years off my life from the stress!

It's very unlikely you would require a second interview the next day..

I would wait.. Sometimes, crazy ___ happens...

Someone else interviewed the 18th already received their visa. The 18th is when the consulate claimed they had issued my fiance's visa but now they are backtracking and saying they approved it but couldn't print it out because of this computer crash. This glitch supposedly happened on the 19th, so it's likely they lied to me and my congressman about doing it on the 18th.

I am so freakin frustrated with these morons. Who ever thought we'd have to wait 2 MONTHS extra beyond the interview because NVC didn't forward a paper with 3 missing checkboxes (supposedly)??? I sent them the paper the same day of his interview which was June 10th! Thanks to their incompetence, my grandmother will never meet my future husband. I am beyond miffed.

The term "lockbox" inherently means it's not a physical location.. You are sending the application to a Post Office box and I don't know that anyone other than the US Postal Service can deliver there.

If DHL does not deliver to PO boxes (I know UPS doesn't) ask them to return it to you and mail it via a courier who does, or mail it to someone you trust in the US and ask them to mail it via USPS for you

Received this morning... It's been 7 weeks since my fiance's interview and now this..

"Dear Applicant,

The Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with our visa system which are affecting operations globally. We recognize that this may cause inconvenience to travelers, and apologize for the delay.

Although we have completed adjudication of your visa application, we are unable to take final action on the visa at this time. We hope to have our system fully operational again soon, but currently we do not have a timeline for when this may happen. If you have travel planned in the near future, we would suggest adjusting your travel arrangements accordingly.

Again, we recognize and regret the inconvenience this may cause. If you would like your passport returned to you (without the visa) please let us know and we will return it for later issuance.

We appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this matter."

Unfortunately I spoke a bit quickly (so did the consulate). Our visa has NOT been issued or mailed due to this computer crash. I have idea how much longer it could take. We've been waiting almost 7 weeks already.

Received this from my consulate today. They claimed to have issued the visa on Friday but I emailed them because not only haven't we received it but our status went back to AP:

"The case was forwarded for issuance as informed. However, the Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with our passport/visa system. This issue is worldwide and is not specific to any particular country, citizenship document, or visa category. We apologize to applicants who are experiencing delays or are unable to obtain a passport, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or visa at this time. We are working urgently to correct the problem and expect our system to be fully operational again soon."

From the Rio consulate today:

"The case was forwarded for issuance as informed. However, the Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with our passport/visa system. This issue is worldwide and is not specific to any particular country, citizenship document, or visa category. We apologize to applicants who are experiencing delays or are unable to obtain a passport, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or visa at this time. We are working urgently to correct the problem and expect our system to be fully operational again soon."

It just means they relocated your post to a different subforum because it was about a specific embassy and not the overall process

Unfortunately, I have no answer for you.. You can try emailing the embassy (immigrationrio@state.gov)

This embassy seems to have a lot of incompetence.. We are struggling with them now too..

I am so sorry that this is happening to you. I bet there is just some confusion going on at the consulate. They sent me a weird notification that led me to believe we were denied until i called my state senator back and they straightened things out. I got an approval notice soon after.

I know it is hard to do in your situation, but try to stay strong and not let all of this drive you crazy. If they told your congressman that it was on its way then I am almost 100% sure that it is on its way. I can't imagine them lying to a member of congress over something like this.

Thanks, I really hope you are right.. I think they made it sound like they mailed it last week to discredit me somehow and make them look like they were not totally incompetent, but I think it was probably mailed Monday or Tuesday if it's been mailed at all.

Unfortunately, the Rio embassy really sucks for communication.. There's not even a phone # you can call, it's all through email and they just give you the standard BS response. My fiance paid the courier to deliver the documents when approved but there's no tracking number or anything. I am just hoping my congressman's aide will have something to tell me tomorrow.