UH60Chief

We had our interview at the Consulate today. As it turns out, the Consulate wrongfully denied my wife her immigrant visa. She did not need a waiver!!!!!!! They issued us the visa and now she is good to go. So, after 2 years, $$$ for an attorney, $$$ for the initial forms, $$$ for the waiver.....they still made us pay the $325 today for the visa (even though we paid that at her first interview when they wrongfully denied her!). We head to the States on Monday. I am just glad this nightmare is over with and we can get on with our lives.

Hoping my husband's visa will be issued tomorrow. This weekend took forever. I just want it be Monday. Ughhh

Good luck! Sending positive vibes your way. Our final interview is on Wednesday. I am hoping this whole nightmare will be over soon (I am sure you are too!)

So here is a plot twist in our whole waiver story...... Our congressman's office sent the Nevada Service Center an email asking for confirmation on the waiver approval and if it had been sent to the Consulate (making sure our interview on the 14th will be good to go). This is what the NVC responded with....

We just got our final interview appointment for 14 January. An approval letter was never sent out from USCIS, they just contacted the consulate directly. We are on a short timeline so the consulate is allowing us to pick up the visa on 15 January (providing the interview goes well). My stomach is in a knot waiting for all this!

The notification came in the regular mail. We have to send in the updated police record and tax records then we will have our appointment. We requested an expedited with the consulate so her visa should be issued the first week of January.

The status never changed on the USCIS tracker page. Still says "We received your case on.....". The Consulate has been in contact with the NSC so they got word on Friday that the waiver was approved. Cannot believe this is finally happening!!!

Just got a letter from the Frankfurt Consulate that they are ready for the final processing of my wife's visa. You know what that means? Waiver approved!

You are correct in it meaning children.

This is taken from the Manila embassy page "Only biological or legally-adopted children are entitled to derivative status"

No worries, good luck!

These may be helpful

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/511229-wheres-my-iv-fee/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/370780-emails-from-nvc-with-empty-pdfs-paosf-i-130-for-neopost-ds-1200-and-acl-for-neopost-ds-1200/

just found out why we had so many updates on the CEAC.. The USCIS was communicating with the embassy. Embassy=CEAC

Case is with an adjudicator as I type... So nervous.. I really need something good !!!

The reason its taking so long is that there was a issue that had to be resolved first. ( I have no idea what that could be) They didn't know that when the expedite was approved.

I have been with my husband for 4.5 years. Its hard to read about couples who met online and only ever met once or twice in person and get approved instantly.. We are 100% together and always have been. We have to jump through hoops to get this approval. and the people who file waivers with tons of complex issues and they get approved no problem. Ours is a real relationship and he only has a simple overstay. This is so frustrating... I thank God everyday that he is my husband, but it would be great if I actually got to be with him .

Sorry for ranting.. I am feeling depressed today

I understand your frustration. This is the perfect place to rant and get it out because everyone here knows the feeling exactly. I try to talk to my friends and co-workers about it but they don't fully understand the toll this takes on a person. Today I am especially going crazy about all this.

It is also frustrating that I have literally witnessed a couple getting married just to get the girl a green card (plans to split after she becomes a citizen) and their paperwork went through without any issues. We had to file a waiver because of a vandalism charge my wife got 15 years ago when she was 16! Not one single incident since then, not even a parking ticket. She was even charged as a minor. But, since the charge was for 2 incidents of vandalism they denied her. Our attorney says it was an error on the consulate's part for denying her, that she was admissable from the beginning (a lot of legal jargon surrounding the court case, I will take my attorney's word for it). All this hassle only because of one error that we didn't even cause...... There, now you aren't the only one ranting lol.

ours was approved for expedite almost two months now. Only updates I've seen have been on the ceac. Nothing on the uscis site. Its really frustrating. I was under the assumption that expedites were supposed to be done in 15 days. I'm thinking maybe they have different levels of expedites???? We really are desperate at this point. What is your reason for expedite???

Our attorney also said that generally a decision is made on an expedite within 15 days so I wonder what is going on. I have no idea how the whole process works, but our congressman's office said our case is in the hands of an officer and being worked on. I really wonder what all goes into reviewing these waivers because ours was so thoroughly put together that you literally just had to go page by page and it laid out the whole story. I would really be interested to know what exactly they do when they "review" it. I really hope we both hear something soon.

I had mine expedited due to an error at our consulate. Basically, my wife is admissable and they said she is not. I am pretty much getting the 601 waiver just because the consulate messed up. Also, my physical health is declining. I was injured pretty severely in a helicopter (military) and my wife is my main "caretaker". I am being sent back to the States in 45 days and if she can't go with me, I will be struggling just to accomplish the day to day tasks, let alone moving internationally.

LoveMyTico,

Has your status changed at all on the USCIS page? Mine has supposedly been expedited for over a month and the status still says "My Case Was Received". Just wondering if you saw any changes on there.

When I had our case expedited through our consulate in Frankfurt, I only had to provide them with the military orders. I also went ahead and provided them financial information on how it would cause a hardship being separated. I would call the military helpline again and ask what exact documents they need for an expedite.

*edit* I found this blog post that has some helpful information regarding a military expedite http://immigrationroad.com/blog/tips-on-expediting-uscis-processing-for-military-personnel/

You cannot petition for your "in-laws" to get immigrant visa's. Your wife must become a U.S. citizen and then she can petition for their immigrant visa.

If you have a business, you could give them a job and they would be able to come over on a work visa.

On the USCIS website, the requirements for an immigrant visa petition is laid out very clearly http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-through-family

The first update was 8/5/14 and the last one was sunday 12/7/14. I am really hoping for a Christmas miracle here. I pray that everyone of us get the miracle we all been waiting for.

Do you know how much more is the wait after the approval? And what is the next process? His physical exam will turn 6mos on Dec. 24, I'm wondering if he has to do it again if the approval goes over that?

Thank you guys for any info on this...

Hello Ana & Cesar. I cannot answer on what is the next step after approval, but I can provide some insight on the medical exam. My wife is experiencing the same thing, her medical exam expired earlier this year. Your husband will need another exam before coming to the states. From my understanding, the medical exam has to be within the 6 months prior to entering the United States. Our attorney cautioned us not to get the medical exam done again until the waiver is approved (just in case we run into issues that cause a delay). We plan on getting the exam done next week in hopes that the waiver will be done soon and then everything will already be ready to go. However, that is a risk on our part because if the waiver is delayed, we could end up paying for a 3rd medical exam.

I think everyone pretty much covered all the bases but possibly one more person chiming in can cause some reality/common sense to sink in...........

1. She started dating you under false pretenses. One would assume that if a woman starts dating a man that she is single. Once you found out she was married, did it not raise a red flag that this wasn't disclosed right off the bat? There could be a lot of factors in this. For instance, maybe she had no intentions of dating you and "love" just sort of happened and then she felt the need to tell you. It happens. Heck, it happened to me. I was dating a girl here in Europe and things started to get serious. After nearly a year of dating, she tells me that she is still married to an American that moved to the states. Guess what I did, I ran and said "why the heck didn't you tell me that in the beginning and why are you not trying to get a divorce". Turns out, she had a criminal record the size of a dictionary and she was permanently banned from the states (husband couldn't take her), fooled me for almost a year... but I digress....

2. Her husband apparently had no idea that she was seeing someone else. Once again, if she really was no longer participating in this marriage and had been seeing you for over a year, don't you think her husband would have some sort of idea? I think there are a lot of facts to this story that are not out in the open. Do they live together or are they separated? This whole story just makes no sense.

3. Why would you take it upon yourself to contact her husband? If it was to the point that you felt the need to go around her to find out things from her husband, then why even speak to this woman? If you had no plans of getting married to her then why would her divorce concern you so much? Here is my thoughts on why she no longer "loves" you..... She had guaranteed passage into the states already in place which was ruined by contacting her husband. Not sure if she is angry at you for being slightly weird and contacting her husband without her knowing, or she is mad that you put a kink in her "marriage". Either way, it's shady business for you to be a part of.

I really am not sure what you want to hear....... Common sense says run away and forget about her. She told you that she has no feelings and wants to end the relationship so what more is there to talk about? If she doesn't want to be with you, how is dating advice from random strangers on the internet going to help? I am also not sure how this falls into the realms of immigration if you have no legal ties to her.

Just by going what you have told us, it seems this woman is a deceitful, conniving snake that is just playing her cards to get what she wants. Not sure if you have really put thought into this----> she was only married for 6 months and they had a "mutual decision" the marriage wasn't working (and I assume this is coming from her so the chances of that being factual seem slim). If you have been dating her for 1.5 years, her green card is probably about to expire. Now that the husband knows you all have been seeing each other, he could absolutely claim this marriage was fraudulant on her part and that she just used him to get to the states. That is just a hypothesis, but if it did come to that, you would not have to worry about making a decision on whether to keep trying to be with her.

GOOD LUCK THIS WEEK EVERYONE! WE NEED SOME WAIVER APPROVALS... I HOPE SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENS THIS WEEK.

I NEED SOME CHRISTMAS MAGIC.

I agree! Best of luck to you. It is also my birthday this week so that would be an AWESOME birthday/christmas present. Sitting here in the unknown not knowing what's going on is really frustrating. Our CEAC date updated every day last week so I hope that means something will happen soon.

Do we send the I-601 to the USCIS or to the consulate?

some people saying that they sent their package to the consulate???

please answer! @lilianB

How come you send your package to the consulate, shouldn't you send it to the USCIS?

please answer?

From my research, on June 4, 2012 they decided that Consulates would no longer process I-601's and they would be processed through the Nebraska Service Center. The only place they allow direct consulate filing for I-601's is Cuba. There is also this clause--

If you have exceptional and compelling circumstances that justify filing the I-601 application at the international USCIS Field Office in the country where you are residing. These circumstances must demonstrate a need to file the application immediately and show that expedited processing at the NSC will be insufficient to address the urgency of your situation. This exception applies only in countries where a USCIS Field Office is located. If your request to file your I-601 application at an international Field Office is denied, you can submit a written request for expedited processing of your I-601 application when you file it with the USCIS Phoenix Lockbox.

However, it is extremely rare to get a 601 approved for a consulate expedite, it pretty much has to be a life or death situation. You can try for an expedite at the NSC but that is also very hard to get.

you don't need a lawyer but you better do a ton of research and be able to put a good package together.

and NO, he can't come here and wait.. and what "new law" are you talking about? The Obama Executive Action doesn't apply. Congress is suing Obama anyway. It probably won't even amount to anything.

We all would love to be with our spouses for the holidays. The I-601 is to waive the ban of inadmissibility. If he was able to enter the US, you wouldn't need a waiver. The USCIS doesn't care.

Yeah, the USCIS really doesn't care in the least about families being able to see each other. To put it into perspective, I am a 90% service disabled veteran, while in Germany my wife took care of me and handled all of the household stuff since I am not very mobile. The USCIS will not let her step foot in the US without the I-601 waiver.

Just my 2 cents, for a waiver involving a CIMT I would at least have a consultation with an attorney that specializes in waivers (Lizz Cannon). I originally wanted to compile the waiver myself but didn't want to risk making an amateur mistake and it get denied. After consulting with Lizz, she informed us that the consulate had made an error in their decision and built a SOLID case for us. It is money well spent for the piece of mind and having a legal expert on your side.

" If you are inadmissible under INA section 212(a)(9)©, you may NOT file this Form while you are in the United States. You cannot obtain consent to reapply unless you are seeking admission to the United States more than 10 years after your last departure from the United States. " Taken from http://www.uscis.gov/i-212

This is just my opinion that holds no legal value. The multiple deportations make a waiver impossible. I know the pain and frustration with immigration law but unfortunately, it is the law.

I like to think of it in a different perspective so it makes more sense(as immigration law can be a bit cumbersome). Say you did not have a driver's license and you get caught driving drunk. You get sentenced and told not to drive unless you are legally able to (ie. licensed and sober). You get pulled over for driving drunk without a license 2 more times and are sentenced to 10 years. If you go back to the judge and say "Judge, I know I messed up the last 3 times but I am ready to do things right, can you lift this to 10 year sentence and give me my license?", the Judge would throw the case out and say come back in 10 years then we will talk. So with multiple illegal entries and deportations, immigration law has no leeway for trying to go through the process after the fact.

Getting an attorney is going to be the best way to get legal advice on this matter as things posted on here are opinion, even though it may be a correct and accurate opinion, it does not substitute for bonafide legal counsel.

UH60Chief, what is your receipt date? Ours is August 1st. My ceac websitesays it was updated on OCT 22th.

Our receipt date is 10 October 2014. Our CEAC first updated on 30 October 2014, which I believe was due to a congressional inquiry. It updated a couple more times in early November and now the latest update today.

Like most folks waiting on their 601, I can't help but ritualistically check the status of our case on CEAC and USCIS. Today on the CEAC site, our case says it was last updated 3 December 2014 (today). It still says "Refused" which I am sure is because the waiver decision has not been made yet. Do anyone of you know what this means when the CEAC date changes?

I just called the Senator's office and the girl who is handling my case is out of the office today.. ( but of course...) I told the girl who answered the phone the whole story and how the other girl was supposed to inquire again last week but never did. I was told that maybe she did but she is out of the office and doesn't have access to her work email from home. ( of course she doesn't) I asked her to leave a message. We need some kind of answer here. Its been 6 weeks since the expedite was supposedly approved. And the USCIS won't even give my husband any info because we got the Senator involved.

Wow, that sounds like a bunch of excuses on the Senator's office part. I got a phone call from my Senator today but it was just to verify that my number hadn't changed.

I called the USCIS helpline which also was of ZERO help. First off, I have never been talked to so rudely by someone that speaks as if they just passed 2nd grade english. The woman had an EXTREME attitude and told me that if I wanted to know the status of my case then to make an appointment with INFOpass and go find my status there. I said, well I am in the Armed Forces, stationed in a foreign country and the consulate does not handle 601's so that would be no help. She told me to ask my wife for the status then since she was the applicant and doesn't know what else I want. At that point I said "Let me speak to your supervisor NOW". End result, the USCIS helpline cannot see updates regarding expedite approvals so I know nothing more than I did before that phone call. All it did was really tick me off

thank you for your reply!! do you suggest getting engaged as a fince and then seeing what happens and if waivers are needed, or getting married and taking it from there? if waivers ARE needed (hopefully they are not), would marriage look better to the consulate to approve them? thank you so much and happy holidays

If a waiver is needed, marriage will absolutely look better. Also, the Consulates no longer handle waivers, they are processed through the Nebraska Service Center. The main premise of a waiver is to prove extreme hardship on the petitioner (legal US resident) not the one applying for the waiver. You need to prove why the legal US resident cannot live in their spouse's home country. If you are not married then there really is no way to prove hardship as you are not in a bonafide marriage. There can be other factors besides extreme hardship involved with waivers but it is all a case by case basis.

My advice, call Lizz Cannon. Do not even attempt a waiver without the help of a reputable Attorney. I hired an Attorney that was cheap and he ended up causing my wife and I a year delay in our visa and a lot of unnecessary pain and agony. In the end, I went with Lizz and she has been a HUGE help and we are well on our way to an approval.

LoveMyTico,

I am in the same boat as you. My congressman's office requested an update on our 601 and the NVC told them our waiver was expedited on November 3rd. We still have not heard anything. Our attorney said that expedites are required to be complete within 15 days, they obviously aren't doing that. Have you heard anything about your expedited waiver yet? My wife's CEAC status was updated on November 28th and it still says "Refused". I am hoping that just means they haven't received an approved waiver yet and it still is tracking the original denial. This stuff is REALLY stressing my wife and I out.

Just an update to my situation.......

The I-601 has been filed and was received by NVC on 10 October 2014. We requested it to be expedited due to circumstances surrounding our situation. At first we received no recognition of the expedite request. Our attorney sent another request and it was acknowledged that the expedite was requested but if we do not hear anything back within 15 days, we should assume the expedite was denied.

This is where it starts getting confusing........ 15 days passed by and we did not hear anything. My congressman's office requested an inquiry on our case and USCIS informed them that our case had been approved to be expedited on November 3rd but there was no estimated completion date. Our attorney then called USCIS and was told there was no information of our case being expedited. She also said if it did happen to be expedited, this presents an issue because they are supposed to reach a decision within 15 days(we are now just shy of 30 days).

Has anyone had similar issues like this? It would appear that USCIS is feeding false information to either the congressman's office or my attorney. I really would like to know what the actual status is but all they tell me when I call is that my case was received on 10 October and that no further information is available.