ced8

Update on our case- SHE GOT THE VISA.

I apologize for not updating sooner as I was trying to catch up on work etc.

I am being descriptive to assist anyone in the future regarding the procedures etc. if you need any detailed info. please PM me.

Claudia got a phone call February 8th from AMEX stating that she got an appointment with the consulate on 2/20/2007 and that it was a "rush" date

I didn't have much time but really wanted to attend the interview with her and quickly arranged everything to get there in time. As you can imagine it was so stressful trying to co-ordinate everything and I didn't get to update here.

I managed to secure a date to arrive on 2/18/07 after continuously working with the travel agent which was an episode in itself.

After I arrived we had to leave to Islamabad and we got there on the 19th and stayed with her relatives.

One 2/20/07 at 6:30 we left the house and arrived at the "convention center" only to see long lines as all the different embassy lines were already full and we were there in time at 7.

We cleared through security as they do not allow cell. phones, bags etc.

After getting the bus ticket we waited in another line for the US embassy and the whole thing up to this point took an hour.

we arrived at the consulate at 7:45 and after slight screening again were inside the embassy at 8:00 a.m. which was her appointment time.

The security detail took her appointment letter and we were asked to enter the room with the booths.

at 8:03 she was called at one window and asked a few basic questions about her identity and if she had her passport etc.

at 8:04 she was called at 2nd window to pay the visa issuance fee of $100

at 8:10 she was called at 3rd window for the interview. Here are some of the questions asked:

what is your name? your fiancé's name and date of birth

where does he live?

I see pictures but would like to see some more (she showed more and was asked to identify the people in them, including one picture of my fiancée's godchild where the officer asked if the baby was mine and if I had been married before)

she officer gave her the original birth certificate which was sent with packet 3.5

she inquired about my position and the company I worked for. (I am a Visa and Immigration co-coordinator here at which point the officer was impressed noting that since I work in this field everything would be in order)

while I wasn't physically there with her at the booth, Claudia did mention I was in the room

upon hearing that the officer again felt more comfortable and appeared to smile and asked her to place her hand for fingerprinting

immediately she asked Claudia if she had been there before to which Claudia mentioned yes and my student visa was denied.

the officer asked her about it and if she would pursue her studies and Claudia stated no I'm ready to get married only now..

The officer then remarked that she was satisfied and everything was in order and that she would get her passport in the mail in a week's time.

My fiancé did mention that I would be leaving on the 24th which was roughly 4 days away and inquired as to whether she could accompany me. The officer said "Claudia, you know you aren't supposed to book any flights right?" and Claudia mentioned she had not but it would have been nice to get the visa issuance ASAP and if we can expedite we would kindly request it to which the officer replied "don't worry the packet should be there in 3-4 days"

Claudia didn't want to continue on this topic and simply thanked the officer for her time and got a letter with a list of AMEX contact details and a token number for her passport.

at 8:35 we were waiting for the bus to return to the convention center

We caught the flight to Karachi the same day as it was very cold in Islamabad and I wasn't used to it and was sneezing etc. and didn't want to catch a cold

we did try to get a flight assuming that the passport would be there in 3-4 days however in the end I came back alone on the 24th as I had to resume with my job

on Tuesday 2/28/07 she got a call from AMEX that the passport arrived. She went to pick it up, however there was a typo on my name and the clerk advised it would be best to have it corrected so she sent it back to ISB with a note to correct the name.

on 03/01/07 she got a call from the consulate and the gentleman stated that the typo shouldn't be a problem as it was not her name that was incorrect and himself stated that she can make travel plans on Sunday to leave. I asked her to book the flight for Sat. night out of Jinnah Intl. as she could arrive on Sunday afternoon here in Houston which she did, however the passport didn't arrive until the morning (3/2/07)

LUCKILY EVERYTHING WENT OK AND SHE IS HERE NOW IN THE US

3/4/2007 she arrived at the airport and into my open arms

Some notes/observations:

the officers appeared very polite and there were a lot of people ahead of us already in the room even though we were the first to get on the bus at 7:00 so perhaps they were there even earlier than us. (I.e. leave as early as you can)

there were a lot of other K-1s being interviews. One couple had gotten an appointment date of 3/13/2007, however the US citizen who happened to be in Pakistan at the time emailed the consulate and asked them to bump the date earlier as he was in town and they agreed moving it to our date of 2/20/2007. (perhaps if you are planning on traveling you can try this approach, although I can't vouch it will work in all cases, it would obviously depend on their work load. They did get a new appointment letter too so make sure you have that before making plans)

Another gentleman had to go through A/P and got a separate letter stating that his case required further processing and upon clearance would be sent the passport. The officer told him it would be a month before he got the passport. (We didn't get any updates on this so again we cannot estimate how long it is taking)

I hope that this can serve as a guide to anyone in the future.

Once again thank you all the VJ members, I look forward to getting the AOS out of the way very soon.

Well it's been a week and the new duplicate packet has still not arrived yet. I can't believe that the Embassy is taking so long.. it's unbeliveable. So many delays and we haven't even got the right packet. I will send a follow up email today to the embassy. Hopefully they respond.

we are finally cleared.. now we are waiting for the embassy to contact javed.

its about dayum time..

Congrats.. I know you've been waiting for a while... best of luck to you and Javed.

UPDATE: Ok well I emailed the consulate and they told asked me about the color of the booklet and that it was perhaps the wrong one.

I did inquire from my Claudia and she said that it is a whitish booklet with a green border in lemonish yellow color and it saiys Family on it and packet 3.5.

Is this the right packet for K1s? Thanks in advance.

Are you applying for a K3 or K1 visa? What does the cover letter on the packet say, down near the bottom?

I just sent you a PM with more details for K1 visa...

It is the K1 Fiance visa. I'll check with Claudia about the cover letter. Thanks for the PM - Replied.

UPDATE:

Thanks to the help in this thread I was able to get the consulate to send another packet 3.5 to my fiance and she got the packet. I am sending all the documents via courier to her today including the 134 and all the supporting documents, however needed clarification on the 156/157 and 156K.

In the packet the only forms requested is the DS-230 Part I and II and the birth certificate etc. Do they need the DS 156 etc? I'm confused.. why do they make it so confusing. We attempted to contact American Express who deals with the visas and all and they weren't very helpful either so I decided to post here and get some feedback.

I have asked her to fill it out while the packet is in transit but would like to know if we should submit it with the packet anyway to avoid delays *better safe than sorry.

UPDATE: Ok well I emailed the consulate and they told asked me about the color of the booklet and that it was perhaps the wrong one.

I did inquire from my Claudia and she said that it is a whitish booklet with a green border in lemonish yellow color and it saiys Family on it and packet 3.5.

Is this the right packet for K1s? Thanks in advance.

UPDATE:

Thanks to the help in this thread I was able to get the consulate to send another packet 3.5 to my fiance and she got the packet. I am sending all the documents via courier to her today including the 134 and all the supporting documents, however needed clarification on the 156/157 and 156K.

In the packet the only forms requested is the DS-230 Part I and II and the birth certificate etc. Do they need the DS 156 etc? I'm confused.. why do they make it so confusing. We attempted to contact American Express who deals with the visas and all and they weren't very helpful either so I decided to post here and get some feedback.

I have asked her to fill it out while the packet is in transit but would like to know if we should submit it with the packet anyway to avoid delays *better safe than sorry.

I'm so happy that the process is working for most of you.. unfortunately for me, it's been over a month now and still no pakcet 3 from Islamabad Consulate. My fiance has emailed them to no reply and has called them daily but it just rings and no one picks up. I have no idea what to do. I wonder why it's taking this long.

I sent email to ISB embassy yesterday and receive reply same day. First i tried to call them but phone bell was just ringing then decide to email. I am in touch with embassy from last 2 months and receiving replies same day or in next few days. Try again with different email address may be it will work. Here is the email address..

PakIVInfo@state.gov

Thanks

Zaki

Zaki, thank you SOOOO much..

I emailed the Consulate and they replied back saying that they sent the Packet 3 on November 20th 2006. I sent them an email asking for more information about the courier or anything to track it down or if they can send a new packet to her again.

Anyways Do you have any information as to which courier service the consulate uses to send packages to Karachi? I will ask my fiance to find out from that local office if they have the package there and if she can pick it up from there itself instead of more delays..

Thank you again... I really appreciate it.. I hope she gets the packet soon now without any further delay.

I'm so happy that the process is working for most of you.. unfortunately for me, it's been over a month now and still no pakcet 3 from Islamabad Consulate. My fiance has emailed them to no reply and has called them daily but it just rings and no one picks up. I have no idea what to do. I wonder why it's taking this long.

NVC said they sent it on 11/06/06 so it's been well over a month that they should have got it.. I wonder what the delay is.. Is there anything i can do from this side? I hope there is no inaccurate address or something which has caused a delay. Why is the Islamabad consulate so unresponsive? I would assume that someone that needs attention should be able to reach somebody with information.

Can anyone shed any light?? THanks in advance.

Thanks for the info. dlg. I appreciate it. Also when he gets the date can you PM me or post it up here so we have an idea as to how long it is taking. (Any idea now?)

Hi Thanks.. I'm from the SW area of town close to Sugar Land. I'm just really nervous about how long the embassy is taking. I hope this thing is wrapped up quickly... I can't stand being away from her... (I'm sure everyone on here feels the same way) I see in the timelines that there is another member with a similar timeline that got the Packet 3 and I PM'ed him but didn't get a reply.. I'm wondering if he (username dlg) sent it in and if he got a date so I can get an estimate of how long it would take.

Hey all,

My Case was approved October 18th and sent by NVC on 11/06/2006 and I believe that ISL recd. it on 11/10/2006 (using little detective work through DHL.com) My question is that it's been a while now and my fiance in Karachi has still not recd. packet 3 yet. I understand it takes time and also the Holidays period came as well but usually how long does it take.

Also once the documents are sent back based on other K1s how long before the interview date is given.. I just need a ballpark date so I can plan travel etc.

Thanks in advance

PS -> this waiting game is oh so frustrating... as it is I just can't wait to see her....

Congrats! best of luck the rest of the way.

Thank you all so much.. this web site really helped me out i just wish i knew about it before I filed.. I would have not gotten the rotten RFE in the first place.. Anyways let's hope everything goes quickly and smoothly.

WOW.. I'm so happy and excited.. i was checking for the past few days but nothing has been updated online and today i just went to check the mail and there was an envelope from INS so i opened it and low and behold it was the approval.. I am so excited.. i got an RFE for birth certificate which i promptly sent over and a few days after getting it they approved it..

Now i shall update my timeline.. let's hope Islamadad Consulate is processing K-1s quickly..

wish me luck everybody.. stage 1 done..