ColoradoSteve

Everyone,
 
I just wanted to let everyone that my visa journey is finally complete! I was able to bring her home and we arrived without any difficulty on December 30th. From start to finish, it has been an agonizing 26 months, particularly the last 19 months when my fiancee was stuck in Nicaragua. I doubted that this day would every come, after being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for 17 months.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the help and support!
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
I just wanted to let everyone that my visa journey is finally complete! I was able to bring her home and we arrived without any difficulty on December 30th. From start to finish, it has been an agonizing 26 months, particularly the last 19 months when my fiancee was stuck in Nicaragua. I doubted that this day would every come, after being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for 17 months.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the help and support!
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
I just wanted to let everyone that my visa journey is finally complete! I was able to bring her home and we arrived without any difficulty on December 30th. From start to finish, it has been an agonizing 26 months, particularly the last 19 months when my fiancee was stuck in Nicaragua. I doubted that this day would every come, after being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for 17 months.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the help and support!
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
I just wanted to let everyone that my visa journey is finally complete! I was able to bring her home and we arrived without any difficulty on December 30th. From start to finish, it has been an agonizing 26 months, particularly the last 19 months when my fiancee was stuck in Nicaragua. I doubted that this day would every come, after being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for 17 months.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the help and support!
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
The embassy is moving very quickly now. I just checked the status tonight and my fiancees passport is ready to be picked up. Only 3 week days after the interview! She will be coming home with me after Christmas.
 
Regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
After being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for roughly 17 months, our case was finally approved yesterday!
 
My fiancee attended the appointment for the third interview at the embassy in Nicaragua. She had to resubmit the DS-160, acquire new police reports and medical exams, and provide proof of our ongoing relationship since the previous interview 13 months ago. She was only asked 3 questions at this third interview - "what is your name?", "when did your fiancee last visit?", and "show me a photo of you together". They also returned all of the evidence we had submitted at the 2 previous interviews.
 
They took her passport, and said it would be returned with the visa attached in 3 weeks. Does anyone know how long this actually takes in Nicaragua?
 
From what I have read people usually receive their passport with the visa stamp within 2-10 days. I will be visiting her for Christmas, and I would like to bring her home with me.
 
Regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
I just wanted to let everyone that my visa journey is finally complete! I was able to bring her home and we arrived without any difficulty on December 30th. From start to finish, it has been an agonizing 26 months, particularly the last 19 months when my fiancee was stuck in Nicaragua. I doubted that this day would every come, after being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for 17 months.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the help and support!
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
I just wanted to let everyone that my visa journey is finally complete! I was able to bring her home and we arrived without any difficulty on December 30th. From start to finish, it has been an agonizing 26 months, particularly the last 19 months when my fiancee was stuck in Nicaragua. I doubted that this day would every come, after being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for 17 months.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the help and support!
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
I just wanted to let everyone that my visa journey is finally complete! I was able to bring her home and we arrived without any difficulty on December 30th. From start to finish, it has been an agonizing 26 months, particularly the last 19 months when my fiancee was stuck in Nicaragua. I doubted that this day would every come, after being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for 17 months.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the help and support!
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
I just wanted to let everyone that my visa journey is finally complete! I was able to bring her home and we arrived without any difficulty on December 30th. From start to finish, it has been an agonizing 26 months, particularly the last 19 months when my fiancee was stuck in Nicaragua. I doubted that this day would every come, after being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for 17 months.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the help and support!
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
I just wanted to let everyone that my visa journey is finally complete! I was able to bring her home and we arrived without any difficulty on December 30th. From start to finish, it has been an agonizing 26 months, particularly the last 19 months when my fiancee was stuck in Nicaragua. I doubted that this day would every come, after being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for 17 months.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the help and support!
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
I just wanted to let everyone that my visa journey is finally complete! I was able to bring her home and we arrived without any difficulty on December 30th. From start to finish, it has been an agonizing 26 months, particularly the last 19 months when my fiancee was stuck in Nicaragua. I doubted that this day would every come, after being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for 17 months.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the help and support!
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
I just wanted to let everyone that my visa journey is finally complete! I was able to bring her home and we arrived without any difficulty on December 30th. From start to finish, it has been an agonizing 26 months, particularly the last 19 months when my fiancee was stuck in Nicaragua. I doubted that this day would every come, after being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for 17 months.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the help and support!
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
I have a question regarding the port of entry for my fiancee. We will be traveling together by air and will enter the US at IAH (Houston International Airport). Will my fiancee and I be able to go through the same line in immigration? If so, will we need to be in the line for US citizens or the line for foreigners? I am a US citizen, and my fiancee will have her foreign passport with K1 visa attached.
 
I really hope that it isn't necessary for us to go separate ways in the airport. IAH is gigantic and will be very intimidating and confusing for my fiancee. She has never encountered such an airport before...
 
Regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
The embassy is moving very quickly now. I just checked the status tonight and my fiancees passport is ready to be picked up. Only 3 week days after the interview! She will be coming home with me after Christmas.
 
Regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
The embassy is moving very quickly now. I just checked the status tonight and my fiancees passport is ready to be picked up. Only 3 week days after the interview! She will be coming home with me after Christmas.
 
Regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
After being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for roughly 17 months, our case was finally approved yesterday!
 
My fiancee attended the appointment for the third interview at the embassy in Nicaragua. She had to resubmit the DS-160, acquire new police reports and medical exams, and provide proof of our ongoing relationship since the previous interview 13 months ago. She was only asked 3 questions at this third interview - "what is your name?", "when did your fiancee last visit?", and "show me a photo of you together". They also returned all of the evidence we had submitted at the 2 previous interviews.
 
They took her passport, and said it would be returned with the visa attached in 3 weeks. Does anyone know how long this actually takes in Nicaragua?
 
From what I have read people usually receive their passport with the visa stamp within 2-10 days. I will be visiting her for Christmas, and I would like to bring her home with me.
 
Regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
After being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for roughly 17 months, our case was finally approved yesterday!
 
My fiancee attended the appointment for the third interview at the embassy in Nicaragua. She had to resubmit the DS-160, acquire new police reports and medical exams, and provide proof of our ongoing relationship since the previous interview 13 months ago. She was only asked 3 questions at this third interview - "what is your name?", "when did your fiancee last visit?", and "show me a photo of you together". They also returned all of the evidence we had submitted at the 2 previous interviews.
 
They took her passport, and said it would be returned with the visa attached in 3 weeks. Does anyone know how long this actually takes in Nicaragua?
 
From what I have read people usually receive their passport with the visa stamp within 2-10 days. I will be visiting her for Christmas, and I would like to bring her home with me.
 
Regards,
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
After being trapped in the black hole of administrative processing for roughly 17 months, our case was finally approved yesterday!
 
My fiancee attended the appointment for the third interview at the embassy in Nicaragua. She had to resubmit the DS-160, acquire new police reports and medical exams, and provide proof of our ongoing relationship since the previous interview 13 months ago. She was only asked 3 questions at this third interview - "what is your name?", "when did your fiancee last visit?", and "show me a photo of you together". They also returned all of the evidence we had submitted at the 2 previous interviews.
 
They took her passport, and said it would be returned with the visa attached in 3 weeks. Does anyone know how long this actually takes in Nicaragua?
 
From what I have read people usually receive their passport with the visa stamp within 2-10 days. I will be visiting her for Christmas, and I would like to bring her home with me.
 
Regards,
 
Steve

Thanks Greenbaum. I didn't think being married changed much of anything, other than it is no longer necessary to provide intent to marry statements, and there are slightly different forms to file. The beneficiary is still required to meet all of the same criteria, married or not. Anything that would cause her admission to the US to be denied as a fiancee would cause the same denial as a spouse. But I could be wrong.
 
I could see it might be helpful if the evidence of a relationship was weak. But we have been together for 3-1/2 years, and provided a mountain of evidence. Airline tickets, hotel receipts, a large pile of photos etc. etc. from SEVEN visits together. Skype logs, physical letters and cards with postmarked envelopes and such from the first 2-1/2 years of our relationship. Letters from half a dozen people who have witnessed our relationship in person, Western Union receipts showing my financial support for two years, engagement ring receipt. And more.
 
When I was at the second interview, I saw our file through the window that the consul had. It was literally three inches thick of solid paper, at least half of which was evidence my fiancee and I submitted.
 
I was under the impression that getting married would cause the entire process to start over again, and we would be back to square one where I was 18 months ago. And since my fiancee has Nicaraguan citizenship, we would be stuck going through the same embassy again, where I would expect the same result as before. Unless she obtains citizenship or legal residency in a different country, which would require years.
 
I have heard of numerous people who got married in a foreign country, and were unable (or required years) to get their spouse to the US. I would never be willing to marry someone without knowing if they could ever come to the US.
 
Best regards,
 
Steve

A second medical exam will be required because the process has been so slow, her first medical exam has expired. Medical exams are only valid for 6 months.
The second interview was required because my fiancee had been married previously (12 years ago) although the marriage was invalid because it was never recorded with the central registry. This fact was uncovered in the first interview, because they had a record of a 12 year old passport with the married name. I was unaware of this, so the embassy required a second "split" interview and additional documents.
 
Steve

Everyone,
 
It has been a while since I have posted anything. My K1 fiancee visa case is still tied up at the embassy in Nicaragua , and there has been no progress in months. My poor fiancee had been enduring many hardships in Nicaragua. Recently, she was forced to find a different place to live (again) this time because of an abusive landlord. The landlord hired some thugs, and let them into my fiancees apartment where they proceeded to beat her up, because she refused to have sex with him. Then the new apartment she moved into was infested with bed bugs...
 
Our second interview happened on November 6th. I asked the person conducting the interview if he thought my fiancee could have her visa in time for Christmas, and he said that should be no problem. However, nothing has changed. Every time I send an email to inquire about the status, I am told that it is in administrative processing and that I will be notified when it is ready.
I hired an immigration attorney, and she noticed that the online status had been updated on December 27 saying that our case was ready for an interview. But my email inquiry several weeks later yielded the same response of "administrative processing". She sent an inquiry to the embassy two weeks ago, along with the form to notify them that she has entered the case as my attorney. However, she has received no response from the embassy. They had never failed to respond to my inquiries previously, always responding within 2-3 business days. My attorney is helping me do a congressional inquiry next through the state Senators office. There is nothing more that the attorney can do to help.
 
Does anyone have any other suggestions? We have been in the visa process now for 17 months, and I don't think she will be able to endure the conditions much longer in Nicaragua.
 
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Regards,
 
Steve
 

We finally had the split interview on November 6. The man conducting the interview was very friendly, my fiancee and I both felt very relaxed. He interviewed my fiancee first for an hour or more. Then he interviewed me for about 10 or 15 minutes, to cross check some of my fiancees answers.
 
The questions were all very easy, just very general questions. He didn't ask questions multiple times with different wordings. We never got the sense that they were trying to ask "trick" questions. He just asked my fiancee many different questions about me and my life, my family, our relationship and our visits together. Then I was asked a subset of the same questions. We got the sense that he was just confirming that my fiancee knew me and we had actually spent time together.
 
We provided some additional evidence - the additional legal documents requested of my fiancee, photos of our last 2 visits together (which occurred after filing the petition), WhatsApp logs, and letters from 4 different friends and my sister, who have all witnessed our relationship. Two of these friends had actually traveled to Costa Rica and were with us for part of two different visits.
 
The man conducting the interview told us that my fiancees medical exams were going to expire in a week, and that they would be unlikely to complete the visa before then. So she would need new exams. I asked if she would be able to have the visa in time to be with me for Christmas, and he said that should not be a problem. He said we would hear from them within 2 weeks.
 
Unfortunately, we have heard nothing from the embassy about our case. My fiancee has not even received instructions for getting the new medical exams. It has been nearly 5 weeks since the interview. I sent an email asking about the status of our case, and was only told that it was in "administrative processing" and we would hear from them soon. I know the embassy will close on December 15 for the holidays, and will not reopen until sometime in January. We have given up all hope of being together for Christmas.
 
I don't know what to do next. I don't understand why they continue to delay our case. Nicaragua has become a dangerous place, and my fiancee has suffered many hardships there over the past 7 months.
 
Thanks for remembering my plight! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Regards,
 
Steve

We finally had the split interview on November 6. The man conducting the interview was very friendly, my fiancee and I both felt very relaxed. He interviewed my fiancee first for an hour or more. Then he interviewed me for about 10 or 15 minutes, to cross check some of my fiancees answers.
 
The questions were all very easy, just very general questions. He didn't ask questions multiple times with different wordings. We never got the sense that they were trying to ask "trick" questions. He just asked my fiancee many different questions about me and my life, my family, our relationship and our visits together. Then I was asked a subset of the same questions. We got the sense that he was just confirming that my fiancee knew me and we had actually spent time together.
 
We provided some additional evidence - the additional legal documents requested of my fiancee, photos of our last 2 visits together (which occurred after filing the petition), WhatsApp logs, and letters from 4 different friends and my sister, who have all witnessed our relationship. Two of these friends had actually traveled to Costa Rica and were with us for part of two different visits.
 
The man conducting the interview told us that my fiancees medical exams were going to expire in a week, and that they would be unlikely to complete the visa before then. So she would need new exams. I asked if she would be able to have the visa in time to be with me for Christmas, and he said that should not be a problem. He said we would hear from them within 2 weeks.
 
Unfortunately, we have heard nothing from the embassy about our case. My fiancee has not even received instructions for getting the new medical exams. It has been nearly 5 weeks since the interview. I sent an email asking about the status of our case, and was only told that it was in "administrative processing" and we would hear from them soon. I know the embassy will close on December 15 for the holidays, and will not reopen until sometime in January. We have given up all hope of being together for Christmas.
 
I don't know what to do next. I don't understand why they continue to delay our case. Nicaragua has become a dangerous place, and my fiancee has suffered many hardships there over the past 7 months.
 
Thanks for remembering my plight! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Regards,
 
Steve

I avoided traveling as much as possible, but I saw a number of things when I did need to go places. Managua appeared to be largely normal, however there were signs that things had been much different in previous weeks. Many of the roads there are constructed from concrete paving blocks, rather than asphalt or poured concrete like our roads in the US. There were many areas where people had pried up the blocks and built barricades to block off the roads. During my visit, there were many heavily armed police guarding workers who were repairing the roads. The barricades had been recently torn down. Had I been there a week or two earlier, travel to the airport and embassy might have been impossible.
 
I saw one large barricade still in place, blocking the access to the mayors office in my fiancees home town. It was about 6 foot high, with gun ports near the top. I had to wait nearby in the taxi when my fiancee had to walk past the barricade to visit the mayors office. Periodically a few men with hoods covering their heads, and carrying rifles, would come out from behind the barricade for a few seconds. No idea if they were police, para-military, military, or just armed thugs. They wore plain clothes and masks.
 
Everyone seemed tense and afraid. The taxi driver warned me several times not to take photos of anything. We went to a restaurant one evening with some friends. The restaurant closed early so everyone could get home before dark. This is typical, there seems to be an unofficial curfew in place. Everyone is terrified to go out after dark. While I was there, violence was still happening in Granada and Masaya, but Managua appeared mostly "business as usual". There were busses and taxis running, and the roads were packed with heavy traffic.
 
I feel sorry for the people there. The country is impoverished. I saw huge piles of garbage everywhere, and children digging through the garbage. I managed to capture one photo of this.
 
I never felt threatened or unsafe when I was there, but I definitely felt uneasy, as did the locals. In summary, Managua seemed relatively normal, but the situation can change quickly and without warning. My fiancee was unable to make it to a court appointment last Thursday, because large demonstration marches and strikes largely paralyzed the city for two days. I was able to stay safe, in part because I had help from my fiancee and her neighbors, and an excellent and reliable taxi driver. Be careful if you must travel there. Only go out for essential business. Is definitely not the time for a site seeing tour of the country.
 
Regards,
 
ColoradoSteve
 
Steve