StaGor

On 5/31/2021 at 6:44 PM, Sweetie21 said:

Could you look for Ukraine? Waiting for IR5 interview for almost a year.  Thank you. 

Same here! We'd like to see some data on IR-5 visa for Ukraine. 90% of discussion is always about K1 or IR1/CR1 and never about IR5, which was banned for almost a year, despite being an immediate relative category.

1 minute ago, ordjnb said:

 

So the delay is partly my fault. When Trump stopped the green card process for parents, I thought that there was no point gathering the documents. I did not realize there was a queue. 

 

My parents left South Africa in September 2019 and have been in Korea since then. Documents were finally submitted in December 2019 and it got delayed again and again because NVC kept asking for South African police clearance despite me saying over and over that they don't live there. It's like robots work there. 

Understood. Ours was the following:

filed I-130 in July 2019

approved I-130 in Feb 2020

then it took a while for USCIS to forward the case to NVC, so only got welcome letter from NVC late April 2020

submitted and paid all docs to NVC early May 2020

DQed late July 2020

after that no movement. Couple of inquiries to both consulates and NVC and no progress, just generic responses about the backlog.

On the robots part - I think the reason it is that way due to the volume they go through. They may say that immigrants are not just numbers, but in reality if they are dealing with the backlog as they claim, it is impossible to keep personal attachment/attitude towards each individual case; it probably is a second nature to them. Also given that unlike with USCIS, we don't have local offices for NVC to make an appointment and talk to someone.

40 minutes ago, ordjnb said:

I can't believe it's been two years since we've applied for our parents. NVC only just accepted my parents documents after declining to approve because of a lack of police clearance for a country they haven't lived in for 2 years. 

Hopefully they will be able to enter soon. Typically how long between approval of civil documents and an invite to the embassy? 

Hi ordjnb. I remember you, we have similar filing dates, mine was also in July 2019. However we were documentarily qualified (DQ) much earlier (July 2020).

May I ask about your timeline? There seems to be an almost a year of discrepancy between us, so just trying to understand why is that.

I see your origin is South Africa. I saw someone's post from Visa Journey who filed for IR5 parent visa, and already got their interview in South Africa embassy/consulate, and their DQ was after ours, so I imagine South Africa's embassy is not as congested as the one in Ukraine.

Don't lose your hope!

1 hour ago, Bakemma said:

So my in laws are approved and are trying decide what’s next. How long do they have to come over with their packet? Once they get here and receive their permanent resident card how often can they travel abroad and what is a limit of how long they can stay abroad? They have a home and helpings they need to sell and another child that still lives in their home country. They want to be able to go back at least twice ( max 3 times) about 2-4 weeks during their first year of permanent residency. Is that too much time out of the us and they would risk abandoning their permanent residency?

I have a side question for you.

Some time ago I read that after an immigrant visa interview (IR5 for instance like in your case), a beneficiary should receive some sort of a sealed packet that beneficiary should present upon arrival to the country.

But then recently I read on some other thread that apparently now these "packets" are digital and all beneficiary needs to do is bring his/her passport and visa and CBP office would be able to see all the necessary info electronically.

I am not sure which one is which. Can you share your in-laws experience? Did they get an actual packet or is it indeed a digital thing now?

23 minutes ago, Ewan said:

I've got an interview date! June 28th in London.

Congrats mate!!!!

Thank you for sharing and keep us posted about the interview process and any helpful info.

Good Iuck!

12 minutes ago, Agolbaghi said:

Hello, if national visa center  wanted more documents for IR-5 , after uploading, how long will it take for them to respond? Do I need to go back to end of line  again?!

Hello.

Did you get an RFE (request for evidence)?

Or did your case get DQ (documentarily qualified) and then suddenly NVC requested for more documents?

10 hours ago, Sweetie21 said:

NVC gave answer from inquiry and that was 2 month ago. I think it’s similar answers meaning just to wait. No changes. On account showing case at NVC since August 2020. Oohhh. 

I guess we have to keep waiting. The only thing I can tell you about Kyiv consulate is that while their non-immigrant visas issuance has significant difference between pre and post Covid times, immigrant visa variance is much lesser. So my hopes are high that they will be able to process this quickly (end of 2021 maybe).

2 hours ago, Sweetie21 said:

StaGor, is there any updates on your case? I saw on Statistics that USA embassy in Kyiv issued 41 visas in April 2021. It’s also include couple of weeks of shot down. I’m wondering what month of DQ cases received  their IL for May or June 2021.
Did you here anything?

We got DQ in August 2020. NVC saying “in a line for interview scheduling”.  But nobody knows how long to wait more and what month they sent to embassy already. 

That wait just unbelievable. 
Any info will be helpful. 
Thank you. 

Nothing changed for me since. I tried to contact my consulate to see if there is a way to have both interviews scheduled concurrently or merge, when the time comes. Got a simple response - cases are still with NVC. 

So from my end, I just have to keep waiting.

I have a question for you: When you say NVC saying “in a line for interview scheduling”.

Where exactly do you see that being indicated? On CEAC website? Email? NVC inquiry? Or did you actually call them?

4 hours ago, Chauncey said:

I'm having the same issue right now. It'll be 90 days on Monday since my petition was approved and it still hasn't reached NVC. I've done everything I can do contacting the agencies about it and my congressman so I'm just waiting now....

When you spoke to USCIS, did you verify what was the day they have sent over your case to NVC?

43 minutes ago, Lights said:

 

Yes - they are Canadian so we will be doing the interview in Montreal / US consulate.  I did not do anything (though I thought about emailing them this month if the interview didn't get booked yet).  I was definitely worried that their interviews would fall on different days since they have to travel across the country.

 

 

Understood. Thank you for all the info and good luck! I'll probably email my corresponding consulate in Ukraine and see if keeping interview for both parents close (or concurrent) is an option.

10 minutes ago, Lights said:

I'm a June/July 2019 filer and received my parents interview for July 17.  One of my parents had DQ Jan 2020 while my other parent had to resend some docs and ended up having DQ in the summer, think July/Aug 2020.  Both have their interviews on the same day. 

Thank you so much for providing this detailed information.

May I ask if your parents are going to consulate in Canada?

Did you have to do anything to get your mom's and dad's interview on the same day?

7 hours ago, Quyen Quyen said:

Hi eveyone, 

How to update my address to USCIS for the IR5 case? Thank you

Hi Quyen Quyen.

Has your I-130 petition not been approved yetwith USCIS?

The reason I am asking is because if they already approved it and you are at NVC/consulate stage, you will not need to worry about USCIS.

However if your petition is still pending, you can change it with 2 ways that I personally know of:

1. Online

2. Call USCIS customer service and ask a representative to do so.

You should be getting a confirmation letter afterwards that address change transaction has been completed. This is free of charge.

Hello fellow July 2019 filers.

Has anyone had any movement with your cases being scheduled for an interview?

IR-5

PD: Jul 9, 2019

DQ: Jul 22, 2020

Just now, Rana&Eli said:

Oh thanks. So we're based in Beirut, Lebanon, and we're applying for the CR1 Visa. We submitted our initial application I-130 in November of 2020, it was approved by NVC in February. We completed our DS-261 in March 2021 and it was labeled as documentarily qualified almost right away. Since then, we haven't received anything

Got it.

So wait for someone with CR-1 visa to respond.

But I can already tell you that you guys should be in a better shape than we are.

This is because while IR-5 doesn't have restrictions anymore; Department of State during April briefing has made it clear that while they will prioritize all immigrant visas, they made it sound like within those spousal visas will be on top.

So ask some CR-1 people around, and then also look through consular and regional-specific forums.

This is a briefing that I was referring to.

1 hour ago, Rana&Eli said:

Hello,

 

We received our DQ on March 9th, 2021. We expected to receive a notification about our appointment with the embassy by now because we understood that 4 to 6 weeks is the usual time it takes following the DQ (Documentarily Qualified). Since we haven't heard anything, we're thinking of contacting the NVC. Is there anything else we can do? And how long does it usually take to schedule an interview with the embassy?

 

Everyone is different depending on visa category and the consulate where the interview is supposed to take place.

For instance, for IR-5, we have been waiting for almost a year now due to presidential proclamations, and a backlog and local embassy reduced capacity.

Please clarify your visa category, so peers can provide you with some guidance.

On 2/4/2021 at 11:22 AM, African Queen_B said:

Any Update on your case

do you have any update?

No update from my side. Both cases for each parent are DQ'ed (Documentarily Qualified) since July 2020.

Both cases are still at NVC. There is no way to estimate when will they be sent out to the consulate... And months already start turning into years sadly:(

So much for "immediate relative" visa category, huh...

1 hour ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

 

I just read a lot of posts here on Visajourney.  Also, the embassy websites for news and updates.

 

The Russia/Ukraine/Belarus regional forum might be the best section to ask that question.  The IR5 category was banned for a year.  Depending on when your case was DQ'd, you could be anywhere in that queue.  Kyiv is one of the few embassies that have been processing both spouse and fiance visas, as well as student and diversity visas.  I think last fall they even processed tourist visas until they shut down for a couple months from mid-Nov 2020 to mid-Jan 2021.  If any embassy can get through the backlog relatively quickly, it would be them.

 

Send an email directly to the embassy to enquire.  They don't respond well to visa applicants, but they are very good at responding to email from US citizen sponsors.  The first email you will get is an auto-response:  typically that visa services are suspended, blah blah blah.  But they will send a direct response email for your question(s) within a few days.

Thank you so much! You have been incredibly helpful. 

23 hours ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

K1's have been backlogged at Juarez for over a year now.

Can you please help me in understanding how to assess a backlog for a different visa type for a different consulate?

For example, Kyiv consulate in Ukraine for IR-5 visa? What would be a good source of information to look at, when understanding if they are processing IR-5 visas in Kyiv and what's the backlog?

On 2/22/2021 at 5:59 AM, jskibo said:

IR5 visas still banned through March 31st

It just happened! The ban has been rescinded!

Here is official source!

10 hours ago, PANDA098 said:

Hi,
I applied for my husband and i30 got approved in Mid-May 2020. I have not paid any fee or submitted any documents or anything. It's been almost 8 months and i haven't contacted NVC or did any thing.
Due to some reason i want to delay the process for another year. I have seen posts saying you can contact them to keep case open for another year.
How do i contact them? What should i tell them? Should i contact them now (8months since i30 approval) or in April (11 months since i30 approval)?
Should i call or my husband? Do i need to pay fee or contacting them is enough? Can i call from my home country as I well as i will be visiting soon?
PLEASE PLEASE HELP! I Have SO MANY QUESTIONS. I cannot just refile again because i paid alot of money to my lawyer for the uscis part and i cannot afford him right now and i am sure he will ask for money just for answering these questions if i wont be giving him whole case charge.

Ok so based on my personal experience, calling NVC call center can give you just general information, but they are not helpful when it comes to taking action on your case.

I found it more useful sending an email to nvcinquiry@state.gov

In the email subject place your NVC case number (or USCIS case number if you don't have NVC case number).

In email include petitioner's name, beneficiary's name, date of birth.

And ask whatever you are looking for. If it is possible, they will let you know. Couple of times, I received a response after 2 weeks. And one time I actually got a response in 3 days.

Good luck!

On 1/5/2021 at 1:26 AM, MahamNaz said:

Hello everyone!

I am US citizen and have applied for my father. His case is approved and every thing has completed on september 2020. Since then we are waiting for his interview letter but nothing has come yet. 
I called NVC and asked them. They told they have everything. They dont want any thing else. Its just they have to sent my father’s interview letter. I am waiting for that since 2020. 
I want to know that does someone else here waiting for their parents interview letter? Or how long they take to send the letter?

Please if anyone know reply me!

Thanks

Just wanted to expand on what SusieQQQ mentioned - you are definitely not the only one waiting since 2020. Everyone (or at least vast majority) who has filed for parents is in the same boat.

I have been waiting since July 2020, but there are people who have been waiting since April 2020 (April 22 I believe is when the restriction has been issued)

Since then it has been extended multiple times. Last time it was extended recently on Dec 31, and should expire on March 31.

It can be extended beyond that, although with government changes that are about to happen, we are yet to see whether it will be extended.

Also due to government change, hypothetically, the restriction could be revoked at the earlier date. However Biden administration has not made any comments about the specific restriction that limits parents immigrant visas.

This is original restriction: source

This is the most recent extension of restriction (Dec 31): source

7 hours ago, Gar9 said:

In your opinion , what could be the earliest and latest time period in getting the Interview Letter . Any wild guess ?

What will be the basis for priority/sequence for fixing interview date - PD or DQ date ? Thanks .

Intuitively I would guess that DQ date would be instrumental in defining the sequence in which those interviews would be scheduled. As for the timeline, there is no latest threshold. I am just trying to hope that IR5 visas will be resumed in the process without changing any policies.

As for earliest, if executive order expires without any extension into 2021, then some embassies may resume processing in early 2021, just like IR-1 visas are already being processed in some consulates. 

These are all thoughts, but we don't know what will actually happen. 

1 hour ago, Gar9 said:

 

 

 

 

 

Congrats. The wait is long...

23 hours ago, Sfb86 said:

Thank you all for the feedback.

 

I was looking at the checklist for civil documents online, it states that the petitioner must sumbit his/her original/certified birth certificate and marriage certificate. Does this mean I need to send the original documents to my mom in Uganda? 
 

When we did the application, we submitted the photo copy of my birth certificate, which had my moms name.

 

See below quote from government website: 

“If you are applying for an IR5 visa as the parent of a U.S. citizen or for an F4 visa as the brother or sister of a U.S. citizen:  You must obtain an original birth certificate for your petitioner, or a certified copy.”

 

 

So about that.... I would also like to know the answer to that, or at least opinions of others. But here is my understanding:

When you upload scanned documents to NVC, you must scan original and upload. You can not scan a copy of your document and upload; unless a copy was certified.

Now when it comes to the next step the interview, we haven't gone that far, but... Per what you see on NVC website, it is supposed to be an original. (which means you need to send the original documents to your mom in Uganda).

However, in my case I checked also the website of the consulate in Ukraine. Their website contradicts NVC and they do not request an original of petitioner's birth certificate. So check US embassy in Uganda website, under immigrant visa's what is a list of required documents for interview.

My birth certificate was issued by USSR - a country that seized to exist since 1991. You can not possible request a duplicate from a third party country of Ukraine; especially since now I hold a US citizenship only. So you can not expect me to mail it out via Fedex and trust that it will not get lost, because the recovery of this document is practically impossible. Perhaps my situation is one of the frequent and why consulate in Ukraine does not require original.

With that being said, I would love to hear out other people's opinions on this. But I would say to upload documents to NVC according to NVC's guidelines; but bring documents and their copies to the embassy according to the embassy guidelines.