Jason and May

That's accurate. It seems last Friday, July 5th, CR/IR DQs up through August 22, 2023, received interview letters. I was just coming here to complain because my wife's DQ date is 08/24/23, and USEM has been issuing ILs for August DQs at a painstakingly (ridiculously) slow rate over the course of 3 months (June was skipped altogether, with no ILs sent out at all). I'm typically not optimistic in this process, but I do think based on historical IL issuance trends, next Friday another round of ILs should go out, covering at least the remainder of August. Hopefully, anyway. Anything is possible. Including another 5 months of radio silence. So, we'll see.

Hey, hey! How about USEM, eh? Milking August 2023 DQs for 3 months now. Tease a few more letters out but not quite all of August. The Department of State's dedication to making this process as lengthy as possible is incredibly impressive. Infuriating when you're in the process. But impressive, nonetheless.

The announcement is on their webpage; though, there is lots of speculation as to why the increase. Everyone, it seems, is hoping for a new X-ray machine, but no one seems to be holding their breath, except for all the people who are now talking about rushing for advanced medical to try to avoid the increase. 😕

I don't know, man. I don't think any of us will make any guesses, educated or otherwise, that are the answer. What I do see, though, is a massive disparity between immigrant and nonimmigrant issuance numbers. In 2023, USEM issued 249, 644 nonimmigrant visas compared to 173,371 issued in 2022, and also compared to the 30,491 immigrant visas issued in 2023. Nonimmigrant visas issuances went up 44% from 2022. Immigrant visa issuances also went up 43.14%. But, then, nonimmigrant visas have always been a priority, despite the Department of State's words of: "The guiding principle on which we have based immigrant visa prioritization is that family reunification is a clear priority of the U.S. Government’s immigration policy, a priority is expressed in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Specifically, the Department’s prioritization relied on clear direction from Congress that the Department must adopt a policy of prioritizing immediate relative visa applicants and K-1 fiancées of U.S. citizens, followed by family preference immigrant visa applicants." It's difficult to see prioritization here. It's also difficult to believe in any backlog talk. If there is a backlog, then USEM probably shouldn't be back to cranking out the same number of immigrant visas they always have but pumping out 12,000 and 14,000 tourist visas monthly.

Relatively speaking, the IR category is doing just fine. Sort of. When we can say 60 times more IR1s than CR1s were issued in Feburary 2024, that sounds like a lot. But 1 CR1 was issued while 67 IR1s were issued. So it's really not a lot. IR5s are what are being processed. To reduce the backlog, as I've understood it. So in February, nearly 400 IR5s were issued, while that 1 CR1 was issued and 67 IR1s. March? 5 CR1s. 55 IR1s. And over 400 IR5s. That's the reality. So, yes, I do agree, spousal visas as a whole are not fairing quite well. But fairly consistent single-digit CR1 numbers are pretty bleak for the CR1 folks, as all indications point towards if you get married and petition, that oft-quoted 24 to 30-month timeframe from petition to visa in hand is pretty spot on these days. Nothing is efficient. And you just...wait your turn. Except. You kind of don't in a way. Because if you're a CR1 and IR1s get auto expedited and you miss the cutoff by, say, 3 weeks before your visa converts, you're probably now waiting that much longer, because all those auto expedited IRs need interviews, baby, and now....? Just keep waiting. For your turn. A lot of people say they prefer IR1 to avoid the messy and costly RoC, but, for me, I would have gladly walked through RoC with my wife just to have her here with me. I can navigate the immigration system and rules, and we can pay the fee. It wouldn't be so bad if I could have continued going back and forth every 6 months. But in my situation, I can't go back right now because of work, so it will be a year or more before we see each other again. If her visa is issued by this fall, anyway. My point is I agree. It's a logistical nightmare. And many people are exhausted and kind of nearing a breaking point right now. It's unfortunate at best.

There really aren't ever any updates, per se. Aside from the Department of State's bulletins, which have seemed for the last two years to tout their pride in the massive number of tourist, student, and employment visas issued worldwide. If you follow timelines here on VJ, that can give you a little bit of an idea. And the monthly visa statistics. My wife is DQ August 2023. She did not get an interview letter this month. The latest DQ date of August 2023 I am aware of receiving a regular CR1 interview letter is August 3, 2023. That doesn't mean no later dates got them; I'm just not aware of it from here on VJ or other groups I'm a member of. IRs appear to be the hot visa type right now for processing, trying to clear the backlog. I suspect next month we will see visa statistic numbers from USEM for May 2024 that will be something like 11,000 tourist visas issued, maybe 150 IR1s, and probably something like 8 or 10 CR1 visas. Numbers like that seem to be the average for the past couple of years.

From the members who've been through it, this was helpful! What the PHILS website has written was a bit confusing to me. Thank you for the replies!

Question regarding documents for interview, specifically CENOMAR and PSA Advisory on Marriage. The PHILS USEM pre-interview checklist is a bit confusing. It states, in part, “if you are single” to bring a CENOMAR, but then also says the CENOMAR is needed for CR1/IR1 interviews. It also says “if you are married” to bring an advisory on marriage. It appears a CENOMAR will detail past marriages and annulments, but the PSA help page says if you are married and request a CENOMAR, PSA will send you an advisory on marriage. What are the actual documents needed? TIA

We’re CR1, DQ 08/24/23. No IL. No CEAC update. I’m sure we will continue waiting until at least next month, if not longer. I predicted about 12 months, give or take, from DQ until IL, and probably not an interview until fall. I was hoping I was wrong, but that would fit the 30 month or so time frame from petition to visa, and our case seems to have been stagnated at about that pace. I’ve seen one post from a CR1 with DQ in early August. The rest I have seen posting that received ILs were IR5s. So, it seems like less CR1 movement and more working on the backlog of IRs, frankly. But as you said, who knows? 🤷🏽‍♂️

I was hoping with regular interview letters going out last month to cases DQ through July for CR1s that maybe we'd see my wife's IL in May. Looks like that might not happen, as it's been radio silence. She was DQ August '23. Who knows, though. USEM has been sending out ILs kind of sporadically, and there's a lot of May left. So, I guess we'll see. At this point, I no longer hold my breath. She could get an interview letter tomorrow, or not until December. Nothing makes any sense. Nothing at all.

I appreciate you answering. Thank you. We have tried to put together a comprehensive packet, so to speak. I’ve been to visit 5 times over just about 2 years. Lots of pictures together, with her family, evidence of the travel and so on. I think we may be well covered in the bonafides. The lack of comprehensive evidence and official explanation for her deportation has always concerned me a little, though. I’m glad there’s evidence of no criminal conviction in the country, but, holy cow, trying to get any kind of report to provide an official explanation and documentation was like turning water into wine. Thanks again for answering! 🤙🏾

Were you able to obtain an actual police report? My wife was detained and eventually deported from Jordan. We were able to obtain a Certificate of No Criminal Conviction, but we were unable to obtain a police report or any report at all. I’m a bit concerned about this come interview time, but we’re also just rolling with this and will address it if it needs addressed. Though, I’m curious about your situation.

We received the email today notifying us of the NVC case creation. I've been trying off and on over the course of the day to check the case status and see if we can set up the CEAC account and pay the bills. I continually get an error notice stating the server dropped the connection. In checking the VJ forums, it looks like this is a pretty routine issue, or at least CEAC being down/not working properly has been an ongoing and routine issue? I've attached a screenshot of the error message. (I get the same message via Safari and Chrome.) I'm using the URL https://ceac.state.gov/iv.

Hi all, I just have a question I thought I'd see if someone might have had experience with and can answer. My wife and I are in the process of her CR1 visa. She is from the Philippines and is residing there currently, while we await her visa. She was an overseas filipino worker, and she lived and worked in several countries over the years. So, we have started the process of gathering her PCCs so we are prepared when she ultimately gets to her interview. The one PCC we've run into some issues with is Qatar. We checked with the Qatar embassy in Manila, and we received from them instructions on how to apply for her PCC from Qatar. Qatar, however, requires as part of the application process a sundry fingerprint card. When my wife went to the Manila DFA to obtain her fingerprint card, she was told by staff she has to get an "endorsement letter" from the US Embassy in order to get her fingerprint card. OR wait for her "NVC" because her "visa hasn't been approved yet." The NVC thing doesn't make sense to me. I believe what they meant was she has her NOA 1--and she took that with her to the DFA--but her case is still processing and has not yet been transferred to the National Visa Center...? I've googled the endorsement letter issue. I've tried to reach the Philippine embassy in Chicago to ask about it and was unable to get an answer. If you've had any experience with this, could you please share with me how she should go about obtaining the endorsement letter from the US embassy or what the Manila DFA staff meant by her "NVC?" Thanks, all. Warmly, Jason