Zaichik&Miska

Filed Dec 2020, Interview got scheduled in Portland, OR Feb 2022.

Filed Dec 2020, Interview got scheduled in Portland, OR Feb 2022.

Interview was cancelled in March right after we did medical. Rescheduled to last Monday the 21st. She had to go to the embassy alone, I was not allowed to be with her (presumably because Ukraine was closed to foreigners and COVID precautions inside the embassy). She was interviewed by a nice lady and asked typical questions (Tell me about your fiance, how did you meet, what are your plans, etc.) and was approved after 15 minutes. Yesterday, the 24th, she received her passport and visa in the mail. 
 
Next step is to make plans to get her here asap! Hang in there everyone, things are starting to move again.

Interview was cancelled in March right after we did medical. Rescheduled to last Monday the 21st. She had to go to the embassy alone, I was not allowed to be with her (presumably because Ukraine was closed to foreigners and COVID precautions inside the embassy). She was interviewed by a nice lady and asked typical questions (Tell me about your fiance, how did you meet, what are your plans, etc.) and was approved after 15 minutes. Yesterday, the 24th, she received her passport and visa in the mail. 
 
Next step is to make plans to get her here asap! Hang in there everyone, things are starting to move again.

Interview was cancelled in March right after we did medical. Rescheduled to last Monday the 21st. She had to go to the embassy alone, I was not allowed to be with her (presumably because Ukraine was closed to foreigners and COVID precautions inside the embassy). She was interviewed by a nice lady and asked typical questions (Tell me about your fiance, how did you meet, what are your plans, etc.) and was approved after 15 minutes. Yesterday, the 24th, she received her passport and visa in the mail. 
 
Next step is to make plans to get her here asap! Hang in there everyone, things are starting to move again.

Interview was cancelled in March right after we did medical. Rescheduled to last Monday the 21st. She had to go to the embassy alone, I was not allowed to be with her (presumably because Ukraine was closed to foreigners and COVID precautions inside the embassy). She was interviewed by a nice lady and asked typical questions (Tell me about your fiance, how did you meet, what are your plans, etc.) and was approved after 15 minutes. Yesterday, the 24th, she received her passport and visa in the mail. 
 
Next step is to make plans to get her here asap! Hang in there everyone, things are starting to move again.

Yeah, foreigners are banned from entering until 28 Sept. Adaptive quarantine extended until 31 Oct. 
 
Yes, confirmed. My fiancee was called and asked if she was available on X date. She said yes and was instructed to show up. They are rescheduling all interviews that were cancelled in March and April and will work forward from there to clear the backlog before allowing the rest of K applicants to schedule their interviews via USTravelDocs site. Also, the Diversity Visa categories have been added to that workload recently as ordered by the courts. Hopefully it doesn't affect interviews already scheduled. Good luck to everyone, at least things are moving again.

Yeah, foreigners are banned from entering until 28 Sept. Adaptive quarantine extended until 31 Oct. 
 
Yes, confirmed. My fiancee was called and asked if she was available on X date. She said yes and was instructed to show up. They are rescheduling all interviews that were cancelled in March and April and will work forward from there to clear the backlog before allowing the rest of K applicants to schedule their interviews via USTravelDocs site. Also, the Diversity Visa categories have been added to that workload recently as ordered by the courts. Hopefully it doesn't affect interviews already scheduled. Good luck to everyone, at least things are moving again.

Yeah, it was 3:30pm Ukraine time. Happened this morning for us. If your interview got cancelled in March and April, they will prioritize you first, then move down the list to clear the backlog, then move on to cases received from NVC. They are still not operating at 100%, K visa resumption is presumably because of the announcement from DoS yesterday. 

Yeah, it was 3:30pm Ukraine time. Happened this morning for us. If your interview got cancelled in March and April, they will prioritize you first, then move down the list to clear the backlog, then move on to cases received from NVC. They are still not operating at 100%, K visa resumption is presumably because of the announcement from DoS yesterday. 

Yeah, it was 3:30pm Ukraine time. Happened this morning for us. If your interview got cancelled in March and April, they will prioritize you first, then move down the list to clear the backlog, then move on to cases received from NVC. They are still not operating at 100%, K visa resumption is presumably because of the announcement from DoS yesterday. 

We're done waiting and are joining the legal action that's being taken. We're done waiting for this to happen on its own. It's obviously not going to happen before the end of January.

The #LoveIsNotToursim and #LoveIsEssential campaigns are gaining more and more traction in EU countries. #ResumeK1Visa is piggybacking on their success. Fire up your Twitter accounts and join the voices. I started up an account and am getting retweeted left and right, hopefully the powers that be will take notice soon.
 
In other news, got a reply from a Senator's office and the Congresswoman's office. They sent off my request inquiring on my case and the embassy just gave the standard reply that routine visa processing has not been resumed yet. The respective offices also took the time to blame the administration for everything. Ugh, I really hate politics. I just want my fiancee here.

The #LoveIsNotToursim and #LoveIsEssential campaigns are gaining more and more traction in EU countries. #ResumeK1Visa is piggybacking on their success. Fire up your Twitter accounts and join the voices. I started up an account and am getting retweeted left and right, hopefully the powers that be will take notice soon.
 
In other news, got a reply from a Senator's office and the Congresswoman's office. They sent off my request inquiring on my case and the embassy just gave the standard reply that routine visa processing has not been resumed yet. The respective offices also took the time to blame the administration for everything. Ugh, I really hate politics. I just want my fiancee here.

Here is what I wrote mine. Feel free to copy/edit/paste for your purposes:
 
"
Hello Sir/Ma'am,
 
I am <Name> a resident and one of your constituents. I am frustrated with the US Embassy in <Location>. (Specific to my case: As you probably know, the Portland area has a big population of Ukrainians and Russians. Last year, I have filed a petition for a K1 visa to bring my fiance to the US so we can live together after years of dating. In March of this year, I flew to Kyiv to attend my fiance's final interview to be granted this visa. The day before the interview, we received tragic news that all interviews were being cancelled. Our time, dollars and efforts were wasted during that trip.) They state they do not know when K1 visa services will continue. This has caused us a great deal of anguish, waiting and not knowing how we can continue our lives together amidst all this turmoil. I am concerned that K1s are not being addressed adequately during the pandemic. I am seeking your help Sir/Ma'am and would urge you to speak to your contacts at the State Department / <Location> Embassy and to ask them:
 
1) To clarify the position of K1s in regards to the Executive Orders on immigration. (The president's EO should not be affected as K1's are non-immigrant visas which are not specifically denied nor included in the ban) 
 
2) For them to deem K1 visas as mission critical visas during the pandemic and provide travel exemptions as such. They are doing this for Spousal visas, and we who are fiances seek the same acknowledgement and treatment. They have made us wait long enough through this process as it is. 
 
3) For them to make a public statement regarding their intended plans for K1 processing so that we all can be informed. Through all of this, if we just had a specific date to look forward to, it would ease our collective stress. Not knowing is the worst state to be in. Having our loved ones beside us helps us support each other through this crisis. 
 
On behalf of all K1 petitioners, I am eager to read your reply. Thank you for your time! 
 
Sincerely,
 
<Name>"

Thank you so much Tris&Kris for getting this thread started. I have contacted my representative and senators by email and by phone. I have received only a reply from Dianne Feinstein talking about all the work she does to support immigration in general. I will try doing the "Need Help with a Federal Agency" route. Thank you! The embassy in Madrid also wrote me stating they cannot process K1 due to the travel ban, so when I call my congresspeople I say that an exemption should be made within the travel ban that states that K1 visas are exempt as they have done for student visas. We definitely have more influence in numbers. I hope this gets sorted out soon!

The #LoveIsNotToursim and #LoveIsEssential campaigns are gaining more and more traction in EU countries. #ResumeK1Visa is piggybacking on their success. Fire up your Twitter accounts and join the voices. I started up an account and am getting retweeted left and right, hopefully the powers that be will take notice soon.
 
In other news, got a reply from a Senator's office and the Congresswoman's office. They sent off my request inquiring on my case and the embassy just gave the standard reply that routine visa processing has not been resumed yet. The respective offices also took the time to blame the administration for everything. Ugh, I really hate politics. I just want my fiancee here.

The #LoveIsNotToursim and #LoveIsEssential campaigns are gaining more and more traction in EU countries. #ResumeK1Visa is piggybacking on their success. Fire up your Twitter accounts and join the voices. I started up an account and am getting retweeted left and right, hopefully the powers that be will take notice soon.
 
In other news, got a reply from a Senator's office and the Congresswoman's office. They sent off my request inquiring on my case and the embassy just gave the standard reply that routine visa processing has not been resumed yet. The respective offices also took the time to blame the administration for everything. Ugh, I really hate politics. I just want my fiancee here.

The #LoveIsNotToursim and #LoveIsEssential campaigns are gaining more and more traction in EU countries. #ResumeK1Visa is piggybacking on their success. Fire up your Twitter accounts and join the voices. I started up an account and am getting retweeted left and right, hopefully the powers that be will take notice soon.
 
In other news, got a reply from a Senator's office and the Congresswoman's office. They sent off my request inquiring on my case and the embassy just gave the standard reply that routine visa processing has not been resumed yet. The respective offices also took the time to blame the administration for everything. Ugh, I really hate politics. I just want my fiancee here.

The #LoveIsNotToursim and #LoveIsEssential campaigns are gaining more and more traction in EU countries. #ResumeK1Visa is piggybacking on their success. Fire up your Twitter accounts and join the voices. I started up an account and am getting retweeted left and right, hopefully the powers that be will take notice soon.
 
In other news, got a reply from a Senator's office and the Congresswoman's office. They sent off my request inquiring on my case and the embassy just gave the standard reply that routine visa processing has not been resumed yet. The respective offices also took the time to blame the administration for everything. Ugh, I really hate politics. I just want my fiancee here.

I think it is. I believe that more people being active and writing them keeps the pressure ultimately on the Dept of State and the Embassies. They get more and more concerns into their inboxes eating up their attention and capacity until they do something about it. Dept of State has already announced that as of today, Embassies (at their own judgement of local conditions) will begin phasing in more employees to start resuming routine visa services. 
 
Every voice adds to the chorus. Keep spreading the word for people to write in. 

/bump
 
Sent off the forms to both a Senator's office and a Congresswoman's office last night. Let's see what happens. Hope we can keep the pressure up. I'm thinking of signing up for a twitter account too and start bugging some people. Reporters asking questions at the WH briefings (they often solicit for "What questions do you want me to ask?"), the Sec of State, the President, the Embassy leaders, heck, I am even thinking about reaching out to the President's wife and daughter as well to plea for help. All this waiting gives me nothing else to do but get my keyboard warrior on... >.>

Agreed. And thanks for posting and updating us. This does a couple of things, it keeps the thread active and visible to where other K1 situations can see it and take action. I found this thread because of the activism taking place here from the vigilant folks who want to take action and create movement. Much appreciated!
 
I was finally contacted by one of my Senator's office and by my State Representative's office also. The senator's office in my case was more personable, took the time to speak with me on the phone. Oregon seems well aware of the issues facing K1, and are trying to contact Dept of State liaisons and various Embassies. They mostly get generic answers, but I persisted and asked for them to 1) inquire about my case with the Embassy and 2) continue to ask Dept of State about a plan of action.
 
I tried to sum up what I perceive to be our collective stance in my conversation with them. We get it, there is a pandemic. However:
K1's are not affected by the Presidential Proclamations USCIS and NVC have resumed processing petitions, but the embassy related segment of the process is stalled and creating a bottleneck. And yet, Spousal Visas are being interviewed by various embassies We assert that K1's should be mission critical like spousal visas due to similarities It would be easier to bear the various burdens (quarantine, social distancing, safety precautions, job loss, etc.) if we had the support of our loved ones beside us. The only thing keeping a fiance from becoming a spouse is the K1 visa.  The advantage of going the K1 route was supposed to be that it was faster than the spousal visa, albeit being more expensive.  Forms such as the DS-160 consider fiances to be relatives, we ask the consideration to be extended throughout the process. Some countries (such as Ukraine in my case), have opened up travel to Americans. Why is there a blanket approach to K1 issuance? Or rather, why are K1's collectively ignored? Why doesn't each embassy make the decision to resume based on their location/local situation? It would be easier to wait if we had a target date. Or better yet, a published plan to get us all on the same page. If X happens, then we proceed to Phase II. If Y happens, we open up for interview. Etc. The thing that bugs most people is the uncertainty, not knowing, etc. A decent communication plan would alleviate so much frustration.  Anyway, I don't know if that helps you formulate your arguments, but the person I spoke with certainly empathized. They'll send the inquiry after I get them the privacy forms and my case number, etc. Let's keep the movement going. On Twitter, I've seen #LoveIsNotTourism and #ResumeK1 being active. I don't really care for political stances, I just want my loved one here with me. 
 
Thanks for reading my rant. I'll post any updates. Peace! ❤️ 

I think it is. I believe that more people being active and writing them keeps the pressure ultimately on the Dept of State and the Embassies. They get more and more concerns into their inboxes eating up their attention and capacity until they do something about it. Dept of State has already announced that as of today, Embassies (at their own judgement of local conditions) will begin phasing in more employees to start resuming routine visa services. 
 
Every voice adds to the chorus. Keep spreading the word for people to write in. 

Hey, has anyone seen this? Looks like potentially good news 🤞