HBundle

3 hours ago, Bri&Alejandro said:

WE HAVE AN INTERVIEW!!

 

I have no idea how this is possible. My case shows at NVC but 5 minutes later I checked my email and the embassy emailed to inform me that our interview is April 8th. 
 

I had reached out to my congresswoman and I know she contacted the NVC about my case, I am really wondering now if she made this thing move for me. 
 

Anyways, we now have A TON to do in the next couple of weeks and have to figure out how to get both of us to Colombia. Just wanted to give you all a little update on that, I hope this means that the end is in sight for everyone!!

Oh and I'm curious what the letter says-- do they allow the petitioner to be with the beneficiary during the interview? Or can only the beneficiary attend?

Thanks

3 hours ago, Bri&Alejandro said:

WE HAVE AN INTERVIEW!!

 

I have no idea how this is possible. My case shows at NVC but 5 minutes later I checked my email and the embassy emailed to inform me that our interview is April 8th. 
 

I had reached out to my congresswoman and I know she contacted the NVC about my case, I am really wondering now if she made this thing move for me. 
 

Anyways, we now have A TON to do in the next couple of weeks and have to figure out how to get both of us to Colombia. Just wanted to give you all a little update on that, I hope this means that the end is in sight for everyone!!

Congrats!  that's great news!

I've got to admit I'm a bit jealous. This seems to indicate that they aren't exactly going first come, first served since our case was sent to the Embassy prior to the pandemic.  Nevertheless, very happy for y'all.  Let me know if you have any questions about how to prepare the documents for the interview.

1 hour ago, Tacos said:

Any idea when the DS-160 should be completed, now or when we receive the instructions from the embassy? I don’t think things will change between now and then. 

I filled it out at the beginning of the pandemic and am concerned I may be asked to redo it.  My advice is to print off the example/paper copy and fill it out without actually submitting it so that you are ready to do it.

7 hours ago, Hilde said:

Hi there! How can you tell that the case has been "touched". I got my DQ from NVC in May 2020 and am awaiting an interview in Rio... all I see in CEAC is that it is "at NVC".

Thank you!

I am just referring to the Last Updated Date on CEAC.  My understanding is that this is the last time someone looked at the file.  It may only mean that they were responding to my email about my case, or it could mean they were actually reviewing it in preparation for our interview (or any other variety of reasons).

4 hours ago, DanNJ02 said:

Congrats! Did you fill out the DS-160 when your case first arrived at the embassy, and will you have to fill it out again?

I did previously fill it out last March, unclear if I'll need to re-do it. I haven't heard of anyone having to re-do the DS160.

I don't want to read too far into it but I checked CEAC today and my case was "touched" yesterday 3/5.  Could be in response to an email I sent a week ago or maybe they are getting ready to email me. My case had not been "touched" since October 2020. Fingers crossed.

I saw in the Facebook group that someone whose case arrived at the Embassy in Jan 2020 had their interview and it took about 5 minutes supposedly.  They said they originally did not have an appointment and had not received the P3 packet prior to the pandemic.

We are in a similar boat.  The Embassy received our application in March 2020 but we never received a P3 packet or actually had an approved interview time.  I have not yet received anything from the Embassy but am hoping that this happens any day now.  I imagine Bri and Alejandro would be soon after our case, assuming they actually do everything chronologically.

Just have to keep being patient...I think the end is in sight.

2 hours ago, carva26 said:

I have a question, I hope someone here would know this hopefully. 

 

how does the visa interview scheduling works? like, is it by the priority date or is it by the NVC approval notice date? 

 

thanks, Chris.

I don't think we definitely know 100% but I'm under the assumption it would be based on the NVC Approval Date/the date the application actually arrives to the Embassy. 

I'm also curious if the new interviews are being scheduled via phone or email or something else entirely.

21 minutes ago, EA and MK said:

Hello! Was your wife scheduled for April 6th of this year, 2021?

I think they are referring to 2020.

The link for the WhatsApp is:  https://chat.whatsapp.com/JiV2yZubug98jdhYDTPKsz  .  FYI it is Spanish-only.

14 hours ago, alexatexas said:

Awesome to hear. That is better than no movement at all by far. Hopefully Colombia doesn’t keep making the lockdown more strict. 
 

Does anyone in your group have an updated P3 that they would mind sharing?

I haven't seen an updated P3-- I'm not sure if it has changed from the P3 prior to the pandemic.

I'm in a WhatsApp group of K1 and CR1 applicants.  One of the girls in the group that applied for K1 had her interview a couple days ago.  She previously had a scheduled appointment for March.  She was told that they have now finished (or maybe are finishing now) all of the March people and are moving toward the April people.  These are not people with emergency appointments.  So they are making progress, just at a snail's pace.

That's great news! Congrats!

A few questions:

Was this an emergency interview?

Prior to the pandemic, had you been scheduled for an interview that was subsequently cancelled?

When did you do your medical/biometrics?  Prior to the pandemic or recently?

Thanks and congrats again! Hopefully we are right behind you guys

6 hours ago, Andrs01-2020 said:

Any updates or news on this?

Not really.  On December 27, the US Embassy tweeted "Hemos reanudado los tramites de visas K. Sin embargo, debido a la pandemia, en este momento solo tenemos capacidad para procesar casos de emergencia.  Ten la seguridad de que cuando sea posible reanudar los servicios habituales, las visas K seran una de nuestras prioridades."

While this really isn't a change at all to their previously stated position, it is the first time (to my knowledge) they have specifically said anything  about K visas. 

Our case has been sitting at the embassy since February.

Your guess is as good as any.  They are still working on an extremely limited basis, and nothing on K1s.  I'm not sure what that means for you since your situation is not a common one (from what I understand).  They may be grouping you in with all "K1 Work" so that they wouldn't transfer your case until they start working on K1s again. Or maybe there is another person in the embassy that handles transfers-- I have no idea and am purely speculating . 

We're still waiting on any information after our interview was cancelled back in March. My guess is that nothing will change until possibly the new administration.  Also, Bogota and other major Colombian cities are going back to pico y cedula (quarantine).   I've been staying in Colombia since September so that I can at least be with my fiancee; however, I might have to return to the States soon.

I missed it because of work-- any real news on K1 and scheduling interviews?

Thanks!

I know the Colombia embassy is still not processing K1 visas or setting appointments other than emergencies.  I asked to apply for an emergency appointment and they will only consider one if you already have a regular interview time booked, which the portal does not allow.  Because of this circular thinking, this means that they are also not allowing for emergency K1 visa interviews.  I've been living in Colombia about 2 months now waiting for a change because all we lack in our case is the interview + medical, but they refuse to do anything, despite the country being open.  Very frustrating. 

I spoke to Senator Wicker (Mississippi) about K1 Visas and specifically the Colombian Embassy, and he said that Embassies in general are supposed to be continuing to process K1s, but after IR1/CR1/other "Mission Critical" visas.  I was told that if we don't receive an update on our case in the next month that I should reach back out to him. 

I could just be getting the run around but I'm hopeful that this is good news that the State Department is taking this seriously.  Though they still aren't listed as "mission critical" which is ridiculous to me. 

Side note: it seems that the political discussion regarding Student Visas has resulted in the Colombian Embassy deeming them mission critical, which you can see by their social media posts about Student Visas.  Meanwhile, K1s continue to be back of the line... ughh

2 hours ago, WendyB said:

La emergencia sanitaria en Colombia esta hasta el 31 de Agosto, así que supongo que hasta despues de esa fecha abrirán la embajada en Bogotá

This is a possibility.  They could also potentially open after the national quarantine ends on July 15, though I think it will depend on how/when Bogota begins to open up more, rather than the rest of the country.  Just my speculation. 

Quarantine was extended to July 15.  The President did not state how this would impact the re-opening of domestic flights (which was supposed to happen in July), or the subsequent reopening of international flights in September.  I think they purposely keep it vague until the last second to give themselves options but it creates mass confusion. 

On 6/22/2020 at 7:36 PM, amarilloslick said:

Did the Embassy in Bogota say what kind of emergency interviews? For what kind of visa application?

My understanding is that the emergency interviews are not for K1 but for K3/already married or for visas for children of American citizens.  I would love to be wrong on this though.

Following this thread.  I have a plane ticket back to Colombia in September, when they supposedly will open back up, but I'm having more and more doubts of that. The mayor of Bogota has apparently been saying she doesn't want to open up the airport in July (for domestic travel), despite the President saying otherwise.  My fiancee doesn't live in Bogota, but considering it is the capital, I could see other cities following their decision. 

Plus you have the whole fiasco with the day without IVA, which could undo a lot of the progress they've had with controlling corona

I wish there were something we could do as K1 applicants-- it seems the emergency interview is not an option, only for married couples.  Please correct me if I'm wrong. 

Thanks

Edit to add that my Colombian attorney has not heard any news either as of yesterday

Following this thread.  I had an interview scheduled for early August, but it got cancelled a few weeks ago.  I rescheduled and that was cancelled a few days later, and I received an email to the effect that they are closing the portal for appointments indefinitely but they are working to resume ASAP.  I have checked as recently as yesterday and there are no appointments available. 

Bogota is definitely a hotspot in the country and they have been under pretty tight lockdown.  I'm sure reopening the embassy will depend on what happens in Bogota specifically.  In addition, I don't see them opening up for interviews until August at the earliest, as what is the point in issuing a visa if there are no international flights out of the country (other than humanitarian flights which I don't believe are available for visa holders, though I could be mistaken).  Just my 2 cents though.  We will see!! Hang in there parceros.

Hey guys,

Thought I'd update you all.

I was informed the other day that our scheduled interview for August 3 was cancelled.  I was not given a reason, so I am under the assumption that they cancelled all of the interviews that had been scheduled for August (or possibly all scheduled interviews altogether).  When I checked the interview portal yesterday, there were no available dates.

I plan to continue checking the interview portal to reschedule.  I am not sure if they cancelled due to (i) a top-down mandate from U.S. Sec of State to cancel all embassy appointments per the executive order or something similar, or (ii) the fact that I have not received anything directly from the embassy with instructions to make the appointment (note I received the approval letter from the NVC a while back, just not the P3 from the Colombian embassy), or some combination of the both.  I just want to continue to stay ahead of everything to minimize the possibility that we are in the back of the line when things open up.  Everyone assumes and prays that things will be orderly when the open up (e.g. the earliest applicants will get the first appointments), but I personally do not have faith that will be the case, so I encourage everyone to keep checking and be proactive! 

I have also decided I will likely be moving to Colombia temporarily once the Colombian boarder opens.  Who knows when that will be. I'm just staying positive and concentrating on my own relationship, which is doing great despite everything.  If I have to become an expat due to the situation (and let's be real, the Trump administration likely more so than the situation), I will.

I'll keep y'all updated. Praying for all of y'all.

@RV2019 I thought about this but decided not to wait as I had heard of others not waiting with no problems (even before the coronavirus situation), and because the available appointments are pretty far out-- August.  In fact, I checked today and the few open appointments are around August 13, so I am happy I picked the August 3 date when it was available.  To me, there is little downside to this--worst case scenario, they cancel my appointment and I'm essentially in the same situation as if I didn't pick one.  I just don't want to be in the back of the line when the floodgates open up after coronavirus.  Let me know what you end up doing, but my advice is to go ahead and pick a slot.  Just my 2 cents.

I went ahead and booked both -- the biometrics in Medellin one week before the Interview in Bogota, and I do have the option to reschedule both as needed.  I'm going to keep checking everyday to see if there is anything earlier.  Fingers crossed that they don't cancel!

We will need to schedule medical in Bogota, so we'll reach out later this week and see what happens with that.

Thanks again for the help, as always.