Ailene and Ali

You can look at our timeline. My husband also submitted the DS-5535 and we waited an entire year, several updates but still refused. After we reached the 13th month of waiting, we filed a Mandamus lawsuit in February of this year. Visa was issued in about two months, and he arrived in the US on May 15th. I cannot tell you how many emails I sent and had two of my state senators inquire on our behalf and was told we just have to wait until Washington completed their checks. This doesn't mean yours will take that long. Some as I am sure you have read complete in a few weeks, months or a year. I am sending prayers your way and hopefully it completes soon.

Ankara embassy handles Iraqi and Iranian citizens, and I am sure other nationalities. My husband was assigned to Ankara due to Baghdad embassy being closed. He just had to obtain a Turkish visa for entry which was good for 30 days to go for his medical and interview.

oh yes sorry I submitted the I-134. So I will add the I-864 with his packet. Thank you so much for your help.

Hello. My fiance entered on a K1 visa and we are now married and preparing his register for permanent residence. Looking through my timeline I have the I-485, I-765 and I-131 and the supporting documents for each form. Is this all that needs to be sent in? Since an I-864 affadavit of support was done prior to his interview, I do not need to send this form again correct? The I-693 when does this get submitted? Thank you for your help.

My husband went through the same thing although he is not Turkish. He is Iraqi and was assigned to Ankara embassy. He received the DS-5535 and we waited a year before filing a WOM. Our lawsuit took only 3 months to complete everything, and he is finally here. He only traveled to Turkey (where we would vacation together) and Syria. No one knows how or why people are selected. I read so many cases that their fiance/spouse never traveled and got the DS-5535. Perhaps he has a name that pinged the system. Washington will have to do their checks, as we were told many times this cannot be expedited, just wait and check your emails. Once they are done with their checks then the embassy will proceed. Some cases complete in a few weeks and others, a year or more. I wish you the best of luck and hopefully more couples with this experience will chime in. Sending prayers your way and that you will be reunited soon.

Yes the Ankara embassy is open. For K1 applicants you have to schedule your own appointment, visit the website for Ankara embassy. You have to check daily for the embassy to open up appointment slots. It took my fiance three weeks before finally accessing the appointment calendar. This was back in October 2021 so it may be quicker now.

What is so difficult is not knowing how long to wait. We filed a WOM so not sure if that helps in the issuance.

K1 fiancé visa, I am the US Citizen, and my fiancé is from Baghdad and his case was assigned to Ankara embassy. After a year of waiting for the DS-5535 we received the email that AP is completed and to renew medical and send passport. He flew from Baghdad to Ankara and did his medical this morning. I am sure it is not wise for him to wait in Turkey. Does he fly back and then ships his passport to the embassy? And this can be done with DHL I assume so he can have a tracking number. Also, it said to update the DS160 only if it is re-opened status. I log onto CEAC like I normally do, and I do not see any message about resubmitting the DS160. I want to make sure we are not missing anything. Thank you!

My fiance is Iraqi and interviewed at Ankara on January 25, 2022. There was a checklist online that mentioned passport photos taken within 30 days prior to your interview, and we also updated our intent to marry letters. His experience was good, had a straight to the point officer, and he made copies of several of our items. We prepared a notebook full because I did not want to have any delays for missing paperwork.

Our reply came with the following: This is an automated e-mail, please do not reply. We would like to confirm that we received your DS-5535 form. Unfortunately our office cannot predict how long this processing will take. However, as soon as it is completed, we will reach out to you via e-mail to explain the next steps required to proceed with your application. If we need any further information regarding your application, we will reach out to you directly via e-mail.

My fiancé interviewed in Ankara on January 25 of this year and still waiting. Our cases did update about 7 times, most recent update was August 17th. I have noticed some cases completed at 2 weeks or a year. I am trying to avoid filing a lawsuit as long as our case keeps updating. My fiancé is Iraqi. It is very frustrating and best advice I can give is stay busy planning trips together. We spent time in Turkey in July and now I am planning trip to Iraq in November. I am praying that he is here in Texas before then.

Our DS-5535 request also came by email and it should tell you how they want the information submitted back to them. For our embassy we had to send it back in Word document. Once you send, they should send you a confirmation email stating they received it.

Does the message also say that the embassy will open up appointments and to keep checking? My fiance had his interview in Ankara, Turkey and when we registered his appointment I remember checking daily for about 6 weeks and then the embassy opened up appointments. I am not familiar with your embassy but it sounds like the same situation. We were told to just keep checking and we are K1 visa. I hope this information helps you, if not I am sure someone will chime in with more information.

My Iraqi fiancé interviewed in Ankara in January and used a referral and he is awesome! He has all the required paperwork and has dealt with Ankara embassy. I emailed his certification and few details to embassy prior to interview. Look for Omer Ejder on Facebook.