catandmanu

Did you all get a sealed packet with your passport and visa? My husband just picked his up at the ASC and it's only his passport, no sealed envelop to turn in at immigration. I think I read somewhere that this might be because they do the papers online now, but wonder if anyone else had this experience...

Relaying what my husband told me as I am in the US already. He arrived to the embassy a little before 8 am for his 8:30 am appointment. They didn't let anyone in until exactly 8:30 and he was the first to be called for the interview. The officer was friendly and conducted the interview in Spanish. She asked him how we met, why we waited a few years after marriage to apply for green card, and where we planned to live in the US. She asked for the tax transcripts, W2s and 1040s for me and our sponsor. He presented and was approved! Sounds like it was a simple and smooth experience.

We DQ'd September 2, got the interview invite Dec 15th and had interview today (Jan 28). Hope it is quicker for you!

On 1/4/2021 at 8:04 AM, Tootie906 said:

My interview was dec 10th 2020 till  today my visa isn’t issued yet so my point is if you lucky enough in 7 business days maybe less but for me, it’s been like 3 weeks my isn’t issued yet so it’s unpredictable to tell you exactly 

Yikes that's a long time even considering the holidays. Hope you get it soon!

Thanks! Luckily it's free to change tickets in COVID world, but disappointing travel may not work out as originally planned!

How long has it been taken to get visa post interview? I read before that if you pick it up it is usually only a couple of days, but sounds like it has been taking longer? I little concerned because my husband's interview is Jan 28th and flight to the US is Feb 8th and it sounds like that may not be realistic!

9 hours ago, O&G_Jan2020 said:

Hello

 

Who knows if I can travel to the US using my tourist visa after being DQed?

Appreciate any feedback. Thank you.

Lots of info in that thread, but my husband DQ'd in September and we decided to buy a ticket for him to visit the US in October. He traveled with his tourist visa and was honest at immigration when he arrived saying he was visiting his wife who he had not seen in months and awaiting his interview date. Important note that he is not working in the US or abroad, strictly visiting. My take is that if you are honest and do not plan to stay on the tourist visa it's fine! We were nervous but the immigration agent was friendly and wished him luck with his green card. He has stayed for a couple of months but will be returning for his interview in January. 

My husband who DQ'd on Sept 2 got his IR-1 visa interview appointment today. January 28th!

9 hours ago, EstebanB said:

Sorry to bring this old post back to life but anyone from argentina filing I130 can tell me if the Argentinian documents should be legally translated (with the certifficate from the colegio de traductores) or they just need a simple translation with the certification that whoever translated them is fluent in both languages? The Buenos Aires Embassy Page says that documents in english or spanish shouldnt be translated, but i'm afraid that is no the case with documents sent to USCIS in the first place. Am I right?

They do not need to be legally translated with the certificate from the colegio de traductores, but it doesn't hurt. Just a signed certification that the person who translated is fluent in both languages. We got the translations certified though. 

You definitely need to translate all documents to English for UCIS. At the Interview phase it is not necessary because consular officers are fluent in Spanish and English.

14 minutes ago, Twolee said:

Hi! Congrats on your appointment! Just wondering if when you entered to the page to schedule your appointment, you had to enter several times to find an available date or if you got it right away. Also, could you pay for the fee before having the appointment or you can only do it once you have a date? Thanks!!🙏

Are we supposed to be checking the platform? How do I access it? I thought the NVC was to send us the date. We DQd Sept 2 and are still waiting.

On 11/5/2020 at 11:06 PM, Andresr said:

Hi.i got expedited and the bsas embassy gave me a interview mid dic ! 

Congrats!! Thanks so much for the update!

On 10/22/2020 at 2:03 PM, David G said:

Hi! I have a question for Lanitos Applicants out there. Any update from the U.S Embassy in yer Countries?  Thank you.

Hi! Still waiting on interview date in Buenos Aires. We DQd september 2nd. They seemed to be scheduling spousal interviews before, but have since stopped. 

Just now, peony said:

That's the exact same thing they replied to me 48hs before my interview, haha. They emailed me first, even! I just replied.

 

So I wouldn't worry too too much about them having stopped suddenly, since now they also began processing some student visas, and lottery visas (I think?), unlike before that they were only processing CR/IR ones. Also, they cannot schedule too many people on the same day because of the pandemic. So all of this must have made them take a little longer to assign interviews.

 

I hope you guys get some good news and an appointment super soon 🙏

Thank you! That makes me feel better!

Update: I sent an email inquiring about whether they are scheduling spousal visa interviews to the embassy yesterday and got this response last night: 

"Dear Madam,

The U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires suspended routine visa services as the coronavirus pandemic unfolded. In accordance with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, as well as local rules and guidance, we are doing our part to fight the pandemic by social distancing and practicing good hygiene and cleaning standards. We continue to operate with limited staff and limited capacity to provide face-to-face consular services. Regretfully, at this time, we must limit processing immigrant and fiancé (K) visa cases to those deemed emergencies and not subject to Presidential Proclamation 10014.

Applicants are encouraged to monitor the U.S. Embassy website and associated social media for operational updates."

This is the exact same notice they have had on their website for a long time. Given that child and spousal visas are an exception to to the proclamation, I hope that it means they are planning to schedule more interviews soon.😣

Just now, Andresr said:

Hola,es directo o qué opciones hay que elegir ? Te acordaste masomenos? Quiero preguntar se es ellos que no aceptan o la nvc no lo manda

Elegi el idioma y yo despues elegi "d-260". Una grabacion te explica lo que es el d-260 pero depues ofrece contectarte con un agente. El agente me pidio el nombre y numero de pasaporte de mi esposo.

27 minutes ago, Andresr said:

Nope ,I called but never found the option to take to someone,just general info by a recording

Ok, I just got through calling this number 54-1159841910. They said they were "mostly" processing emergency visas (work, school, medical emergencies)  and that I should wait to hear from the NVC. Doesn't sound great but maybe if you call and get someone else you'll get more info.

21 minutes ago, Andresr said:

Hi,just finished talking to nvc,they told me they haven’t sent my case yet because the embassy isn’t accepting more visas !,  I guess I got  DQ late 16/8 , not sure if there’s more new  interviews at the embassy   For late sept or oct 

Has anyone one ever had luck getting through to the embassy?

Just now, Lucre said:

Maybe they are not accepting more visas until the end of September? I would try calling again in October and see if anything changed.

 

I haven't seen any other appointments for september here in VJ, but for my date only 2 out of all the people with an appointment that day were members here in VJ

Yeah I suspect "not accepting visas" means  the embassy gives the NVC their availability periodically and they have not done that yet. I have hope they must be getting ready to conduct more interviews soon. Things in Buenos Aires are moving towards opening, not closing.

Just now, Andresr said:

Hi,just finished talking to nvc,they told me they haven’t sent my case yet because the embassy isn’t accepting more visas !,  I guess I got  DQ late 16/8 , not sure if there’s more new  interviews at the embassy   For late sept or oct 

Oh no! Why wouldn't they be accepting more visas though? Maybe they just haven't planned new dates yet?

Hi everyone! Just got our DQ yesterday and curious how long it is taking to get an interview date given quarantine and limited embassy operation in Argentina. Anyone in a similar situation?

Thanks!

Thanks  so much Andressr! That's very helpful. We took it to get legalized and got the attached stamps. Not sure how we can get the Blue Stamp during quarantine with the comunas closed... but good to know it has to be a supervisor and can be done if we insist.

This stamp passed for the birth certificate in the I-130 phase (but not for the marriage certificate). Worried it will cause problems at NVC, though I know others have submitted similar versions and been fine...  

Yes, that's the stamp! Do you have it on the Birth certificate? How did you get that version (rather than the digital version)?

5 minutes ago, Ele&Ema said:

Both, my husband's birth certificate and our marriage certificate, were certified digital copies with the interior ministry stamp - same we have submitted with the I-130 (which was approved without RFE). I called NVC, and the person on the phone said the documents didn't explicitly say "Acta de Nacimiento" and "Acta de Matrimonio", and because of that they got rejected. He also said, the Embassy will reject these documents during the interview, so I have to get the "correct" documents. I ended up e-mailing the US Embassy in Buenos Aires asking them what to do. I attached the same documents we have submitted to the NVC. The Embassy responded saying the documents were correct and encouraged me to forward their response to the NVC. Which I did. It's been 2 weeks since I have resubmitted the same documents and still waiting for response. I have also asked another Argentine friend who had his CR-1 approved at the end of 2019, and he and his wife had submitted a certified digital copy of his birth certificate. All approved without RFE. I think, ultimately it's about who ends up reviewing your case.

Right, for me the issue with the RFE in the I-130 is because they didn't recognize the digital copy even though it was certified. I also consulted some friends who have successfully gotten green cards for their Argentine spouses and they submitted digital partida de nacimiento with no problems, so I think you're right that it comes to down to luck of who is reviewing. I am pretty sure you can no longer even get copies that are not digital with big blue stamp, but the doc requirements are not updated.

Best of luck! Please update on how it goes...