Sidd d

I mostly just lurk here as I am quite the introvert in real life but I certainly enjoy reading many thoughts and ideas from the many folks that participate here.
 
I wanted to encourage everyone to keep up their strength and hope that we will be with our loved ones soon and we should never give up or doubt that.
 
There are days when I feel discouraged and down and my beautiful Fiance cheers me up with her laughs and smiles and there are days when she is down and I do the same for her. Constant communication and encouragement has been our gift to each other. We video chat everyday and we talk about our daily activities and stay involved in each other's lives.
 
Please don't believe everything you read unless it is an official statement and even then make sure you fully understand it before you let anything get you down.
 
Positive thoughts and wishful prayers to all who are facing this difficult time apart.
 
Be Well.
KnoxThai

Good day to all. Very wonderful update for my family! This week we received notification from the Visa unit that our request for expedite was approved through the Montreal Consulate for my wife's IR1 (I am the petitioner as her husband). We requested this expedite directly to the visa unit via my congressional representative vice using the NVC request form. The visa unit responded with the following: 

Spain is back in business
 
 

US Embassy in Bosnia had August open for a while now. Also they had open June and July but canceled it. June interview they canceled 2 weeks before and July one month before.. seems like now we passed this “one month” cancellation, hopefully it keeps rolling 🙈

I didn’t think Montreal was 6-8 month wait, everyone else I seen only waited 4 months at the longest most got an interview within 2-3 months of their NOA2, but even still I think you’re right and  next year is more realistic. 

Montreal was a 6 week from submitting P3 to scheduling interview before covid, for K1 visa interviews. Spousal visas are a different timeline.

Further update... 
I received an email this morning telling me to "please complete my medical and schedule the interview within 7 working days", followed by another email, asking me to please deliver my documents at the embassy. Needless to say, This was very unexpected. I called the embassy and they told me to bring all my relevant documents (civil, tax, aos etc, basically everything that was uploaded to ceac). 
While there I was told I will have to complete my medical first, and have the results available to do my interview. The friendly gentleman at the embassy immediately scheduled my interview for a week later, as I could only get a medical for Monday. He told me to only bring "passport, photos, myself..." his words. 
So my interview has been moved to the 21st. I think they do it this way to limit time spent during the interview, but also to have less people there at one time. Maybe, I'm just speculating. Though it is still pretty stressful, everyone was incredibly friendly and helpful

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! ❤️