ryvfader

43 minutes ago, Kor2USA said:

Read this post:

@Truth_Seeker might be able to provide clarity and timing on the process. 

 

Truth_Seeker is actually the one who I was mostly referring to when mentioning other members being able to DCF for family members not in Germany. He helped me a ton in PM's already and got me in touch with Frankfurt on the matter. 

But putting this out there for thoughts from others on what I'm missing is helping a lot. My mistaken belief that the AOS package included an I-130 made me think I had to do one or the other (AOS v. DCF). But I'm not finding any indication I can't file for her AOS on arrival with accompanied military orders as an expedite. If that fails to process in time I'm inclined to believe I can abandon the AOS and then file the I-130 for approval at the consulate then get her SOFA based off that. Then it's as simple as completing the DCF process from in country and get her U.S. residency through that. By far the least financially sustainable method, but seems to offer the best redundancy for timeline failures and zero to minimal time spent away from each other.

 @Letspaintcookies I think you have the right course here, I can adjust to accompanied orders anytime prior to departing per my tour election statement. Obviously there is the EFMP roadblock but we will have enough time for that. Worst case here is that we self procure her airfare because we have to abandon the AOS and get the SOFA after arrival. But based on the timelines we are seeing right now 3 months on her Schengen is well and above how long we would need to complete everything.

2 hours ago, Letspaintcookies said:

So if she comes here with her K1 and you file for AOS there's no I-130 involved. Only the I-485 and additional work and travel permit.

If she comes here, telling CBP not to use the K1 but a tourist visa and you get married and file for AOS ( that would involve the I-130 ) that would basically be fraud even tho she was basically approved to come here and AOS but only with the K1. Wait times for AOS depend on your local field office and you probably have good chances on getting it expedited but of course never a guarantee. 

 

For DCF both have to live in the country where you're applying so a tourist visa ( is that what she has?)  probably won't cut it here or did the consulate ( Frankfurt I guess since you said you're going to Germany ) explicitly said they allow it? Both of you probably still would have to travel stateside to activate her visa once granted and get her a SSN. But if all of that is possible I would probably go the second route.

 

Or she stays behind in the US to wait for the interview which can be done alone for deployed ( and probably PCS ) AD spouses. Once you're married she can be added in DEERS,  do the EFMP screening, get command sponsorship for OCONUS and have it written in your orders that she'll follow later.

1 hour ago, Letspaintcookies said:

On another note and I'm just now thinking about it, is your command willing to ammend your orders if you're getting married after you already moved? If not you can throw that DCF idea completely out of the window until you're close to going back CONUS. If she's not able to get command sponsorship there's no SOFA.

Appreciate your response, hitting some facts I had overlooked, for example the lack of an I-130 in the AOS process as this may change things. 

She would enter the US using the K-1 to marry the USC petitioner as legally intended. 

You're correct to assume Frankfurt as the consulate. After reading about members here being able to DCF for their spouses who are not in Germany I contacted them to confirm eligibility. Essentially you're just getting the I-130 approval as required for SOFA status. Then once legally residing in the country you proceed with the remainder of DCF and the DS-260 process for the green card. Additionally I've seen some evidence that the visa issueance can be pushed to the right by some margin, although I have not looked deeper into how much freedom is given here. 

The lack of I-130 in AOS though is what has my attention now, as my understanding of the issue with filing stateside and then attempting DCF is that there are two I-130's in the system, the one stateside taking precedence. But with no I-130 present then my assumption is if it does not complete in time she can simply leave the US with me, abandoning the AOS process but still being able to utilize DCF following the above notes. 

I may also attempt getting the SOFA certificate based off the approved I-129F and I-797 approval letter once we are married and she is registered as my dependent, as the worst possible outcome here is getting told no. I attempted to get clarification locally on it but they don't deal this far into the weeds on the process at this level. So the best way to find out would be simply applying and seeing what happens. 

Obviously my preference in all of this is to get her on the orders prior to leaving. They are very good about getting people command sponsored onto orders after the fact, but it's always less of a headache to ensure anyone you want with you is on the original published set. In either case we would be getting married in the US prior to the move, so a delayed movement of dependents would be the route we take there if it came to it. 

Wanted to get thoughts from people who might have experience with either routes here as our situation is a bit of a mess. I'm trying to evaluate which route is the best option for us between trying to expedite an AOS for accompanied OCONUS orders or if we would be better to get married, complete the military administrative bases then wait until I'm OCONUS and DCF. 

Her K1 visa was finally approved after 5 months in AP. With needing to recomplete some expired requirements for the visa and tie up loose ends at home she likely would be able to make it to the US in June. Our options once she gets here and get married are the following (from what I've gathered):

1) Apply for AOS and request an expedite then hope we have an I-130 approval before it's too late to get SOFA status prior to moving OCONUS. I'm seeing wait times on AOS ranging 5 months to 1.5 years so it really feels like a crapshoot. I also am uncertain how long her background checks would take since she was already flagged for AP by the consulate, or if the existing ones would expedite it as they have already completed very thorough reviews at this point. Ultimately as long as the I-130 approval goes through she can get her SOFA status though and we can request any additional processing to be sent to the consulate from my understanding. 

2) Spend the 90 days together in the US then she could go home or on an extended vacation until I move to Germany. I've already confirmed with the consulate that I can file as soon as I enter the country and other members here are seeing less than 2 week approval times on the I-130 then near instant issuance of the SOFA certificates. She has a valid visa for where I will be going so she could join me as soon as I moved as well for up to 90 days, then stay on the SOFA status. Obviously the key to this is that absolutely nothing for AOS can be done prior to moving OCONUS otherwise we lose the DCF eligibility. 

My gut here is telling me holding off the AOS then using DCF as soon as I'm OCONUS is the best route, but at the cost of another couple months apart once the 90 days on her K1 expires. But outweighs the risk of her AOS getting bogged down and us being apart for anywhere from months to over a year as we won't be able to refile as soon as something is entered stateside. 

I'm hoping some folks here might have some additional experiences they can share or further input incase I'm missing something.

Her passport was returned but the instructions she was given were initially very unclear. The 221(g) just said to return with her passport during morning hours without making an appointment. A second sheet asked for the additional information and said to wait to be contacted or 30 days. 

The DS-160 at least as of last summer didn't trigger Warsaw requesting the case, as we didn't complete the DS-160 until weeks after our NVC status page already showed the petition as received, processed, and ready for interview by the embassy. At this point they did not have her current passport number but still sent the I-129F and interview welcome package to a decade old email instead of her updated contact information we gave to the NVC. This is why I'm absolutely sure they can pull any data with visas and applications from any embassy in the world based on just general PII vs using the passport number. The email they sent the stuff to was almost a decade old, and used for a visa she got in a different country and they still associated it with her just based off information on the I-129F. AKA: Name, Birthday, Place of Birth. 

As for when they are actually linking the DS-160 with the K1 petition. I suspect it's sometime before the interview. As when my fiance did her interview she said it went great and was very easy then was asked to go to another window. There they got a folder from another table and pulled out the 221(g) with her name on it. My tinfoil hat says this had to have been decided prior to her arrival meaning something in the DS-160 had to trigger it rather then an interview problem, it also means they reviewed her DS-160 prior to the interview. 

Yeah the K1's are strange and seems more of a bolt in process than built in. Essentially they are processed initially as an immigrant visa but then once you're approved and ready to stamp it's transitioned to the non-immigrant visa department then processed as non-immigrant. So it's odd but apparently the best solution they currently have as my guess is it's been done this way for decades. 

We were calling and emailing. Initially they outright refused to speak to me since I wasn't the one applying for the visa. After a few tries though I figured out that if I very explicitely state that I am the petitioner for a K1 and have her account and passport information they would help me. However anything they told me would be elevated to the embassy to resolve was never responded to. When my fiance would email them this would get sent to the embassy correctly within 1-2 weeks. We could speed that up by her emailing then me calling the next day and having them pull up her email, see they can't do anything with it, then send it to the embassy then rather than wait for them to get to it in all the other emails they receive. 

She interviewed in November and was given a 221(g) for 15 years of travel, work and address history. Lifetime passport history, expanded family history, and expanded email, social media, and telephone number history. No progress since then. 

I don't think anything really prevents you from scheduling appointments before getting your Appointment elegibility letter except the confirmation that everything is completed on their end to process the petition prior to the interview. It may be the reason why it defaulted to the prior DS-160 as well for the associated application. 

I agree as well, when you're looking at thousands in travel expenses at this point for Belarusians and Russians to make it to Warsaw and a rapidly developing iron curtain it's in their best interest to get things sorted as quickly as possible. 

If you would like I can redact sensitive information from the appointment eligibility letter and attachments so you can look over them and see if you've covered all your bases except having the invitation in hand. I'm curious as well if not having the appointment confirmation letters make any difference to scheduling and getting everything in advance. 

Our packet 3 had the following..

Email stating the petition is now ready for final processing for the named fiance's in the case, instructions to go to ustraveldocs and pay the K visa application fee online then schedule an appointment and to complete the DS-160.

One attachment in Russian with the medical exam instructions, One document with instructions for the other general requirements like police certificates. 

IMBRA in Russian

Approved I-129F with all of USCIS's notes on it

So nothing that you would really require to make an appointment if you already know what you need. 

From the delivery date to when they sent the initial email to the wrong address was about 1.5 weeks. So technically they were ready for our interview 1.5 weeks after the petition was delivered It updated several times during that time before finally going to the "Ready" status. We did submit the DS-160 hoping it would trigger something a few weeks after this after not being able to get a hold of anyone through traveldocs and not getting responses to support requests traveldocs told us were elevated to the embassy. 

The packet for us was sent by email, and when our stuff was sent to the NVC I also updated our contact information and addresses with them then called and verified it was all updated prior to them actually processing the petition and again when I got the NVC number and found out it was already forwarded for shipping. Warsaw embassy just flatout ignored that information and instead sent the packet to a almost decade old email address used when she applied and was issued a US visa in an entirely different country. I've also received updates on other peoples visas when emailing to find out what is going on with ours.

They are very friendly and well meaning but I think between coming out of COVID backlogs, and having responsibility for Poland, Belarus and Russia they are overwhelmed and their quality control has gone out the window. Not to mention being the defacto go-to embassy with Ukraine now even if Frankfurt is technically supposed to be taking over. 

I do remember specifically on the DS-160 putting that information in the "Has anyone ever petitioned a visa for you" box, we put yes then in the dialog box to explain your answer put in all caps that this visa is a part of a K1 petition and put both the NVC and USCIS case numbers there as well as repeated my information as the fiance. Granted we didn't get a visa so who knows if that was the right idea. 

Unfortunately I don't have the appointment confirmation that I can look at to give you an answer on what ours had linked to it. 

Call TravelDocs ASAP and explain the situation, highly recommend your fiance do this as I had a lot of issues with getting resolutions anytime I called them. I wish I could say whether it's an issue or not but it's best to get proactive with it now. Our response times when TravelDocs had to contact the embassy ranged from flatout ignored to over a month. 

For case numbers, I'm not sure there, I remember when we completed her DS-160 I made a point to basically plaster the WRW and USCIS case numbers into any box it could be pertinent in. 

For your last general question I actually have better specifics. The NVC actually told me specifically Warsaw is accepting cases and it would be sent out within a week when I called to get my NVC case numbers, so I assume it's sent automatically if the embassy is open for that visa type. The embassy can pull up any present or past information and at this point I would bet retirement money also applications and issued visas based off her PII in the I-129F. So if they pull her up they should see she has a DS-160 for a K1 submitted as well. I have somewhat strong reason to believe they are reviewing these prior to her interview as well and they will see it. HOWEVER, call and get clarification on your situation ASAP, send emails, get a firm response. I know Warsaw is considered a better embassy but our experience has been a nightmare with them and you're too close to getting closure in all of this to trust them to get it right. 

54 minutes ago, JPAZ said:

We had our interview on November 22. It shows immigrant visa refused with creation date of when we transferred our case until today when it changed to non immigrant application received with a creation date of today.

Obvious disclaimer, no one knows what will happen but the consulate and it could always go sideways up until she is past the POE and lawfully admitted to the US.

HOWEVER, from everything I've been able to gather, rapid fire updates of the case status followed by a change to NIV status and a new "case creation" date seems to indicate crossing of T's and dotting of I's prior to visa issue. 

1 hour ago, ZRomper said:

Actually you're right, the Sinopharm is available and also accepted by the WHO which US accepts. However in Belarus there's lately been a shortage of this vaccine, last I heard they're only giving them out to pregnant women at hospitals.

 

In any case, with the humanitarian visa in hand, it makes it easy to go to Poland and get the Pfizer vaccine if push comes to shove.

Yeah, this is what my fiance had said as well. Yeah it's "available" in the same way something perpetually out of stock on every website and retail store shelf is. 

8 hours ago, ZRomper said:

Thank you for the info.

 

Well actually thinking about it, I have 4 people who need to be vaccinated. It's me, our 2 kids and my wife. So we can't get the Janssen shot because you have to be 18+ to get one. So we would need to go back and forth twice to get them the Pfizer one. So what you wrote about about Turkey is true, we have friends who did this. But this works not only with Turkey, but with Lithuania for example. Once she gets her humanitarian visa, we can enter Lithuania and do a PCR test right there on the border. Once inside Lithuania, we can travel to Poland and since Lithuania is in the EU, Poland accepts their PCRs and doesn't make you stay for a 10 day quarantine.

 

Same with US. We can do the PCR test a day before the flight. Get tested at the airport and enter the US. Once there, get the shots at any pharmacy.

Sounds like you have a pretty detailed understanding of your options for getting this worked out. Lithuania sounds way better than Turkey and when you're looking at the cost of 4 then I can't imagine anything being more cost effective than going that route.

Looking at your timeline being on an I-130 visa I would just be very careful with any plans to complete the vaccine requirements after entry in the US. As an actual immigrant visa it may trigger a requirement for you to have the shots prior to your medical appointments.

Quote

The COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in these Technical Instructions, hereinafter referred to as “approved COVID-19 vaccines,” are those vaccines authorized for emergency use (EUA) or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)external icon or listed for emergency use (EUL) by the World Health Organization (WHO). pdf icon[PDF – 3 pages]external icon If an approved COVID-19 vaccine is available to the applicant in the country where the examination occurs, the applicant must complete the vaccine series and provide documentation to the panel physician in person before completion of the medical examination.

The COVID-19 vaccination requirement will differ from previous requirements in that the entire vaccine series (1 or 2 doses depending on formulation) must be completed in addition to the other routinely required vaccines. An example timeline for the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccines and other required vaccinations is illustrated in Figure 1.

https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/panel-physicians/covid-19-technical-instructions.html

Since the Sinopharm vaccine is technically available in Belarus they do require it. We had a bit of hiccup at the medical interview in Minsk where the doctor was saying the COVID vaccine was required for all medicals but they didn't provide it at that time. My understanding from when I was trying to figure out if the K1's did or did not require the vaccine was that the reason immigration visas aren't required to show documented proof for a flight to the US is because it is now a requirement to complete the medical examination for the visa. So in a perfect world proof of covid vaccination has already been verified by a more qualified individual than whatever poor soul is checking documents at the airline gate. How strictly enforced this is I have no idea.

My fiance was able to get her Janssen shot in Poland after her interview from a free vaccination site. Officially the word is that only citizens and legal residents can get the vaccine however there have been a lot of reports with other folks getting it. I did find clinics that confirmed over the phone they would issue her a referral if she booked a physician consult but she was able to get a point of care referral using her passport at a free site. 

Additionally if you fly via Turkey and take a longer layover in Istanbul you can enter Turkey and get a PCR completed at the airport. Turkey's PCR meets EU guidelines for recognition and they have a treaty with Poland for movement of passengers allowing you to PCR test in Turkey then enter Poland without quarantine with this test. Otherwise if you have proof of exiting the country within 24 hours of arrival it's considered transit and no quarantine is required.

Others here have had luck with Croatia. You will need a visa for Croatia however they recognize Schengen Visas in place of Croatian visas. Others here have been able to get their vaccines in Zagreb. 

The CDC website appears to be pretty clear on this now. Additionally since this extra clarification was not on the CDC website at the time of our interview we asked during the interview and the answer was very clearly no, you will not be permitted on a flight to the US as a K1 holder without a completed WHO approved vaccine unless you meet one of the exception criterias. 

I would look into the rebooking options under the COVID flexibility now as most airlines seem to be offering free rebooking just paying any cost differences in the flights. 

Quote

The Presidential Proclamation and CDC’s Order do not apply to immigrants (including Special Immigrant Visa holders). An immigrant is any non-U.S. citizen who has a visa listed in “Immigrant Visa Categories” on the U.S. Department of State’s webpage Directory of Visa Categoriesexternal icon; it does not include K nonimmigrant visa holders, who are Covered Individuals (see below).

Quote

Noncitizens, Nonimmigrants (Covered Individuals)

Noncitizens who are nonimmigrants and seeking to enter the United States by air are required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the United States from a foreign country.

If you are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you will NOT be allowed to board a flight to the United States, unless you meet the criteria for an exception under the Proclamation and CDC’s Order.

2 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Just give them what they want.  That is path of least resistance....

Of course. All requested information has already been submitted. That was step 01 as it's all straightforward information. 

18 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

Looks like it has been a while since she did the ds 160 and /or used the older form

this info is now needed on the new ds 160

so,,  just provide it  as asked 

its probably going to be the norm for a while for all that did a ds 160 long ago and have been on hold during the covid 

so,  i expect we'll see this question a few times

but its ok

always provide any and all info immigration reequests and don't fret over this

Do you happen to know when the new DS-160 was published? The one used for this was completed August of this year so I wouldn't have expected it to be legacy already. 

The only travel history I can think for flagging would be Russia, Egypt, or on a really long stretch Georgia or Turkey. Otherwise it's all travel to US and EU/Schengen countries. 

I think my most pressing question is, since they did not even look at her DS-160 or WRW case until today does she follow the instructions to return back to the Embassy on the first sheet after having submitted this or does she wait for an email on the second sheet?  

We received a refusal at the time of interview and I'm confused as to what the issue is or what the next step is as the instructions seem to tell her to return to the embassy on one form, but on the second to submit additional information by email and wait for a response.

I'm entirely at a loss as to what the issue could be as our case was incredibly straight forward simple. Her passport which she had at the interview is valid for several years, and I have no idea why they would need additional information for her administrative processing as there is essentially no difference between the required history on the DS-160 and the additional 10-15 year requirements on the additional information page besides an additional address of residence within her home country. She received no DS 5535 so I don't know if this is a good sign or just they find it easier to give a document asking the same questions. So far all our experiences with the embassy stage of this has been complete hell, between non response to support emails, all our information and documents being sent to the wrong place, and now this we just don't know what to do anymore. The only thing I can think of is that the wrong email address they had on file for her from well over 5 years ago they are assuming is still in use and maybe they believe this is omitting information. But this email was lost in a data breach over 5 years ago and we have no way to recover it. 

Does anyone have any input or know what our next step is, or are we in the perpetual black hole of administrative processing at this point?

Due to incomplete documentation, you are ineligible to receive an immigrant visa under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Please be advised that for U.S. visa purposes, including ESTA Electronic System for Travel Authorization, this decision constitutes a denial of a visa. Please submit the following documents within one year of the original interview with the consular officer, otherwise your application will be subject to the termination process prescribed by section 203(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

In order to provide the following documents you should. 

[X] Return to the Embassy with the items listed below from Monday through Thursday between 8-10 a.m. Before you come, please check the closure notice on our website at pl.usembassy.gov for days on which the Embassy will be closed. If visas are approved the citizens of Belarus receive them only the day after the interview at 3.00pm in the Immigrant Visa section of the U.S. Embassy (window 13).

Before the consular officer can make a final decision, you must submit the document(s) checked below:

[X] Passport (should be valid for at least 8 months). 

However there is a second form provided that also requests the following:

VISA PROCESSING: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRED

Your visa requires additional administrative processing. 

Send the following information to XXXXXXX@state.gov

1. Your travel history over the last 15 years, including source(s) of funding for travel;

2. Names and dates of birth of any siblings (include any half-siblings and step-siblings), children (include step-children and adopted children), current and former spouses (include civil or domestic partners);

3. Addresses of residences from the last 15 years, if different from current address

4. Phone numbers and email addresses used during the last five years;

5. Prior passport numbers and country of issuance;

6. Prior occupation(s) and employers (plus a brief description if applicable) for the past 15 years;

7. Public-facing social media platforms and usernames/identifiers/handles used during the last five years. This includes any websites or applications you have used to create or share content (photos, videos, status updates, etc.) as part of a public profile. 

The required information must be provided in english. 

We will contact you when processing is completed

If we do not contact you within 30 days of submitting your information you can call +48 XX XXX XXXX to check the status of your administrative processing. 

14 hours ago, navypilot29 said:

According to the CDC website, the Presidential proclamation does not apply to immigrants.  If the physician lists that the vaccine is not routinely available, the spouse should be able to freely travel to the US with the required negative COVID 19 test.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/proof-of-vaccination.html

Does anyone know if this will also apply with the K1 visas since it sits in a grey Non-Immigrant but Immigrant visa?

8 hours ago, bebetki said:

Yes, they did. I would also suggest to use the Live Chat option on USTravelDocs website to contact the consulate.

I appreciate the info on this. I've been speaking with them every few days. Their 1-2 day response time is now becoming "there are too many requests so it is taking longer to get responses". Although the cynical part of me wants to say if they weren't sending people's entire application to random email addresses they wouldn't have so many support requests.

Was it just the I-129F or the complete package sent in included? Trying to figure out if I need to order new credit cards, freeze my credit, and put in a possible identity theft notification with the IRS right now.

To use the Department of State's own words, I'm "deeply concerned" about their handling and protection of personal and private information. The I-129F itself had enough information on it to assume anyone's identity. 

2 hours ago, bebetki said:

We just received packet 3 from the Warsaw consulate. It includes our NVC case number, full name of the applicant, and their full mailing address. They also attached our filled I-129F form.

Wait they attached the entire completed I-129F to the email?

I'm trying to get a list of what personal or sensitive information is included in the packet 3 recieved from embassies. 

Short background, my fiance had applied for a US visitors visa years ago and the email she had used at that time was lost in a data breach sometime around 2014-2015. She was & has been unable to regain access to it since it was breached. The embassy sent our packet 3 to this email address rather than using the contact information listed in the I-129F or the email addresses I sent to the NVC to receive our case status updates. Currently we have not been able to get a response from the embassy but have several support cases pending for various items and are waiting for the packet 3 to be sent to her valid email. 

However while we wait for the embassy I am trying to find out what personal and/or sensitive information is included on the Packet 3 so I can determine if we need to setup any type of life lock or fraud alert services for the two of us. 

Additionally does anyone happen to know what the correct personal information breach reporting path is in a situation like this?

4 hours ago, Tempk1 said:

You’re welcome!

They approved us in 2 weeks btw. Maybe because you have 3 dogs, it might take a bit longer, but I don’t think they’ll take the full 6 weeks.

 

Good luck!

Question for you.

Did you get the rabies serology done at one of the CDC's  listed labs?

We couldn't find any clinics to send out the specimens to any of the CDCs listed clinics so I ended up flying out and picking up our dog before the ban went in place.

On 8/28/2021 at 6:37 PM, SaraDa said:

I just learned about the ban and I am devastated!😭   Has anyone recently entered the U.S with their dog on CR-1/IR-1? I sure hope there's a way. None of the exceptions for the Permit apply 😔  Even if I was identified as a lawful resident this is the only condition which is close enough but still wouldn't work - the reason for relocation must be "employment or education"

• US citizens or lawful US residents relocating to the United States, such as for employment or education.

My dog has vax, chip, titre, passport and was flying all around EU with me. This is something totally out of the blue!

 

Please share your stories or plans 🙏

I think the operative words in their verbiage here is "such as", basically if you can show proof that you're permanently relocating to the US it gives you a valid case. Granted I have no affiliation with the CDC so I can't speak for them, but I would assume this meets their conditions. 

Though having just sent your stuff in last month, it's entirely possible that if we can get a handle on COVID to the point that the CDC is no longer drowning the ban will be lifted when they review it. I don't have any links but I believe I remember seeing something about re-evaluating the situation after a year.  

On 7/24/2021 at 10:57 PM, dmeister3 said:

Anyone receive a case number yet? 

If you have the time try giving them a call, they gave me my case number over the phone and we have similar dates.

Also they recommended to check junk/spam folders frequently as their emails tend to get sorted there by mailbox filters.

2 hours ago, Paul&Anna said:

I was going to ask about this topic also as my wife is scheduled for interview in September and is planning on bringing her dog. Can anyone add any information?

So this is going to be tricky if you're coming from a "high-risk" rabies country, or if the dog was in one of these countries in the past 6 months.

https://www.cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-united-states/high-risk.html

https://www.cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-united-states/dog-importation-changes.html

The biggest thing in your favor is the fact she will be relocating on a IR-1/CR-1, so green card in hand which will show proof of being a permanent resident. I would assume proof of the visa process would be useful in proving this is a permanent relocation meeting their criteria. For those on K1 visas, I have no idea what the outlook is since they don't technically meet the permanent resident requirements to apply for the import permit. I'm curious to hear what the results are for K1 holders who apply for this. 

You're going to need to get serological titers done to verify rabies vaccination at least 30 days after the most recent current vaccination and 90 days prior to importation. This must be done at one of the CDC approved laboratories, the CDC instructions are to coordinate with your local veterinary clinic to get these samples shipped to one of these centers for completion. Sounds simple but we encountered a lot of issues, but in short we never did find anyone who could ship and order bloodwork for us, hard stop. Ukraine may have better laws and understanding for this though.

https://www.cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-united-states/approved-labs.html

Once that is done you're going to need to apply for a import permit.

https://www.cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-united-states/apply-dog-import-permit.html

• Dog must be 6 months old, verified with photos of dogs teeth.
• Be microchipped
• Valid rabies vaccination certificate (https://www.cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-united-states/vaccine-certificate.html)
• Valid rabies serological titer from CDC approved laboratory (first paragraph link)
  • Must be drawn a minimum of 30 days after current vaccination, and 90 days before entry

Once all this is done you can apply using the PDF on their website and email it to the CDC dog import email address. 

https://www.cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-united-states/import-permit-application-instructions.html

Must enter through specific approved ports of entry listed on CDC website. 

It was initially announced there was no transitional period from July 14th - October 14th and there was verbiage that all initial decisions on permits were final with no appeal route. However I am having trouble finding this verbiage again so there may be opportunity for appeal if denied initially. 

Change it ASAP. I submitted my I129f using a PO box and updated mine to the physical address once I closed on my house. Updated the address using the online form.

NOA2 arrived to the updated address without issues. 

On a side note, I was in Tbilisi earlier this week. First time in Georgia and only for a few days to pick up our dog before the import suspension. But absolutely lovely country and nearly ate myself fat the food was so good.

Got my update today.

NOA1: 5 November

NOA1 Notification: 7 February

Approval: 7 July

244 Days from NOA1 to Approval