Mihaela Plesa

2 hours ago, Blaise Kalubi said:

Jan 28, 2020 here I'm  still waiting, there working on Jan cases at moment 

I filed on Jan 28, 2020 and we’re still waiting on an interview to be scheduled 😌

On 12/25/2020 at 11:38 PM, hopefulfor2021 said:

Following this. My fiance is also waiting for his match next year. All the best — the Match is another stressful rollercoaster in itself. 

Well, if the fiancée in the US works directly with providing patient care and has an unpredictable schedule and needs help taking care of children, or other dependents, I have heard of a case where they were able to get a NIE exemption but I would guess it doesn’t happen very often.  The particular case I heard about was in Poland. Good luck!

12 hours ago, foneageek said:

I'm in a bit of a different situation, I got my K1 Visa approved just a few days before travel to the US was stopped. (It expired 6mths later in August) I have a now expired page in my passport and no idea of when or how I can get things moving again.  I was told though that even if the embassy processed my Visa again - I still wouldn't be able to travel - again because of the travel ban - So right now it doesn't seen worth pushing to get the Visa renewed as the travel ban affecting K1 visas and others is still in place.

Not sure where your visa is being processed.  The attorneys on the Milligan v Pompeo case were saying that there is some talk that Trump will not renew the travel ban to the Schengen area as it expires 12/31

8 hours ago, sl1pstream said:

I got an email from the courier service with a tracking number, so I'm going to assume that it's been issued. Now I just need to get my old employer's curator to fix the C4 they sent me months ago so I can get the other stuff taken care of.

 

Also holy hell booking for two is *a lot* cheaper than for a single person.

That was quick!  Congrats!

31 minutes ago, sl1pstream said:

It went well, other than a stress headache afterwards. Painkillers helped with that.

I was super nervous, but they were all super friendly and made it pretty clear that if it was up to them, they would've processed people much sooner. Apparently there's about 30 non-plaintiff cases that they're not allowed to work on. Aside from the usual questions, he also asked me how we joined the lawsuit and told me that it looked like we made the right decision by joining. He also told me to make sure I followed the third country quarantine and that it's better to book an extra day than to end up getting sent back. It was pretty clear that he felt bad about making us wait 9 months and wanted to make sure that I got there as soon as possible. It was a pretty positive experience. He didn't tell me that I got approved, but he told me that, if I get approved, I should get everything in the mail early next week. He kept my visa, so I assume that it's good news, but who knows at this point. It's still 2020. CEAC says that's in AP (which seems normal, according to the internet, at least for a few days), so I'm glad it doesn't say denied yet? Idk.

This all sounds promising!  Thank you for sharing!  We joined the lawsuit as well, so hopefully the amendment is filed with the judge, we can get things moving for his interview as well.  All the best and I hope you get the visa soon!

21 hours ago, sl1pstream said:

Thanks!

 

I'm nervous, mostly about getting there on time, but I guess I'll know by this time tomorrow.

How did the interview go?

7 hours ago, sl1pstream said:

It took them until they got the guidance from the lawsuit. They were ready to book me for an interview last Thursday, after they called on that Monday. I asked for an extra week to get some of the last paperwork in order.

That’s very good to hear!  All the best with the interview !

17 hours ago, sl1pstream said:

I have my interview on Thursday, but I was a plaintiff.

I am so happy to hear that someone got an interview in Brussels!  They’ve been giving us the run around for months and they weren’t straight forward as to the reason why they’re not processing K1 visas.  We are onboarding as plaintiffs on the lawsuit now.  If you don’t mind me asking, how long did it take for them to schedule the interview once you told them you were a plaintiff on the case? I wish you all the best with the interview

11 hours ago, JCB86 said:

I wish I had $2000 to spare. If I had that kind of surplus cash around, I'd have gone to a 3rd party country to see my fiance. It'll be a year since we've been together this coming Christmas. I do hope that those who get on the case will make it easier for the rest of us.

Hopefully this lawsuit will help everyone else with K1 visas in the end.  I know what you mean, it was a year ago in November when I last saw my fiancé. I wish you all the best!

8 hours ago, A&D25612 said:

Can they prioritise plaintiffs over non-plaintiffs? I figured this would also be illegal, but that's not exactly stopped them thus far.. from some of the lawyers Twitter, you can see some people have started getting interview dates, whereas others like myself haven't. This has been happening in the same country with same if not similar expired k1 situations too- and my embassy just direct me straight back to their website and wont answer my questions nor explain anything.  😧

It sounds like they’re not processing any applications for non-plaintiffs, so I guess they are prioritizing plaintiffs.  This lawsuit is only helping plaintiffs.  The judge did not want to make it a class lawsuit to benefit everyone in that situation but rather allowed the lawyers to expand the list of plaintiffs. 

2 hours ago, RainyJupiter said:

Here is the link with information that was sent to me. Sadly, I don't believe I qualify as my case has still not reached the NVC (still waiting for them  to notify me). Good luck to anyone who proceeds with this.

 

https://www.visalaw.com/k-1-litigation-new-plaintiffs-onboarding/

Did you receive a notification from the USCIS that your case was forwarded to the NVC?  If so, you can contact the NVC 30 days after the date the USCIS forwarded the case to them.  I did that, and literally the next day the NVC sent me a notification that they forwarded the case to the consulate.  Good luck!

2 hours ago, RainyJupiter said:

Here is the link with information that was sent to me. Sadly, I don't believe I qualify as my case has still not reached the NVC (still waiting for them  to notify me). Good luck to anyone who proceeds with this.

 

https://www.visalaw.com/k-1-litigation-new-plaintiffs-onboarding/

sorry to hear that!  Maybe, just maybe there will be enough plaintiffs added to the list for the judge to want to make this a class action lawsuit which would help everyone else with a K1 application.  He wasn't willing to do that at this time, and just opened up the list for new plaintiffs to be added.

4 hours ago, SydneyfMaghrib said:

The lawyers won't respond to my emails, as I am sure they have over 500 in their inbox...

 

My fiancé is from a non-PP country and I am wondering if it would still be beneficial to become a plaintiff. We received our NOA2 in 11/13. 

If you read the FAQs, it would appear that this lawsuit only helps those living in countries affected by PP. 

On 11/30/2020 at 10:51 AM, JCB86 said:

The lawyers who represent the plaintiffs seem to be optimistic the ruling will trickle down to non-plaintiffs and resume visa processing. They did a Facebook live and answered some questions during. (https://www.facebook.com/105643946137854/videos/844179766403117 if anyone is interested) 

 

Kind of makes me regret not throwing a couple grand at a lawyer to get in on this case though, maybe I'd be seeing my fiance for Christmas.

They’re onboarding new plaintiffs for this case for $2000.  Deadline is next Friday.  
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.visalaw.com%2fk-1-litigation-new-plaintiffs-onboarding%2f&c=E,1,lN2LdG8m7BbCq2rpqzCFpldkYWm7rkQvMCFNUMNFfCTWIDeeLyDhykhhqkYm8ByXc6l03RkqytyABj3Qi1aOxCvrvWK9FkXmlFevm_cToQ,,&typo=1

10 hours ago, lrg_1 said:

I was reading rn the steps they posted to join and it seems like now they’re asking for $2,000 fee. 

Thank you!

2 hours ago, RainyJupiter said:

It looks like they are opening the case to add more plaintiffs. Can any current plaintiffs explain how the process went to sign up, the  cost and requirements? I've been searching for this information and sent an email as well.

 

 

I just emailed Mr Suskind about joining the lawsuit.  I hope he responds.  

2 hours ago, Boiler said:

Biden says he will crack down on Covid so who knows what will happen, I know Belgium is really bad.

Belgium was really bad for a while, but they're doing much better than we are at the moment.  the strict measures have helped.

20 hours ago, HRQX said:

Are you a Plaintiff in the Milligan lawsuit? https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/k-visa-processing-update.html "such applicants may, pursuant to the court order, be scheduled for a visa interview even though they are subject to a COVID-related regional proclamation"

"Even if issued visas, K-1 plaintiff applicants remain subject to the regional P.P.s and, unless able to meet the criteria for an exception, are barred from entering the United States if they have been present in a country covered by a regional P.P. in the 14 days prior to entry." This is where the title of this thread comes into play.

I had contacted the Brussels embassy and asked specifically if they would issue my fiance's K1 visa as he was planning on quarantining in a country where there was no travel ban.  It didn't help.  this is what they responded:

"K-1 visa processing in Brussels is still suspended because K-1 visas are still subject to Presidential Proclamation 9993. Once we resume processing, we will contact you directly with further instructions."

So apparently it's only illegal to not process K1 visas for the plaintiffs in the Milligan lawsuit, but it's ok for everyone else.   Ugh... and they wonder why people don't trust the government...

36 minutes ago, stuckonyou said:

I agree! ☹️ Especially since Department of State updated late August saying that K1's should be a priority... 

 

That does sound nice. ☺️ I'd only do that if I actually had my visa, though... At least the way it is right now. The embassy still has my passport since the interview (in March) and my fiancé will hopefully be able to come to visit me in Sweden in the beginning of the year.

are Americans allowed into Sweden?  My understanding was that the European Union does not allow American citizens... 

2 minutes ago, stuckonyou said:

Let me know what they say. 😇

Maybe we could to something like that too. My fiancé has relatives in Guatemala, for example, so perhaps I could hang out there for two weeks. I know that they'd love to meet me anyways. I don't know if they have any travel restrictions on Europe, though, but either way there's always the possibility of finding one or two K1 friends and have as safe of a corona vacation as possible somewhere. 😅

 

Do you know if the embassy in Bucharest is open or if that's just another way for them to just not process K1's? I wonder which embassies in Europe that do process K1's at the moment... Anyone know?

as far as I know, the embassy in Bucharest is open, just not processing K1 visas at the time.  I just don't understand this.  It's not like they have a huge amount of K1 visas, which would totally overwhelm them!  The Brussels embassy was processing an average of 3-5 K1 visas per month before the pandemic hit.  It's politics, it's laziness, and it's a power struggle.  So frustrating!

6 minutes ago, stuckonyou said:

Hi everyone,

 

I started a post recently to discuss K1 visa processing and effects of the Schengen travel ban: 

 

 

I was looking to just talk to others who are also waiting and to share any information, updates and things like that concerning our cases. Unfortunately my post was closed by someone who thought that it was about the same thing as this one.

 

But this post seems to only be about traveling to the US by going through a non travel ban country for 14 days, which doesn't help the actual K1 visa case at all because the embassies aren't issuing K1's due to the travel ban. I don't have any current plans to travel to the US through another country just to visit, so that's not what I wanted to discuss. The embassy still have my passport and hopefully my fiancé is coming to Sweden in the beginning of next year to visit me, so at this time the only reason for me to go through another country would be if I could do it with my visa and come to stay.

 

I only ready through the past two pages of this thread... and I feel very disappointed that mine was closed down, because we're not talking about the same thing at all. But since I was told to write here instead, is anyone here interested in talking about the actual K1 visa processing and what's going on with the travel ban and any new information and so forth and just help to keep each other updated?

I contacted the embassy in Brussels and told them that my fiance will not be traveling directly to the US from Belgium, as he can quarantine in Romania prior to coming to the US.  I'm waiting to hear back.  I'm not sure they care, as the automated response still states that K1 visa processing is cancelled until further notice, but I had to try.  I also tried to transfer his case to the embassy in Bucharest, as he is a Romanian citizen residing in Belgium, but they told me that Bucharest isn't processing any K1 visas either.  

2 hours ago, Tysianna said:

Hello. I completed my ds160 form for my K1 visa and I am now using this website

https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-jm/niv

 

I am trying to pay the fee but there is no option for a form of payment and it also says that there are no available dates for interviews in Kingston Jamaica and to try again in a few days.
 

Is it possibly not giving me an option to pay because there is no interview date to choose? 
 

it says I am on the payment step and the next step is to choose an interview date so i am not sure. 
 

when I click the methods of payment link it only has steps for Cash payment which even the instructions for that tells  me to select cash payment which the site isn’t giving me an option for that either. 
 

any help will be greatly appreciated. 

I had the same issue and contacted the embassy.  They told me that they are not processing K1 visas until further notice.  The fee can only be paid when appointments are available.  When appointments become available,  you will pick a date/time, and then will be able to pay.   

2 hours ago, Boiler said:

You could well be correct, well this case has been decided, so unless they follow through what will happen, more cases, so I expect they will follow these plaintiffs.

Also, the actual court order for this case states that they scheduled a status hearing on Dec 3.  

https://www.immigrationissues.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Order.pdf 

53 minutes ago, YueQian said:

I don’t think it even guarantees anything for the plaintiffs.

 

 “contact their nearest Embassy or Consulate for guidance on scheduling a visa interview.”

 

Doesn’t sound reassuring, nothing about how consulates should handle it, they could just continue to give the same “guidance” - unable to resume services and we don’t know when blah blah 

 

The Embassy in Brussels had told me that they are waiting on guidance on how to implement the new court order. This order gives no guidance whatsoever for non-plaintiffs in this case.

This statement "K visa applicants who are not plaintiffs in Milligan v. Pompeo and who are not subject to COVID-related regional proclamations will continue to have their applications prioritized and processed in accordance with existing phased resumption of visa services guidance."  makes it sound like the court order is only helping people who are not plaintiffs in the lawsuit.  Their existing phased resumption of visa services is that they do not process K1 visas until further notice.  

I wonder if it's possible to join the list of plaintiffs somehow?