omya

Makes sense. Since I posted this, there have been one person who also got by with a scanned copy. As far as I'm aware, the embassy still sends an email a couple days before the interview asking the interviewee to bring an original copy.

Good luck!

I don't think the embassy is following a pattern. We found a spot roughly after a month of refreshing like crazy every day. I would suggest the same. There are at least a couple people waiting and there likely won't be a whole lot of slots available when they do become available. So the more you can check, the higher chances you'll have of catching it before others.

Don't be worried. Even though I was paranoid about it, I think the chances of them asking for the original document were actually low. Worst case, they'll ask you to submit the original after the interview.

She got approved! Thank God! Re: original copy. I did end up finding a person that was flying to Istanbul and sent my documents with them. I really didn't want to go through any administrative processing etc.

Got it, thanks.

Thanks for the reply. This is the way they phrased it in the email:

Hey all! My fiance got a confirmation email from the Ankara embassy a couple days before consular interview that asked for an original copy of the letter of intent to marry (they seem to want the original signature). The email does specify that the i134 can be scanned. Were you all asked for an signed original copy (not scanned/copied) or did you submit a scanned one during your consular interviews? It's really hard for me to send the document at this point, cargo companies can't take it in time. I would appreciate if you shared your experiences here. Thanks.

We finally got approved! It was a nervous wait (and it's far from over) but I'm super grateful. Praying for speedy approvals for all you guys. Interestingly, the update came in on Saturday. I know they did rfes on Saturdays but this is the first time I'm seeing an approval.