Benny1337

Congratulations! I'm happy for you both!

11 minutes ago, homebound_24 said:

In all the documentation, it said we should get the visa in the passport AND a sealed envelope that we need to give to the immigration officer on entering the US. Nothing like that was provided at the embassy after the appointment, or along with the visa in the passport. Did anyone else receive it?

Check at the bottom of the visa, it should have the annotation"IV docs in CCD" indicating the sealed package is sent electronically and you don't need a physical version, so you're good to go with just the visa, the rest will be handled upon arrival in whichever US airport, by CBP!

If you don't have that annotation, I'd contact the embassy.

Congrats again!

3 hours ago, Schsoe said:

 

Thank you! We've seen that. But they (local government) claim they only provide the police certificate to citizens of that country who present themselves in person..despite what it says on the State.gov website. (We've tried twice.) We could go to that country and try, but there is a Level 4 Do Not Travel in place. 

I'm sorry to hear you're struggling at the final hurdle..

Perhaps the embassy will accept your correspondence with said government stating they will not issue it, and waive the required document.. won't hurt to ask, I guess?

I do hope things work out for you two soon.

1 hour ago, Schsoe said:

Hi all - one final crazy question before tomorrow. 🫠 The Embassy website says no electronic devices allowed, which a phone technically is. I see in one earlier message, Thomas took his phone in. Can anyone confirm if phones are allowed into the Embassy/interview? Thank you!

I was allowed to take my phone with me, I only had to leave my car key behind at the security check.

I assume laptops and tablets won't be allowed in though.

Let us know how it goes!

@xleaass Since you live close to the French border, have you attempted to get a vaccine in France? I've seen some reports they're having a "vaccination wave" ahead of the olympic games.

2 hours ago, Schsoe said:

Seeing these messages made me realize we have to focus on this. Besides COVID and influenza, what other vaccines are required? I see this list: 

• Mumps;
• Measles;
• Rubella;
• Polio;
• Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxoids;
• Pertussis;
• Haemophilus influenzae type B;
• Hepatitis B;
• COVID-19; and
• Any other vaccine-preventable diseases recommended by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP).

But what does any other vaccine-preventable disease mean? Rabies is on that list for example. 😕

I've attached the vaccines I received over the course of my life, including the ones I had to get after my medical exam to be up to date with everything.

You can easily check the vaccines received through the Belgian healthcare website. (https://www.myhealth.belgium.be/)

I hope this helps!

4 hours ago, xleaass said:

Hey guys! I have a little problem. I can’t get a Covid booster anywhere near where I live (close to the French border). Can I ask you guys where you got yours? Also I didn’t get an influenza vaccine this year and I can’t find one anywhere either. Will that be a problem? 
 

Have a great day!

I'm not too sure about the flu vaccine, as it's currently "out of season", maybe you can try to send an email to the doctor to ask, or perhaps they'll have one in stock to administer to you at the exam.

For the covid booster, I got mine at a pharmacy, so try calling every pharmacy within a wide radius to check if they still administer those boosters.

Your GP might know of locations that still do as well.

If you don't mind driving to Limburg, I can tell you which pharmacy I went to.

Good luck 🙂

19 minutes ago, Schsoe said:

Can you go and wait in the waiting room at all?

As far as I recall, only the person with the actual interview will be allowed into the embassy.

As a little hint for your husband's own peace of mind: Make sure he double checks all the civil documents and his passport and passport pictures are present, and put them in a folder.

Backpacks aren't allowed to be taken inside, so tell him to pack lightly.

Do let us know of the outcome, but it should be a walk in the park!

@ThomasT33 Congratulations on getting your visa! That definitely was a long wait but now it's time to move onto the next chapter of your life!

My I-130/CR-1 visa story has ended, as of today I’m officially a lawful resident of the USA, I hope everyone that filed in March has had their approval by now, and if not - I really hope you’ll get it soon! The wait is tedious and long, but it’s so worth it once you see that stamp in your passport.

Google is your friend.

https://www.cbp.gov/site-policy-notices/foia/records

4 minutes ago, xleaass said:

Thank you!!

 

I have a question for everyone, at the medical exam, did they keep the four pictures? Because when I went to the photographer he only gave me 4 pictures so do I need to go back and get more pictures done? Also, my pictures are 5cmx5cm but they are not cut. Do I have to cut them?  Thank you! My medical is on June 11th

At my medical the doctor took a picture with her phone, as it was purely a digital report that gets uploaded, she told me the passport pictures are only for the paper version.

I do think they have to be cut for the embassy appointment, as they scan just a single passport picture to use on the visa.

Little update: Got an email from the embassy and courier today that my passport has been sent.

18 hours ago, xleaass said:

Do you have an idea of when you are going to leave Belgium?

Probably next month 😄

On 4/22/2024 at 4:58 PM, xleaass said:

I'll check on this forum after your interview to see how it went for you

I got approved 😁

Everything was pretty straightforward, had to give my civil documents and passport pictures at one of the booths, then was instructed to wait until my number was called to proceed to the interview.

It was a fairly relaxed setting, was asked what my wife’s job is, what my job is, how we met, when we first met in person and when the last time we met in person was.

After this the officer kept my passport and told me to expect an email with shipping information next week.

On 4/22/2024 at 4:58 PM, xleaass said:

Maybe we'll cross paths someday. I think it's neat to end up not too far away from someone who's from the same country and went through the same hardship!

Feel free to reach out, maybe we’ll have a Belgian get-together with some true Belgian fries, and complain about the weather! 😅

1 hour ago, xleaass said:

Hello everyone, I’ve been DQ yesterday and was wondering if we had updates on more recent DQ dates? It’s so hard to find people from Belgium. I’d love to know if anyone who got DQ in 2024 had the chance of getting an interview date already. 

 

Have a great day!

Hi there,

I was DQ’d in February 2024, got an email that my case was being expedited to the embassy mid-March, without me requesting this.

About two weeks later I was scheduled for an interview, the 24th of April.

I seem to have gotten lucky with this, as there’s been people that have waited for 5-6 months for their IL (as you can see in this topic)

I hope you’ll hear something soon! Let us know

P.s. I would schedule your medical exam already, just to be sure you’ll have a date if your interview date happens to be shortly after the letter, as seems to be the trend for Brussels - you can have up to two active appointments with them online, and it’s free to cancel if done so at least 24 hours before the appointment.

@homebound_24 How’d the interview go? Hope you got some good news! 

Little update: I had my medical exam earlier today.

Do keep in mind that the receptionists of the medical center only speak French (at least the ones I had to talk to) and as my French isn’t perfect, there was a language barrier, so be prepared for this.

(Honestly, the embassy should have a doctor in Antwerp again as they did before..) 

My actual exam was with Dr. Hermand, and went pretty smoothly.

The only thing I still had to get was an extra covid booster shot, as apparently they require it to be less than one year ago.

As she did not have any covid shots available, I’ll have to send her proof of when I get it, and she’ll complete the medical report and send it to the embassy, which takes approximately a week.

P.s. If you’ve got a medical scheduled for after your interview, keep checking the Visa Meiser website, I managed to get an appointment a lot sooner than my original date, as someone cancelled.

I received my IL today, for the 24th.

On 3/27/2024 at 8:26 PM, homebound_24 said:

We got our IL on Monday for April 10th.

Good luck!

Well I still haven’t had any news.. I hope the rest of you have had more luck 😅

10 minutes ago, homebound_24 said:

Has anyone heard anything since Wednesday? Maybe I am too impatient 😂

I haven't, I was hoping for something today but I assume we'll get some more news next week.. well, I hope so at least.

Got this email just now.. never asked for an expedited process, got DQ’d in Feb 22, 2024.. I’m kinda speechless

On 2/22/2024 at 5:10 PM, SmPP said:

Received our letter today too and our is set for March 15th

Good luck today!

Having formerly worked in airport security and baggage checks, here's my two cents.

I cannot tell you how every country in the world handle things, nor can I go into details about how security checks are done.

However, in the extremely rare case that they require additional checks to be done on the envelope, there are multiple ways to check if whatever is inside poses any risk beside opening it.

Most, if not all airports also have a security supervisor or other chain of command, whom you have a right to speak to and elaborate your situation to, on the off chance you do get randomly pulled aside for a random check and they hone in on the envelope.

I can say that in the 5+ years I've done that job, I never once had to open an envelope at random.

I hope this helps put your mind at ease.

48 minutes ago, Goosegirl22 said:

Since they ask for the US size of pictures and Belgian photobooths don't provide that unfortunately.. 

I went to a local photographer that does passport pictures, and they had no issue taking a 2”x2” picture.

Perhaps you can contact some near you, as I personally wouldn’t rely on the photo booths as 1) You never know if there’s a malfunction, causing unnecessary delays and 2) You need to upload them to NVC too, so you should have them well before your interview regardless.

Congratulations!

I’m glad your wait is almost over, it is annoying you had to wait so long.

Judging by the medical situation, I did schedule mine already, just to be sure of a date.. apparently it’s free to cancel up to 24 hours in advance so 😅

56 minutes ago, ninabd said:

Hi there! How did you find out your service centre?

You can find your (original) service center at the bottom of your receipt notice (NOA1), but chances are it has changed by now.

To get an update on your SC, it’s best to ask Emma (afaik only the petitioner will be told about updates by an agent).

Good luck!