MasterCarrot
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Posts posted by MasterCarrot
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14 hours ago, Cire32 said:
When did you schedule your interview? I've been trying since the end of September to schedule but no appointments have been available.
I have had it twice now in the last two weeks where it actually showed one that an appointment was available and it let me progress to the Hyp CreditGaurd payment screen, but every time I tried to pay, it either never stopped spinning while processing or gave me a "Payment Failed! Refusal. Use alternative method" message. After two days the appointment(s) were gone.
For anyone who has managed to schedule - when you got to the payment stage, on the right side of the screen it says "First Appointments Available" and lists dates below. When you scheduled, were there multiple dates listed or just one? The two times I saw dates, there was only one and it was only a week away. I wonder, do they only display the earliest date and there could be more, or was it really the only available date, probably a cancellation?
Im sorry I can't really help because I'm brining my husband on a Ir1 visa and unlike the k1 visa we didn't need to pay to schedule the appointment. I can send you a telegram forum (its in russian) but your fiance would be able to ask there. They have a great admin who works with immigration cases and a lot of k1 visa applicants.
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13 hours ago, pechenka said:
We've got an interview spot for December 19th a couple days before the whole thing started. Not sure if we'll transfer to another post, but hopefully Jerusalem's embassy will start processing visas some time soon (I'm probably being very optimistic here).
Does anyone know how many times can an immigration officer extend the validity of NOA2? I read somewhere that it was 2 times, up to a 1 year total, but I'm finding a conflicting information now. The reason I ask is that maybe waiting several months (& being rescheduled) is better than trying to transfer the case elsewhere, considering that we already have an interview date.
We have an interview scheduled for the 5th of December and are also hoping for some good news. So i guess fingers crossed.
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2 hours ago, BenNomad said:
I emailed Jerusalem with a transfer request Sep. 12. On Sep 21 they sent an email asking me to confirm and I replied immediately. Today they sent another email stating that they have requested the transfer from Warsaw. Four hours later I got another email with instructions on how to schedule an appointment. I registed on the site (ais.usvisa-info.com), selected a delivery pickup location, and then got the message that there are no appointments currently available.
CEAC still shows Warsaw as the interview location and the case number hasn't changed from WRW yet. Don't know if it's supposed to change. Maybe it will later.
So, at least we know we're headed to Israel for sure. Hopefully we won't have to wait months for an appointment.
Hey we are in a similar position now. Our number hasn't been changed but we got an email to sign up to schedule an appointment. There have been a few cases were the case number was never changed. We have been looking for appointments for the last week nonstop but nothing yet. From other chats a lot of people are waiting and technically they should be opening December appointment dates soon since apparently last time they opened November dates. The whole approval thing is insanely strange because we spent all day looking at the website but somehow 2 people from the telegram chat im in were able to get an appointment today for November but we saw nothing just the same, old message, that no dates avaliable. There is no information on when they open these dates or on what logic their appointment system operates on.
Edit: when we log into our ceac portal it also still shows the old location.
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33 minutes ago, BenNomad said:
I just called the Jerusalem Embassy and talked to an operator. I asked if she could confirm that consular staff are out on holiday and she said "why?" When I explained that their communication kind of dropped off recently, she just said that staff are not on holiday and that I need to wait for a reply. I don't know whether to have my wife send another transfer request from her own email, or whether that will upset them and they might just block us?
Any update from your rep on the USCIS/Humanitarian parole front?
Actually, we have received the news, just now that we can start trying to schedule an appointment in the Isreal embassy, they never replied to my confirmation and just transferred the case quietly, I am surprised because it usually takes at least a month to transfer but I think this might be the work of my congressman since his office has been very active in corresponding with us and helping us.
I only realized they had started transferring our case by checking out the status on https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx otherwise there were no updates or emails that they were transferring our case. There have been multiple people who weren't even asked to confirm and their case was just transferred by Jerusalem.
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13 hours ago, BenNomad said:
That makes sense.
Sorry to hear about your case apparently going back to the NVC. I thought the hospital in Jakarta had contacted you on Monday with good news!
I emailed a transfer request to Jerusalem Monday morning and haven't got a reply yet. Maybe they are out this week. Is this the email you've been using: JerusalemIVInquiries@state.gov ?
We used the same email but they haven't responded this week yet...last week they would reply pretty quickly though maybe it's because of the upcoming holidays? Don't lose hope they will definitely take your case. Everything just seems to move at snail speed at the government level.
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9 hours ago, BenNomad said:
That makes sense.
Sorry to hear about your case apparently going back to the NVC. I thought the hospital in Jakarta had contacted you on Monday with good news!
I emailed a transfer request to Jerusalem Monday morning and haven't got a reply yet. Maybe they are out this week. Is this the email you've been using: JerusalemIVInquiries@state.gov ?
Yeah I guess Jakarta just loves causing people issues good things we figured out that they're not taking us.
This is the email which Jerusalem got back to us from: jerusalemivinquiries@state.gov
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On 9/9/2023 at 5:14 PM, BenNomad said:
Is Jerusalem aware of your passport issue? I was just reading their interview checklist and it says a minimum 8 month validity is required. Surely they would make an exception in your case though. Keep in mind that next weekend is the Jewish New Year and the Embassy may be closed at the end of the week. Not sure exactly when they are open normally. The work week in Israel is Sun-Thurs.
So I've been reading about this issue and it looks like the 8 month requirement isn't a hardcore requirement (22 CFR 42.64) basically from my understanding the important part is the 2 months before expiration of the passport so if you have less than 8 months of validity you'll be given a visa that isn't the full 6 months they usually give. I emailed Isreali asking for clarity about this but haven't gotten a reply yet but maybe this info will help someone someday.
- BenNomad and millefleur
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Update: Looks like we are transferring our case to Isreali. We can't get in touch with Jakarta and our congressman also isn't getting responses either. Got an update yesterday and it looks like our case was returned to nvc or at least thats what the status shows as.
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Update: today the medical hospital messaged us that the embassy emailed them that the US embassy got back to them again and said we can schedule an appointment. I haven't gotten an email from the US embassy but asked the hospital if they're sure that the US embassy said that and they told us that they were emailed today and registered us for a medical on the 25th. I'm hoping we get an email from Jakarta soon as well.
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4 minutes ago, BenNomad said:
Is Jerusalem aware of your passport issue? I was just reading their interview checklist and it says a minimum 8 month validity is required. Surely they would make an exception in your case though. Keep in mind that next weekend is the Jewish New Year and the Embassy may be closed at the end of the week. Not sure exactly when they are open normally. The work week in Israel is Sun-Thurs.
😭 why does an immigrant visa even need that much validity this makes no sense. I'll email them tomorrow to see what they say.
Edit: it does say "to get a full validity visa," maybe if it's less than 8 months you just get a visa which expires faster? So maybe instead of 6 months to enter you get 2 months or something. Anyways, I hope that's the case.
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13 hours ago, BenNomad said:
Interesting and very considerate on their part to give you a warning. Other people's cases were transferred without being asked for confirmation or at least nobody mentioned it here. Well, that's good news overall, you (and others like me) have a way out at least. Hurray! But it is a pill to swallow financially with potential months of waiting. Sounds maybe like a good cause crowdfunding 😁
So some more information that I have found. I've been reading telegram group chats with russian, belarusian, and ukrianians and I've gathered some information. Transferring your case from an embassy to Isreali takes about an average of 1.5 - 2 months, if your case is in NVC it'll be a much faster transfer, it also looks like spouse visas are transfered a little faster than k1 visa, and then another 1 - 2 months (this is really dependent on luck and your ability to find an open slot, there has also been someone who got their congressman to get them a closer appt time) for your interview. Also, it looks like a pretty even split with people who get their passports back within a week and those within 3 weeks. I read about half a year of telegram chats and there were only 2 people rejected at the border, otherwise some people get questioned for a few hours, and some just go through without any issues.
- BenNomad and millefleur
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2
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11 hours ago, BenNomad said:
Interesting and very considerate on their part to give you a warning. Other people's cases were transferred without being asked for confirmation or at least nobody mentioned it here. Well, that's good news overall, you (and others like me) have a way out at least. Hurray! But it is a pill to swallow financially with potential months of waiting. Sounds maybe like a good cause crowdfunding 😁
Yeah for us that just leaves the issue with the passport. If we go the Isreal route than we better get lucky and the whole process takes less than a month or two to transfer and that we can get an interview by January 25th.
Im kinda scared to test my luck after the last week.
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9 hours ago, BenNomad said:
That is discussed in the thread below. You have to schedule yourself after getting the transfer accepted.
We emailed Jerusalem and they said that they would accepted our case but asked us to confirm before they did that we really want to transfer. They warned that it could take a few months just to transfer the case and once transfered they won't send it to another embassy, and that there could be delays in Isreali and that basically it can be expensive. So I think we'll give it a few days/maybe until next Friday and see if any other Embassy responds or if our congressman gets back to us.
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2 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:
It's true that the HCMC consulate is very high-volume. However, it's unlikely that they would have personnel (COs or LES -- locally engaged staff) who could evaluate or validate Russian/Belarusian/Ukrainian documents with authority and issue visas with confidence. It's best to concentrate on Jerusalem, which does have the relevant capabilities.
Maybe you might know more but how long or fast does it take to get an interview in Jerusalem? If we transfer our case now will we be able to get there in 2 months for an interview?
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2 minutes ago, BenNomad said:
I was looking at stats yesterday on the number of visas issued by each embassy. Ho Chi Minh City is one of the busiest in the world. They put out over 3700 visas in July. Jerusalem only 200. So there in Vietnam they surely have the capacity to take on an extra case.
This summer I was looking at airbnbs in Israel and yes it is very expensive. Airfare too.
Definitely, airfare in general has become insanely expensive I remember flying for much cheaper before covid. But you're right Isreali is a valid option that I'll start planning for just incase.
Are you thinking of transferring your case to Jerusalem? If so keep me updated, hopefully everything goes smoothly for your family if you do.
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3 minutes ago, BenNomad said:
It's one thing to be questioned for two hours at the border and another to be outright rejected. It's also been reported in this forum that by entering Israel together as a couple (where one is a U.S. citizen) one can avoid extra questioning. I'm hoping this is the case because our options have narrowed down to Jerusalem.
DId you get a response from Vietnam and Malaysia yet? My wife's case was denied by Cairo, Almaty and Athens and they all responded within a few hours.
No response yet from either of them but I did get a response from the congressmans office that they sent whatever we signed to uscis. Jakarta also completely stopped replying to us. Honestly, I think isreali will be a last resort because I don't have the money currently to fly to Isreali nor sitting there for over month I had money set aside for tickets back to the US but it seems they might have to be spent to fly to Isreal. People have been telling me that isreali is one of the most expensive places they have been. If it doesn't work out with the congressman of course I'll try to transfer and find the funds but ill give them another week or two before doing that.
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8 minutes ago, Boiler said:
It has been some years but people I know who had travelled to Israel had to get a second passport if they wanted to travel to Muslim, well some at least, countries. I have not heard of an issue the other way around.
Some of the most recent posts replies on the Bel, Rus, Ukriane forum are talking about this and how it can cause issues. It's not rare to be rejected at the Isreali border because of this, people are rejected for far less, and it's quite a far shot to hope that they won't reject us.
Edit: im not here to argue I honestly don't have the motivation to argue but this is personally what I've read in different forums, telegram chats, and been told.
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1 minute ago, Boiler said:
I thought it was the other way around?
What do you mean? Isreali doesn't like those who have traveled or lived in muslim countries and we have lived in Turkey and Indonesia. Traveld to Dubai, Qatar, Egypt. Etc.
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50 minutes ago, Geraldin said:
Israel refused to transfer you?
Honestly, we didn't even write Jerusalem because we've lived in majority muslim countries, traveled to muslim countries, and flew transit through them. From what we read and seen with our travel history there is a very slim chance of us passing border control.
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Update: congressmans office has said they submitted the privacy petition to USCIS not sure what that means and if it should be going to USCIS or another place?
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3 hours ago, millefleur said:
I was mistaken, for some reason I thought it said you could contact them in advance. It appears the option is just show up at the border as you said. Edited my post so as not to confuse. Either that or apply in advance via USCIS.
Not an easy feat for a Belarusian passport. Apparently they require visas to Mexico even. Definitely one of the harder cases I've seen here. Even Russians can get to Mexico without a visa.
Yeah our last option which my husband is now considering is going home and asking for leniency. In best case scenario he'll go to jail for a few months and then he'll have to serve in the army for a year...but that's the optimistic scenario and if all goes our way. I guess we still have a few months to try and figure something out.
Right now I'll wait until the Embassies we contacted reply. Hopefully that'll be soon, if they reject us, I'll try to contact the congressman again, and start the form for humanitarian parole.
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2 minutes ago, Boiler said:
The Privacy form, this is something everybody does.
Just to make it clear I am in no way saying not to do it, I just would not rely on it.
Well we don't have anything to rely on...My husband's passport will become ineligible in 3 months and we are stuck in SE Asia because the trip here was pretty expensive for an interview which we were rejected from before it even took place and our case is in limbo now. Unless a miracle happens idek what we can rely on or even what to plan. Where to go next. Now a new law came out in his country that you can't renew a passport abroad but if he goes home he'll be arrested for missing mandatory army service. I have no ideas tbh and don't even know where we can go to after his tourist visa in Vietnam ends.
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3 minutes ago, Boiler said:
This stuff is handled by Interns, Office Assistants, it is not impossible that a Congressperson would want to run with it but...
We filled out and signed a document to let our congressmans office have access to our information. Hopefully that's a good sign...
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14 minutes ago, BenNomad said:
I just called up the D.C. office of Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who is from my state of WA but a different district. A real, live person actually picked up the phone and was very polite and helpful! She gave me an email to write to and even took my name and email so they'd be on the look out for my message. Rep. Jayapal was born in India and lived in Indonesia in her childhood and serves on an immigration subcommittee, so if she doesn't take interest in the situation I don't know who would. I will send off an email to her a little later.
Oh wow thats great news!! Maybe something will change but my optimism has run a little dry.
I'll also try to put together a petition and find a rep to send it to just been a bit busy with our issues and work.
Risks with Transferring a Case (Russian Fiancé - From Warsaw to somehere else) [merged]
in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus
Posted
They started interviews again, just had a handful of girls from the telegram chat I'm in go through interviews today and yesterday. We have tickets flying out on the 28th.