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Has anyone had experience or know anything about the status “administrative processing” at the NVC stage, not after the interview? Recently, we contacted the NVC about the status of our case. We contacted them in many occasions prior to this specific time to figure out our next steps since our case was accepted by the embassy for expedited processing, and this scenario is not common for everyone. We asked questions such as why it’s not possible to schedule a medical exam and if our case file was delivered to the embassy. In return, the overall answer is that we “need to contact the embassy to inquire our case further.” So our assumption is that our case file was sent to the embassy and we would have to reach out to them as per this email from the NVC last month. We have contacted the embassy many times as well. The last guidance we received from U.S. Visa Information Services is to just wait for that “email with instructions.“ At this point we are confused because it has already been almost a month since our case was expedited, and definitely past the two week mark for the time it could take for our case file to be received by the embassy. So we reached out to the NVC once more to ask where our case is at. Today we received a reply back from the NVC and they told us that our “…petition is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing. You will be notified with further instructions when the processing is complete…” Now we’re really confused because how is it that we were told to contact the Embassy for guidance and yet it took us to contact the NVC for a status update? Our status has not changed on the CEAC portal since then and it still says “at NVC”. We also checked CEAC’s Visa Status Check webpage and it still reads that we have to “submit requested documents”. It should not have to matter if we submit documents to the NVC because our case is to be handled at the Embassy level at this point. Is this a glitch? Are we missing something here? We have submitted all documents anyways since May 20th but not DQ. Our understanding is that our case was supposed to be handled by the Embassy from now on since April and the NVC does not have a role in this process anymore. I’ve read many forum posts of administrative processing happening after the interview but not during the NVC stage. It is very odd that we had to contact the NVC to find out the status of our case when we were under the impression that the Embassy will be take over at this point. Also that our status on the CEAC website has not changed considering the NVC’s email notifying us that our “petition is undergoing necessary administrative processing.”

@OldUser It just blows my mind that the only place we found that gives the right dosage for the medical exam is in another prefecture. The cheapest way to get to the location we found would cost about a $120 for a flight, plus a train ride and a hotel for the night. We'll do whatever it takes to meet the requirements but its ridiculous how much it costs just to get a covid vaccine.. @jan22 It just doesn't make sense how you have bend over backwards to find a clinic that administers the COVID vaccine for healthy people. @SteveInBostonI130 I've seen this post earlier. The problem we are having is finding a clinic that is administering the said $100 vaccine. We're still asking around but we haven't found any clinic that would administer through appointment. Otherwise we're waiting until the fall for the routine inoculation, which is not good because our case has been expedited to the embassy almost 2 weeks ago.

Does anyone have any experience foregoing the covid vaccination requirements using a "Not routinely available" waiver? We have the option to do so but not sure if anyone had trouble during the interview process for this reason. Background: Our case has been accepted for expedited processing while in the NVC process. Fees have been paid on April 24, 2024 and both I-864 and DS-260 have been submitted, April 27, 2024 and April 28, 2024 respectively. Civil documents have not been uploaded yet. We received an email the very next day on April 29, 2024 from NVCExpedite stating the "Embassy accepted our case for expedited processing". On the ceac website, we received a message in our inbox that same day April 29, 2024 that just reads "Case has been expedited to post", which I know now 'post' means embassy or consulate. My understanding from the email sent by the NVC is that we will continue our case at the Embassy/Consulate level at this moment in time. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong. We're assuming our packet should be arriving at the Tokyo Embassy soon. We want to start the medical process prior to our packet arriving at the embassy. After calling all designated visa medical examination facilities in Tokyo, one medical facility requires a COVID vaccination before scheduling an appointment and the other does not require covid vaccination but notified us that "it may not be accepted during the interview". Diving in more we are asking if we can forego the covid vaccination by documenting the "Not routinely available" blanket waiver. Both the Embassy in Tokyo website and Department of State point to the CDC guidelines stating this waiver. The CDC guidelines also mention that the 'Not routinely available' blanket waiver should be used if "...the required vaccine is not licensed or not routinely available..." and "...panel physicians are required to make every reasonable effort to have vaccines that are required for US immigration available for applicants...". The best advice we received from one of the medical facilities is to go to a military base to get the covid vaccine! This should not be the case at all. We have called many medical facilities not listed as a designated facility and all do not admit patients for the covid vaccine as a normal check up, my wife's main physician included. The Prime Minister's Office of Japan explains covid vaccinations as "free" but has no further guidance and points to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare(MHLW) for more information. The MHLW states "...all others will be vaccinated once per year..." and the vaccination program ends March of 2024, which is over now and the links to file for a vaccination ticket are taken down. This is conflicting information. After speaking on the phone with a representative at the U.S. Visa Information Services and in my thorough research, its ultimately its up to the Panel Physician. I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with using a "Not routinely available" blanket waiver. Otherwise I'm paying 60,000JPY, which is about 385USD, out of pocket for a covid vaccine that doesn't include the plane ride to get there from where she currently lives. The covid vaccine would cost more than paying for the medical exam. I hope no one has to go through this. 🤦‍♂️

I’m finding different data points on the next steps for our process. We received an email from NVCExpedite acknowledging our expedite request and that NVC will send our case to the embassy. We’re not sure what happens next since NVC will not schedule our interview appointment. Will we need to contact the embassy to schedule the interview appointment or wait to be contacted? I want to be proactive but I’m not sure how to go about the next steps.

I’ve read the instructions on the ceac and state.gov website. I’m reading it as you have to scan each document. You would think just submitting the original .pdf downloaded from the IRS website is good enough. I’m really confused if something that small of a detail matters and will extend the process longer.

Part 5.1 Part 6.4 Part 6.20

@pushbrk I downloaded adobe acrobat reader: PDF app for my iPad and opened the same document provided by the hyperlink on the IR-1/CR-1 guides page, which is the same form on the USCIS website. I have a free trial of Adobe Acrobat pro. When I attempt to edit the form, a pop up window appears and says “read-only pdf”. My assumption is that it’s an issue with the document being password protected. Is there a non password protect file out there?

I'm having trouble with the downloadable pdf form from the "guide" hyperlink. I'm pretty sure someone has had the same problem before. I'm able to edit most text boxes on Lumin, Google Drive, and Adobe Acrobat. The form is protected as a secured document. For example, Part 6, #4 allows me to mark an "x" on Self-Employed but not able to input on the text field the occupation. Should I just type in as much as possible and then hand write the remaining spaces? I would think this not as appropriate. So would hand writing be the only option?

Is it possible to get a student visa if my I-130 application is already in the process? Is obtaining a F1 or M1 visa will be in conflict with my pending I-130?

In the past, she has had trouble entering but with good intention. I understand that good intentions are just that. During the below situations, we were not married at that time. Just a little more than two years ago, she was denied entry to US and got her ESTA refused. She received a letter that writes “VWPP refusal”. The CBP told her that she needs a visa to enter, as usual, and will not be able to utilize an ESTA to travel (not sure if this means forever). She was refused entry for not having a return ticket and traveling with a large luggage of personal items. So she flew back to Japan. About a year ago was when she was denied entry on tourist visa. CBP concluded she was traveling with the intention of adjusting status. She then flew back to Japan. Passport writes “application for admission withdrawn” & “B1/B2 revoked”. We are still pending I-130 results (submission in Apr 2023). I have been traveling to see my wife almost every other month. We want to try out an ESTA knowing it has been 2 years since her previous ESTA was refused. Currently, she has applied for an ESTA and pending results of approval. If approved, we will attempt at flying together to the US in hopes of passing through with no issues. My only concern is that CBP denies and we burned a plane ticket. Is there anything else that we should be concerned about or may affect our CR1 process? I understand strong ties back to Japan is necessary when talking to CBP. Is there anything we should know more about CBP questions at this point? I’ve read some of the most recent post looking for some info that relates to our situation. I would like to hear anyone’s thoughts on this.

@pushbrk Thank you sir! Most likely I will just file single to make life simple. I'm assuming that means filing single will have no affect to the whole visa process.

I'm having trouble figuring out if I should file "married and filing separate" or just "single". Initially I was filing married and separate but an error message showed that I need to input something on the SSN field for my wife. An expert from TurboTax recommends I apply for an ITIN for my wife so I could put that on my taxes under the SSN field but also mentions that its safe to file single because we were married officially in Japan, not in US. An ITIN is going to take about 7 weeks according to irs.gov. We are in the phase where our NOA for I-130 "approval" should be sent soon. Not sure if its worth to apply for ITIN at this point. Also wondering if anyone has had experience with or without an ITIN on their tax returns in relation to the NVC phase.

Hi everyone! I’m new here and learning the ropes. When filling out the I-130, I’m stuck on figuring out if submitting my current employment as self employed at Uber technologies is acceptable enough if I’m making more than the income requirements as stated in the guides forum? Also, do I have to provide proof of my new job in the future during this whole process? I’m recently married March of 2023 to my wonderful wife in Japan. I completed my military career mid last year, looking for a job in software engineering and now just been driving Uber and making it work out. No luck out here yet but I’m still looking for a job that beats the income of driving Uber out here in Hawaii. I also have a business on the side that is starting out but not a lot of revenue coming in yet. Driving Uber along with my business and non-taxable income through the VA, I’m making 2 to 3 times the minimum income requirement. I don’t think there is a problem with income but I’m also not sure if this is an acceptable occupation in USCIS’s eyes as it’s not a “stable job”.