Dan and Akari

Understood, and I was planning on contacting the embassy at some point before her scheduled interview to get clarification. However, I anticipate getting the same answer, maybe worded differently, and I anticipate not having any further clarification. Nonetheless, I will contact them within the next couple of weeks. Your response brings to light that I should have worded my request differently. I am looking for anecdotal references of anyone who has tried the approach I am contemplating. I want to clarify that I am not trying to circumnavigate the system. If it is a hard fast rule that we "must" wait until we receive medical clearance before we can even attempt to reschedule her interview, we will abide by the rules. If there are no hard fast rules, then we may try to take the aforementioned approach. By way of example, instructions are clear that you CAN NOT schedule an interview at a date earlier than your currently scheduled interview. If you do so you will not be interviewed on the earlier date and you must wait to reschedule. To me, this language is clear. I can see that their potential train of thought is that we should wait for everything to be cleared so the available appointment dates can be utilized by those who are ready, except we received her initial interview date from NVC before her medical exam was even scheduled. Again, if anyone has anecdotal reference, I would be interested in hearing it.

I am simply looking to see if someone has a definitive answer for my question of whether or not it is a requirement to wait until after your medical exam is complete (in this case sputum test results are returned negative and panel physician signs of on medical packet) or just a request? Email received from BKK embassy states: ”If you are not able to go to the interview on your scheduled date, you can reschedule the appointment after the original interview date from the NVC (20-MAY-2024) has passed, and after the hospital clears the medical examination.” Are there any ramifications to simply waiting until the original interview date has passed and the next day rescheduling the interview far enough in the future so it will occur after the expected date the results of the sputum test will be received? Is there something systematically that prevents me from rescheduling as described above, I.e they see we don’t have complete medical and traveldocs won’t even allow me to reschedule without medical exam? Wording in the email is that you “can” reschedule. Does that mean it is a hard fast requirement that we “must” wait for complete medical, and if I try to schedule something before receiving the signed off medical packet (in an effort to secure an appointment before her medical expires and we stuck doing this all over again) but after the expected date to receive the signed off packet, we will somehow get our wrist slapped? I realize that I am splitting hairs with interpretation, hence the reason I asked at the outset for someone who can provide a definitive answer and not just provide their opinion on the wording in the email.

Hey @LennyO we didn’t get that second email, but the IL email said we needed to ensure we uploaded everything and had this statement: “Your documents may be rejected if uploaded under incorrect heading or in separate files.” I’m sure you did this but make sure you upload the documents into the proper category/ heading from the drop down list of document type. Probably not related but maybe worth double checking.

Posting update for posterity. Specific to Bangkok embassy per the instructions above... If you are required to submit a sputum sample for smear and culture test for TB, and you won't have the results to complete your medical packet before your interview, you must email visasbkk@state.gov and inform them of this situation. You will receive an autoresponse email that states: "Thank you for contacting the Visa Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. We will review your email as soon as possible. For immediate resolution to most inquiries, please see our helpful Visa Navigator or detailed information on our website. Due to the high volume of inquiries received, if your inquiry can be answered by the information on our Visa Navigator or on our website, you will NOT receive a response. If you are contacting us regarding a prior issue or following up on your visa application, please use the Visa Navigator for instructions on how to contact us. Please note that we DO NOT respond to general questions about visa services or the visa application process from this mailbox. For inquiries related to visa interview appointment scheduling, visa application fee payment, passport delivery status; please contact our U.S. Visa Service Desk at support-thailand@ustraveldocs.com or contact the call center at 02 105 4110 (Monday - Friday, 08:00 - 16:00, except on holidays). " Reviewing the Visa Navigator and Website, you will see instructions that indicate: Who Is Eligible To (Re)schedule An Immigrant Visa Appointment? You may only schedule a new visa interview appointment if falling under one of the following categories: I failed to attend the IV interview appointment scheduled by the NVC (or KCC for DV). My petitioner or I filed an IV petition through the USCIS office in Bangkok (before this office’s closure) or through the Bangkok Immigrant Visa Unit, and the IV Unit has asked me to schedule an appointment. My IV case was expedited through the NVC, and the Bangkok Immigrant Visa Unit has asked me to schedule an appointment. I am a follow-to-join IV applicant. The principal applicant has already applied for or been issued an IV, and the Bangkok Immigrant Visa Unit has asked me to make an appointment. Others such as second interview, oath renewal, reaffirmation, and the Bangkok Immigrant Visa Unit has asked me to schedule an appointment. You cannot reschedule your visa interview appointment date earlier than your initial interview appointment date. If you do so, you will not be interviewed. If you meet any of the following conditions, do not reschedule an immigrant visa interview appointment. Instead, please submit an inquiry to visasbkk@state.gov You have been interviewed. You are the principal applicant and you have not contacted the Embassy for more than a year. Your case is not current for processing based on the current cut-off dates. This includes retrogressed cases. Your visa class has been changed. Pay close attention to the wording to determine what you need to do since the autoresponse email says you won't get a reply if you find the answer to your inquiry on the Visa Navigator or Website. My wife is the primary applicant, and she never contacted the embassy, so we simply waited to receive a reply. Within 48 hours we received a reply from visasbkk@state.gov with the following instructions: Your case's interview date was provided by the National Visa Center (NVC). If you are not able to go to the interview on your scheduled date, you can reschedule the appointment after the original interview date from the NVC (20-MAY-2024) has passed, and after the hospital clears the medical examination. Please follow the instructions below to re-schedule your appointment after the date of your original interview has passed: Log in to https://www.ustraveldocs.com/th/. If you scheduled an appointment in the past, you should use the same email address and password as before. If this is your first time visiting the website, please create a login. Click the New Application/Schedule Appointment tab on the left Select Immigrant Visa, then All Immigrant Visas, then your visa class. Complete your personal information and passport details Add dependents, if any Answer the questions as “Yes” or “No” to continue Specify your document delivery information and update your case ID Schedule your appointment from the open slots visible in the appointment calendar. NOTE: If there are no available appointments, that means all appointments are filled. We frequently open additional appointments. Please continue to check the website for available appointments Once your appointment is successfully scheduled, click on Printable Version, and print two (2) copies of the Appointment Confirmation page. You will need both copies: · One copy is to show the hospital for your medical examination (if you have not completed your medical examination or if your medical examination is expired and you must get a new one). · One copy is for the Greeter when you arrive at the Embassy on the day of your visa interview. Hopefully this proves beneficial for anyone who may go through a similar experience in Thailand. 9 weeks to go before we get the results of the sputum culture!!

@Sid86Curious how things turned out for you. Were you able to finally get an interview after the second medical exam and sputum test? What country is your spouse interviewing in? We are unfortunately finding ourselves in the same situation. My wife's sputum test results should be finished by July 8, but I logged into ustraveldocs just to see what the appointment horizon looks like. Earliest appointment was 12 weeks out. I realize that appointment openings can change daily, but at 12 weeks out, we would have an interview and maybe 2-3 weeks to get her passport back and travel to the US before her medical exam expires. And I get that we must jump when they say jump, but that doesn't mitigate the fact that having a requirement to retest for TB right after immediately being tested negative for TB is insanity. I would understand if X amount of time had elapsed since your negative results, but back-to-back tests is overkill. Saying basically that it is what it is doesn't help.

I appreciate you commenting. It is my understanding that the unreliable nature of the skin test is why it was discontinued in favor of the sputum smear. We don’t anticipate any doomsday scenario, and we remain in positive spirits that her test will be negative. We’ve been fortunate to have our I-130 approved in a little less than 6 months and have an interview scheduled 9 1/2 months after switching from K1 to CR1, so we are grateful to be where we are in the journey despite this setback. We have been told the sputum test is what we need to do, and even though it stinks to wait another potential 10 weeks, we will comply and jump through the appropriate hoops. We will plan accordingly once we receive the results rather than fretting over it now.

I appreciate your response; however, I find the inconsistencies regarding this issue amongst different consulates a bit confusing. I read other posts that reference something similar meaning their consulate allowed them to interview and then wait for results of the medical. The only reason I can think of for a consulate’s requirement to reschedule would be case volume, and I can’t imagine that Bangkok has that high of a volume of interview candidates compared to staff to conduct interviews. I am just shooting in the dark now because we are desperate for some encouraging news from this setback.

Can you please clarify your response? We would love to keep our interview date so we will hold off on canceling the interview, but, unless I am missing something, the instructions I referenced above seem pretty clear that I need to reschedule until after “ongoing” ( ie the sputum) tests are complete. We would love to hear/see anything that contradicts this.

We are going based on language here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/BNK-Bangkok.html that says: ”If your medical examination report will not be completed by the time of your interview (due to ongoing testing, treatment, or other reason), it must be rescheduled until you receive your completed medical examination report. You can contact visasbkk@state.gov to reschedule your visa interview.

As you can infer from the title of my post, my wife had her medical yesterday morning at the Nursing Home in Bangkok, and the chest x-ray showed minor scarring in the upper right lobe of her lung. Off to the sputum test we go to confirm she is clear of TB. Words can not describe the disappointment, grief, and myriad other emotions that accompanied this news a mere 30 days before her interview that we are looking at a minimum of 8-10 weeks delay. Emailing today to re-schedule the interview is going to be a grueling task. She has cried a river of tears already. We continue to maintain a positive attitude, but want to prepare ourselves for what this detour looks like. Consequently, we plan to schedule an appointment with a private physician to confirm the x-ray results, and if confirmed, hopefully find a test that provides results faster than 8-10 weeks. I know the panel physician will not use the results of an outside physician to modify her diagnosis and recommendation, and I know the second opinion is our personal decision. We just want to get an idea whether we should be setting ourselves up for a 2 month delay or an 8 month delay if she needs treatment. I'm hoping someone else can chime in with their experience in navigating this hurdle. Do we go ahead and try to schedule another interview in say, 11 weeks in the event the sputum test is negative? Are we required to wait until we get the results to re-schedule? Instructions for Bangkok embassy simply say that if we will not have the medical completed prior to the interview that we need to re-schedule the interview. Feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment.

I realize it is a difficult process being away from your spouse, but try not to concentrate on the published numbers too much because as stated they are unreliable. Focus on the positive that you’ll get an answer soon. I also would like to invite you to join the other August 2023 filers. Sometimes it’s beneficial to get feedback from people who are in the same place in the queue as you.

I know. Consequently I rearranged my travel plans so I am not leaving today for Thailand. I will stay in the states until I have the necessary documents. We’ve done this throughout the process and it has paid dividends. I’d rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it. Thanks again for your insight.

The problem is that I don’t have a certified copy of the marriage certificate from my previous marriage and I am in Thailand helping my wife prepare everything for her medical, interview, and moving out of our condo. I believe the courthouse has e-certified documents they can send me via email, but I don’t know if w-certified documents are acceptable. I asked another member of VJ who was just approved in Thailand if he had to produce this document.

Here is the image that was attached to the email and provides additional information. In particular, pay attention to the text in the lower right corner below bullet point 11. In my opinion this email is used to send instructions sent to applicants of multiple visa types and the language about uploading marriage and divorce certificates is a blanket statement. The attached image provides more clarity on who needs what document(s).

Here is the full email. Again following the link at the bottom embedded in the red text, you are taken to a page where you can open English instructions that only reference needing a certified divorce decree for CR1 visas. this appears to be an email sent for different types of immigrant visas. Dear Applicant,    Your immigrant visa interview appointment date has been scheduled on 20-MAY-2024, at 09:00 A.M.   Prior to your interview, you must scan and upload the following documents into the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) website by accessing the following link: https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx   Petitioner’s heading  -          All previous marriage and divorce certificate (if any).  Applicant’s heading -         All previous marriage and divorce certificate (if any).  -        Results of medical examination All civil document(s) which do not come in English, must be submitted with certified English translation from an accredited translation firm. All documents must be uploaded under appropriate heading on CEAC dropdown menu and must be uploaded in the same file. Your documents may be rejected if uploaded under incorrect heading or in separate files. You MUST bring all originals of required documents to your visa interview. All original documents, excluding your passport, will be returned to you after the interview. REMARKS: You must review The DOCUMENT CHECKLIST on this link: https://th.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/packets/ before coming for visa interview. Failure to bring the required documents and their originals, may result in cancellation of your visa interview and you will be asked to reschedule at a later time.

What was your specific scenario? My last post showed additional detail that the marriage certificate is not for spouse visa. Were you required to have the certified marriage certificate for a spouse visa? This would be the first I have ever seen or heard of this requirement for a spouse visa. Literally every other instruction I have seen for CR1 only references certified divorce decree.

Precisely my thought, but as you can imagine, at this stage we are getting anxious that we have everything buttoned up. After further research,(and seeing the image they attached to the email), I see the following language which clarifies the blanket statement about marriage AND divorce certificates. We are all lumped into the same category for this email. Petitioner's divorce certificate (s) of every prior marriage (s) for Spouse visa (IR1, CR1, and F2A) • Petitioner and biological parent's marriage and divorce certificate (s) of every prior marriage (s) for Stepchild visa (IR2, CR2, and F2) • Petitioner's birth crtificate for Parent visa (IR5) and Sibling visa (F4 Appreciate the quick reply and Jeopardy reference.

Received an email with instructions for my wife's interview next month in Bangkok. I am a bit confused/stressed because the email states: Prior to your interview, you must scan and upload the following documents into the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) website by accessing the following link: https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx   Petitioner’s heading  -          All previous marriage and divorce certificate (if any).  I've never been asked for the marriage certificate from my pervious marriage. In every other document I have read about this process, I am only required to provide a certified copy of my final divorce decree, but reading the above language literally it says "AND". Even clicking this link https://th.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/packets/ later in the email takes you another link to a document with specific instructions for the Thai embassy and it says: "If you are applying for an IR1, CR1, or F2A visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident and your petitioning spouse was previously married, then you must submit the following documents to prove the current marriage is valid: ▪ Evidence of the termination of EVERY prior marriage your petitioning spouse has had. This evidence must be an original or certified copy of one of the following documents: FINAL legal divorce decree, death certificate, or annulment papers." No mention of marriage certificate from prior marriage. SO...is my previous marriage certificate required or is this another example of confusing language?

Thank you for the quick and concise reply. You confirmed my conclusion based on reading all instructions. We are just so close to the end of this stage that I wanted to employ a belt and suspenders approach to my question by getting corroboration from this group. Again, thank you.

Needed a certified copy of my first marriage divorce decree for my wife to take to her interview in Thailand next month so I went to the courthouse, paid my $6 for 2 copies and when she asked if I wanted a receipt I said I will take it just as backup for immigration. She then said oh, if this is for immigration you need additional authentication if you are taking the document out of the country. First from my local Secretary of State and then by the US SOS. This is the first time I am hearing about any additional authentication. Did I make a major blunder or is this not relevant to our case? I see where adoption cases require apostille but not spouse visas. I see nothing referencing this requirement on the Thailand embassy instructions.

Congratulations!! FYI, once we submitted everything to NVC things moved fairly quickly here in Bangkok. Hope it goes fast for you guys also.

Received our interview letter today for May 20th in Bangkok. We are super excited to be one step closer to being finished with this part of our journey. Hoping everyone else will be getting positive news soon!

I agree that it seems strange that less than a handful of couples have posted as August 2023 filers. I find it very beneficial to get information from others in a situation similar to ours. Yes, the wait is stressful to say the least. We have been fortunate because our I-130 was approved January 25. We just submitted everything to NVC on March 11th and received DQ notification March 15. I think it is taking about 4 months on average to get an interview date in Bangkok. Hoping to get that letter soon. Keep the positive energy and your number will come up sooner than you think.

After we got engaged my wife applied for a B1 visa and was denied. She was honest and said she wanted to visit for 3 weeks to meet my family. Officer quickly denied the visa request and told her to file K1. Fast forward to being at NVC for our CR1 visa and The DS-260 asks "Have you ever been refused a US visa....?" to which she answered "yes" Per the instruction for the Bangkok Embassy, for the interview you must bring, among other things: Immigration Records (If any): Applicants who have been denied admission to the United States, ...must submit all relevant documentation." First, I don't believe being "denied admission" is the same as a "refused a visa" but I want to clarify. Second, if the two are synonymous, for relevant documentation, I don't recall her getting anything from that refusal that we could bring to the interview.

For the K3, we received a receipt notification, and I added it to our profile on the USCIS app on my phone so I could track progress. Unfortunately we never received any updates on the K3 until the I-130 petition was approved, and then the K3 status changed to "Case Closed Benefit Received By Other Means".