thonati

I had my fingerprints submitted at the local US Post Office. It is $50 to USPS and $18 to FBI. I received my results in 1 hour via email. I have had several FBI background checks before so I am not sure if that helps that they have my fingerprints on file for 30 years.

I spoke to an Immigration Attorney who worked previously for an Overseas Embassy. The passport stamps are the primary verification now that US Passports are electronic. It is not the actual stamp as the US State Department has an electronic record and know if you were in the fiance home country. There are usually problems if the USC does NOT travel to the fiance home country; although, it can be proven the meeting was held in a separate country. It is just another step to prove.

The process of open interview slots seems to be haphazard. They open a small number of slots randomly. We need Elon and Marco to get this figured out.

This is 100% correct. What a disaster of a process. I hope Elon & Marco figures this out and changes things. My first attempt was easy. However, I had a typo on fiance DS160 and it was like pulling teeth to make the correction. I had to hire an Agent to do this for me after 3 days of trying.

Let me add something here. Go into the evaluation with a positive attitude. Maybe, just maybe, you will get some good advice from the session. As maryaaaa said, focus on positive energy and not dark matter.

How long did it take to get the Passport/Visa returned after the interview?

Perhaps. However the USEM Call Center told me (on 2 different calls spaced 2 hours apart) that they can no longer update the DS160. The interview needs to be cancelled and another appointment is needed with the new DS160 and new fee. The agent told us she had a client get her ds160 changed at the bio just last week. This was AFTER the 25MAR change to the policy. I am not sure if the Bio appointment will be able to change ds160 in the future or not. Either way, my situation is as good as I could have expected.

EVEN FURTHER UPDATE: I was in Cebu for vacation with my fiance the past 2 weeks. But Maryaaaa suggested I call the USEM and I called them TWICE. Each time they told us to cancel the original appointment, re-schedule with the new DS160, and pay the visa fee again. They also told me that USEM issued an internal memo not to make updates over the phone. Evidently, the phone center operators were able to make this simple change over the phone. However, as of 25MAR25, the phone operators are no longer allowed to make the change over the phone. The website was difficult to navigate and it was not clear how to perform this action. Also, there seems to be a certain number of times you can access the website over a specific time-frame because I timed out. The system would not let me log in anymore. The problem was there was no explanation, for example: "you reached your maximum of 5 logins over a 6 hour period. Please wait 6 hours to log in again". I will send a message to Elon and the DOGE team to see if they can fix this. So my fiance found an "agent" on Facebook (per Maryaaaa's suggestion) to help us. She was able to "reclaim" the $265 visa fee and re-schedule the BIO & IV with the updated DS160. She only charged $100. We were able to get the same day 13MAY IV as we originally had. We got lucky and the Bio is the day before so I saved $200 in travel expenses for my fiance as well. So I paid $100 to the Agent and saved the $265 and kept the same IV date. Overall a HUGE success in my mind as the frustration was very high due to the incorrect information from the USEM. I was about to stroke out. I have no idea how this Agent was able to "re-claim" the fee (good for 1 year she said). Maybe others on this forum know how to do this but I certainly did not. It was no where to be found on the USTRAVELDOCS website either. Again, the frustration level was very high. I was so frustrated with the entire process. I filled out the DS160 so I made the original error. However, the DS160 is not very clear. It does not ask for a "Middle" Name. It only asks for a "given name" and "family Name". So I thought my fiance's middle name (Mother's maiden name) was a family name. Makes sense to me but oh no. Nothing is simple with the US Government. Again, DOGE should fix this. The "agent" also told us that she had many clients that had the EXACT SAME ISSUE (I guess Philippine Middle names are a problem for USC). In each case the Visa Applicant took both DS-160s to the BIO appointment and they made the correction at the bio appointment. The "agent" asked me "Why did you cancel the original appointment? You should not have done that". Evidently the BIO customer service IS ABLE to make changes in person. All you need is the old and new DS160. I explained to my fiance and the "agent"; that I only did this because the USEM on 2 different occasions "gave me explicit instructions to cancel the re-apply". That satisfied the "agent" but my fiance was still TAMPO. I wonder if the phone agents are actual USEM employees or a sub contractor. I suspect sub contractor at some phone center in Cebu. You can imagine how mad my fiance was as me for cancelling the first IV appointment.. This is my first experience with TAMPO. FTR: it took several hours for her to speak to me after that so I just took a nap. Overall, success BIGLY. Maryaaaa: Thank you so much for your help.

UPDATE: The website was difficult to navigate. So my fiance found an "agent" to help us. She was able to "reclaim" the $265 visa fee and re-schedule the BIO & IV with the updated DS160. She only charged $100. We were able to get the same day 13MAY as we originally had.

Where is this from? Can you provide me the website please?

I have not seen any the past 2 days. I have been checking every hour.

Thanks Mary. You are a star poster. Salamat.

Further Update: We called back in and found new information. As of 25MAR25, the USEM does not allow any updates to the DS160 once it is submitted. We have to cancel the appointment and reapply. We were told we need to wait 24 hours before making the new appointment. Sucks to be us but at least we have firm direction.

We need to re-schedule our Bio and IV. Are there still "no slots available" showing on the website?

I called the US Embassy Help desk. They told us that they cannot update the original DS160 and we have to cancel and re-schedule with the updated DS160. Edward: Is this what happened to you?

UPDATE: It has been 7 days and still no reply. We logged into her DS 160 page and there are no updates. So I sent a second request asking if she should bring the new DS160 to the bio and interview or will the original DS160 be updated. We shall see what they say.

Yes that is what I am thinking as well. It is just frustrating for the Help Desk to show "Case Resolved" when the case only was transferred.

I did check that. It is listed as resolved. Here is what it says: Dear Applicant, Thank you for writing to the U.S. Visa Service Desk. We understand that We wish to advise that your concern raised in the earlier case has already been escalated and is still in the process of being reviewed. We will respond to your request via the email address registered in your profile as soon as we receive a response. Alternatively, you may contact us again at a later date. When you contact us regarding your visa application, please send us your email via the email address of your profile to ensure that there is a record of your requests/communications with us registered in your correct profile. We hope this information is helpful. Have a pleasant day! Sincerely, U.S. Visa Service Desk

The USEM responded within 18 hours. They said the case was "resolved" without any specifics on what action exactly was done. The message says the case was escalated. So I assume there is a two step process. Once the first step transfers the case, it is considered closed even though the error is not corrected. The case was "completed" by the first line responders. When I log into her DS160 profile under the original Bar code/case number; there are no changes. It still shows the error. When I log into her Visa Appointment confirmation, it still lists the original Bar code/case number. This is frustrating. Should the existing bar code/case number be updated to reflect the name change or should the new bar code/case number be shown in the Visa Appointment confirmation?

UPDATE: I created a new DS-160 and updated the name. We made the same mistake for her parents surname as well. So that was corrected. We then went to UStraveldocs and logged into her visa account. We then submitted a feedback > Request to update the existing DS160 with the newly created DS-160. Lets hope they get this corrected as this has been very stressful on both of us.

Hi Edward. You have been a great help to us over the past year with all your advice. We thank you. How long does it take for the USEM to correct the DS160 name change? Our Bio appointment is 15APR and IV is 13MAY. Will it get corrected in time? Will we need to re print the DS160 confirmation page? Will the bar code change? I am in Leyte now and the WiFi is horrible so I doubt I can change it for another day or two but well before the 30 day window.

Ok. So when we create the new DS160 we do NOT submit it? After we fill out a new DS160, we then send feedback to the USEM and tell them what?

Thanks for the advice. But how exactly will creating a new application not trigger a new fee and scheduling? I am new to this so forgive my ignorance.

I went into the system and I see it will force me to re apply if within 30 days. It looks like we will have to reschedule the appointment and pay the fee again. The money is not a problem but the reschedule and perhaps medical will be a problem. On the confirmation page it says: Ortiz Rodriguez, Mary. Ortiz is her mother's name and Rodriguez is her last name, Mary is her first name. Ortiz is shown on her passport as her middle name. Will she have to re-do the medical again because there will be a new DS-160?

Almost 3 weeks ago