K-1 Visa Approval Pending

[Eric & Lizeth 0]

This afternoon, Lizeth attended her visa interview in La Paz, Bolivia. From what I've been able to decipher, her visa approval is pending upon the receipt of her national police certificate.

She paid her fee, they took her fingerprints, and took any documents that they needed from her. She did quite well with her interview even though Lizeth thought the woman was rather rude and more focused on my past relationships than anything else. She signed her DS-156K and the woman explained to her that everything was "in order" and that they still needed her national police certificate.

One of the things that bothered me about the Bolivian Consulate was they weren't exactly clear with their Packet 4 instructions. We pretty much had to gather everything and mail it via DHL to the Embassy at least 10 days prior to her interview. She went to her local police station and requested her certificate. They asked her what she needed it for and she explained it was for her visa and they told her she could pick up the following day.

Once the Consulate received our packet in the mail, I received an E-mail stating that they needed to see proof of the relationship, her police certificate, my divorce papers, and her passport. Confused, because we had submitted everything except her passport, I decided to call the Embassy and ask them for more info. They said that it was often "standard procedure" to ask for the same documents again at the time of the interview and that she could bring them with her on the day of her interview.

I asked about the police certificate and they put me on hold for a few minutes and came back to tell me that the certificate she submitted wasn't generated on a "national" level and that she would have to travel from Sucre to La Paz to get it. They also explained to me that it could take as much as 30 days before she can receive it. At the same time, he said that there was no reason for Lizeth to cancel or reschedule her interview and if she didn't have it by this afternoon, they would issue her visa once it was submitted to the Consulate.

Lizeth arrived in La Paz yesterday afternoon and decided to go to the police and inquire about it. She told them that her interview was this afternoon and someone said that if she paid him 500 Bolivianos, she could pick it up this morning. Well, she felt uncomfortable paying because she suspected the guy was simply going to "pocket" the money so she declined and they told her that she could pick it up in about 3 weeks. It wasn't until this afternoon, that she realized they never asked her for her name of identification so she will have to go back and try again.

At the interview, she was never handed a rejection slip or told that her visa was denied. They pretty much told her that they would make a decision when they got her certificate.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds to me like she's pretty much "approved" unless her police certificate shows some form of criminal record (which I know is clean). She remembers signing her DS-156K in front of the interviewer. I'm not sure how this system works, but do applicants sign those things if they're being denied?

Part of me wants to celebrate but Lizeth's not so sure. I tried to remind her of the phone conversation I had with the guy last week and she's perked up a little bit. I understand that the Consulate needs to see the certificate to be certain there's no criminal record that could disqualify her. But we're both thinking that if something with the paperwork was wrong or she failed to respond well to the questions at the interview, they would've given her a flat-out denial on the spot and told her not to worry about the police certificate.

Can anyone help me better analyze this?

[usmcwife 3]

A very similar thing happened to me. I needed a police certificate from Japan which take a few months to get and didn't have it in time for my interview. The consular officer still took all my documents and I signed those forms. I think they do that so that you don't have to go back in person when you send in the documents. I got the same kind of 'denial' paper that your fiance did. It's probably just a 221 g form which is a request for additional documentation. In my case, and i think in hers, she is pretty much approved pending the receipt of that police certificate. When she gets her certificate she just needs to send it in with whatever else they asked for (like passport) and she should be approved. Some consulates take longer than others in processing those additional documents but hopefully it won't be too long.

[Eric & Lizeth 0]

It's probably just a 221 g form which is a request for additional documentation.

I just got finished talking with her and the 221G is exactly what they handed her. It states that she needs to submit her police certificate and she has instruction on where to send it.

[usmcwife 3]

I just got finished talking with her and the 221G is exactly what they handed her. It states that she needs to submit her police certificate and she has instruction on where to send it.

Perfect... then it's hopefully just a short hiccup on your visa journey. Everything should go smoothly once you get the police certificate.

[Summer75 16]

Ohhhhh!!! I´m sorry it will take u longer than u expected... but... don´t worry. That is completely normal. Everybody must sign the DS-156K independiently if it is an approval/denial, so don´t worry about it.

IMO, she should pay those 500 Bs.It would worth (Sadly to say that is how my country works, if u have money to pay to expedite documents, u would get it in time, If u follow the regular procedure... it can take u a few weeks) I don´t understand why they need she to go to La Paz from Sucre at all, my mom got my Police Certificate when I was in Spain, and it took about 10 days. The difference is.... there is a "local" police certificate, with your record only in your city, and another "national" with your records of all the country. Of course that is the one she must get. Once she gets it, she has to mail it to the US embassy IV unit, (original and photocopy) and she should take a extra photocopy just in case.

One question..... Did they keep her passport???? IF they did, that is a GOOD sign, she will get her visa once they get what they require, if not, after she mails it to them, she should call them to ask what next but I´m pretty sure they will call her requiring her passport to issue her visa.

Please keep us updated!!

Don´t worry everything will be fine