STUCK @ NVC for AP

[caochi 0]

A few updates regarding the "Stuck at NVC" statistics website:

1. Given the rush of new AP releases, perhaps we're rapidly getting to the point where we can shut this down and don't need it any longer! I wish that's true, however something tells me that they're still queuing up new AP cases just as they're freeing old ones.

2. I gave up once and for all on the old hosting service I was using, nxserve.net. They had one advantage: they were FREE. I learned something from this experience: you get what you pay for! Free web hosting is like free beer ... a myth So, I shelled out the grand sum of $14 for a 2 month hosting package on godaddy.com. And another $1.19 for our very own domain apnvc.info. This should be much more stable and reliable. The new URL is now simply: http://apnvc.info . This is also updated in my VJ signature, so it can be accessed from my postings directly.

3. I've moved over the script from the old site to the new one. I had to make some adjustments (most notably godaddy doesn't have all the CPAN packages I relied upon, in particular the Error package which gives 'try' exception handling (use Error qw(:try)). It seems to be working ok without that, but it may blow up on certain date conversions that the exceptions were previously trapping. Like, people who enter illegal dates such as Nov 31. Before the exception handling would safely process these. Now I think the script will just abort and ####### out if it encounters a date like that. So I'll monitor that.. if it starts happening, I'll need to manually do my own exception handling. (Ok, that's technobabble I know, but I got on a roll there...)

4. I can't get the cron job to fire . I spent a fair bit of time on it, but I'm giving up for tonight. I'll contact their help desk tomorrow and ask them why it's not working. The cron job is intended to run the script every hour, to refresh the files from the VJ database. Since it's not working that means the website will just sit there stale and static. It is currently showing server time of Wed Apr 15 22:24:48 2009 PDT, which was when I last ran the script manually. It will stay that way unless the script is run manually again, or I get the cron job to start firing hourly. (By the way, if anybody wants to run the script manually to force a data refresh, just PM me and I can give you simple instructions to force a run of the script. It's really easy to do.)

5. I decided to rename it. Before I referred to it as "aka Ron's list". I realize that this was quite selfish. To be more altruistic I'd like to name it in honor of my patient and long-suffering honey - Thantita. Ergo - Thantita's List is born

6. What else? The 'By country' stats is still a work in progress. I hope to get around to that on the weekend, now that it's finally hosted in a proper home. Also 'by month' stats, which I think will be useful to see if we start to get a reduction in the length of time cases are spending in AP @ NVC, down from the 50 range to hopefully more like the 30-40 range, or even lower.

7. As always - any comments or suggestions are welcome. Either about additional information you'd like to see, or not want to see (e.g. I'm thinking of dumping the 'Leftovers' page, and I haven't decided if I like the Comments being displayed or not), or just cosmetic things like the color scheme, font size, etc.

Ron,

I am appreciated your works. It will be very useful for people like us coming here to be cured by NVC hell.

[toddandhien 2]

blah...signing in to the thread ^^;; just called during lunch and I got the AP response BS

Sorry to hear that you are stuck...but welcome to the family.

[ruby_mtl 0]

Just on a side note who on here (non-USC) feels that, when we call NVC and they see that we are the beneficiaries, they treat us like they are doing us a favour by even speaking to us?? LOL The few times I called they made me feel like all I wanted was to enter the US and "abuse the system"....so frustrating. I just hate to be treated like nothing cause I'm trying to immigrate in thier country. Especially because I would've loved to stay in Canada and for us the raise our children here, but circumstances decided otherwise. Anyway, just wanted to vent out ONE of MANY frustrations with NVC!

Ruby, hang onto that 'u'!!! Or try to anyway . Like you, I grew up with favour, colour, neighbour, and an alphabet that ends in 'zed'. Now it's favor, color, neighbor and 'zee'.

Also, you know what still feels a bit weird? You buy an item that costs less than $1, and hand over a $5 bill. Your change comes back in 4 single $1 bills and change, rather than two toonies and change. Counting out all those pieces of paper (four singles) still feels foreign to me.

As to staying in Canada and raising a family there, I hear you on that.

Every time I go back (I was in Toronto just a few weeks ago at a family wedding), I shake my head and wonder why on earth I'm not there and bringing my fiancee to Canada instead of getting embroiled with USCIS. You could do much, much worse in this life than living in Canada.

LOLOLOL I will try me best to hang on to the "our", but it always comes up as a speling mistake on Word documents!!! LOLOL About the moeny, i can totaly related...hate the fact to have to look at the number to know what it is! LOLOLOL ColOUR is so much better!!! LOLOL

All my best to you!

[toddandhien 2]

We FINALLY received Packet 4 yesterday and now have an interview date...May 27!!

[scandal 951]

We FINALLY received Packet 4 yesterday and now have an interview date...May 27!!

Wow, that's great news!!! :dance: Good luck, hope it all goes smoothly

We're still waiting to hear about our interview date. Nothing yet.

[scandal 951]

This has been our most recent correspondence with the BKK consulate.

Now that the file is in Bangkok, Thanti has been doing all the corresponding with the Embassy. It's kinda weird... instead of her asking me Is there any news? Did you call NVC again? Did we get a CRIS email? ... Now I'm asking her if she's pestered them the embassy with yet another email

We got this email on April 8:

Subject: RE: IV Inquiry Case BNK2009xxxxxx

Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 13:36:45 +0700

From: visasbkk2@state.gov

Dear Khun xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

The IV Unit of the U.S. Embassy has just received your returned Packet 3 materials through the mail on April 8, 2009.

Please allow some 4-6 weeks for us to schedule an interview appointment for you. Once your interview appointment is set, we will notify you by mail to this address:

Regards,

Correspondence Unit

and this one today:

Subject: RE: IV Inquiry Case BNK2009xxxxxx

Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:50:06 +0700

From: visasbkk2@state.gov

Dear Ms. xxxxxxxxx

Your interview appointment date has not yet been scheduled at the moment. We will notify you by mail after the interview appointment date is set.

Regards,

Correspondence Unit

How long does it take to find an empty slot on the calendar and schedule the interview date?? I just can't understand this bureaucracy. Every hurdle you cross (NOA2, NVC, you think... ok... we're on our way now. We got out of NVC on March 13, and the end is still not in sight.

Also, we got a report from a member on the Sawasdee3 thread (Thai hangout on VJ). Joe&Noi had their interview today for CR1 and were APPROVED! (Yay Joe&Noi!!!). But in their very detailed report of their interview, they said there were 5 K-1 interviews today in Bangkok, and 4 of them were DENIED. GULP. BKK is getting a reputation as a very difficult consulate.

Just venting a little. I get frustrated by this whole thing sometimes. I'm sure you guys can relate.

[Talyss 0]

We FINALLY received Packet 4 yesterday and now have an interview date...May 27!!

Congrats on your interview date.

*fingers crossed* that you get a date soon Ron

[toddandhien 2]

This has been our most recent correspondence with the BKK consulate.

...

How long does it take to find an empty slot on the calendar and schedule the interview date?? I just can't understand this bureaucracy. Every hurdle you cross (NOA2, NVC, you think... ok... we're on our way now. We got out of NVC on March 13, and the end is still not in sight.

Also, we got a report from a member on the Sawasdee3 thread (Thai hangout on VJ). Joe&Noi had their interview today for CR1 and were APPROVED! (Yay Joe&Noi!!!). But in their very detailed report of their interview, they said there were 5 K-1 interviews today in Bangkok, and 4 of them were DENIED. GULP. BKK is getting a reputation as a very difficult consulate.

Just venting a little. I get frustrated by this whole thing sometimes. I'm sure you guys can relate.

Ron, thanks. You guys are next. Hang in there for just a little.

In reading your summary of e-mails from the embassy, they read almost EXACTLY the way that mine read from the HCM consulate. I confirmed receipt of Hien's Packet 3 info and got, "we will schedule her as soon as possible...". Right. Then I pinged them 2 weeks later and got, "we have not yet scheduled the beneficiary for an interview date but when we do we will notify her by mail. Check back in a month if you have not seen anything." OK, that made me feel real good. 1 WEEK later (today her time) she got Packet 4 in the mail.

It seems that it takes them about a month to get an interview date and mail it (at least in VN). But i think it is not ALL bureaucracy...I think they are doing background checks on the beneficiary (and family) again (I forget where I read that).

She will be home with you in the month of June for sure!!

[spikeyflip 0]

We FINALLY received Packet 4 yesterday and now have an interview date...May 27!!

Congrats !!

[scandal 951]

Ron, thanks. You guys are next. Hang in there for just a little.

In reading your summary of e-mails from the embassy, they read almost EXACTLY the way that mine read from the HCM consulate. I confirmed receipt of Hien's Packet 3 info and got, "we will schedule her as soon as possible...". Right. Then I pinged them 2 weeks later and got, "we have not yet scheduled the beneficiary for an interview date but when we do we will notify her by mail. Check back in a month if you have not seen anything." OK, that made me feel real good. 1 WEEK later (today her time) she got Packet 4 in the mail.

It seems that it takes them about a month to get an interview date and mail it (at least in VN). But i think it is not ALL bureaucracy...I think they are doing background checks on the beneficiary (and family) again (I forget where I read that).

She will be home with you in the month of June for sure!!

Thanks Todd. Thantita is active on a Thai-language message board similar to VJ (usvisa4thai.com) for Thai beneficiaries that swap their immigration stories and advice . The scoop on that site is that they never even open the Packet3 materials until the Interview itself. Meaning they can't be doing background checks and stuff during the interval. I'm not sure if that's true. It seems weird to me, because why would they insist on a whole long checklist of things to include in P-3 if they don't even open it?

Anyway, the process is different in each country. So whatever happens in Thailand will be quite different for you in Vietnam.

Thanks for your support- I hope you're right about making a June POE happen!

What about you guys? Now that you have an interview date scheduled, do you have thoughts about POE? Are there summertime wedding bells in your future?

[LUISH 0]

CDNET CONGRATULATIONS ON Y OUR WEDDING , also I'm very happy that there have been quite a few releases form NVC lately, and yes it looks like the average time is gone down at least 10 days, which is verygood for the couples just getting in there.

Also i just make a phone call to the State Dept. and they provided me with an interview date for May 21st, so thanks everyone for the support that I received here, to those just getting stuck, be very patient there is a light at the end of the Tunnel, NVC is not forever.

BLESSINGS

LUISH

[Y's_habibitk 2]

Congrats on the interview dates assigned!! Good Luck and I hope they are painless and swift.

come on BKK, give Ron's love an interview date and dont even THINK about being hard on them!

Nah, dont worry Ron, Im sure you guys will be just fine.

[pgp 0]

We're out of the NVC! Hopefully the interview will be happening soon.

Good luck to everyone still waiting!

[LUISH 0]

We're out of the NVC! Hopefully the interview will be happening soon.

Good luck to everyone still waiting!

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LUISH

[Talyss 0]

We're out of the NVC! Hopefully the interview will be happening soon.

Good luck to everyone still waiting!

Yeah! congratulations