STUCK @ NVC for AP

[JAPrincess 27]

I called 2-3 times a day until we got out of AP... usually once after lunch, again just before going home from work, and one more time around 11:30 or so.

Hi Stephen,

When you got the news of your approval was it on the 2nd or 3rd call that day?

I am tempted to call again on my ride home...

I could sure use some good news today!

[dhc 0]

New day, same result...still in AP. I shouldn't have even called.

I feel exactly the same way..day is almost over at NVC, I want to call again but i'll probably just get pissed off.

NVC actually works two shifts, and they take calls 'til midnight Eastern time.

I called 2-3 times a day until we got out of AP... usually once after lunch, again just before going home from work, and one more time around 11:30 or so.

I'm going to try this next week, I have nothing to lose.

Maybe they'll get tired of me calling, and just forward the case to USEM.

The supervisor I spoke to this week was nice and calm, she did say they keep logs of the calls because she noticed I've been calling almost 2x a day 5 days a week.

[crazymazy 0]

I meant to call back last night but after mexican food and pina cola sort of fell asleep on couch when got in ...lol So will have to wait till monday. I check the DHL tracking and looks slim for friday and was nothing to romanian - so maybe will be more later as dhl is updated ? Even if there is I would not know if was or was not mine.

So will still wait on Monday. We plan on assembling our package 3 forms this sunday and double checking and putting in order so SO can mail to embassy on monday w tracking and signature proof of delivery - so they are there by the time our application arrives. He will also email the embassy that they are on the way so they will have his email so once is there and they match the forms w the application - hopefully they will email the medical forms and we will save some time this way.

He lives 8 hour bus trip from where the dr's and the embassy are at - so we are hoping can set appt and interview in same week - and only one 8 hour final trip

Can you tell I am a planner ?? lol It drives him nuts as he is pretty laid back and just sort of goes with the flow of things.

I can not ever be this way and maybe this is what has really driven me crazy with the NVC .. I can not plan anything out .. I had black hole in my plan...now that I have been given a loose 5 day time frame I have something to work with ...

I can pull out my excel spreadsheet and start my world plans again .. we are back in business Houston. I am staying busy getting this place ready for his coming here. Is amazing when you stop to think of all what needs to be done on this side ( maybe is just me ) but each time I stayed at his apt sort of noticed he is like neat freak ...lol... which I am also .. but have been lazy here lately with the deep down cleaning and want things to be perfect for his 1st time here Plus makes the weeks go by really fast.

[boghy 0]

First of all, hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum, but i did a lot of readings before i post here.

I meant to call back last night but after mexican food and pina cola sort of fell asleep on couch when got in ...lol So will have to wait till monday. I check the DHL tracking and looks slim for friday and was nothing to romanian - so maybe will be more later as dhl is updated ? Even if there is I would not know if was or was not mine.

I don't know if i got this right but, is there a way to see when NVC sends out packages through DHL to an embassy? I may be wrong, but from what i was reading here people seams to have the way of seeing this somehow.

If there is a way, can someone give me the info on how to see it?

[mari joe 1]

First of all, hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum, but i did a lot of readings before i post here.

I meant to call back last night but after mexican food and pina cola sort of fell asleep on couch when got in ...lol So will have to wait till monday. I check the DHL tracking and looks slim for friday and was nothing to romanian - so maybe will be more later as dhl is updated ? Even if there is I would not know if was or was not mine.

I don't know if i got this right but, is there a way to see when NVC sends out packages through DHL to an embassy? I may be wrong, but from what i was reading here people seams to have the way of seeing this somehow.

If there is a way, can someone give me the info on how to see it?

check this thread i think it explains it best http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=219784

[cdneh 3,112]

First of all, hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum, but i did a lot of readings before i post here.

I meant to call back last night but after mexican food and pina cola sort of fell asleep on couch when got in ...lol So will have to wait till monday. I check the DHL tracking and looks slim for friday and was nothing to romanian - so maybe will be more later as dhl is updated ? Even if there is I would not know if was or was not mine.

I don't know if i got this right but, is there a way to see when NVC sends out packages through DHL to an embassy? I may be wrong, but from what i was reading here people seams to have the way of seeing this somehow.

If there is a way, can someone give me the info on how to see it?

Just to say welcome to the thread, I hope you will be on the way soon

[crazymazy 0]

First of all, hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum, but i did a lot of readings before i post here.

I meant to call back last night but after mexican food and pina cola sort of fell asleep on couch when got in ...lol So will have to wait till monday. I check the DHL tracking and looks slim for friday and was nothing to romanian - so maybe will be more later as dhl is updated ? Even if there is I would not know if was or was not mine.

I don't know if i got this right but, is there a way to see when NVC sends out packages through DHL to an embassy? I may be wrong, but from what i was reading here people seams to have the way of seeing this somehow.

If there is a way, can someone give me the info on how to see it?

hi ! Hey ( I have always wanted to use this emote ..lol ) we have similar timelines

They finally told me ( and Paris Heart is saying this means we are finally out of AP ) that our application will be sent to the US Embassy within the next 5 days - maybe your will also !

Good luck and welcome to the thread !

[dhc 0]

First of all, hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum, but i did a lot of readings before i post here.

I meant to call back last night but after mexican food and pina cola sort of fell asleep on couch when got in ...lol So will have to wait till monday. I check the DHL tracking and looks slim for friday and was nothing to romanian - so maybe will be more later as dhl is updated ? Even if there is I would not know if was or was not mine.

I don't know if i got this right but, is there a way to see when NVC sends out packages through DHL to an embassy? I may be wrong, but from what i was reading here people seams to have the way of seeing this somehow.

If there is a way, can someone give me the info on how to see it?

hi ! Hey ( I have always wanted to use this emote ..lol ) we have similar timelines

They finally told me ( and Paris Heart is saying this means we are finally out of AP ) that our application will be sent to the US Embassy within the next 5 days - maybe your will also !

Good luck and welcome to the thread !

Congrats! They told you today?? Can we call on Saturday's too?

Edited September 27, 2009 by dhc

[crazymazy 0]

No ..lol

I am just using what they told me last week

[ladonna 0]

ok, I'm confused ... Weeks ago we received a Form I-797, saying our petition is approved and being forwarded to the consulate. But some time after we received that notice, the consulate still doesn't have our petition, so I called to NVC and they said our petition is in AP status at NVC.

Here is my question: Have all of you (or any of you) also received the Form I-797? It makes no sense.

[crazymazy 0]

I received it about 3 weeks ago - apparently is just a form letter they send out - and does not mean anything ie is not worth the paper it is printed on.

[ladonna 0]

I encourage all those who have received the Form I-797 and/or a letter from NVC stating definitively that your petition has been approved and forwarded to the consulate, you should call NVC and complain frequently and vociferously about this situation. Not only is it misleading and disconcerting, it starts the expiration time for your visa processing, giving it a deadline which you may have to extend, adding even more to a burdensome and cumbersome process. This is inhuman treatment. What other entity might, with impunity, provide a person with false and misleading information? This is not a soviet state or a fascist regime. We are entitled to respect and accountability from those who represent us.

PLEASE READ THIS AND COMPLAIN TO NVC, DON'T BE AFRAID TO SPEAK UP, BECAUSE AS LONG AS WE ALLOW THEM TO PERPETUATE SUCH VILE PRACTICES, THEY WILL NOT CHANGE IT. SURELY IF ENOUGH PEOPLE COMPLAIN STRONGLY ENOUGH, THEY WILL STOP GIVING OUT SUCH MISLEADING INFORMATION.

And those of you who actually contact your congressional representatives, tell them about this situation. This should not be allowed to continue. At least half of us here are American citizens, and the other half are trying to become American citizens.

[boghy 0]

I encourage all those who have received the Form I-797 and/or a letter from NVC stating definitively that your petition has been approved and forwarded to the consulate, you should call NVC and complain frequently and vociferously about this situation. Not only is it misleading and disconcerting, it starts the expiration time for your visa processing, giving it a deadline which you may have to extend, adding even more to a burdensome and cumbersome process. This is inhuman treatment. What other entity might, with impunity, provide a person with false and misleading information? This is not a soviet state or a fascist regime. We are entitled to respect and accountability from those who represent us.

PLEASE READ THIS AND COMPLAIN TO NVC, DON'T BE AFRAID TO SPEAK UP, BECAUSE AS LONG AS WE ALLOW THEM TO PERPETUATE SUCH VILE PRACTICES, THEY WILL NOT CHANGE IT. SURELY IF ENOUGH PEOPLE COMPLAIN STRONGLY ENOUGH, THEY WILL STOP GIVING OUT SUCH MISLEADING INFORMATION.

And those of you who actually contact your congressional representatives, tell them about this situation. This should not be allowed to continue. At least half of us here are American citizens, and the other half are trying to become American citizens.

I agree, BUT... what's the percentage of cases in AP? 3-6%? If that, lets say that 50% of those people will open an official complain... still overall would be around 2-3% from all the cases processed through NVC. That usually wont matter to them. I'm open to any correction; if I'm wrong.

[ScottThuy 140]

I encourage all those who have received the Form I-797 and/or a letter from NVC stating definitively that your petition has been approved and forwarded to the consulate, you should call NVC and complain frequently and vociferously about this situation. Not only is it misleading and disconcerting, it starts the expiration time for your visa processing, giving it a deadline which you may have to extend, adding even more to a burdensome and cumbersome process. This is inhuman treatment. What other entity might, with impunity, provide a person with false and misleading information? This is not a soviet state or a fascist regime. We are entitled to respect and accountability from those who represent us.

PLEASE READ THIS AND COMPLAIN TO NVC, DON'T BE AFRAID TO SPEAK UP, BECAUSE AS LONG AS WE ALLOW THEM TO PERPETUATE SUCH VILE PRACTICES, THEY WILL NOT CHANGE IT. SURELY IF ENOUGH PEOPLE COMPLAIN STRONGLY ENOUGH, THEY WILL STOP GIVING OUT SUCH MISLEADING INFORMATION.

And those of you who actually contact your congressional representatives, tell them about this situation. This should not be allowed to continue. At least half of us here are American citizens, and the other half are trying to become American citizens.

Since NVC and the consulates are both a part of the DOS, then there is not much to argue.. USCIS approved it and sent it to the consulate.. rather than USCIS sending to all of the consulates, they send to NVC and NVC makes sure everything the DOS needs at the consulate end is ready.... if they want to look at it a while, they say AP.. in most cases they just forward... they have every right to make sure that there were no mistakes made at the USCIS end of the process...

The letter you got was approving your petition and thats it... USCIS says ok... but they dont issue the visa so that paper pretty much just says.. be happy we at USCIS passed you on to the next phase...--> DOS...

You actually want to complain to the office that in a nutshell 'decides' if your SO can come to the US or not... EVER...

Look at how many people here are in AP.. it's the luck of the draw... we got picked... don't be surprised if it lasts close to a couple of months...

[Stephen + Elisha 92]

I agree that USCIS should change the wording of the Approval Notice to accurately reflect the fact that approved petitions are sent to NVC, not directly forwarded to the consulate. I also agree that NVC shouldn't send out a form letter stating that your case will be forwarded to the consulate within a week if they are not in fact going to do that.

The issue about the validity period of the approved I-129F really isn't an issue. Consulates extend this as a matter of course when the interview is scheduled after the validity "expires." Of course you may have to submit a renewed letter of intent for your fiance to take to the interview, but consulates often require that anyway.

I further agree that there should be more disclosure that NVC selects a certain percentage of petitions for extended "additional processing." It would also be nice if they disclosed the criteria for selecting petitions for AP or whether it's completely random, and what said AP entails. But that's not likely to happen. As little transparency and accountability as there is at USCIS, the place is a glass palace compared to the impenetrable fortress that is NVC.

Bottom line: they're gonna do what they're gonna do. I faxed a letter to the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs—who has ultimate responsibility for NVC and visa issuance at the consulates—pleading our case. We got out of AP the next business day. But I've never heard back from DoS, and we'll probably never know whether my letter had any effect or if they just happened to finish whatever it was they were doing.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Stephen + Elisha