URGENT: Electronic version of case received - How to schedule interview?

[Joe_&_Nadiya 1]

How I understand from your timeline, Embassy doesn't have your hard copy from NVC, just electronic version, right?! What are we talking about then? They will never let you to schedule an interview not seeing your case. When we passed interview, one couple passed it too before us, but their case were sent to Administrative processing because Consular has said it. Another words, even if you pass interview you don't know what color you will get.

Like Gary said, Ukraine is full of holidays. The Embassy doesn't work on Ukrainian and American holidays. What means, Independence Day in Ukraine ( August 24) and Labour Day in the USA ( September 7 ) . You have to know it too.

http://kiev.usembassy.gov/holidays_eng.html

http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/visa_iv_app_eng.html

[conny 0]

About Fedex, you can pick up your passport yourself at the main Fedex office. We passed an interview on Monday and morning Wednesday we had my passport with visa in a hand.

So, why did you chose to pick up at the Fedex office? Was it faster route for you? I mean can it save one day or not?

[conny 0]

How I understand from your timeline, Embassy doesn't have your hard copy from NVC, just electronic version, right?! What are we talking about then? They will never let you to schedule an interview not seeing your case.

There's really no way to say they got it until you hear they have it in the system, is there? Well, we're pretty sure they got it by the fact the package from NVC with our exact ship date was received in Kiev and signed for by one of the employees of the embassy (all that from DHL site which I have to reason to doubt). Besides, the very fact that the even get electronic version means they HAVE seen our case and surely are able to review it. If they want to that is. I understood the part about "they will not let me", but still looking for options to speed the process up.

[payxibka 10,045]

How I understand from your timeline, Embassy doesn't have your hard copy from NVC, just electronic version, right?! What are we talking about then? They will never let you to schedule an interview not seeing your case.

There's really no way to say they got it until you hear they have it in the system, is there? Well, we're pretty sure they got it by the fact the package from NVC with our exact ship date was received in Kiev and signed for by one of the employees of the embassy (all that from DHL site which I have to reason to doubt). Besides, the very fact that the even get electronic version means they HAVE seen our case and surely are able to review it. If they want to that is. I understood the part about "they will not let me", but still looking for options to speed the process up.

Electronic notification does not mean an electronic version of the actual file... It means they have your name, fiance(e)'s name and KEV #... NONE of the I-129F supporting documents or anything regarding the USCIS adjudication notes, et al... are in the "notification".

So to respond to your statement they absolutely cannot review the file as there is no file to review....

Edited August 12, 2009 by payxibka

[Joe_&_Nadiya 1]

About Fedex, you can pick up your passport yourself at the main Fedex office. We passed an interview on Monday and morning Wednesday we had my passport with visa in a hand.

So, why did you chose to pick up at the Fedex office? Was it faster route for you? I mean can it save one day or not?

For us, it was the best way to pick up a passport at Fedex office. We had some plans before the trip to the USA.

When you go to pay at Fedex for delivery of your passport you can tell them that you will pick up your passport yourself. You will be given a phone number where you can call to Fedex office and ask if they have your passport or not. Our interview was on Monday and morning Wednesday my passport was ready to pick up.

[conny 0]

About Fedex, you can pick up your passport yourself at the main Fedex office. We passed an interview on Monday and morning Wednesday we had my passport with visa in a hand.

So, why did you chose to pick up at the Fedex office? Was it faster route for you? I mean can it save one day or not?

For us, it was the best way to pick up a passport at Fedex office. We had some plans before the trip to the USA.

When you go to pay at Fedex for delivery of your passport you can tell them that you will pick up your passport yourself. You will be given a phone number where you can call to Fedex office and ask if they have your passport or not. Our interview was on Monday and morning Wednesday my passport was ready to pick up.

Thanks, but just to clarify - had you not done that and went default route - courier delivery - would you get the passport Wednesday afternoon then?

[Joe_&_Nadiya 1]

I understand that you want to speed up your process. You are not alone who was trying to do it. We have been tracking our case via DHL too, we knew when our case got to the Embassy. But I couldn't schedule my interview that day when our case was deliveried by DHL. I called to the call center next day but I was explained that Embassy didn't send any info with my KEV #, they get new info only on Fridays.

Then I called to the Consular section I was said that they didn't have my case yet and asked me to call back in 2 weeks. MAYBE they will have updated info in 2 weeks. I also sent my email to Consular section and asked them if they got our case or not. It was on Friday and on Monday evening, after 6 PM by Ukrainian time, I got Packet 3,4 by email and they wrote that they have my case and now it is reviewing. It's a process, it takes time too. Like I told you before, it took 2,5 weeks to schedule our interview. It's the shortest time from NVC till schedule your interview. We wanted to schedule for early May, but this month was closed yet. April was wide open for schedule. And May was full of holidays. We already had tickets, but didn't know the day of our interview. We do wanted to speed our process too. It's like you

When your fiancee has interview the Consular will have your hard copy, reviewing and asking question ( if he has some ). When he goes to Fedex to pick up his passport your fiancee will get the full packet back what you sent to USCIS. It will be closed envelope. When he entries to USA only officer can open it in the custom!!!

[Joe_&_Nadiya 1]

About Fedex, you can pick up your passport yourself at the main Fedex office. We passed an interview on Monday and morning Wednesday we had my passport with visa in a hand.

So, why did you chose to pick up at the Fedex office? Was it faster route for you? I mean can it save one day or not?

For us, it was the best way to pick up a passport at Fedex office. We had some plans before the trip to the USA.

When you go to pay at Fedex for delivery of your passport you can tell them that you will pick up your passport yourself. You will be given a phone number where you can call to Fedex office and ask if they have your passport or not. Our interview was on Monday and morning Wednesday my passport was ready to pick up.

Thanks, but just to clarify - had you not done that and went default route - courier delivery - would you get the passport Wednesday afternoon then?

why default route?? they ask you what is the best for you to pick up yourself or use courier delivery" because I lived in Kiev. I was not going to wait for indefinite time. I know how Fedex works in Ukraine. If you live in other city or town in Ukraine of course you will use courier delivery but it can take up to 10 days.

[conny 0]

why default route?? they ask you what is the best for you to pick up yourself or use courier delivery" because I lived in Kiev. I was not going to wait for indefinite time. I know how Fedex works in Ukraine. If you live in other city or town in Ukraine of course you will use courier delivery but it can take up to 10 days.

Ok, so you do think that courier delivery would somewhat increase the time if the person is already in Kiev? Because the also promise 2 days for courier delivery in Kiev. I think that is the tip we will use - some other people suggesting this option here weren't sure if picking it up yourself would be any faster because just like with mail in US - postmen get the mail even before offices open for public. Anyways, thanks for the tip.

[conny 0]

I understand that you want to speed up your process. You are not alone who was trying to do it. We have been tracking our case via DHL too, we knew when our case got to the Embassy. But I couldn't schedule my interview that day when our case was deliveried by DHL. I called to the call center next day but I was explained that Embassy didn't send any info with my KEV #, they get new info only on Fridays.

Then I called to the Consular section I was said that they didn't have my case yet and asked me to call back in 2 weeks. MAYBE they will have updated info in 2 weeks. I also sent my email to Consular section and asked them if they got our case or not. It was on Friday and on Monday evening, after 6 PM by Ukrainian time, I got Packet 3,4 by email and they wrote that they have my case and now it is reviewing. It's a process, it takes time too. Like I told you before, it took 2,5 weeks to schedule our interview. It's the shortest time from NVC till schedule your interview. We wanted to schedule for early May, but this month was closed yet. April was wide open for schedule. And May was full of holidays. We already had tickets, but didn't know the day of our interview. We do wanted to speed our process too. It's like you

I think your process looks a bit unusual judging by other experiences I've read about. Looks like there was a mistake made by consular section which made call center not to allow you to schedule the interview. Anyone else telling their experience here and the call center reps I spoke with all suggest that as soon as they even see your KEV# in the system they will schedule your interview. Yours seems to be special case but certainly possible nevertheless.

Also, the fact that they told you to wait 2 weeks only means that they're trying to decrease the volume of calls and suggest ridiculous lengths. You did get in in the system before 2 weeks, right? It took 2,5 weeks between which moments - the day you was told left NVC and the day of interview itself?

I didn't get this point though " I got Packet 3,4 by email and they wrote that they have my case and now it is reviewing."

What does that mean? They sent you a package for interview and advised not to call until they complete the review? Doesn't make much sense, but ok, that's not what usually happens - people get package 3,4 and call right away and often get interview scheduled during this call. Again, seems to be additional one-off delay.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

About Fedex, you can pick up your passport yourself at the main Fedex office. We passed an interview on Monday and morning Wednesday we had my passport with visa in a hand.

So, why did you chose to pick up at the Fedex office? Was it faster route for you? I mean can it save one day or not?

For us, it was the best way to pick up a passport at Fedex office. We had some plans before the trip to the USA.

When you go to pay at Fedex for delivery of your passport you can tell them that you will pick up your passport yourself. You will be given a phone number where you can call to Fedex office and ask if they have your passport or not. Our interview was on Monday and morning Wednesday my passport was ready to pick up.

Thanks, but just to clarify - had you not done that and went default route - courier delivery - would you get the passport Wednesday afternoon then?

Conny, Fedex in Ukraine uses an independent contractor, licensed by Fedex. They do not have overnight delivery, for example, as they do here. It is really difficult to say if you are saving a day compared to delivery in Kiev. Compared with other cities, YES, you will get it at least a day sooner, more likely 2-3 days sooner. In my experience in receiving ANYTHING in Ukraine or Russia I always prefer office pickup to "home delivery" which gives me the shivers just thinking about it. Our son's (and Alla's and Pasha's visas earlier) were picked up at the Fedex office in Donetsk. When we send things to our son in Moscow, we send them to be picked up at the office in Moscow. I would strongly advise you pick it up, regardless if it saves one day or not, but I will admit to being paranoid about it having missed way too many deliveries in the past.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I understand that you want to speed up your process. You are not alone who was trying to do it. We have been tracking our case via DHL too, we knew when our case got to the Embassy. But I couldn't schedule my interview that day when our case was deliveried by DHL. I called to the call center next day but I was explained that Embassy didn't send any info with my KEV #, they get new info only on Fridays.

Then I called to the Consular section I was said that they didn't have my case yet and asked me to call back in 2 weeks. MAYBE they will have updated info in 2 weeks. I also sent my email to Consular section and asked them if they got our case or not. It was on Friday and on Monday evening, after 6 PM by Ukrainian time, I got Packet 3,4 by email and they wrote that they have my case and now it is reviewing. It's a process, it takes time too. Like I told you before, it took 2,5 weeks to schedule our interview. It's the shortest time from NVC till schedule your interview. We wanted to schedule for early May, but this month was closed yet. April was wide open for schedule. And May was full of holidays. We already had tickets, but didn't know the day of our interview. We do wanted to speed our process too. It's like you

I think your process looks a bit unusual judging by other experiences I've read about. Looks like there was a mistake made by consular section which made call center not to allow you to schedule the interview. Anyone else telling their experience here and the call center reps I spoke with all suggest that as soon as they even see your KEV# in the system they will schedule your interview. Yours seems to be special case but certainly possible nevertheless.

Also, the fact that they told you to wait 2 weeks only means that they're trying to decrease the volume of calls and suggest ridiculous lengths. You did get in in the system before 2 weeks, right? It took 2,5 weeks between which moments - the day you was told left NVC and the day of interview itself?

I didn't get this point though " I got Packet 3,4 by email and they wrote that they have my case and now it is reviewing."

What does that mean? They sent you a package for interview and advised not to call until they complete the review? Doesn't make much sense, but ok, that's not what usually happens - people get package 3,4 and call right away and often get interview scheduled during this call. Again, seems to be additional one-off delay.

The call center will not have your KEV number UNTIL it is entered in the system at the consulate. The call center is in Warsaw, Poland. They have no way of knowing what is at the consulate until it is in their system which is done by the consulate.

Packet 3 is sent when the consulate gets the petition, it is your "cue" to get your interview documents ready and is the instructions for the interview. You have already downloaded that and are prepared, as are most people using the Kiev consulate. Packet 3 is not needed and in our case was never delivered (wonderful Ukrainian mail system, 50/50 at best) Packet 3 and 4 are not needed for the interview, but the documents they contain ARE needed and you already have them. What she is saying is that even after packet 3 was sent their case was not yet in the system. It is just an indicator of what the delay can be in getting the case in the system. I think the call center was just being courteous to them and trying to save them some money in saying to call in "two weeks" If the consulate is still updating on Friday afternoon like they were, and you called on a Monday and they didn't have your case, there is no point at all in even calling for at least one week.

I cannot say if Nadya's case was somehow unusual, if it is, it is not "too" unusual. As Payixbka said, they are not waiting for your file to arrive and jump on it to enter it in the system. It may sit un-opened for several days...who knows? THEY are in no hurry, believe me. Everything is done at the pace they determine. That there are fewer petitions is not necessarliy a good thing. People assigned to entering cases in the system are doing other things and I would imagine they reduce the amount of time spent on such things. You, or your fiance, will see, the consulate is a VERY busy place and it is not because of fiance visas of which there are only a few every day. I was shocked to see upwards of 400 people there when we went for our interview. Exactly SIX were fiance visas. ALL those visa applications for that day had to be processed and entered in the system. The State Department reports that while K visas are WAY down, the other types of visas are WAY up. The economical situation being far worse in other countries than here (Ukraine is in the top 5 WORST in the industrialized world) there are lots of people trying to get visas. Most will not but they still have to be processed. Fiance visas are not processed in a vacuum.

Also, all consulates have the option to perform "additional processing", though it seems fairly unusual for K visas in Kiev, it DOES happen. Until you hold the visa in your hand, you do not have it. They can tell you your visa is approved and THEN do additional processing. State department regulations allow them up to 30 days to do this AFTER they have everything they need. By the way, at the interview, they will tell you that you will receive your visa in "7-10 days" this is the standard statement. Usually it is available at Fedex in 2-3 business days. Weekends and holidays not counting.

Good luck

[Joe_&_Nadiya 1]

I understand that you want to speed up your process. You are not alone who was trying to do it. We have been tracking our case via DHL too, we knew when our case got to the Embassy. But I couldn't schedule my interview that day when our case was deliveried by DHL. I called to the call center next day but I was explained that Embassy didn't send any info with my KEV #, they get new info only on Fridays.

Then I called to the Consular section I was said that they didn't have my case yet and asked me to call back in 2 weeks. MAYBE they will have updated info in 2 weeks. I also sent my email to Consular section and asked them if they got our case or not. It was on Friday and on Monday evening, after 6 PM by Ukrainian time, I got Packet 3,4 by email and they wrote that they have my case and now it is reviewing. It's a process, it takes time too. Like I told you before, it took 2,5 weeks to schedule our interview. It's the shortest time from NVC till schedule your interview. We wanted to schedule for early May, but this month was closed yet. April was wide open for schedule. And May was full of holidays. We already had tickets, but didn't know the day of our interview. We do wanted to speed our process too. It's like you

I think your process looks a bit unusual judging by other experiences I've read about. Looks like there was a mistake made by consular section which made call center not to allow you to schedule the interview. Anyone else telling their experience here and the call center reps I spoke with all suggest that as soon as they even see your KEV# in the system they will schedule your interview. Yours seems to be special case but certainly possible nevertheless.

Also, the fact that they told you to wait 2 weeks only means that they're trying to decrease the volume of calls and suggest ridiculous lengths. You did get in in the system before 2 weeks, right? It took 2,5 weeks between which moments - the day you was told left NVC and the day of interview itself?

I didn't get this point though " I got Packet 3,4 by email and they wrote that they have my case and now it is reviewing."

What does that mean? They sent you a package for interview and advised not to call until they complete the review? Doesn't make much sense, but ok, that's not what usually happens - people get package 3,4 and call right away and often get interview scheduled during this call. Again, seems to be additional one-off delay.

I think you really don't understand.. I got my Packet 3,4 by email on MONDAY.. but the call center recieves updated info every FRIDAYS. See difference?!?!? see my timelines and you will understand what I am talking about. I got Packet 3,4 by email and by mail. By email, with attached forms, instractions it's the same what you can see on the site. And the letter where I could get the answer my question : " Do you get my hard copy from NVC or not?" And they wrote that they have the hard copy and now it's reviewing. As soon as it done they will send to the call center. I didn't ask them to send me Packet 3,4 by email or mail because I have already had documents for interview. I just wanted to know where my case was! That's all. And I got it with attached forms and instractions via email and mail.

Send them email, call them every day and you will get answer your question if you don't believe people here. Cases are different, but all goes through the same way. Someone faster, someone longer.

You asked the question " How to schedule an interview?" you got many answers, but still misunderstanding.. wait then.. and you will see how long it takes.

Good luck.

Edited August 12, 2009 by Joe & Nadya

[conny 0]

I think you really don't understand.. I got my Packet 3,4 by email on MONDAY.. but the call center recieves updated info every FRIDAYS. See difference?!?!? see my timelines and you will understand what I am talking about.

Nadya, I looked at your timeline and I do understand what you're talking about. Nevertheless, I still see that you don't realize that there is no connection between your receipt of the packet 3,4 and the "system update on Friday" - those are parallel activities although the latter leads to your ability to schedule an interview. Again, my point was that if call center told you they have your KEV# but can't schedule your interview, it means that system update actually happened by the time you called (otherwise they wouldn't see KEV#) but the status of your case was not allowing them to schedule an interview. This is extremely unusual - I've never read about this in any of the sources, Kiev consulate or not.

The only thing I misunderstood is your phrase "I got Packet 3,4 by email and they wrote that they have my case and now it is reviewing." which kind of implied that they're telling you to wait in the same email they sent a package in, which would be weird.

BTW, how do YOU know that the system in Kiev call center gets updated only on Friday? I'm yet to hear that from anyone else than Gary and (now) you... Gary said it was the case a year ago but not necessarily now.

[conny 0]

Also, all consulates have the option to perform "additional processing", though it seems fairly unusual for K visas in Kiev, it DOES happen. Until you hold the visa in your hand, you do not have it. They can tell you your visa is approved and THEN do additional processing. State department regulations allow them up to 30 days to do this AFTER they have everything they need. By the way, at the interview, they will tell you that you will receive your visa in "7-10 days" this is the standard statement. Usually it is available at Fedex in 2-3 business days. Weekends and holidays not counting.

Good luck

Thanks for all your replies, guys. It helps. Gary, do you know which user here had additional processing after the interview and why?

Edited August 13, 2009 by conny