Waiting for passport after approval

[soko 0]

Hello. I'm wondering if people who have been through the K-1 process in Seoul can tell me how long it took them to get their passports back after the interview. My fiancee was told she had been approved during the interview and that the visa would be here in five days, but it's now three weeks later and we still don't have it. Also, do they tell you at the time of the interview that you'll be in AP? We haven't been told a thing on this end, so we didn't think she would go through AP. But with the delay, I'm wondering if that's exactly what happened.

Thanks,

Chris

[Daniellesm07 0]

This similar situation is happening to us. We interviewed in Montreal Canada on Jan. 12th for a k-1 visa and still havent received my fiances passport back yet. He was approved and still nothing in the mail thru their certified courier service. We finally called the Department of State (DoS) just to make sure that we werent on AP. And we arent. Actually they told us that his visa was produced and put in is passport on Jan. 14th. Still havent received a thing and no one can tell us where or what to do/go. Its ridiculous. Try calling the DOS and see if they can help. My fiance spoke to a very nice woman that helped. He was transferred on the phone several times so its tricky getting to the right visa specialist the first time. Hope this helps, but you are not alone.

[soko 0]

thanks for the reply. we are in a very difficult situation now, because when we were told it would be here in five business days we made plans to leave for the u.s. and gave notice to our employers (she's iranian, but we both currently live in seoul). we have another four weeks before our tickets to the u.s., but we're really worried now. the crazy thing is that my fiancee's korean visa expires in two weeks, and she needs to extend it. but she can't without her passport, as it's with the u.s. embassy. so if she doesn't get it back, she will be foreced to live here in korea illegally! not sure how all that is going to work out. there's a big korean holiday next week and everything closes from wednesday through friday, and then it's the weekend. so the clock is really ticking.

again, thanks for sharing your experience. the difficult part is that they keep telling us that it'll be there in a few days. if they had just told us initially that it might take a month or two we could have adapted. let me know what happens on your end, and i'll do the same.

[Daniellesm07 0]

Its unfortunate that there is a big holiday next week over where you all are. Im sorry this has happened (to the both of us) Just keep being persistant. That is my only advice, and eventually someone will listen and help. I would call the embassy and explain the situation so that you dont become illegal. Im sure this has happned once or twice before The best thing is to be patient. And trust me this is coming from the worlds most impatient person!!! ME!!! I will keep you posted on our passport status and hopefully yours will show up tomorrow! good luck!

[soko 0]

How have your dealings been with the embassy? We are actually able to call and get through relatively quickly here in Seoul, and each time they look up our specific case and check on it. It seems we're lucky to some extent - judging from other comments, most embassies don't let you call, or they charge you (in the U.K., I think). The main woman we deal with has been very nice and encouraging, but I wonder how much she truly knows about what's going on. She did say she checked with the visa processing unit last time, and that we should have the passport back soon. My fear is that there doesn't seem to be great communication between the embassies and the DOS. So perhaps the visa processing unit here thinks it's almost ready to go, but the DOS plans to take its sweet time.

(Oh, and I am definitely impatient too...and I've learned that my fiancee is even MORE impatient than I am!)

Good luck!