Waiting for our passports from Montreal

[Trenz 52]

Another update

Alright, this one has me stumped. If anyone out there with knowledge of this can lend some information, I would be very grateful.

As I mentioned yesterday (June 16), I remained in AP but finally had an "update" after no updates since June 3 (also still in AP at this point).

Today (June 17) there was another "update" to my file. This time I seemingly have regressed back to the "Ready" phase. How is this even possible??? I thought once you left "Ready" for AP you were on your way to being "Issued".

I have not received any notice of a 221(g) or a request for more documents, so I am stumped as to what happened here.

Has anyone ever encountered this or read about a case with that?

Edited June 17, 2015 by Trenz

[New User 1000 4]

Hi Trenz,

After I was given 221g for missing document, I was placed in AP. After few days, I went to ready on June 4th. Since then the date has been updated once which was on June 10th. I have been at a ready state for a while now. When I emailed the consulate, they said that my file was "in review".

I think it may be different for you. But it is a good sign that they are looking at your file. Keep us updated!

[New User 1000 4]

Also did you email the consulate this week after the technical problem?

[Trenz 52]

Hi Trenz,

After I was given 221g for missing document, I was placed in AP. After few days, I went to ready on June 4th. Since then the date has been updated once which was on June 10th. I have been at a ready state for a while now. When I emailed the consulate, they said that my file was "in review".

I think it may be different for you. But it is a good sign that they are looking at your file. Keep us updated!

I certainly shall!

Also did you email the consulate this week after the technical problem?

I have not emailed them since this problem was disclosed. I double check all the information they put out online and it looks as though I was not affected by it (save the actual printing of the visa and return of my passport) so I figured it best not to send off another email to the consulate for an inquiry.

I have dug way far back into some posts here on VJ and I have seen that some people have in fact gone from Ready to AP and repeated that cycle twice before their visa was issued. This doesn't look to be unheard of, but it strikes me as odd given that I did not have to submit any further documentation.

I'll keep an eye on my email to see if I get anything sent. If I don't hear of anything by the end of next week I'll fire off another email to inquire about my status changing back and forth.

[picasso 2]

Hello,

Today I had some updates on my file. While still on AP status, the Consulate reached out to me asking me to go to the Consulate tomorrow to pay some missing fees in my application that I had actually paid. After some back and forth showing them proof of payment, they told me that I should hear soon from Loomis to go pick up my passport. How soon? They couldn't tell... They also updated my "last update" date on the website to June 17 (today).

So, I would say that, confirming some of your hopes and cases, the lack of appointments due to the technical issue is letting the officers catch up with the long outstanding applications.

While I still don't know when I will receive my passport (5 weeks today without it), it definitely gives me more hope to think that once the technical issue is solved, I should expect my passport back. Maybe too much of an assumption, but at least I know that my file is moving and no longer getting dust in the officer's drawer.

Good luck to all!

[Trenz 52]

Hello,

Today I had some updates on my file. While still on AP status, the Consulate reached out to me asking me to go to the Consulate tomorrow to pay some missing fees in my application that I had actually paid. After some back and forth showing them proof of payment, they told me that I should hear soon from Loomis to go pick up my passport. How soon? They couldn't tell... They also updated my "last update" date on the website to June 17 (today).

So, I would say that, confirming some of your hopes and cases, the lack of appointments due to the technical issue is letting the officers catch up with the long outstanding applications.

While I still don't know when I will receive my passport (5 weeks today without it), it definitely gives me more hope to think that once the technical issue is solved, I should expect my passport back. Maybe too much of an assumption, but at least I know that my file is moving and no longer getting dust in the officer's drawer.

Good luck to all!

Very appreciative of the update, picasso!

Glad to hear your wait is finally coming to an end here very soon! If I were a betting man I would bet that perhaps my idea of them catching up on previous applications may indeed be correct. It is too soon for some to assume this, however. It does appear to have been the case for you, so congrats!

Just out of curiosity, how did the consulate contact you? Phone? Email? And also if you don't mind me asking, did you happen to switch back to the "Ready" phase after your stint in AP? Mine switched back to Ready today and I have no idea why.

[picasso 2]

Hello Trenz,

I am still on AP, I have never been on ready. I am holding off to say the war is over - not until I have my passport in my hands I will believe it! But as I said, I at least think that this is finally moving the right way.

The Consulate sent me an email. They were very direct. "Print this email and come tomorrow to the Consulate at 9am to pay the fees". I had already paid them and luckily I had the receipt copy handy to send them an scanned copy - a bit scary though that they had lost their receipt copy, it could have been my passport instead!

More to come...

[Trenz 52]

Hello Trenz,

I am still on AP, I have never been on ready. I am holding off to say the war is over - not until I have my passport in my hands I will believe it! But as I said, I at least think that this is finally moving the right way.

The Consulate sent me an email. They were very direct. "Print this email and come tomorrow to the Consulate at 9am to pay the fees". I had already paid them and luckily I had the receipt copy handy to send them an scanned copy - a bit scary though that they had lost their receipt copy, it could have been my passport instead!

More to come...

Thanks for the info! A conservative outlook is never a bad thing in this case, especially considering everything that has lead up to it.

If I understand the current visa printing situation, my guess would be you will have yours issued next week sometime (provided the actually stick to the system repair timeline they gave). Thank goodness you kept your receipt, otherwise that could have been quite the headache!

I paid all of my fees online, so perhaps that saved me from receiving the same email? Suffice to say, two updates in two days is the most activity I've seen on my case yet, despite the fact I am frustrating back to "Ready".

Keep us posted!

[New User 1000 4]

Congrats Picasso!

[Mshp 0]

Today _after 3 weeks_on CEAC website showed update on our case, although nothing changed yet, but it shows update! It means they looked at it but what are they doing is mysterious!

Edited June 18, 2015 by Mshp

[Trenz 52]

Today _after 3 weeks_on CEAC website showed update on our case, although nothing changed yet, but it shows update! It means they looked at it but what are they doing is mysterious!

That is extremely odd you did not receive a solitary update in all of three weeks. At the very least I could see some updates on a weekly basis. The only other poster here who seemed to have absolutely no updates in 9 weeks was YVRDualCouple.

The update timeline on the CEAC website for me was:

May 14: Interview

May 15: Case Creation Date (Ready Status)

May 22: Still in Ready but there was a status update

May 27: Still in Ready but there was a status update

June 3: Updated to Administrative Processing

June 16: Still in Administrative Processing but there was an update

June 17: Back in the Ready position.

At the very least I have had consistent update, but wow, you haven't even had that! Just an update finally after 3 weeks. That would be extremely upsetting to say the least. Have you made any type of inquiry with the consulate or your sponsor's government representative?

Edited June 18, 2015 by Trenz

[Danielle and Jake 24]

I'm pretty sure I've read on here that right before it turns into "issued" it's gone back to "ready" briefly for some people.

Now, given the current circumstances with this visa problem, it might be a little longer than briefly but maybe you're finally on your way out of this mess.

[Trenz 52]

I'm pretty sure I've read on here that right before it turns into "issued" it's gone back to "ready" briefly for some people.

Now, given the current circumstances with this visa problem, it might be a little longer than briefly but maybe you're finally on your way out of this mess.

Good to know! I started to gather as much the more I read into past posts here. Suffice to say, it's been a bumpy ride to this point so I am not making any assumptions at this juncture. Until I see "Issued" I will not start getting my hopes up.

From what I also gather on the current system downtime, it appears as though this week is out of the question for anyone to get their visa issued to them. Officials are saying next week is the absolute earliest that visas may get sent out and even that isn't a promise either. Time will soon tell.

I can only hope that this mess is cleaned up soon. I recall you had a moving date of July 12th, correct? This just adds more fuel to that fire wanting to see a resolution for you, so I can only imagine the hope you must be putting in this.

[Trenz 52]

Update:

My fiancé's senator received a response back from the Montreal consulate after inquiring about our case. I typed the following response from the consulate to our senator (forgive any spelling/grammatical errors as I could not copy and paste this PDF scan):

Regrettably, the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with visa systems. This issue is not specific to any particular country or visa category. This is a global issue, and we are working around the clock to fix it. More than 100 computer experts from both the private and public sectors across the United States are working on this problem 24/7. That said, we do not expect the system will be online before next week. The problems stems from a hardware failure in a State Department facility in the United States on June 9. These systems issues are also impacting processing of U.S. visas. U.S. Embassies/Consulates are currently unable to process new applications submitted on or after June 9, 2015. We regret the inconvenience to travelers and recognize that is is causing hardship to those waiting for visas, and in some cases, their family members or employers in the United States.

We are committed to providing the beneficiary of this case full and fair consideration, consistent with applicable United States laws, rules, and regulations regarding processing of fiancé(e) visa applications.

Meanwhile your constituent and the beneficiary are welcome to regularly visit https://ceac.state.gov/CEAC if they wish to verify the status of the case online. The only system has the most up-to-date status information. We do not have any additional information to what is provided by the online status check system.

We hope that this information is helpful in replying to your constituent; please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Thank You.

Edited June 18, 2015 by Trenz

[Danielle and Jake 24]

Good to know! I started to gather as much the more I read into past posts here. Suffice to say, it's been a bumpy ride to this point so I am not making any assumptions at this juncture. Until I see "Issued" I will not start getting my hopes up.

From what I also gather on the current system downtime, it appears as though this week is out of the question for anyone to get their visa issued to them. Officials are saying next week is the absolute earliest that visas may get sent out and even that isn't a promise either. Time will soon tell.

I can only hope that this mess is cleaned up soon. I recall you had a moving date of July 12th, correct? This just adds more fuel to that fire wanting to see a resolution for you, so I can only imagine the hope you must be putting in this.

Yeah it seems to be that way, also some countries are cancelling appointments. Yikes. Seriously hoping with everything in me they don't do that to my interview next Thursday.

July 12th is the hope, and I'm trying to keep that flame of hope burning but I'm having trouble. If the issue is not repaired by next week, without a doubt we'll be pushing back our moving plans by at least a week. It's not like there is a lot of money involved in moving other than gas money, it's just upsetting having your heart set and then this completely ruining it. I imagine you know how I feel, haha.