NVC: Cairo Embassy IR-1/CR-1

[bondokw5o5a4ever 0]

Hello friends, I am so sorry that I left you all in suspense. I'll write tomorrow inshaaallah. My husband go his visa today and he is coming saturday!! Have so much to do before then!! Will update very soon

congratulationssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ,awesome

[together4evr 360]

Incredible news Nababdurrham!!

[together4evr 360]

1. Cami & Eslam(luv4eslam)-------Nov 13, 2011 He put his visa on hold for maybe a year to stay in egypt-MAN

2. Nababdurrahman --------------Nov 20, 2011- told within 7-10 days after more papers MAN-GOT IT DEC 29. (39 DAY WAIT)

3. Mero Rob --------------------Nov 22, 2011 -needed to send more papers- FEMALE

4. wghabour-interview ----------Nov 22 more papers needed -MAN

5. Tp1986 ----------------------Nov 22, 2011 needed more papers-Male

6. Rami & Yosra-----------------Nov 29, 2011 Told you will get it in 7 days-Female SHE GOT IT IN 8 DAYS

7. Aly174 ----------------------Dec 1, 2011-was told possibly 1-2 weeks MALE

8. pyramids -------------------Dec 4, 2011 -told within 1 week-Female-GOT IT IN 10 DAYS.

8. TamerA --------------------Dec 6, 2011 She was Told 1-2 weeks Female-GOT IT IN 10 DAYS

10.Marymina119 ----------------Dec. 8, 2011- told approx 1 week Female-GOT IT IN 10 DAYS

11.Yesterdaysrain23 -----------Dec 11, 2011-more papers-MALE

12.Zawgyosama -----------------Dec 13, 2011-more evidence needed. MALE

13.(Ruby56) Bev&Hadi ----------Dec 14, 2011-more papers needed Man

14.MagdaEssam(habibi83) -------Dec 15, 2011-told 10days -2 weeks max-HE GOT IT IN 14 DAYS!!

15.Stu_Mathews interview------Dec 14 told he will get it in 10 days

15.Lina Tarek(jralsibai)--------Dec 19, 2011-----NO UPDATES

16 Sherif ---------------------Dec 21, 2011-He was told 2 weeks

[together4evr 360]

I want to ask how to get your passport information arrived DHL

I do not know for sure Mero Rob, but I think the embassy gave you a piece of paper when you paid the 85 pounds. It has a number on it so you can track your package on www.dhl.com

Hopefully someone else can answer you to be sure

[bondokw5o5a4ever 0]

when the delivering company is delivering ur visa do u have to be personally present or anybody can receive it for u , and is there anything that they ask for like ID or anything?thanks

[nababdurrahman 1]

Ok, sorry I took so long. I still have a million and three things to do before my husband comes in about 25 hours inshaAllah, but I am taking the time out to write this. I can;t believe it's down to the hours now! Sorry if I hyped this up, I really hope this info is useful to you all. It is about my journey AFTER the interview. We were told 7-10 days, but it ended up being 39 days. Still thankful, but I wish they would have told us the truth like it will take a month...bcuz the days after 7-10 were up were hard to bare.

First of all, the department of state calls everything "Administrative Processing"...and every country does it differently. Some countries can take 40 different steps and some countries can take as little as 4 steps. Specifically in Egypt, Consular Officer Review is a part of AP (one of the last steps).... but if the embassy tells you that you are just under CO Review, then it is a much shorter process than the "Mandatory AP"...which usually takes 3 months from what I have gathered. I believe my case was NOT under mandatory AP bcuz I have been married just over 2 years so it's an IR1 visa as opposed to a CR1 visa.

Okay, so after your interview- we all saw that females that are approved go right to CO Review, which is supposed to take 7-10 days. Actually CO review takes just a second to do, but there are hundreds of visas that they do daily and YES, it IS the same consular that interviews you at window 15. After your interview, there are a few steps...

1. (possible AP)(1-6 months)

2. Consular officer review (7-10 days)

3. Visa issuance (printing the visa)

4. Clearance from the US (~7 days)

5. DHL (1-3 days)

6. Visa in hand yay!

7. Living happily ever after

Females go right into clearance after their interviews.

When people don't have papers it is a BIG delay in the case. The embassy does everything manually...which is incredibly dumb. So some CO officer's put recent cases that need to be reviewed or issued at the front of the pile (skipping cases ahead) and some officer's put the cases at the end of the pile or in the middle of the pile. My husband discovered that there was an issue with our case that had everything to do with the military papers being sent in later..but Alhamdulillah that was resolved, but it really delayed things a bit. I think if we had just had it present at the interview, we would have had the visa about 3 weeks ago..

Once the case is OK'ed by the CO that did your interview..just saying that all the papers are present and the relationship is indeed credible, then it is in the line for issuance/printing. Once that is done, the embassy has to send the case for a final round, which is called "clearance". I think this is pretty much sending papers to the US so that when the beneficiary travels, he or she is recognized and in the system. This process usually takes a week.

So my thoughts to you all...first thing is do NOT forget any papers when you go in for your interview. Yea, it's not a big deal in the sense that you will still be approved if you send papers in--but it will delay things.

Second, know the process and know what to ask. I found the Dept of state to be SUCH a waste, they only provide very generic answers. Once out of AP, and in the CO Review stage, make sure to email the embassy frequently: Consularcairoiv@state.gov. They usually respond within 2 days. Make sure to include the case number. Better than emailing is calling the embassy: 01120227972200. Make sure to ask questions. I asked questions like

where is my case now?

when can i expect that the visa will be issued?

why is this step taking so long?

when will you forward the case to DHL?

Don't feel bad about asking questions. It is your right. If the case is approved, and out of AP...ask questions. Pressure them a bit. Ask them if they can make sure that your case is taken care of. A lot of times if the case is waiting for papers to complete, the case is misplaced and ignored for a while. Make sure your case is in line for the next step.

and by the way, i guess the embassy sometimes tells people that call in that the case is with DHL before it really is to get them off of their case. So make sure that you call DHL or check the website to see if its true. When you call the embassy, a lady will answer-I have experienced 3 different ladies...one is cold, one is okay, and one is friendly and helpful. Make sure you tell them to check the case...they should put you on hold and go check the file. Call a few days in a row, you can get various answers and come to your own conclusions. The downside is that the wait is long when you call...Dial 1 for english then 1 again to talk about visas and the phone rings for a while..i have experienced wait times ranging from 10 minutes to 25 minutes. Also, have your husbands call because it is a local call for them AND the ladies that answer are Egyptian and my husband said they were friendly with him and able to tell him useful and accurate info regarding his case.

Once the visa is issued and the case is cleared, the passport and some papers are out of the embassy's hands and given to DHL. The day that your passport is given to DHL, it is updated on their website, Egypt time was like midnight and finally delivered at 2pm the next day. A few times a week they update on the DHL website (while the passport is with the embassy) saying "Scheduled for Delivery as agreed". but finally, when the embassy hands the passport to DHL, it says

Arrived at Sort Facility Cairo Egypt (it means its in DHL's possession)

Processed at Cairo Egypt

Departed Facility in Cairo Egypt (this means it left Garden City, Cairo)

Arrived at Delivery Facility in Cairo Egypt (this means it has arrived at whichever city delivers to the address..in our case Nasr City, Cairo)

With Delivery courier (this means it is out for delivery)

Signed by ______(this means VISA IN HAND!! woooohoooo)

For now that is all that I can think of. I hope this was of help to you all. Maybe you all knew this, but all of this info was new to me and part of my learning experience. I will be on another journey to invite my husbands sister and mother to the US as visitors to attend the wedding this summer. After this journey, I'm sure that will be a piece of cake inshaAllah.

If any of you don't understand, then message me. I will never forget the support I got on this site and I will never forget my visajourney that had such a great ending. I would love to help as much as I can. May all of your happy days be in front of you and last forever. Take care

[nababdurrahman 1]

Oh and one more thing, if your case is under AP for a while, then you should email ccea@state.gov and tell them your case number and briefly explain what is going on with your case...they may be able to push things forward for you. Only email them if your AP exceeds 6 weeks...so that they take it seriously.

[together4evr 360]

Thank you for the great information. And I am so happy the husband is coming home!! Enjoy your time together. I am sure you will have the best New Years Eve ever!!

Where is he flying in to?

I cannot remember what state you live in? Michigan, Wisconsin?

Anyhow, have a safe trip and thank you for all the valuable information and helpful posts. You have been wonderful.

I do have one question that I want to know if it is true or not.... I heard that each time we call the embassy or DOS then they put our file back to the bottom of the pile. Is it true or is it if they just do not like you?

Thank you

Happy New Years!!!

[nababdurrahman 1]

I am from Wisconsin, he is flying into Chicago-o'hare inshaAllah. I don;t think that is true about calling..but I wouldn't risk calling the DOS...I called about 4 or 5 times and I really found it useless. I would suggest calling the embassy. I don't think they put your case at the bottom of the pile, although I do think that they can...just as they can put it in the front of the pile...

When you talk to them, be polite, but also be assertive. Let them feel your annoyance, but don't get mad at the rep.

[meno-is-mine 37]

Awesome!!! Thanks for sharing!!! Enjoy ur New Year's together... what a way to start off 2012, eh?

[MahaAhmed 1]

Grats naba this is awesome news! Have a wonderful happy ever after

[kokylolo 7]

Congrats and thank you so much for your post!

[bondokw5o5a4ever 0]

ya gama3a ana 3ayza 2as2al so2al darory w me5awefny gedaaaaaaan, e7na me2ademen 3a2d el zawag elly heya el mosta5rag el rasmy msh 3a2d el zawag elly feh el sorten hal keda yeb2a feh moshkela?, w 3alafekra in the nvc e-mail the marriage certificate takes (o)

[together4evr 360]

I just want to take a minute to say Happy New Year to all my Egyptian VJ friends. You all have been a wealth of information for me. I have learned so much over the last few months. Thank you all for your time, patience and energy that helped guide me and comfort me.

I hope and pray the New Year brings us all much joy and happiness. I hope more than anything that all people from the last 3 months get out of AP and get their visas this next week so we can start off the New Year with a huge BANG!! and a clean slate of NO AP's!!!

Thank you again for everything. You have meant more to me during this journey then you can imagine.

May our New Year be filled with love, family and peace.

God Bless

[together4evr 360]

ya gama3a ana 3ayza 2as2al so2al darory w me5awefny gedaaaaaaan, e7na me2ademen 3a2d el zawag elly heya el mosta5rag el rasmy msh 3a2d el zawag elly feh el sorten hal keda yeb2a feh moshkela?, w 3alafekra in the nvc e-mail the marriage certificate takes (o)

If you are asking if the newer marriage cert that you went back and had the government make is good enough for the interview or nvc then Yes it is. I do not know what (o) is?