Missed my Interview Appointment

[caelo 3]

My interview's scheduled on June 22, 2012 (Friday) and I was all set to go, except for one thing... I am waiting for the affidavit of support to arrive in the mail. My fiance mailed it on June 8, 2012 through USPS and he was told that it would reach me in 6 to 10 days. It didn't. I waited till the afternoon of June 20 and the following morning I tried cancelling my appointment and was informed that it was no longer possible to do so... too close to the interview date already. So my choices were: to show up and risk being denied on "public charge" grounds, or just not show up... I chose the latter. But will my choice have "dire" consequences? I'll just have to try rescheduling again. Unfortunately, I can't even reschedule too soon because I'm too scared to set another appointment till those documents are on-hand.

Will I still be able to use my payment for the new appointment I have yet to schedule? Will my "no-show" affect my chances of being granted a visa? My fiance emailed the USEm to explain the situation... but will they even get to read that on time before they apply the dire consequences (if any) to our case?

[Hank_ 9,174]

... hmm, should have went to your appointment, they would have given you a 221g at the end for you to submit the missing document but once that was there and reviewed they would have issued you the visa (if all else was approved).

Now you need to call the embassy and get rescheduled. Never trust the Postal system for important documents, yes I know its "closing the barn door after the horse is out" advice.

Contact Info for USEM:

Embassy (Manila) Phone Number (and email)

(632) 301-2000, extension 5184 or 5185

** (214) 571-1600 or (646) 254-3546 (these are USA numbers)

local number: USEM 3012000 loc 5184/5185 call them around 3-4:30pm

For general inquiries: IVManilaReplies@state.gov

To enable us to electronically sort the messages and provide better, more timely responses, you should follow the instructions below.

The subject line of your email should indicate the visa applicant’s last name, first and middle name (ex. DOE, John James), case number/USCIS receipt number, visa category and priority date.

Messages should be limited to 500 characters or less.

The mail size should not be more than 15 KB.

Do not submit documentation or attachments with your message as our system is unable to receive inquiries with attachments.

Do not send your inquiry more than once as duplicate inquiries will congest our system and delay our response time.

Edited June 23, 2012 by Hank_

[Mogambi 96]

I would suspect at this point you will have to pay the visa fee again, and schedule another interview.

But yes, you should have gone. They would have done everything else, and made you submit the AOS when you had it.

But bummer, and yes, as Hank said, never trust the USPS to send mail to Philippines. That letter might take two months to get there.

I would have him immediately resend it via FedEx, and being the process of scheduling another interview.

So there won't be 'dire' consequences to your not showing up, but you still should have shown up

[southcalhog 43]

... hmm, should have went to your appointment, they would have given you a 221g at the end for you to submit the missing document but once that was there and reviewed they would have issued you the visa (if all else was approved).

Now you need to call the embassy and get rescheduled. Never trust the Postal system for important documents, yes I know its "closing the barn door after the horse is out" advice.

Contact Info for USEM:

Embassy (Manila) Phone Number (and email)

(632) 301-2000, extension 5184 or 5185

** (214) 571-1600 or (646) 254-3546 (these are USA numbers)

local number: USEM 3012000 loc 5184/5185 call them around 3-4:30pm

For general inquiries: IVManilaReplies@state.gov

To enable us to electronically sort the messages and provide better, more timely responses, you should follow the instructions below.

The subject line of your email should indicate the visa applicant's last name, first and middle name (ex. DOE, John James), case number/USCIS receipt number, visa category and priority date.

Messages should be limited to 500 characters or less.

The mail size should not be more than 15 KB.

Do not submit documentation or attachments with your message as our system is unable to receive inquiries with attachments.

Do not send your inquiry more than once as duplicate inquiries will congest our system and delay our response time.

[thinkerlove0212 158]

My interview's scheduled on June 22, 2012 (Friday) and I was all set to go, except for one thing... I am waiting for the affidavit of support to arrive in the mail. My fiance mailed it on June 8, 2012 through USPS and he was told that it would reach me in 6 to 10 days. It didn't. I waited till the afternoon of June 20 and the following morning I tried cancelling my appointment and was informed that it was no longer possible to do so... too close to the interview date already. So my choices were: to show up and risk being denied on "public charge" grounds, or just not show up... I chose the latter. But will my choice have "dire" consequences? I'll just have to try rescheduling again. Unfortunately, I can't even reschedule too soon because I'm too scared to set another appointment till those documents are on-hand.

Will I still be able to use my payment for the new appointment I have yet to schedule? Will my "no-show" affect my chances of being granted a visa? My fiance emailed the USEm to explain the situation... but will they even get to read that on time before they apply the dire consequences (if any) to our case?

yes you should go to your appointment, or you should post early so some member can advice you.. same as my friend we have the same interview but forgot to bring her affidavit of support but still she approved, and asked her to follow the papers that she forgot to bring.

[caelo 3]

My prayers were answered. This is just to let everyone here know how things turned out: Yes, I missed my interview schedule on June 22 because the affidavit of support that my fiance mailed via USPS didn't arrive on time. When I tried to cancel on June 21, I was told that it was too late and then I finally decided not to show up rather than risk being denied the visa on grounds that I will be a "public charge."

My fiance's mailed package finally arrived on June 26... so that part of my problem was solved.

Since I have scheduled my interview online (via www.ustraveldocs.com), I explored the options found in my profile and found an option there: "Provide Feedback." So I used that to send them a letter with the topic "No Show Procedure." They responded immediately to my email/feedback and sent me an acknowledgement that they have received my email on June 26. They also said that they will respond accordingly to it in 1 to 2 days.

Then on June 27, I received another email from them saying that my concern is already resolved and I can now get another interview schedule.

I do not know if the phone assistance personnel helped in the resolution of my problem, because I've been calling them since June 22, Friday (I was told to call again on Monday, June 25) and then again on June 25 (I was told that my case wasn't updated yet and I should just follow it up again another time). That is why I decided to explore the options available to me in my ustraveldocs profile... and well, you know what happened afterwards.

Lessons learned: (1) Appointments can no longer be cancelled if there is less than 2 business days to the appointment. (2) Appointments may be cancelled twice but after that, you can no longer use your old payment/receipt and have to pay the visa fee again. (3) There is a waiting time before you can reschedule again, if you cancel your appointment a second time (thank God it was only my first). (4) Yes! The feedback system at ustraveldocs really works! ...And last but not the least, (5) God is good, all the time... so PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! (I did!)

[X Factor 1,112]

My prayers were answered. This is just to let everyone here know how things turned out: Yes, I missed my interview schedule on June 22 because the affidavit of support that my fiance mailed via USPS didn't arrive on time. When I tried to cancel on June 21, I was told that it was too late and then I finally decided not to show up rather than risk being denied the visa on grounds that I will be a "public charge."

My fiance's mailed package finally arrived on June 26... so that part of my problem was solved.

Since I have scheduled my interview online (via www.ustraveldocs.com), I explored the options found in my profile and found an option there: "Provide Feedback." So I used that to send them a letter with the topic "No Show Procedure." They responded immediately to my email/feedback and sent me an acknowledgement that they have received my email on June 26. They also said that they will respond accordingly to it in 1 to 2 days.

Then on June 27, I received another email from them saying that my concern is already resolved and I can now get another interview schedule.

I do not know if the phone assistance personnel helped in the resolution of my problem, because I've been calling them since June 22, Friday (I was told to call again on Monday, June 25) and then again on June 25 (I was told that my case wasn't updated yet and I should just follow it up again another time). That is why I decided to explore the options available to me in my ustraveldocs profile... and well, you know what happened afterwards.

Lessons learned: (1) Appointments can no longer be cancelled if there is less than 2 business days to the appointment. (2) Appointments may be cancelled twice but after that, you can no longer use your old payment/receipt and have to pay the visa fee again. (3) There is a waiting time before you can reschedule again, if you cancel your appointment a second time (thank God it was only my first). (4) Yes! The feedback system at ustraveldocs really works! ...And last but not the least, (5) God is good, all the time... so PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! (I did!)

Thanks for sharing with us the update and lessons learned.

[Markieboy 104]

My prayers were answered.

I read your post. You must have someone watching from above.

Situations like this do not fare very well...especially in the Philippines. Consider yourself very, very lucky.

Congratulations and good luck with your interview!

[caelo 3]

I read your post. You must have someone watching from above.

Situations like this do not fare very well...especially in the Philippines. Consider yourself very, very lucky.

Congratulations and good luck with your interview!

The same One who watches us all. "Ask and you shall receive." He cares about us.

Thank you! God bless everyone.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Very good news!! Glad you stayed pro-active and got things handled