CASE COMPLETE-HOW MUCH LONGER MUST WE WAIT?

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Okay called NVC on 05/15/2013. They say they have everything needed, it's all approved and all we are waiting for an interview date at Manila Embassy. Why the heck doesn't the bureaucrat that reads case and declares CASE COMPLETE just email or contact Manila for an interview date and set it up? I mean what the heck is happening now? NVC says they are waiting for an interview date to become available in Manila. How does that make any sense? I mean would it not make sense for someone to just set the appointment date and time? Isn't that what appointments are? I guess I am just so frustrated at this whole process. It has been so stressful for myself and most importantly my beautiful loving wife. So much of it makes no sense at all. Is our file at the bottom of yet another stack of applications waiting for the next bozo to read it and finally call the embassy in Manila or what? I mean seriously.... Sorry I guess I just needed to vent a little but I sure wish someone could give me an idea on how long it will take them to pick up our file and make the call to Manila. I would be happy to call for them. I can go on-line all day and see when appointments are available in Manila. So it's been 1 week since we got the verbal CASE COMPLETE status from NVC. I hate this waiting.....

Signed, Frustrated in Hawaii

[let-it-be 36]

Relax, you're almost there. You are more likely going to received the email from NVC about your interview appointment two weeks after Case Complete. I've read here that the June interview slots are pretty much booked. So you are looking at probably July or August appointment.

http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwh3238.html

Immigrant Visa Appointment

All case processing for Manila, including appointment scheduling for immigrant visa cases, is generally done at the National Visa Center (NVC) in the U.S. An applicant’s case number does not determine his or her position in the scheduling queue. Once a case is current (i.e., priority date is current for processing), and is “documentarily qualified”(i.e., all the necessary, completed documents are received at the NVC) , the waiting time for an appointment date is approximately one (1) to three (3) months.

As soon as an appointment date becomes available, NVC will forward the case to Embassy Manila. NVC will also send the petitioner and/or the authorized agent/representative an appointment letter.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Yeah what kind of a stupid statement is that they they make? "A SOON AS AN APPOINTMENT DATE BECOMES AVAILABLE, NVC WILL FORWARD THE CASE TO EMBASSY MANILA." What the hell does that mean? I mean don't these people use calenders? I mean what happens, does Manila only make appointments available in some secret manner? I mean would it not make sense for the bozo that reads the file and says CASE COMPLETE to just schedule the appointment? It's just such a messed up system if you could even call it that.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Sorry but I fear for my wife's safety every day. She is in hiding in Philippines from her cousin who raised her. Her cousin has threatened to burn down the apartment my wife is living in. (Was living in. I have since moved her three time) She says she will kill her. But of course neither my wife or her sister who have both received this threat have reported to Police. They say that this kind of thing is not reported to Police in Philippines. I already requested an expedited interview date and was denied. My wife is in imminent danger. I have her hidden away in a private school/dorm situation with armed security. I fear every day that this mentally unstable cousin will find her and do something. But this is not good enough to get an expedited interview date. So we live in fear for another 2, maybe 3 months just praying that my wife does not get hurt or killed. I'm sorry but I am just a little frustrated. Please forgive me for being upset at this bureaucratic mess. Ironically I work for the US Government and our division is so much better organized that the visa system

[let-it-be 36]

Sorry to hear about that. Sounds like a unstable situation.

Once you have an interview schedule, you can register in ustravel.docs site & logged in there everyday to see available interview slots. You can then re-schedule your wife's appointment to an earlier one. I had to re-schedule my parents appointment to a later month so I know this can be done.

I was just checking the site & there are 13 available days. Maybe, others had to cancel theirs or the one who posted about June being fully booked was of different category (K-1).

Edited May 21, 2013 by let-it-be

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Thanks for the encouragement and info. Yes ironically I already scheduled an interview date for June 3. I have a document that was generated online that gives the interview date, time, etc... Of course after doing so I read the fine print and saw that I was not allowed to schedule and interview as long as the case is at NVC. My error. Now I try to log back in to cancel the interview and I can't get back in. I guess I will have to call them on the phone now. How did you get on the site to see the available appointments? Maybe I just need to create a new account? Or are you saying that once NVC schedules the date I will be able to log in at that point?

[let-it-be 36]

I just logged back in my father's/mother's account(s) that I signed up on their behalf. Their interview appointment can only be seen now in appointment history. In order to see available appointments, I had to click on "schedule appointment" & go through all the options to get to the calendar part.

I think one can only technically register if NVC has finally set an interview schedule. I'm not really sure.

[Artisan 138]

You can then re-schedule your wife's appointment to an earlier one. I had to re-schedule my parents appointment to a later month so I know this can be done.

Do NOT attempt to re-schedule a CR-1 visa appointment. After I got my wife's initial appointment I rescheduled her appointment by calling the Embassy in Manila. When we showed up at the Embassy on the appointed date we waited for a couple of hours before we were called up and told that my wife would have to come back on the original date that was scheduled for her. I was told this was due to them not having the paperwork in hand (the NVC apparently doesn't send it out until just before the interview date THEY schedule). One of the moderators here mentioned I could have asked them to use the electronic copies in the system. When I asked about this at my wife's actual interview a couple of weeks later I was told that they will only process a CR-1 with the hard copies regardless of the situation as a matter of policy. I also found out that because I had rescheduled I had run the risk of losing the initial interview date and could have had the process punted back to the NVC to reschedule for the NEXT month.

It is important to remember that the NVC usually only schedules CR-1 visa interviews during the first and second weeks of the month. If you were approved in the last half of the month they will schedule you early the next month for an interview the month following after that month. So if you were approved in late May, they will schedule an appointment in June for July or August if July is already full.

While I empathize for your wife's situation it is not something for which the US government is going to care, especially if there is no police report. If you are especially concerned with her safety (and that of your sister-in-law) you should move them to a different major city (Cebu if they are in Manila or Manila if they are in Cebu for example). That way there is far less of a chance of her cousin using old-fashioned social networking to track her down and paying a few bribes to resolve his issues. If you are that worried about her perhaps, honestly, the best thing to do is take a leave of absence from work and move to the Philippines for a couple of months.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Wow! Thanks for the heads up on this. As you may see I have been getting various responses. I really appreciate your first hand knowledge response to this question. Looks like I am going to have to just sweat it out for a couple more months paying ridiculous room and board fees to keep her safe, hopefully. She could stay in an apartment for about 1/4 the expense but I want her to be safe. It is draining us financially though. I need to be able to afford the airplane tickets. Mahalo and Aloha

Do NOT attempt to re-schedule a CR-1 visa appointment. After I got my wife's initial appointment I rescheduled her appointment by calling the Embassy in Manila. When we showed up at the Embassy on the appointed date we waited for a couple of hours before we were called up and told that my wife would have to come back on the original date that was scheduled for her. I was told this was due to them not having the paperwork in hand (the NVC apparently doesn't send it out until just before the interview date THEY schedule). One of the moderators here mentioned I could have asked them to use the electronic copies in the system. When I asked about this at my wife's actual interview a couple of weeks later I was told that they will only process a CR-1 with the hard copies regardless of the situation as a matter of policy. I also found out that because I had rescheduled I had run the risk of losing the initial interview date and could have had the process punted back to the NVC to reschedule for the NEXT month.

It is important to remember that the NVC usually only schedules CR-1 visa interviews during the first and second weeks of the month. If you were approved in the last half of the month they will schedule you early the next month for an interview the month following after that month. So if you were approved in late May, they will schedule an appointment in June for July or August if July is already full.

While I empathize for your wife's situation it is not something for which the US government is going to care, especially if there is no police report. If you are especially concerned with her safety (and that of your sister-in-law) you should move them to a different major city (Cebu if they are in Manila or Manila if they are in Cebu for example). That way there is far less of a chance of her cousin using old-fashioned social networking to track her down and paying a few bribes to resolve his issues. If you are that worried about her perhaps, honestly, the best thing to do is take a leave of absence from work and move to the Philippines for a couple of months.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Well this is going to be interesting. I wonder if the NVC considers the 15th to be within the 1st half or the second half of the month? hahaha

Do NOT attempt to re-schedule a CR-1 visa appointment. After I got my wife's initial appointment I rescheduled her appointment by calling the Embassy in Manila. When we showed up at the Embassy on the appointed date we waited for a couple of hours before we were called up and told that my wife would have to come back on the original date that was scheduled for her. I was told this was due to them not having the paperwork in hand (the NVC apparently doesn't send it out until just before the interview date THEY schedule). One of the moderators here mentioned I could have asked them to use the electronic copies in the system. When I asked about this at my wife's actual interview a couple of weeks later I was told that they will only process a CR-1 with the hard copies regardless of the situation as a matter of policy. I also found out that because I had rescheduled I had run the risk of losing the initial interview date and could have had the process punted back to the NVC to reschedule for the NEXT month.

It is important to remember that the NVC usually only schedules CR-1 visa interviews during the first and second weeks of the month. If you were approved in the last half of the month they will schedule you early the next month for an interview the month following after that month. So if you were approved in late May, they will schedule an appointment in June for July or August if July is already full.

While I empathize for your wife's situation it is not something for which the US government is going to care, especially if there is no police report. If you are especially concerned with her safety (and that of your sister-in-law) you should move them to a different major city (Cebu if they are in Manila or Manila if they are in Cebu for example). That way there is far less of a chance of her cousin using old-fashioned social networking to track her down and paying a few bribes to resolve his issues. If you are that worried about her perhaps, honestly, the best thing to do is take a leave of absence from work and move to the Philippines for a couple of months.

[Artisan 138]

Well this is going to be interesting. I wonder if the NVC considers the 15th to be within the 1st half or the second half of the month? hahaha

If you haven't gotten an appointment yet that means you likely will not get one until sometime next month and it will likely be for July or in the worst case August.

I still suggest you may be better off moving your wife and your sister-in-law to another city. Armed security is nice but is not as much of a deterrent as you may believe. Your fiance still likely moves around outside the dorm (just to eat and shop if nothing else) and armed guards are not a perfect defense even if they watch the doors 24/7.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Actually we are already married, CR-1. Yes you're right the security is only good when she is at the dorm or at school. I don't want her to feel as if she's being held prisoner but at the same time I want her and her sister to be safe. Unfortunately because of the area in which she grew up she just doesn't see the danger there, even though she has had two attempted "snatching's" while we were talking on the phone in the last 3 months. Plus she's 19 and immortal like I suppose I was when I was 19. She has had to keep her current whereabouts secret from all but 1 of her sisters because the cousin that raised her inevitably gets her phone number and gets a hold of her time and time again. Harasses her and threatens her. We have had to change her phone number/Sim card 6 times in the past 7 months. No one else knows where she is. There is one good thing about it though. She has gotten some great education while in hiding at a very nice private school. She has discovered that she has some incredible artistic talent and her teachers have contacted me and have encouraged me to have her follow up in her art studies when she comes to US to join me.This has been good for her so if we want to discuss silver linings I guess that is one of them. I am sometimes just so sick with worry for her safety. I pray every day that she will be safe. Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it. You have caused me to think about some positive things. Mahalo

If you haven't gotten an appointment yet that means you likely will not get one until sometime next month and it will likely be for July or in the worst case August.

I still suggest you may be better off moving your wife and your sister-in-law to another city. Armed security is nice but is not as much of a deterrent as you may believe. Your fiance still likely moves around outside the dorm (just to eat and shop if nothing else) and armed guards are not a perfect defense even if they watch the doors 24/7.

[Artisan 138]

Actually we are already married, CR-1.

Typo on my part about the fiance. I even wrote wife in the earlier sentence.

[beth65 0]

To David and Zoila.... are you absolutely for sure that you see it with your two eyes that her families been harrassing her? It just sounds so fishy to me. Did you give your wife a cash to pay the security, dorm fees etc etc in terms of cash flows? Just my thought don't get offended.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

To David and Zoila.... are you absolutely for sure that you see it with your two eyes that her families been harrassing her? It just sounds so fishy to me. Did you give your wife a cash to pay the security, dorm fees etc etc in terms of cash flows? Just my thought don't get offended.

I know it does sound fishy. Actually I pay the school directly (tuition) as well as the pastor that runs the dorm.(Room and board) My wife gets an allowance of only 1000 pesos a week and handles it very well. I found this school and dorm situation and although it sounds suspicious I have checked everything out and it all adds up. I have seen the facebook threats and the text messages myself. I actually as a precautionary measure had some of the messages interpreted and the story my wife tells me checks out to a T. I take no offense. My wife's mother died when she was six months old, her father when she was 2. All 9 children were dispersed around the Philippines. This cousin "raised" her and used her as the whipping post. She has the scars of years of abuse to prove it, yet she is the most loving caring girl I have ever met in my life. Thanks for the input. God Bless and Aloha