Case "Purged" - Help Please

[john55c 0]

So we have been on a waiting list for our K-1 fiance visa since October 2005. We are waiting for the list for Schedule Appointments to come out tomorrow, and we called the Visa Specialist at the State department, and found out some scary news.

The woman had told us, once we gave her our case #, that our case, as of February 1, 2007 was "Purged". Without any further explanation. She said that there are no case notes or anything. There is no reason for this, we sent nothing except for a change of address form back November or December. What would cause the Consulate to do this? They are closed right now, and I will call first thing in the morning, but has anyone heard of anything like this? Is there anything to be worried about? I am really nervous, as we have been waiting so long, and are so close to our expected appointment month.

Please let me know if anyone has heard of anything like this.

[john55c 0]

No takers, eh? Ha, oh well.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Well, ' purged ' means to cleanse, or get rid of. Have you contacted a Congressperson or Senator? Maybe because you changed your address, you were sent an RFE and you never received it ?? I cannot imagine waiting since 05 ! I do not have any answers for you, but I am truly sad this has happened.

[RosaMystica7 0]

Wow, how horrible. I have no help for you, but this post fell onto the second page and I'd like to bring it back up to the front to see if anyone who CAN help you will spot it.

[serendipitous 0]

oh man.. That sounds so bad.

I wish I could help.

I wish you the best of luck and finding all the information tomorrow when you call.

How can she give you that information and not tell you what's going on?

[Nazuspe 0]

Well, not that it matters right now, but why have you been on a waiting list at the consulate for an interview since 2005? Thats ridiculous. They can't be that backlogged. A k1 visa gets immediate priority, unlike if your going to bring your brother, mother etc...

But as to your case being purged....well I don't know what to do and neither does anyone else so far. It sounds like you made it through the hardest part and then got screwed. As my friend taught me back in college when haggling with customer service people over the phone - Just remember...They can't hang up on you. As long as you don't swear at them, just keep talking to them, keep them on the line until they promise to do something or they hand you off to someone else more important that can do something. Don't take no for an answer. Call, call, call, and then call back just to say hi again. Call every number you can get your hands on. But be nice and corteous and if it takes you 4 hours with one person I'll bet they'll be able to "find" your petition miraculously just to shut you up.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[aussiewench 9]

Gosh I'm sorry that this has happened.

I just did a little research by doing a quick search. I found an IR-1 case where they received a reply back from their consulate stating that their case has been purged due to lack of contact and that the petitioner would have to refile the petition.

As you state that you did a change of address back in Nov/Dec, I am going to assume that you have not received correspondence from the consulate and as they have not heard anything from you, that your case has been purged.

It doesn't sound like good news for you and after such a long wait (typical of DR)

[GrenadianCrix 2]

I hope you hear something soon! Good luck calling them. I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of this.

Good Luck!

Sue

[john55c 0]

Yeah, there are over 27000 cases waiting for an appointment at the Dominican Consulate. We started at 19000 andchange in 2005, now there are even more people waiting. The average wait time is 18-20 months for an interview. Its ridiculous. Thats for the outcry of support, we are going to get to the bottom of this andfigure out what is going on. I have contacted a senator. Any other information or help woiuld be greatly appreciated.

[john55c 0]

Ok so we found out it was purged from the State Department, through the visa specialists because the case is over 12 months old...which every case is going through the DR. We called a special number at the embassy I got from a senator friend, and called down and foudn out that our case is perfectly fine, nothing wrong, and they have to do that in the US (erase cases over a certain time period).

We are now just awaiting an appointment date after almost 18 months of waiting...

[aussiewench 9]

Ok so we found out it was purged from the State Department, through the visa specialists because the case is over 12 months old...which every case is going through the DR. We called a special number at the embassy I got from a senator friend, and called down and foudn out that our case is perfectly fine, nothing wrong, and they have to do that in the US (erase cases over a certain time period).

We are now just awaiting an appointment date after almost 18 months of waiting...

That is great news John It is also good to know what actually happened for future reference if it happens to anyone else, so thank you for posting the results.