Expedite letter sent - Chances of them accepting?

[Marrienne 112]

Ok please don't hit me (lol). I know I have asked a ton of questions but you guys are the ones I can talk to about this!

Here is some quick background info: My husband (the USC) has two chronic conditions that if left untreated are fatal: diabetes (type 1) and an auto-immune disorder that causes clots and other issues. He's already had one stroke at age 35, out of the blue!!

Here is the other part of the equation: We live in a country (Greece) that is for all intents and purposes, bankrupt. Due to the social and economic crisis, he cannot find a job, thus has no healthcare. The people at the Embassy know how bad things are in Greece of course, half of them are Greek.
He has been without treatment for so long, his quality of life is very low right now. He needs me to take care of him, I mean I am his only caretaker.
So we sent in a detailed letter explaining how he is really sick right now, but nobody will help him and we cannot afford to go the private route right now. Then a letter from his doctors, test results and diagnoses for him.

Also a signed affidavit from his parents that they will support him while in the USA (but they are too old to care for him actively).

So, yes normally diabetes is a manageable disease *when you can get treatment* from a country that is a real European country. Greece doesn't even have bandages right now in the hospitals (we know, we had to take our infant daughter in with a serious injury and they couldn't treat her!!!). We explained that as a USC he can get treatment in the USA and his quality of life will drastically improve. He is close to going blind due to untreated diabetes on top of his auto-immune disorder.

Lastly we explained that over here we only each other, so if he left without us, I would be left alone with 3 small children and thus would be unable to work and provide for them. I am the only one working at the moment in this family and we barely manage to scrape by. We also told them that my ex-husband has threatened to kill us many times (the police got me out of our apartment when I filed for divorce). He is afraid if he leaves, my ex will find a window of opportunity to hurt me and the baby.

We are doing DCF in Athens Greece and as far as I know, there is only 1 more case besides ours.

We are at the stage where they received our packet 3 evidence today the letter and doctor's notes was included.

What are our chances you think of us getting the expedite? I know that generally if you are not doing DCF, it is hard to get an expedite. Do you think maybe the Embassy here will be kinder?

Thanks once again for your support guys and gals!!!

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Not overly likely, but worth a try. It's not life threatening at this point. Families in war torn countries can't even get expedited at times.

[Lemonslice 4,841]

Does he have insurance or a job lined up in the USA? He should seriously consider going back before he lose his eyesight :/

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to DCF Discussion.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Your sig says you already sent an expedite request. What happened with that one? Are you just wondering if that's been successful? It may be that you're already on the very fastest that the embassy can deal with you already.

When it comes to booking medical / interview etc. always say that you're available to take a last-minute appointment or someone else's cancellation etc. so you can get in ASAP.

Does no harm to follow-up with the embassy and remind them of your situation, though.

Edited May 11, 2016 by lost_at_sea

[Marrienne 112]

Your sig says you already sent an expedite request. What happened with that one? Are you just wondering if that's been successful? It may be that you're already on the very fastest that the embassy can deal with you already.

When it comes to booking medical / interview etc. always say that you're available to take a last-minute appointment or someone else's cancellation etc. so you can get in ASAP.

Does no harm to follow-up with the embassy and remind them of your situation, though.

Well, we sent an email first detailing the situation, instead of an answer we got our case numbers and packet 3.

We now sent packet 3 and a hard copy letter complete with medical papers again asking for an expedite.

They just received it yesterday, so I will let them be for a few days, then e-mail them again.

They *should* have all the paperwork they need now. I was very thorough.

As for jobs etc. He does qualify for at least Medicaid AND his parents are joint sponsors. They even sent in a signed affidavit saying they will support us and bought us a house.

I will keep you posted!!!

I have a small hope they will say ok, because this is DCF and in a country that does not see many applications for IM visas so they are not too busy.

Keeping fingers crossed!!!

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

I think the chances of an actual expedite are low, because DCF is already fast- basically, expedite would mean you jump the queue, but there is no queue when doing DCF; thus even if approved, it is unlikely to make the process more than a few days faster.

You might have your husband, as the USC, call and rather than ask for another expedite, ask if there are any cancelation appointments available- make sure you have everything in order and then, if they get a free slot the day of, you can quickly go to the embassy. If you already know where you are moving to, you could also contact the local Senator and Congressman's immigration expert (and have his parents do the same), and see if they can enquire of the embassy how much longer it will be.

[Marrienne 112]

Thank you so much!!

Here is the thing with our Embassy: on average the wait is 2 to 4 months for an appointment. They have no case load in Greece right now. Only 2 cases.

The thing is with his condition and our financial hardship right now even 3 weeks can be critical :/

I mean he is off insulin!!

I will let them be a few more days and mail them again

Ps. Also I am a teacher. I need to interview over the summer to start when the schools open.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Let us know the outcome. You may find it hard getting a teaching job though depending on qualifications.

Edited May 11, 2016 by Transborderwife

[Marrienne 112]

Of course!

My sister in law is the director of education for the area so that might help a little

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Of course!

My sister in law is the director of education for the area so that might help a little

Understandable, but you'll likely need certification in your state first. Have you looked into that?

[Marrienne 112]

Yes we have looked into that so I plan on starting out as an aide which I meet the criteria for and work up to the certification

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

I think the chances of an actual expedite are low, because DCF is already fast- basically, expedite would mean you jump the queue, but there is no queue when doing DCF; thus even if approved, it is unlikely to make the process more than a few days faster.

This. We were given an expedite and it was treated like DCF because DCF is the expedite normally given (or at the very least skipping over the NVC).

Edited May 11, 2016 by N-o-l-a

[Marrienne 112]

What we basically asked the Embassy to do is to fit us in for an appointment ASAP. Are you telling me we still might have to wait 2-4 months?
The Embassy hinted it would 3 months from start to finish (we got a RFE so that set us back two months), 6 months tops. So we might not actually get to the USA until September or October???
(funny thing is we live 20 minutes from the Embassy in Athens)

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

What we basically asked the Embassy to do is to fit us in for an appointment ASAP. Are you telling me we still might have to wait 2-4 months?

The Embassy hinted it would 3 months from start to finish (we got a RFE so that set us back two months), 6 months tops. So we might not actually get to the USA until September or October???

(funny thing is we live 20 minutes from the Embassy in Athens)

I don't think I said that at all! Our total DCF time was about 5 weeks plus maybe 2 weeks on top of that for the medical results to arrive and the visa to be sent. But, that was Stockholm.

They might be able to do right away depending on their schedule, each embassy is so different. With our DCF we were able to get an appointment as soon as we wanted. We hadn't been expected it to be that quick so we had to do it after the first available medical appointment.

If you've told them of your situation and asked for an early appointment, all you can do is wait and see.