Scandinavians Part 2

[dmeister3 92]

4 hours ago, Kl30morg said:

not sure yet- I'll let you know when they try to request for late summer/early fall. I read it as they want the request in within 2 weeks, but the scheduling will be confirmed for much later. I can't imagine they're asking people to come interview so soon considering the uncertainty of the travel bans.

Ugh. Trying to plan for anything is such a nightmare. Should be getting my NOA2 within the next 2-4 weeks and trying to sort out when he will be here is just impossible. Can’t wait until all the garbage is over.

[Kl30morg 7]

On 5/5/2021 at 6:20 PM, dmeister3 said:

Ugh. Trying to plan for anything is such a nightmare. Should be getting my NOA2 within the next 2-4 weeks and trying to sort out when he will be here is just impossible. Can’t wait until all the garbage is over.

They already heard back from the embassy- they got "approved" to schedule and the earliest appointment they see right now is July 6th. It's honestly not as far away as I was expecting the earliest to be, all things considered. They got their NOA2 right before COVID hit so it took 14 months for them to receive packet 3 which is insane (understandable with everything closed, but still so heartbreaking since this process is already a huge waiting game). 

[bcrew13 3]

So are CR1’s are not being processed for interviews? I was hoping that we’d be done by the fall since we got DQ’d in January, but everyone is making it seem like it’ll take 1+ years and I’m getting very uneasy 😞

[B+L 2]

8 hours ago, bcrew13 said:

So are CR1’s are not being processed for interviews? I was hoping that we’d be done by the fall since we got DQ’d in January, but everyone is making it seem like it’ll take 1+ years and I’m getting very uneasy 😞

We were DQed September 23rd and still waiting 😔 

[bcrew13 3]

9 hours ago, B+L said:

We were DQed September 23rd and still waiting 😔 

Wow, that's not the news I was hoping for. I hope your's comes soon so I at least have a frame of reference

[B+L 2]

1 hour ago, bcrew13 said:

Wow, that's not the news I was hoping for. I hope your's comes soon so I at least have a frame of reference

Yeah, sorry to be the bearer of bad news.. Hopefully once they start processing again things will go quicker 🤞 

[bcrew13 3]

Just now, B+L said:

Yeah, sorry to be the bearer of bad news.. Hopefully once they start processing again things will go quicker 🤞 

So are they definitely not interviewing for CR1's at the moment? Is there a reason for that?

[B+L 2]

4 minutes ago, bcrew13 said:

So are they definitely not interviewing for CR1's at the moment? Is there a reason for that?

We don’t know for sure, people have been hearing different things from the embassy (and they have conflicting information on their website), if you email them they’ll tell you that they’re only processing emergency cases but then if you call them they’ll say that they are still processing CR1/IR1 visas. And they seem to be processing K1s at the moment, but haven’t heard of any CR1/IR1s who been given an interview date in a while. So no one really knows what’s going on 😕 

[stuckonyou 75]

3 minutes ago, B+L said:

We don’t know for sure, people have been hearing different things from the embassy (and they have conflicting information on their website), if you email them they’ll tell you that they’re only processing emergency cases but then if you call them they’ll say that they are still processing CR1/IR1 visas. And they seem to be processing K1s at the moment, but haven’t heard of any CR1/IR1s who been given an interview date in a while. So no one really knows what’s going on 😕 

I haven't been very active with the latest information since I left Sweden almost two months ago, but is it possible that the reason for processing K1's is the lawsuit? Before that K1's weren't being processed unless it was an emergency or an exemption to the travel ban and so forth, but then with the help of the lawsuit plaintiffs started being processed. That's basically the only reason I'm in the US right now. Because of a lawsuit...

 

But then again... CR1/IR1 were never under the travel ban in the first place, right? 👀

 

So the only thing that I can think of is if either there are different consular officers interviewing K1's and CR1/IR1 and someone got sick or something on the CR1/IR1 side which makes it slower, or if they're trying to catch up on the K1's and goes after NOA2 or something like that and CR1/IR1 are just way ahead... But yeah... just guessing here...

 

I know all too well what it's like waiting, so I hope you guys hear something soon! ❤️

[B+L 2]

58 minutes ago, stuckonyou said:

I haven't been very active with the latest information since I left Sweden almost two months ago, but is it possible that the reason for processing K1's is the lawsuit? Before that K1's weren't being processed unless it was an emergency or an exemption to the travel ban and so forth, but then with the help of the lawsuit plaintiffs started being processed. That's basically the only reason I'm in the US right now. Because of a lawsuit...

 

But then again... CR1/IR1 were never under the travel ban in the first place, right? 👀

 

So the only thing that I can think of is if either there are different consular officers interviewing K1's and CR1/IR1 and someone got sick or something on the CR1/IR1 side which makes it slower, or if they're trying to catch up on the K1's and goes after NOA2 or something like that and CR1/IR1 are just way ahead... But yeah... just guessing here...

 

I know all too well what it's like waiting, so I hope you guys hear something soon! ❤️

Yeah the lawsuit is why they’re processing K1s again, which is great! 🙌 It wasn't fair that they stopped K1s in the first place, so I’m very happy that they started processing them again! 
 

No you’re right, spouses were never under the travel ban ☺️ 
 

The thing is that we heard from K1s who had their NOA2 in September 2020 and in March 2021 who was invited to schedule their interview, so they seem to have moved past the CR1/IR1s (correct me of I’m wrong K1s). And when you try contacting the embassy to ask about it, you can’t get any information whatsoever. So it’s the lack of information (coupled with the insane wait) that’s the most frustrating part of it all! 😭 

 

Thank you, I hope everyone else who’s still waiting will hear something soon too! ❤️ 

[ntur 4]

As of 4/30/21 the Dept of State issued new immigrant visa prioritization.  This may be the reason for why the Embassy in Stockholm has made changes.  Refer to Immigrant Visa Prioritization (state.gov).  This is part of what it says:

 

U.S. embassies and consulates are using a tiered approach to triage immigrant visa applications based on the category of immigrant visa as they resume and expand processing.  While our consular sections, where possible, are scheduling some appointments within all four priority tiers every month, the following lists the main categories of immigrant visas in priority order:

• Tier One: Immediate relative intercountry adoption visas, age-out cases (cases where the applicant will soon no longer qualify due to their age), and certain Special Immigrant Visas (SQ and SI for Afghan and Iraqi nationals working with the U.S. government)
   
• Tier Two:  Immediate relative visas; fiancé(e) visas; and returning resident visas
   
• Tier Three: Family preference immigrant visas and SE Special Immigrant Visas for certain employees of the U.S. government abroad
   
• Tier Four: All other immigrant visas, including employment preference and diversity visas

Many embassies and consulates continue to have a significant backlog of all categories of immigrant visas.  This prioritization plan instructs posts to maximize their limited resources to accommodate as many immediate relative and fiancé(e) cases as possible with a goal of, at a minimum, preventing the backlog from growing in these categories and hopefully reducing it. However, the prioritization plan also instructs posts to schedule and adjudicate some cases in Tier Three and Tier Four each month.  The Department recognizes that visa applicants, particularly those in Tiers Three and Four, will face continued delays.  We further acknowledge that certain programs, including the diversity visa program, operate on a fiscal year basis as required by law.  The Department values the diversity visa program and is making every effort to process as many diversity visa cases as possible, consistent with other priorities, despite the severe operational constraints and backlog resulting from the COVID pandemic.  However, as a result of COVID the number of visas issued in lower-priority preference categories or in such programs as the diversity visa program likely will not approach the statutory ceiling in Fiscal Year 2021.   

[Vanessa2020 22]

Does anyone have any updated news on where Stockholm is on interviews for K1?  Last I heard was that they were working on April/May 2020.

[Snb3189 7]

Hi everyone!

 

My fiance's interview is scheduled for August 19th in Stockholm. He tried to book the medical exam last month and the Stockholm clinic told him to email email in mid June to schedule.

 

Yesterday my fiance contacted the clinic to schedule the exam and they told him that the physician is fully booked up until the point in which he will be transferring to a new clinic. And that the new clinic would reach out to my fiance for scheduling purposes.

 

Anyone else run into this issue? My fiance does not have his vaccine records so will need test done at appt and/or receive required vaccines.

 

Any input appreciated thank you all!

[Snb3189 7]

On 6/9/2021 at 3:04 AM, Vanessa2020 said:

Does anyone have any updated news on where Stockholm is on interviews for K1?  Last I heard was that they were working on April/May 2020.

We received NOA2 in late February 2020. We were contacted about 1 month ago for scheduling purposes and are scheduled for interview mid August. Not sure if that is helpful!

Edited June 12, 2021 by Snb3189

[dmeister3 92]

47 minutes ago, Snb3189 said:

We received NOA2 in late February 2020. We were contacted about 1 month ago for scheduling purposes and are scheduled for interview mid August. Not sure if that is helpful!

Wow 😳 That’s really far out. Thanks for the update