2017 Post NOA2 for Cuba K1 - getting ready for interview

[pukka 11]

On October 9, 2017 at 2:21 PM, amandaclaire said:

Cannot schedule anything with any other embassy until the department of state announces the plan. I've already tried. 

any news on when they will announce something? I am still in havana. Today is a cuban holiday. I will be calling the embassy tomorrow at 9 am...

[amandaclaire 3]

no news yet here.

 

i'm going to try to call tomorrow too. let me know what you find out -- you might try stopping by? i

 

am confused if the k1 visa is immigrant or non-immigrant... i get a different answer every time i call. if it is a nonimmigrant visa, its unclear if we can go ahead and apply at another country's embassy or if we need to wait until they assign one. h

[pukka 11]

1 minute ago, amandaclaire said:

no news yet here.

 

i'm going to try to call tomorrow too. let me know what you find out -- you might try stopping by? i

 

am confused if the k1 visa is immigrant or non-immigrant... i get a different answer every time i call. if it is a nonimmigrant visa, its unclear if we can go ahead and apply at another country's embassy or if we need to wait until they assign one. h

Funny--our bnb is 6 blocks from embassy. Go past it nearly every day. 1/3 of the lights are on. Last time i tried going in person to the gate to ask to speak to someone they would not let me in unless it fell into a narrow categorization of emergencies (lost passport, emergency medical funds, etc). Tried saying it was personal but to no avail. The guard gave me 20 centavos and told me to go to the park and try calling on a payphone. When i did they said they had no information.

 

i agree about the immigrant and nonimmigrant thing -- very confusing as it appears in both categories depending on the website/form. Also in usatraveldocs site it says i have no appointment pending on the home page but when i go to "appointment history" it still says november 8 is "scheduled". Glimmer of hope? 

[amandaclaire 3]

same here. one can hope, although since i also received the e-mail i think it might just be an error. 

[pukka 11]

1 minute ago, amandaclaire said:

same here. one can hope, although since i also received the e-mail i think it might just be an error. 

You got an email saying your november appointment was cancelled? I never got that, just the general one they sent to everybody 

[amandaclaire 3]

i got this email:

 

"Dear Applicant:

Please be advised that as a result of reduced staffing, the U.S. government must limit visa processing in Havana.  The U.S. Embassy in Havana has cancelled all previously scheduled nonimmigrant visa appointments.  Cuban applicants for U.S. nonimmigrant visas must apply at a different U.S. embassyor consulate.   Please note that nonimmigrant Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fees (also known as visa application fees) are non-refundable and non-transferable to another person or for use in another country.

Respectfully,
Visa Information Service
Cuba"

[pukka 11]

7 minutes ago, amandaclaire said:

i got this email:

 

"Dear Applicant:

Please be advised that as a result of reduced staffing, the U.S. government must limit visa processing in Havana.  The U.S. Embassy in Havana has cancelled all previously scheduled nonimmigrant visa appointments.  Cuban applicants for U.S. nonimmigrant visas must apply at a different U.S. embassyor consulate.   Please note that nonimmigrant Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fees (also known as visa application fees) are non-refundable and non-transferable to another person or for use in another country.

Respectfully,
Visa Information Service
Cuba"

Same as I got.

 

But when my october appointment was canclled and rescheduled for december i got a different email that specifically mentioned my appointment date and time.

 

Interesting that in this email they say only nonimmigrant while on the website they say both. Did they send this email to only nonimmigrant applicants? In this case we know our visa is nonimmigrant according to us embassy. Perhaps in the email they sent to the immigrant applicants they sent other instructions...?

 

or perhaps they sent this email to everyone and the k1 visa is considered an immigrant visa? Perhaps this is why our appointments still show as "scheduled" until they decide what to do? Or maybe its just wishful thinking.

 

When i go to the visa status checker online and enter the HAV number, it still says "ready"...and also case last updated september 27. Hmm. Anyone else? 

[Dayr123 4]

19 minutes ago, pukka said:

Same as I got.

 

But when my october appointment was canclled and rescheduled for december i got a different email that specifically mentioned my appointment date and time.

 

Interesting that in this email they say only nonimmigrant while on the website they say both. Did they send this email to only nonimmigrant applicants? In this case we know our visa is nonimmigrant according to us embassy. Perhaps in the email they sent to the immigrant applicants they sent other instructions...?

 

or perhaps they sent this email to everyone and the k1 visa is considered an immigrant visa? Perhaps this is why our appointments still show as "scheduled" until they decide what to do? Or maybe its just wishful thinking.

 

When i go to the visa status checker online and enter the HAV number, it still says "ready"...and also case last updated september 27. Hmm. Anyone else? 

 

 

Im on the same problem , I had my cancel For Irma and Rescheduled for OCT 23  and is now cancel,  My fiancee Call and they say all the appointments are cancel , I dont think there is nothing we could do at this point ,  And my NOA 2 is expiring soon If you guys find anything that we can do please let me know , Thanks

[amandaclaire 3]

what is the NOA2? the approval from the US? i was told the expiration on here doesn't really matter. i called and asked to get it extended and they said it's all good once it's in the us embassy of cuba's hands but they wrote an e-mail anyway on my behalf stating that it should be extended. 

[Dayr123 4]

2 minutes ago, amandaclaire said:

what is the NOA2? the approval from the US? i was told the expiration on here doesn't really matter. i called and asked to get it extended and they said it's all good once it's in the us embassy of cuba's hands but they wrote an e-mail anyway on my behalf stating that it should be extended. 

 

Yes is the aproval From USCIS ,  they give it for 4 months

[amandaclaire 3]

yeah i called the number in Miami for the embassy and they said that it's all good, no need to worry about that date. i will call again tomorrow to confirm. 

[Dayr123 4]

Just now, amandaclaire said:

yeah i called the number in Miami for the embassy and they said that it's all good, no need to worry about that date. i will call again tomorrow to confirm. 

Perfect thanks For the info

[FieraSalsera 2]

They usually extend the NOA2 expiration if it's past the 4 months, but I'm sure they'll keep it valid since all of this mess is going on..

 

I'm so heartbroken behind this, as well. My fiance is in another country right now and he was supposed to go back to Cuba in July but some things happened and he stayed in the other country. Now his tourist visa has expired but I'm scared to transfer the case to the other country in fear of them deporting him back to Cuba and then we'll really be SOL.. I guess we don't have many options as it is.

 

I don't know what to do.

[JacNCoke 20]

9 hours ago, pukka said:

any news on when they will announce something? I am still in havana. Today is a cuban holiday. I will be calling the embassy tomorrow at 9 am...

There is no new news out of the White House on this situation. On the Embassy website, there is the following excerpt. The Facebook page says something similar and is dated 10/6...

 

The Department of State will work with its colleagues in the Department of Homeland Security to ensure continued operation of the Cuban Family Reunification Parole program, and the refugee processing center. The State Department will soon announce arrangements for immigrant visa applicants.

 

This is a nightmare and I can't imagine how hard it is for you to be trying to figure this out in Cuba. We all know how hard it is to get communicate from there. If you want me to contact your congressman/woman on your behalf to try and lobby for help, please message me with the state and district you are in. I will work on it tomorrow morning. 

[amandaclaire 3]

i just logged onto ustraveldocs.com and can see that Cuba classifies the k1 visa as an immigrant visa. 

 

the email says this in regard to immigrant visas: "Immigrant visa and parole applicants should wait until further information is available."

 

so hopefully we will still be able to have the interview in havana as opposed to starting over somewhere else - perhaps just delayed a little longer. 

 

one can hope. praying for the best. so grateful for this forum. 

Edited October 11, 2017 by amandaclaire