Scheduling K-1 Visa Interview

[barashka 97]

Hey guys,

 

Anybody else trying to schedule an interview? Whenever I log into US Travel Docs to try to schedule an interview, it says none are available at this time. It has already been 1 month since my case reached Moscow.

[Monix 0]

Hi, its same in my case too. Having a hard time on this...any suggestions/experience?

[mskinner 6]

I'm seeing the same thing. It's been going on 2 weeks with no change. Then when I look at the visa timelines for other Russian applicants, I'm seeing that no one has updated their timeline with interview dates going back to November NOA2 approvals. Calling their call centers is no help, and the embassy won't accept visa related calls.

[barashka 97]

2 hours ago, matthewskin said:

I'm seeing the same thing. It's been going on 2 weeks with no change. Then when I look at the visa timelines for other Russian applicants, I'm seeing that no one has updated their timeline with interview dates going back to November NOA2 approvals. Calling their call centers is no help, and the embassy won't accept visa related calls.

I wonder when interviews will finally open up? Are you trying to schedule an interview, too?

[barashka 97]

By the way, you guys are trying to schedule it like this, too? I have it as an immigrant visa, right? Even though the DS-160 says no immigrant?

[TBoneTX 45,291]

The K-1 is a "hybrid" visa -- a nonimmigrant visa with immigrant intent -- which is why it's handled by the Immigrant Visa units at the consulates.

[tanderson64 201]

You just keep checking everyday. Eventually, a calendar with available interview dates will show up when you check.

[barashka 97]

3 hours ago, tanderson64 said:

You just keep checking everyday. Eventually, a calendar with available interview dates will show up when you check.

Божий промысел!

[barashka 97]

4 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

The K-1 is a "hybrid" visa -- a nonimmigrant visa with immigrant intent -- which is why it's handled by the Immigrant Visa units at the consulates.

Oh, right! Even though the DS-160 says nonimmigrant, the interview itself is through the immigrant visa path, is what you are saying?

[mguilli 3]

My fiance is in Khabarovsk, and we are about a week in from having paid the interview fee/attempting to schedule. We already missed one opportunity to schedule April dates because my fiancee was away from her computer for 20 minutes. This first come/first serve/need to constantly man the browser to vie for interview appointment slots is NOT a pleasant experience!

 

Thought I would pitch a few ideas out there and see if anything gets some traction.

1. Does anyone know if anything appears on the ustraveldocs dashboard (once you log in) when appointment dates become available? Or do you have to hit continue to go beyond the dashboard to see any type of calendar? I see where it is popular in the Phillipines region to use a website script to check the ustraveldocs website dashboard for updates (Check4Change Mozilla browser extension seems popular). However, in reading/viewing videos about this, it looks like the other regions' dashboards (once you log in) have a blue box under the menu options on the left side of the page that says "First available appointment is ..." (See attached image).  So perhaps this only is effective in attempting to schedule an earlier date when dates further out are readily available?
2. I have seen in some instances where fiancees have formed notification groups. We would be very interesting By distributing the website checking workload, the group has a higher chance to hit the dates when they become available, and less likely to lock up the website by checking too frequently on an individual basis. I imagine it would work by each group member having assigned website checking times that best fits their schedule, and if dates become available, they send a notice to the group channel on whatsapp or something similar. My fiance thought she had found a notification group, but over 60% of the group members already had their interview dates; the women had become friends; and there was constant chatter on the forum from conversation so as to obfuscate any notifications that might be sent out.

I'm open to any cooperative effort on the part of us fiances to reach our end goals more quickly, so if anyone else has got something that might work, I would love to hear it.

Edited February 21, 2018 by mguilli
clumsy thumbs

[barashka 97]

3 hours ago, mguilli said:

My fiance is in Khabarovsk, and we are about a week in from having paid the interview fee/attempting to schedule. We already missed one opportunity to schedule April dates because my fiancee was away from her computer for 20 minutes. This first come/first serve/need to constantly man the browser to vie for interview appointment slots is NOT a pleasant experience!

 

Thought I would pitch a few ideas out there and see if anything gets some traction.

1. Does anyone know if anything appears on the ustraveldocs dashboard (once you log in) when appointment dates become available? Or do you have to hit continue to go beyond the dashboard to see any type of calendar? I see where it is popular in the Phillipines region to use a website script to check the ustraveldocs website dashboard for updates (Check4Change Mozilla browser extension seems popular). However, in reading/viewing videos about this, it looks like the other regions' dashboards (once you log in) have a blue box under the menu options on the left side of the page that says "First available appointment is ..." (See attached image).  So perhaps this only is effective in attempting to schedule an earlier date when dates further out are readily available?
2. I have seen in some instances where fiancees have formed notification groups. We would be very interesting By distributing the website checking workload, the group has a higher chance to hit the dates when they become available, and less likely to lock up the website by checking too frequently on an individual basis. I imagine it would work by each group member having assigned website checking times that best fits their schedule, and if dates become available, they send a notice to the group channel on whatsapp or something similar. My fiance thought she had found a notification group, but over 60% of the group members already had their interview dates; the women had become friends; and there was constant chatter on the forum from conversation so as to obfuscate any notifications that might be sent out.

I'm open to any cooperative effort on the part of us fiances to reach our end goals more quickly, so if anyone else has got something that might work, I would love to hear it.

Oh my, so you are saying we need to periodically check or if not, we may indeed miss a chance to schedule an interview? That is awful! What if you just get unlucky each time? This process is so flawed! Who knows how many chances I’ve missed by now! :/ Will the initial I-129F I sent eventually expire at some point? At this rate, I am afraid it will expire or something.

[TBoneTX 45,291]

9 hours ago, visaquestions said:

Oh, right! Even though the DS-160 says nonimmigrant, the interview itself is through the immigrant visa path, is what you are saying?

Precisely.

[barashka 97]

Anybody able to schedule a date yet? I still have no luck. Very, very frustrating.

[mguilli 3]

On 2/21/2018 at 12:39 AM, visaquestions said:

Oh my, so you are saying we need to periodically check or if not, we may indeed miss a chance to schedule an interview? That is awful! What if you just get unlucky each time? This process is so flawed! Who knows how many chances I’ve missed by now! :/ Will the initial I-129F I sent eventually expire at some point? At this rate, I am afraid it will expire or something.

Since posting last, we have had 3 missed chances, where we just haven't had the right timing to catch the dates before they get filled.

 

And yes, the Visa Petition approval is only good for 4 months. So most likely I will have to figure out how to get an extension. Not 100% on who to contact for that. But you should probably plan on it, given the state of things at the moment.

[barashka 97]

2 hours ago, mguilli said:

Since posting last, we have had 3 missed chances, where we just haven't had the right timing to catch the dates before they get filled.

 

And yes, the Visa Petition approval is only good for 4 months. So most likely I will have to figure out how to get an extension. Not 100% on who to contact for that. But you should probably plan on it, given the state of things at the moment.

Oh, my! I wonder who we would contact to extend it? Also, what does the 4 month period cover? Does it mean that the visa has to be obtained within 4 months? Or, do you have to schedule an interview date within 4 months?