AP after Interview

[Dead8oy 18]

2 hours ago, givionte said:

I assume you are the sponsor, they brought you both in for the interview, for a CR1/IR1?  Was that how they scheduled it, or did they request you to come in unplanned?

 

Hopefully the official good news will come quick, my wife goes in for her interview next Monday, so we are nervously anticipating that day, and hoping for an early Christmas gift!

Our petition is an IR-1 and they interviewed my wife for 2 hours before calling me in, unplanned, for a further 2 hours of interview. They didn’t ask for any documentation other than the notarized birth, marriage, and police white books. They kept her passport.

 

Now we are still waiting. The case was updated on December 11, but remains in AP.

 

I hope that your case goes very smoothly. My best wishes for you and your wife.

Edited December 12, 2019 by Dead8oy
Addition

[givionte 138]

3 hours ago, Dead8oy said:

Our petition is an IR-1 and they interviewed my wife for 2 hours before calling me in, unplanned, for a further 2 hours of interview. They didn’t ask for any documentation other than the notarized birth, marriage, and police white books. They kept her passport.

 

Now we are still waiting. The case was updated on December 11, but remains in AP.

 

I hope that your case goes very smoothly. My best wishes for you and your wife.

Wow, that's crazy, interviews like that are a rarity.  I guess since I'll be waiting next door during the interview I better be on the ready for anything.

[RamonGomez 272]

22 hours ago, Dead8oy said:

Interview 12/05 (total time 4 hours including bringing me in for interview also).

Approval was received on 12/05.

 

Case has been in AP since then. Today the date of last update changed to 12/11.

 

We have no idea what is happening right now.

#######? 4 hours total? I've never heard of an immigration interview going that long, aside from the infamous Stokes AOS interview. Was the interviewer hostile?  Was there a particular issues (eg communist party membership) that caused the interview to go that long?

 

[Dead8oy 18]

1 hour ago, RamonGomez said:

Was the interviewer hostile?  Was there a particular issues (eg communist party membership) that caused the interview to go that long?

 

 

There were three interviewers:

Young Asian (at least part) male with American accent.

Middle-aged Asian female who did not converse in English.

Middle-aged Indian male with American accent.

 

None of them were what I would call hostile, though the only time anyone cracked a smile was when the young Asian male handed over the approval notice at the very end.

 

My wife has never been a member of the communist party and does not hold any affiliations. The questions all revolved around personal relationship history (we've been married over 2 years and have a very solid relationship background). Perhaps it's all just bad timing/luck on our part.

 

12/12 and still no change to the status.

[Dead8oy 18]

An update to our situation.

 

It is now 12/18. We have exchanged multiple enquiries with Guangzhou consulate and their responses are unhelpful bordering on impolite.

 

The consulate still has my wife’s passport and refuses to provide any information. Due to work and other pressures I may be forced to return to the US. Frankly the consulate does not offer any information at all which can allow me to plan, or for our family to be together this Christmas. Do not expect any humanity or empathy.

 

As a final note of information for anyone trying to contact the consulate. The web-form is the only method you can use to reach someone. Their phone number is a local Guangzhou number but is mostly a recorded IVR. Pressing 0 routes you to a switchboard in the Beijing US Embassy, who will transfer you to the USCIS number in Guangzhou (another IVR with a broken non-functional voicemail). If you tell the switchboard that the number is wrong they will tell you to email the consulate - which as we all know is impossible.

 

Good luck fellow VJ’ers. Pray you don’t get stuck in AP long following the interview.

[RandyW 149]

They don't keep the passport unless they are ready to put a visa in it.

 

It usually takes around 2 weeks - maybe 3.

[Dead8oy 18]

As of 3am Eastern time, 4pm China, the CEAC status finally changed to issued.

 

Interview: 05 December

Visa issued: 23 December

 

I’ll update once the passport is delivered.