The Embassy is refusing to give us an interview! What Can we do?

[ibulp 14]

24 minutes ago, pablo2752 said:

Sorry about your situation, but what would the basis of your lawsuit be?

I explained my situation and asked if I can sue them and obviously not. 

[yusef94 7]

22 hours ago, ibulp said:

Greetings, 

We have an approved I-30 since august 2019 and was at NVC at the time and at the US Embassy at Baghdad waiting for an interview. Protestor attacked the US Embassy in Baghdad so we had to move our case to US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey instead and March 2020 Covid hits the world and ever since the Embassy in Ankara is telling us that they only schedule interview appointments for applicants who are living in Turkey.

My wife lives in Iraq but we have a tourist visa good for a year for her and contacted both Embassy and NVC multiple times but they are refusing to help.

What can I do at this point? We really need to get an interview and get done with it or I have to move back.

 

If they keep delaying it can I sue the State Department? 

 

Please advise and help and I will be willing to hire an attorney if that can help.

 

 

You are not alone we all waiting for Ankara interview, many are before you, you can't do anything but wait. They're processing visas for Turkish resident and citizens only you have no right to sue or complain so just wait. Our case been sitting at NVC for 7 months now, I know people been waiting for 9 and some 11 months. They have piles over piles of cases its not fair to others to rush some and leave some, they don't even accept expedite!!!!!!!! i called many times and showed them how serious the situation in Iraq is and they refused our expedite multiple times, and I have a friend who's living in Turkey been waiting for an Interview for 10 months ( he's Turkish resident) and just got his interview last month but no VISA yet, still waiting for them to finish it. 

In other words, chill and wait there's nothing you can do, good luck.

Edited March 2, 2021 by yusef94

[ibulp 14]

48 minutes ago, yusef94 said:

You are not alone we all waiting for Ankara interview, many are before you, you can't do anything but wait. They're processing visas for Turkish resident and citizens only you have no right to sue or complain so just wait. Our case been sitting at NVC for 7 months now, I know people been waiting for 9 and some 11 months. They have piles over piles of cases its not fair to others to rush some and leave some, they don't even accept expedite!!!!!!!! i called many times and showed them how serious the situation in Iraq is and they refused our expedite multiple times, and I have a friend who's living in Turkey been waiting for an Interview for 10 months ( he's Turkish resident) and just got his interview last month but no VISA yet, still waiting for them to finish it. 

In other words, chill and wait there's nothing you can do, good luck.

Well I'm chill as I mentioned I was ONLY asking IF it is possible to sue the state department. 

 

[HKS 169]

On 3/1/2021 at 1:48 AM, fem_femme said:

I heard it's easy to get a Turkish residency although I don't know if it's easy for a certain countries or just about everyone. I would look into getting one to move your case forward. Good luck. My husband was stuck in a simila situation but with a diffrent scenario lol. We live in a carzy world nowadays!

Not easy anymore. Turkish govt changed a lot of things in regards to residency visas. It also depends a lot on your country of citizenship. Easier to get tourist VISA, but depends on your country as to the conditions. 
 

[HKS 169]

On 3/1/2021 at 7:54 PM, yusef94 said:

You are not alone we all waiting for Ankara interview, many are before you, you can't do anything but wait. They're processing visas for Turkish resident and citizens only you have no right to sue or complain so just wait. Our case been sitting at NVC for 7 months now, I know people been waiting for 9 and some 11 months. They have piles over piles of cases its not fair to others to rush some and leave some, they don't even accept expedite!!!!!!!! i called many times and showed them how serious the situation in Iraq is and they refused our expedite multiple times, and I have a friend who's living in Turkey been waiting for an Interview for 10 months ( he's Turkish resident) and just got his interview last month but no VISA yet, still waiting for them to finish it. 

In other words, chill and wait there's nothing you can do, good luck.

Yeah I am finding more and more ppl in similar situations. 
Even if you get an interview you are likely to be hit with ds-5535 , just for being from Iraq like we did. AP black hole. 

[HKS 169]

On 3/1/2021 at 10:37 AM, SusieQQQ said:

Is it possible to get the case to be moved to Abu Dhabi or Doha instead, would that work for her? Or even somewhere else, that will allow her to interview, though that seems more tricky?

 

https://iq.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/erbil/visas/

 

The National Visa Center will reassign all immigrant visa, refugee follow-to-join, and asylee follow-to-join applications that were originally destined for U.S. Embassy Baghdad to U.S. Embassies Ankara, Abu Dhabi, or Doha.  ....

You may request that your application be transferred to a different U.S. embassy or consulate other than those in Ankara, Abu Dhabi, and Doha.  To request the transfer, directly email the U.S. embassy or consulate to which you would like your application to be transferred.  Unless you are a citizen or resident of the country in which that U.S. embassy or consulate is located, however,  your application transfer request may be refused.

All the Embassies that Iraqis can transfer to, due to Embassy in Baghdad being closed, are having similar problems. I haven’t heard anyone having better luck at getting through process. 

[erika86 6]

This won't help you in Turkey, but if you are open to living in other countries, might I suggest Spain?  As a US citizen, I found it straightforward to apply for a non-lucrative visa in Spain, which lead to a residency permit here.  In theory, it is possible to bring one's spouse here on the basis of one's own residency permit.  The taxes are higher than the US, but it is workable for us right now.  Spain has been encouraging immigration for about the past decade.  

[HKS 169]

5 hours ago, erika86 said:

This won't help you in Turkey, but if you are open to living in other countries, might I suggest Spain?  As a US citizen, I found it straightforward to apply for a non-lucrative visa in Spain, which lead to a residency permit here.  In theory, it is possible to bring one's spouse here on the basis of one's own residency permit.  The taxes are higher than the US, but it is workable for us right now.  Spain has been encouraging immigration for about the past decade.  

What wont help in Turkey?

[erika86 6]

9 minutes ago, HKS said:

What wont help in Turkey?

An observation about the ease of getting residency status in Spain.

[HKS 169]

14 minutes ago, erika86 said:

An observation about the ease of getting residency status in Spain.

This is off topic. 

Edited March 8, 2021 by HKS

[fem_femme 6]

Wait...is that ds-5535 form a new requirement for everyone or it's for only Iraq citizens? Im confused...everything keeps changing so fast. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

4 hours ago, fem_femme said:

Wait...is that ds-5535 form a new requirement for everyone or it's for only Iraq citizens? Im confused...everything keeps changing so fast. 

It’s a requirement for whoever they decide to ask it from.

[HKS 169]

5 hours ago, fem_femme said:

Wait...is that ds-5535 form a new requirement for everyone or it's for only Iraq citizens? Im confused...everything keeps changing so fast. 

https://en.usvisaservice.de/us-visa-news/article/ds-5535-form-supplemental-questions-for-applicants/
 

That link is a pretty good summary. It is usually given to ppl from 

• Iran
• Iraq
• Libya
• North Korea
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Syria
• Yemen