Asking embassy to review documents in advance?

[kirilllazebnik 5]

Hi, 

 

My wife is currently DQ'd and waiting for an interview at the embassy in Athens. They have plenty of appointments available for U.S. citizens for citizenship/notarial services. Since I'm visiting Athens currently, I was considering scheduling an appointment and asking them to check all of our documents are in order (i.e. are all the forms/supporting documents are correct and sufficient). Has anyone done this at any embassy? I'm just worried we hit some unexpected snag at the interview which delays the process, especially since I spoke to someone yesterday who said they were denied at Athens for having insufficient proof of domicile, even though they were DQ'd at the NVC.  

 

 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

Notary service is a lot different from visa approval. 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

The person you will see for US citizen services will not be a CO.  Sort of like talking to a bank teller versus a loan officer. 

[jan22 3,053]

55 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

The person you will see for US citizen services will not be a CO.  Sort of like talking to a bank teller versus a loan officer. 

This is not accurate. There are, of course, local employees who do clerical tasks, but the individuals who provide notarial services, interview for passports or CRBAs, etc., are Consular Officers (COs) assigned to the Citizen Services unit.

 

However, they do not have access to the immigrant visa cases and cannot review a case file or documents for an applicant.  If you schedule an appointment for some other service and go in, they will do nothing more than to tell you that.  So, don't waste your time or their appointment; it will not achieve what you want.  Your time is better spent reviewing the requirements very carefully and preparing your document submission as completely and thoroughly as you can.

 

And, a note of clarification:  NVC serves as a clearinghouse for document submission, fee payment, and scheduling of the visa interview. They are not COs and do not have actual approval authority. When they mark a document as "Accepted", it means that you have submitted something for that category that appears to meet the requirements or that you say is what will meet it. The final decision on that is, of course, up to the Consular officer at the interview.  (Take a look at what the official description of NVC's role is at https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/PDF-other/NVC_role_in_IVs_for_applicants_November_2016.pdf). 

 

Believe it or not -- both NVC and the interviewing CO want everything to be fine and for you to get approval at the first interview, just lIke you do. They have more than enough work to keep them busy without having to go back to a file and review documents submitted after the interview. So, relax, prepare the material to the best of your ability, and things will work out.

[millefleur 5,046]

6 hours ago, kirilllazebnik said:

Since I'm visiting Athens currently, I was considering scheduling an appointment and asking them to check all of our documents are in order (i.e. are all the forms/supporting documents are correct and sufficient).

That is not part of what US Citizen Services does. They have nothing to do with the IV unit. As others mentioned, don't even bother as they won't be able to help with this.

 

If you're concerned that you might have overlooked something or made a typo, consider getting a family or friend to review. Sometimes a second, neutral pair of eyes helps us find errors we didn't see ourselves.

 

6 hours ago, kirilllazebnik said:

I'm just worried we hit some unexpected snag at the interview which delays the process, especially since I spoke to someone yesterday who said they were denied at Athens for having insufficient proof of domicile, even though they were DQ'd at the NVC

If you're concerned about domicile, then we have tons of helpful people here on VJ who can review your evidence and give advice. I successfully got domicile approved just by following advice of what people her on VJ recommended to include.

 

[pushbrk 12,878]

Note that it is NVC's job to review your documents and see that they are in order.  The Consular Officer absolutely will review the whole file before the interview, not during the interview.  If you are DQ'd then  your documents are in order.  Now is the time you to help the spouse prepare for the actual interview.

 

Regardless of the details, and whether you could actually make a request for your documents to be reviewed, they won't change their routine for you.  They have protocols and procedures to follow.  They know what they are doing.  If you make a request, expect no result.

[StrawberryKiss 170]

21 hours ago, jan22 said:

This is not accurate. There are, of course, local employees who do clerical tasks, but the individuals who provide notarial services, interview for passports or CRBAs, etc., are Consular Officers (COs) assigned to the Citizen Services unit.

 

However, they do not have access to the immigrant visa cases and cannot review a case file or documents for an applicant.  If you schedule an appointment for some other service and go in, they will do nothing more than to tell you that.  So, don't waste your time or their appointment; it will not achieve what you want.  Your time is better spent reviewing the requirements very carefully and preparing your document submission as completely and thoroughly as you can.

I can confirm that. When we attended the CRBA interview for our child (while my petition for the spousal visa was still pending), it was also conducted by a CO. However, this was also in a special wing separate from the building where all the visas are issued and the CO doesn’t have time (nor access as mentioned above) to deal with your petition or docs at NVC since pretty much all the time slots are filled due to COVID backlogs. 

[JeanneAdil 6,498]

all documents have been seen and reviewed but they are scanned 

but they are not originals

if you read many posts on here a person is put into AP because they did not show up to interview with originals 

that is up to u,   take your originals as directed in the notice u receive and /or on the embassy site,  and you'll be ok

 

obviously the other person  you talked to did not have the documents to show his USC spouse or fiancee had residency in the US /  if a USC lives outside the US at time of interview,  they have to show they have kept a US  bank account,  or state DL or will live with family or have a lease or deed to a US home.  Basically an embassy is not going to approve a visa to the US to move here if you have no place to live.   So, are u in the same boat?   if not,  no problem

 

never compare one visa interview to another 

concentrate on yours and the relationship / you have to have good knowledge of your USC partner

[RnJ2021 59]

On 10/22/2021 at 7:27 AM, jan22 said:

Believe it or not -- both NVC and the interviewing CO want everything to be fine and for you to get approval at the first interview, just lIke you do. They have more than enough work to keep them busy without having to go back to a file and review documents submitted after the interview. So, relax, prepare the material to the best of your ability, and things will work out.

Maybe. I encountered an extremely hostile CO in 2016. I have a complex about going back to the embassy.

[kirilllazebnik 5]

Thanks everyone @jan22 @millefleur @pushbrk for your advice. I will make a separate thread (or follow up on this one) about my specific situation, or try and contact the embassy directly since they have my case now.

 

The requirements for "domicile" just seem vague. Out of the list they have on the travel.state.gov website:

 

• A voting record in the United States
   
• Records of paying U.S. state or local taxes
   
• Having property in the United States
   
• Maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States
   
• Having a permanent mailing address in the United States
   
• Other proof such as evidence that the sponsor is a student studying abroad or that a foreign government has authorized a temporary stay

 

I have everything except owning property in the U.S. (including proof that the Canadian government authorized a temporary stay for me). 

 

Also, the Athens embassy seems to have some strange translation requirements. From the official website https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/ATH-Athens.html: Any documents that are not in English or Greek must be accompanied by an English translation. Also, you MUST provide an English translation for all court or legal documents (other than divorce documents). Translations are only accepted from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 

Well this seems to differ from the NVC requirements https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-5-collect-financial-evidence-and-other-supporting-documents/step-7-collect-civil-documents.html which only require a certified translation. I asked the Athens embassy about this and they gave me a vague answer (they didn't really answer my question). Also what is a "court or legal document" - does that include birth certificates and marriage certificates?