K-1 Visa Questions

[Proactiv1 10]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

That's correct. You can't go to just any medical center/clinic. You have to get it done at one of the designated clinics who the embassies work with.

 

Here are the clinics in Germany:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/FRN-Frankfurt.html#medical_exam_instructions

 

 

Here are the clinics in Poland:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/WRW-Warsaw.html#medical_exam_instructions

Thanks and as it says on that links you provided that we need to have the visa interview letter on hand to get the medical tests done so I should wait for the NOA2.

[millefleur 5,046]

11 minutes ago, Proactiv1 said:

Thanks and as it says on that links you provided that we need to have the visa interview letter on hand to get the medical tests done so I should wait for the NOA2.

I hope it comes quickly. I do think she'll have some flexibility with which country she wants to do the medical in. Let us know what the say, the situation with Ukrainian applicants going through Germany is still really new and we haven't seen many updates here on VJ yet about how things actually work on the ground.

[Proactiv1 10]

3 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I hope it comes quickly. I do think she'll have some flexibility with which country she wants to do the medical in. Let us know what the say, the situation with Ukrainian applicants going through Germany is still really new and we haven't seen many updates here on VJ yet about how things actually work on the ground.

Thanks and I wish too that we receive the NOA2 anytime now as April 15th is not that far.

[slavaskii 886]

@millefleur @Proactiv1 I just saw this about the 'visa interview letter' requirement. While it's on the State Department's webpage, I'm not sure it's required and in fact I do not believe it is. I looked at the 'welcome letter' regarding medical sent to K1 applicants, and it references only a DS-260 confirmation (presumably, DS-160 for us) and case number. It says nothing about the letter. I can ask some Belarusian filers who just went through the process, but I know nearly for a fact one of them did it in Minsk without the letter because their case just got to Warsaw a few days ago.

 

Point being, I'm pretty sure you'd be fine with just a print-out of NOA2, but we'll need to verify this. Again, Warsaw's already delayed over a month for medical and interview appointments are now in August, so none of this really matters; medical will always precede the interview the way speeds are going. But for the proactive among us, it would just be beneficial to get these things squared away ahead of time.

Edited March 21, 2022 by slavaskii

[Proactiv1 10]

Hi Guys! I received the NOA2 approval just today. USCIS approved on 3/18 and I got it by 3/21 that's super fast for the first class mail to arrive from California to Atlanta in one business day. The notice says that my petition has been sent to the NVC and all further communication to be directed to NVC.

 

Even though the notice says that it is going to take anywhere between 2-4 weeks, how long does it typically take for the NVC to send me the notification that they have done their work and sent the petition to the US embassy? I'll be sending them an email tomorrow morning to know explaining the situation and request them to send the petition to the US embassy in Frankfurt, Germany and also ask them if it's ok to get the medical tests done ahead of time in Warsaw/Krakow, Poland while waiting for their notification.

 

[slavaskii 886]

8 minutes ago, Proactiv1 said:

Hi Guys! I received the NOA2 approval just today. USCIS approved on 3/18 and I got it by 3/21 that's super fast for the first class mail to arrive from California to Atlanta in one business day. The notice says that my petition has been sent to the NVC and all further communication to be directed to NVC.

 

Even though the notice says that it is going to take anywhere between 2-4 weeks, how long does it typically take for the NVC to send me the notification that they have done their work and sent the petition to the US embassy? I'll be sending them an email tomorrow morning to know explaining the situation and request them to send the petition to the US embassy in Frankfurt, Germany and also ask them if it's ok to get the medical tests done ahead of time in Warsaw/Krakow, Poland while waiting for their notification.

 

Is your fiancee Ukrainian? I presume yes but just making sure she doesn't have PR in Poland or something. I don't think NVC will be able to help with your case specifically until the case number generates; at least, they couldn't change my fiancee's address until that came through. I ask because if she's Ukrainian, it'll automatically get forwarded to Frankfurt, as we think. It's always good to call and verify, but even on the phone last week with NVC they checked to make sure Belarusian applicants were still going to Warsaw and not Frankfurt like the Ukrainians. 

 

I also recommend only calling NVC. I've heard emails are slow to respond, if ever, but they're incredibly good over the phone - even if you have to wait a long time. If you're asking about timeframes, for me, I got the physical NOA2 roughly the same time as you, and from there, it took approximately 2 weeks for it to get from CA --> NVC. 9 days (5 working days) until I had the case number; was told K1s are prioritized by NVC anyway. From that point on, it's just up to Frankfurt to request the case. There's no clear time on this and NVC doesn't have country-specific information, but they can give you an 'idea' of how embassies are doing in requesting K1 files. Good luck and happy to hear!

[Mike and Liliia 24]

Received this response from Frankfurt regarding medical exam:

 

 

 

Quote

Dear sir,

 

This office will accept the medical examination conducted in any country of the EU

 

 

Sincerely,

 

U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt  Consular Section • iv/ tbp Gießener Str. 30 • 60435 Frankfurt am Main • Germany

 

 

[Cclemonds27 18]

Thank you for sharing this information, I going to Poland on Thursday I will see about getting them done while I am there.

[Proactiv1 10]

12 hours ago, slavaskii said:

Is your fiancee Ukrainian? I presume yes but just making sure she doesn't have PR in Poland or something. I don't think NVC will be able to help with your case specifically until the case number generates; at least, they couldn't change my fiancee's address until that came through. I ask because if she's Ukrainian, it'll automatically get forwarded to Frankfurt, as we think. It's always good to call and verify, but even on the phone last week with NVC they checked to make sure Belarusian applicants were still going to Warsaw and not Frankfurt like the Ukrainians. 

 

I also recommend only calling NVC. I've heard emails are slow to respond, if ever, but they're incredibly good over the phone - even if you have to wait a long time. If you're asking about timeframes, for me, I got the physical NOA2 roughly the same time as you, and from there, it took approximately 2 weeks for it to get from CA --> NVC. 9 days (5 working days) until I had the case number; was told K1s are prioritized by NVC anyway. From that point on, it's just up to Frankfurt to request the case. There's no clear time on this and NVC doesn't have country-specific information, but they can give you an 'idea' of how embassies are doing in requesting K1 files. Good luck and happy to hear!

Yes, my fiance is Ukrainian and now in Poland for the last 2.5 weeks. Thanks for all the information. I'll call the NVC this morning and see what they have to say and will update here. As SVC at CA approved and sent the petition on 3/18, I hope that the petition will reach the NVC by 3/25. I'll post my updates after my call with NVC today.

13 hours ago, Mike and Liliia said:

Received this response from Frankfurt regarding medical exam:

 

 

 

 

Thanks for this information.

[Proactiv1 10]

I tried calling the NVC twice so far and I got this automated voice saying that the customer service agents are all busy so call at a later point in time. I'll continue trying to I get someone to talk to. When I went to the NVC website to sign in it was asking for a "case number" so is it the I-129F receipt number or something else? I tried with the receipt number and in combination with my date of birth but it didn't recognize it and then I tried with my fiance's date of birth and still I get the same response that the entered information doesn't match their records.

 

If it is the DOS case ID which NVC will assign then I have to wait for them to receive my original petition and assign one. What do you think? Thanks.

 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2022 by Proactiv1

[millefleur 5,046]

9 minutes ago, Proactiv1 said:

When I went to the NVC website to sign in it was asking for a "case number" so is it the I-129F receipt number or something else? I tried with the receipt number and in combination with my date of birth but it didn't recognize it and then I tried with my fiance's date of birth and still I get the same response that the entered information doesn't match their records.

Case number begins with 3 letters, like ABC12443....etc. It should look something like this:

 

 

Source: https://www.visatutor.com/the-fiance-visa-nvc-case-number-how-do-they-come-up-with-it/

[Proactiv1 10]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

Case number begins with 3 letters, like ABC12443....etc. It should look something like this:

 

 

Source: https://www.visatutor.com/the-fiance-visa-nvc-case-number-how-do-they-come-up-with-it/

So, basically it is the NVC case number and not the I-129F receipt number.

[Proactiv1 10]

Does anyone know what's the average hold time on a call with NVC before you get to a representative? I have been waiting for 1hr 30mts...

 

[Crazy Cat 41,865]

Just now, Proactiv1 said:

Does anyone know what's the average hold time on a call with NVC before you get to a representative? I have been waiting for 1hr 30mts...

 

There is no correct answer.  It depends on their workload.

[Chancy 6,241]

4 hours ago, Proactiv1 said:

When I went to the NVC website to sign in it was asking for a "case number"

 

K1 do not sign in to the CEAC portal because K1 do not need to submit documents to NVC.  All you need with CEAC is the case status check, which is here -- https://ceac.state.gov/ceacstattracker/status.aspx

 

You do need the NVC case number (ie. DOS case ID).  For that, you need to wait for an email from NVC, or call the NVC hotline number to ask for it.  It may take a week or so after petition approval for the case to be transferred to NVC, so I recommend you hold off on contacting NVC until after a week has passed.