CR1 is DQ, current wait time for interview in Manila?

[flipicaneze 20]

On 7/5/2024 at 2:31 PM, Jason and May said:

Hey, hey! How about USEM, eh? Milking August 2023 DQs for 3 months now. Tease a few more letters out but not quite all of August. 

The Department of State's dedication to making this process as lengthy as possible is incredibly impressive. Infuriating when you're in the process. But impressive, nonetheless. 

I've been viewing the Manila- US Embassy (DQ) page and it seems that a few people are starting to get IL's without any sign of a mass auto-expedite.  

Edited July 11 by flipicaneze

[Boneleech 3]

They're busy processing all the tourist visas they can and f1's and h Visa's since we aren't important. But hey if you arrive at the border, throw your passport away and pretend you're someone else. They will welcome you with open arms and give you free healthcare, a debit card and social security benefits.

 

I'm so sick and tired of this administration and even more so on how redundant this system is. If USCIS says it's okay, why do we have to deal with the DoS. DHS has better tools than dos for vetting.

[Jason and May 79]

17 hours ago, flipicaneze said:

I've been viewing the Manila- US Embassy (DQ) page and it seems that a few people are starting to get IL's without any sign of a mass auto-expedite.  

That's accurate. It seems last Friday, July 5th, CR/IR DQs up through August 22, 2023, received interview letters. 

I was just coming here to complain because my wife's DQ date is 08/24/23, and USEM has been issuing ILs for August DQs at a painstakingly (ridiculously) slow rate over the course of 3 months (June was skipped altogether, with no ILs sent out at all). 

I'm typically not optimistic in this process, but I do think based on historical IL issuance trends, next Friday another round of ILs should go out, covering at least the remainder of August. Hopefully, anyway. Anything is possible. Including another 5 months of radio silence. So, we'll see. 

[Jason and May 79]

13 hours ago, Boneleech said:

They're busy processing all the tourist visas they can and f1's and h Visa's since we aren't important. But hey if you arrive at the border, throw your passport away and pretend you're someone else. They will welcome you with open arms and give you free healthcare, a debit card and social security benefits.

 

I'm so sick and tired of this administration and even more so on how redundant this system is. If USCIS says it's okay, why do we have to deal with the DoS. DHS has better tools than dos for vetting.

You're not wrong. 10 and 12,000 tourist visas monthly, more or less. The new priority, it seems, is transit visas. In May, USEM issued something like 7,000 transit visas, if I recall correctly. And less than 400 IR visas, and double-digit CR visas (twenty-something). 

In 2023, the Department of State issued 10.4 million tourist visas worldwide and, wait for it...563,000 immigrant visas. And they issued a bulletin proudly proclaiming they are prioritizing worldwide nonimmigrant visas. That's how little anyone really cares about immigration. At least legal immigration. 

[spicynujac 23]

It's pretty amazing that it takes years to bring a spouse to the USA; I guess we make Zimbabwe look good sometimes.

 

The fact that transit visas are even needed is ridiculous (the US is the only country I know of that charges hundreds of dollars for the privilege of transiting through its (generally bad) airports, and then reserves the right to revoke said visa and ruin your trip if the immigration officer feels like it).  But I just think of the Serenity Prayer -- we can't affect this at all so why worry over it.  Yeah freeing up 7,000 cases a month would really help those of us with immigration visas pending but when was the last time you saw something significant in America get changed or fixed?

 

Does the ambassador have the authority to prioritize one class of visa over another or speed things up?  Not sure, but that's the only thing I see possibly changing things.

 

https://ph.usembassy.gov/ambassador/

 

Anyway, prioritizing travel visas makes sense.  What is really needed is sufficient staff to do their job in a reasonable amount of time!

[top_secret 2,421]

The vast number of C1/D visas you see issued out of US Embassy Manila are because Filipino seamen are the backbone of the worlds maritime transport crewmen. Basically, any shipping company that hires crewmembers in the Philippines requires them to obtain a US C1/D visa as a condition of employment since odds are that sooner or later, they may need to make port in the US. Strait C1 only transit visas are much less common in the Philippines and honestly the C1 only applicants could have got a 10 year B2 tourist visa for the same amount of trouble.

 

The bigger mystery is why they just don’t just set aside like about 3 or 4 days and knock out their immigrant backlog in one fell swoop.  US Embassy Manila has the capacity do like a thousand interviews in a day of all categories combined. Even IR5's who were steadily decreasing their backlog haven’t seen any movement for the last couple of months.  Even those who have ready cases that need reschedules due to sputum testing etc. are having difficulty getting interviews.

[Jason and May 79]

19 hours ago, top_secret said:

The bigger mystery is why they just don’t just set aside like about 3 or 4 days and knock out their immigrant backlog in one fell swoop.  US Embassy Manila has the capacity do like a thousand interviews in a day of all categories combined. Even IR5's who were steadily decreasing their backlog haven’t seen any movement for the last couple of months.  Even those who have ready cases that need reschedules due to sputum testing etc. are having difficulty getting interviews.

I can't help but think this is at least in part due to the State Department's worldwide directive to prioritize nonimmigrant visas. USEM's historical data suggests the Philippines is in the top five countries for total immigrant visa issuances yearly, and certainly in 2023. So, it appears they are processing adequate numbers of immigrant visas yearly based on data. And those numbers are statistically consistent year to year, at least since 2014, if I recall correctly. What has changed is the number of nonimmigrant visas issued yearly, which have spiked dramatically. 

So, partly, I have difficulty understanding the stagnation of interviews, unless it's just a hiccup. And, partly, I have a really difficult time accepting the State Department's shift in policy.

I agree, though: As you suggested, make a fairly insubstantial cut in the number of nonimmigrant interviews, and bring immigrant visas current and back to a 6- to 9-month wait. Even though uncomfortable, having experienced nearly 11 months of waiting since DQ, I can only imagine having a pretty solid base that you're going to be waiting 6 to 9 months versus indefinitely (tongue-in-cheek) would be much easier to digest. 

[A69 8]

On 1/25/2024 at 9:54 PM, LeroyJenkins said:

 

My understanding when it comes to the docket delay is that it highly depends on where you file it.

 

Yes, mandamus lawsuits have increased over the past year (and for good reason), but it doesn't necessarily mean that it'll take forever. My understanding (from a ton of research) is that, if it's filed correctly, it still often takes 90 days or so. Of course, if you get pushback from the government, that timeline will be longer.

 

I've talked to a few different lawyers about this and their opinions vary, but, if I were DQ'd already, I'd probably give it a shot (not saying that's what you should do).

 

But I've also considered a wide range of different options (including moving my wife to a different country). 

 

What do you mean about the rubber-band analogy?

Spain has a NLV visa if u have about 30k usd you can show u can live in spain as a resisent for a year without needing to work. U get a temporary resident card for year, and then move the case to usem in spain

[cup1981 5]

It's been a while since I've been on here. Last I went through this process was in Indonesia 12+years ago, and it was so straightforward and efficient.

 

My new wife is from the Philippines, and we just got DQ'd on July 5, 2024. So, I am trying to wrap my head around all the dates.

 

The NVC told us they will schedule us an appointment within 3 months in Manila. But I am seeing here that it seems like it's more like 12 months from DQ to interview in Manila. Is that correct? 

 

Thanks! 

[top_secret 2,421]

17 minutes ago, cup1981 said:

The NVC told us they will schedule us an appointment within 3 months in Manila. But I am seeing here that it seems like it's more like 12 months from DQ to interview in Manila. Is that correct? 

 

Currently they are stuck at scheduling cases DQ up until about the first week of August 2023 so it is rather definitively about a 12 month backlog right now.  Looking forward it seems impossible to predict if that will improve, get worse or remain the same.

[Jason and May 79]

20 minutes ago, top_secret said:

 

Currently they are stuck at scheduling cases DQ up until about the first week of August 2023 so it is rather definitively about a 12 month backlog right now.  Looking forward it seems impossible to predict if that will improve, get worse or remain the same.

On July 5th they sent out interview letters for cases DQ thru August 22, 2023. So, they are still in August, but nearing the end…after 3 months of parceling a few days at a time. 

 

They are now moving into month 4 of holding out on August 2023, unless they finish out August this Friday, which is anyone’s guess. 

[cup1981 5]

34 minutes ago, top_secret said:

 

Currently they are stuck at scheduling cases DQ up until about the first week of August 2023 so it is rather definitively about a 12 month backlog right now.  Looking forward it seems impossible to predict if that will improve, get worse or remain the same.

Ugh... oh boy. Well, what a ####### show this has turned into. My wife is seeing her friends on K1 visas getting approved in 3-6 months, so she's now freaking out. Guess we're in for a looooong wait. 

11 minutes ago, Jason and May said:

On July 5th they sent out interview letters for cases DQ thru August 22, 2023. So, they are still in August, but nearing the end…after 3 months of parceling a few days at a time. 

 

They are now moving into month 4 of holding out on August 2023, unless they finish out August this Friday, which is anyone’s guess. 

Funny, my wife's name is May too, haha. Man, in Indonesia, it was soooooo fast. We actually had to delay them because she was a J1 visa when we met and had to fulfill her 2 years in her home country first. 

[An D 27]

Just now, cup1981 said:

Ugh... oh boy. Well, what a ####### show this has turned into. My wife is seeing her friends on K1 visas getting approved in 3-6 months, so she's now freaking out. Guess we're in for a looooong wait. 

Yes, fiance(e)s and tourists are currently more important than spouses and children, unfortunately. 

[cup1981 5]

4 minutes ago, An D said:

Yes, fiance(e)s and tourists are currently more important than spouses and children, unfortunately. 

 

The odd thing is we did both the I-129F (K-3) and I-130 (CR-1) per immigration lawyer's recommendations. The I-129F never even made it to the NVC. The I-130 was quickly approved, making them cancel the I-129F. Would have probably been better if they just let the I-129F roll on at this point. Ugh. 

[Jason and May 79]

4 minutes ago, cup1981 said:

 

The odd thing is we did both the I-129F (K-3) and I-130 (CR-1) per immigration lawyer's recommendations. The I-129F never even made it to the NVC. The I-130 was quickly approved, making them cancel the I-129F. Would have probably been better if they just let the I-129F roll on at this point. Ugh. 

Our 129 just sat for 10.5 months until USCIS adjudicated my wife’s 130 petition and then died.