March 2023 NVC Submission

[Ramirez65 69]

I guess since others are posting their interview/visa experiences here, I'll post mine.  My husband and stepson went for their medical exams 8 days before their interview date (Bogota, Colombia embassy).  The doctor found a spot on my husband's chest x-ray so he made him go for a 3-day sputum test (for tuberculosis), which takes 8 weeks to get results ☹️  The doctor told him to still go to his interview but gave him a form to give to the embassy officer that said his case would be in administrative proceedings for 8 weeks.  My husband did his 3-day sputum test and the initial results were negative.  We're on week 3 and if he doesn't get a call by week 8 we'll know he's fine.  They went to the interview on July 6th and an issue came up for my stepson.  In Colombia they're now doing a special name check in the system to make sure the person's name getting a visa doesn't match the name of any known narcotraffickers or guerillas.  My stepson's name matched and they told him he needed to request a special document from a Colombian government agency that says it isn't him.  Their visas were both approved pending those two issues.  My stepson requested the document that same day and they told him it would be 15 business days to produce it and they would send it directly to the embassy.  I'd like to tell you all that I think about this process (especially being charged an additional $440 for a sputum test that costs $120 in the US) but I don't want to be a Debbie Downer.  I'm thankful we were approved and it's just a matter of waiting another 2 months 🙄 but I will say this - our immigration system is beyond broken.  I just met 3 Mexican guys who were traveling by air to the US for the first time.  They applied for asylum via the new app that our government released awhile ago.  The time it took between applying for asylum and entering the US - 14 days.  The time since I've physically seen my husband - 14 months.  🤷‍♀️ 

[aaroncv3 106]

32 minutes ago, Ramirez65 said:

 I don't want to be a Debbie Downer.  I'm thankful we were approved and it's just a matter of waiting another 2 months 🙄 but I will say this - our immigration system is beyond broken.  I just met 3 Mexican guys who were traveling by air to the US for the first time.  They applied for asylum via the new app that our government released awhile ago.  The time it took between applying for asylum and entering the US - 14 days.  The time since I've physically seen my husband - 14 months.  🤷‍♀️ 

I'm really sorry to hear this.

 

I lost count of the number of times I heard an acquaintance say, "why don't you guys just fly to Mexico and walk across?"

 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's heard it.  Ad nauseam.

 

So I can commiserate.

 

32 minutes ago, Ramirez65 said:

I guess since others are posting their interview/visa experiences here, I'll post mine. 

 

32 minutes ago, Ramirez65 said:

I'm thankful we were approved and it's just a matter of waiting another 2 months

 

Your positive attitude is inspiring.

 

At first i was afraid to post that we didn't get the news we hoped, but then I realized the difficulty of this process and the candor of the collective experience is exactly what gives this forum its value.

 

Glad to hear your update.  There will be cake.

Edited July 17, 2023 by aaroncv3
Grammar

[Ramirez65 69]

15 hours ago, aaroncv3 said:

I'm really sorry to hear this.

 

I lost count of the number of times I heard an acquaintance say, "why don't you guys just fly to Mexico and walk across?"

 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's heard it.  Ad nauseam.

 

So I can commiserate.

 

 

 

Your positive attitude is inspiring.

 

At first i was afraid to post that we didn't get the news we hoped, but then I realized the difficulty of this process and the candor of the collective experience is exactly what gives this forum its value.

 

Glad to hear your update.  There will be cake.

 

Thank you friend......you are so right about this forum being helpful - I've come here many times to be comforted in the fact that I'm not alone, some have it worse than I do and this too shall pass.  

 

About that cake......ice cream too? 😊

[S&J@2020 35]

Our immigrant visa got approved today. What a journey it's been!

[Ramirez65 69]

4 minutes ago, S&J@2020 said:

Our immigrant visa got approved today. What a journey it's been!

Congratulations 🎈🍾🎊🎉 

[aaroncv3 106]

7 minutes ago, S&J@2020 said:

Our immigrant visa got approved today. What a journey it's been!

Awesome!!!🙌

[S&J@2020 35]

9 minutes ago, Ramirez65 said:

Congratulations 🎈🍾🎊🎉 

Thank you so much. I hope your issues have been resolved. 

[S&J@2020 35]

13 minutes ago, aaroncv3 said:

Awesome!!!🙌

Thank you. I trust your issues are resolved too.

[Ramirez65 69]

15 minutes ago, S&J@2020 said:

Thank you so much. I hope your issues have been resolved. 

Almost....one more week and our visa should get issued 🙏

[aaroncv3 106]

9 minutes ago, S&J@2020 said:

Thank you. I trust your issues are resolved too.

We are flying home, together, to the US, in 3 weeks.  Good luck with your travel arrangements.

[S&J@2020 35]

18 minutes ago, aaroncv3 said:

We are flying home, together, to the US, in 3 weeks.  Good luck with your travel arrangements.

That's awesome.  And thanks once again.

[Gigi20 0]

On 6/20/2023 at 6:01 AM, S&J@2020 said:

We now have an interview date in Sierra Leone slated for 21st August.

What was the process transferring to sierra leone? Did you have to get a resident permit? If so, what was the process? Thanks in advance

 

[S&J@2020 35]

10 hours ago, Gigi20 said:

What was the process transferring to sierra leone? Did you have to get a resident permit? If so, what was the process? Thanks in advance

 

Yes, a resident permit is definitely needed for a transfer to Sierra Leone. You can fly there to get it done. Thanks.

[Ramirez65 69]

Good news today - our visa was finally issued!  My husband will be traveling either tonight or tomorrow.  It's been a long and stressful process but all worth it.  Good luck to those of you still waiting!!

[aaroncv3 106]

5 hours ago, Ramirez65 said:

Good news today - our visa was finally issued!  My husband will be traveling either tonight or tomorrow.  It's been a long and stressful process but all worth it.  Good luck to those of you still waiting!!

Excellent news!  We arrived in the US on Tuesday, and have been pretty jet-lagged until now.  We had a lot of chores to catch up on also, at the house here in the US.  I'm so glad to hear your news!  Good luck!