F2A Retrogression - April Visa Bulletin

[ultrasoul 51]

@Chancy @Ontarkie My wife's under 21 siblings who were petitioned by their LPR parents are having their F2A interiews at US Embassy Manila next week in April.

 

I was just looking at the April visa bulletin when I saw that F2A has retrogessed from Current to Sept 2020.

 

Is it correct that this retrogression does not affect the issuance of their IV visa next week April since their PD's are July 2020? 

Thanks a mil!

 

 

[Chancy 6,241]

2 minutes ago, ultrasoul said:

Is it correct that this retrogression does not affect the issuance of their IV visa next week April since their PD's are July 2020? 

 

Correct -- F2A retrogression has no impact on their cases since their PDs are current based on table A of the April visa bulletin.

 

[ultrasoul 51]

@Chancy - thanks! Definitely too close and a big relief- if not they would have to frantically check for a last minute opening/ cancellation for tomorrow Friday Manila time before month of March is over!

 

I forgot to ask a side question- given that their cases were also DQ'ed back in 2020, some of the financial AOS documents are definitely dated (IRS tax transcripts from 2019, 2018, 2017).

 

Do you suggest having assembling a new and updated AOS package reflecting the  petitioner's (latest and much higher) financial situation to ensure the IV is approved speedily by USEM and not futher delayed with the dreaded 221g request for more evidence? I've already prepared 2022, 2021, and 2020 tax transcripts for them to bring but thought maybe go the extra mile in preparing an updated and signed I-864.

 

Appreciate the thoughts on whether this extra work is worth it given the long 2 year time span between DQ and interview date.

 

A bunch of information like beneficiaries passport number and US address of petitioner have also changed since the 2020 DS-260 submission as part of being DQ'ed but I'm assuming the interviewing consular officer at USEM will update them since DS-260 is locked after DQ'ed with no changes allowed (sent an email about the DS-260 changes last week using the DoS USEM webform but no replies ...)

Edited March 29, 2023 by ultrasoul

[Chancy 6,241]

1 minute ago, ultrasoul said:

given that their cases were also DQ'ed back in 2020, some of the financial AOS documents are definitely dated (IRS tax transcripts from 2019, 2018, 2017).

 

The applicants should bring the most recent tax transcripts.  Make sure they are also uploaded to CEAC prior to the interview.  I recommend updating and uploading the I-864 as well.

 

New passport should also be uploaded to CEAC.  The US embassy in Manila is very strict about having all required documents updated and uploaded to CEAC before the interview.

 

Are the applicants older than 16?  If so, they need recent NBI clearance.  If they are over 18, they also need PSA CENOMAR.  Again, upload to CEAC prior to interview.

 

As for the updates to the DS-260, request those from the document screener at USEM before the interview with the consul officer.

 

[ultrasoul 51]

8 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

The applicants should bring the most recent tax transcripts.  Make sure they are also uploaded to CEAC prior to the interview.  I recommend updating and uploading the I-864 as well.

 

New passport should also be uploaded to CEAC.  The US embassy in Manila is very strict about having all required documents updated and uploaded to CEAC before the interview.

 

Are the applicants older than 16?  If so, they need recent NBI clearance.  If they are over 18, they also need PSA CENOMAR.  Again, upload to CEAC prior to interview.

 

As for the updates to the DS-260, request those from the document screener at USEM before the interview with the consul officer.

 

@Chancy - very good callout in doing a CEAC upload for the new passport and financial docs including a new AOS I-864 completed.
 

Yes - I’ve had them do updated CENOMAR and NBI clearances as the original 2020 DQ’ed ones are outdated. Will also upload this to CEAC.

 

I noticed that additional docs I uploaded in 2021 after DQ’ed don’t change from a “Submitted” to “ Approved” status - maybe NVC doesn’t care anymore after DQ but the embassy will look at them on day of interview as you said.

 

I’ll let it to you as a mod to see if it would be more beneficial to move this thread to the PHL forum instead as we are discussing USEM’s penchant for being sticklers

[Chancy 6,241]

1 minute ago, ultrasoul said:

maybe NVC doesn’t care anymore after DQ but the embassy will look at them on day of interview as you said.

 

Yes -- after a case is DQ-ed and transferred to the embassy, NVC doesn't care anymore.  In my case, I uploaded my updated documents the day before my interview and it turned out fine, though I don't recommend you wait that long to upload 😄

 

[jskibo 588]

For the in laws I didn't upload anything to CEAC after their DQ. They did bring new NBIs and copies of our tax transcripts as it was two years from DQ to final interview and they had no issue or request to upload. YMMV. 

Edited March 30, 2023 by jskibo
Apparently I can't spell.....

[ultrasoul 51]

6 hours ago, jskibo said:

For the in laws I didn't upload anything to CEAC after their DQ. They did bring new NBIs and copies of our tax transcripts as it was two years from DQ to final interview and they had no issue or request to upload. YMMV. 

@jskibo thanks for sharing! Did your in laws have any DS-260 updates/ changes? If yes were they able to make those DS-260 changes in CEAC or did they just provide it to the consular officer for the USEM to make the DS-260 changes on their end? Cheers!

[jskibo 588]

9 hours ago, ultrasoul said:

@jskibo thanks for sharing! Did your in laws have any DS-260 updates/ changes? If yes were they able to make those DS-260 changes in CEAC or did they just provide it to the consular officer for the USEM to make the DS-260 changes on their end? Cheers!

The only DS260 change was a current address for FIL which he provided at the interview. The other Documents (NBI, aka NBI, and our tax transcripts were almost two years old so we just provided new one they hand carried to their interview)

Edited March 30, 2023 by jskibo

[ultrasoul 51]

Wanted to share an update for anyone visiting this thread for US Embassy Manila (USEM).

 

I sent a second followup query using the USEM contact form page https://ph.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visa-inquiry-form/ to request DS-260 form unlock due to multiple changes needed from when the DS-260 was first completed back in 2020 when case was DQ'ed (passport number, US address updates to ensure proper delivery of green card + SSN card).

 

Although we never recieved any email replies from USEM, the online DS-260 was unlocked for changes in CEAC. Not sure if this was done in response to my 2 queries or whether this was just an automatic unlock due to appointment coming in up in a few days.  

[vajaster 7]

On 3/29/2023 at 1:53 PM, Chancy said:

 

Correct -- F2A retrogression has no impact on their cases since their PDs are current based on table A of the April visa bulletin.

 

Hi,

 

Are you 100% sure about this?

I filed an F2A (unmarried child of LPR) case. My daughter had her interview 03/30 and was given DS-5535 to complete. We completed it the same day and submitted it.

 

Now that F2A has retrogressed I thought we would have to wait for her PD to become current.

So is that not the case? Once she clears the DS-5535, will she be issued a visa or will she have to wait for her PD to become current?

[ultrasoul 51]

55 minutes ago, vajaster said:

Hi,

 

Are you 100% sure about this?

I filed an F2A (unmarried child of LPR) case. My daughter had her interview 03/30 and was given DS-5535 to complete. We completed it the same day and submitted it.

 

Now that F2A has retrogressed I thought we would have to wait for her PD to become current.

So is that not the case? Once she clears the DS-5535, will she be issued a visa or will she have to wait for her PD to become current?

@vajaster Chancy is correct but you are misinterpreting his reply. He was responding to my original post about both are F2A cases which have a PD of July 2020 and therefore were not affected when F2A retrogressed from Current to Sept 2020
 

What is your F2A case priority date? If it is on or after 8 September 2020, your F2A case is basically now frozen and the US embassy post will no longer complete the case and will not issue any immigrant visa until your PD in Table A final action date becomes current again.

 

If you had seen the F2A retrogression back in mid-March when they published the April bulletin preview- you could have reached out to the embassy post multiple times to see if they can issue the IV before March 31 when it was current.

 

The May visa bulletin will being published in the coming days. If there is further retrogression and if your PD is too far away from the F2A Final Action Date in the May bulletin- the US embassy will likely return your passport if they have no reason to believe F2A will ever become current again this year.

 

 You can also see this YouTube video which explains this (your situation is explained in 5:50 of the video)- https://youtu.be/PmFG_g4Xjw8

 

Best of luck to you- as mentioned in the OP both our F2A’s with PD of July 2020 were sitting DQ’ed since Nov 2020 for the last 18 months at NVC unscheduled for any interviews even though F2A was current that whole time.

Edited April 12, 2023 by ultrasoul

[ultrasoul 51]

@vajaster sharing what I mentioned on a different thread on the F2A retrogression.
 

Since 2020, the F2A DQ’ed backlog has steadily increased. Even though F2A has always been “Current” final action date on the Visa bulletin, the reality is the embassy consular posts did not process most F2A’s that were DQ’ed and sent over to them for processing due to prioritizing immediate preference IV’s and employment IV’s instead to clear out the COVID backlogs.

 

You can see this reflected in the “Annual Report of Immigrant Visa Applicants in the Family-sponsored and Employment-based preferences Registered at the NVC”

 

Despite F2A final action dates being “Current” since July 2019, the number of F2A cases waiting for an embassy interview jumped 91% from 182K in 2019 to 348K in 2020 and again to 391K in 2021.

 

My in-laws have under 21 F2A children were in the same situation - the kids were DQ’ed in July 2020 but were never scheduled by US Manila for an interview the past 3 years as DOS guidance to all processing posts to focus only on immediate preference and employment IV’s- thus continuing to neglect F2A the past 3 years.

 

There were a number of petitions to the government to treat F2A the same as immediate USC preference categories but the went no where. Personally, we were not in any rush for processing as the kids were still doing schooling so we did not pursue an expedite avenue.

 

2 months ago however, NVC started sending expedite messages to all posts for F2A cases that were more than DQ’ed more than 2 years ago. I’m assuming this action was meant to work down the F2A CP backlog since posts were still not actively scheduling F2A interviews even in late 2022/ early 2023. 

I know this the case as CEAC shows an “expedite request” created by NVC to USEM (again this is not a petitioner requested expedite request). 

 

Given this sharp increase in the number of F2A cases being pushed protectively to consular posts by NVC in recent months, this is why F2A visa uptake has dramatically increased overseas and hence the intentional retrogression in F2A final action dates (thus having the immediate effect of limiting F2A issuance at overseas posts) as this fiscal year’s F2A annual limit quota is projected to be fully used up.

[Chancy 6,241]

9 hours ago, vajaster said:

Are you 100% sure about this?

 

I'm 100% sure about it as far as the OP's case is concerned.  Your case is not the same as the OP's.