Are embassies required to interview K-1 fiancés within 30 days?

[K-9 Visa 11]

Quote

SEC. 237. PROCESSING OF VISA APPLICATIONS.

(a) Policy.--It shall be the policy of the Department of State to process immigrant visa applications of immediate relatives of United States citizens and nonimmigrant K-1 visa applications of fiances of United States citizens within 30 days of the receipt of all necessary documents from the applicant and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ113/html/PLAW-106publ113.htm

(The Immigration and Naturalization Service is now the Department of Homeland Security.)

 

Quote

 

9 FAM 504.7-2  Requirement for an Interview

(CT:VISA-1943;   03-07-2024)

...

b. Timeliness of Interview:  The interview with you is the most significant part of the visa issuing process to ensure the full and correct application of the law.  Section 237 of Public Law 106-113 and subsequent legislation require that the Department establish a policy under which immediate relative (and fiancé(e)) visas be processed within 30 days of receipt of the necessary information from the applicant and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); all other family-based IVs must be processed within 60 days.  The Department expects all IV units to strive to meet the 30/60-day requirements.

 

https://fam.state.gov/FAM/09FAM/09FAM050407.html#M504_7_2

 

The Department of Homeland Security sent our K-1 visa application to the State Department April 26. On November 29 I received an email with a January 15 interview date at the Havana embassy. That's six or eight months, depending on your definition of "processing." (The Foreign Affairs Manual seems to say that the interview should be within 30 days.) Was our experience compliant with the statute? Do other embassies interview K-1 fiancé(e)'s within 30 days?

 

 

 

 

[Boiler 46,107]

No

[MalloryCat 244]

the DOS is different from the embassy

the DOS may process the petition within 30 days, but all they do is send it to the embassy.

embassies do not have the same policy.

[Crazy Cat 42,296]

1 hour ago, K-9 Visa said:

It shall be the policy of the Department of State to process immigrant visa applications of immediate relatives of United States citizens and nonimmigrant K-1 visa applications of fiances of United States citizens within 30 days of the receipt of all necessary documents from the applicant and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

That is after the interview....not before the interview.  It also is after any require administrative processing and/or background checks done by the consulate.

 

For example:  The I-134 is submitted during the interview.  At that point, the 30 day clock might start.

Edited 7 hours ago by Crazy Cat

[K-9 Visa 11]

1 hour ago, MalloryCat said:

the DOS is different from the embassy

the DOS may process the petition within 30 days, but all they do is send it to the embassy.

embassies do not have the same policy.

 

Embassies are part of the State Department, you meant that the National Visa Center (NVC) is different from the embassies. The FAM section is written for consular officers, i.e., the section is reminding embassies that are covered by the 30-day policy.

[K-9 Visa 11]

26 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

That is after the interview....not before the interview.  It also is after any require administrative processing and/or background checks done by the consulate.

 

For example:  The I-134 is submitted during the interview.  At that point, the 30 day clock might start.

 

The statute says "receipt of documents." An interview is not a document.