K3 to CR1 flip unsuccessful

[CJ Vasani 0]

so, my K3 interview was scheduled on Feb 11, 2009 and our CR1 got to Mumbai recently with the interview date of Feb 25, 2009. I e-mailed the Mumbai consulate asking we can be interview for the CR1 visa on Feb 11. Their reply was ' please ignore your K3 interview of Feb 11, 2009 and report to our office for the CR1 interview which is schedule on Feb 25, 2009'.

I am a bit confused now. I thought they would be receptive to flipping the dates, but appears that this is not the case. I am in a bit of a strange situation here because we had already made our plans around getting interviewed on Feb 11. I am e-mailing the Mumbai consulate again asking for clarification on their e-mail. What happens to the K3 interview? What happens if we still show up on Feb 11 and have all paperwork for the K3 visa? They can't give us the K3 visa given that they have the CR1 case? Would they have canceled the K3 interview slot?

Any information on any of the questions above would be helpful. Feel free to suggest anything related to the above.

[morocco4ever 63]

I have no advice about changing the date, but I can tell you that the CR1 visa is certainly worth a 2 week wait if they can't change it.

[pushbrk 12,898]

so, my K3 interview was scheduled on Feb 11, 2009 and our CR1 got to Mumbai recently with the interview date of Feb 25, 2009. I e-mailed the Mumbai consulate asking we can be interview for the CR1 visa on Feb 11. Their reply was ' please ignore your K3 interview of Feb 11, 2009 and report to our office for the CR1 interview which is schedule on Feb 25, 2009'.

I am a bit confused now. I thought they would be receptive to flipping the dates, but appears that this is not the case. I am in a bit of a strange situation here because we had already made our plans around getting interviewed on Feb 11. I am e-mailing the Mumbai consulate again asking for clarification on their e-mail. What happens to the K3 interview? What happens if we still show up on Feb 11 and have all paperwork for the K3 visa? They can't give us the K3 visa given that they have the CR1 case? Would they have canceled the K3 interview slot?

Any information on any of the questions above would be helpful. Feel free to suggest anything related to the above.

It's their prerogative. You could ask again but it appears this is how they prefer to handle it. I expect it's because there are two actual appointments very close together on the calendar from their perspective.

[SankuNiku 0]

Our K-3 date is scheduled for 2/26/09. Our CR-1 case is complete and we are still waiting for an interview. So we will likely get a March interview for CR-1 if we wait. I will ask the NVC on Tuesday to send the CR-1 case file to Mumbai based on the fact we have only have a K-3 interview scheduled, and go from there.

I was initially discouraged hearing that CJ Vasani's request was denied. I see what pushbrk says about the Consulate handling it this way because CJ already has a CR-1 interview scheduled within 2 weeks of the K-3. I hope CJ that you can get the clarification you deserve and hopefully get the CR-1 on the 11th.

so, my K3 interview was scheduled on Feb 11, 2009 and our CR1 got to Mumbai recently with the interview date of Feb 25, 2009. I e-mailed the Mumbai consulate asking we can be interview for the CR1 visa on Feb 11. Their reply was ' please ignore your K3 interview of Feb 11, 2009 and report to our office for the CR1 interview which is schedule on Feb 25, 2009'.

I am a bit confused now. I thought they would be receptive to flipping the dates, but appears that this is not the case. I am in a bit of a strange situation here because we had already made our plans around getting interviewed on Feb 11. I am e-mailing the Mumbai consulate again asking for clarification on their e-mail. What happens to the K3 interview? What happens if we still show up on Feb 11 and have all paperwork for the K3 visa? They can't give us the K3 visa given that they have the CR1 case? Would they have canceled the K3 interview slot?

Any information on any of the questions above would be helpful. Feel free to suggest anything related to the above.

It's their prerogative. You could ask again but it appears this is how they prefer to handle it. I expect it's because there are two actual appointments very close together on the calendar from their perspective.

[siyaram 0]

I am also waiting for my CR1 interview to be scheduled. It seems that all of us waiting would need to wait till February 2nd week when NVC schedules for March. I asked NVC representative early last week whether they could forward my case for the K3 interview date. The representative said that the consulate had to request it.

I was also disheartened to see the unsuccessful flip for CJ. I was really hoping that the flip is successful. I am now debating whether I should request consulate to ask NVC to forward the case or wait till the case is forwarded by NVC after interview date is set. I know there is a thread on VJ somewhere where the discussion is on asking the consulate to forward the case. I have been searching hard but can't find it. If I get my hands on that thread, I will post the link here.

Meanwhile, if any has any advice on how to make this flip successful, please let us all know.

CJ - I hope that you guys can report to K3 interview and get the CR1 visa. Please let us know of any progress that you make in resolving this confusion.

[Ling Ling 22]

CJ, the issue is, the Consulate or Embassy, have no control over when they receive files from NVC.

They already have everything they need to setup your K-3 interview (if you were going that route) and can set that appointment date.

The 2 reasons they cancelled your K-3 interview date are:

1. They can't issue a K-3 if a CR-1/IR-1 is available.

2. They don't know for sure that your CR-1 paperwork would arrive any sooner than for the interview NVC setup.

What you should've done is work with NVC to make sure they have the paperwork to the Embassy or Consulate in time for the K-3 interview.

Then, when you show up for the K-3, you might not even have to ask for a change of interview. In our case, they already knew to switch it without

being asked/told.

At this point, you are at their mercy. Hopefully you'll get in touch with a reasonable and compassionate person.

[SankuNiku 0]

Interesting thought Ling Ling. I don't disagree with what you're saying but I recall that Daniele and Jen were able to successfully switch K-3 interview to CR-1 by contacting the Italian Consulate to request the CR-1 file from the NVC. It seems that they had their case complete at NVC but were not yet scheduled for a CR-1 interview.

So could a key to a successful switch be that you need to have only the K-3 interview scheduled but not the CR-1 interview?

[MS3 0]

I am trying to do the same flip, I emailed the embassy in Amman, Jordan last night, still waiting for answer, somebody in the embassy told me before that it is perfectly fine to do the flip as long as they get the file before the K3 interview, NVC told me that they sent the file on Jan 6th, so hopefully the file made it to Jordan already!!

K3 interview 2-2

CR1 interview 2-19

[Ling Ling 22]

Interesting thought Ling Ling. I don't disagree with what you're saying but I recall that Daniele and Jen were able to successfully switch K-3 interview to CR-1 by contacting the Italian Consulate to request the CR-1 file from the NVC. It seems that they had their case complete at NVC but were not yet scheduled for a CR-1 interview.

So could a key to a successful switch be that you need to have only the K-3 interview scheduled but not the CR-1 interview?

No...the key to a successful switch is to either have the luck to speak with someone at the Embassy/Consulate that has a little common sense, or to leave them out of the loop until you show up for your CR-1/IR-1 interview.

If policy is followed, your K-3 interview should be cancelled when they're aware of a CR-1/IR-1 being available.

Also, they have zero reason to believe that your CR-1/IR-1 paperwork will arrive any sooner than for the interview NVC scheduled.

Remember, Embassy/Consulates are still government offices. Lots of lazy people who don't want to do more work. They COULD contact NVC, but most would rather just wait for your case to go through the normal scheduling by NVC. Sure NVC is a government office too...but asking someone to push a completed case out, is usually easier than asking them to pull a new application in.

[SankuNiku 0]

So it's pretty much a coinflip either way, with the odds of success higher if we request the NVC to send the CR-1 package in time for the K-3 interview. In that event, a CR-1 will never be scheduled so the Consulate has no other option but to switch the CR-1 into a K-3.

Thanks

so, my K3 interview was scheduled on Feb 11, 2009 and our CR1 got to Mumbai recently with the interview date of Feb 25, 2009. I e-mailed the Mumbai consulate asking we can be interview for the CR1 visa on Feb 11. Their reply was ' please ignore your K3 interview of Feb 11, 2009 and report to our office for the CR1 interview which is schedule on Feb 25, 2009'.

I am a bit confused now. I thought they would be receptive to flipping the dates, but appears that this is not the case. I am in a bit of a strange situation here because we had already made our plans around getting interviewed on Feb 11. I am e-mailing the Mumbai consulate again asking for clarification on their e-mail. What happens to the K3 interview? What happens if we still show up on Feb 11 and have all paperwork for the K3 visa? They can't give us the K3 visa given that they have the CR1 case? Would they have canceled the K3 interview slot?

Any information on any of the questions above would be helpful. Feel free to suggest anything related to the above.

[siyaram 0]

So it's pretty much a coinflip either way, with the odds of success higher if we request the NVC to send the CR-1 package in time for the K-3 interview. In that event, a CR-1 will never be scheduled so the Consulate has no other option but to switch the CR-1 into a K-3.

Thanks

so, my K3 interview was scheduled on Feb 11, 2009 and our CR1 got to Mumbai recently with the interview date of Feb 25, 2009. I e-mailed the Mumbai consulate asking we can be interview for the CR1 visa on Feb 11. Their reply was ' please ignore your K3 interview of Feb 11, 2009 and report to our office for the CR1 interview which is schedule on Feb 25, 2009'.

I am a bit confused now. I thought they would be receptive to flipping the dates, but appears that this is not the case. I am in a bit of a strange situation here because we had already made our plans around getting interviewed on Feb 11. I am e-mailing the Mumbai consulate again asking for clarification on their e-mail. What happens to the K3 interview? What happens if we still show up on Feb 11 and have all paperwork for the K3 visa? They can't give us the K3 visa given that they have the CR1 case? Would they have canceled the K3 interview slot?

Any information on any of the questions above would be helpful. Feel free to suggest anything related to the above.

Sanket - When are you planning to request the consulate to ask NVC to forward your case?

[siyaram 0]

During the K-3 interview, if beneficiary's request for CR1 visa is denied or if I-130 case has not yet reached the consulate, can the beneficiary receive the K-3 visa and then again report to the CR1 visa interview? In that case, will they then grant a CR1 visa knowing the fact that the beneficiary has already received a K-3 visa?

Also, can a physician conduct the medical exam for CR1 visa as the criteria (and hence, giving vaccinations if required) using the K-3 interivew letter?

If the above is possible without any issues, I would be fine with couple weeks of waiting more in India rather than too much worrying about the possibility of unsuccessful switch.

Edited January 19, 2009 by siyaram

[SankuNiku 0]

Tomorrow

So it's pretty much a coinflip either way, with the odds of success higher if we request the NVC to send the CR-1 package in time for the K-3 interview. In that event, a CR-1 will never be scheduled so the Consulate has no other option but to switch the CR-1 into a K-3.

Thanks

so, my K3 interview was scheduled on Feb 11, 2009 and our CR1 got to Mumbai recently with the interview date of Feb 25, 2009. I e-mailed the Mumbai consulate asking we can be interview for the CR1 visa on Feb 11. Their reply was ' please ignore your K3 interview of Feb 11, 2009 and report to our office for the CR1 interview which is schedule on Feb 25, 2009'.

I am a bit confused now. I thought they would be receptive to flipping the dates, but appears that this is not the case. I am in a bit of a strange situation here because we had already made our plans around getting interviewed on Feb 11. I am e-mailing the Mumbai consulate again asking for clarification on their e-mail. What happens to the K3 interview? What happens if we still show up on Feb 11 and have all paperwork for the K3 visa? They can't give us the K3 visa given that they have the CR1 case? Would they have canceled the K3 interview slot?

Any information on any of the questions above would be helpful. Feel free to suggest anything related to the above.

Sanket - When are you planning to request the consulate to ask NVC to forward your case?

[pushbrk 12,898]

During the K-3 interview, if beneficiary's request for CR1 visa is denied or if I-130 case has not yet reached the consulate, can the beneficiary receive the K-3 visa and then again report to the CR1 visa interview? In that case, will they then grant a CR1 visa knowing the fact that the beneficiary has already received a K-3 visa?

Also, can a physician conduct the medical exam for CR1 visa as the criteria (and hence, giving vaccinations if required) using the K-3 interivew letter?

If the above is possible without any issues, I would be fine with couple weeks of waiting more in India rather than too much worrying about the possibility of unsuccessful switch.

Yes, the applicant can obtain both visas. The medical is the same. Just get the vaccinations in addition to the medical, as you would for the CR1 visa.

In general, I'm getting the impression that for "appointment posts" the "flipping" is significantly more complicated in that NVC doesn't simply forward the case file when the case is complete like they do with a non-appointment post. As such, I wouldn't contact the Consulate. Instead, I would show up for the interview and mention the CR1 case being on station, when I was already there. They should then be able to find the case file and issue the immigrant visa upon a successful interview.

[siyaram 0]

During the K-3 interview, if beneficiary's request for CR1 visa is denied or if I-130 case has not yet reached the consulate, can the beneficiary receive the K-3 visa and then again report to the CR1 visa interview? In that case, will they then grant a CR1 visa knowing the fact that the beneficiary has already received a K-3 visa?

Also, can a physician conduct the medical exam for CR1 visa as the criteria (and hence, giving vaccinations if required) using the K-3 interivew letter?

If the above is possible without any issues, I would be fine with couple weeks of waiting more in India rather than too much worrying about the possibility of unsuccessful switch.

Yes, the applicant can obtain both visas. The medical is the same. Just get the vaccinations in addition to the medical, as you would for the CR1 visa.

In general, I'm getting the impression that for "appointment posts" the "flipping" is significantly more complicated in that NVC doesn't simply forward the case file when the case is complete like they do with a non-appointment post. As such, I wouldn't contact the Consulate. Instead, I would show up for the interview and mention the CR1 case being on station, when I was already there. They should then be able to find the case file and issue the immigrant visa upon a successful interview.

pushbrk, I appreciate your input. I was hoping to see a reply from you when I posted my questions. Your approach about not contacting consulate is perfect when the I-130 case reaches the consulate before our K-3 interview. As of now, we are waiting for our I-130 interview to be scheduled which will most likely be scheduled in February. We have a K-3 interview in beginning of March and hence, have a slight chance that our I-130 case would not reach the consulate prior to the K-3 interview.

I have few questions and would appreciate if you could offer your advice on them:

1. In our situation described above, should we contact consulate to request NVC to forward our I-130 case (so that it surely reaches consulate prior to our K-3 interview date)? Or would you rather advise not to contact the consualte at all?

2. You mentioned that we can obtain both visas. If beneficiary does not receive CR1 visa during K-3 interview and goes to CR1 interview, would he/she need to do the entire interview or is it only matter of signing DS-230 Part II and obtaining the visa? What should be done about the medical packet that we would have submitted during the K-3 interview and hence, no longer have it during the CR1 interview?

3. Is there any possibility where beneficiary receives K-3 visa but is denied for CR1 visa? I am trying to evaluate whether it would be worthwhile to wait for CR1 interview or come to US using K-3 visa if beneficiary cannot obtain CR1 during K-3 interview.

Sorry about asking too many questions but this would help me and others to resolve some of the confusion.

Thanks.

Edited January 19, 2009 by siyaram