I had spoken to a lawyer before me and my wife ever got married, and that lawyer had warned us about the wait. My wife is from Iran, and there is no US consulate in Iran, so she gets thrown into Abu Dhabi, Ankara or Yerevan, which understandably prioritize their own citizens. Other geopolitical concerns and the possibility of "administrative processing" loom over everything for us. We were DQ'd in April 2025 and Ankara is currently scheduling interviews for those DQ'd in February 2024. Anyway, I'm numb to everything, so I'm not shocked that this is an added nightmare for couples even when spouses are from countries that neighbor the US. We have no choice but to endure and agitate for change.