jan22

I made an assumption about where you were in the process. To clarify whether that assumption is correct — did you get the instructions on how to submit your Dropbox application when you were registering for an interview appointment? Or, did you just send in your application without those instructions? If the former (got instructions), then your application was reviewed by the consular officer who determined you needed to go for an interview. The officer would have then 221(g)-ed your application. If the latter (no instructions, you just sent it in somehow — very unlikely in most places), it may/may not have made it to an officer, so may or may not have been 221(g)-ed. A 221(g) is a temporary refusal, until you supply whatever is missing from the application — in this case, the interview. But, it still is recorded as a refusal as a matter of recordkeeping to track what has happened and where your case stands.

Just to clarify -- it was the visa application that was denied, not your I-130, right? The same case you posted about in early April? Given the discussion in that post, and that the refusal was almost six months ago, I believe it would be better to wait a few more months to get the NOID paperwork so you can directly refute the issues listed and have the petition reaffirmed and returned to the Consulate for processing. This not only gives you a means to directly address the issues raised by the Consulate, but also may be as fast as or faster than filing a new petition at this point. Hopefully, you have already -- or will soon -- visited your wife since the denial and continued to collect documentation of your relatioship.

There is no way to withdraw the B visa application at this point. It has already been reviewed by a consular officer and refused under Section 221(g) -- the additional information required to overcome the refusal is to schedule and attend the interview. I would recommend scheduling the B visa interview while also pursuing your Canadian citizenship. If the visa interview date comes before your citizenship is granted, you can attend it and, hopefully, get the B visa. That will resolve any issues you might have after you are a Canadian citizen. If the interview date comes after you're a Canadian citizen, or if you don't attend an interview before that, you have a clear explanation at the POE -- you applied for a vIsa but didn't attend the interview as it was so close to your citizenship acquisItion you decided it wasn't necessary. Either way, a 221(g) refusal should have limited to no impact once you are a Canadian citizen. There are several reasons why you might have been asked to attend a visa intervIew instead of being issued without intervIew -- including that some applications are chosen by random as part of the program standard. Of course, the previous paragraph is based on you not having any known possible serious ineligibilities (e.g., arrests and/or convictions, drug involvement, previous overstay in the US, etc). If you do, IMO, it would be best to attend the B interview whenever it comes (before or after your citizenship), so the determination of whether you are ineligible to enter the US can actually be made and, if so, whether there is a waiver available for that ineligibility.

It will be more paperwork, but you can marry and apply for an Adjustment of Status without Ieaving the US. Unless your home country objects (or you no longer wish to work there), you don't even have to resign your job. Along with the required I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) and the I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status), you must submit an I-508 (Waiver of Certain Rights, Privileges, Exemptions, and Immunities) to waive the diplomatic protections -- including non-payment of taxes -- accorded to you by your A-2 status. You must also include two originals (i.e., two forms with original signatures) of the I-566 (Interagency Record of Request). If you resign your position after marriage, you will also want to include the I-765 (Employment Authorization Document) and the I-131 (Application for Travel Document).

Just filling out t b e DS-160 should not have mattered -- unless you've also paid the MRV fee and scheduled the appointment.

You need to follow the procedures outlined on the Embassy's website (https://www.ustraveldocs.com/pk/pk-niv-visarenew.asp). The "How to Apply" section has a step-by-step description of the process. You have to have Arrived in Pakistan, Filled out and submitted your DS-160 form, Paid the MRV fee, Met all of the other requirements outlined for an interview waiver, and Scheduled your interview appointment before a determination that you are eligible for an interview waver is made and you receive a letter authorizing it.

Assuming you are referring to an "Accelerated Rehabilitative Dismissal", an ARD is -- for visa purposes -- not the same as a dismissal of charges at all, whether there was an expungement or not, as it requires an admission/acceptance of the underlying criminal issues. Whether it will result in a visa eligibility or not depends on what those issues were.

This is not the case at many of the higher volume visa posts. For those, there is an off-site visa application center where biometrics are collected prior to going to the Embassy/Consulate for the visa interview. At the interview they will then confirm at Ieast one of the fingerprints to ensure it is the same person. The rescheduling message is about the interview appointment, although it may also have an affect on the biometrics appointment.

It counts. She should answer "yes" to any question asking about a visa refusal/denial.

Adopting a child in Pakistan is very complicated, especially when it needs to also meet US immigration laws. The best starting point would be to thoroughly read the State Department's country-specific information on Pakistan: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/Intercountry-Adoption/Intercountry-Adoption-Country-Information/Pakistan.html. It will not be easy or fast.

Assuming the filing date was sometime in 2021 -- which would be the Priority Date (PD) for your petition -- the approved petition will be held at NVC for at least the next 15-or-so years. A year or so before your PD of (some date) 2021 is expected to become current, NVC will contact you to begin the document submission process. Until then, you will not hear anything else. Not completely sure what you meant "...and priority date 2008". The Current PD for F4 visa applications is 22 Apr 2007 -- cases with petitions filed on or before that date are now being processed for visas. The 01 Mar 2008 in Chart B of the Visa Bulletin is for those who are in the US and applying to adjust status; they can start submitting documents to USCIS now.

NVC has nothing to do with the Diversity Visa program. It is run through the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC).

All they can be told is that the case is in required administrative processing -- at that point, they will know there is nothing they can do and Iet you know that. The Embassy/Consulate will also not tell you anything about the case and its status. Per Section 222(f) of the INA, visa records are confidential and they will only discuss the case with the applicant (or the applicant's parents if the applicant is a minor).

Re your response #6 -- I would submit a formal request to Jakarta, placing emphasis on why you are seeking to apply there, i.e., having to go outside your husband's country because of the US Embassy closure there and that he is unable to go to the designated processing post of Warsaw because of his inability to return to Belarus to apply for the required Schengen visa. Within his home region, Baku (Azebaijan), Dushanbe (Tajikistan), or Tashkent (Uzbekistan) might be a possibilities. I would also try Turkey and Israel, even though you have heard things, as they have been willing to accept cases from Ukraine and Russia without residency requirements. I would also take another look at the countries he can travel to without a visa and focus on countries you are willing/able to go to that have larger US Embassies with larger consular staffs. They are often more able/willing to accept an extra case or two than smaller posts that might only have a couple of consular officers. If you do seek out another Embassy, be sure to include info about why you can't go to his country of nationality because of Embassy Belarus's closure (yes, they should know that, but it may be read first by someone who doesn't know and then not get sent to the right decision-maker) and about not being able to go to Warsaw for processing due to Schengen visa issues. For example: Abu Dhabi (UAE), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Lima (Peru), Panama City (Panama), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

The age of an IR-2 (child of a US citizen) is frozen on the date the petition is filed. So, for US immigration purposes, you are still the same 20 years old you were when the petition was filed. No worries.

I'm sorry you are having this trouble. It must be particularly frustrating when you thought you were so close to the finIsh line. Please bear with me if this becomes a long post as I think through things. Sometimes understanding how things reached the current state can help unravel the knots, so it might be helpful to know/think about the following to try to see a way to possibly get things straightened out: You said you spent about a year in Indonesia. Did you list Indonesia as your current address when you submitted the I-130? That would explain the assignment to Jakarta. And, once NVC assigned it there based on your address and scheduled the interview there, the Embassy would not have been asked to formally accept the case and likely had no idea you were not resident in Indonesia until the medical appointment. NVC -- which it seems may have been the official cause of the problem or, at a minimum, a large contributor to it -- cannot change the Embassy to which a case is assigned based on the I-130 unless the request is based on citizenship or residency of the beneficiary or it was assigned incorrectly. Appears NVC was not willing to accept that they assigned it incorrectly and left you in a situation where you could not meet the requirement for the other way to get it re-assigned at NVC (showing residency in another country). If NVC had assigned it correctly, though, the default would have been Warsaw, as it is the designated processing post for Belarusians. You said your husband could not go back to Belarus to apply for a Schengen visa, right? I assume that is because of the security situation there that led to the suspension of services at the US Embassy. But, is there another reason that might somehow affect his vIsa processing there or anywhere else? That left you with the only other option for reassignment -- requesting another Embassy to take your case, and if/when they agreed they would request the case file from jakarta. To clarify, you said that no other Embassy would accept your case, but only mention Kazakhstan as having said no and then describing your concerns about processing in several other countries. Did you formally request countries other than Kazakhstan to take your case and were told no or did you rule them out based on your concerns (just trying to clarify -- not making any judgments)? Which Embassies have you formally asked? Someone might be able to offer other suggestions. Since you and your file were already in Jakarta, they could have exercised their discretion and proceeded with your case. They may not have done so because of workload issues, especially right after the month of September when appointnents for other immigrant visas might get reduced to ensure Diversity Visa applicants get interviewed and issued by the end of the month. I assume you made a formal request to US Embassy Jakarta that, since the Embassy in Minsk is closed, they accept your case for processing without requiring formal residency, and request they schedule/reschedule your appointment? If not, I would try it. If you did, and got a negative response, I would try to foward the original e-mail and the response to the Consul General and/or the Ambassador's office. They would likely refer your inquiry back to the Consular Section for response, but that response might be different given that you've now gotten higher level interests involved. If you make a second request for assistance from your Congressional representatives, I would also include a request that they ensure your case is brought to the attention of the Ambassador, to ensure he is aware of your case and the interest in it.

Clearly, the subject line is correct -- this is for DV 2023, which ends in a month. As stated in the post, the principal and one derivative have already been issued. I'm assuming they have already entered the US, since their visas were issued in November 2022. OP: As others have said, the September 30 deadline is for all DV applicants. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to send an e-mail inquiry with "URGENT: DV 2023" and your case number in the subject line to the Consulate.

A J-1 has no more likelihood of being approved than an F-1. There are relatively few paid internships available in the US. Odds are against you receiving one of them from an entity that also has standing to issue the DS-2019.

Good! If any were over 18 when you married, you would not have been able to file petitions for them.

For what type of visa did you submit the DS-160?

Just to check -- were all of the children under the age of 18 when you and your wife got married?

What response, if any, did you get to your previous efforts in May to expedite? Perhaps the responses saying you're within the expected processing timeline is their way of telling you they are not going to expedite the case?

Your sons will also be able to subtract approximately 7 1/2 years from their actual age when your PD becomes current and the visas are being processed.

Others have already discussed your Priority Date (PD), which is the reason you haven't received an interview appointment, so I won't. There is one piece of somewhat good news from the dates you provided, though. Given your PD and the length of time it took USCIS to approve your petition (about 7 1/2 years, from April 2015 to Oct 2022), your daughter has some breathing room before she ages out. The amount of time taken for petition approval is subtracted from her actual age when calculating when she would no longer qualify for an immigrant visa. So, she will still be under 21 for visa issuance purposes until she is about 28 1/2 years old in real years.

When (the full date) did your mother file the petition for you? When did it get approved? Can't give a good answer to you without knowing this.