Benny1337

@xleaass Congratulations! You should probably hear something early next week from the courier and embassy. Have fun packing your stuff, and enjoy neighboring Minnesota! Hit me up for some Belgian beer

I used a two way ticket to immigrate too, as that indeed was significantly cheaper. I canceled the return flight a few days after I landed. Not a single person from either CBP or the airline asked anything about it. No need to worry

Congratulations! I'm happy for you both! Check at the bottom of the visa, it should have the annotation"IV docs in CCD" indicating the sealed package is sent electronically and you don't need a physical version, so you're good to go with just the visa, the rest will be handled upon arrival in whichever US airport, by CBP! If you don't have that annotation, I'd contact the embassy. Congrats again!

I'm sorry to hear you're struggling at the final hurdle.. Perhaps the embassy will accept your correspondence with said government stating they will not issue it, and waive the required document.. won't hurt to ask, I guess? I do hope things work out for you two soon.

I was allowed to take my phone with me, I only had to leave my car key behind at the security check. I assume laptops and tablets won't be allowed in though. Let us know how it goes!

@xleaass Since you live close to the French border, have you attempted to get a vaccine in France? I've seen some reports they're having a "vaccination wave" ahead of the olympic games.

I've attached the vaccines I received over the course of my life, including the ones I had to get after my medical exam to be up to date with everything. You can easily check the vaccines received through the Belgian healthcare website. (https://www.myhealth.belgium.be/) I hope this helps!

I'm not too sure about the flu vaccine, as it's currently "out of season", maybe you can try to send an email to the doctor to ask, or perhaps they'll have one in stock to administer to you at the exam. For the covid booster, I got mine at a pharmacy, so try calling every pharmacy within a wide radius to check if they still administer those boosters. Your GP might know of locations that still do as well. If you don't mind driving to Limburg, I can tell you which pharmacy I went to. Good luck 🙂

As far as I recall, only the person with the actual interview will be allowed into the embassy. As a little hint for your husband's own peace of mind: Make sure he double checks all the civil documents and his passport and passport pictures are present, and put them in a folder. Backpacks aren't allowed to be taken inside, so tell him to pack lightly. Do let us know of the outcome, but it should be a walk in the park!

@ThomasT33 Congratulations on getting your visa! That definitely was a long wait but now it's time to move onto the next chapter of your life!

My I-130/CR-1 visa story has ended, as of today I’m officially a lawful resident of the USA, I hope everyone that filed in March has had their approval by now, and if not - I really hope you’ll get it soon! The wait is tedious and long, but it’s so worth it once you see that stamp in your passport.

Google is your friend. https://www.cbp.gov/site-policy-notices/foia/records

At my medical the doctor took a picture with her phone, as it was purely a digital report that gets uploaded, she told me the passport pictures are only for the paper version. I do think they have to be cut for the embassy appointment, as they scan just a single passport picture to use on the visa.

Little update: Got an email from the embassy and courier today that my passport has been sent. Probably next month 😄

I got approved 😁 Everything was pretty straightforward, had to give my civil documents and passport pictures at one of the booths, then was instructed to wait until my number was called to proceed to the interview. It was a fairly relaxed setting, was asked what my wife’s job is, what my job is, how we met, when we first met in person and when the last time we met in person was. After this the officer kept my passport and told me to expect an email with shipping information next week. Feel free to reach out, maybe we’ll have a Belgian get-together with some true Belgian fries, and complain about the weather! 😅

Hi there, I was DQ’d in February 2024, got an email that my case was being expedited to the embassy mid-March, without me requesting this. About two weeks later I was scheduled for an interview, the 24th of April. I seem to have gotten lucky with this, as there’s been people that have waited for 5-6 months for their IL (as you can see in this topic) I hope you’ll hear something soon! Let us know P.s. I would schedule your medical exam already, just to be sure you’ll have a date if your interview date happens to be shortly after the letter, as seems to be the trend for Brussels - you can have up to two active appointments with them online, and it’s free to cancel if done so at least 24 hours before the appointment.

@homebound_24 How’d the interview go? Hope you got some good news!

Little update: I had my medical exam earlier today. Do keep in mind that the receptionists of the medical center only speak French (at least the ones I had to talk to) and as my French isn’t perfect, there was a language barrier, so be prepared for this. (Honestly, the embassy should have a doctor in Antwerp again as they did before..) My actual exam was with Dr. Hermand, and went pretty smoothly. The only thing I still had to get was an extra covid booster shot, as apparently they require it to be less than one year ago. As she did not have any covid shots available, I’ll have to send her proof of when I get it, and she’ll complete the medical report and send it to the embassy, which takes approximately a week. P.s. If you’ve got a medical scheduled for after your interview, keep checking the Visa Meiser website, I managed to get an appointment a lot sooner than my original date, as someone cancelled.

I received my IL today, for the 24th. Good luck!

Well I still haven’t had any news.. I hope the rest of you have had more luck 😅

I haven't, I was hoping for something today but I assume we'll get some more news next week.. well, I hope so at least.

Got this email just now.. never asked for an expedited process, got DQ’d in Feb 22, 2024.. I’m kinda speechless

Good luck today!

Having formerly worked in airport security and baggage checks, here's my two cents. I cannot tell you how every country in the world handle things, nor can I go into details about how security checks are done. However, in the extremely rare case that they require additional checks to be done on the envelope, there are multiple ways to check if whatever is inside poses any risk beside opening it. Most, if not all airports also have a security supervisor or other chain of command, whom you have a right to speak to and elaborate your situation to, on the off chance you do get randomly pulled aside for a random check and they hone in on the envelope. I can say that in the 5+ years I've done that job, I never once had to open an envelope at random. I hope this helps put your mind at ease.

I went to a local photographer that does passport pictures, and they had no issue taking a 2”x2” picture. Perhaps you can contact some near you, as I personally wouldn’t rely on the photo booths as 1) You never know if there’s a malfunction, causing unnecessary delays and 2) You need to upload them to NVC too, so you should have them well before your interview regardless.