aaroncv3

Just received the email from NVC and the "In Transit" status update!

I think the email will come once the case status updates. But I'm not sure. Good luck, God bless.

DQ April 10, still "At NVC" on status, but there were 2 new messages in the CEAC. did you check there, yet?

seems reasonable, if it requires a human to tick a box... not even 6am yet here in the philippines.

We did attempt to expedite twice. Once before DQ and once after. Not sure about the other folks.

Just wanted to share that, indeed, we are not yet able to schedule. This is not a surprise, but I wanted to share the results of this early attempt:

Same, DQ April 10, status is at NVC, but we have the 2 expedite messages in the CEAC messages.

Just wanted to remind everyone that, today, we are 1 day closer to our destination. There are problems we can't fix; there are times, it seems, that we can do nothing but wait. The waiting is not easy -- I know -- but hard times make strong men. I know we live in a time when a positive mental attitude is mocked and ridiculed, doubt is reasonable, and outrage is glorified. But your hope, today, could be the difference, today, between a family made stronger or a family made weaker. Your hope is crucial, even if it doesn't match the world around you.

Similarly, I have gracious friends looking after my house in the US, and a friend I've hired to maintain the yard. As wonderful as it is to be with my wife, I concurrently have continuing responsibilities in the US. I regret the prolonged inconvenience to the aforementioned caretakers by this ongoing immigration limbo. Family comes first though. I check in with those friends frequently. They are, of course, as gracious as anyone could hope -- and, of course, statedly eager for our return. All in all, we are quite blessed. Despite the prolonged delay, I remain optimistic.

🤣

So, a thread has emerged on one of the FB groups suggesting the cause... Essentially a case of "left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing": https://www.facebook.com/groups/972773457060541/permalink/1008829523454934 Particularly this comment: They said they switched to total self scheduling in February. No more waiting for them to schedule it for you. Previously this was only available for expedited cases. This is also around the time this started happening. This is in line with an email my senator received back from the embassy last month as well. They said expedites are no longer necessary as all scheduling is done by the applicant manually now through the embassy visa appointment service center, and gave a call a number to schedule the interview. We never called because it didn't make sense at the time. This is starting to make some sense now though. There is a breakdown between the systems and I think nobody noticed. Hard to believe though. The reason I think that is because if they truly did switch to 100% self scheduling, NVC would need to send them the cases as soon as they're DQ so they can enter the visa scheduling system. They don't appear to be making their way and I doubt NVC is purposely holding them hostage. I'm a little slow to get all the info, partly because I'm not the one in FB (my wife is).. and many times the info is in Tagalog, so I need my wife to translate it if it not a simple text like "Talaga ba? Jusko!" 🤣

Just checking in. Nothing to report on our end. The silence was too loud, so I thought I would break it. 🤣 Hope everyone is having a good week. Oh, we decided to take a risk and schedule the medical exam for July before receiving an interview letter. I think we might be able to do the CFO online. I'm not completely sure. Ang pinay na asawa ko is the one in the Facebook group. I'm here in the Philippines with her, and I need to extend my visitor visa again. We'll need to commute to Sta Rosa this week or next for that.

Yep, pretty discouraging. I'm here in the Philippines with my Filipino wife--and though it is great to be with her--we both want this journey to be complete. I'm homesick, and my wonderful wife knows I just long to give her the stability of life in the US. So we do our best and hope and pray for progress on our immigration case. I try to keep in mind that not everyone has the luxury of being with their foreign spouse while they wait, and that I should count my blessings. Not to enter a political discussion, but for all the trouble in the US right now, Americans have so much to be grateful for, and so much to be proud of.

Yeah, us too. Case still at the NVC. US Embassy Manila doesn't seem to have sent NVC any available appointments since January. We're following on a FB group, also. There was some excitement there about 1 or 2 IL's, but I'm not yet seeing a tsunami of IL's from the DQ's in Jan and Feb.

We're still waiting, too. Yep, stressful.

Yeah, I can relate. No fun that this seems to drag on. A few days ago, my wife and I were talking about the uncertainty of this process, when it occurred to me that--really--this is the last big push. After this, it is plane tickets. Sometimes I forget that the longest part is behind us, and we're really in the home stretch. Congrats on DQ, BTW.

There was a post on Facebook speculating that things may move forward at USEM. There was speculation that visa interviews are being processed in quarterly batches. And then there was this particular promising comment supporting the speculation:

Sometimes I wonder if the various departments lurk in these forums, and ONLY when someone feels utterly defeated, that's when they process the case. Does anyone else think that? Anyway, congrats, @NasUK!

@EdoLove transferred for processing in a different country than originally requested on the I-130, i believe. This is one way to get past a long backlog at the embassy in the applicant's country. I think that's what they mean.

I was telling a friend earlier that the Department of State didn't give me the briefing like they should have and heads will roll for this! 🤣

Oh, you already know! Here we are again, in the "hurry up and wait" part! I'm a bit more relaxed about it now. There's nothing I can do except to accept the situation. I stopped checking NVC site. I was checking it frequently, but i had to just accept it. It will happen when it is supposed to happen.

My expedite request seems to be among these. For your dataset. I was thinking something along these lines, too. Have you seen this sort of batch processing before? I have a couple ideas about why this halt may be occurring. Purely speculative: 1) As a matter of of efficiency. It maybe be more efficient for the embassy to focus on specific matters in a rotating fashion. 2) Geopolitical urgency. It is possible that the Embassy may be focused on military matters right now, as a top priority. I wonder if a correlation could be established. Some friends near the military bases here have noticed an increase in activity. The expedite denial was vague, but perhaps nothing should be read into that: To Whom it Concerns: Thank you for your patience. We sent your request to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in PHILIPPINES. However, they cannot expedite this case. Please note: Only the U.S. Embassy or Consulate can approve or deny expedite requests. This case is now documentarily complete. That means the National Visa Center has all the required documents. Your application is now waiting for an interview appointment. The U.S. Embassy or Consulate provides the NVC with a list of available appointment dates and times. We schedule appointments on a first-in, first-out basis. After your appointment is scheduled, we will forward your case to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate General. We cannot predict how long it will take to schedule your appointment, but we will notify the applicant, petitioner, and your attorney (if applicable) when an appointment is scheduled. For the most up-to-date information about the U.S. Embassy or Consulate General's operating status, please visit their website at https://usembassy.gov. Information about preparing for interview appointments is available at these websites: https://nvc.state.gov/prep https://nvc.state.gov/prep/espanol Important: Do not make travel arrangements, sell property, or give up employment until the U.S. Embassy or Consulate issues a visa.

Yeah, probably the only way to have a shred of sanity is not checking it 5 times a day. 🤔🤣 Good luck on your trip. That's exactly what we did; I'm here in the Philippines now as we wait.

We call this AR1. It is the first "your case is being Actively Reviewed". The wait is nerve wracking; I know. I was checking everyday, multiple times per day.. and one day i noticed the date changed. This is called AR2. When you notice the date change, switch over to the Documents tab, you may see the "I-130 Approval" before you get the email. We were approved in Feb, and the case went to NVC in March. It took us a couple gos to get DQ'd at NVC, but now we're waiting on US Embassy Manila. Good times. Joke lang. But in fairness, we've had time to strengthen our bond even more, so that when we go to the US, we will be that much stronger. Good luck po.

DQ 2023/04/10. No IL yet. Case still at NVC.