PaulinPA

Hi everyone: This is an update. I'm sharing these details so others may have some idea of what to expect. The embassy interview was just held yesterday, January 16th. As we anticipated, the embassy issued a 221(g) letter. They noted three outstanding issues: First, they had not yet received the TB test results from the medical exam. Although we scheduled the medical exam weeks in advance of the interview, the physician said the TB results would not be sent to the embassy until mid-February. (They collected sputum samples and apparently it takes up to eight weeks for the results to come out.) So even before the interview we knew this delay would put us in administrative processing. Second, the embassy wanted recent W2s from me. (I guess they wanted to make sure my income is currently sufficient since we were in the DQ queue for nearly two years. Fortunately, I just got my 2024 W2s.) And finally, they wanted an updated Kenyan police certificate because the certificate we submitted with our original document package had expired. (We had requested this updated certificate from Kenya police as soon as we got the interview date, but I guess it is taking Kenya police many weeks to issue a certificate.) All things considered, we believe the interview was a success. We think we will get through administrative processing by the end of next month. P.S. I was able to arrange three weeks of vacation, so we were together in Kenya over the holidays, including our fourth wedding anniversary on December 29th. That is part of the reason we don't mind the 221(g) letter too much.

Congratulations, 1wildcat! I completely understand the feeling. On a positive note for future readers of this thread, it definitely appears that the wait time for an interview letter is going down. Although 16 months is a long wait, at least it is a great improvement from the 22-month wait I recently experienced.

Thanks for your encouraging reply, Truserenity11. I know your husband is due to arrive in the U.S. on New Year's Eve, and that you must be super excited he will arrive in just a month's time. For my part, I've booked a flight to Nairobi, departing December 18th, returning stateside January 8th. So at least I will be with my better half over the holidays and to celebrate our 4-year wedding anniversary. It's amazing to think that our immigration journey is almost at an end, and that in 2025, for the first time, we will be living together under one roof. Yay!

Hi everyone. I've got good news! Today we received our email that the immigration interview has been set for Nairobi on January 16, 2025. For those wondering about timeline, we became DQ on March 23, 2023. So, from March 23, 2023 to November 29, 2024 is approximately 20 months. Although a 20-month wait since becoming DQ is a long time, the folks following this thread will realize that recent reports have pegged the wait time at 22 months. A 20-month wait is therefore a hopeful sign that the wait time is finally starting to go down. Incidentally, our wedding date was December 29, 2020, so this letter was a nice 47-month anniversary present for us. For anyone still waiting for an IL, hang in there. Your time will come!

Hey there, Truserenity, I'm very happy for the two of you! I wish you all the best as you bring in the New Year together. Thanks for letting us know how things turned out.

Congratulations, Steven! More confirmation that it's taking 22 months after DQ to get IL. I hope the interview goes well!

The State Department just released its August, 2024 data about the number of immigrant visas issued by consular post. In Nairobi, there were 34 IR1 visas, 127 IR2, 7 IR5, and just 3 CR1. Conversely, there were 547 DV, which tells us where the embassy's resources have been concentrated. (For comparison, there were 54 IR1 visas and 254 DV issued in August of 2023.) I wish all the DV winners much success on their journeys even though, this year, the wait time in Nairobi for family preference visa interviews has grown.

Congratulations, Wagzy! If I've correctly followed your timeline, you were DQ in December of 2022. If that's correct, then that confirms the wait for an IL is still running at about 22 months.

Thank you Trueserenity11. And thank you for helping to keep this thread active. Today is the 29th of September. My soulmate and i got married on December 29th, 2020. So one of the things we do is wish each other a "happy anniversary" on the 29th day of every month. Today, for instance, is our 45th-month anniversary. As for being separated, we've just come to accept that as part of our "normal." We also FaceTime nearly every day, and then text between our FaceTime calls. We are fortunate insofar as we have been able to spend time in person during the stretch of days between late December and early January. Anyway, we had hoped to spend the holidays together in the U.S. this year, but now it's looking like I will need to travel to Nairobi instead. Unfortunately, airline tickets to Nairobi are noticeably higher this year!

Hi Truserenity11: I keep hoping the 22-month wait is a temporary elongation. One factor that may have contributed to the longer wait this year is that Kenya snagged an unusually large number of Africa's 2024 diversity visas. Indeed, the published monthly immigrant visa counts for Nairobi reflect this. By my way of thinking, the more diversity visa interviews, the less interview slots for CR1/IR1 applicants. Since all the 2024 diversity visa interviews must be completed by September 30th, I think that means we will see more CR1/IR1 interviews beginning this October. Fingers crossed!

Hi everyone: I'm new to this thread, so before going further I just want to express my appreciation for the posts that have already been made. It's really helpful to learn from others' experiences. Anyway, just to add a little of my own experience, I am a USC, and my spouse and I became DQ on March 23, 2023, so we are coming up on our 18-month waiting mark for an IL. If it's true that the queue is currently taking 22 months, that means we won't be getting our IL until January, 2025. Ugh! Our wedding anniversary is December 29th, and we were really hoping to spend it in the USA, along with Christmas and New Year's. Back in the spring we got a one-way refundable ticket for December 18th, but now I'm starting to think I will need to fly to Nairobi instead. The one glimmer of hope I have is that, last year, autumn was a busy month for issuing IR1 visas in Nairobi. There were 45 issued in September, 2023; 85 in October, 2023; 105 in November, 2023, and then 60 in December, 2023. So, in effect, I am hoping that a bunch of ILs will be sent out in the next few weeks for interviews in November and December. Let's keep those fingers crossed! 🤞