Bought 5 PIN at $12 ea Ecuador Consulate and still no appt.

[esperanza Ecuador 0]

Every call to schedule an interview requires $12 PIN purchase at Banco de Guayaquil bank. FIVE bought, and two calls to the Immigration phone number for Americans regarding Immigrant Visas, and .... STILL they will NOT set the date for Ivan's interview for when I can make it to attend with him and the boys. I go back to work for teacher inservice the Aug. 27th, and we couldn't get the money any earlier in August for all of these fees (we are getting K2 Visas his boys, too) until now but....

Now that I have a ticket from Aug. 20-25th, and we need to set the interview for the 23rd or 24th, EVERY time we call we get a "not ready yet, call back in four weeks (...two weeks, one week, on Monday...) and NOW they said today, we can only set dates for interviews the next few days....call back on Wednesday or Thursday this week.

And what if we call this Wed. and they say we can no longer interview the 23rd or 24th? My flight leaves this Friday!!! and my boss said I can't take off teaching until at least Sept. 13th at the earliest. By then his kids will have missed the first few weeks of math and science and will be lost on top of struggling with the English aspect.

Guayaquil Consulate will tell me I don't have to be there...but anyone who has read the forum or gone through Guayaquil KNOWS I MUST!!! In June before the interview fees hiked from $131 to $350 each they were not ready to interview us even though they had our packet in hands June 8th and I was there from June 9th until June 26th for a teaching fellowship. June 27th I was back in the States, and we showed up on their website as "ready to interview", but they were setting appt.s three weeks out from the request at that time.

I am open to any suggestions. I will try emailing the email address listed on the Portal page, and politely but firmly present our "situation" (which they have caused). PLEASE, any other suggestions?

Stephanie and Ivan.

[TBoneTX 45,600]

Ah yes, S. -- the appointment-nonsetters keep playing games. They certainly receive commissions for how many times they can get us to call back.

Call again, and, at the first sign of a runaround, insist on speaking with a supervisor. If that doesn't pay off, e-mail the hellhole itself with "For Phil Linderman" in the Subject line, and explain your predicament, including your firm knowledge (call it that) that the visa WILL be refused (use capital letters) if you are not also present at the FIRST interview. Linderman was the Section Chief of the IV Unit, but rumor has it that he's now the pooh-bah for the entire visa operation. Nevertheless, this is probably your only hope at this stage. You may hear back within 48 hours.

Let us know, si man.

[esperanza Ecuador 0]

Commission or not, if these phone attendants make a mistake in their money making game of trying to see how many times they can get us to call, and if we are told to call back again THIS THURSDAY (when the Consulate is closed Fridays) to make an appt. for this coming MONDAY OR TUESDAY ....and then there is no availability, I am going to have a major meltdown. This whole K1 process alone plus being separated from your soulmate is hard enough without adding on all that extra run around. We are both sleepless this week sweating it out over their polite refusal to "put us on the calendar farther ahead than when we have openings".

[TBoneTX 45,600]

I know, Sweetie -- they're bastards from top to bottom. Nonetheless, try everything that I say. Maybe lightning will strike in your favor, si man.

[esperanza Ecuador 0]

LIGHTNING STRUCK!!!! and then some! OK, we have gotten much runaround by those who answer the phones, and three times they gave my fiance MISinformation when he called, telling him information respective to the K3 when we are a K1.....

but it was still very nice that they did their best today, those people of power there in charge somewhere (thank you!), in answering my firm and polite but upset email to them yesterday. THEY PERSONALLY CALLED ME AT HOME AND APOLOGIZED, SAID WHAT I HAD GONE THROUGH WAS NOT RIGHT, AND COULD THEY PLEASE SET UP A SOLID DATE ON THE CALENDAR WHENEVER I WANT???. I thanked the man very deeply, insisted that I WANT to attend and putting a date on the calendar no matter how far ahead (or in this case in 6 days!) is the only way to make the logistics of planning and buying tickets for me possible, and said, yes, thank you for calling, that would be great. The man apologized again (and several times). He said the interview date and time is now solid, no need to call back, nor for your fiance to pay another $12 and to call back like the man said yesterday. (I wonder if it was the same one today as yesterday because my letter mentioned his name...!!!)

We are set for Tuesday. Me, him, and his kids. (Cross your fingers his ex doesnt pull anything or hide the passports when she and them come back from Acapulco on Friday!!!) We would like to get them here and settled as school is starting. Please keep us in your prayers. Thanks all VJ'ers for your support and encouragement, and stay positive that no matter the process, persistence and patience! (and belief inside of you that this person is the one who deserves it all and feels the same about you!)

Edited August 17, 2010 by esperanza Ecuador

[TBoneTX 45,600]

S.: Yee-HAAAAAAAAAAA!, si man!!!!!!! :)

[paciencia y fe 2]

yay!! good luck to you!!