I'm curious..

[Eric&Yuhui]

By the way, would somebody PLEASSSSSSE pm me the fax or email contact number for Kathryn Corbal or whoever at DOS or GZ that I can get in touch with which can help me with the case.  My thanks to you ahead!!!

coming up !!!!!

[Calvin]

Eric & Yuhui,

 

Yes, that worried me too when he said that. I asked him today since he can't find out the status of my case, does it mean it is not cleared. "That is not what I said" was his response. Although I didn't hear any good news, I somehow feel confident and relaxed after talking to him and that my fiancee will receive her EMS soon.

 

Oh, one more thing. Today he asked for my fiancee's case number, not her name and birthday as he did last time.

[owenkrout]

Late Aug interview. Not a word other than e-mail from guz in early Jan saying it had been resubmitted. Just waiting for good news.

any more contacts with anyone since then?

My advice is: don't just wait... Try and coerce info, any info... Then you can cross check..and tell the B.S from the real stuff. You deserve answers.. Like everyone here.

If your only source of info is 1225 people, I suggest you widen your call list to the CA level, past VO/P/I . And forget those folks at the very end of the food chain info line. And also forget the GZ info team who hnows jack squat as many of us have found out.

Maybe the other guys will disagree, but this is my suggestion.

Good luck to you

I agree with you, Eric. What this amounts to now is that those of us who put immense effort and even expense into pushing to find out what was really going on and into forcing the agencies to do something about the issue by making our problem their problem are now passing that torch of proactivity on to those who still wait or who are new to the process.

 

We will still be here to give advice based on our hard-earned experience. But it is only fair that each "generation" of applicants and benificiaries take the point position and decide just in what direction things should go. We are not abandoning you by anymeans as I have even written to Congressmen about this continuing situation within the last week.

 

We can nowcontinue to contribute not only to this forum, but also the the Immigration Problems and the Culture and Language Forum as we learn new lessons living with our loved ones in America. (Or for a few of us, in China)

[JoeLiyan]

Needless to say...BUT, (on a POSITIVE note) I'm seeing some sort of logical processing here that MAY indicate ("needavisa" in particular) I'm not far away from the bottom of the pile.

 

With my attempting to get pow-wow with Adams while over there, as posted here, if truly I AM soon to come, I am fax-blasting every official on both sides of the Pacific pond to get/expedite info.

 

Cabral is on my list also, but I think AS, sympathetic to August crowd, is my MAIN man to speak with. Will post ANY and all news ASAP - Thanks for asking Eric - I'm more optimistic than ever, as LIYAN gets more pessimistic

[Guest chinarmb]

Our interview date was 8/20, last news A.S. said that GZ should have got clearance on 2/21/03, still waiting for EMS.

[Eric&Yuhui]

snip//

still waiting for EMS.

anytime now...

[Eric&Yuhui]

I think the only thing thing that the "letterhead" does is getting a reply

( by law ) , but the same canned copy-paste reply you might or might not get yourself....

But it never hurts to have them involved I suppose.

And Yes, you have more intel than those folks

[Guest jennifer_lam]

August 7th interviewed... still pending....

I don't have any more to say......only sigh........

[tonado]

August 7th interviewed... still pending....

I don't have any more to say......only sigh........

Just called DOS and a lady said "they are still working on it". No clearance yet.

[Guest hopeful]

Calvin,

 

A.S. is indeed a very kind and helpful person. He also mentioned to me that somebody would look into my case and call me back -- I got a phone call the next day from Ms. Cabral, although the news is they are still working on it, it just makes me feel better since apparently somebody cares.

 

Now a question to the veterans of this battle:

 

my dilemma is: should I give DOS "another week or two" per their request, or should I keep calling every two or three days so that my case doesn't get ignored... I am afraid the "another week or two" is just again something that doesn't really mean much and I will find myself in the exact same place after that week or two...

 

Any suggestions?

[JonInDenver]

"He said my fiancee's case looks favorable when I talked to him last week"

 

this means: that your DOS contact can SEE that your clearance has been completed - he should also be able to tell you if it has been sent to GZ. he can not tell you "you have been cleared" because that final decision lies with GZ.

 

what it means is that you are on your way! for our case, GZ needed about 2 1/2 weeks to send out the EMS, we had that in 2 days, and the visa 2 working days later. once things start happening - they happen very fast.

 

if you have positive into from DOS (not the helpline) - you are probably in very good shape!

 

the "helpline" will probably have all this info on about the same day you GET the visa. they are only helpful in letting you know IF GZ has begun processing your case.

 

we picked up our visa monday in china - just for kicks i called the helpline to see what the status was. today is wednesday and they still show it "being processed by GZ". they are truely the last to know.

 

thanks for posting and pinning this eric - this way we are able to continue helping our brothers and sisters who are still waiting.

[markandsarena]

August 29 interview and still waiting...

 

Perhaps the most honest (and depressing) info I got from Cathryn at some DOS office (not the 1225 #). I was transferred from CA to this person. She had no concrete answers as to when these blackhole cases would be finished. She took my information and said she would look into this case, as well as the 10-12 others she got that day. She said they have to trace back over each step of each case to find out what the problem is. Told me to call back in a week.

 

As for those trying to get help from Senator's offices...

 

"smiling faces... sometimes, they don't tell the truth..."

[Eric&Yuhui]

should I give DOS "another week or two" per their request, or should I keep calling every two or three days so that my case doesn't get ignored

I wouldn't.. Every 3 days sounds more than reasonnable

[JonInDenver]

<< As for those trying to get help from Senator's offices...

 

"smiling faces... sometimes, they don't tell the truth..." >>

 

 

i've gotten - and heard of - such mixed results when dealing with Senator's and Congressmen's offices.

 

at Wayne Allard's office, the aid there took a genuine interest from the start, but it was several months before i could push her to demand more than a form letter and probe deeper into the red tape and horse pucky. she was one of the people who uncovered the "duplicate submission" problem and worked with DOS to unscrew it.

 

Ben Campbell's aid's first response was "well if you'd just marry an American woman you wouldn't have to go through all this." they did eventually make some calls and get the current status of our case - but would not follow up further after that.

 

Tom Tancredo's office... it took something like 13 e-mails, 5 faxes, and uncounted phone calls before they got back to me. i ended up using SHAME to get them involved. once on board, they were held to some regulation that they couldn't probe deeper until 30 days after the initial inquiry. when the 30 days were up - they broke out the ball bats and pry-bars and went to work. they were nearly as militant as me!

 

some things that can really help if you are able:

 

1.) be super-friendly with your delegates aids, but make sure they know that you won't go away. also, be sure to give them ALL info you already have so they know where to start.

 

1.a) if they are helpful and willing to work with you, stay in touch with them via e-mail, phone, and personal visits. just because they helped you out once - doesn't mean they won't forget you next time. use holidays and events to really set your situation in their mind "i wasn't able to give my wife these flowers today - the 3rd birthday that we've been apart - so i wanted you to have them to say thanks for all your help." they will never forget you.

 

2.) try to get some face-time with the Senator or Congressman himself. for those of us NOT in NY or CA, we can usually catch up with our delegates at "town hall meetings" "monthly breakfasts" "open houses" etc... no, they probably won't bring out the big guns personally - but they will grab the nearest aid and say "take care of this guy". it does a lot of good in lighting a fire under the aid, you don't get lip service while the delegate is watching.

 

3.) don't give up! if they won't return your calls at the local office - call the DC office and bitch about it. send a fax stating "i have left 13 messages and no one has bothered to call me back!" if possible SHOW UP at that local office. no one can ignore you if you are standing in front of them. send a letter that includes "you should be ashamed for not taking an active roll rectifying this situation which affects thousands of Americans and their families."

 

4.) this is my personal lesson - know who you should be a prick with, and who you should be kissing up to. if you are decent with the right people, they will really go the extra mile for you - unfortunately some only respond to a good beating.

 

just my 2 cents (again). though i have often been criticized on Candle for being TOO active in my pursuit, i genuinely believe it has made a difference. never hesitate to make a call, often YOU are the only one who is looking after your case. every time you are able to milk your case through another part of the system, you bring many others with it. stay with it each step of the way.

[markandsarena]

Jon,

 

thanks for the info. you have given some good ideas on approaching our elected officials. immigration is such a touchy subject these days, it is that much harder to get things done. it seems no one wants to get involved. so, the pressure has to be kept on them.