HELP: 70 days into process, but still no paperwork at consulate in Naples!
Feb 23rd 2002, 6:05 am
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
HELP: 70 days into process, but still no paperwork at consulate in Naples!
We had our Fiancee visa application approved by the CSC (submitted Dec. 14 2001,
initial approval Jan 25, 2002), but it hasn't arrived in Naples Italy yet. My Fiancee
called and they were very rude to her, saying they had 50 others in the queue with
the same last name as hers! The asked for the number of the application so they gave
her the "WAC-xxxxxxxx" number, but they said they didn't understand that. They told
her that after they receive the paperwork it will still be 2 to 3 months before they
could even notify her that she is to come down for her interview!
I read on one of the K1-visa links that if you fax a copy of the I-797 form that SOME
consulated will open a "provisional" file and that it might speed things along a
little. Anyone know if the Naples consulate will do that? Also, we are about 70 days
into this process, and what I read and heard from others is that it's an average of
90 days. It seems like for us (if what the jerks at the consulate told my fiancee are
true) it will be at least double that. At what point do I start writing my
senator/congressman to ask for help in locating or expediting our application?
Thanks in advance for any information, Jeff
initial approval Jan 25, 2002), but it hasn't arrived in Naples Italy yet. My Fiancee
called and they were very rude to her, saying they had 50 others in the queue with
the same last name as hers! The asked for the number of the application so they gave
her the "WAC-xxxxxxxx" number, but they said they didn't understand that. They told
her that after they receive the paperwork it will still be 2 to 3 months before they
could even notify her that she is to come down for her interview!
I read on one of the K1-visa links that if you fax a copy of the I-797 form that SOME
consulated will open a "provisional" file and that it might speed things along a
little. Anyone know if the Naples consulate will do that? Also, we are about 70 days
into this process, and what I read and heard from others is that it's an average of
90 days. It seems like for us (if what the jerks at the consulate told my fiancee are
true) it will be at least double that. At what point do I start writing my
senator/congressman to ask for help in locating or expediting our application?
Thanks in advance for any information, Jeff
Feb 23rd 2002, 7:05 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: HELP: 70 days into process, but still no paperwork at consulate in Naples!
nobody wrote:
> We had our Fiancee visa application approved by the CSC (submitted Dec. 14 2001,
> initial approval Jan 25, 2002), but it hasn't arrived in Naples Italy yet. My
> Fiancee called and they were very rude to her,
SOP for the CSC.
> saying they had 50 others in the queue with the same last name as hers! The asked
> for the number of the application so they gave her the "WAC-xxxxxxxx" number, but
> they said they didn't understand that.
Did she ask what they didn't understand about it? I would have!
> They told her that after they receive the paperwork it will still be 2 to 3 months
> before they could even notify her that she is to come down for her interview!
That depends on the consulate not the CSC. There are two parts of the government for
this (and hence probably about 80% of the reasons why this is so screwed up!).
There's the INS which is part of the Department of Justice and there's the consulate
which is part of the Department of State. The INS has done it's job - it approved
you. The only remaining part of the INS' job at this point is to get the approved
petiton to the consulate. They will take their time. That's just the way they are. It
is the consulate that sends out Packet 3 and schedules the interview. The INS does
not do that.
> I read on one of the K1-visa links that if you fax a copy of the I-797 form that
> SOME consulated will open a "provisional" file and that it might speed things along
> a little. Anyone know if the Naples consulate will do that?
Why don't you simply call them and ask?
> Also, we are about 70 days into this process, and what I read and heard from others
> is that it's an average of 90 days. It seems like for us (if what the jerks at the
> consulate told my fiancee are true) it will be at least double that.
OK so did your fiancee call the consulate now? You were not clear above who your
fiance called. Again there are two departments here and as expected they don't
communicate very well. The WAC number is an INS number. Therefore the consulate, part
of the Department of State, doesn't know what that is. Now one would think that in
the 21st century accessing such INS information possible and dare I say easy and
convenient by the consulate but remember we are talking the government here
!
> At what point do I start writing my senator/congressman to ask for help in locating
> or expediting our application?
I would call up the embassy itself and ask them to open a provisional file. The worse
they can say is no. I would also call the CSC (next to impossible) and ask them how
long it takes to sent an approved petition to Naples. Based on their estimate (if 1)
you can ever get through and
2) they answer the question - both of these are questionable) if you're over that
estimated time I would contact your representatives.
> We had our Fiancee visa application approved by the CSC (submitted Dec. 14 2001,
> initial approval Jan 25, 2002), but it hasn't arrived in Naples Italy yet. My
> Fiancee called and they were very rude to her,
SOP for the CSC.
> saying they had 50 others in the queue with the same last name as hers! The asked
> for the number of the application so they gave her the "WAC-xxxxxxxx" number, but
> they said they didn't understand that.
Did she ask what they didn't understand about it? I would have!
> They told her that after they receive the paperwork it will still be 2 to 3 months
> before they could even notify her that she is to come down for her interview!
That depends on the consulate not the CSC. There are two parts of the government for
this (and hence probably about 80% of the reasons why this is so screwed up!).
There's the INS which is part of the Department of Justice and there's the consulate
which is part of the Department of State. The INS has done it's job - it approved
you. The only remaining part of the INS' job at this point is to get the approved
petiton to the consulate. They will take their time. That's just the way they are. It
is the consulate that sends out Packet 3 and schedules the interview. The INS does
not do that.
> I read on one of the K1-visa links that if you fax a copy of the I-797 form that
> SOME consulated will open a "provisional" file and that it might speed things along
> a little. Anyone know if the Naples consulate will do that?
Why don't you simply call them and ask?
> Also, we are about 70 days into this process, and what I read and heard from others
> is that it's an average of 90 days. It seems like for us (if what the jerks at the
> consulate told my fiancee are true) it will be at least double that.
OK so did your fiancee call the consulate now? You were not clear above who your
fiance called. Again there are two departments here and as expected they don't
communicate very well. The WAC number is an INS number. Therefore the consulate, part
of the Department of State, doesn't know what that is. Now one would think that in
the 21st century accessing such INS information possible and dare I say easy and
convenient by the consulate but remember we are talking the government here
!> At what point do I start writing my senator/congressman to ask for help in locating
> or expediting our application?
I would call up the embassy itself and ask them to open a provisional file. The worse
they can say is no. I would also call the CSC (next to impossible) and ask them how
long it takes to sent an approved petition to Naples. Based on their estimate (if 1)
you can ever get through and
2) they answer the question - both of these are questionable) if you're over that
estimated time I would contact your representatives.
Feb 23rd 2002, 7:45 am
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: HELP: 70 days into process, but still no paperwork at consulate in Naples! - Thanks Andrew!
Andrew, thanks for your response, it's very helpful. I understand now why this is
such a screwed up process, with the 2 separate agencies involved etc. Anyway, I just
called the CSC, entered my WAC number and they said that the "foreign consulate has
been notified via cable/tel/fax that the application was approved.." on 2/22
(yesterday). Amazing! I had actually tried calling yesterday (must've hit "redial" at
least 100 times) but never got through.
Regarding the number that the Naples consulate was asking for (yes, my fiancee asked
what kind of number they wanted) -- it starts with "NP" (for Naples I guess) so I
assume it's what they assign when they open a case. My fiancee is going to start
calling the consulate on Monday morning to find out what is going on and to verify
that they've received our paperwork. I will tell her to ask about opening the
"provisional case" also.
One thing that the person in the Naples consulate told my fiancee is that she could
go to the consulate (not excactly around the corner from Milan) and pick up some
forms, but that they would not send them to her. Maybe this is part of opening a
provisional case? Anyway, at least we know where the paperwork is but I'm still
afraid it's gonna be a while before she gets scheduled for her interview.
Thanks for the info, it's much appreciated.
"Andrew DeFaria" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> nobody wrote:
>
> > We had our Fiancee visa application approved by the CSC (submitted Dec. 14 2001,
> > initial approval Jan 25, 2002), but it hasn't arrived in Naples Italy yet. My
> > Fiancee called and they were very rude to her,
>
> SOP for the CSC.
>
> > saying they had 50 others in the queue with the same last name as hers! The asked
> > for the number of the application so they gave her the "WAC-xxxxxxxx" number, but
> > they said they didn't understand that.
>
> Did she ask what they didn't understand about it? I would have!
>
> > They told her that after they receive the paperwork it will still be 2 to 3
> > months before they could even notify her that she is to come down for her
> > interview!
>
> That depends on the consulate not the CSC. There are two parts of the government
> for this (and hence probably about 80% of the reasons why this is so screwed up!).
> There's the INS which is part of the Department of Justice and there's the
> consulate which is part of the Department of State. The INS has done it's job - it
> approved you. The only remaining part of the INS' job at this point is to get the
> approved petiton to the consulate. They will take their time. That's just the way
> they are. It is the consulate that sends out Packet 3 and schedules the interview.
> The INS does not do that.
>
> > I read on one of the K1-visa links that if you fax a copy of the I-797 form that
> > SOME consulated will open a "provisional" file and that it might speed things
> > along a little. Anyone know if the Naples consulate will do that?
>
> Why don't you simply call them and ask?
>
> > Also, we are about 70 days into this process, and what I read and heard from
> > others is that it's an average of 90 days. It seems like for us (if what the
> > jerks at the consulate told my fiancee are true) it will be at least double that.
>
> OK so did your fiancee call the consulate now? You were not clear above who your
> fiance called. Again there are two departments here and as expected they don't
> communicate very well. The WAC number is an INS number. Therefore the consulate,
> part of the Department of State, doesn't know what that is. Now one would think
> that in the 21st century accessing such INS information possible and dare I say
> easy and convenient by the consulate but remember we are talking the government
> here !
>
> > At what point do I start writing my senator/congressman to ask for help in
> > locating or expediting our application?
>
> I would call up the embassy itself and ask them to open a provisional file. The
> worse they can say is no. I would also call the CSC (next to impossible) and ask
> them how long it takes to sent an approved petition to Naples. Based on their
> estimate (if 1) you can ever get through and
> 2) they answer the question - both of these are questionable) if you're over that
> estimated time I would contact your representatives.
such a screwed up process, with the 2 separate agencies involved etc. Anyway, I just
called the CSC, entered my WAC number and they said that the "foreign consulate has
been notified via cable/tel/fax that the application was approved.." on 2/22
(yesterday). Amazing! I had actually tried calling yesterday (must've hit "redial" at
least 100 times) but never got through.
Regarding the number that the Naples consulate was asking for (yes, my fiancee asked
what kind of number they wanted) -- it starts with "NP" (for Naples I guess) so I
assume it's what they assign when they open a case. My fiancee is going to start
calling the consulate on Monday morning to find out what is going on and to verify
that they've received our paperwork. I will tell her to ask about opening the
"provisional case" also.
One thing that the person in the Naples consulate told my fiancee is that she could
go to the consulate (not excactly around the corner from Milan) and pick up some
forms, but that they would not send them to her. Maybe this is part of opening a
provisional case? Anyway, at least we know where the paperwork is but I'm still
afraid it's gonna be a while before she gets scheduled for her interview.
Thanks for the info, it's much appreciated.
"Andrew DeFaria" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> nobody wrote:
>
> > We had our Fiancee visa application approved by the CSC (submitted Dec. 14 2001,
> > initial approval Jan 25, 2002), but it hasn't arrived in Naples Italy yet. My
> > Fiancee called and they were very rude to her,
>
> SOP for the CSC.
>
> > saying they had 50 others in the queue with the same last name as hers! The asked
> > for the number of the application so they gave her the "WAC-xxxxxxxx" number, but
> > they said they didn't understand that.
>
> Did she ask what they didn't understand about it? I would have!
>
> > They told her that after they receive the paperwork it will still be 2 to 3
> > months before they could even notify her that she is to come down for her
> > interview!
>
> That depends on the consulate not the CSC. There are two parts of the government
> for this (and hence probably about 80% of the reasons why this is so screwed up!).
> There's the INS which is part of the Department of Justice and there's the
> consulate which is part of the Department of State. The INS has done it's job - it
> approved you. The only remaining part of the INS' job at this point is to get the
> approved petiton to the consulate. They will take their time. That's just the way
> they are. It is the consulate that sends out Packet 3 and schedules the interview.
> The INS does not do that.
>
> > I read on one of the K1-visa links that if you fax a copy of the I-797 form that
> > SOME consulated will open a "provisional" file and that it might speed things
> > along a little. Anyone know if the Naples consulate will do that?
>
> Why don't you simply call them and ask?
>
> > Also, we are about 70 days into this process, and what I read and heard from
> > others is that it's an average of 90 days. It seems like for us (if what the
> > jerks at the consulate told my fiancee are true) it will be at least double that.
>
> OK so did your fiancee call the consulate now? You were not clear above who your
> fiance called. Again there are two departments here and as expected they don't
> communicate very well. The WAC number is an INS number. Therefore the consulate,
> part of the Department of State, doesn't know what that is. Now one would think
> that in the 21st century accessing such INS information possible and dare I say
> easy and convenient by the consulate but remember we are talking the government
> here
!>
> > At what point do I start writing my senator/congressman to ask for help in
> > locating or expediting our application?
>
> I would call up the embassy itself and ask them to open a provisional file. The
> worse they can say is no. I would also call the CSC (next to impossible) and ask
> them how long it takes to sent an approved petition to Naples. Based on their
> estimate (if 1) you can ever get through and
> 2) they answer the question - both of these are questionable) if you're over that
> estimated time I would contact your representatives.
Feb 23rd 2002, 9:05 am
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: HELP: 70 days into process, but still no paperwork at consulate in Naples! - Thanks Andrew!
nobody wrote:
I don't like talking to nobody
!
> I just called the CSC, entered my WAC number and they said that the "foreign
> consulate has been notified via cable/tel/fax that the application was approved.."
> on 2/22 (yesterday). Amazing! I had actually tried calling yesterday (must've hit
> "redial" at least 100 times) but never got through.
See the thread with the subject "Called CSC 1800 times!" or something like that. It's
difficult to get through. You need redial. It takes on average 1-2 hours of straight
redialing. However, calling the CSC is a waste of time in general and will get you
nowhere in your situation at this time. You need to get through to the consulate in
Naples. It's in their ballpark now.
Do no fool yourself into thinking that a "cable" is anywhere close to the speed of
the Internet (email), fax (phone) or even FedEx. Cables can take months. Think about
it. How many days did it take them from the time they approved your petition before
they even got around to sending it?
> Regarding the number that the Naples consulate was asking for (yes, my fiancee
> asked what kind of number they wanted) -- it starts with "NP" (for Naples I guess)
> so I assume it's what they assign when they open a case. My fiancee is going to
> start calling the consulate on Monday morning to find out what is going on and to
> verify that they've received our paperwork. I will tell her to ask about opening
> the "provisional case" also.
In all likelihood they have not received your paperwork yet. Asking about opening a
provisional file is the way to go.
> One thing that the person in the Naples consulate told my fiancee is that she could
> go to the consulate (not excactly around the corner from Milan) and pick up some
> forms, but that they would not send them to her. Maybe this is part of opening a
> provisional case? Anyway, at least we know where the paperwork is but I'm still
> afraid it's gonna be a while before she gets scheduled for her interview.
They are probably talking about "Packet 3". It's what the consulate will sent your
fiancée when they open the file. It's a bunch of forms, a checklist really, of what
your fiancée needs to do and bring to the interview. She needs to complete this and
send it back. Then they will schedule an interview.
You can get packet 3 from the internet in a pdf file. If your fiancée has internet
access you could email it to her and she could print it and fill it out in advance.
Then when she gets the real packet 3 she could just fill in the remaining information
(the case number from Naples -
i.e. the NP number) and send it back the next day.
I don't like talking to nobody
!> I just called the CSC, entered my WAC number and they said that the "foreign
> consulate has been notified via cable/tel/fax that the application was approved.."
> on 2/22 (yesterday). Amazing! I had actually tried calling yesterday (must've hit
> "redial" at least 100 times) but never got through.
See the thread with the subject "Called CSC 1800 times!" or something like that. It's
difficult to get through. You need redial. It takes on average 1-2 hours of straight
redialing. However, calling the CSC is a waste of time in general and will get you
nowhere in your situation at this time. You need to get through to the consulate in
Naples. It's in their ballpark now.
Do no fool yourself into thinking that a "cable" is anywhere close to the speed of
the Internet (email), fax (phone) or even FedEx. Cables can take months. Think about
it. How many days did it take them from the time they approved your petition before
they even got around to sending it?
> Regarding the number that the Naples consulate was asking for (yes, my fiancee
> asked what kind of number they wanted) -- it starts with "NP" (for Naples I guess)
> so I assume it's what they assign when they open a case. My fiancee is going to
> start calling the consulate on Monday morning to find out what is going on and to
> verify that they've received our paperwork. I will tell her to ask about opening
> the "provisional case" also.
In all likelihood they have not received your paperwork yet. Asking about opening a
provisional file is the way to go.
> One thing that the person in the Naples consulate told my fiancee is that she could
> go to the consulate (not excactly around the corner from Milan) and pick up some
> forms, but that they would not send them to her. Maybe this is part of opening a
> provisional case? Anyway, at least we know where the paperwork is but I'm still
> afraid it's gonna be a while before she gets scheduled for her interview.
They are probably talking about "Packet 3". It's what the consulate will sent your
fiancée when they open the file. It's a bunch of forms, a checklist really, of what
your fiancée needs to do and bring to the interview. She needs to complete this and
send it back. Then they will schedule an interview.
You can get packet 3 from the internet in a pdf file. If your fiancée has internet
access you could email it to her and she could print it and fill it out in advance.
Then when she gets the real packet 3 she could just fill in the remaining information
(the case number from Naples -
i.e. the NP number) and send it back the next day.
Feb 23rd 2002, 8:30 pm
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: HELP: 70 days into process, but still no paperwork at consulate in Naples! - Thanks Andrew!
"Andrew DeFaria" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> nobody wrote:
>
> I don't like talking to nobody !
Really, I am somebody,,,,I really am!!!
>
> > I just called the CSC, entered my WAC number and they said that the "foreign
> > consulate has been notified via cable/tel/fax that the application was
> > approved.." on 2/22 (yesterday). Amazing! I had actually tried calling yesterday
> > (must've hit "redial" at least 100 times) but never got through.
>
> See the thread with the subject "Called CSC 1800 times!" or something like that.
> It's difficult to get through. You need redial. It takes on average 1-2 hours of
> straight redialing. However, calling the CSC is a waste of time in general and will
> get you nowhere in your situation at this time. You need to get through to the
> consulate in Naples. It's in their ballpark now.
>
> Do no fool yourself into thinking that a "cable" is anywhere close to the speed of
> the Internet (email), fax (phone) or even FedEx. Cables can take months. Think
> about it. How many days did it take them from the time they approved your petition
> before they even got around to sending
it?
Great, another delay. What is a "cable" anyway?
>
> > Regarding the number that the Naples consulate was asking for (yes, my fiancee
> > asked what kind of number they wanted) -- it starts with "NP" (for Naples I
> > guess) so I assume it's what they assign when they open a case. My fiancee is
> > going to start calling the consulate on Monday morning to find out what is going
> > on and to verify that they've received our paperwork. I will tell her to ask
> > about opening the "provisional case" also.
>
> In all likelihood they have not received your paperwork yet. Asking about opening a
> provisional file is the way to go.
I'm sure they haven't received anything yet. My fiancee will be calling them Monday
and start bugging them to find out what's going on. If they "cabled" the info, it
might be a while (weeks? months?) though until they receive anything. She'll also ask
them to open a provisional case although from what I've heard about Naples, they
probably won't do it.
>
> > One thing that the person in the Naples consulate told my fiancee is that she
> > could go to the consulate (not excactly around the corner from Milan) and pick up
> > some forms, but that they would not send them to her. Maybe this is part of
> > opening a provisional case? Anyway, at least we know where the paperwork is but
> > I'm still afraid it's gonna be a while before she gets scheduled for her
> > interview.
>
> They are probably talking about "Packet 3". It's what the consulate will sent your
> fiancée when they open the file. It's a bunch of forms, a checklist really, of what
> your fiancée needs to do and bring to the interview. She needs to complete this and
> send it back. Then they will schedule an interview.
>
> You can get packet 3 from the internet in a pdf file. If your fiancée has internet
> access you could email it to her and she could print it and fill it out in advance.
> Then when she gets the real packet 3 she could just fill in the remaining
> information (the case number from Naples -
> i.e. the NP number) and send it back the next day.
>
Fortunately my fiancee has internet access, so she'll be downloading Packet 3 forms
this weekend and I'm going to email a copy of the I-797 in case they let her open the
provisional case she can fax that to them. Since it's such a hassle to talk to the
people in the consulate, will they give us any more attention or would it help to
show up there in person (both of us) to try and expedite things at all? Basically, if
they don't let us open a provisional case, it seems that we're just sitting around
and waiting for them to do something. All we'll be able to do is fill out
forms/collect docs, waiting for Packet 3 to arrive.
news:[email protected]...
> nobody wrote:
>
> I don't like talking to nobody
!Really, I am somebody,,,,I really am!!!
>
> > I just called the CSC, entered my WAC number and they said that the "foreign
> > consulate has been notified via cable/tel/fax that the application was
> > approved.." on 2/22 (yesterday). Amazing! I had actually tried calling yesterday
> > (must've hit "redial" at least 100 times) but never got through.
>
> See the thread with the subject "Called CSC 1800 times!" or something like that.
> It's difficult to get through. You need redial. It takes on average 1-2 hours of
> straight redialing. However, calling the CSC is a waste of time in general and will
> get you nowhere in your situation at this time. You need to get through to the
> consulate in Naples. It's in their ballpark now.
>
> Do no fool yourself into thinking that a "cable" is anywhere close to the speed of
> the Internet (email), fax (phone) or even FedEx. Cables can take months. Think
> about it. How many days did it take them from the time they approved your petition
> before they even got around to sending
it?
Great, another delay. What is a "cable" anyway?
>
> > Regarding the number that the Naples consulate was asking for (yes, my fiancee
> > asked what kind of number they wanted) -- it starts with "NP" (for Naples I
> > guess) so I assume it's what they assign when they open a case. My fiancee is
> > going to start calling the consulate on Monday morning to find out what is going
> > on and to verify that they've received our paperwork. I will tell her to ask
> > about opening the "provisional case" also.
>
> In all likelihood they have not received your paperwork yet. Asking about opening a
> provisional file is the way to go.
I'm sure they haven't received anything yet. My fiancee will be calling them Monday
and start bugging them to find out what's going on. If they "cabled" the info, it
might be a while (weeks? months?) though until they receive anything. She'll also ask
them to open a provisional case although from what I've heard about Naples, they
probably won't do it.
>
> > One thing that the person in the Naples consulate told my fiancee is that she
> > could go to the consulate (not excactly around the corner from Milan) and pick up
> > some forms, but that they would not send them to her. Maybe this is part of
> > opening a provisional case? Anyway, at least we know where the paperwork is but
> > I'm still afraid it's gonna be a while before she gets scheduled for her
> > interview.
>
> They are probably talking about "Packet 3". It's what the consulate will sent your
> fiancée when they open the file. It's a bunch of forms, a checklist really, of what
> your fiancée needs to do and bring to the interview. She needs to complete this and
> send it back. Then they will schedule an interview.
>
> You can get packet 3 from the internet in a pdf file. If your fiancée has internet
> access you could email it to her and she could print it and fill it out in advance.
> Then when she gets the real packet 3 she could just fill in the remaining
> information (the case number from Naples -
> i.e. the NP number) and send it back the next day.
>
Fortunately my fiancee has internet access, so she'll be downloading Packet 3 forms
this weekend and I'm going to email a copy of the I-797 in case they let her open the
provisional case she can fax that to them. Since it's such a hassle to talk to the
people in the consulate, will they give us any more attention or would it help to
show up there in person (both of us) to try and expedite things at all? Basically, if
they don't let us open a provisional case, it seems that we're just sitting around
and waiting for them to do something. All we'll be able to do is fill out
forms/collect docs, waiting for Packet 3 to arrive.
