Wait time for IR1 Interview at Bangkok Embassy (USA)

[FaRangsit]

Hi, I live with my Thai wife and children here in Bangkok and filed our I-130 last July. We got through USCIS, case got sent to NVC, and have been documentarily approved for a month or so there. So we are essentially just waiting on her interview at the USA embassy in Bangkok.

I'm wondering if anyone has gone through this recently and can let me know how long it took? I know things are slow right now, but I do wonder if the embassy is scheduling interviews for people with a priority date in May 2020 or like December 2019. Basically our goal is to move back to USA before the holidays, so that's my concern.

If anyone has any insights please let me know.

[GinBoy2]

Can't advise you on the timing, in these troubled times, who knows.

 

But let your wife know this is nothing to sweat about. 2 minutes in front of a plexiglass window and its done.

 

In every IR-1/CR-1 case the decision is already made

[kynikoi]

Any hope of bringing back DCF to BKK?

 

OP how long the entire process? Did you file thru Texas?

 

Sorry to hijack.

[FaRangsit]

12 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

Can't advise you on the timing, in these troubled times, who knows.

 

But let your wife know this is nothing to sweat about. 2 minutes in front of a plexiglass window and its done.

 

In every IR-1/CR-1 case the decision is already made

That's good to know, she really isn't sure what to expect. We have 3 kids (all US citizens) and have been together 5+ years, though, so my guess is the questioning won't be too intense.

[FaRangsit]

14 minutes ago, kynikoi said:

Any hope of bringing back DCF to BKK?

 

OP how long the entire process? Did you file thru Texas?

 

Sorry to hijack.

No worries. Filed I-130 in July of last year. It should have gone to Nebraska service center but unfortunately got sent to Vermont for some reason which has way longer wait times. In February I contacted my senator's office back home, asked if they could assist (because there had been no progress for 8 months). Filled out a form with them, and they lit a fire under USCIS and my I-130 got approved and case sent to NVC two weeks later. Took us about a month to get all the paperwork and everything sorted here, then submitted visa application about a month ago. Less than 10 days later we were 'documentarily approved'. So now we're just waiting on the bangkok embassy to schedule the interview.

Hope that helps.

[kynikoi]

28 minutes ago, FaRangsit said:

No worries. Filed I-130 in July of last year. It should have gone to Nebraska service center but unfortunately got sent to Vermont for some reason which has way longer wait times. In February I contacted my senator's office back home, asked if they could assist (because there had been no progress for 8 months). Filled out a form with them, and they lit a fire under USCIS and my I-130 got approved and case sent to NVC two weeks later. Took us about a month to get all the paperwork and everything sorted here, then submitted visa application about a month ago. Less than 10 days later we were 'documentarily approved'. So now we're just waiting on the bangkok embassy to schedule the interview.

Hope that helps.

Thanks. Every bit of what I'd feared. I'm happy for you it's finally moving.

 

Best of luck.

[andres144]

Did your wife get an interview appointment?

I am in a similar situation.  My wife got documentarily approved by NVC over a week ago.

Any help is appreciated.  Thanks.

[mcmco]

On 4/7/2021 at 12:40 PM, FaRangsit said:

No worries. Filed I-130 in July of last year. It should have gone to Nebraska service center but unfortunately got sent to Vermont for some reason which has way longer wait times. In February I contacted my senator's office back home, asked if they could assist (because there had been no progress for 8 months). Filled out a form with them, and they lit a fire under USCIS and my I-130 got approved and case sent to NVC two weeks later. Took us about a month to get all the paperwork and everything sorted here, then submitted visa application about a month ago. Less than 10 days later we were 'documentarily approved'. So now we're just waiting on the bangkok embassy to schedule the interview.

Hope that helps.

Any updates on the interview?

[FaRangsit]

On 6/24/2021 at 5:58 PM, mcmco said:

Any updates on the interview?

No interview yet unfortunately. Hoping to get the email within the next month or so.

[GinBoy2]

4 hours ago, FaRangsit said:

No interview yet unfortunately. Hoping to get the email within the next month or so.

It's all a far cry from the pre covid, pre Trump days, when DCF was available.

 

We were done and dusted for a CR-1 in exactly 100 days start to finish.

 

I hope for all of you with the new regime USCIS will reopen the office in BKK and things can can back to how it was before 

Edited July 6, 2021 by GinBoy2

[bunnydrops]

Not sure-- maybe this will help

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/k1list.php?op6=All&op66=All&op7=Thailand&op1=&op2=&dfile=No&op3=5&op4=1&op5=5%2C6%2C8%2C10%2C11%2C13%2C14%2C15%2C16%2C17%2C18%2C20%2C21%2C22%2C25%2C26%2C27%2C28%2C108%2C110%2C111%2C208%2C210%2C211&cfl=

Edited July 6, 2021 by bunnydrops
fixed link

[JCP108]

I, too, am interested in reports from anyone filing a family/marriage/fiance visa who can report the wait time from getting all the documents to the U.S. embassy in Bangkok and getting the final interview scheduled. We submitted our docs three weeks ago and have yet to hear from the embassy. 

[khunjake]

From the time that we were "Documentarily Qualified" from the NVC, it took approximately 5 months to receive the appointment email from the embassy. The interview was scheduled for 4 weeks after the email was received and 2 weeks prior to the interview, we received another email informing us that our appointment has been delayed due to a resurgence of COVID-19 in Bangkok. The interview was pushed out 5 more weeks. So all in all, about 7 months from NVC approval up to the interview. My wife was approved by the friendly immigrant visa officer compared to being refused a visit visa by the unfriendly non-immigrant visa unit 3 years prior.

[JCP108]

3 hours ago, khunjake said:

From the time that we were "Documentarily Qualified" from the NVC, it took approximately 5 months to receive the appointment email from the embassy. The interview was scheduled for 4 weeks after the email was received and 2 weeks prior to the interview, we received another email informing us that our appointment has been delayed due to a resurgence of COVID-19 in Bangkok. The interview was pushed out 5 more weeks. So all in all, about 7 months from NVC approval up to the interview. My wife was approved by the friendly immigrant visa officer compared to being refused a visit visa by the unfriendly non-immigrant visa unit 3 years prior.

Thanks for sharing. Was that post-Trump in the Biden era or during the Trump debacle?

[khunjake]

38 minutes ago, JCP108 said:

Thanks for sharing. Was that post-Trump in the Biden era or during the Trump debacle?

post-Trump in the Biden era...

[Elkski]

I doubt if 8 months of Biden understaffing left over, covid issues on Thailand have changed the timeline much.