visa appointment

[Anthony Tong]

11 hours ago, niazche said:

Have you guys saw the recent tweet by Donald Trump on school opening in fall? Some ray of hope!

School opening does not mean embassy opening....

[niazche]

11 hours ago, Anthony Tong said:

School opening does not mean embassy opening....

Yes, that's right. May be school opening is a first step towards getting the visa, I am trying to be hopeful though!

[WanYesOnly]

Anyone who was planning on starting remotely and has spoken to their school about what the new immigration guidelines mean for them?

[darkclouds]

I saw in reddit that family visas are the priority and as long as you don't hear those being processed, the likelihood of students visas being issued is low.

[Cryss]

Just got an email from my embassy saying they will open limited appointments from July 14th specifically for student visas and petition-based visas. Will keep you guys updated. 

[biochem899]

5 minutes ago, Cryss said:

Just got an email from my embassy saying they will open limited appointments from July 14th specifically for student visas and petition-based visas. Will keep you guys updated. 

Ohh what embassy is this?? That's amazing!

[Cryss]

4 hours ago, biochem899 said:

Ohh what embassy is this?? That's amazing!

Curacao!

[time_consume_me]

4 hours ago, Cryss said:

Just got an email from my embassy saying they will open limited appointments from July 14th specifically for student visas and petition-based visas. Will keep you guys updated. 

With the hope that this policy is adopted at more consulates and embassies elsewhere, my family is working toward this route. That is, preparing to file for an emergency appointment whilw watching out for new slots opened for people in our category.

Thanks for this encouraging news!

[AP]

17 hours ago, Cryss said:

Curacao!

Ahhhh dying to go! (Everyone I met from Curaçao is just amazing).

[shakespear]

If you go to the website ``ustraveldocs.com", you will see that students applying for an F-1 visa are eligible for an expedited appointment. Can people here confirm that they were able to attend the visa interviews?

[graphox024]

I applied for an emergency appointment for F-1 visa last June 30 in Manila, denied with no reason other than the embassy is close. I would like to request again, and mentioned that I will be participating for the COVID research. But they mentioned that each applicant is entitled for one emergency appointment only. 

Will the US government will still not allow paying students overseas even with the current situation? I hope this is possible. 

[niazche]

4 hours ago, shakespear said:

If you go to the website ``ustraveldocs.com", you will see that students applying for an F-1 visa are eligible for an expedited appointment. Can people here confirm that they were able to attend the visa interviews?

This morning I e-mailed the US consulate in Toronto and they said, despite the phased resumption of visa service, they are unable to provide any visa except emergency at this moment. Emergency only means health care workers relavant to COVID-19.

[time_consume_me]

Consulates and embassies in Japan and Korea are doing interviews as of Monday.

 

My wife's passport is with them now after her j-2 interview. Hope it comes back soon with a nice stamp.

[Cryss]

On 7/16/2020 at 6:58 AM, shakespear said:

If you go to the website ``ustraveldocs.com", you will see that students applying for an F-1 visa are eligible for an expedited appointment. Can people here confirm that they were able to attend the visa interviews?

Had our visa interview today and got approved! They will be ready for pick up tomorrow afternoon (we did J1 and J2).

[Bluemonochrome]

This thread has been quiet for a while now. Is that a sign of people are going well with their visa and visa appointment? Hope that is the case and would love to hear news from anyone.

My appointment had been cancelled and had no luck to reschedule it until late September even under a expedited appointment request...

[WanYesOnly]

I just want to know where y'all are getting the courage to travel to the US in this pandemic in time for fall semester. I need some of that courage for Spring semester. 

[niazche]

4 hours ago, Bluemonochrome said:

This thread has been quiet for a while now. Is that a sign of people are going well with their visa and visa appointment? Hope that is the case and would love to hear news from anyone.

My appointment had been cancelled and had no luck to reschedule it until late September even under a expedited appointment request...

I have some dramatic development regarding the whole visa fiasco. My initial appointment at Toronto US consulate got cancelled on early July. Consequently, I deferred my admission to Spring 2021. Last Friday, I have received an e-mail from US consulate mentioning they have started holding appointments for F-1 visa aspirants and if I want 10th August can be booked for my interview. Then I called my university to postpone my deferral and restate my original Fall 2020 admission. Now I am waiting for the interview! Roller coaster ride for last few days!!! 

[niazche]

3 hours ago, WanYesOnly said:

I just want to know where y'all are getting the courage to travel to the US in this pandemic in time for fall semester. I need some of that courage for Spring semester. 

I think it's all depend on which state you are going!

[darkclouds]

9 hours ago, WanYesOnly said:

I just want to know where y'all are getting the courage to travel to the US in this pandemic in time for fall semester. I need some of that courage for Spring semester. 

It really depends on the state's approach to the pandemic. And if you think things will get better in Spring...

----
Apprarently, the embassy in my country has been processing family based immigration visa categories since early July. I think I mentioned it before that categories such as IR-1 are rumored to be prioritized. K-1 in my country are not even processed atm. 
 
I'm in a similar situation as niazche. I got a call from the embassy that they're now prioritizing student visa when I've just started the deferral process for my admission in Spring 2021. Long story short, I now have my F1 approved.

[Bluemonochrome]

@niazche @darkclouds Congratulations it's great to hear that it finally worked out for you! It gives me hope that things might turn out the other way anytime..

[Bluemonochrome]

7 hours ago, niazche said:

I think it's all depend on which state you are going!

And I think it also depends on whether your school gives you assurance with their policy and aids (regarding testing, quarantine, staggered class schedule, housing and all these things)

[cruel optimism]

11 hours ago, WanYesOnly said:

I just want to know where y'all are getting the courage to travel to the US in this pandemic in time for fall semester. I need some of that courage for Spring semester. 

will be headed (hopefully this spring, if not next fall) to a state where the number of cases are rising exponentially and, ngl, i'm terrified. am currently waiting to see how school reopenings play out over the next few months and how my uni plans to adapt to these changes to decide when exactly i'll be moving to the us. 

[WanYesOnly]

I'm starting online this semester and I'm hoping things get better by the Spring. I'm just afraid of flying and catching the virus en route or something. Also, the embassy here isn't issuing F1 visas yet so I'm stuck here. Good luck to everyone starting in person, please keep this thread updated with any significant changes that might help the rest of us.

[PeacePiper]

Hi all, so far it's been the same story here in Dubai, UAE. I had booked a regular appointment on 10th August in the US consulate Dubai. They sent an email few hours back saying that my appointment has been cancelled(the same templatized COVID response that everyone is receiving). No further information for re-scheduling!

Would anyone advise opting for an expedited visa request? Has it worked for anyone so far?

[BrokeForTheNextDecade]

22 hours ago, PeacePiper said:

Hi all, so far it's been the same story here in Dubai, UAE. I had booked a regular appointment on 10th August in the US consulate Dubai. They sent an email few hours back saying that my appointment has been cancelled(the same templatized COVID response that everyone is receiving). No further information for re-scheduling!

Would anyone advise opting for an expedited visa request? Has it worked for anyone so far?

I'm also trying to get my visa in Dubai and I've tried it expediting it here. They rejected the request saying due to Covid19, they are only expediting visas due to medical emergencies. We have to wait until they announce they are resuming issuing students visas, at which time they will prioritize our appointments (I assume that means we can expedite it then).