Response to my inquiry regarding time of interview from the United States Embassy in Ankara and the US policy for Visa interview

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Response to my inquiry regarding time of interview from the United States Embassy in Ankara and the US policy for Visa interview 

Thank you for your inquiry.

Please read this email in its entirety to find answers to commonly asked questions. Due to COVID-19 precautions, access to Mission Turkey facilities is limited to individuals who have been physically present in Turkey for at least 10 days. In addition, if you have had cold or flu-like symptoms in the past 14 days, such as a fever, shortness of breath, or a persistent cough you will need to reschedule. This also applies to individuals seeking consular services.

For additional information regarding visa processing the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, please refer to our website for updates: https://tr.usembassy.gov/visas/.

For detailed information about the current status of visa services worldwide and visa restrictions related to COVID-19, please review the following website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/visa-services-operating-status-update.html

Current Operations:

For all visa categories we are temporarily unable to provide immigrant visa services to non-Turkish citizens/non-Turkish residents. If you have ongoing/long-term Turkish residency and your immigrant visa category is listed below, please email AnkaraIV@state.gov and provide a copy of your valid Turkish residency permit. If we are able to schedule you for an appointment, we will provide additional guidance by email.

We are not accepting transfer cases from other posts except in cases of medical or humanitarian emergency.

In response to significant worldwide challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of State has temporarily suspended routine visa services at all U.S. Embassies and Consulates. Due to health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara is prioritizing the following immigrant visa services for Turkish citizens and non-Turkish citizens with ongoing/long-term Turkish residency:

  • Spouses of U.S. Citizens (IR1/CR1 applicants)
  • Adoptions
  • Minor children of U.S. Citizens (IR2/CR2 applicants)
  • Fiancée visas (K-1 applicants)
  • Parents of American Citizens (IR5 applicants)
  • Certain Special Immigrant Visa applicants (SI and SQ applicants)
  • Family-based visas (F applicants)
  • Boarding foil applications (LPRs with lost or stolen green cards)
  • Diversity visas (Turkish citizens only)
  • Employment-based visas (Turkish Citizens only) (E applicants)

For more information on the prioritization of visa services, please visit: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news.html

We will make K-1 appointment slots available on https://ais.usvisa-info.com/ and applicants should monitor this website for appointment availability and to schedule their appointment.

If your file is currently at the National Visa Center (NVC) and is documentarily qualified, you will receive a notification when the appointment is scheduled.  Due to the backlog in scheduling, there will be a delay between when you are documentarily qualified at NVC and when your case is scheduled for an appointment. If you have an emergency, you may contact NVC and request an expedited appointment.  Please include all relevant documents and information regarding your emergency/hardship situation. For more information or to contact NVC please visit: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition/step-2-begin-nvc-processing.html

GENERAL QUESTIONS ON CASE STATUS

You may check the status of your case at: https://ceac.state.gov/ceac.

  1. Expired or Expiring Visas, Extensions, and Reissuance:If your IV is close to expiring, please consider immediate travel to the United States.  If your IV is expired and you plan to travel to the U.S. within the next 60 days please email AnkaraIV@state.gov with a photo of your visa. We will review your case and contact you with next steps. Re-issuance of a visa may require additional medical exams, fees, documents, and/or an interview for adjudication.

 Please note, that in general, validity dates for visas cannot be extended.

  1. Emergency Requests:If you need to request an emergency visa appointment, log into your account at the official U.S. Department of State Visa Appointment Service site (https://ais.usvisa-info.com/) then select “Request Expedite” under “Group Actions” and detail the emergency (e.g. medical crisis or similar humanitarian circumstance compelling urgent and unexpected travel). If you do not have an appointment, please email AnkaraIV@state.gov with the details of your emergency.
  2. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR): If you are seeking to return to the United States, and have remained outside the U.S. for more than one year, or beyond the validity of your re-entry permit (Form I-327), you will need to apply for a returning resident permit. It is not guaranteed that it will be approved, you must present evidence to show that you qualify. For details see, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/returning-resident.htmlor contact USCIS https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/contact-us.

*Embassy Ankara is not providing this USCIS service at this time. If you have an urgent medical emergency, you can submit a request for an appointment through https://ais.usvisa-info.com

  1. Lawful Permanent Residents with Expired, Lost or Stolen cards: If your green card is expired, lost or stolen, and you have remained outside of the United States for less than one year, you will need to apply for a "Boarding Foil," which would permit you to return to the United States. A boarding foil is valid for a maximum of 30 days and for a single entry. If you are present in Turkey, you may apply for a boarding foil regardless of nationality.

More information is available at: http://tr.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/immigrant-visa-additional_info/loststolenexpired-green-card-instructions/ 

  1. Diversity Visa Applicants: All DV-2021 diversity visa program       applicants must be found eligible for, and obtain, their visa or adjust status by the end of fiscal year 2021 (September 30, 2021). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara is currently interviewing Turkish National DV-2021 applicants scheduled by Kentucky Consular Center. We are following State Department guidance to safely return our workforce and the public to Department facilities full-time. As conditions improve, we will resume routine visa services as soon as it is safe for the public and for our workforce. Please check our website for updates regarding visa services:  https://tr.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/

For all previous DV year winners, visas cannot be carried over to a later fiscal year and are not eligible for issuance. More details about the Diversity Visa can be found here:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/diversity-visa-program-entry/diversity-visa-instructions.html

  1. Admission Questions: Admission into the United States is under the jurisdiction of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Embassy cannot provide advice on procedures at the port of entry. If you have questions, please contact CBP directly: https://help.cbp.gov/s/?language=en_US. For additional background on entry procedures, review: https://www.dhs.gov/coronavirus/protecting-air-travelers-and-american-public
  2. Denied Boarding: The Embassy is aware that valid visa holders have been denied boarding by airlines or denied entry into the United States by CBP. The Embassy cannot assist you in getting approval for boarding or entry into the United States. Questions regarding denial of boarding are handled via the DHS redress system - to access this system please go to https://www.dhs.gov/dhs-trip.
  3. Quarantine/Health information:Effective January 26, 2021, all airline passengers to the United States (including U.S. Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents) ages two years and older must provide a negative COVID-19 viral test taken within three calendar days of travel regardless of where they are traveling from. Alternatively, travelers to the United States may provide documentation from a licensed health care provider of having recovered from COVID-19 in the 90 days preceding travel. Air passengers will be required to confirm that the information they present is true in the form of an attestation.

For the latest health information for travelers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), please see: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html

  1. Canceled or missed immigrant visa appointments: If you canceled or missed appointments, you can send your request for a new date at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/ and we will reschedule all non-urgent immigrant visa appointments as our operating status allow. Please note we are not able to schedule immigrant visa appointments for non-Turkish citizens who do not have residency in Turkey at this time. Please continue to check our website for updates: https://tr.usembassy.gov/visas/
  2. To file an I-130 petition or other petition:please see https://www.uscis.gov/.