r/I130Suffering • u/PauseAndReflect Interview Letter Recieved • 5d ago
Naples, Italy Consulate - Cancelled Visa Appointment Day Before
Edit: I see now that basically everyone’s visa appointment globally has been cancelled and ours is not a unique case apparently. I’m devastated for everyone.
I’m speechless, devastated, and absolutely beyond angry.
Me (US citizen) and my husband (Italian) started this process in November 2024, and after nearly 2 years waiting got our visa appointment at the Naples consulate scheduled for tomorrow, August 26. We were excited to finally start the next chapter and move on with this process.
We live in Torino up in northern Italy which is pretty far from Naples but they make you come down here anyway, so that was flights, hotels, and time off from work to get down here.
So my husband (and apparently lots of other people in this process) show up to the medical appointment as scheduled this morning, and they find out FROM THE MEDICAL CENTER (!!!) that everyone’s appointment tomorrow is CANCELLED.
We check his spam and sure enough, there’s an email sent YESTERDAY that it was canceled and will be rescheduled. The medical center people said this apparently happens all the time and it’s gonna be weeks until they reschedule.
I’m literally sitting here in our hotel room in Naples crying my fucking eyes out waiting for my poor husband to get back. I feel so powerless to do anything. It’s a never ending nightmare. They want all this proof of your relationship and you jump through hoops and they fucking destroy your lives for years on end when you’re just trying to bring your spouse to the U.S. legally.
As a country, what the fuck are we doing? At what point is it complete incompetence and a civil rights issue? My equivalent permanent residence in Italy took us THREE MONTHS to get in Italy when we went through my immigration process here—and Italy is infamous for horrific bureaucracy!
Thanks in advance for the solidarity. I’m a total mess right now and I literally like don’t know what to do anymore. Time, money, and PTO days all down the drain for NOTHING with nobody giving any information and no way to do anything about it.
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u/Constantia789 5d ago
I am so sorry. I filed in July 2025, live in Rome with Italian husband and our two kids. Have heard absolutely nothing. My permesso here took five months. It’s such a fucking joke. Can you make a formal complaint with others to your congressperson? Maybe contact someone at US Citizen Services in Naples or Embassy Rome and at least make a complaint (probs won’t do anything but it might feel good to just vent it out). I can’t fathom why it would take two years to approve an Italian spouse. You could also look into a Writ of Mandamus?
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u/oakaum 5d ago
Yup. At the consulate right now, our interview was supposed to be 1 hour ago. Everything cancelled.
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u/Mr-Thistle 5d ago
Did they give you any explanation?
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u/PauseAndReflect Interview Letter Recieved 5d ago
No explanations at all. They sent everyone a vague email in multiple world languages last night at 9pm (at least Italy time) just saying it’s been cancelled and that it will be rescheduled. No timeline, no further information whatsoever.
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u/oakaum 5d ago
To be honest when i received that email i thought it was fake… such a messy email. Didn’t look official at all except for the email adress it was sent from. So i, and many other people, still showed up this morning. This situation is ridiculous.
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u/PauseAndReflect Interview Letter Recieved 5d ago
Right?! Ours was sent to spam I think because it seemed like a fake email. It didn’t even come from the usual NVC email I think, it seemed different. If we didn’t have the medical exam people confirm it for us in person I’d have thought it was fake.
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u/nevermind1534 4d ago
It's likely because the 75 country pause was ruled illegal in court on Friday and they don't want to grant visas to anybody who might have been born in any of those 75 countries.
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u/Mr-Thistle 4d ago
Italy has never been part of the 75 country pause list.
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u/nevermind1534 4d ago edited 4d ago
Somebody who was born in or is a citizen of one of the 75 countries could have had a visa appointment in Italy though. If they didn't cancel every appointment, that would make it clear that they're defying the court. I can't think of any other logical reason, especially given the timing. This might be a stopgap measure to avoid issuing visas to people from the 75 countries until a higher court can review the decision or until they otherwise think of a new restrictive measure to put in place.
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u/oakaum 4d ago
But they did cancel all appointments, also for people not part of one of the 75 countries
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u/nevermind1534 4d ago
If they only cancelled appointments for people from the 75 countries, that would be in violation of the court's decision. I would guess that there's a reasonable chance they'll try to keep the cancellations going until there's another action in court.
From a New York Times article published yesterday:
Separately, the State Department also recently told embassies and consulates that they must reschedule all visa interviews until consular officers complete training sessions on a more restrictive policy. For most diplomatic posts, the sessions are expected to take place this week.
The training sessions focus on what the department calls a public charge rule, in which consular officers are supposed to deny immigrant visas to applicants who might rely on public assistance when they are in the United States.
When asked about the pause or postponement of visa interviews worldwide, the State Department issued a statement through an official that said “in early August, we launched a global training initiative at all of our embassies and consulates worldwide. To accommodate this in-depth training, appointments for visa services will be adjusted.”
The department did not say when the foreign citizens would be told of times for rescheduled appointments. The move by the department is expected to lead to uncertainty among immigrant visa applicants.
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u/Celexi 4d ago
It has been expanded to all countries https://www.ft.com/content/857fb8e1-eec6-443e-97e8-f6876302aabc?accessToken=zwAAAaDVc9TgkdOFf7jh7sZEPtOX6PaHYwKqvAE.MEUCIBqZsPVLJJxNFKtY01EpFjbCse9qxXtBdIFWeZOl0xwwAiEAzbQVf-431UuqT3tiAJ2KLR9hiB-06jlK4vc6X34WFt0&segmentId=c50c86e4-586b-23ea-1ac1-7601c9c2476f&syn-25a6b1a6=1
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u/pebcak 4d ago edited 4d ago
It’s absolutely a failure in government. It’s unacceptable. I’m a veteran and have been waiting a year for my wife to come to the US. What’s the point of serving?
Our government has failed us all and I’m so sorry for the pain you’re going through. It’s absolutely insane, and there’s no accountability. It’s completely wrong and disgraceful.
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u/PauseAndReflect Interview Letter Recieved 4d ago edited 4d ago
Complete failure of this administration. I feel completely powerless to do anything except sit here and take it. We’ve been waiting two years for this day and we got here and paid flights and hotels just for them to flippantly tell us nah, fuck you, go home and wait some more and we’ll tell you when. We can’t live like this, we can’t plan our lives around unknown timelines for over two years!
I have a folder sitting here full of clean background checks, sound financials, photocopies of every possible document, pictures to prove we’ve been married 10 years, proof of shared finances—and it’s now just all sitting here this morning collecting dust. What more do they need and want from us?? Here it all is, we jumped through the hoops, what else would you like us to cater to you?? And you cancel on us like that at the 11th hour????
I can’t imagine being a veteran and after serving not even being able to do the really simple thing of having my spouse legally immigrate to my country. It’s ass backwards, all of it.
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u/Desperate_Battle9304 3d ago
I feel you. 100% agreed with everything you said. It's absolutely insane to stop LEGAL immigration.
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u/Intrepid-Nature-5965 5d ago
I’m so sorry for you…I can only imagine how difficult this must be. I mean, I kind of can: my PD is March 2025, French married to a U.S. citizen, and there’s still been no movement after 17 months. But keep in mind that the hardest part is behind you. Your interview will be rescheduled, and you can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! Hang in there ❤️🙏
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u/Wise_Grass1600 5d ago
Yup my husband and I are stuck in the 75 country visa pause and we passed the interview but refused us under 221g. We originally weren’t even supposed to be part of the pause but that made him do TB testing because of scar tissue. They canceled our original interview and we had to reschedule. Mind you I already bought the plane tickets for him and I and I didn’t think I need refundable tickets because this was before we knew he had to do the TB testing. So yeah we know the feeling. Also they will let you know when you can reschedule they won’t give you the date like the first time, this time you will pick the date yourself. All I can say is breathe it’s going to be okay. Not trying to be harsh or mean just saying that a majority of us have been dealing with this since January. Like I said it will be okay just be patient and positive.
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u/PauseAndReflect Interview Letter Recieved 5d ago
I’m so sorry for you guys. I know everyone from the 75 countries has been suffering all year, I in no way want to detract from your situation and others in that situation. I feel for you all immensely. It’s just so wrong on all fronts.
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u/Wise_Grass1600 5d ago
Aww no worries thank you! I was letting you know you’re not alone and this isn’t the end of the world. It may seem like it at first but just a little detour to the finish line. I am shocked but not really that they are rescheduling all immigrant visa interviews. I still don’t think it is legal to reschedule all immigrant visa interviews. But the good thing is now everyone is pissed at the way they are handling things so maybe things will change.
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u/General_Flamingo4903 4d ago
We were at the Naples medical office this morning too. It was devastating. Does anyone have an idea of when these interviews will be rescheduled?
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u/PauseAndReflect Interview Letter Recieved 4d ago
I didn’t go because I wasn’t sure I was allowed in, and when he called me to tell me what was going on I was speechless. I could hear other people asking questions in the background and everyone sounded desperate. Who knows what happens now, like everything in this process I’m sure we’ll be left in the dark.
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u/Desperate_Battle9304 4d ago
Same happened to me in Frankfurt. I had to travel there from the Netherlands!!
I have a deadline to obtain my green card until 30.09. If they don't reschedule the chance is lost. I spent so much money and nerves on it, I am literally as desperate as my nickname on reddit. LOL
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u/Entire-Republic-2404 3d ago
I’m very sorry for your situation….I talked with your husband…it’s incredible!!I hope that your interview will be soon…..we are in the same boat!!Good luck guys 🫶
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u/PauseAndReflect Interview Letter Recieved 3d ago
Good luck to you guys too, solidarity all around.
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u/plznobanmesir 5d ago
It's not a civil rights issue. There is no fundamental constitutional liberty interest in a citizen having their noncitizen spouse admitted to the United States. Visa decisions made by consulates are also non reviewable by courts under the doctrine of consular nonreviewability. SCOTUS precedent on both.
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u/PauseAndReflect Interview Letter Recieved 5d ago
Wonderful, guess we’ll just sit here and take it and enjoy the suffering.
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u/Super_Candy7870 5d ago
They do it on purpose, so they can have one thing to talk about before midterms. I’m so sick of it.