Hi, this forum has been of great help so far! Hope you can answer these 2 questions!

1) Once you have sent the London Embassy paperwork telling them that you are ready for the interview, how long should we expect to wait for the interview?
2) Do they give you a date, or do you have some choice in the date? If they give you a date and time, can you change it to one more suitable for yourself? How many weeks before the interview do they let you know?

I ask this as we may well be visiting the US for some job interviews for my wife (my sponsor) in the next 2 months, but want to have the visa ready to be able to move in Jan 08. So I want to know, how flexible they are with the interview schedule!

Oh, and one other question! My wife has been a student here in the UK and is now finished and as above, we are intending to move to the US. We need to prove that we are making domicile in the US. We will be moving money across to the states before our interview to pay for health insurance, so that is one proof. She has a student visa that expires end of Jan. We have a joint bank account in the US. Hopefully, even more usefully, my wife will have a job offer there. Does this sound like enough proof, or can anyone suggest anything else?

Thanks,

Andrew

Hi Andrew,
I believe London is quite speedy with the interview times, but they allot the time and date to their convenience (as do all consulates ).
Make sure you can go to the US while doing DCF -- you need to prove you will return to the UK to finish your process.
That sounds like enough proof - bank accounts, health insurance, even a letter by the USC stating that such is your intent (to move to the US asap!!!
Good luck, L.

The instruction page for the I-864 explains some things for establishing domicle.

Len, I take it when you say about going to US that it is important to take something like confirmation of return trip just so they will not stop me at immigration?

Does anyone have any rough idea of timescale? i.e. 1 month, 2 months, <1month?

Andrew

It's normally about a month and a bit. It would be unusual if it were more than two months.

Thanks! I just wish that they would give you option of changing appointments like they do for non-immigrant visas

I do not work wednesdays, so it would be useful to have it scheduled then! Do you think it is worth putting that in a letter when I inform them I am ready for interview, or would they just ignore it?

Thanks again,

Andrew

Definitely worth putting in that info. I bet they would do it if possible. You can't reschedule to another specific date, but it is not hard to say that you're sorry a certain date doesn't work for you and can you move it something like such and such date? So, you're right that's not like you can arrange a specific time on your own terms, but it's not totally set in stone without ever any input from you.

I would give them as much information as possible about scheduling the interview. I know others have mentioned in a cover letter that they would not be available for certain dates due to work travel and/or planned holiday. In the end, they will give you a date.

I had three weeks notice to DH's interview date but other that sent their DS2001 at the same time had more like 6 weeks notice.

Sarah is here in Texas right now, headed back to UK on Friday. She's been here for 5 weeks and entered through Newark. We are just awaiting Packet 4/Interview date. She had no problem getting in, although they did ask her a ton of questions. She had a letter from her employer confirming the date she was expected back to work and a mortgage statement proving her home ownership/financial commitment to return as well. They didn't ask for anything and she didnt' have to show it.

A few months ago, I also got the third degree when I went to the UK from Texas and entered through Scotland, only becuase they couldn't comprehend that I was only spending 4 days there. I finally told the lady that I have no interest in living in the UK and in fact, I'm moving one of their finenst beauties to Texas so no worries about me getting back on that return flight.

Thanks for that reply, I don't mind a grilling as long as I can conduct my business the way I want!

From the day you sent off DS2001 confirming readiness for interview, how long was it until a)you recieved your letter confirming the interview date, and b)the inteview date itself? I noticed on your timeline that it said you rang to confirm receipt of your inteview time; when you did that, did you get a chance to change date?

Thanks again,

Andrew