Your opinion: Change location, reschedule interview or stick to the original date

[LJ75 3]

Hi all, and let me share my concerns:

My number is EU259xx and DS260 was sent on Sep 15 (2nd draw). Based on the average available DVs depletion rates, I estimate that we'd be scheduled for an interview mid April or May. What we need is end of June or July.

Our interview location is Sarajevo (we are Bosnians), and we live (I work as an expat here, kids go to school, wife takes care of us ) in Nigeria. School will still be on in April and May, and we'd need to travel to Sarajevo for the interview - i.e. kids would be absent for at least a week. That's not good for their grades, and if the school were to enforce their (strict) rules, it could even jeopardize their chances of graduation.

Option 1: Attend the interview in Sarajevo, whenever they schedule it, and handle the school issue separately.

Option 2: Reschedule the interview to end of June or July (if embassy is OK with this, though in smaller countries they tend to be more flexible). We will be in Bosnia at the time, and we'll have enough time. Given our relatively high number (EU259xx), there is a moderate risk that they could run out of visas by then.

Option 3: Change interview location to Lagos. Quite risky - Nigeria is not qualified for dv, it's a huge country handling a lot of different visas, getting appointment is more difficult, and again, there is the risk that by the time it's our turn, they will have run out of visas.

What are your thoughts, what would you do, and what else should I consider? Thanks.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

First, the chances of them running out of visas is very very small, and it would never happen before August at the earliest, so don't worry about that. In the extremely rare instances they have run out it's been in September.

Second, did you list a current address in Bosnia in your form? (That's the only reason the interview would be scheduled there.) You do know that you need to do medicals in the country you are interviewing in, right? So it could well be more than a week. If your kids school is that strict, is it really worth a whole year of their school lives down the tubes to have a interview elsewhere?

I think your concerns about doing the interview in Nigeria are very overblown tbh. Lots of people do interviews in countries not currently eligible for DV, and it's only been a couple of years since Nigeria became ineligible anyway so they understand them well. Just because they do "lots of visas" doesn't mean a thing, your case will still get assigned a visa interview at the right time. You can do medicals there and won't have to take the kids out of school for any more time than the medicals and interview will take, assuming you live in Lagos, or one day for each if you don't.

Traveling around from Nigeria to Bosnia could be an issue however, I think you may be too optimistic in how early your interview is and you do run the risk of being assigned an interview in a country while not there, whichever one you choose. But you won't know that until you get the letter. Rescheduling interviews can be a risky process especially if you're not right at the start of the FY. The one drawback of Lagos is that it will be almost impossible to reschedule.

Edited November 23, 2016 by SusieQQQ

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Just to emphasize, as it's not clear you understand this given your comment about Lagos "there is the risk that by the time it's our turn, they will have run out of visas": your interview will be scheduled in a particular month by KCC regardless of what the interview location is. It is based on your case number alone and won't be later than it otherwise might have been just because it's in Lagos.

[LJ75 3]

Thanks a lot SusieQQQ. If you are doing all of this pro bono, you deserve a statue, and if not, you deserve a smaller statue.

did you list a current address in Bosnia in your form?

Yes.

Dou do know that you need to do medicals in the country you are interviewing in, right?

Sure. We are gooing back home for Christmas / New Year, going to check where are we with the vaccinations, get some if required. And then get the medicals done prior to the interview. We were already in touch with authorized clinics. It takes half a day for the medical, and then another day, max 2 for the results.

I think your concerns about doing the interview in Nigeria are very overblown tbh

I wish you were right, but they are not. It's a great country, amazing people, but unfortunately things don't really work here. I've been here for the past 3 years, and it's been very 'interesting' at times. My biggest concern is that the interview will be scheduled after my contract has ended, and then getting the visas for the four of us would be very challenging.

The one drawback of Lagos is that it will be almost impossible to reschedule.

Correct.

Just to emphasize, as it's not clear you understand this given your comment about Lagos "there is the risk that by the time it's our turn, they will have run out of visas": your interview will be scheduled in a particular month by KCC regardless of what the interview location is. It is based on your case number alone and won't be later than it otherwise might have been just because it's in Lagos.

Of course, this is the case with the original / initial interview. The risk is in case I reschedule the interview, and the rescheduled slot is e.g. in September. However, as I mentioned, smaller embassies tend to be more flexible, even accommodating in some cases. However, based on what I have read, there really are no rules, and it varies from one case to another.

Well, if they schedule it e.g. end of June, July - perfect. In it's earlier (april / may), first we'll check with the school - there will be a short break in April which we may use to do the medicals etc. If that does not work, we'll call the embassy and check if we can reschedule it for July / August.

Once again, thanks for your help.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Ah, I didn't realize your contract was ending - I thought you were just going home for summer vacation and would be back in Nigeria before fiscal year end - but this seems not the case so yes that certainly changes things.

Again, the timing of your interview will not depend on where it is held but only on your case number. So if you possibly need to push it back then Bosnia is your better option.

[LJ75 3]

It's been a while, but here's what happened; Originally, my interview was scheduled for May 15th. That did not work for us, so I called the embassy, and asked them to reschedule it. You cant really pick the exact date, but there is a degree of flexibility. So, my new date is June 12th, and they suggested that I don't reschedule again.

 

So, in short, based on my experience, if you need to reschedule, just call them, and check what are the options. Of course, this may depend on the embassy, but they were really nice when I contacted them (Sarajevo, Bosnia).

 

You will not get any written confirmation, and your 2nd letter will still have the initial date, but they reassured me that it will not be an issue.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

35 minutes ago, LJ75 said:

It's been a while, but here's what happened; Originally, my interview was scheduled for May 15th. That did not work for us, so I called the embassy, and asked them to reschedule it. You cant really pick the exact date, but there is a degree of flexibility. So, my new date is June 12th, and they suggested that I don't reschedule again.

 

So, in short, based on my experience, if you need to reschedule, just call them, and check what are the options. Of course, this may depend on the embassy, but they were really nice when I contacted them (Sarajevo, Bosnia).

 

You will not get any written confirmation, and your 2nd letter will still have the initial date, but they reassured me that it will not be an issue.

Thanks for the update. Yes, you're lucky that it's a fairly quiet embassy. Busy ones are much more difficult to reschedule, especially within such a short time frame. Good luck and please come and update us after the interview!