How to get an earlier interview date-London

[Britlover 0]

Well hello to everyone-I have been hanging around here for a while but had not made a posts until now. From our timeline you can see that I am engaged to a wonderful British lady & we are well along in the ridiculously complex and stressful fiancee visa process. She has an 11 year old son who will be moving here with her.

Our file was received at the NVC a couple of days ago so it should be on its way to London soon (hopefully today). Like everyone else we are waiting on that all-important interview date with anticipation. In our case we are hoping for a very quick turnaround time. The new school year in my district starts August 18 & we would like for them to be here before then, so that her son can start with the local kids. More importantly, based on where I live he is supposed to go to a school that is, well lets just say it's not exactly the best school in the area. I have gotten the school district to agree to allowing him to attend one of the best schools in our area (which is not far from my apartment), but the catch is he has to be enrolled prior to the start of the school year in order to change schools.

I have read that the London Embassy is pretty good about moving up interview dates for extenuating circumstances; is that true? Also do you think they would move up the date (if necessary) for this reason? Hopefully packet 4 will come back with a quick date & it won't be an issue but we want to be prepared in case the date is later.

Also what is the best way to go about requesting an earlier date? I was thinking that she should send an explanation of the school situation with packet 3 & very nicely ask if they could give her an early interview date. Any suggestions?

As a side note this site has been (and continues to be) an invaluable resource to us throughout the process & I would like to say thank you to all who contribute to the site.

Edited June 13, 2008 by Britlover

[Don E 0]

Well hello to everyone-I have been hanging around here for a while but had not made a posts until now. From our timeline you can see that I am engaged to a wonderful British lady & we are well along in the ridiculously complex and stressful fiancee visa process. She has an 11 year old son who will be moving here with her.

Our file was received at the NVC a couple of days ago so it should be on its way to London soon (hopefully today). Like everyone else we are waiting on that all-important interview date with anticipation. In our case we are hoping for a very quick turnaround time. The new school year in my district starts August 18 & we would like for them to be here before then, so that her son can start with the local kids. More importantly, based on where I live he is supposed to go to a school that is, well lets just say it's not exactly the best school in the area. I have gotten the school district to agree to allowing him to attend one of the best schools in our area (which is not far from my apartment), but the catch is he has to be enrolled prior to the start of the school year in order to change schools.

I have read that the London Embassy is pretty good about moving up interview dates for extenuating circumstances; is that true? Also do you think they would move up the date (if necessary) for this reason? Hopefully packet 4 will come back with a quick date & it won't be an issue but we want to be prepared in case the date is later.

Also what is the best way to go about requesting an earlier date? I was thinking that she should send an explanation of the school situation with packet 3 & very nicely ask if they could give her an early interview date. Any suggestions?

As a side note this site has been (and continues to be) an invaluable resource to us throughout the process & I would like to say thank you to all who contribute to the site.

I do have some (successful) experience with the Moscow Embassy in a situation very similar to yours. I would suggest that you (not your fiancee) send an email to the London Embassy. You should simply explain the reason for the request, provide them with a specific date or date range that you would prefer, and give them assurances that your fiancee will have all required documentation for the interview by that date. Be sure to reference the case number assigned by the NVC (not the USCIS case number). Be succinct and respectful in your request.

Your idea of her sending in a letter with the packet 3 also might be a good idea. You could do both. Just make sure that you and your fiancee's stories match.

I understand that each embassy is different, but that would be my advice.

JMO......good luck to you!

[Britlover 0]

Thanks Don-that sounds like great advice-I believe I will do that. As you stated it is very important to be polite (not demanding) and I think that giving them assurance that she will be fully ready by the interview date will go a long way. I take it this is how you handled your situation?

[pj1959us 0]

From our own experience and from what I've read of others' experiences, London is very accommodating. You should just be able to email them but including a letter ahead of time would be a good idea. David did this and was assigned the date he requested with no problem.

Congratulations and best wishes

PJ

[Britlover 0]

Thanks PJ-that's reassuring. I know my fiancee will be glad to hear it; she has already said that she will not let her son go to the one school & that we will have to move if that is what it takes to get him into the right school. I support her decision-I know how hard it must be for her to move herself & her son to a foreign country & she doesn't need to worry about the quality of the school he attends after he moves here.

Thanks for sharing your experience

[pj1959us 0]

No problem and can't say I blame her either. I'm glad you found a school that is acceptable. Have you already gone through any issues "translating" the schooling in UK vs. US? When David and I were checking things we found the school classes and "grades" were quite different, although at her child's age it may not be as big a difference since David's "children" were older. Eegads, that was a nightmare! LOL

PJ

[Britlover 0]

As a matter of fact we have. Anna & her son were here a couple of weeks ago & the principal & assistant principal at the better school met with us & talked to her son, & they said there will be no problems. They will place him in an "age appropriate" grade (sixth grade). Up until a week & a half ago even the principal was under the impression that based on where I live her son would go to his school. We all got a great impression of the school & everybody had a warm & fuzzy feeling until the principal called me & explained that the district re-zoned last year & he would have to go to the other school. Needless to say his mum (& I) were not too happy.

Concerning the difference bewteen the two school systems they actually have a longer school year than we do, so if anything he may be a little bit ahead of kids here, although I am not very impressed with the school he attends. They live in a small village & they have two classes to teach kids that are from 4 years to 11 years old. But the principal here seems to think he will do fine. The biggest adjustment he will have is homework-they don't have to do any in his school. Boy is he in for a big surprise!

I was surprised to find out that they finish grade school there at age 16; what they call "college" is more similar to our high school.

[pj1959us 0]

That's good! I figured you might have already done so but I didn't want to assume and have you encounter problems. I'm glad they figured out the zoning issue beforehand too! That would have been a nasty surprise.

I found it curious at the age 16 thing too and the 6th Form/A Levels took a while for me to get a grasp on to equate with our school system. It seems that what they attend after age 16 the first year is similar to our AP classes during Senior year. Dawn had only completed her first year A-levels (which is actually a 2-year gig) and it was NOT fun trying to get the schooling sorted out. The high school had a blank look (of course, we are in the midst of corn fields so it's not as if they dealt with it much) but the college was luckily familiar with the situation and we discovered she was actually supposed to then be a Freshman at the college here.

She didn't end up coming over at that time though after all that time trying to get it arranged ahead of time. She changed her mind the morning they were leaving, after getting the K-2, airline ticket, etc. Boyfriend. Sheesh. Luckily she dumped him and came to her senses and is here with us now.

Anyway Hope you have a smooth journey from here!

PJ

[Don E 0]

Thanks Don-that sounds like great advice-I believe I will do that. As you stated it is very important to be polite (not demanding) and I think that giving them assurance that she will be fully ready by the interview date will go a long way. I take it this is how you handled your situation?

Yes, that's what we did with Moscow. I have the impression that Moscow might not be so accomodating these days, but it sounds like London is. Again, good luck to you!

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Hi Britlover

Most important for your quick interview is has she filled out all the forms that go back with Packet 3? They are online and she should have them done right now so the day P3 arrives, she can check off the checklist and put it all in the post back to them.

She sends back immediately:

• IV15 checklist
• DS-230 Part 1
• DS-156 in duplicate Do not sign
• DS-156K
• (DS-157 not for UK females)

On the checklist, she states that she has:

• passport valid at least 6 mo.
• Birth certificate showing date, place, and parent's names
• Marriage certificate for prior marriages
• Divorce decree or death certificate to prove prior marriages ended
• Police certificate from ACPO
• Evidence of support I-134 from you
• 3 US sized passport photos

And most of those documents for the child, including the DS- forms, and a custody decree showing child can be taken out of the country.

We just did all this so I'm familiar with London. Our cover letter included a request to delay the interview until after July 15, which they did. If you have other questions about any of it, you can send me a personal message on here and I will try to help.

Nichole (the USC)

[rebeccajo 14]

The way to get a date with London is to make certain you answer two questions on the checklist:

Marriage Date and Departure Date.

If you leave those blank, you will find yourself waiting.

London has anecdotally tried to accomodate the dates given in those answers.

[Martin&Nat 0]

The way to get a date with London is to make certain you answer two questions on the checklist:

Marriage Date and Departure Date.

If you leave those blank, you will find yourself waiting.

London has anecdotally tried to accomodate the dates given in those answers.

I would agree with this - I simply put down 'ASAP' as my departure date; check out my signature to see how quickly I got my interview date.

- Martin