London Embassy - Interview Reschedule

[Amos&Radio 2]

Hello fellow Visa Journey members!

I have just received my letter from the US Embassy regarding my interview time for the K1 visa, which is great!

However I didn't realise it would be so soon! It is set for 9th December.

After reading online, I didn't think my interview would be till January or February of next year - as such my fiancée has booked a flight to visit me on the 30th December so she could accompany me to the interview and stay a few months with my family before we move to America.

I understand you can call them up to reschedule (anyone done this? is it straight forward?), but on the website it says the following :

" Please note: While we will attempt to accomodate your change of appointment request, it may not always be possible to offer you your preferred choice. In addition, preference applicants will require new visa numbers which will take at least two months to obtain. "

When it says preference applicants, does that mean if I reschedule I will have to wait at least two months for a new date? What is a preference applicant?

Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it.

Edited November 29, 2010 by Amos&Radio

[Barbara J 115]

Hello fellow Visa Journey members!

I have just received my letter from the US Embassy regarding my interview time for the K1 visa, which is great!

However I didn't realise it would be so soon! It is set for 9th December.

After reading online, I didn't think my interview would be till January or February of next year - as such my fiancée has booked a flight to visit me on the 30th December so she could accompany me to the interview and stay a few months with my family before we move to America.

I understand you can call them up to reschedule (anyone done this? is it straight forward?), but on the website it says the following :

" Please note: While we will attempt to accomodate your change of appointment request, it may not always be possible to offer you your preferred choice. In addition, preference applicants will require new visa numbers which will take at least two months to obtain. "

When it says preference applicants, does that mean if I reschedule I will have to wait at least two months for a new date? What is a preference applicant?

Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it.

Your fiancee can still visit you and stay. Remember your visa if approved at interview is valid for 6 months. Meaning you have a 6 month window to use it and enter the US. Upon arrival of course it is finished it is one time only visa and you have 90 days to marry. I would not reschedule as yes you could wait months for another interview.

[Amos&Radio 2]

Hi Barbara,

Thanks for your help, you raise a good point about her still being able to visit

It is just hard to know what to do as the 9th is coming up fast and whilst I have all my police certificates etc I am self employed so I need to look into what exactly they require as evidence of support?

My Fiancee's step mum is sponsoring me and she has a pretty high annual income, but do I still need to provide evidence of my own personal funds? Or is hers sufficient?

I was hoping for my Fiancée to accompany me but it would be annoying if that two month rule applied.

Thanks again for your help, if you or anyone else could answer my concerns about the forms, I would greatly appreciate it

[Christi85 86]

Hi Barbara,

Thanks for your help, you raise a good point about her still being able to visit

It is just hard to know what to do as the 9th is coming up fast and whilst I have all my police certificates etc I am self employed so I need to look into what exactly they require as evidence of support?

My Fiancee's step mum is sponsoring me and she has a pretty high annual income, but do I still need to provide evidence of my own personal funds? Or is hers sufficient?

I was hoping for my Fiancée to accompany me but it would be annoying if that two month rule applied.

Thanks again for your help, if you or anyone else could answer my concerns about the forms, I would greatly appreciate it

I would give the Embassy a call to see if they could reschedule and what the procedure would be.

Don't quote me on this, but preference applicants often refers to visa applicants not subject to numerical restrictions (i.e. spouses/fiances/immediate relatives of US citizens).

[Amos&Radio 2]

Ok thanks! I am going to talk to my fiancée about it and then call them this evening.

I see, so I would be a preference applicant as I am a fiancé of a US Citizen.

[JoannaV 173]

So long as both your fiancee and her step-mother have filled in the I-134 and provided evidence of their income that is fine. You never need to prove anything in regards to your own finances.

Rescheduling your interview is not necessary, as you could use the visa any time in the next 6 months. Then again, if you aren't planning to move for a few months then you won't lose anything by rescheduling. I rescheduled my interview (due to being in America at the time) and it involved a phone call and then I had to email. (Make sure they give you the code to email if they tell you to email.) My new interview was about 5 weeks after the initial date.

Personally, if I was able to attend the first interview and was able to get together all the documents needed in time without toooo much hassle, then I would go. After all, there is always the chance that your visa will be delayed, that you will be missing a document, or they will need some extra information. So delaying the process when not absolutely necessary might not be the best choice, although do it if you really don't have all the documents ready.

I think preference applicants refers here to the opposite of what Christi85 said. You will not need to wait for a new visa number. They will be able to schedule your interview for as soon as possible, which means after all the other interviews they've already scheduled. This generally means a month later.

[Amos&Radio 2]

Thank you very much for your advice Joanna.

I decided to reschedule the interview as I was worried I wouldn't have enough time to get all the papers in order - things are really busy work wise at the moment and I would prefer my fiancée to be there at the interview. I e mailed them about it so I will await a reply.

Ah I see, I didn't realise that I didn't need to provide evidence of my own income. In terms of my fiancée she is actually unemployed at the moment so I presume she will just write that down on the form and her Step Mums income will be used instead - I presume her step mum can put herself forward as primary sponsor? Or shall my fiance not bother with an I-134 if she is out of employment?

I apologise for all the questions, I get so paranoid about not having a form or not having the right information! So I have to ask just to make sure.

Thanks again - I really do appreciate it

[JoannaV 173]

Thank you very much for your advice Joanna.

I decided to reschedule the interview as I was worried I wouldn't have enough time to get all the papers in order - things are really busy work wise at the moment and I would prefer my fiancée to be there at the interview. I e mailed them about it so I will await a reply.

Ah I see, I didn't realise that I didn't need to provide evidence of my own income. In terms of my fiancée she is actually unemployed at the moment so I presume she will just write that down on the form and her Step Mums income will be used instead - I presume her step mum can put herself forward as primary sponsor? Or shall my fiance not bother with an I-134 if she is out of employment?

I apologise for all the questions, I get so paranoid about not having a form or not having the right information! So I have to ask just to make sure.

Thanks again - I really do appreciate it

Your fiancee will still have to fill out the I-134, as well as her step-mum.

Did you phone the Embassy before emailing or just email? In order to have your email read you need to have a special code to put in the subject box. Just checking

[KelleyAndRichie 0]

so jealous! we got our interview date monday, and it isn't until january 10! wanna trade?

we called the extortion line to reschedule and move it up (the CSC delay caught us) and our wedding is planned for the 22 of january... we were also hoping to have him here for the holidays, my dad is ill and it would mean a lot to my family (and be a huge help) to have my fiance here...

have you heard back about ur schedule request? i'm worried bc i called monday morning and he gave me the code and told me to email londoniv@state.gov with the code CIU751JC... but i still havent heard back. i guess i was hoping to compare codes/experiences bc i am paranoid i did something wrong bc i havent heard yet! (but after dealing with the USCIS i shouldn't be antsy after 3 days, right? haha)

good luck you guys!

[JoannaV 173]

so jealous! we got our interview date monday, and it isn't until january 10! wanna trade?

we called the extortion line to reschedule and move it up (the CSC delay caught us) and our wedding is planned for the 22 of january... we were also hoping to have him here for the holidays, my dad is ill and it would mean a lot to my family (and be a huge help) to have my fiance here...

have you heard back about ur schedule request? i'm worried bc i called monday morning and he gave me the code and told me to email londoniv@state.gov with the code CIU751JC... but i still havent heard back. i guess i was hoping to compare codes/experiences bc i am paranoid i did something wrong bc i havent heard yet! (but after dealing with the USCIS i shouldn't be antsy after 3 days, right? haha)

good luck you guys!

If it's any comfort, last year when I emailed to reschedule I had to wait two weeks to get a reply. So you shouldn't be paranoid. However hopefully you will get a reply much sooner than I did, especially as you are trying to reschedule sooner. Mine might've taken as exceptionally long time because it was the New Year and they were probably on holiday for half that time. So er, hopefully you will hear very soon.

You're right to mention it on here though. The first time I called the extortion line to reschedule I was told lies and was told to write "Appointment reschedule" in the subject line. I waited two weeks before calling again and getting the code. If only I'd been online back then to know something was wrong!

Good luck, I really hope they let you get an earlier interview!

[KelleyAndRichie 0]

If it's any comfort, last year when I emailed to reschedule I had to wait two weeks to get a reply. So you shouldn't be paranoid. However hopefully you will get a reply much sooner than I did, especially as you are trying to reschedule sooner. Mine might've taken as exceptionally long time because it was the New Year and they were probably on holiday for half that time. So er, hopefully you will hear very soon.

You're right to mention it on here though. The first time I called the extortion line to reschedule I was told lies and was told to write "Appointment reschedule" in the subject line. I waited two weeks before calling again and getting the code. If only I'd been online back then to know something was wrong!

Good luck, I really hope they let you get an earlier interview!

Got an email this morning, rescheduled for December 7! Now we have to scramble a bit to get flights from Belfast to London and find a hostel nearby for him to stay at (luck would have it that the embassy is in the most expensive area of town, right?). They said that he will be receiving written confirmation shortly but I am a wee bit nervous seeing as it is thursday and he would need to leave for London Monday evening... here's to hoping the Royal post it quick! I did email them back asking for a web confirmation/something to print, but seeing as it take about 4 days to get a response I'm guessing prayers and crossing our fingers is the best option! I am almost in shock at this point... the whole process has been so stressful, it will be such a comfort to finally have my love here with me. I am thinking i will send him the email i got from the consulate with the new date on in incase we dont get anything by post, and have him bring that with the old interview letter and hope for the best. eek! Hope to be posting a positive review of an embassy interview here shortly!

[JoannaV 173]

Got an email this morning, rescheduled for December 7! Now we have to scramble a bit to get flights from Belfast to London and find a hostel nearby for him to stay at (luck would have it that the embassy is in the most expensive area of town, right?). They said that he will be receiving written confirmation shortly but I am a wee bit nervous seeing as it is thursday and he would need to leave for London Monday evening... here's to hoping the Royal post it quick! I did email them back asking for a web confirmation/something to print, but seeing as it take about 4 days to get a response I'm guessing prayers and crossing our fingers is the best option! I am almost in shock at this point... the whole process has been so stressful, it will be such a comfort to finally have my love here with me. I am thinking i will send him the email i got from the consulate with the new date on in incase we dont get anything by post, and have him bring that with the old interview letter and hope for the best. eek! Hope to be posting a positive review of an embassy interview here shortly!

That's great news! Real happy for you guys Yes send him the email and get him to print it off. I didn't receive my written confirmation until after the interview and having the email print-out was just fine They have a list of everyone who has appointments that day anyway, so him having his ID is the most important thing haha.

London has pretty good public transport, and it is easy enough to walk to the Embassy. It's quite relaxing to have an early morning walk through the city before ones interview! So maybe you can find some place cheapisher further away from the Embassy? Personally I walked from the King's Cross area. Then again, if it's snowing he might not want to have to walk far.

[TBoneTX 43,058]

A recent post has been split from this 4-year-old thread, moved into the United Kingdom regional forum, and given the title "Missed London K-1 Interview - How to Contact? [split topic]."

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