I-130 approved; case number never arrived

[Zeffe 2]

The process *was* moving quickly... sent I-130 on 9 October to the London Consulate, approved on 7 November. Fantastic. The Notice of Approval (NOA2) stated that "The United States Consulate... will advise the beneficiary (my husband) in writing within 5 weeks of the date of this approval concerning the next step of the process and issuance of the immigrant visa."

5 weeks came and went. We are now on week 9 and still no letter from the Consulate. Last week I emailed the Consulate to inquire and they responded that "the Immigrant Visa Unit wrote to your husband on December 28 to notify him that they were ready to begin the processing of his application." So I thought the postal service was running a bit behind with the Christmas/New Year holidays. But it is now 8 January and the letter still has not arrived. We live a few miles away from the Consulate... it should take no more than 2 days for a letter to reach us if it was sent.

My concern here isn't the letter itself, but that this letter should have contained my husband's case number. And if I understand correctly, we can't proceed with the next step (Forms DS-230-I, DS-2001, medical exam) without his case number.

Any advice on what to do? Maybe I've misunderstood the process? Maybe the Consulate takes longer to issue the case number?

Thank you for any advice.

[Ryan H 3,790]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to DCF Discussion; petition appears to have been filed at USCIS field office in London.

[Zeffe 2]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to DCF Discussion; petition appears to have been filed at USCIS field office in London.

Thanks Ryan! Still learning my way around -- thanks for routing the discussion to the right place.

Thanks Ryan! Still learning my way around -- thanks for routing the discussion to the right place.

And yes, the petition was filed at USCIS field office in London.

[mindthegap 2,521]

See my timeline - my case number took 3 days from date on letter to arrival on the doormat.

Royal mail aren't exactly renowned for being reliable though is it, so not beyond the realms of possibility that its gone walkies..after 9 weeks I would be concerned too!

You absolutely cannot book medical without the case number (annoyingly)

Edited January 8, 2013 by mindthegap

[Zeffe 2]

See my timeline - my case number took 3 days from date on letter to arrival on the doormat.

Royal mail aren't exactly renowned for being reliable though is it, so not beyond the realms of possibility that its gone walkies..after 9 weeks I would be concerned too!

You absolutely cannot book medical without the case number (annoyingly)

Yeah, can't give the Royal Mail top marks in this instance. I just spoke to someone at the Embassy (0207 499 9000) and she said that the only way to contact the visa section at the Consulate is through email. I emailed them yesterday explaining that the letter was lost, so hopefully they respond quickly. And for what it's worth, the embassy operator also said it was pretty useless to call the £1.23/min line (09042 450 100).

[Zeffe 2]

Manila never sent us one either. We had to call after a week went by to get it.

But you don't need it. Check your DS-230 again. Doesn't even ask for the case number

You're right -- you don't need the case number for the DS-230 but you do need it for DS-2001, which needs to accompany DS-230. So can't really proceed without the case number. Perhaps Manila consulate has a different procedure?

[mindthegap 2,521]

You're right -- you don't need the case number for the DS-230 but you do need it for DS-2001, which needs to accompany DS-230. So can't really proceed without the case number. Perhaps Manila consulate has a different procedure?

Exact procedure varies from place to place.

London you need the case number before you can book the medical, so you are stuck anyway until you have it

[FlorRosa 0]

Does London require a medical before you apply for a visa?

In Manila you apply for the visa, the visa appointment, then the medical(but you do the medical before the visa apointment)

Hi Daniel,

The DS2001 is basically a form to inform the Consulate that you are ready for the interview (all documents ready). In the UK, the medical needs to be done first before THEY can book a interview, unfortunately. I spoke with a phone line (which by all means they don't know nothing) told me that it cant take between 4 and 6 weeks to get an interview date, which is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!

This waiting game play with peoples lives are not funny at all.

[mindthegap 2,521]

Hi Daniel,

The DS2001 is basically a form to inform the Consulate that you are ready for the interview (all documents ready). In the UK, the medical needs to be done first before THEY can book a interview, unfortunately. I spoke with a phone line (which by all means they don't know nothing) told me that it cant take between 4 and 6 weeks to get an interview date, which is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!

This waiting game play with peoples lives are not funny at all.

The ONLY way of contacting london immigrant visa unit is LondonIV@state.gov - dont bother wasting your money with the phone lines- the ones the embassy give you are for non immigrant appointments, and the embassy switchboard will tell you it it not possible to be connected to the immigrant visa unit.

If you want an update or to at least speak to a human, then you can call the DOS (from the UK, dial 001-202-663-1225 , option 1, then option 0 ) give them your case number and they will tell you if an interview has been scheduled or the last update on your case. Other than that there is nothing they can do.

It is a f**king disgrace. I am currently fuming as I am about to miss out on something very big due to this delay, and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. I am used to paying a premium for lots of things to get stuff done quickly and efficiently and to avoid delays - and unfortunately that isn't even an option here!

[Zeffe 2]

Why would you send in a DS-2001?

That's the process in London. First you send the I-130 materials. After that gets approved, you send the DS-230 part 1 and DS-2001 together. And then you have the medical exam before the Consulate will book an appointment for you. So right now I'm stuck because I cannot complete the DS-2001 or book the medical without the case number, which has been lost in transit somewhere between the Consulate and my house.

[Zeffe 2]

The ONLY way of contacting london immigrant visa unit is LondonIV@state.gov - dont bother wasting your money with the phone lines- the ones the embassy give you are for non immigrant appointments, and the embassy switchboard will tell you it it not possible to be connected to the immigrant visa unit.

If you want an update or to at least speak to a human, then you can call the DOS (from the UK, dial 001-202-663-1225 , option 1, then option 0 ) give them your case number and they will tell you if an interview has been scheduled or the last update on your case. Other than that there is nothing they can do.

It is a f**king disgrace. I am currently fuming as I am about to miss out on something very big due to this delay, and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. I am used to paying a premium for lots of things to get stuff done quickly and efficiently and to avoid delays - and unfortunately that isn't even an option here!

Thank you for that email address - v helpful. The only one I had was LondonConsular@state.gov, for which you have to call that premium line to get the code... I would gladly pay a premium to speed this process up, but as you say, not an option.

[mindthegap 2,521]

No code needed for the IV one, but the catch 22 is without your case number they may not reply.....to an email asking for your case number

[Zeffe 2]

No code needed for the IV one, but the catch 22 is without your case number they may not reply.....to an email asking for your case number

Hahahahahaha

[GeorgiaPeach 2]

That's the process in London. First you send the I-130 materials. After that gets approved, you send the DS-230 part 1 and DS-2001 together. And then you have the medical exam before the Consulate will book an appointment for you. So right now I'm stuck because I cannot complete the DS-2001 or book the medical without the case number, which has been lost in transit somewhere between the Consulate and my house.

Zeffe, I am at the EXACT same stage as you. Monday marks week number 5 since we got our NOA2. I am hoping to receive the case number by then, but it seems, according to others' posts, that likely will not happen. I've nearly got all the paperwork ready for these final stages and am ready to move forward! Fingers crossed things begin moving sometime soon. Waiting around really stinks!

[Zeffe 2]

Zeffe, I am at the EXACT same stage as you. Monday marks week number 5 since we got our NOA2. I am hoping to receive the case number by then, but it seems, according to others' posts, that likely will not happen. I've nearly got all the paperwork ready for these final stages and am ready to move forward! Fingers crossed things begin moving sometime soon. Waiting around really stinks!

Good news: got the case number by calling the visa line. Can finally proceed to next step! Woohoo!