Wedding venue booked - need visa within 10 weeks of NOA2. Help!

[*C&C* 6]

Kind VisaJourney friends, here's our situation:

If at all possible, we want to get married in Columbus, Ohio on August 9th. (The venue's booked; all the key people from both families can be there for that date; some have already booked tickets; we've been praying for that date for a long time).

We received our NOA 2 on 15th May.

If we can get the visa granted by the end of July, it would be a dream come true.

Mainly we want to know:

How can we maximise our chances of making this happen in time??

Also, is this so risky, that we should cancel this wedding date right now?

Thank you everyone :-)

Christian and Cammy

(Sydney & Columbus)

[apple21 953]

Risky, IMO. Don't make plans until you have your visa on-hand.

[ConGau1981 56]

I wont make any wedding plans until my fiance has the visa in her hand. You never know how long the embassy is going to take to process but I doubt they will get it all done in less then 10 weeks

Edited May 22, 2013 by ConGau1981

[sammdt 4]

You still have two months ...just pray harder that everything will be fine...though nothing is certain when it comes to visa applications, just make sure that you have on hand all the necessary docs for packet 3 so that it could save time, get ready for the next step...wishin you all the best of luck...

[Jawaree 717]

They say it over & over don't sell your stuff, leave your job, make arrangements in the US as such or

purchase plane tickets until you have passport back with stamped visa.

[ConGau1981 56]

Did you send your fiance the I-134 and your supporting docs? Having as many forms done ahead of time will help you but it wont make NVC or the embassy move faster

[agrabs 237]

I wouldn't put down any non-refundable deposits until you have the visa in hand. You will probably be fine - but there is no guarantee. We got our NOA2 Mid April last year and it took almost a month for it to get thru NVC and sent on to the consulate and then another 6 weeks to get an interview scheduled. Then a couple of days after the approval to receive the visa. ( each consulate is different on that). My fiance got a flight here within a week of getting the visa in hand.. So we got our NOA2 in mid april and my fiance arrived here July 5th. Almost 3 months and we didn;t have any delays.

It's different for each embassy so please don't put any money down that you can't get back. Good luck to you guys I hope it all goes well for you!

[TBoneTX 43,123]

General comment, on the basis of sad experience: Anyone who presumes that a visa will be granted is playing Russian roulette with a revolver that's loaded with a varying number of bullets.

Edited May 22, 2013 by TBoneTX

[Adrian_Trischa 6]

Brave...very Brave.

There are too many variables that you can't control in this situation. It took me three months from NOA2 to my interview date. THEN I had to wait for the Visa to be posted to me - This was when they were processing interviews quickly. I do know earlier this year, people were having issues with getting in contact with the Consulate and having interviews scheduled as quick as they were end of last year.

The Consulate will send you an email with Packet 3. All this is is a Word Doc summarising instructions from the below link. Read ahead and start working on those documents. Have your fiance send over the I-134 (Affidavit of Support) with original signatures and whatever supporting documents you need.

To get the ball rolling, I would start off with your Police Certificate - this can take anywhere from 3 - 6 weeks depending on what state you are in.

Call NVC for your Case Number It should look something like this SYD12345678

With the above number, you are then able to book your medical. (Again this is dependent on the state you are in - my doctor in Brisbane wouldn't allow me to book until I confirmed I had the number)

Best of Luck

Brave...very Brave.

There are too many variables that you can't control in this situation. It took me three months from NOA2 to my interview date. THEN I had to wait for the Visa to be posted to me - This was when they were processing interviews quickly. I do know earlier this year, people were having issues with getting in contact with the Consulate and having interviews scheduled as quick as they were end of last year.

The Consulate will send you an email with Packet 3. All this is is a Word Doc summarising instructions from the below link. Read ahead and start working on those documents. Have your fiance send over the I-134 (Affidavit of Support) with original signatures and whatever supporting documents you need.

To get the ball rolling, I would start off with your Police Certificate - this can take anywhere from 3 - 6 weeks depending on what state you are in.

Call NVC for your Case Number It should look something like this SYD12345678

With the above number, you are then able to book your medical. (Again this is dependent on the state you are in - my doctor in Brisbane wouldn't allow me to book until I confirmed I had the number)

Best of Luck

Sorry forgot to put in the link.

http://canberra.usembassy.gov/fiance_niv_appl.html

[Adrian-Danielle 12]

Yeah very brave, i sent my packet 3 info into the Sydney consulate 3 weeks ago and still haven't received my interview date....and I'd imagine the interview date will be around 7-8 weeks after that.

But in saying that who knows....there is no order on how applicants are processed it seems, some people get approved quickly!

I agree, have your fiancé send the I-134 NOW!

Also you will need your case # to book your medical in Sydney...and this might take awhile to get an appointment.

Goodluck

[Alex&Amy 28]

I'd let them know when you return your packet 3 you have a wedding planned, it may or may not help speed it up, but it is on Sydney's list of reasons to need an urgent interview. There was at least one person from this site that got their interview 5 days from their packet 4 date.

[baron555 934]

Kind VisaJourney friends, here's our situation:

If at all possible, we want to get married in Columbus, Ohio on August 9th. (The venue's booked; all the key people from both families can be there for that date; some have already booked tickets; we've been praying for that date for a long time).

Keep Praying

We received our NOA 2 on 15th May.

If we can get the visa granted by the end of July, it would be a dream come true.

Keep Praying

Mainly we want to know:

How can we maximise our chances of making this happen in time??

Keep Praying

Also, is this so risky, that we should cancel this wedding date right now?

Probably. Do homework on how quicklyl once NVC sends case to Embassy, that interviews are scheduled. Figure about three weeks at NVC and then the timing for your Embassy. That is the better estimate of timing. If the new math doesn't add up to your desired date, then resked.

Thank you everyone :-)

Christian and Cammy

(Sydney & Columbus)

I'd let them know when you return your packet 3 you have a wedding planned, it may or may not help speed it up, but it is on Sydney's list of reasons to need an urgent interview. There was at least one person from this site that got their interview 5 days from their packet 4 date.

That would be foolhardy advice, to make an assumption of approval at the Embassy.

[AJ MJ 2]

Your timing is tight, so you need to make sure you have everthing ready to go, PRIOR to receiving the requests.

As NOA2 -> Packet 3 received by you is 2 to 3 weeks, you may be able to schedule your medical now.

In Melbourne I was not required to have the "Alien (Case) Number" (SYD 2013 NNN NNN) to schedule the appointment, but you need to know it at the actual medical to fill out forms. The NVC assign this, and your fiancee may be able to get it off them by phone, prior to the consulate receiving the packet (ie about now). That number was the ONLY thing they required from the visa process at the Medical.

I was told the results of the medical then take 7-10 working days to arrive (mine took 12 - there was an option to pick up, but I declined), and as the Doctor told me - the consulate's part consisted of a sealed packet to carry to the interview in Sydney - so I did NOT mail mine in with packet 3 response.

As you say your NOA2 date was 15May, you can expect (well your fiancee actually) to receive the packet 3 email by early June.

Packet 3 response to interview currently looks to be 1 month (from last couple of updates on VisaJourney for Australia), so interview possibly early July, assuming you have EVERYTHING ready to go in your response, as soon as you receive the Packet 3.

So mid July for your visa is possible (again assuming all goes well at the interview and it takes a week to arrive)

The link to packet 3 response for Australia is: http://canberra.usembassy.gov/fiance_niv_appl.html

For me that resulted in docs:

1) DS-230, Immigrant Visa Application Part I, Biographic Data (signed at ONE spot, not at end)
2) Correspondence details form to accompany DS-230
3) DS-156, Non-immigrant Visa Application (2 copies)
4) DS-156K, Non-immigrant Fiancé Visa Application (unsigned)
5) Evidence of engagement required for DS-156K. (recent captioned photos of us together wearing her ring)
6) DS-157, Supplemental Non-immigrant Visa Application (2 copies)
7) DSL-1076, Ready to be interviewed (page 6)
8) DSL-1076, Checklist (page 7)
9) Birth Certificate (original + copy)
10) Police Certificates (original + copy) (for each of the 3 countries I'd lived in)
11) Photocopy of Passport biographic page
12) 2 passport size photographs
13) I-134, Affidavit of Support from my Fiancée
a) Letter affirming her continued intent to marry me (mutual I assure you)
b) Employment letter from her employer
c) Her 2012 Income Tax Return Transcript
d) Her 2012 W-2 Form
e) 2 recent Pay Stubs

Good luck. Your timeframe has very little leeway.

[AdamAndDana 8]

Thank you for the informative timeline with your experience in Australia. Some countries allow the interview to be scheduled as soon as the NVC assigns the case number. It does not appear that the Embassy in Australia will schedule the interview without receiving Packet 3. Is this true? Has anyone tried to schedule the interview as soon the NVC assigned a case number?

[Ocean lovers 0]

To expedite the arrival of packet 3, you can write to your embassy and request a provisional file to be sent out, while they are waiting for the packet from NVC. I requested it for my fiance and he already has packet 3 while we are still waiting for NVC to complete the packet.

Once form DS230 and others listed on the checklist are returned to the embassy, they will be able to schedule the interview as long as the packet from NVC is received as well. Can probably cut the time down by at least two weeks if not more.

Good luck!