IR1 Quick Question on Interview Scheduling

[bucksy 14]

IR1 process has been painless so far.

Sent off I-130 in October, they asked for more details (I had forgotten to fill in the "how many times have you been married section" - oops).

Sat on that for 2 weeks then sent off a letter with clarification.

Had approval mid December, case number late December.

 

Finally got off my ####### and ordered Acro early Jan, that was dispatched today.

GP printed my vaccs and summary on the spot, that was easy.

 

Submitted DS260 online.

 

Called Knightsbridge today to book medical - offered me tomorrow or Tuesday, so easy pickings there.

Helps that I have a flat in London so don't need to travel down especially and can just do it whenever I want.

 

Just wanted to confirm with people - I don't book an interview with the embassy, they will write to me with a date?

How long does that typically take?

 

I'm not in a rush mind, would like to move over around May, if I pass the medical that is, bit of a big fat man.

[Wuozopo 4,285]

The embassy does not give out interview dates. If you applied through USCIS in the US, then NVC assigns a date. It looks like you are doing DCF (applied to USCIS in London). You will schedule your own interview. 

 

Your instructions are on this page https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/family-immigration/how-to-apply-2/

Scroll down until you see Step 1, Step 2....etc. Step 4 is schedule interview. Then go back and read all those links (1-10) at the top for specific information.

[bucksy 14]

Hi, 

I had originally followed those steps and registered on https://ais.usvisa-info.com.  However it doesn't seem to work for me.

 

And in Step4, on your linked page (which I checked last time before trying) it says "Select “I have received a letter from the consular section with instructions to schedule an immigrant visa appointment”".

 

Except I haven't received such a letter - so what I was asking in my original post (which is not very clear on _what_ exactly I was asking now I have re-read it), is whether this letter is something I am expecting, or whether the case number letter is sufficient.

 

That might sound like a silly question, but I ask because half the instructions when doing DCF are "ignore whatever we tell you because it's different via the embassy".

 

 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

 

6 hours ago, bucksy said:

Hi, 

I had originally followed those steps and registered on https://ais.usvisa-info.com.  However it doesn't seem to work for me.

 

And in Step4, on your linked page (which I checked last time before trying) it says "Select “I have received a letter from the consular section with instructions to schedule an immigrant visa appointment”".

 

Except I haven't received such a letter - so what I was asking in my original post (which is not very clear on _what_ exactly I was asking now I have re-read it), is whether this letter is something I am expecting, or whether the case number letter is sufficient.

 

That might sound like a silly question, but I ask because half the instructions when doing DCF are "ignore whatever we tell you because it's different via the embassy".

 

 

 

Yes, you should say "I have received a letter..." even if you haven't. 

So are you saying the system will not let you move on after saying you have a letter?  Sometimes it's too soon and the Immigrant Visa Unit hasn't gotten your case from USCIS in London, but your petition was approved in December and you have a case number so seems like sufficient time. The offices are both housed in the same building, but it is a transfer between separate divisions of the government, Homeland Security (USCIS London post) and the State Department (Immigrant Visa Unit of the Consular section of the embassy).

 

You can wait a few days and try again or find the Contact Us https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-gb/iv/information/contact_us

 

The last section of the page is what you want for technical issues. 

Other Issues

We cannot provide you any status updates regarding your application (NIV or IV) nor can we provide assistance on the DS-160 or DS-260 form.

Send an email to weeac_contactus+gb+info+en@visaops.net, if you require assistance with:

• general visa information or how to apply
• technical issues with the website
• your sign-in information (email and password) to enter the site to pay and schedule the appointment

Note: Please provide a clear description of the issue and screenshots to assure the efficient processing of your inquiry.

[bucksy 14]

2 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

 

So are you saying the system will not let you move on after saying you have a letter?  Sometimes it's too soon and the Immigrant Visa Unit hasn't gotten your case from USCIS in London, but your petition was approved in December and you have a case number so seems like sufficient time. The offices are both housed in the same building, but it is a transfer between separate divisions of the government, Homeland Security (USCIS London post) and the State Department (Immigrant Visa Unit of the Consular section of the embassy).

 

Correct. Although I have the case number letter, and my DS-260 confirmation number, it says the number is not yet ready to be processed or some such when I try to register a date for the interview (something about an IV number).

I assume the 260 confirmation number is the second number I need to enter.

I'll try again in a minute and grab a screen shot.

[bucksy 14]

Same jazz.

 

Attached is the error that comes up.

So I will contact them and see what they say.

[Wuozopo 4,285]

1 minute ago, bucksy said:

Correct. Although I have the case number letter, and my DS-260 confirmation number, it says the number is not yet ready to be processed or some such when I try to register a date for the interview (something about an IV number).

I assume the 260 confirmation number is the second number I need to enter.

I'll try again in a minute and grab a screen shot.

One more thing-- when you get in to the system,  pick an appointment at least two weeks after your medical appointment. The arrival of medicals to the IV Unit at the embassy has significantly slowed down since each place wrote their web pages saying "allow 5 days". That used to be true, but not since the embassy moved to it's new location a year ago. You might want to wait until Tuesday after the medical just to make sure the doctor doesn't require anything else from your GP that would delay the results getting to the embassy. Then build in a few extra days before interview. I know it seems like a long wait, but it's not really and maybe the interview system will be ready to let you in by then. 

 

I see you have already replied while I was typing this. Will answer separately.

[Wuozopo 4,285]

12 minutes ago, bucksy said:

Same jazz.

 

Attached is the error that comes up.

So I will contact them and see what they say.

 

Make sure they know your case did not go through NVC. You are doing Consular processing. I have no idea what KCC is. If that is new, maybe check out the DCF forum on Visa Journey.

Edited January 24, 2019 by Wuozopo

[bucksy 14]

I've emailed them. I'll update you when they reply.

[bucksy 14]

They replied saying they would contact the embassy (looked like an auto reply to me).

But it works now, so booked in for Friday 8th.

For anyone who is interested in availability, they had every day next week onwards, but all appointments were 9 / 10 in the morning.

Ok for me as I live in London but if you're coming from afar that's not so good.