French embassy no appointments available

[Lisa Pr 88]

Hi everyone,

I am currently trying to book an appointment for k1 visa interview at the Paris embassy, however it says no appointments available at this time.

has anyone been in the same case? and if so how long does it take in general to see appointments available ? Thank you !

 

[Fe.Ta 857]

2 hours ago, Lisa Pr said:

Hi everyone,

I am currently trying to book an appointment for k1 visa interview at the Paris embassy, however it says no appointments available at this time.

has anyone been in the same case? and if so how long does it take in general to see appointments available ? Thank you !

 

Our embassy (Argentina) was the same.  What we did:  we emailed the embassy at the e-mail address they sent us the P3 instructions from to ask for interview dates and they opened up some more.  A lot of our group (Argentinians) have had to do this and it has worked out for them.  Just FYI.

[Lisa Pr 88]

5 hours ago, Kumar01 said:

That's a common issue with most consulates: they're overbooked and no dates are available. What I tell most people to do is to keep checking 4x or 5x daily for any slots that open up. Many other applicants schedule, drop, cancel, postpone, etc. their existing appointments and open slots can randomly show up for you. So, it's up to you to check often, and once you find an open slot, you should jump on the opportunity.

Thank you for the suggestion ! Indeed I checked a few times today and some appointments became available, but unfortunately the date was too close , but I will keep checking !

[emm1990 4]

Hello ! Did you manage to find a date? I am having the same problem. I just paid the fee and got online to book the meeting: only one date is available but it is at time (in January) when I might not have all the necessary documentation just yet. I was wondering if it was just a random date or if we were assigned one.

Also, do you know if it's an issue booking the interview past the Petition's expiration date? My petition is valid for 20 more days.

 

Thank you!

[Lisa Pr 88]

3 hours ago, emm1990 said:

Hello ! Did you manage to find a date? I am having the same problem. I just paid the fee and got online to book the meeting: only one date is available but it is at time (in January) when I might not have all the necessary documentation just yet. I was wondering if it was just a random date or if we were assigned one.

Also, do you know if it's an issue booking the interview past the Petition's expiration date? My petition is valid for 20 more days.

 

Thank you!

Hello

We did book the interview for January 8. Our NOA2 will be expired by that time but on the email received by the embassy they say it's ok you only have to bring the day of the interview a letter from the petitioner requesting the extension and both letters of intent to marry updated. 
I don't know how you paid the fee before getting a date, we were only able to pay the visa fee once we got a date.
I was checking the website 5 times a day in order to finally get a date that worked for us .. hopefully you get one soon too ! 

 

[emm1990 4]

Thank you so much for both of your replies!

 

@Lisa Pr, I got the same email as you and indeed, we can bring a letter on the day of the interview to get an automatic extension, which came as great relief. However, I am wondering if we still have to book the interview before the expiration or else the Petition will be deemed abandoned. Since we are planning the big move / wedding only for June next year and I need to go to the US for work in early March (and then come back to France for a few months), I cannot have the Visa in my passort before after March. And so it seems I will have to wait a little before there are any March openings for interviews.

 

As @Kumar01 suggested, I will try and find a proper email contact to ask for an extension now just in case. I am just really wondering how the system works and from what moment (Case received at Consulate? Interview booked?) they automatically renew / keep our application open. I am quite scared of doing something wrong and get to the interview only to learn the Petition has expired and I cannot do anything 😨