O1 Visa Renewal Appointment London or Belfast

[geim 0]

Hello all, I was hoping to get some guidance and help from this forum for my girlfriend who is a UK citizen. She had been living in the US for 6 years on an O-1 visa and was initially approved on January 21st, 2020 for renewal. She had an appointment scheduled at the embassy in Belfast to finalize the renewal for March 26, 2020, which was canceled due to COVID. She tried scheduling another appointment for August 2020, which was also canceled, and has now been stuck in the UK for almost a year waiting for the embassy’s to open back up for appointments. Her US lawyer that filed her paperwork advised her to set her appointment in Belfast and has been searching for appointments at both London and Belfast. She says there are no appointments available for Belfast or London, and that only emergency services are being performed at both consulates. 

From what i've seen on this forum, people have had luck getting appointments in London but it's been a 4-5 month wait. Is there anything further that she can do in order to get the final process of a visa stamp? Is there anyone she can be e-mailing anyone to get this expedited? Have people in fact been having luck getting appointments? Looking for some guidance so she can get back here to the US. 

Really looking forward to hearing from you all. Thanks.

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by geim

[HRQX 4,145]

3 hours ago, geim said:

From what i've seen on this forum, people have had luck getting appointments in London but it's been a 4-5 month wait.

Has London been assigning appointments despite the unlawful "No Visa Policy"? Did DOS get sued multiple times by different O-1 plaintiffs like the Tate v. Pompeo case? https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2020cv03249/223991/16/

[Wuozopo 4,293]

12 hours ago, geim said:

From what i've seen on this forum, people have had luck getting appointments in London but it's been a 4-5 month wait.

The people getting interviews and discussing in this forum are all IR1/CR1 spouses. London is not processing fiancé, visitor, or other non-immigrant visas. Some medical, military, or other essential visas are supposedly being processed.

the way to email London is here https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/visa-information-services/contact-us-nonimmigrant-visas/

You can keep up with London latest info here https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/u-s-visa-and-travel-faqs/

They update info so bookmark it and check back. 
 

Belfast FAQ https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/u-s-visa-and-travel-faqs/

Edited February 17, 2021 by Wuozopo