Any experience with interviews in Auckland?

[EKT 116]

2 minutes ago, BahamaBaby said:

What is the latest in terms of how long it takes the medical to reach the consulate? Would help understand how much of a gap we should leave between medical and interview. 
 

Also, is the consulate usually quick in sending back the passport with visa in the prepaid satchel? 
 

Guessing NZ consulate is open again next week - their website still says closed till March 25 which is today, hoping things are back to normal from next week! 

It's all done online now and it only took 2 days for CityMed to upload the medical report to eMed when my husband had his interview in January. I think it's then assigned to a CO to review and attach the report to the applicant's case so I would leave at least a week's gap between medical and interview.

 

My husband only had his medical the day before the interview and it wasn't in the system at the time of interview, which we expected. He was told he was approved pending the medical report and his visa was delayed by about a week. Normally when an applicant is approved at the interview on Wednesday, the visa is issued and sent on Friday of the same week or early the next week. His visa was issued the following Friday (9 days after the interview) and arrived on Monday so he still had his passport and visa in under two weeks.

[Ash23122 22]

2 hours ago, EKT said:

It's all done online now and it only took 2 days for CityMed to upload the medical report to eMed when my husband had his interview in January. I think it's then assigned to a CO to review and attach the report to the applicant's case so I would leave at least a week's gap between medical and interview.

 

My husband only had his medical the day before the interview and it wasn't in the system at the time of interview, which we expected. He was told he was approved pending the medical report and his visa was delayed by about a week. Normally when an applicant is approved at the interview on Wednesday, the visa is issued and sent on Friday of the same week or early the next week. His visa was issued the following Friday (9 days after the interview) and arrived on Monday so he still had his passport and visa in under two weeks.

@EKT thanks for confirming this! 

[BahamaBaby 12]

@EKT great info, thanks for sharing! 

[ztiberiusd 38]

Here's another tangentially related question for those who recently went through the process. 

 

With the courier package that you sent up to the Consulate (or dropped off) the week before the interview, what financial and relationship evidence did you submit? 

 

There's something on this page which states "Every visa applicant, no matter their age, must bring certain documents to the interview, including photographs, and the original or certified copy version of all civil documents submitted to NVC. You do not need to bring your Affidavit of Support or financial evidence you submitted to NVC". 

 

Meanwhile, the information provided here clearly states to include "The appropriate Form I-864 Affidavit of Support for each financial sponsor along with a photocopy of the sponsor’s IRS transcript or most recent U.S. federal income tax return, and any relevant W-2s."

 

I know that this is already visible to the CO within the NVC file, so it seems a little silly to include it, but I don't want to ignore their instructions (albeit contradictory to another set of instructions on the exact same website). I'm considering including a copy of the first linked page with that section highlighted. 

 

I am planning on including my 2021 tax return along with a recent pay stub to show my domicile in the US and prove I'm working etc. I'd be curious to hear what others have done. 

 

Also, how much relationship evidence did you include during this section? Obviously with New Zealand being a low fraud country I'm not going to attach thousands of pages of text logs, but also I don't want to send nothing and have them ask about it. Should I just recycle the photos and info I used for the I-130? Again, would be great to hear what others have done. 

 

Thanks guys. 

[BahamaBaby 12]

The consulate website says that they are closed until 25 March. I can see people receiving interview dates for April, just wanted to be sure that the consulate wasn’t going to extend their closure? 

[ztiberiusd 38]

Just a quick update for those inquiring about City Med appointments. Wife got an email response from them a day after sending her inquiry form letting her know that she could call them now they had her information to schedule an appointment. She called the next morning and they could have fit her in as soon as the next day, but she needed to arrange flights and time off work so she booked for the following week which wasn't an issue at all. Seems like they aren't too backed up right now. 

[Ash23122 22]

1 hour ago, ztiberiusd said:

Just a quick update for those inquiring about City Med appointments. Wife got an email response from them a day after sending her inquiry form letting her know that she could call them now they had her information to schedule an appointment. She called the next morning and they could have fit her in as soon as the next day, but she needed to arrange flights and time off work so she booked for the following week which wasn't an issue at all. Seems like they aren't too backed up right now. 

Thanks for the update and good luck! 

 

[EKT 116]

On 3/26/2022 at 7:30 AM, ztiberiusd said:

Here's another tangentially related question for those who recently went through the process. 

 

With the courier package that you sent up to the Consulate (or dropped off) the week before the interview, what financial and relationship evidence did you submit? 

 

There's something on this page which states "Every visa applicant, no matter their age, must bring certain documents to the interview, including photographs, and the original or certified copy version of all civil documents submitted to NVC. You do not need to bring your Affidavit of Support or financial evidence you submitted to NVC". 

 

Meanwhile, the information provided here clearly states to include "The appropriate Form I-864 Affidavit of Support for each financial sponsor along with a photocopy of the sponsor’s IRS transcript or most recent U.S. federal income tax return, and any relevant W-2s."

 

I know that this is already visible to the CO within the NVC file, so it seems a little silly to include it, but I don't want to ignore their instructions (albeit contradictory to another set of instructions on the exact same website). I'm considering including a copy of the first linked page with that section highlighted. 

 

I am planning on including my 2021 tax return along with a recent pay stub to show my domicile in the US and prove I'm working etc. I'd be curious to hear what others have done. 

 

Also, how much relationship evidence did you include during this section? Obviously with New Zealand being a low fraud country I'm not going to attach thousands of pages of text logs, but also I don't want to send nothing and have them ask about it. Should I just recycle the photos and info I used for the I-130? Again, would be great to hear what others have done. 

 

Thanks guys. 

We sent my original I-864 and all supporting evidence that had been uploaded to CEAC in our courier parcel with everything else. It was 9 months old by the time he had his interview and I emailed the consulate to ask if it should be updated but B said no. 

 

We didn’t send any additional relationship evidence, however in my husband’s interview letter and/or the Auckland specific instructions on the State Dept website (I can’t remember which one) said to bring more relationship evidence to the interview so he brought about five A4 pages worth of family photos spanning the last 5 years. It also said to bring additional evidence that he can support himself financially so he brought a letter from his current employer stating his position and salary as well as IRD income summaries for the last two years. They didn’t ask for any of this at the interview though.

 

Also, there’s no need to complete or bring any paper forms to the medical despite what the instructions say. It’s completely electronic. You just need your passport, passport photos and any immunisation records. 

[Sammy.NZ 45]

Hi team ,

Anyone been interviewed lately??? Or scheduled... what's the current wait time for an interview (and medical) in Auckland? 

Still awaiting NVC approval but I'm hoping we hear from them before the end of the month - might be a bit optimistic 😬 but just wanted to get up to date with what's going on in Auckland Consulate at the moment.. 

[ztiberiusd 38]

Just now, Sammy.NZ said:

Hi team ,

Anyone been interviewed lately??? Or scheduled... what's the current wait time for an interview (and medical) in Auckland? 

Still awaiting NVC approval but I'm hoping we hear from them before the end of the month - might be a bit optimistic 😬 but just wanted to get up to date with what's going on in Auckland Consulate at the moment.. 

Wait time is pretty short for both. You're looking at around 5 weeks from DQ to interview date right now. As far as the medical, for CityMed in Auckland they can pretty much fit you in any time. That's been the experience for my wife anyhow. Hope that helps. 

[RoUSA 0]

Hi everyone, fellow Kiwi here but based in Sydney Aus. I filed my K-1 visa petition on 23^rd October 2020, and now it’s been in NVC since July 13^th 2021… (265 days and counting!)
I regret being here in Sydney as most may know that our Consulate has not budged, due to relocating.

My partner has called NVC numerous times, and they only have given us a Case Number.

I wish they would at least give an Invoice number, so that I could do the other steps in the process, but they won’t.

Was wondering if anyone can give me any advice on what’s the best option.  I tried calling the Consulate in Auckland (+64 09 887 5999), but the line is dead. Not sure what the situation is like in NZ.
Anyone else in a similar situation?

Would highly appreciate your guidance!

[ztiberiusd 38]

30 minutes ago, RoUSA said:

Hi everyone, fellow Kiwi here but based in Sydney Aus. I filed my K-1 visa petition on 23^rd October 2020, and now it’s been in NVC since July 13^th 2021… (265 days and counting!)
I regret being here in Sydney as most may know that our Consulate has not budged, due to relocating.

My partner has called NVC numerous times, and they only have given us a Case Number.

I wish they would at least give an Invoice number, so that I could do the other steps in the process, but they won’t.

Was wondering if anyone can give me any advice on what’s the best option.  I tried calling the Consulate in Auckland (+64 09 887 5999), but the line is dead. Not sure what the situation is like in NZ.
Anyone else in a similar situation?

Would highly appreciate your guidance!

If you're wanting to interview in Auckland instead of Sydney, that's something that would have to be arranged through NVC. Your best bet is to probably use the online "Ask NVC" function. Contacting the consulate in Auckland won't get you anywhere I don't think. They will just tell you to contact NVC. The consulates are very limited as to what they can do outside the standard, linear procedures. 

[BahamaBaby 12]

@RoUSA hi welcome to this community. I am in the same boat, in Sydney and DQ at NVc since late august 2021. We are on an employment based visa though. Been an endless wait for Sydney to reopen. 
 

I think it’s usually the NVC that can decide on a transfer to another consulate. However I did read somewhere that when it comes to K visa, the accepting consulate does have a say. Worth researching a bit further and then reaching out to NvC. Goodluck! 

[RoUSA 0]

Thank you both @ztiberiusd and @BahamaBaby for your quick prompt reply! 

Ill do a bit more research, call up Sydney Consulate Hotline and NVC again to see what they both throw at me.
Also, to confirm, when you state your case as DQ at NVC, does that mean you have paid your fees and received your Invoice numbers? 

I wish they would let us start doing the additional paper work first before being in line for interviews. 
Thanks

[ztiberiusd 38]

Just now, RoUSA said:

Thank you both @ztiberiusd and @BahamaBaby for your quick prompt reply! 

Ill do a bit more research, call up Sydney Consulate Hotline and NVC again to see what they both throw at me.
Also, to confirm, when you state your case as DQ at NVC, does that mean you have paid your fees and received your Invoice numbers? 

I wish they would let us start doing the additional paper work first before being in line for interviews. 
Thanks

Actually, as far as I know, DQ (Documentarily Qualified) only applies to IR-1/CR-1 visas, because NVC reviews the documents in those cases rather than the consular officer. Sorry for the confusion.