Scheduling London Interview - IR1/CR1

[Bravolo22 0]

Hello!

 

My husband has submitted his DS-260 and booked his medical exam. He has been attempting to book his interview in London but is continually met with the "no available appointments" message.

 

We are wondering how long it typically takes before visa interview appointments become available? Does the Embassy post new interview availability or just openings from cancellations?

 

Is there a limit to how often you can check the interview appointment availability?

 

Thank you!

[LaJumpa 36]

Hey there,

 

Can I ask when you received your interview letter? 

[Chancy 6,233]

On 4/25/2023 at 2:55 AM, Bravolo22 said:

He has been attempting to book his interview in London but is continually met with the "no available appointments" message.

 

My understanding is that the consulate in London will send the CR1/IR1 interview appointment schedule.  The applicant does not self-schedule.

 

Is your husband's case already Documentarily Qualified (DQ) at NVC?  What is the CEAC case status?  Typically it will display "Ready" or "In Transit" when the interview letter (IL) is imminent.

 

[Bravolo22 0]

We were able to book our interview after checking the website for a couple of days! We got an interview for May 23rd, so not too far off. We received my husband's case number on 21st. 

 

We did direct consular filing which is why we had to book our own interview appointment. 

[throwaway129093 1]

On 4/29/2023 at 8:50 AM, Bravolo22 said:

We were able to book our interview after checking the website for a couple of days! We got an interview for May 23rd, so not too far off. We received my husband's case number on 21st. 

 

We did direct consular filing which is why we had to book our own interview appointment. 

Hey! Also doing DCF and just waiting to receive ACRO before booking medical.

 

Would you be able to describe your timeline/process from when you received your LDN case number?

I'm confused about what to expect particularly due to the differences between DCF and non.

Currently have partially completed the DS-260 online form but didn't want to complete it in case that triggered an interview date before we were ready with our medical. And we haven't booked the medical until we receive the ACRO. We are hoping to receive the ACRO before EoW.

Thanks!

[Bravolo22 0]

15 hours ago, throwaway129093 said:

Hey! Also doing DCF and just waiting to receive ACRO before booking medical.

 

Would you be able to describe your timeline/process from when you received your LDN case number?

I'm confused about what to expect particularly due to the differences between DCF and non.

Currently have partially completed the DS-260 online form but didn't want to complete it in case that triggered an interview date before we were ready with our medical. And we haven't booked the medical until we receive the ACRO. We are hoping to receive the ACRO before EoW.

Thanks!

Of course! 

 

We received our LDN case number via email first on Friday, April 21st. My husband called to book his medical on the following Monday and got his scheduled for May 5th. When he called to book his medical, that was the earliest date they had available. He had not completed or submitted his DS-260 when he booked the medical. He has since submitted the DS-260 because you need to do so in order to schedule your appointment.

 

You are able to reschedule/cancel your medical up to 3 days in advance of your scheduled date, or after for a fee of 100 pounds.

 

After my husband submitted the DS-260, he went to the link to schedule his interview appointment. It is separate from the DS-260, so don't worry about triggering anything. There were no available appointments so he checked back every few hours. The following morning there were appointments available on several days and he scheduled his for May 23rd. 

 

Hope this is helpful!

 

[throwaway129093 1]

On 5/2/2023 at 8:07 AM, Bravolo22 said:

Of course! 

 

We received our LDN case number via email first on Friday, April 21st. My husband called to book his medical on the following Monday and got his scheduled for May 5th. When he called to book his medical, that was the earliest date they had available. He had not completed or submitted his DS-260 when he booked the medical. He has since submitted the DS-260 because you need to do so in order to schedule your appointment.

 

You are able to reschedule/cancel your medical up to 3 days in advance of your scheduled date, or after for a fee of 100 pounds.

 

After my husband submitted the DS-260, he went to the link to schedule his interview appointment. It is separate from the DS-260, so don't worry about triggering anything. There were no available appointments so he checked back every few hours. The following morning there were appointments available on several days and he scheduled his for May 23rd. 

 

Hope this is helpful!

 

It was! Thank you. Good luck with the May 5th appointment. Would love it if you could report back on your outcome and next steps just to have a recent experience to lean on.

 

[throwaway129093 1]

How did things go?

Currently trying to book an appointment but only availability is 4 working days after the medical so can't risk it. No other dates available

Do you know if there's a specific time that interview slots are updated?

[Bravolo22 0]

On 5/22/2023 at 1:23 PM, throwaway129093 said:

How did things go?

Currently trying to book an appointment but only availability is 4 working days after the medical so can't risk it. No other dates available

Do you know if there's a specific time that interview slots are updated?

Just keep checking daily! I think you can check up to 3 times a day without getting locked out of your account.

 

We checked for a few days and then one day several interview dates popped up.

 

I don't know if there is a specific time - it seemed random to us.

[Bravolo22 0]

Also - my husband got his visa approved yesterday! 

 

My husband brought all requested documents (outlined in email from the medical office) to his medical exam and was able to get vaccines there for those he did not have proof of. The vaccines cost £50-£60 each. The medical office said they needed 5 business days to send results to the Embassy and the Embassy would take about 5 business days to process the results. His medical exam and his visa interview were 11 business days apart - so we cut it a bit close.

 

The day of the visa interview, my husband arrived in line at the embassy 15 minutes before his appointment. He joined  a long queue but was then told did not need to queue up because he was there for immigrant visa, he could go ahead. Once inside, he was told to go sit in the waiting area until his number came up on the screen. When it did, he was called to a booth where an embassy employee checked through his documents. He was then told to sit again until his number was called for his visa interview. He waited about 30 minutes until he was called up. The interview lasted about 5 minutes and he was told he would receive his passport back in 5-10 business days with his visa in it!

 

He was asked:

How long have you been married?

How did you meet your wife?

What does she do?

Has she moved back to the U.S.? When did she move?

What was she doing in London?

 

Hope this helps!! Good luck