jthespartan

I'm curious if you got this resolved.

Yes. Ultimately, we worked with personnel to generated the document the embassy wanted.

Hi everyone,

Today my fiancee had her interview at the Embassy in Dublin. Everything went perfect until they stated that she had the wrong form for her military service. My fiancee was a Captain (officer) in the Irish Army. Per the instructions on the website and what they told her in person, this is what we need:

Available. A special "Record of Service in the Defence Forces" has been devised by Irish authorities to meet U.S. visa requirements. Applicants with military service in the permanent or reserve forces (including the Forsa Cosanta Aitiuil or Slua Muiri) can obtain the form by contacting the Officer in Charge, Enlisted Personnel Section, Defence Forces Headquarters, Infirmary Road, Dublin 8. The applicant must provide the birth date, enlistment date, Army service number, and the name of the unit in which he served. The form is printed on standard, white Irish paper (8-1/4" X 11-3/4") and signed by the Officer in Charge of the Enlisted Personnel Section.

The problem is, nobody in the Irish military seems to know what this form is. For starters, the office that the instructions reference is no longer there. Additionally, my fiancee was an officer, not enlisted. She's an admin officer by trade and is well connected to that community... but none of her peers have ever heard of this form.

Naturally, she explained this to the embassy personnel, but they wouldn't have it. They stated this wasn't the form they need. When my fiancee asked them what the form looks like they responded they do not know because they've never seen it.

We're in an awkward spot and need urgent assistance from anybody who has applied for a U.S. visa that has served in the Irish Defense Forces.

What form did you use to satisfy the above statement? Can you please post a picture (sanitized, of course) so we can give some guidance to the folks in the J1.

Thanks for the info! We came across the instructions but it differs from what the local Garda told us... That we need to wait. Doesn't seem like the case. Probably a matter a speaking to someone who's familiar with the process! In other words, do what the instructions say.

Do we also need to wait to schedule the interview? That is, is the notice of readiness included in the packet that the Embassy sends you once they receive everything from the NVC? Again, details on Ireland are sparse!!

Yes, familiar with the medical timeline. Just did it last week before we headed to the U.S. for holiday... If we don't return to Ireland so we enter the U.S. six months from now I'm going to flip!

Thanks for the insight. Completely understand no two journeys are alike... Still, some info is better than no info!

Hi all,

We just heard that our application was approved! Exciting stuff! Connie is current in the U.S. on a tourist visa, so we need to figure out when to head back so we are there for the packet, interview, etc. We did the medical bit before we went to the U.S. for holiday (it's good for six months so why not). We tried to do the same for the police certificate from the Garda, but we were told we needed notification from the Embassy before we could make the request.

Everything in the forums regarding the police certificate in Ireland is quite old so looking to see what the process was for others who have gone through it recently.

I know the Superintent provides the cert and it generally takes three weeks. But I've seen conflicting info on if you need to wait for notification from the Embassy.

Can someone advise? Thanks!