JOL

Sounds like you're likely to have an interview date before Thanksgiving, but getting our passport back by then could be iffy.  Either way, there is no point canceling the tickets if they cannot be refunded anyway; maybe you can try scalping them (legal in the US as long as sold for face value, but I do not know the UK law.)  Until you call the embassy it is really a gray area.
 
Good luck on your date and travels.  Could be worse:  You could have a trip like the Baltimore Ravens did.

I believe the short answer is "you will not be allowed on the plane."  I hate to say it, but you may need to start at least looking into whether your tickets can be refunded, because I know no way to be sure right now when your interview will occur.  Based on our experience and those others reported, I would expect your email to come by the end of next week and your interview to be around the end of the first week of November.  However, and once again, I cannot be sure of that, and since 1 November is on Tuesday this year Thanksgiving comes early (specifically, the 23rd, as you may already know) it sounds like your window will be very tight; the sole question there is HOW tight.  Very sorry to hear that, but all I can suggest is calling the embassy (I believe it, not the NVC, schedules interviews) daily until/unless you hear something definite about the interview date.  
 
For what it's worth, Norwegian Air has dirt cheap ($200-300) direct flights from Heathrow to JFK, though you would need to book a separate flight to from JFK to your ultimate destination (unless it happens to be NYC) and there is one flight daily, arriving in NYC at 8PM (which is why I wind up staying at the airport overnight:  There were no flights to Texas before early the next morning.)  They have also recently added other direct flights from Heathrow to a few US destinations (Miami and Vegas are the ones I recall, but I think they also do L.A.)  Again, sorry to hear it is getting so complicated (and possibly wasteful) for ya'll; hopes and prayers everything works out for the best.

Thanks, and all I can say is yours should be "soon."  sssssb had a SD just a single day before mine (so 3 days before yours) yet the NVC only began REVIEWING our submission 3 days before issuing their CC, and notified them of their interview date 5 days ago; we technically don't even have our CC yet.  So you should be close, probably a week either way (presuming no checklist, heaven willing) but who knows exactly when...?

No prob; we have all been there, and I would have been toast if those who went before me had not shared the benefit of their experience.  I was TOTALLY lost and second guessing everything; it really helped just to have people who could say, "yes, do that," "no, you do not need to do that" and, most importantly, "you also need to do THIS, even though none of the Homeland Securitys or States instructions anywhere say so."  Like the bit about putting the Beneficiarys name and case number at the bottom of each page in case they get separated from the file:  I did that and the NVC somehow STILL managed to not find my moms birth certificate despite our including TWO VERSIONS of it in our submission.

I cannot say enough good things about the VJ membership; it is almost uniformly polite, sympathetic, informative and accurate.  I will not say you will NEVER get false information here, but it is definitely the exception to the rule, and when it does happen it is usually apparent quickly because multiple people post a correction.  Probably the best thing to do is to carefully and repeatedly read the FAQs, then just ask lots of questions until the avalanche of information begins making coherent sense.
 
Good luck to you and everyone; here is to all of us enjoying a swift, safe and happy reunion with our respective families.  

Yeah, that does NOT mean you will not still receive a checklist, but does strongly suggest any checklist you do receive will merely require the additional documents be presented by the Beneficiary at the interview, not sent to the NVC to restart the whole 8-11 week review process from the beginning.  I say that because they emailed us a checklist after I confirmed our CC by phone, and a few days before they emailed us our interview date and instructions.  However, the checklist email REPEATEDLY said to NOT send the additional required documents to the NVC, but provide them to the Beneficiary so she can present them to the consular officer at her interview.  And since I sent her a copy of our NVC packet, and that packet actually DOES have the "missing" document (in two different versions, no less) she already has it and no further action is required.

All that to say:  Just because you got a CC does not guarantee you will not also still get a checklist, but IF you do it should not delay your case as long as your Beneficiary has the requested document at their interview.
 
Congrats to you and David-Liss on the unofficial CCs; I feel a little bad they are making ya'll wait til November for interviews when they scheduled ours for the end of October, but if I understand how they do things ya'll will probably be interviewed at the start of November, so it will still only be a week or two after us, not a whole month.  Good luck!

Yeah, that does NOT mean you will not still receive a checklist, but does strongly suggest any checklist you do receive will merely require the additional documents be presented by the Beneficiary at the interview, not sent to the NVC to restart the whole 8-11 week review process from the beginning.  I say that because they emailed us a checklist after I confirmed our CC by phone, and a few days before they emailed us our interview date and instructions.  However, the checklist email REPEATEDLY said to NOT send the additional required documents to the NVC, but provide them to the Beneficiary so she can present them to the consular officer at her interview.  And since I sent her a copy of our NVC packet, and that packet actually DOES have the "missing" document (in two different versions, no less) she already has it and no further action is required.

All that to say:  Just because you got a CC does not guarantee you will not also still get a checklist, but IF you do it should not delay your case as long as your Beneficiary has the requested document at their interview.
 
Congrats to you and David-Liss on the unofficial CCs; I feel a little bad they are making ya'll wait til November for interviews when they scheduled ours for the end of October, but if I understand how they do things ya'll will probably be interviewed at the start of November, so it will still only be a week or two after us, not a whole month.  Good luck!

@JOL... thanks for all of this process information! Great explanation... and I really appreciate the effort. 

Awesome, thanks for that, and for confirmation.  Time to round up all pay stubs I received after submitting the AoS documents; hopefully I can wait a couple weeks to send them to my wife, because the company is giving us a raise effective today, but that will not show up on a pay stub until a week from next Friday.  We meet the income requirements as stated, but I prefer as big a cushion as possible to reassure the CO as much as possible.

Sadly, the Nebraska service center usually takes longer than most others.  
 
THEIR next procedure is to review your submission, hopefully find no reason to send you a Request for Further Evidence letter, eventually approve your I-130 and then forward it to the National Visa Center (NVC.)

YOUR next procedure (presuming they do not send you an RFE) is technically to complete two online forms, the DS-261 Online Choice of Address and Agent, and the DS-260 Immigrant Visa Electronic Application.  
 
However, you cannot access either until/unless the USCIS approves your I-130 and sends it to the NVC, and the NVC then assigns the case number you must enter at their online portal to access the other forms.  Once the NVC assigns the case number it will send you a letter with the case and invoice ID numbers for the additional fees you must pay, which should arrive a week or so after your I-130 approval notice from the USCIS.  Once you get the I-130 approval notice you can start calling the NVC, (603) 334-0700, to request your case and invoice ID numbers, to avoid the delay of awaiting their snail mail before completing the other forms and paying the other fees.
 
After you complete the DS-261 choice of agent form (it is usually best to just enter the Petitioner as agent unless using a lawyer instead) you can start calling the NVC to complete its review of the DS-261 over the phone, otherwise that process can take up to two weeks.  Once the NVC completes review of the DS-261, its website should unlock the payment options for the Affidavit of Support and Immigrant Visa Application, which must be paid electronically from a US bank/credit union account, so make sure you have both an account number and routing number when making those payments.  Once the NVC site shows both fees as "PAID" it should unlock the DS-260 Immigrant Visa Electronic Application; it is probably best to have the Beneficiary complete that, because most of the questions pertain to them, not the Petitioner.  Any time after the DS-261 unlocks (i.e. once all fees are paid) you can send the NVC your I-864 and all supplementary documents (e.g. all supporting documentary evidence, any I-864a or similar forms, etc.)  
 
Right now, preparing that I-864 submission is your ACTUAL next procedure, because you can be doing all that while waiting for the USCIS to review, approve and forward your I-130 petition.  The I-130 is all about the Petitioners relationship; the I-864 is all about the Petitioners income, so you need as much verifiable documentary evidence as practical on the Petitioners job (e.g. an employment letter from the company,) wages/salary (e.g. tax returns, W-2s, pay stubs, etc.) bank statements, assets etc.  The Petitioners must ALWAYS submit an I-864 with NO EMPTY FIELDS, along with verifiable documentary evidence of all income and assets recorded on the I-864, even if someone else is actually sponsoring the Beneficiary; any co-sponsor must also complete an I-864 and include verifiable documentary evidence of all information on it; any household member assisting the sponsor with meeting the income requirements must also submit an I-864a and include verifiable documentary evidence of both their income/assets AND relationship and domicile with the sponsor.  
 
In our case, it took over a month to obtain and assemble everything for the I-864 Affidavit of Support submission, and once the NVC receives that it takes another 8-11 weeks to be approved (presuming they see nothing that prompts them to send you a checklist letter, in which case you must supply the missing documentation and wait another 8-11 weeks.)  So I strongly recommend having everything ready to go on that when the USCIS approves your I-130. 
 
As for WHEN the USCIS will approve your I-130:  We filed at Nebraska in late September 2016 and got approval in late May 2017, but your mileage may vary.

YAY!! so happy that everything worked out for you!!! yeah, def give a call on monday to confirm. but for sure that's a CC!!! expect your cc email in 1 week.  

Just checked visa status at CEAC:  Still says application at NVC, but no longer asks for documents supporting AoS etc., instead asks for pre-interview documents.  Hopefully that means CC on its way fortnight after review began 25 August, 7 weeks after SD 19 July.

Useful information and a good thought I will definitely bear in mind and pass along to my wife; thanks.  Although, since she will have to not only schedule the medical exam but also book a cross-country flight to attend, I do not know how promptly she will be able to do so once we have verification of an interview date.

Once you get the interview date you can book your medical. Then you can write a letter to the embassy stating you already have everything you need for the interview etc and request that your interview date be earlier if there is space  that might help if you are trying to have the interview sooner than later. 

Nope:  Effectively, our "I-130 approval notice" was a notice saying our I-129f was terminated precisely because our I-130 was approved.  That arrived so quickly it actually came the day BEFORE the date on the letter; our actual I-130 approval (i.e. NOA2) only arrived four (4) days later.  Since the I-130 MUST be filed first (because the 1-129f CANNOT be filed without a USCIS notice showing their receipt of the I-130) and its approval at any point IMMEDIATELY terminates the I-129f, the K-3 and K-4 are effectively dead letters.  As others here explained to me, Congress enacted them to remedy IR-1 (and CR-1) spouse visas processing times twice or thrice as long as now, but I/CR-1 processing times have improved to roughly the same length as K-3/4 processing times, so actually issuing K-3/4s is quite rare today.  That is actually good news:  K-3s are not taking any longer, but I/CR-1s are moving much more quickly—I/CR-1s come with a green card, so your spouse can work immediately!—
 
You are certainly free to file the I-129f for a K-3; including NOA1 (i.e. notice the USCIS received your I-130) waives the I-129f filing fee, so it costs you nothing but postage, and virtually all documentary evidence is the same.  But it is largely wasted time and effort:  In practice, it seems the I-129f is now solely for visas for fiance(e)s and/or their kids, not spouses nor their kids.

Checking in:  Scan Date 19 July, so a week ago tomorrow.  Not sure when the NVC begins actively reviewing submissions after scanning them; is it a good idea to try calling to preempt any potential checklists, or should I just leave the lines clear for everyone calling to find out why their fees have been deducted from their banks yet still aren't showing at the CEAC?
 
I will try to comprehend how to enter us into the spreadsheet and do so by next week, if only because the four people I see there now who'll go through the same embassy as us (i.e. Stockholm) are a small sample on which to make projections.  Maybe that is understandable, since all Nordic countries consistently rank at the top of Human Development Indices, Norways per capita income is a little more than TWICE that of the US and, of course, there are people of Norwegian descent in the US now than in Norway itself.  In other words, there are not many potential immigrants in the first place, and most have little cause to leave.  
 
Not that that small sample discouraged me MAKING projections anyway, and it is encouraging to see that the three other cases that have already CCed did so within 40-50 days of their SD, and have interviews scheduled about the same amount of time after their CCs, so I am hopeful (if not confident) I will have my wife and child back by Christmas.  Since this is the time of year most people are taking their mandatory 4+ weeks of paid vacation, I was concerned processing might slow because the US embassy is running a skeleton crew, and still worry our particular case might be larger than normal and thus take proportionately longer to complete.  Our I-130 was certainly copious, and was at the Nebraska Service Center for ~8 months (mid-September through mid-May,) which I believe was a month or two longer than average (according to records here at Visa Journey.)
 
Huge thanks @JBMG for lots of information and encouragement, both of the "read this," "do this" and "DON'T do this" variety, as well as the "you've ALREADY done that, so stop worrying about it!" kind. 
 
Good luck and God speed to all scanners!

Turns out last Thursday was NOT too soon to call for our Scan Date, because the NVC operator told me they scanned it the previous day:  19 July.  That was from the time the USPS showed the NVC received and signed for it Monday, 17 July (and the green card just arrived back in the mail yesterday, showing the same.)  So 3 days from NVC receipt to SD.  

With that in mind, I would like any and all feedback on what we included in our packet (since there will be NVC feedback until they either CC or, heaven forbid, checklist us; in the case of a checklist, I would like to preempt that if at all possible.)  I will include the list as a spoiler in the interest of saving space:
Again, all feedback is welcome and encouraged, in the hopes any errors we might have missed can be detected and corrected without waiting for the NVC to notice them, send a checklist, us to receive it, then provide the necessary missing documents, the NVC to receive them and, finally, creating a new SD after which we must await the whole 8-11 week process all over again from the start.  In particular, I am concerned that

1) "Proof of Assets" is marked as both "Included" AND "Not Applicable," something I only just now noticed, and 
2) My wifes name and case number is printed at the bottom of every page EXCEPT all those of the I-864 and I-864A, because I feared submitting copies rather than orginals of legally binding contracts would itself produce a checklist (as I recall, the I-130 instructions explicitly state it MUST be an original, not a photocopy.)

I just finished the whole process, and I am finally in the US. I thought I summarize the last end of the process, as that is something I was missing myself when I was getting close to being approved and not knowing what was next. I would still be in Norway if it was not for the fact that I called NVC almost daily the last two weeks before being approved (I knew I was getting close looking at other memeber´s timeline). NVC did claim at one point that pages were missing from the application. I knew for a fact that I had sent everything. Luckily I managed to catch the file before they sent it back (to another building), and they were able to review the file again and sure enough, they found that all pages were there. So, stay on top of it by calling NVC frequently when it is getting close to being approved. The interview at the embassy took less that 10 minutes. They focused on asking questions about my relationship with the petitioner (family member). I supplied two recent photos of us and an affidavit confirming that we had had continuous contact. I was able to fly out 13 days after my interview at the embassy. The process at POE was maybe the easiest of all. I was in secondary less than 5 minutes - able to come out in transit hall less than an hour after landing.

Thanks; applying the old "trust--but verify" to my judgement here.   And going on my third day of "just ONE more day until the packet will be ready to mail... I think...."

Hi Jol.  Just the applicant, your wife in this case. 

Disclaimer:  I am fallible, and can only speak to how the process has gone so far in our case; "your mileage may vary."
 
On arriving at the CEAC site, clicking any immigrant visa link immediately goes to a page almost wholly blank except for a field prompting for case number; no further progress is possible without the case number.  After entering a case number and clicking "continue" it adds fields prompting for an IIN, the users relationship to the case, and the standard "re-type these displayed characters" security field; again, further progress is impossible without the IIN.  I did not realize emailing the welcome letter was an option, nor could I get the case number nor IIN over the phone, even after the NVC finished inputting our case:  They told me to wait for the physical welcome letter to arrive through the US Postal Service.  But yes, entering both the case number and IIN, then hitting "continue," should immediately lead to the page with links for both DSes and fee payment options.  However, the payment links will not unlock until the DS-261 is submitted AND THE NVC FINISHES REVIEWING IT, and the DS-260 IV application will not unlock until the status of BOTH the AoS and IV fee payments show as "PAID."  Our process went in this order:
 
1) USCIS notice of I-130 approval and forwarding to the NVC arrived through the US Postal Service.
 
2) Next week the NVC registered receipt of our case.
 
3) Next week the NVC finished entering our case into its system and sent the welcome letter by snail mail.
 
4) Next week the NVC welcome packet arrived with
   a) Welcome letter, containing case number and IIN
   b) AoS invoice
   c) AoS document cover sheet
   d) NVC coversheet/checklist 
 
5) We then went to the CEAC and submitted the DS-261 online Choice of Agent form.
 
6) A week after calling the NVC every other day, an operator said our DS-261 was in the system awaiting review, which would take another week for them to do independently, or he could do it right then over the phone; naturally, I chose the second option.
 
7) A few days later the IV application fee unlocked (as I recall, the AoS fee was unlocked from the start, presumably because they included an AoS invoice with our welcome letter, but I do not know if that is true in all cases.)
 
8) A few days after the fees were submitted (which actually took a few weeks, due to internal problems the NVC was having with its servers) their statuses changed to "PAID" and the DS-260 IV application unlocked, at which time my wife completed, we both reviewed, and she finally submitted it.
 
One nice thing is that the CEAC offers copious documentation of both fee submissions:  Each one has its own receipt, invoice, document cover sheet and tracking page, which can be emailed and/or printed out from the site.  For peace of mind, I recommend "printing" each document to your hard drive as a PDF, printing out physical copies, and emailing copies to all concerned parties, all of which can be done directly from the CEAC site.  The rule I have always heard from lawyers (et al.) is that "If you didn't document it, IT NEVER HAPPENED."

Disclaimer:  I am fallible, and can only speak to how the process has gone so far in our case; "your mileage may vary."
 
On arriving at the CEAC site, clicking any immigrant visa link immediately goes to a page almost wholly blank except for a field prompting for case number; no further progress is possible without the case number.  After entering a case number and clicking "continue" it adds fields prompting for an IIN, the users relationship to the case, and the standard "re-type these displayed characters" security field; again, further progress is impossible without the IIN.  I did not realize emailing the welcome letter was an option, nor could I get the case number nor IIN over the phone, even after the NVC finished inputting our case:  They told me to wait for the physical welcome letter to arrive through the US Postal Service.  But yes, entering both the case number and IIN, then hitting "continue," should immediately lead to the page with links for both DSes and fee payment options.  However, the payment links will not unlock until the DS-261 is submitted AND THE NVC FINISHES REVIEWING IT, and the DS-260 IV application will not unlock until the status of BOTH the AoS and IV fee payments show as "PAID."  Our process went in this order:
 
1) USCIS notice of I-130 approval and forwarding to the NVC arrived through the US Postal Service.
 
2) Next week the NVC registered receipt of our case.
 
3) Next week the NVC finished entering our case into its system and sent the welcome letter by snail mail.
 
4) Next week the NVC welcome packet arrived with
   a) Welcome letter, containing case number and IIN
   b) AoS invoice
   c) AoS document cover sheet
   d) NVC coversheet/checklist 
 
5) We then went to the CEAC and submitted the DS-261 online Choice of Agent form.
 
6) A week after calling the NVC every other day, an operator said our DS-261 was in the system awaiting review, which would take another week for them to do independently, or he could do it right then over the phone; naturally, I chose the second option.
 
7) A few days later the IV application fee unlocked (as I recall, the AoS fee was unlocked from the start, presumably because they included an AoS invoice with our welcome letter, but I do not know if that is true in all cases.)
 
8) A few days after the fees were submitted (which actually took a few weeks, due to internal problems the NVC was having with its servers) their statuses changed to "PAID" and the DS-260 IV application unlocked, at which time my wife completed, we both reviewed, and she finally submitted it.
 
One nice thing is that the CEAC offers copious documentation of both fee submissions:  Each one has its own receipt, invoice, document cover sheet and tracking page, which can be emailed and/or printed out from the site.  For peace of mind, I recommend "printing" each document to your hard drive as a PDF, printing out physical copies, and emailing copies to all concerned parties, all of which can be done directly from the CEAC site.  The rule I have always heard from lawyers (et al.) is that "If you didn't document it, IT NEVER HAPPENED."

Disclaimer:  I am fallible, and can only speak to how the process has gone so far in our case; "your mileage may vary."
 
On arriving at the CEAC site, clicking any immigrant visa link immediately goes to a page almost wholly blank except for a field prompting for case number; no further progress is possible without the case number.  After entering a case number and clicking "continue" it adds fields prompting for an IIN, the users relationship to the case, and the standard "re-type these displayed characters" security field; again, further progress is impossible without the IIN.  I did not realize emailing the welcome letter was an option, nor could I get the case number nor IIN over the phone, even after the NVC finished inputting our case:  They told me to wait for the physical welcome letter to arrive through the US Postal Service.  But yes, entering both the case number and IIN, then hitting "continue," should immediately lead to the page with links for both DSes and fee payment options.  However, the payment links will not unlock until the DS-261 is submitted AND THE NVC FINISHES REVIEWING IT, and the DS-260 IV application will not unlock until the status of BOTH the AoS and IV fee payments show as "PAID."  Our process went in this order:
 
1) USCIS notice of I-130 approval and forwarding to the NVC arrived through the US Postal Service.
 
2) Next week the NVC registered receipt of our case.
 
3) Next week the NVC finished entering our case into its system and sent the welcome letter by snail mail.
 
4) Next week the NVC welcome packet arrived with
   a) Welcome letter, containing case number and IIN
   b) AoS invoice
   c) AoS document cover sheet
   d) NVC coversheet/checklist 
 
5) We then went to the CEAC and submitted the DS-261 online Choice of Agent form.
 
6) A week after calling the NVC every other day, an operator said our DS-261 was in the system awaiting review, which would take another week for them to do independently, or he could do it right then over the phone; naturally, I chose the second option.
 
7) A few days later the IV application fee unlocked (as I recall, the AoS fee was unlocked from the start, presumably because they included an AoS invoice with our welcome letter, but I do not know if that is true in all cases.)
 
8) A few days after the fees were submitted (which actually took a few weeks, due to internal problems the NVC was having with its servers) their statuses changed to "PAID" and the DS-260 IV application unlocked, at which time my wife completed, we both reviewed, and she finally submitted it.
 
One nice thing is that the CEAC offers copious documentation of both fee submissions:  Each one has its own receipt, invoice, document cover sheet and tracking page, which can be emailed and/or printed out from the site.  For peace of mind, I recommend "printing" each document to your hard drive as a PDF, printing out physical copies, and emailing copies to all concerned parties, all of which can be done directly from the CEAC site.  The rule I have always heard from lawyers (et al.) is that "If you didn't document it, IT NEVER HAPPENED."

I cannot answer that, because they sent my AoS invoice with the initial welcome letter, and made it available to pay at any time, but I had to wait until the NVC completed review of our DS-261 Choice of Agent form before IV payment options unlocked, then wait until its status (and that of the AoS) showed "PAID" before the DS-260 IV unlocked for my wife to complete.  
 
One word of caution on that:  It asks everywhere the applicant has lived since age 16, which was nearly 20 years ago for my wife, so she had MANY residences (because of dishonest landlords saying, "oh, NO, we would NEVER think about selling the property a just 2-3 months after leasing it to you," but then doing EXACTLY THAT, we had five different residences in just our first 2½ years of marriage.)  I mention that because the CEAC logged her out every time she was inactive for 10 minutes, and would not let her save that page until/unless she had completed every single field, so she got very frustrated with it.  Eventually, she wound up filling in a single residence, "completing" the rest with random filler, saving, then re-opening the page to fill out another single residence the same way, but she finally got through it in the end.  And both the petitioner and intending immigrant can access it once it is unlocked, so you can both double check the saved information to verify it is correct.  I just hope we did not both miss any errors, because it is already submitted, so we will just have to wait and see what the NVC says....

On that note, good luck and God speed, to you, me and all of us! 

I am in a similar situation, so have a similar question, except my wife is beneficiary and my mother the person receiving SS retirement plus an additional pension.  We want to include my mother as a household member because 1) my income alone is <125% of federal poverty level for a household of our size, and 2) being present to assist her now that she is in her seventies is a big reason I moved back and am now trying to bring my wife and child to join us.  The Social Security Administration annually mails a statement of my mothers monthly SS retirement income for that year, so she plans to include that statement in our NVC submission because her tax return does not include that as Adjusted Gross Income (since it is not taxable.)  I presume your wife also receives such an annual statement, and certainly HOPE it satisfies the NVCs standard of documentary income evidence, but really cannot know for certain. I wish I did, so anyone and everyone who DOES know from firsthand experience is now doubly encouraged and welcome to share.

My sympathies on the process:  Getting my Norwegian visa was much easier, faster and CHEAPER than getting my wifes US visa, even though I did not speak a word of Norwegian but she has unaccented fluency in English.  We made it this far though, so hopefully that light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train....