Lighthouse111

Thank you. good luck!

I visited for two weeks on an ESTA visa while my I-130 was pending. It was a little stressful... they took me into another room with some other people and I had to wait for about an hour to be interviewed. They asked me  ALOT of questions about my situation and were very stern. I showed them my letter of employment and paystubs showing that I work in Australia and my return flight home and that I was visiting for two weeks to see my husband and then had to return to work in Australia. I thought they weren't going to let me in but eventually they did. 

Congratulations on the interview and the pregnancy!
 
We live in strange times, but I guess we should be thankful it helped to make expedites like yours possible.  I read of another case here where the reason given was diabetes made him high risk for COVID.
 

No worries! Not yet - from what I understand you can't (or you'll struggle) to book your medical without having/showing your interview schedule letter. Once I get my interview scheduled I'll be booking it right away though!

no, i went through houston. i don’t have experience with the sfo airport, because i would always enter via houston, dallas or miami 😕 and of those three, only in the miami airport they asked me a few more questions than usual but nothing bad. 

I will do! I am due to fly this Saturday but I am still in the very early stages of my pending I130, we have only received our NOA1. I am not as far in the process as you are so I do not have a pending interview at this particular moment in time (hopefully soon lol!). 

This sounds so stressful! Glad you got to enter US in the end. 
 
Good luck! I’m sure you will be fine 😊

I won’t know until I cross the border. But I’m just preparing for the fact that I’ll be questioned and given that it’s required under US law I need to be there in person- it should be fine. Just getting all documents ready. Also, just preparing myself that I’ll be turned around at the border LOL 🤷‍♀️ 

after nearly 8 months apart and with my husbands his daughters 1st birthday I am going to try ANYTHING To the visa and to leave Australia. Safely, of course.
 
thansk for these answers you wonderful people ❤️❤️❤️

I wanted to address the negative attitudes we have seen on the rise recently in the upper/ immigration forums towards those who ask beginner/ simple questions, or have unusually fast or slow VisaJourneys.

First, there is a tone difference between the Progress forums- which are mostly for support and cheerleading, and the Info forums, which are mostly to have questions answered.   While all our forums are supposed to be welcoming to all and friendly, this is especially important in the Progress forums, which are not to discuss politics, or be negative towards  those fortunate to have their case dealt with quickly, or  critical of those who voice sadness about their own slow progress. These forums are there to uplift eachother!

Secondly- in the info forums, you may get bad news.  When a question is asked, our members are encouraged to answer truthfully, even if this may not be what the Op wants to hear, because it is important to be informed.  However, the emphasis is still on being welcoming and friendly.  If you need to give bad news, do so gently, and stick to facts; constructive criticism of the Op's plans ARE allowed, but the emphasis is on constructive.  No need to dwell on mistakes (or tell members they should be on 90 Day Fiance- that is a personal attack and automatic suspension), or  illegal actions in the past- instead, encourage and explain legal options for the future.  And ONLY legal options- as per our TOS, VJ does not support, condone or encourage illegal (immigration) actions, and such posts will be removed.

Ultimately, we are here to help all members, old and new, easy cases and complicated, those who write a fact filled bullet point post and those who are panicking and don't make much sense in their first post. Yes, sometimes questions can be easily googled, or answered via a search of our forums.  But if you feel that way, just scroll past- no need to criticise the OP for asking the question. 

For those following, my request to expidite was approved! I have my interview next week. 
Only took them about 6 days to get back to us. Whether we get approved or not remains to be seen, but I see no reason we wouldn't be. 
So excited!

Hi,
 
Thought I would start this thread for those who are now able to book in appointments at Sydney embassy. If you have been able to, could you please put down the earliest date that you have been able to book in with? Just to give everyone an idea of how big the backlog is/ expected timeline. 
 
Thanks 🐨🇦🇺