Felix2021

Thank you. You’re very kind 

Non-issue.  Enjoy your travel. 

You're right. A quick Google suggests USPS doesn't forward mail from USCIS for security reasons. 
OK, thanks. 

Very true, but apart from Alix64's 6-month approval being a computer glitch/bizarre anomaly, which there is no evidence to suggest it is, there has to be something behind it. There was also a thread on page 3/4 on this forum where a  November filer had their case approved in 1 month and has proof. So they either trialling something or rolling out something, and I hope it's the latter. If more May filers on here get approval in the next month, we can assume it's the risk-based approach kicking in. Too early to tell. 

Not due to remove conditions until the summer but the theory that May filers onwards could be the first group to benefit from the risk-based approach does make sense. When USCIS issued that guidance in April 2022, they said it would be effective immediately but perhaps they meant any new cases from that point forward. Uscis has to do something about these long wait times eventually, ,so perhaps it's starting to kick in now.
It sucks for the people who have been waiting for 1/2 years but I guess the first-in-last-out approach would significantly reduce overall processing times on paper, which is what the agency needs to do to 'prove'  that it's reducing the backlog. 
I wouldn't be surprised if every 'straight-forward' case from spring 2022 onwards gets approval within 6-7 months, which should be a fair timeframe for everyone. Again, that sucks for those who have been in the queue longer but maybe it's too difficult to retroactively apply the risk-based approach to those applications that have been in the system for a long while. 
The problem is that it's difficult to identify this pattern as this isn't a very busy forum and people forget to update their timelines. Also, the people who post the most are going to be the ones waiting the longest as they are frustrated and rightfully so. I do wonder how many of the tens of thousands of May 2022 filers have been approved by now and we just don't know about it. 

Very true, but apart from Alix64's 6-month approval being a computer glitch/bizarre anomaly, which there is no evidence to suggest it is, there has to be something behind it. There was also a thread on page 3/4 on this forum where a  November filer had their case approved in 1 month and has proof. So they either trialling something or rolling out something, and I hope it's the latter. If more May filers on here get approval in the next month, we can assume it's the risk-based approach kicking in. Too early to tell. 

Not due to remove conditions until the summer but the theory that May filers onwards could be the first group to benefit from the risk-based approach does make sense. When USCIS issued that guidance in April 2022, they said it would be effective immediately but perhaps they meant any new cases from that point forward. Uscis has to do something about these long wait times eventually, ,so perhaps it's starting to kick in now.
It sucks for the people who have been waiting for 1/2 years but I guess the first-in-last-out approach would significantly reduce overall processing times on paper, which is what the agency needs to do to 'prove'  that it's reducing the backlog. 
I wouldn't be surprised if every 'straight-forward' case from spring 2022 onwards gets approval within 6-7 months, which should be a fair timeframe for everyone. Again, that sucks for those who have been in the queue longer but maybe it's too difficult to retroactively apply the risk-based approach to those applications that have been in the system for a long while. 
The problem is that it's difficult to identify this pattern as this isn't a very busy forum and people forget to update their timelines. Also, the people who post the most are going to be the ones waiting the longest as they are frustrated and rightfully so. I do wonder how many of the tens of thousands of May 2022 filers have been approved by now and we just don't know about it. 

Very true, but apart from Alix64's 6-month approval being a computer glitch/bizarre anomaly, which there is no evidence to suggest it is, there has to be something behind it. There was also a thread on page 3/4 on this forum where a  November filer had their case approved in 1 month and has proof. So they either trialling something or rolling out something, and I hope it's the latter. If more May filers on here get approval in the next month, we can assume it's the risk-based approach kicking in. Too early to tell. 

Very true, but apart from Alix64's 6-month approval being a computer glitch/bizarre anomaly, which there is no evidence to suggest it is, there has to be something behind it. There was also a thread on page 3/4 on this forum where a  November filer had their case approved in 1 month and has proof. So they either trialling something or rolling out something, and I hope it's the latter. If more May filers on here get approval in the next month, we can assume it's the risk-based approach kicking in. Too early to tell. 

Not due to remove conditions until the summer but the theory that May filers onwards could be the first group to benefit from the risk-based approach does make sense. When USCIS issued that guidance in April 2022, they said it would be effective immediately but perhaps they meant any new cases from that point forward. Uscis has to do something about these long wait times eventually, ,so perhaps it's starting to kick in now.
It sucks for the people who have been waiting for 1/2 years but I guess the first-in-last-out approach would significantly reduce overall processing times on paper, which is what the agency needs to do to 'prove'  that it's reducing the backlog. 
I wouldn't be surprised if every 'straight-forward' case from spring 2022 onwards gets approval within 6-7 months, which should be a fair timeframe for everyone. Again, that sucks for those who have been in the queue longer but maybe it's too difficult to retroactively apply the risk-based approach to those applications that have been in the system for a long while. 
The problem is that it's difficult to identify this pattern as this isn't a very busy forum and people forget to update their timelines. Also, the people who post the most are going to be the ones waiting the longest as they are frustrated and rightfully so. I do wonder how many of the tens of thousands of May 2022 filers have been approved by now and we just don't know about it. 

Very true, but apart from Alix64's 6-month approval being a computer glitch/bizarre anomaly, which there is no evidence to suggest it is, there has to be something behind it. There was also a thread on page 3/4 on this forum where a  November filer had their case approved in 1 month and has proof. So they either trialling something or rolling out something, and I hope it's the latter. If more May filers on here get approval in the next month, we can assume it's the risk-based approach kicking in. Too early to tell. 

Looks like May is up now. London approved 139 IR1/CR1s in May.
 
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/immigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-immigrant-visa-issuances.html
 
 
 

Looks like May is up now. London approved 139 IR1/CR1s in May.
 
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/immigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-immigrant-visa-issuances.html
 
 
 

Looks like May is up now. London approved 139 IR1/CR1s in May.
 
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/immigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-immigrant-visa-issuances.html
 
 
 

Perhaps we should all complain to Antony J Blinken head of state

No specific recommendation to WFH now from the 19th of July, so zero excuses not to be operating at full capacity now. Full steam ahead! 

People are still waiting from February? Oh my... If February/March DQs don't get emails this week (middle of the month again), I'd be seriously worried
 
We'll see on Monday, but it's looking like the relaxation of back-to-work/social distancing restrictions won't happen on the 21st now. So at least another month of the embassy moving at snail pace. This is getting ridiculous now.
 
Can someone explain why a criminal court case can take place over video call but not a visa interview? Or why the doctor at the medical can check your vitals, but the embassy can't take your fingerprints? There's no backlog for medicals. I thought the law was 'work from home unless you can't.' Visa officers seemingly can't, so why are they still operating a skeleton staff 16 months on after the first outbreak?
 
USCIS is catching up. NVC timeframes are significantly shorter now. But the NVC won't send cases for interview because the Embassy can't do them.
 
Sorry to rant but it's terrible. This is a paid service by the way. They have a legal obligation to process visas as per U.S. law within a reasonable time. Like the person above says, it's the lack of communication that's the worst. At least with USCIS and NVC you have timeframes posted on their website. 
 
End of rant.

People are still waiting from February? Oh my... If February/March DQs don't get emails this week (middle of the month again), I'd be seriously worried
 
We'll see on Monday, but it's looking like the relaxation of back-to-work/social distancing restrictions won't happen on the 21st now. So at least another month of the embassy moving at snail pace. This is getting ridiculous now.
 
Can someone explain why a criminal court case can take place over video call but not a visa interview? Or why the doctor at the medical can check your vitals, but the embassy can't take your fingerprints? There's no backlog for medicals. I thought the law was 'work from home unless you can't.' Visa officers seemingly can't, so why are they still operating a skeleton staff 16 months on after the first outbreak?
 
USCIS is catching up. NVC timeframes are significantly shorter now. But the NVC won't send cases for interview because the Embassy can't do them.
 
Sorry to rant but it's terrible. This is a paid service by the way. They have a legal obligation to process visas as per U.S. law within a reasonable time. Like the person above says, it's the lack of communication that's the worst. At least with USCIS and NVC you have timeframes posted on their website. 
 
End of rant.

Finally got DQ'd today! Will also pitch and say how I strongly feel there's no need in most cases for a face to face interview when a Zoom call will suffice. Now we play the waiting game! Can I also just sense check, now I got the massage saying Documentarily Qualified I just sit tight and wait for an email confirming interview slot & details of medical instruction. Nothing else to do and this is emailed rather than posted? 

People are still waiting from February? Oh my... If February/March DQs don't get emails this week (middle of the month again), I'd be seriously worried
 
We'll see on Monday, but it's looking like the relaxation of back-to-work/social distancing restrictions won't happen on the 21st now. So at least another month of the embassy moving at snail pace. This is getting ridiculous now.
 
Can someone explain why a criminal court case can take place over video call but not a visa interview? Or why the doctor at the medical can check your vitals, but the embassy can't take your fingerprints? There's no backlog for medicals. I thought the law was 'work from home unless you can't.' Visa officers seemingly can't, so why are they still operating a skeleton staff 16 months on after the first outbreak?
 
USCIS is catching up. NVC timeframes are significantly shorter now. But the NVC won't send cases for interview because the Embassy can't do them.
 
Sorry to rant but it's terrible. This is a paid service by the way. They have a legal obligation to process visas as per U.S. law within a reasonable time. Like the person above says, it's the lack of communication that's the worst. At least with USCIS and NVC you have timeframes posted on their website. 
 
End of rant.

Agree with all of this. We are February DQ and it is looking increasingly likely that we will not get an interview date until restrictions relax. With the Delta variant stuff, I have little hope of this being this summer. We were really hoping to spend our 2 year anniversary together in August, now that hope is all but gone. Seems a bit counterintuitive that the President and other global leaders are traveling to the UK to meet without masks without a care in the world about the "delta" variant, but it's too dangerous to interview immediate family members who have been separated for years at this point?

People are still waiting from February? Oh my... If February/March DQs don't get emails this week (middle of the month again), I'd be seriously worried
 
We'll see on Monday, but it's looking like the relaxation of back-to-work/social distancing restrictions won't happen on the 21st now. So at least another month of the embassy moving at snail pace. This is getting ridiculous now.
 
Can someone explain why a criminal court case can take place over video call but not a visa interview? Or why the doctor at the medical can check your vitals, but the embassy can't take your fingerprints? There's no backlog for medicals. I thought the law was 'work from home unless you can't.' Visa officers seemingly can't, so why are they still operating a skeleton staff 16 months on after the first outbreak?
 
USCIS is catching up. NVC timeframes are significantly shorter now. But the NVC won't send cases for interview because the Embassy can't do them.
 
Sorry to rant but it's terrible. This is a paid service by the way. They have a legal obligation to process visas as per U.S. law within a reasonable time. Like the person above says, it's the lack of communication that's the worst. At least with USCIS and NVC you have timeframes posted on their website. 
 
End of rant.

People are still waiting from February? Oh my... If February/March DQs don't get emails this week (middle of the month again), I'd be seriously worried
 
We'll see on Monday, but it's looking like the relaxation of back-to-work/social distancing restrictions won't happen on the 21st now. So at least another month of the embassy moving at snail pace. This is getting ridiculous now.
 
Can someone explain why a criminal court case can take place over video call but not a visa interview? Or why the doctor at the medical can check your vitals, but the embassy can't take your fingerprints? There's no backlog for medicals. I thought the law was 'work from home unless you can't.' Visa officers seemingly can't, so why are they still operating a skeleton staff 16 months on after the first outbreak?
 
USCIS is catching up. NVC timeframes are significantly shorter now. But the NVC won't send cases for interview because the Embassy can't do them.
 
Sorry to rant but it's terrible. This is a paid service by the way. They have a legal obligation to process visas as per U.S. law within a reasonable time. Like the person above says, it's the lack of communication that's the worst. At least with USCIS and NVC you have timeframes posted on their website. 
 
End of rant.

Yes, other embassies are far, far behind London.
 
Things are looking positive for restrictions being lifted on June 21, and I'm sure they will catch up after that date. A few people on Reddit have said they were DQ'd in March and have interviews later this month. (CR1 non-expedites). Perhaps they are not sending interviews in 'batches' once a month anymore and just sending out interview notifications as and when.
 
For those still waiting from February, surely you are next up. Hang in there.
 
Perhaps they will get to DQs in April/May in July, which is pretty good going all things considered.

Hi everyone, I have seen a few posts about waiting on interviews at the embassy in London, and thought it would be helpful if I could add a couple of things. As I can see, London is incredibly efficient in comparison to many other countries. In terms of wait time, I know people across Europe and Russia who are still waiting to hear about an interview from May last year, and earlier. I can see that people are getting interviews who have DQ'd within the last few months, so just trust, it's better to wait it out and you'll get good news in no time! Again, from my observations of this forum and how quickly the embassy has replied to my emails and helped transfer etc I think we're in a good situation.