Hi, just wanted to share our process and interview experience at the Port of Spain, Trinidad post. We applied under the F3 immigrant visa category.
PD: May 14th, 2007
NVC Case Creation: May 6th, 2019
DS-260 Submission: September 15th, 2019
DQ: July 1st, 2020
Interview Letter: November 23rd, 2021
Medical: November 29th, 2021
Interview: December 6th, 2021
AP: April 11th, 2022
Issued: April 22nd, 2022
Passports received: May 3rd, 2022
We only got 2 weeks notice for the interview, but we managed to get our medical and new police certificates in time. The phone line at the doctor’s office (Renand Limited) was very busy so we had to call a lot before we got through. They’ll email you some instructions and forms that you have to fill out and email back. Everything (including the chest X-ray) was done on site.
For the police certificates, usually the processing time is 2-4 weeks but we were able to get it expedited and ready by the next day. Just carry a copy of your interview letter and tell them it’s urgent.
On the day of the interview, they seated us in the waiting room and gave us a folder to arrange our documents in. Then we waited an hour or so before they called us to the first window. At this window, the lady took our documents and asked us a few questions like who is the petitioner, how long have we been married, have either of us ever been divorced, etc. She asked us for more recent (2020) tax documents from our sponsors and for new, unexpired police certificates. We weren’t instructed to bring more recent documents in the interview letter or anything, but based on other VJ users’ experiences, we carried more recent documents just in case. So thankfully, we weren’t missing any documents. Then we had to go back to the waiting room and wait another hour before they called us to the second window.
The second window was where the “real” interview began with the CO. We swore an oath to be truthful and then had our fingerprints taken. We also had to take off our masks so she could verify our identities. She asked us questions about our employment, where we planned to stay in the US, etc. She also asked what our children are studying in school. Although we had all the required documents with us, apparently we were also supposed to upload the more recent tax documents and police certificates to the CEAC. Since they weren’t on the CEAC, we were issued a 221(g). She gave us a blue sheet of paper with instructions on how to mail these documents (along with our passports and Return TTPost TrackPaks) to the Embassy via TTPost.
In January, we received Post Feedback on the CEAC with concerns about our sponsors’ ability to meet the minimum income requirement. Thankfully, their 2021 income was much higher so we uploaded their 2021 tax documents.
In February, I noticed that our case hadn’t been updated in weeks and they had stopped replying to my emails. Eventually, they reached out and explained they were experiencing staffing shortages and a backlog in processing pending IV cases.
So we had no case updates for most of February and the entirety of March.
Then on April 11th, our case status changed from Ready to Administrative Processing. On April 22nd, status changed to Issued. Waited for our passports to be delivered and tried to track it with TTPost but TTPost didn’t have any info. Emailed the Embassy on April 28th asking for an update, and they confirmed the visas were printed. Our DHL tracking numbers were generated the same day and emailed to us. Received another email the next day stating that the passports were ready for pickup.
At DHL, the guards will give you a numbered slip to write your name and tracking number. Then expect to wait outside for at least an hour. When it’s your turn and they let you into the building, you’ll be asked to present your ID, open the package, and confirm the passport belongs to you.
