BahamaBaby

@Tristan L yep still waiting. 

@RoUSA hi welcome to this community. I am in the same boat, in Sydney and DQ at NVc since late august 2021. We are on an employment based visa though. Been an endless wait for Sydney to reopen. 
 

I think it’s usually the NVC that can decide on a transfer to another consulate. However I did read somewhere that when it comes to K visa, the accepting consulate does have a say. Worth researching a bit further and then reaching out to NvC. Goodluck! 

@Chancy is this something you are familiar with please? 

At nvc 

I currently live and work in Australia where I am a permanent resident. The Sydney consulate is closed for relocation with no news on when it will be reopen for immigrant visa interviews. My case is with the NVC and has been DQ for a number of months now. 
 

I have citizenship of another country which has a USA consulate which is open and fully operational. My question is whether I can request NvC to transfer my case to my country of citizenship with just evidence of my passport. I’ve read something about 6 months residence requirement etc, but does that apply to citizens also? 
 

is it the NVCs decision if a case can move or does the consulate who is receiving the case also have a say? 

Thanks @Ewan great bits of info. Yes usa taxes are a phenomenon unto themselves and something we will learn in detail over the years to come 

The consulate website says that they are closed until 25 March. I can see people receiving interview dates for April, just wanted to be sure that the consulate wasn’t going to extend their closure? 

Have any interviews been booked for Sydney recently? If the general plan is a may/ June reopening, I thought they might start booking appointments soon… 

Thank you for your responses. 
 

Does the officer ask much about where you plan to live? We are initially  staying at a hotel and were planning on giving our lawyers address as postal details so our green card can be sent to them as we won’t have a “home address” for a while. 
 

do you feel this may pose any concerns? Thanks! 

Hoping for insights as to what happens at your point of entry to get your i-551 stamped. 
 

we are expecting our immigrant visa to be granted in the next few weeks. Understand that we will have about 6 months to make our first entry into the USA. We actually need about 9 months to pack up our lives in our home city so plan to make an initial entry within 6 months and then go back permanently a couple of months after that. 
 

if we have a return flight booked when we make our first entry, does that raise questions on our intent to settle permanently? My understanding is that the I-551 acts as the green card until the physical card arrives. Our entry + payment of fees will trigger the production of the card which we will have sent to our lawyers to forward on to us. Once we have the initial stamp we can come and go as we please (noting the requirement of X number of days abroad to keep the green card) 
 

do the immigration officers ask questions about why you didn’t come on a one way ticket? Also would appreciate any other questions you get asked at initial entry. We are on a self sponsored employment visa (EB1A) and therefore do not need to show a job offer or anything specific, other than maybe some funds to show we can manage until we find employment. 

@EKT great info, thanks for sharing! 

What is the latest in terms of how long it takes the medical to reach the consulate? Would help understand how much of a gap we should leave between medical and interview. 
 

Also, is the consulate usually quick in sending back the passport with visa in the prepaid satchel? 
 

Guessing NZ consulate is open again next week - their website still says closed till March 25 which is today, hoping things are back to normal from next week! 

@ztiberiusd thanks! Guessing there’s additional charges for vaccines etc but good to have an idea of base cost. 

@ztiberiusd or anyone else who has been through this recently - could you please share details of what city med charges for adults/children? We are a family of 4… guessing it will be an expensive checkup! 

@Tristan L

hi, unfortunately we cannot request a case transfer to Melb as only sydney can decide on immigrant visas. 
 

they are sending some cases to Melbourne for interview - but these are files received before the lockdown last June. For any cases still with NVC, they need to come to Sydney first and then Sydney will decide where to finalise the case and visa so we are at Sydney’s mercy. 
 

hopefully the consulate opens in June and they can clear everyone out in a few months. 

@Tristan L

We are still waiting for Sydney consulate to open and request our case from NVC. As employment based visa, it is unlikely that we can receive expedite unless it’s hardship to you or your employer financially. 
 

from what I can see in various forums, the consulate will reopen in June this year and the backlog for cases is from June 2021 so there might be a few months wait for an interview. 
 

if you have the ability to transfer your files to another location (citizen of another country other than Australia) your case may receive an interview sooner as cases are scheduled in order of DQ date. 
 

Goodluck! 

@Ash23122 thanks for your reply and congrats on being DQ! 
 

We called NVC and they said they cannot send anything to Melbourne. The only option is to ask for an expedite… changes of those being approved are slim. 
 

Yes I did notice Auckland processing times seem to have shot up so figured something was happening there. Might be best to hold tight for Sydney, June isn’t that far away… 

Mind if I ask if there are any FB groups worth following for updates on the consulate? I’ve only seen the Sydney consulate official page which only has general updates. 

@Ash23122 I was on the phone with the Sydney consulate again today, no ETA on when they open. I asked if we could be interviewed in Melbourne instead and they told me I would have to speak to NVC to reassign my case to Melbourne. So this is an avenue we are exploring as we are still in the Sydney pipeline at NVC. Melbourne would be far easier than having to fly to NZ and quarantine for 10 days. Will let you know how we get on and please share any updates on your case too! 

Thanks for sharing your update @xxxBananaManxxx and congratulations on getting your visa! 
 

may I ask if you asked for your case to be expedited or if NVC just sent it themselves? We’ve been DQ at NVC since august 2021 and have had no update, when we call them they say Sydney consulate is closed and isn’t requesting any new files from NVC. 
 

We have no idea when the Sydney  consulate will open either so it’s endless waiting… 
 

@Luciahidalgo did you request to expedite your case? That seems very quick and great news for you! 

I recently came across this official website which gives an indication of time delays on non-immigrant visa (figured waiting period might be similar for immigrant visas also). 
 

The Auckland numbers were previously just a few days but have recently gone up through the roof! Anyone experiencing delays? Just want to be careful with reassigning my case to Auckland and not getting held up again waiting as I am in Sydney right now. 
 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html

@Ash23122 so we called the Auckland consulate today and also happened to receive an email reply to our query at the same time! 
 

Basically they said we have to ask NVC to move our case there. No mention of a backlog or any issues from their side. Looking at NVC requirements, seems if you are a citizen of the country you want your case moved to, it’s a no brainer really! So hoping it’s a quick process. I read NVC can take a month to reassign and then I’m guessing a further 4-6 weeks to hear about an interview from the consulate in Auckland. 
 

The worrier in me wants to wait for the borders to open and see how it works out for the first few weeks. The borders between Australia and NZ have open and shut so many times in the last couple of years, it makes me a little nervous. We are thinking of reassigning by April, once we feel comfortable that Auckland will remain accessible to us. 
 

Goodluck to you! Hope you get your GC sorted soon!

@EKT that’s great to hear! Will just wait for the Auckland embassy to respond confirming they are fine and will go ahead and ask NVC to reassign the case there. 
 

Hopefully a quick process, we shall see! 

@Ash23122 sure! Are you now DQ at NVC? We have been DQ since the end of August 2021. I was really surprised that we didn’t hear back after covid lockdowns ended. Then a couple of weeks ago I read that the consulate was closed in Sydney and it all made sense. With no clear indication of how many days/weeks/months till reopening, we have no choice but to plead to Auckland to accept our case as we cannot live in limbo forever. I’m sure you feel the same way! And thankfully now we can travel to Auckland without MIQ, I can accept home quarantine for 10 days, seems a small price to pay for some certainty in life. Goodluck to you! 

I’d love to hear about Auckland interviews too! Similar story to @Ash23122, in Sydney and with an endless waiting for the consulate here to open up. We’ve just emailed the Auckland embassy to see if they would be ok to accept our case from NVC - will let you know how we get on!