BahamaBaby

@Amylee Sydney is currently processing DQ January 2022. It may be 6-8 months before an interview depending on how quickly they progress. 

Has anyone on a EB category visa got a January 2023 interview scheduled by nvc? There don’t seem to be any so far, curious to know what’s going on with scheduling these. 

@Tristan L sorry to be the bearer of bad news, I am DQ august 2021 and know a few others around that time who are still waiting on employment visa interview. 
 
I think @NatP got expedite due to being a medical worker, in national interest. 

@NatP yes Sydney consulate was closed for a year, due to covid and then relocation. 
 
I understand your expedite, medical staff are in the national interest and so will get priority, which is important. I have tried expedite, however my work is not something deemed to be urgent, so it was denied. 
 
I hope you get your interview soon. Let us know when you do so we can get a sense of the waiting times, goodluck !  

@NatP EB1 here and DQ august 2021 with no update so far. I know a lot of the family visas have made progress and cleared all of 2021 and are now looking at early 2022 Dq dates. 
 
do you mind sharing your DQ and basis for expedite? I think October interview schedule is booked up, so yes makes sense that November is likely the first available. 

@Mattttam and @Tristan L any progress on your employment visa cases? 

Any September interviews been assigned so far for employment visas? 

I did my first point of entry last year - two months before my permanent move, so that I could talk to banks, property agencies etc. I had a return ticket dated only a week later. The immigration officer asked where I would be staying but not much else. I gave my daughter's address and explained that I was looking for a rented property for myself.

You should also bear a couple of things in mind. Your point of entry (not when you actually move to the US) is the date you become a Legal Permanent Resident and therefore the date you are liable for taxation in the US on all worldwide income. And if you sell a non-US property after the PoE date, you could be liable for US capital gains tax. I didn't owe anything because of regulations around how long I'd owned my UK house and the profit I made - but it's best to check it out beforehand. There will be others on VisaJourney who are more expert in these matters, but I'm just flagging them up because of my own experience.

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… 

@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!