Sydney Consulate very slow with interview date

[David R 2]

Hi all,

I just wanted to see if anyone else is in the same boat as us right now. We sent our packet 3 about a month ago and we are still waiting for our interview date.

I have read some people have had a response in as little as a week while others have waited over a month. I guess we are one of the unlucky couples but I was wondering if there is anyone else who is waiting like us or who has recently received their interview dates.

We have both emailed and have received only generic responses about waiting the 30 days. We are at the point where 30 days has passed and we feel helpless on anything we can do to get our interview date or even have an indication on when it may be.

Anyone out there with any insight, similar experiences, advice etc would be greatly appreciated. We feel very lost right now.

Thanks heaps.

David

[Ray Y 0]

I think there is something wrong with Sydney Consulate General.

I had my interview for E3 on 14th and was told approved. But I haven't got my passport back till today. Their customer service just told me that the passport is still in the consulate and asked me to wait. They cannot figure out the estimated time.

The auto response from email just says: "There is no status update available for the passport number submitted." and its website just shows me "Your passport is still with post". It is really frustrating. The consulate must improve its service to help people get out of darkness.

[JEC777 13]

Hi David, so sorry to hear that you are still waiting to hear from Sydney....that's crazy!!! You guys sound like you were really well organised, but then you're still at the mercy of the Government and and slow departments and left hands not knowing what right hands are doing. I can't imagine what could be slowing things down so much, I really hope you hear back from them sooooon!! Gosh I look back at when we started this process and I am sooo grateful we lucked out with some speedy processing. I was stunned when we got our NOA2 in 3 months and may have had the interview earlier than November had we got our PKT 3 sent in quicker. I am so grateful and appreciate how frustrated all of you feel who are waiting for Sydney to hurry up. Hang in there David and the rest of you, you'll be here soon!!

[David R 2]

Hi David, so sorry to hear that you are still waiting to hear from Sydney....that's crazy!!! You guys sound like you were really well organised, but then you're still at the mercy of the Government and and slow departments and left hands not knowing what right hands are doing. I can't imagine what could be slowing things down so much, I really hope you hear back from them sooooon!! Gosh I look back at when we started this process and I am sooo grateful we lucked out with some speedy processing. I was stunned when we got our NOA2 in 3 months and may have had the interview earlier than November had we got our PKT 3 sent in quicker. I am so grateful and appreciate how frustrated all of you feel who are waiting for Sydney to hurry up. Hang in there David and the rest of you, you'll be here soon!!

Hey there,

Its frustrating because we really thought it would just be a case of getting it all together and then sending it off and then getting our interview date a week later. I really tried to have everything ready to go (medical,police check, aff of support etc...) I guess if we had not been as ready we may even have had a longer wait.

I looked on some people's timelines from earlier this year and it seems that right now Sydney are taking about a month to give packet 4. We are right at that point now so fingers crossed there is no dramas with our case and we get a late Easter gift next week.

Thanks for your post.

David

Edited March 29, 2013 by David R

[kb&mb 0]

Keep us posted with how you go. I sent my packet 3 back to Sydney on Tuesday last week, and tracking said it was received on Wednesday. I too thought it would be a quicker turnaround time to get an interview date but now I am a little concerned. My fiance is due to deploy in June so we were really hoping to have an interview date in April! As the days go by I get more and more anxious about the process...

[David R 2]

Keep us posted with how you go. I sent my packet 3 back to Sydney on Tuesday last week, and tracking said it was received on Wednesday. I too thought it would be a quicker turnaround time to get an interview date but now I am a little concerned. My fiance is due to deploy in June so we were really hoping to have an interview date in April! As the days go by I get more and more anxious about the process...

If he is getting deployed I think there is something you can do to expeditate it or something. Have you tried that at all?

[kb&mb 0]

I'm hoping so - we were able to get it expedited through USCIS and the NVC because of it. I put a cover letter with the documents outlining the situation, but I don't really know what their backlog is like as to when the documents will even be looked at...and when I found out about the interviews only being on Tuesdays that threw things out of whack a little too. I'll let you know if I hear anything from the consulate - it would be nice if we both heard back this week. We can only hope!

[David R 2]

I'm hoping so - we were able to get it expedited through USCIS and the NVC because of it. I put a cover letter with the documents outlining the situation, but I don't really know what their backlog is like as to when the documents will even be looked at...and when I found out about the interviews only being on Tuesdays that threw things out of whack a little too. I'll let you know if I hear anything from the consulate - it would be nice if we both heard back this week. We can only hope!

Yeah fingers crossed for both of us! I will keep you updated.

[David R 2]

Yeah fingers crossed for both of us! I will keep you updated.

We got our interview date today, it is for next Tuesday so we are pretty happy. Hang in there, I am sure yours is just around the corner too!

[kb&mb 0]

If he is getting deployed I think there is something you can do to expeditate it or something. Have you tried that at all?

We got our interview date today, it is for next Tuesday so we are pretty happy. Hang in there, I am sure yours is just around the corner too!

Oh, wow! So quick, getting told on a Thursday and then being there on Tuesday! I'm so happy for you - I hope that ours is soon too. What does packet 4 contain? Just info about the interview date and so forth?

[austex 42]

Congratulations on getting your interview. I will be there on Tuesday also. I will be so glad when all this will be over. I am lucky that my husband and I have been together the whole time.

Good luck on Tuesday.

M

[David R 2]

Congratulations on getting your interview. I will be there on Tuesday also. I will be so glad when all this will be over. I am lucky that my husband and I have been together the whole time.

Good luck on Tuesday.

M

Good luck to you too, I am sure we will both be fine!

Oh, wow! So quick, getting told on a Thursday and then being there on Tuesday! I'm so happy for you - I hope that ours is soon too. What does packet 4 contain? Just info about the interview date and so forth?

Yeah pretty much, it is just a checklist of things I need to bring for the interview.

[JEC777 13]

We got our interview date today, it is for next Tuesday so we are pretty happy. Hang in there, I am sure yours is just around the corner too!

Fantastic news David!! All the best for your interview on Tuesday....sounds like you've got it in the bag with the attention to detail you have applied every step of the way. Whoever has your file will be grateful it landed on their desk and will hit it with that big red APPROVED stamp!!

Let us all know how it goes.

[SweetDelish 38]

Good to hear you got an interview date David, and so soon! best of luck and just keep calm. i look forward to seeing your approved message!

[David R 2]

Thanks heaps guys, we feel pretty prepared.

Thanks for all your help along the way!