Jamaican Embassy

[clairern 0]

How are interviews scheduled anyways? Do they set aside certain amount of interview appointments for K-1, K-3, IR-1, CR-1, visitors, working visas? Or do they just randomly schedule them, as the applications are approved? Any thoughts or ideas on this for you experienced ones?

[Dimples876 0]

How are interviews scheduled anyways? Do they set aside certain amount of interview appointments for K-1, K-3, IR-1, CR-1, visitors, working visas? Or do they just randomly schedule them, as the applications are approved? Any thoughts or ideas on this for you experienced ones?

well I'm not sure but I thought I would share when NVC completed my case on 11/28/08 and case transfered to Kingston on 02/04/08 and I did not get appointment/interview date notice until the february 6th for interview date 03/18/08

[trulo 0]

This is all about Jamaicans embassy-its my view that NVC assigned an interview based on the date your case has been completed....the person i see getting interview dates for march and April, all having cases completed in Late November and December...i am yet to see a IR/CR visa which was completed this year(2008) get a date.!!!!!!!!!!!...let pray for our sake that this trend stops

[Marlita 0]

Claire I just realized you were in NVC for a LONG time! Almost as long as the complete process for some folks, so I can see why your freakin out on the interview date time.

I read on the embassy site that they schedule certain types of visa on certain dates only, so it is not a free for all, they have some sort of system to it. i am guessing cause of the nature of immigrant visas or family based visas, or work visas, or visitor visas, they just want the CO to be able to handle it. On average it was seeming like at least 2 months after NVC approval to get the interview date. I think they interview Mon and Wed only or something like that. Thats why the K1's were tuesdays and thursdays.

[clairern 0]

Claire I just realized you were in NVC for a LONG time! Almost as long as the complete process for some folks, so I can see why your freakin out on the interview date time.

I read on the embassy site that they schedule certain types of visa on certain dates only, so it is not a free for all, they have some sort of system to it. i am guessing cause of the nature of immigrant visas or family based visas, or work visas, or visitor visas, they just want the CO to be able to handle it. On average it was seeming like at least 2 months after NVC approval to get the interview date. I think they interview Mon and Wed only or something like that. Thats why the K1's were tuesdays and thursdays.

I hear you Marlita, but now that NVC schedules the IR-1/CR-1 appointments, I do not think those Mon/Wed or Tues/Thurs exclusions apply. I think JAtam was one of the first whose interview was scheduled bu NVC and that did not apply. Let wait and see if she has any input?

[Marlita 0]

Oh really?! well man, what are they waiting for! Maybe you should ask Gill if there were CR1 visas being issued on her day. I can't believe there are more CR1's vs K1/K3 visas coming out of Jamaica. But who knows.

[Black Velvet 4]

How are interviews scheduled anyways? Do they set aside certain amount of interview appointments for K-1, K-3, IR-1, CR-1, visitors, working visas? Or do they just randomly schedule them, as the applications are approved? Any thoughts or ideas on this for you experienced ones?

CR-1/ IR-1 interviews are scheduled by the NVC. On the other hand, the Embassy in Jamaica schedules K-1 & K-3's.

[clairern 0]

How are interviews scheduled anyways? Do they set aside certain amount of interview appointments for K-1, K-3, IR-1, CR-1, visitors, working visas? Or do they just randomly schedule them, as the applications are approved? Any thoughts or ideas on this for you experienced ones?

well I'm not sure but I thought I would share when NVC completed my case on 11/28/08 and case transfered to Kingston on 02/04/08 and I did not get appointment/interview date notice until the february 6th for interview date 03/18/08

Dimps, looks like they took about 3 months to forward your case to Kingston and 4 months after case complete to give interview date. I can't believe this. Mike waited 7 years to get to this point and now he has to wait 3-4 more months? That is utterly ridiculous, but who am I to complain? I did not file his papers, but I want him here with me sooner than later.

[clairern 0]

How are interviews scheduled anyways? Do they set aside certain amount of interview appointments for K-1, K-3, IR-1, CR-1, visitors, working visas? Or do they just randomly schedule them, as the applications are approved? Any thoughts or ideas on this for you experienced ones?

CR-1/ IR-1 interviews are scheduled by the NVC. On the other hand, the Embassy in Jamaica schedules K-1 & K-3's.

Mrs Scott, I understand that immigrant visa are scheduled by NVC and non-immigrant visas are scheduled by the US embassy in Kingston. NVC has to make sure an appointment time is available for the interview before they schedule the interview, because other visa interviews appointments have to be taken into account when an appointment is scheduled. What NVC has done is they have taken away the additional paperwork review from Kingston. They review the paperwork for them.

My query is whether the embassy sets aside certain amount of appointment times each month for each visa category. For example, 5 interviews each day for each category. I hope I am making myself clear.

Even if NVC schedules the interview appointment, they have to make sure there is an available time that particular day for that interview. I am sure they would not like to over book and cause over-crowding.

[clairern 0]

Claire I just realized you were in NVC for a LONG time! Almost as long as the complete process for some folks, so I can see why your freakin out on the interview date time.

I read on the embassy site that they schedule certain types of visa on certain dates only, so it is not a free for all, they have some sort of system to it. i am guessing cause of the nature of immigrant visas or family based visas, or work visas, or visitor visas, they just want the CO to be able to handle it. On average it was seeming like at least 2 months after NVC approval to get the interview date. I think they interview Mon and Wed only or something like that. Thats why the K1's were tuesdays and thursdays.

Marlita, Mike's papers have been at the NVC since 2000, so that is 7 years sitting on a shelf until his priority date was reached which was in July of 2007. Now I have read somewhere where the embassy takes 2-4 months to schedule interviews. That is freaking crazy. Dimples' case was completed on 11/28/07 and her interview appointment is 3/18/08. That is almost a 4 month wait, yet K-1s get their interview appointment really fast. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Boy I tell you, these people drive me absolutely beserk

Edited March 15, 2008 by clairern

[Dimples876 0]

Claire I just realized you were in NVC for a LONG time! Almost as long as the complete process for some folks, so I can see why your freakin out on the interview date time.

I read on the embassy site that they schedule certain types of visa on certain dates only, so it is not a free for all, they have some sort of system to it. i am guessing cause of the nature of immigrant visas or family based visas, or work visas, or visitor visas, they just want the CO to be able to handle it. On average it was seeming like at least 2 months after NVC approval to get the interview date. I think they interview Mon and Wed only or something like that. Thats why the K1's were tuesdays and thursdays.

Marlita, Mike's papers have been at the NVC since 2000, so that is 7 years sitting on a shelf until his priority date was reached which was in July of 2007. Now I have read somewhere where the embassy takes 2-4 months to schedule interviews. That is freaking crazy. Dimples' case was completed on 11/28/07 and her interview appointment is 3/18/08. That is almost a 4 month wait, yet K-1s get their interview appointment really fast. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Boy I tell you, these people drive me absolutely beserk

I agree with you totally some people have all the luck and then some of us have to worry and wait while somebody else holds our faith.

[Marlita 0]

Claire I just realized you were in NVC for a LONG time! Almost as long as the complete process for some folks, so I can see why your freakin out on the interview date time.

I read on the embassy site that they schedule certain types of visa on certain dates only, so it is not a free for all, they have some sort of system to it. i am guessing cause of the nature of immigrant visas or family based visas, or work visas, or visitor visas, they just want the CO to be able to handle it. On average it was seeming like at least 2 months after NVC approval to get the interview date. I think they interview Mon and Wed only or something like that. Thats why the K1's were tuesdays and thursdays.

Marlita, Mike's papers have been at the NVC since 2000, so that is 7 years sitting on a shelf until his priority date was reached which was in July of 2007. Now I have read somewhere where the embassy takes 2-4 months to schedule interviews. That is freaking crazy. Dimples' case was completed on 11/28/07 and her interview appointment is 3/18/08. That is almost a 4 month wait, yet K-1s get their interview appointment really fast. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Boy I tell you, these people drive me absolutely beserk

You know it should be the other way around, but God knows what the reasoning is. I would think they would work harder on spousal visa being that the people are married, but for some reason they are usually last. I think it has to do with the NVC only having a certain number of Visas they can give out each year. So maybe Dimps was completed with NVC after the 2007 visa max quota was filed, so then she got put in line in the 2008 visas. I hear that if you get approved from NVC later in the year...like month 9-12 you have to wait longer for a interview. But if you are approved in the earlier months you wait less.

[JA Tam 7]

Sorry friends, I just saw this thread and I have been a little scarce lately on the board. When our case was originally scheduled by the embassy, nyseness pointed out that usually Kingston Embassy would only interview Immigrant cases on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That freaked me out, since the NVC told me my interview was scheduled for Friday afternoon. My hubby called the Embassy, I called the Dept of State; the Embassy told him the same thing that the interviews are usually Tues./Thurs. and Dept. of State told me that they didn't see my interview date in the system, though they saw that the case was transferred to Kingston Embassy the day after I was given my date. I called NVC in a panic as I thought they might have given me the wrong info, but I was curtly told that they schedule the interview so I should disregard what we were told by the Embassy. As you all now know, Aaron is here, so we had our interview on the Friday we were told (within 2 weeks after I got the date, we got the letter from the NVC and Dept of State could see the interview date in the system). Since my case, I know of at least one other CR1/IR1 case which was scheduled on a Friday. I am not sure if NVC has changed the policy and is now following through with what Kingston had done in the past. I hope not, because just scheduling interviews for 2 days a week could surely explain this backlog - waiting 3 or 4 mths after case complete to have your interview date

Edited March 16, 2008 by JA Tam

[clairern 0]

Hey JA Tam; was waiting for your opinion on this subject since I knew that you were one of the first batch of interviewees since Kingston became an appointment post. Do you by any chance know if a certain quota of interview dates are set aside for each visa type?

Edited March 16, 2008 by clairern

[JA Tam 7]

Hey JA Tam; was waiting for your opinion on this subject since I knew that you were one of the first batch of interviewees since Kingston became an appointment post. Do you by any chance know if a certain quota of interview dates are set aside for each visa type?

I wouldn't put it past them - that I don't really know. I know that they have a set time for conducting interviews; the past system on Thursday there was a 2 hour window - on that I am not sure how many interviews they would schedule then. At the time I was there, I would say there were at least 20 sets of interviews. When we got in, there was already a set of people that were waiting to be interviewed and in our batch there were at least 15 interviewees. I hope that helps somewhat.