CR-1 interview date, keep or re-schedule ?

[fcat 79]

So i'm in the US at the moment, due back to the UK on the 9th Jan. Just got my interview e mail from NVC to say my interview in London is the 2nd Jan at 8am !

Do i pay the $400 to change fee to change my flight, fly home the 26th Dec, get the medical done the 27 then the interview and fly back with my visa mid Jan or apply to the Embassy to reschedule ?

Im just worried about how far away the interview date will be if i re schedule!

[Darnell 8,479]

i suggest you refactor the trip and flight, although in this way:

price a round trip airticket from usa to london to usa .

see what it's going to cost to get the return leg of your current ticket refunded.

then do the math - see if you just made some monies.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Tough one. Questions to help you think about it...

Is 6 or so extra days in the US *now* worth $400 and an unknwown additional delay later?

When did you think you might get your interview before you knew about the 2nd Jan date? What time had you been factoring in? Would asking for a later date just match what you'd been anticipating anyway?

If you do fly back sooner, you'll probably want to do so more than a day in advance, just in case of delays (would hate to change date then miss the appointment).

[fcat 79]

Yeh i'd looked at that, i wouldn't get any monies back from the current return leg, the main thing would be i would NOT want to fly back to the UK before Christmas, so if i flew back the 26th Dec i'd arrive home the 27th and would have to do the medical the 28th at the earliest! but with new years day i was wondering if my medical forms would get to the Embassy by the 2nd ? or what date i would get if i re-sheduled ?

[lost_at_sea 995]

+1 on Darnell's ticket calculation suggestion. Maybe save yourself a few quid and make the interview! Nice.

Oops on date. See you were planning that already. Call Knightsbridge first thing Monday and check appointment availability, too? Just in case that's backlogged...

Medical takes 4 working days to arrive (lots of bank holidays around then). If your results aren't there, they can't approve you on the day, but they should do when they arrive assuming no other outstanding issues.

Edited November 30, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[fcat 79]

Ugh, i cant do the medical the 28th unless they do them Saturdays! will have to call Knightsbridge on Monday i guess

30th (monday) would be first weekday for medical, wonder if Embassy would get medical forms by Thursday 2nd, bearing in mind they will be closed Wednesday!

Edited November 30, 2013 by fcat

[fcat 79]

+1 on Darnell's ticket calculation suggestion. Maybe save yourself a few quid and make the interview! Nice.

Oops on date. See you were planning that already. Call Knightsbridge first thing Monday and check appointment availability, too? Just in case that's backlogged...

Medical takes 4 working days to arrive (lots of bank holidays around then). If your results aren't there, they can't approve you on the day, but they should do when they arrive assuming no other outstanding issues.

Oh! so i could still attend Embassy and they would go through the interview and motions and hold on to my passport until medical arrives and providing no issues with medical they would just then approve, stamp and mail passport ?

[lost_at_sea 995]

Oh! so i could still attend Embassy and they would go through the interview and motions and hold on to my passport until medical arrives and providing no issues with medical they would just then approve, stamp and mail passport ?

Basically, yes. You might walk out on the day with one of those pieces of paper (221.... g? something... I forget) that says you're missing some documentation, and that'll just be the medical results and it'll square itself away.

[fcat 79]

Cool, if that's the case them i will book a flight from US to UK on 26th and then from UK back to US for POE around mid Jan. I was expecting interview date to be anywhere between mid dec to mid jan so i guess i was right in the middle, kinda wishing i did o the medical before i left for the US at the end of Oct, ah well, i have a date so cant complain:)

Just wish i had an idea of when date would be if i re sheduled

[lost_at_sea 995]

Cool, if that's the case them i will book a flight from US to UK on 26th and then from UK back to US for POE around mid Jan. I was expecting interview date to be anywhere between mid dec to mid jan so i guess i was right in the middle, kinda wishing i did o the medical before i left for the US at the end of Oct, ah well, i have a date so cant complain:)

Just wish i had an idea of when date would be if i re sheduled

The only risk with this plan is although your medical results will likely turn up after your interview (4 working days, generally speaking) they might not get processed by the embassy the day they arrive (London loves to sit on paperwork sometimes), so the date you're going to get your passport back becomes a lot more difficult to predict.

If you want to book the return flight (which VJ folks would never recommend anyway), I'd make sure it was flexible.

[Darnell 8,479]

Oh! so i could still attend Embassy and they would go through the interview and motions and hold on to my passport until medical arrives and providing no issues with medical they would just then approve, stamp and mail passport ?

Yup.

In fact, you could do the medical exam AFTER the interview, telling the CO that you were out of the country right prior, and could not make the arrangements to get the medical done.

or you could cheat, seeing a Civil Surgeon in the USA, and getting the medical exam done in the USA. It'll be weird for a USA Civil Surgeon, as it won't be forms they're used to filling out. Similar, but not the same.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Darnell

[fcat 79]

On the London Embassy website it does say:

Appointments will be changed only for urgent reasons. A request to reschedule an appointment must be stated in writing and forwarded to the address above. Please note that a visa is usually valid for travel to the United States for six months from the date of issuance"

So can i do the online form to re schedule or should i write in ?

[lost_at_sea 995]

or you could cheat, seeing a Civil Surgeon in the USA, and getting the medical exam done in the USA. It'll be weird for a USA Civil Surgeon, as it won't be forms they're used to filling out. Similar, but not the same.

Really? That can't be true for IR/CR-1, surely? That ought to work for K1.

[fcat 79]

Yup.

In fact, you could do the medical exam AFTER the interview, telling the CO that you were out of the country right prior, and could not make the arrangements to get the medical done.

or you could cheat, seeing a Civil Surgeon in the USA, and getting the medical exam done in the USA. It'll be weird for a USA Civil Surgeon, as it won't be forms they're used to filling out. Similar, but not the same.

You mean get the Medical done now before i go back to the US or the Medical done after the interview in the UK then i arrive in the US ? i didnt think that was possible either way

Edited November 30, 2013 by fcat

[Darnell 8,479]

options:

1. get the medical done in the USA by a USCIS-certified US Civil Surgeon before jumping back to the UK. Hand Carry the sealed Medical Exam Packet.

2. get the medical done in the UK after interview day.

apologies, I wasn't positional or even sidereal, prior..

Edited November 30, 2013 by Darnell