February 2015 Interviews

[dwheels76 5,468]

Hi there everyone I've been preparing for my interview (the 26th of Feb) and I got to the part of the Financial Evidence and got a Y (The NVC Sent this form or document to the U.S Embassy or Consulate) but they still say they require originals.

Now, my AOS package is with a Joint Sponsor who lives in the US and they sent us digitalized copies of their TAX information which I print them and sent to the NVC.

Am I required to bring their original Tax Documents (which would require my Joint Sponsors to mail them to me) to my interview or updated copies will suffice?

Thanks in advance for any answers

The embassy will have the originals so no you don't need the originals.

[APeralta 2]

The embassy will have the originals so no you don't need the originals.

The problem is I never sent "Originals". My joint sponsor digitalized the originals and sent them through email and I printed them and put them in on my AOS Package to the NVC. Will they ask for the actual original papers my joint sponsor is holding?

Thanks for such a fast reply!

[dehiguey23 52]

Thanks so much, I'm not nervous at all, my wife maybe a bit, but we also got God on our side thanks for all your answers. I hope my wife can come with me, that's all I wish for.

To be honest I would not let my story scare you or make you any more nervous. Every case is different and most folks do fine at the Santo Domingo embassy. The interviews can be a little tougher there as the DR is a high risk county for visa fraud, but if you are well prepared there is nothing to worry about. Our interview was Friday the 23rd so we are still showing in Administrative Processing on the CEAC website. It changed to Administrative Processing on Saturday the 24th which is normal. We heard it takes a week or two to get the passport back so I returned home (to Michigan) to wait. My wife went to the VAC ahead of the appointment as required and when the appointment was set up we chose to have the passport go to the Mail Boxes Etcetera at MegaCentro in Santo Domingo which is 10 minutes from her house.

If I had to give any advice it would be 3 things:

One, schedule yourself at the VAC if it applies to your case, and save your VAC Appointment Confirmation page. Have your wife get her fingerprints and photos done at the VAC. That really helped things be smoother at the embassy. The check in people wanted to see that VAC confirmation page at entry and when we head it available it helped speed us through. Also, we didn't have to wait in line to have our prints done with all the other folks that didn't go to the VAC ahead of time. Getting to wait calmly for our turn at the window and skip that gave us confidence we were on track.

Two, be prepared by having ALL your documents with you. I over prepared by having copies and originals of every possible civil document (both birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce records, etc), fresh police report, flight tickets, lots of photos, chat records, credit card statements, my tax info, money transfers history, and more. Even though they didn't ask for much during the interview, being highly prepared kept us calm and gave us confidence.

Three, stay calm. Some folks were at the interview window a very long while, but most received approvals. Our interview was unreal as the CO was shocking rude, but our interview only lasted 10 minutes or less. Other COs might have a different style and just as more questions. But no matter how they make you feel, stay calm. If they rattle you on a question just carry on and don't panic. Our CO acted unhappy with all of our answers but at the end she approved us.

I wish you the best of luck in your interview. I'm sure you will do fine!

[rdolma7 2]

Hi everyone!!!! cc as of Jan 23rd.. I was wondering if anyone has any idea how busy nepal is in terms of interview appointments

[dwheels76 5,468]

The problem is I never sent "Originals". My joint sponsor digitalized the originals and sent them through email and I printed them and put them in on my AOS Package to the NVC. Will they ask for the actual original papers my joint sponsor is holding?

Thanks for such a fast reply!

don't know. That's second guessing what the CO may or may not want. NVC was fooled and believed it to be an original. Will the CO I don;t know. I personally would have the originals with me at interview just in case you get a CO who knows scanned from real. Save you time

[mdzcpa 58]

Thank you for reply. So I should hear something this Friday since it will have a week since they received it. When do they start to schedule? Im guessing it will be a March interview even if the case is expedite. Right?

Yes. I'd give it at least 5 working days for the Embassy to input the case into the system. Because is was an expedite the NVC did not do their verification checks and the Embassy needs to process the expedite a little differently. The good news is that I believe you may be able to get your interview sooner than March. Once your case shows Ready in CEAC and you can get onto the ustraveldocs appointment system, we have heard the backlog for the VAC appointment is only about a week, and the Embassy about 2 weeks. We heard that from others who had scheduled both appointments for themselves when we were there last week. Just keep in mind that on the system you should schedule your embassy interview first, then your VAC appointment. Your VAC appoint should be no sooner than 2 weeks before your embassy appointment.

[Perez2012 15]

Yes. I'd give it at least 5 working days for the Embassy to input the case into the system. Because is was an expedite the NVC did not do their verification checks and the Embassy needs to process the expedite a little differently. The good news is that I believe you may be able to get your interview sooner than March. Once your case shows Ready in CEAC and you can get onto the ustraveldocs appointment system, we have heard the backlog for the VAC appointment is only about a week, and the Embassy about 2 weeks. We heard that from others who had scheduled both appointments for themselves when we were there last week. Just keep in mind that on the system you should schedule your embassy interview first, then your VAC appointment. Your VAC appoint should be no sooner than 2 weeks before your embassy appointment.

Thank You so much for reply. Wow I was unaware interview appt first then VAC. I will be on the look out on ceac and ustravel page. I also emailed them for status they should response within 1 to 2 days. Thank you.

[Paavy 14]

my visa application status shows "READY" on ceac portal. What does that mean?

[Perez2012 15]

my visa application status shows "READY" on ceac portal. What does that mean?

Awesome. Since when did it show ready? You should have an interview date already.

[Perez2012 15]

Omg! My case shows ready on ceac. Omg omg Yayy let me try ustravel now.

[Paavy 14]

Omg! My case shows ready on ceac. Omg omg Yayy let me try ustravel now.

I checked it yesterday. It was at NVC but now it shows ready. Yes our interview is on february 26th but I have already created profile on ustravel docs as it was mentioned to follow instructions given on New Delhi consulate. Is that okay that I created profile before it said READY? I have already booked biometrics appointment and selected visa pickup location. Hope that doesn't delay the process.

[mdzcpa 58]

Thank You so much for reply. Wow I was unaware interview appt first then VAC. I will be on the look out on ceac and ustravel page. I also emailed them for status they should response within 1 to 2 days. Thank you.

Hold on! Be careful here. I may not have explained things clearly enough.

Your VAC appointment will come first, then the Interview. My point was that if you schedule your Embassy Interview first in the system, you can then schedule your VAC appointment to come before your Embassy Interview (but no more than 2 weeks before the Embassy Interview date). I hope that clarifies.

[Paavy 14]

Our embassy interview was scheduled through NVC and it is on February 26th and biometrics appointment (VAC) is on February 15th.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Paavy

[dwheels76 5,468]

Hi everyone!!!! cc as of Jan 23rd.. I was wondering if anyone has any idea how busy nepal is in terms of interview appointments

People for Nepal no don't have a long wait. When scheduling start they get dates. So when March scheduling starts you should be in there.

[Perez2012 15]

I checked it yesterday. It was at NVC but now it shows ready. Yes our interview is on february 26th but I have already created profile on ustravel docs as it was mentioned to follow instructions given on New Delhi consulate. Is that okay that I created profile before it said READY? I have already booked biometrics appointment and selected visa pickup location. Hope that doesn't delay the process.

Thats fine I created profile before even having interview date. My case was expedite so nvc did not schedule us. My just changed to ready but I have no interview date. I just tried to do so on ustravel and still dont allow me. I called they said I have to wait for interview appt letter from embassy to schedule vac appt. How true I dont know I thought I could schedule interview myself.