Case Complete to Interview March 2016

[dwheels76 5,468]

Our interview held today at US Consulate in Lagos. Everything was smooth sailing and we got our approval on the spot. Yesterday, we got a sign that all will go well. Our 15-month old son walked for the first time and that created a joyful atmosphere in our home.

BACKGROUND OF OUR CASE

Our visa category was EB-3 (an employment-based immigrant visa) and the petition was filed on our behalf by my employer. The process took 6 months (August, 2015 – February, 2016) to complete. Our priority date was August 20, 2015. The I-140 petition went through premium processing and got approved in less than 15 days.

MAIN GIST

Our appointment was for 7am but we got to the embassy by 5.30 am. There were already about 20 persons waiting. At 6.00 am we lined up went through the first security screening by police men. We were checked using a hand-held metal detector. Thereafter, we lined up in front of the pavilion and were given instructions by the embassy security staff. We were told of the items that were not allowed in the embassy. We were also instructed to open all sealed envelopes, including the medical report.

Inside the pavilion, we were frisked and our bags/envelopes were searched. We proceeded to a table where we handed over our appointment letter and our names were cross-checked on a list. A white slip was given to us to fill in our contact details when we get into the embassy building. From here, we moved across the road into the main building where we were subjected to the final screening. We went through a scanner and were asked to remove wrist watches, bangles, shoes etc.

At the entrance of the waiting area, we were instructed to press ‘B’ on a machine and a slip with a number appeared. It is with this number that we were called during the remainder of the process. There were already some people in the waiting area. After a wait of about 30 minutes, I was called to submit my documents like international passport, passport photos, marriage certificate, medical report, police character, educational certificates, visascreen and CGFNS certificates (a requirement for nurses immigrating on employment-based immigrant visas) and job offer letter. Submission of documents took about 30 minutes.

After what looked eternity, our number popped up at Window 1 for the interview proper. We were interviewed by a beautiful and well-mannered Caucasian lady. She asked my wife and myself to raise our right hands and swear to tell the truth and took our finger prints. My left finger prints were taken on behalf of our children.

She asked me the following questions:

- What do you do?

- Where do you work currently?

- What is your nursing specialty?

- Which of your employer’s location in the US will you be working in?

- How did you hear about your employer?

- Did they interview you?

- Did you go to the US for the interview?

- Have you been to the US?

- Do you have a relative in the US?

- What state is he in?

- When did you get married?

- What are the birth dates of your children? (wife answered)

She brought out a white slip and circled an address and asked me to pick up our passports in 2 weeks. She informed us that we could have someone pick up the passports on our behalf (since we don’t leave in Lagos) by filling the reverse side of the form and asking the person to go to the collection centre with it. We were also given another white paper with instructions on how to pay the green card of $165.

We left the building at 10.00am.

This is the end of this phase of our journey. TO GOD ALONE BE ALL THE GLORY IN JESUS NAME. AMEN

Awesome. Congratulations. Sounds like a good time.

[besarta 0]

THANKS ... so Do you Think I can seperate my documents in these kind of folders ? Like one with civil documents and one financial, also photos in an envelope is it a good idea or no?
Thank You

[SoerenHelmer 50]

THANKS ... so Do you Think I can seperate my documents in these kind of folders ? Like one with civil documents and one financial, also photos in an envelope is it a good idea or no?

Thank You

I would just use clips and put it in two diff packet and put them in 1 envelop(No sure spelled right.)

[besarta 0]

I would just use clips and put it in two diff packet and put them in 1 envelop(No sure spelled right.)

Well , I dont know yet , I just bought these today and yet dont know if they will allow them or not , maybe I will need just to hand carry all the documents !

[Orhanzo 0]

Not necessarily. The actual day of the month scheduled has much to do also with your PD(Receive date at USCIS). Have you called NVC yet?

We call NVC almost every day. As you know they don't say much other than "Your case hasn't been scheduled for an interview as of yet"..

[GauravAndGarwita 4]

Not necessarily. The actual day of the month scheduled has much to do also with your PD(Receive date at USCIS). Have you called NVC yet?

Hey Queen,

Just a question does all cases deal with PD.... One thing i know for sure that IR/CR cases are outside priority date because they are always current. There is no visa restriction or limited visa for this category. So these cases are a priority and always current. You must be referring cases which gets impacted by visa bulletin. But the above category is excluded from it.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin.html

The link above is for visa priority date if you do not belong to above preference category for green card.

[GauravAndGarwita 4]

Hey Queen,

Just a question does all cases deal with PD.... One thing i know for sure that IR/CR cases are outside priority date because they are always current. There is no visa restriction or limited visa for this category. So these cases are a priority and always current. You must be referring cases which gets impacted by visa bulletin. But the above category is excluded from it.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin.html

The link above is for visa priority date if you do not belong to above preference category for green card.

This is from FAQ of a US embassy site;

6. How do I know when my priority date will be current?

In most cases, the priority date is the date the petition was filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Immediate Relative (IR and CR) and Fiancé (K-1) cases do not have priority dates since there are no numerical limits on these categories. Other categories have priority dates.

Current priority dates can be viewed here:http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html.

Retrogression occurs only when the State Department has pushed back the monthly cutoff of priority dates (click on link for more information on priority dates) because the current demand has exceeded the visa numbers available for issuance.

Understandably, all applicants wish to obtain an immigrant visa as soon as possible, but U.S. immigration law requires that immigrant visa numbers be made available strictly in order of priority date. The numerical limitation cannot be waived, regardless of the circumstances.

[dwheels76 5,468]

Hey Queen,

Just a question does all cases deal with PD.... One thing i know for sure that IR/CR cases are outside priority date because they are always current. There is no visa restriction or limited visa for this category. So these cases are a priority and always current. You must be referring cases which gets impacted by visa bulletin. But the above category is excluded from it.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin.html

The link above is for visa priority date if you do not belong to above preference category for green card.

When I mention PD I am just referring to date received at USCIS. I remember back in 2012 when I was doing this calling NVC they had said there is case complete order in the queue and they use plot them First come first serve but many times their are many too much so it's who's been waiting the longest.

Makes sense.i always tell people when they say but I got CC before them why they get an earlier interview date. Check the NOA1.

[GauravAndGarwita 4]

When I mention PD I am just referring to date received at USCIS. I remember back in 2012 when I was doing this calling NVC they had said there is case complete order in the queue and they use plot them First come first serve but many times their are many too much so it's who's been waiting the longest.

Makes sense.i always tell people when they say but I got CC before them why they get an earlier interview date. Check the NOA1.

So to clarify that it was use to be like that but embassy now have preference category and spouses and immediate relative of US citizens are given priority over green card holder petitioning. And the PD movement basically is done in such a way that embassy are not overloaded and there are only very few visa released every month and it is always predictable by every embassy....Also NVC has published there interview scheduling process online and they cannot backtrack from it it might have legal complications.

also since preference categories other than IR/CR have limited visa numbers so NVC only entertains cases when they are predicted to be current. No processing happen on those cases before they are predicted to be current. So they also have to fall in the same queue.

But i admire your knowledge and insights and some of these processes are not very transparent. We all can just predict.

[Frankjavir 55]

Gaurav, check this out:

From page 5 of last NVC meeting with AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) on November 23 2015.

Here is the whole document: It was posted by

shsl73

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/NVC%20AILA%20Meeting%20QAs_Nov2015.pdf

What is the current time it takes for a case to be forwarded to Post once all required documents have been received? RESPONSE: NVC schedules appointments two times per month on a first-come, first-served basis based upon the appointment capacity of the post. If a case is documentarily qualified (and current by cut-off date), it will be placed in the appointment queue and a letter confirming DQ status will be sent to the agent. Most interviews are scheduled within 30 days of the case being recognized as DQ. But, if demand at a particular post is high, it may take longer. NVC receives posts’ appointment capacity only on a monthly basis so is not able to predict when a specific case may receive an interview appointment. Once an appointment has been set, NVC sends a notice to the applicant with the appointment date and time, along with a link to the post website with further information about how to prepare for the interview. The case file is then prepared for shipping (or electronic transfer for posts who accept electronic processing) and sent to post within 10 days. Posts receive appointment and shipment lists from NVC electronically and generally receive the physical case file within 10 days of the scheduled interview.

I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS DQ, ANY ONE KNOWS?

Edited February 5, 2016 by Frankjavir

[GauravAndGarwita 4]

Gaurav, check this out:

From page 5 of last NVC meeting with AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) on November 23 2015.

Here is the whole document: It was posted by

shsl73

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/NVC%20AILA%20Meeting%20QAs_Nov2015.pdf

What is the current time it takes for a case to be forwarded to Post once all required documents have been received? RESPONSE: NVC schedules appointments two times per month on a first-come, first-served basis based upon the appointment capacity of the post. If a case is documentarily qualified (and current by cut-off date), it will be placed in the appointment queue and a letter confirming DQ status will be sent to the agent. Most interviews are scheduled within 30 days of the case being recognized as DQ. But, if demand at a particular post is high, it may take longer. NVC receives posts’ appointment capacity only on a monthly basis so is not able to predict when a specific case may receive an interview appointment. Once an appointment has been set, NVC sends a notice to the applicant with the appointment date and time, along with a link to the post website with further information about how to prepare for the interview. The case file is then prepared for shipping (or electronic transfer for posts who accept electronic processing) and sent to post within 10 days. Posts receive appointment and shipment lists from NVC electronically and generally receive the physical case file within 10 days of the scheduled interview.

I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS DQ, ANY ONE KNOWS?

DQ: it means "documentarily qualified" sorry it is just abbreviated....

[Frankjavir 55]

DQ: it means "documentarily qualified" sorry it is just abbreviated....

Well, that answer puts an end to our speculations. The answer came from the horse's mouth!!

[GauravAndGarwita 4]

Well, that answer puts an end to our speculations. The answer came from the horse's mouth!!

Man you are really funny... How is ur interview preparation going on....

[Orhanzo 0]

Gaurav, check this out:

From page 5 of last NVC meeting with AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) on November 23 2015.

Here is the whole document: It was posted by

shsl73

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/NVC%20AILA%20Meeting%20QAs_Nov2015.pdf

What is the current time it takes for a case to be forwarded to Post once all required documents have been received? RESPONSE: NVC schedules appointments two times per month on a first-come, first-served basis based upon the appointment capacity of the post. If a case is documentarily qualified (and current by cut-off date), it will be placed in the appointment queue and a letter confirming DQ status will be sent to the agent. Most interviews are scheduled within 30 days of the case being recognized as DQ. But, if demand at a particular post is high, it may take longer. NVC receives posts appointment capacity only on a monthly basis so is not able to predict when a specific case may receive an interview appointment. Once an appointment has been set, NVC sends a notice to the applicant with the appointment date and time, along with a link to the post website with further information about how to prepare for the interview. The case file is then prepared for shipping (or electronic transfer for posts who accept electronic processing) and sent to post within 10 days. Posts receive appointment and shipment lists from NVC electronically and generally receive the physical case file within 10 days of the scheduled interview.

I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS DQ, ANY ONE KNOWS?

Frank this is amazing information. Thank you for sharing it.

[Frankjavir 55]

Man you are really funny... How is ur interview preparation going on....

That same evening on January 29, I bought airline tickets and a 10 day stay at a nice hotel in Bogota.

I am going to accompany my lovely wife on all three appointments: Bio-metrics, Lab work, Medical and of course the interview.

I have all the originals, updated AOS, pictures, phone logs, etc, etc every freaking thing they ask for, I will have.