Scandinavians Part 2

[Locito 85]

10 hours ago, ntur said:

(P.S. you are asking the same questions we are about what docs to take to interview.  I really do not want any more delays and we already had to provide a couple of docs more than one way the first time around before they were accepted.)

The interviewer asked me if I had any additional documents I wanted to include as evidence. Good thing I went to the city library in the last minute to print out a few pages of additional pictures, travel itineraries etc. to cover the last few months. She just skimmed through those and asked when was the last time I spoke to my spouse.

 

I agree what I have read on this forum several times. If you have presented comprehensive evidence throughout your case, the interview is mostly a formality. The decision has pretty much been made already before you arrive. I was more stressed about the detailed security measures than the actual interview. The consular worker who collected my civil documents told me something along the lines "Oh yeah, you had provided loads of evidence already" (referring to what was basically a huge photo album of just about any pictures of us together 😂)

[ntur 4]

14 hours ago, Locito said:

I had the shots taken years and years ago at school (in Finland like your husband) and having moved apartments and countries it was struggle to find them. Even then panel doctor thought my paper records were of no particular use even though the information was also written in Swedish.

 

I don’t know if your husband is going to have his medical in Gothenburg or Stockholm, but if anything’s unclear, they’ll send you over to get checked (more 💸) which additional vaccinations are needed. I got a 221(g) at the actual interview because my exam results hadn’t made it to embassy on time, but that was because I needed to get that extra lab work and a document from a psychiatrist who was treating me. Even then, my visa was issued just a few days after the actual interview. Not having an idea that I needed extra paperwork, I probably scheduled my medical too close to the embassy interview. I don’t know what kind of a bearing does Covid have on all this, though.

 

Just make sure that the medical isn’t scheduled TOO early so that your husband can immigrate before it expires (6 months from the date of the medical, right?).

He lives in the Stockholm area.    What is a 221(g)?  

[Locito 85]

14 minutes ago, ntur said:

He lives in the Stockholm area.    What is a 221(g)?  

https://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/221g.html

 

It's one of the many codes used by the embassies. Don't confuse it with 212(a) which is far more serious 🤐 Basically I got a letter at the end of my interview saying that I couldn't be approved for visa because (reason). For me the reason was that the results of my medical examination hadn't yet made it to the embassy.

[Klintos 2]

12 hours ago, ntur said:

We were DQ'd on 3rd of October.  Have not wanted to email NVC - they get enough requests but from the looks of things we are probably not going to get interviews until Feb??  This is purely a guess on my part.  Will let you know if we hear anything.  Good luck to you!   (P.S. you are asking the same questions we are about what docs to take to interview.  I really do not want any more delays and we already had to provide a couple of docs more than one way the first time around before they were accepted.)

So cool we were DQ’d about the same time. I agree about emailing further about waiting times, feels like the embassy and NVC have enough to do. We were also guessing it would be around February so it’s nice to read you also think it would be around that time. Hopefully we won’t need to wait much longer than that, we are really missing family back home in the US. We will also let you know when we hear something. Good luck to you guys!! 

[J&C4EVA 2]

Just returned from my interview in Stockholm (Nov 20th) and it was approved!
Thank you, fellow Scandinavians, for great tips and information. Knowing beforehand about the interview helped me feel prepared and more confident.

I'll now have a wife and two kittens i the US who are going to be happy to see my face again.

 

[ntur 4]

2 hours ago, J&C4EVA said:

Just returned from my interview in Stockholm (Nov 20th) and it was approved!
Thank you, fellow Scandinavians, for great tips and information. Knowing beforehand about the interview helped me feel prepared and more confident.

I'll now have a wife and two kittens i the US who are going to be happy to see my face again.

 

Congratulations!   Can you share details such as when you were DQ'd, how long it took to get your interview scheduleds, any details you can share about the day of your interview, etc.  I am also curious to know when you had your medical exam in relation to your interview.  Thank you in advance. 

[J&C4EVA 2]

Thanks!
Of course. So...

I got DQ'd on 01-SEP-2020.

 

Then I received the Interview Appointment Notice on 21-OCT-2020.

The notice stated that the interview would take place on 20-NOV-2020.

I immediately followed the instructions on how to schedule the Medical Exame, since I've read that it will take days/weeks for the Embassy to receive the results, and I really wanted them to have the results before the day of the Interview.

When booking my Medical Exame in Gothenburg I was surprised to see that there was only ONE single appointment available before the date of my interview  -  29-OCT-2020. I booked this ME-appointment, and Yes, the Embassy had received the results before the day of the Interview.

 

 

About the day of the interview I got to say, everything went really smooth! I stayed at a hotel and had a 15 minute walk to the Embassy (didn't want to rely on public transportations in a city I was not familiar with on an important day like this). I arrived at the Embassy 1h before my scheduled appointment, and they told me to wait outside until they could let me in. I waited outside for approx. 15 min (the weather was cold) and the guards let me it to complete the airport-like security process. Everyone was very nice and professional.

45 minutes later I was outside and my visa was approved.

They asked me for my documents one at a time (civil documents, waybill, evidence etc..).
After that I sat down for a few minutes before they called me to the desk. This part was the "interview-part". They took fingerprints and asked me VERY basic questions, like "Where did you meet?", "What does your wife do for a living?" and "Where did you get married?".

 

The lady behind the window told me that my visa was now approved and that I should receive me passport in the mail in a week or two.
I got out of there and with happy tears in my eyes.

 

Let me know if you got any more questions.
 

 

 

 

 

[Simon Pacis 6]

Good news! Just got an interview date today for the 1st of December. Yikes! Very soon, but very excited.

For those wondering, I was DQ'ed 8th of September.

Edited November 25, 2020 by Simon Pacis

[gss1234 1]

Congrats! We were also DQ’d on the 8th of September. And our interview is scheduled for the 29th of December 😀

 

(Seems like they are slightly ahead of their time estimates that they share when you ask via email)

[theswedishyolk 7]

How long does the medical exam take in Stockholm? Asking since I have a driving lesson a few hours after 😂

[Locito 85]

On 11/26/2020 at 9:41 AM, theswedishyolk said:

How long does the medical exam take in Stockholm? Asking since I have a driving lesson a few hours after 😂

I guess it depends if you are taking the tube/train to the clinic or getting dropped off by someone. If it's anything like it was for me, I think it's good to have a couple of hours reserved in your schedule so you won't have to feel overly stressed. The exam and the all waiting connected to it probably takes an hour plus. If you're local to Sthlm, I assume you'll have your chest X-rays taken at Sophiahemmet on a different day before the medical?

 

Another edit: Since I had to go get additional vaccinations across the street from the medical clinic, the whole process took longer for me. But if you're just going in for the actual medical and nothing else, a couple of hours should be fine.

Edited November 28, 2020 by Locito

[theswedishyolk 7]

In an email from the clinic they asked me to bring my ”CEAC confirmation page”. No clue what that is though. Where do I find that? CR-1 Visa 

[Scandi 4,166]

1 minute ago, theswedishyolk said:

In an email from the clinic they asked me to bring my ”CEAC confirmation page”. No clue what that is though. Where do I find that? CR-1 Visa 

That should be the visa application confirmation. The application for a CR-1 is called DS-260. You'll need to bring that to the embassy for your interview as well.

Edited November 29, 2020 by Scandi

[theswedishyolk 7]

13 minutes ago, Scandi said:

That should be the visa application confirmation. The application for a CR-1 is called DS-260. You'll need to bring that to the embassy for your interview as well.

So that would be the email I got after my I-130 was approved and my NVC case was created? The email containing my CEAC login information 

[Scandi 4,166]

1 hour ago, theswedishyolk said:

So that would be the email I got after my I-130 was approved and my NVC case was created? The email containing my CEAC login information 

No, that's not it, that's just the checklist/guide of what you need to do next (it should mention the visa application?). To apply for a visa you need an approved petition (which is the i-130 that was already approved) and then you need to send in an actual visa application to the embassy. That application is the DS-260, and it's filled out and sent in on the ceac website, all online. That's the actual visa application, that's separate from the petition. And once you have filled out, paid and submitted the visa application you get to a confirmation page. That's the page you print and bring. 

 

Those who went through the CR-1 process, correct me if I'm wrong. I sent in the DS-160 myseIf (not DS-260) and I could have outdated information as well (it's been a few years).