NVC - July 2017 Scan Dates - Method 4: Mail processing

[JOL 19]

2 hours ago, David-Liss said:

I have a scan date of 31 July, just checked today and my status is at NVC and the AOS line is gone.  Could it be the end finally.....  

Sounds like; congrats.  As far as emails, I never got one on the CC either, just confirmed by phone:  The first email I got was a checklist saying that when my wife goes to her interview she must bring my moms "missing" birth certificate (despite submitting not one but TWO different ones in the NVC packet,) and the next email was the interview notification itself.  FYI on that:  She is having to renew her vaccinations, because even though she has had all those required, some are >10 years out of date, in which case State requires proof of a current booster shot. 

[larnar1309 101]

Omg guys!!! We were expecting a checklist because we were worried that our income wasn't enough and would need a joint sponsor but ... just logged into ceac and got AT NVC status change and aos payment has gone.... does this mean we have case complete ?!?! Or does it mean it might still go to checklist??? Don't know whether to remain worried or eat all the hats in the building in celebration 😂😂😂😂

 

our scan date is august 9th 

possible case comeplete today ?!?!(September 21st)

[Dream2017 6]

1 hour ago, larnar1309 said:

Omg guys!!! We were expecting a checklist because we were worried that our income wasn't enough and would need a joint sponsor but ... just logged into ceac and got AT NVC status change and aos payment has gone.... does this mean we have case complete ?!?! Or does it mean it might still go to checklist??? Don't know whether to remain worried or eat all the hats in the building in celebration 😂😂😂😂

 

our scan date is august 9th 

possible case comeplete today ?!?!(September 21st)

Congratulations.   Was ur case expedite?

[larnar1309 101]

6 hours ago, Dream2017 said:

Congratulations.   Was ur case expedite?

Thank you! Husband gonna call the NVC this morning to confirm and ask about interview dates. Although I expect we will be told to wait. 

Nope ! No expedite just regular waited for this forever type

[David-Liss 4]

16 hours ago, JOL said:

Sounds like; congrats.  As far as emails, I never got one on the CC either, just confirmed by phone:  The first email I got was a checklist saying that when my wife goes to her interview she must bring my moms "missing" birth certificate (despite submitting not one but TWO different ones in the NVC packet,) and the next email was the interview notification itself.  FYI on that:  She is having to renew her vaccinations, because even though she has had all those required, some are >10 years out of date, in which case State requires proof of a current booster shot. 

Called this morning and they verified that my case was complete on the 18th!  Just waiting on the interview!!!

[LaurenAndBrent 61]

2 hours ago, David-Liss said:

Called this morning and they verified that my case was complete on the 18th!  Just waiting on the interview!!!

Awesome!! I spoke to a guy at NVC earlier about interviews and they aren't ready to schedule November yet but they should be starting soon (he said usually before the end of the month) so all going well you should be looking at an interview in November!

[JOL 19]

20 hours ago, larnar1309 said:

Omg guys!!! We were expecting a checklist because we were worried that our income wasn't enough and would need a joint sponsor but ... just logged into ceac and got AT NVC status change and aos payment has gone.... does this mean we have case complete ?!?! Or does it mean it might still go to checklist??? Don't know whether to remain worried or eat all the hats in the building in celebration 😂😂😂😂

 

our scan date is august 9th 

possible case comeplete today ?!?!(September 21st)

Yeah, that does NOT mean you will not still receive a checklist, but does strongly suggest any checklist you do receive will merely require the additional documents be presented by the Beneficiary at the interview, not sent to the NVC to restart the whole 8-11 week review process from the beginning.  I say that because they emailed us a checklist after I confirmed our CC by phone, and a few days before they emailed us our interview date and instructions.  However, the checklist email REPEATEDLY said to NOT send the additional required documents to the NVC, but provide them to the Beneficiary so she can present them to the consular officer at her interview.  And since I sent her a copy of our NVC packet, and that packet actually DOES have the "missing" document (in two different versions, no less) she already has it and no further action is required.

All that to say:  Just because you got a CC does not guarantee you will not also still get a checklist, but IF you do it should not delay your case as long as your Beneficiary has the requested document at their interview.

 

Congrats to you and David-Liss on the unofficial CCs; I feel a little bad they are making ya'll wait til November for interviews when they scheduled ours for the end of October, but if I understand how they do things ya'll will probably be interviewed at the start of November, so it will still only be a week or two after us, not a whole month.  Good luck!

Edited September 21, 2017 by JOL

[larnar1309 101]

14 hours ago, JOL said:

Yeah, that does NOT mean you will not still receive a checklist, but does strongly suggest any checklist you do receive will merely require the additional documents be presented by the Beneficiary at the interview, not sent to the NVC to restart the whole 8-11 week review process from the beginning.  I say that because they emailed us a checklist after I confirmed our CC by phone, and a few days before they emailed us our interview date and instructions.  However, the checklist email REPEATEDLY said to NOT send the additional required documents to the NVC, but provide them to the Beneficiary so she can present them to the consular officer at her interview.  And since I sent her a copy of our NVC packet, and that packet actually DOES have the "missing" document (in two different versions, no less) she already has it and no further action is required.

All that to say:  Just because you got a CC does not guarantee you will not also still get a checklist, but IF you do it should not delay your case as long as your Beneficiary has the requested document at their interview.

 

Congrats to you and David-Liss on the unofficial CCs; I feel a little bad they are making ya'll wait til November for interviews when they scheduled ours for the end of October, but if I understand how they do things ya'll will probably be interviewed at the start of November, so it will still only be a week or two after us, not a whole month.  Good luck!

 

Thanks for the heads up  we put so much effort into the package in order to AVOID restarting the 8-11 week process. This is great news. Now to checking my emails everyday like a madman again  

 

So excited to hear the news from all the October interview dates. Hoping ours is beginning of November as well.

 

I was speaking with @LaurenAndBrent about POE over message and we were wondering what the situation is with entry and then leaving. I have return tickets to see my husband over thanksgiving. If I got my interview before then, would I still be able to do POE and then return to England after thanksgiving with no problems? 

[JOL 19]

7 hours ago, larnar1309 said:

 

Thanks for the heads up  we put so much effort into the package in order to AVOID restarting the 8-11 week process. This is great news. Now to checking my emails everyday like a madman again  

 

So excited to hear the news from all the October interview dates. Hoping ours is beginning of November as well.

 

I was speaking with @LaurenAndBrent about POE over message and we were wondering what the situation is with entry and then leaving. I have return tickets to see my husband over thanksgiving. If I got my interview before then, would I still be able to do POE and then return to England after thanksgiving with no problems? 

I would double check with the NVC, but one potential wrinkle is that I believe you must surrender your passport at the interview and wait for them to mail it back to you with a visa stamp in it.  If you got it back before you left for the US it may not be a problem, but otherwise it is rather difficult to travel internationally without a passport.

 

Also bear in mind that foreign entry to the US is ALWAYS subject to the discretion of USCIS officers at the airport; when I moved back to the States I had an overnight layover at JFK and ran into a Brit who was (attempting to) visit(ing) his US girlfriend and answered their relationship questions slightly differently at the PoE than he had before leaving:  They decided he was attempting visa fraud and would be on the first plane back to the UK in the morning; he was not even allowed to leave the airport.  I would say that since you have return tickets there should be no problem, but I am sure he he had them too, and it did not matter.  Normally I understand they consider things like return tickets as part of the larger issue of whether you have compelling reasons to leave after admission (e.g. a job, family in your country of residence etc.) but since you are already immigrating to the US soon anyway, they could be hard to convince.  Good luck either way; it would be a shame to miss Thanksgiving when you are already so close (something I have considered myself.)

Edited September 22, 2017 by JOL

[larnar1309 101]

5 hours ago, JOL said:

I would double check with the NVC, but one potential wrinkle is that I believe you must surrender your passport at the interview and wait for them to mail it back to you with a visa stamp in it.  If you got it back before you left for the US it may not be a problem, but otherwise it is rather difficult to travel internationally without a passport.

 

Also bear in mind that foreign entry to the US is ALWAYS subject to the discretion of USCIS officers at the airport; when I moved back to the States I had an overnight layover at JFK and ran into a Brit who was (attempting to) visit(ing) his US girlfriend and answered their relationship questions slightly differently at the PoE than he had before leaving:  They decided he was attempting visa fraud and would be on the first plane back to the UK in the morning; he was not even allowed to leave the airport.  I would say that since you have return tickets there should be no problem, but I am sure he he had them too, and it did not matter.  Normally I understand they consider things like return tickets as part of the larger issue of whether you have compelling reasons to leave after admission (e.g. a job, family in your country of residence etc.) but since you are already immigrating to the US soon anyway, they could be hard to convince.  Good luck either way; it would be a shame to miss Thanksgiving when you are already so close (something I have considered myself.)

Yea I'm not worried about visiting and questions coz I've been to the US over 5

times and back this past year and never had any issues!  But yea it would be a problem if I didn't get my passport back in time .. what can happen in those situations ??? 

[JOL 19]

2 minutes ago, larnar1309 said:

Yea I'm not worried about visiting and questions coz I've been to the US over 5

times and back this past year and never had any issues!  But yea it would be a problem if I didn't get my passport back in time .. what can happen in those situations ??? 

I believe the short answer is "you will not be allowed on the plane."  I hate to say it, but you may need to start at least looking into whether your tickets can be refunded, because I know no way to be sure right now when your interview will occur.  Based on our experience and those others reported, I would expect your email to come by the end of next week and your interview to be around the end of the first week of November.  However, and once again, I cannot be sure of that, and since 1 November is on Tuesday this year Thanksgiving comes early (specifically, the 23rd, as you may already know) it sounds like your window will be very tight; the sole question there is HOW tight.  Very sorry to hear that, but all I can suggest is calling the embassy (I believe it, not the NVC, schedules interviews) daily until/unless you hear something definite about the interview date.  

 

For what it's worth, Norwegian Air has dirt cheap ($200-300) direct flights from Heathrow to JFK, though you would need to book a separate flight to from JFK to your ultimate destination (unless it happens to be NYC) and there is one flight daily, arriving in NYC at 8PM (which is why I wind up staying at the airport overnight:  There were no flights to Texas before early the next morning.)  They have also recently added other direct flights from Heathrow to a few US destinations (Miami and Vegas are the ones I recall, but I think they also do L.A.)  Again, sorry to hear it is getting so complicated (and possibly wasteful) for ya'll; hopes and prayers everything works out for the best.

[larnar1309 101]

11 hours ago, JOL said:

I believe the short answer is "you will not be allowed on the plane."  I hate to say it, but you may need to start at least looking into whether your tickets can be refunded, because I know no way to be sure right now when your interview will occur.  Based on our experience and those others reported, I would expect your email to come by the end of next week and your interview to be around the end of the first week of November.  However, and once again, I cannot be sure of that, and since 1 November is on Tuesday this year Thanksgiving comes early (specifically, the 23rd, as you may already know) it sounds like your window will be very tight; the sole question there is HOW tight.  Very sorry to hear that, but all I can suggest is calling the embassy (I believe it, not the NVC, schedules interviews) daily until/unless you hear something definite about the interview date.  

 

For what it's worth, Norwegian Air has dirt cheap ($200-300) direct flights from Heathrow to JFK, though you would need to book a separate flight to from JFK to your ultimate destination (unless it happens to be NYC) and there is one flight daily, arriving in NYC at 8PM (which is why I wind up staying at the airport overnight:  There were no flights to Texas before early the next morning.)  They have also recently added other direct flights from Heathrow to a few US destinations (Miami and Vegas are the ones I recall, but I think they also do L.A.)  Again, sorry to hear it is getting so complicated (and possibly wasteful) for ya'll; hopes and prayers everything works out for the best.

 

I don't think they can be refunded coz got them as cheap flights on cheap airline direct to Colorado. But yea I trust in the universe enough not to cancel them. Hopefully it will work out. If not I'll go back at Xmas anyway  if this journey has taught me anything - it's patience !! Haha 

 

thanks for all the advice  much appreciated. 

[JOL 19]

29 minutes ago, larnar1309 said:

 

I don't think they can be refunded coz got them as cheap flights on cheap airline direct to Colorado. But yea I trust in the universe enough not to cancel them. Hopefully it will work out. If not I'll go back at Xmas anyway  if this journey has taught me anything - it's patience !! Haha 

 

thanks for all the advice  much appreciated. 

No problem, but you are welcome and encouraged to verify it all with the US embassy there, if only because procedures vary by embassy and even WITHIN a given embassy:  The US embassy in Sweden requires Swedish residents to register with a courier service that returns their passport and delivers their PoE packet, but uses regular mail to do the same thing for Danes and Norwegians (unsure if that is better or worse.)  The instructions included with our interview notification said it can take up to SIXTY DAYS to get the PoE packet and passport from them, but my wife says she has seen many people saying it only took a week or two, so we are crossing our fingers they can be here by Thanksgiving (though waiting til mid-November to book tickets will make it more expensive; OTOH, since Turkey Day is the semi-official start of the US holiday season flights will only get MORE expensive from then until after New Years.)  But, and again I hate to be the bearer of bad news, it is theoretically possible neither you nor she will get to the States by Christmas, much less Thanksgiving.

 

Call your embassy, because I do not pretend to know everything or be infallible, and they assuredly know more and more reliably regardless.  They may even be able to tell you your interview date already (since they are the ones who assign it anyway:  You should be done with the NVC now.)  Of course, it is Saturday, so you get to wait a couple days before you can reach them (makes me wonder:  What happens if a US national overseas needs our local embassy after 5PM and/or on a weekend?  Because when you truly NEED your embassy, you rarely have time to wait.)

[larnar1309 101]

On 2017/9/23 at 6:44 AM, JOL said:

No problem, but you are welcome and encouraged to verify it all with the US embassy there, if only because procedures vary by embassy and even WITHIN a given embassy:  The US embassy in Sweden requires Swedish residents to register with a courier service that returns their passport and delivers their PoE packet, but uses regular mail to do the same thing for Danes and Norwegians (unsure if that is better or worse.)  The instructions included with our interview notification said it can take up to SIXTY DAYS to get the PoE packet and passport from them, but my wife says she has seen many people saying it only took a week or two, so we are crossing our fingers they can be here by Thanksgiving (though waiting til mid-November to book tickets will make it more expensive; OTOH, since Turkey Day is the semi-official start of the US holiday season flights will only get MORE expensive from then until after New Years.)  But, and again I hate to be the bearer of bad news, it is theoretically possible neither you nor she will get to the States by Christmas, much less Thanksgiving.

 

Call your embassy, because I do not pretend to know everything or be infallible, and they assuredly know more and more reliably regardless.  They may even be able to tell you your interview date already (since they are the ones who assign it anyway:  You should be done with the NVC now.)  Of course, it is Saturday, so you get to wait a couple days before you can reach them (makes me wonder:  What happens if a US national overseas needs our local embassy after 5PM and/or on a weekend?  Because when you truly NEED your embassy, you rarely have time to wait.)

yea I think in London you can have the same courier service package or you can also opt to collect your passport and documents. I've seen some people from London Embassy say they got their passport posted back to them within the week (3 days / 5 days) some people it takes a little longer.

 

I think I'm just gonna stay positive, not cancel anything, and hope for the best. I don't even have my interview date yet but the likelihood is that since October is full the London embassy will assign dates for the beginning week of November (which should give me enough time to get my passport back before thanksgiving on the 23rd) or they will be closed for thanksgiving and assign interview dates after thanksgiving week is over. In both cases I should be fine making the trip. 

 

If I get my interview date at an awkward time/date I will try calling the embassy but - worst case scenario I will of course go to the interview over taking a trip for thanksgiving. 

 

ALL IN ALL : FINGERS CROSSED FOR A GOOD INTERVIEW DATE!!!  

[JOL 19]

26 minutes ago, larnar1309 said:

yea I think in London you can have the same courier service package or you can also opt to collect your passport and documents. I've seen some people from London Embassy say they got their passport posted back to them within the week (3 days / 5 days) some people it takes a little longer.

 

I think I'm just gonna stay positive, not cancel anything, and hope for the best. I don't even have my interview date yet but the likelihood is that since October is full the London embassy will assign dates for the beginning week of November (which should give me enough time to get my passport back before thanksgiving on the 23rd) or they will be closed for thanksgiving and assign interview dates after thanksgiving week is over. In both cases I should be fine making the trip. 

 

If I get my interview date at an awkward time/date I will try calling the embassy but - worst case scenario I will of course go to the interview over taking a trip for thanksgiving. 

 

ALL IN ALL : FINGERS CROSSED FOR A GOOD INTERVIEW DATE!!!  

Sounds like you're likely to have an interview date before Thanksgiving, but getting our passport back by then could be iffy.  Either way, there is no point canceling the tickets if they cannot be refunded anyway; maybe you can try scalping them (legal in the US as long as sold for face value, but I do not know the UK law.)  Until you call the embassy it is really a gray area.

 

Good luck on your date and travels.  Could be worse:  You could have a trip like the Baltimore Ravens did.

Edited September 24, 2017 by JOL