July Interview Dates Open for London

[Bear_and_Bunny 25]

40 minutes ago, MattyUKtoUS said:

So all those with IR - CR + DCF visa appointments - Have you heard anything / are your appointments still going ahead?

 

It's sad to see so many K1 appointments getting cancelled. 

Hi. DCF IR appointment for 10th august still going ahead as of this moment.  Still a way out so who knows.  

 

Likewise a friends k1 interview for 7th Aug still going ahead as of this moment.  Not been contacted as of yet.  

[Sarahbmalvin 49]

2 minutes ago, Bear_and_Bunny said:

Hi. DCF IR appointment for 10th august still going ahead as of this moment.  Still a way out so who knows.  

 

Likewise a friends k1 interview for 7th Aug still going ahead as of this moment.  Not been contacted as of yet.  

I also have a K1 for aug 7th that has yet to be cancelled 🤞🏻

[Melc 138]

2 hours ago, MattyUKtoUS said:

So all those with IR - CR + DCF visa appointments - Have you heard anything / are your appointments still going ahead?

 

It's sad to see so many K1 appointments getting cancelled. 

I should have mine next Monday. I'll update here if it goes ahead as planned!

[MattyUKtoUS 242]

1 hour ago, Melc said:

I should have mine next Monday. I'll update here if it goes ahead as planned!

Good luck Mel!

 

Yes, please let us know! I am so happy that you are getting some progress.. It will be our turn soon! ❤️ 

[Bear_and_Bunny 25]

4 hours ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

I also have a K1 for aug 7th that has yet to be cancelled 🤞🏻

Fingers crossed for you!  Really hope it goes ahead.  If successful would you be travelling to the US soon after and if so, would you find a country to stay for 14 days before entering due to travel restrictions? 

2 hours ago, Melc said:

I should have mine next Monday. I'll update here if it goes ahead as planned!

Please do and good luck!!!

[Andrew@Michelle 19]

I just spoke to someone at the appointment centre who told me that K1 visa interviews are not happening. Why are they making appointments for them then? The whole thing is a disgrace.

[Sarahbmalvin 49]

13 minutes ago, Andrew@Michelle said:

I just spoke to someone at the appointment centre who told me that K1 visa interviews are not happening. Why are they making appointments for them then? The whole thing is a disgrace.

How were you able to get someone from the appointment center on the phone? 
 

According to your timeline you haven’t reached the embassy stage yet, which means you don’t have a case number, so you wouldn’t be able to schedule an interview regardless. 

Edited July 1, 2020 by Sarahbmalvin

[Andrew@Michelle 19]

23 minutes ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

How were you able to get someone from the appointment center on the phone? 
 

According to your timeline you haven’t reached the embassy stage yet, which means you don’t have a case number, so you wouldn’t be able to schedule an interview regardless. 

I just called out of curiosity and asked if they were making appointments for K1 interviews and she gave me a firm and resounding No! 
 

In the last 30 minutes I called them back and spoke to another call centre worker who insisted I give him a case number. He would not confirm whether or not interviews are taking place until I gave him a case number. 
 

The embassy in London along with others in the EU, appear to be aligning this to the travel ban. K1 visas are still being issued elsewhere in the world. This is so wrong because you can still enter the US by using a third country. 
 

If this continues then we will cancel the K1 process, get married in the U.K. and apply for a K3 which are unaffected by this. 

[Sarahbmalvin 49]

8 minutes ago, Andrew@Michelle said:

I just called out of curiosity and asked if they were making appointments for K1 interviews and she gave me a firm and resounding No! 
 

In the last 30 minutes I called them back and spoke to another call centre worker who insisted I give him a case number. He would not confirm whether or not interviews are taking place until I gave him a case number. 
 

The embassy in London along with others in the EU, appear to be aligning this to the travel ban. K1 visas are still being issued elsewhere in the world. This is so wrong because you can still enter the US by using a third country. 
 

If this continues then we will cancel the K1 process, get married in the U.K. and apply for a K3 which are unaffected by this. 

Gotcha! Unfortunately, the people who are currently answering the phones are the embassies are switchboard operators and likely cannot give you accurate information regarding any services. Someone on the phone when I called two weeks ago told me to just bring my fiance to the US on an ESTA (which is not possible given the travel bans) and get married there and he can stay which is completely inaccurate and also considered fraud lol

 

My fiance has a K1 interview scheduled for August 7th at the London Embassy which has yet to be cancelled, and so do some other people on this forum have August interviews that as of now are still moving forward. I think your best sources of accurate information this time is the UK Embassy and/or Department of state website, asking a question on the DoS Facebook or Twitter or reaching out to the embassy via email.

 

As for ditching the K1, it is so frustrating, but starting over for a K3 may take even longer given the state of USCIS and extended processing times. Seems like waiting it out is probably the best option for everyone right now unfortunately.

Edited July 1, 2020 by Sarahbmalvin

[Andrew@Michelle 19]

15 minutes ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

Gotcha! Unfortunately, the people who are currently answering the phones are the embassies are switchboard operators and likely cannot give you accurate information regarding any services. Someone on the phone when I called two weeks ago told me to just bring my fiance to the US on an ESTA (which is not possible given the travel bans) and get married there and he can stay which is completely inaccurate and also considered fraud lol

 

My fiance has a K1 interview scheduled for August 7th at the London Embassy which has yet to be cancelled, and so do some other people on this forum have August interviews that as of now are still moving forward. I think your best sources of accurate information this time is the UK Embassy and/or Department of state website, asking a question on the DoS Facebook or Twitter or reaching out to the embassy via email.

 

As for ditching the K1, it is so frustrating, but starting over for a K3 may take even longer given the state of USCIS and extended processing times. Seems like waiting it out is probably the best option for everyone right now unfortunately.

Hello Sarah,

 that is the conclusion that we arrived at too. Fortunately, Michelle and I are together in England at the moment. She is able to do her job from here. Her boss is an immigration lawyer so we are going to have a chat with him. We are happy to share our findings with you and our community here. It seems to me like the embassy have applied presidential proclamations to the wrong visa. I think Michelle would like to live in England. She prefers it here. We are currently renting a house in Bath. It’s her first time in England. 
 

The only advantage of the K3 route would be that the travel ban wouldn’t apply and you would have the piece of mind that these visas are still being issued because they’re family visas. They take a long time and they involve a lot more paperwork which does my head in at the best of times. To do this you have to cancel the K1 process first. This is a big decision because there is no coming back from that. Once you have done that then you’re committed to the K3. I bet any money if we did that then normal K1 visa service would resume. 

[Sarahbmalvin 49]

1 minute ago, Andrew@Michelle said:

Hello Sarah,

 that is the conclusion that we arrived at too. Fortunately, Michelle and I are together in England at the moment. She is able to do her job from here. Her boss is an immigration lawyer so we are going to have a chat with him. We are happy to share our findings with you and our community here. It seems to me like the embassy have applied presidential proclamations to the wrong visa. I think Michelle would like to live in England. She prefers it here. We are currently renting a house in Bath. It’s her first time in England. 
 

The only advantage of the K3 route would be that the travel ban wouldn’t apply and you would have the piece of mind that these visas are still being issued because they’re family visas. They take a long time and they involve a lot more paperwork which does my head in at the best of times. To do this you have to cancel the K1 process first. This is a big decision because there is no coming back from that. Once you have done that then you’re committed to the K3. I bet any money if we did that then normal K1 visa service would resume. 

Yeah, it is all a big guessing game right now and honestly the key seems to lie with when the embassies resume routine services.

 

Best of luck to you guys!

[shallot343 116]

38 minutes ago, Andrew@Michelle said:

I just called out of curiosity and asked if they were making appointments for K1 interviews and she gave me a firm and resounding No! 
 

In the last 30 minutes I called them back and spoke to another call centre worker who insisted I give him a case number. He would not confirm whether or not interviews are taking place until I gave him a case number. 
 

The embassy in London along with others in the EU, appear to be aligning this to the travel ban. K1 visas are still being issued elsewhere in the world. This is so wrong because you can still enter the US by using a third country. 
 

If this continues then we will cancel the K1 process, get married in the U.K. and apply for a K3 which are unaffected by this. 

K3 aren't really issued anymore-- I think you mean CR1 (spouse of under 2 years)?

 

I would stick with the K1 since you are both together at the moment and able to work....after the USCIS furlough I think the time frame for approval is going to get considerably longer (although we don't know yet, and since CR1s are able to be filed online  now there have been some really fast approvals, and then a delay between USCIS and NVC.

 

The other upside to CR1 though, as I am sure you know, is no wait between PoE and the ability to work. I cannot imagine how long it will take for K1s to get EADs after they file  for adjustment of status given the state of USCIS, so if being able to work right away once you end the US is important...that is a valid reason to abandon K1 and switch even if it considerably prolongs the process. 

[Sarahbmalvin 49]

8 minutes ago, Andrew@Michelle said:

Hello Sarah,

 that is the conclusion that we arrived at too. Fortunately, Michelle and I are together in England at the moment. She is able to do her job from here. Her boss is an immigration lawyer so we are going to have a chat with him. We are happy to share our findings with you and our community here. It seems to me like the embassy have applied presidential proclamations to the wrong visa. I think Michelle would like to live in England. She prefers it here. We are currently renting a house in Bath. It’s her first time in England. 
 

The only advantage of the K3 route would be that the travel ban wouldn’t apply and you would have the piece of mind that these visas are still being issued because they’re family visas. They take a long time and they involve a lot more paperwork which does my head in at the best of times. To do this you have to cancel the K1 process first. This is a big decision because there is no coming back from that. Once you have done that then you’re committed to the K3. I bet any money if we did that then normal K1 visa service would resume. 

How far along are you in the process? From your timeline it looks like you have only received NOA1, so at this point, you may not lose THAT much time by starting over for the CR1.

 

If you were at the point where you were just waiting for the interview, I think abandoning may be a mistake, but if you are only just at the beginning of the process it may not be a bad idea since USCIS is still operating and approving petitions, it is really only the embassy stage holding things up and by the time you get there things may be back to normal/even if they are not the CR1 is considered mission critical so there may be a higher chance of getting an interview.

[Andrew@Michelle 19]

18 minutes ago, shallot343 said:

K3 aren't really issued anymore-- I think you mean CR1 (spouse of under 2 years)?

 

I would stick with the K1 since you are both together at the moment and able to work....after the USCIS furlough I think the time frame for approval is going to get considerably longer (although we don't know yet, and since CR1s are able to be filed online  now there have been some really fast approvals, and then a delay between USCIS and NVC.

 

The other upside to CR1 though, as I am sure you know, is no wait between PoE and the ability to work. I cannot imagine how long it will take for K1s to get EADs after they file  for adjustment of status given the state of USCIS, so if being able to work right away once you end the US is important...that is a valid reason to abandon K1 and switch even if it considerably prolongs the process. 

Yes, that’s what I meant. The CR1. Not working after point of entry isn’t too important. This is just a massive over reaction to a bug that hardly touches the sides with most people. Thanks for your reply, it’s most appreciated.

[Andrew@Michelle 19]

16 minutes ago, Sarahbmalvin said:

How far along are you in the process? From your timeline it looks like you have only received NOA1, so at this point, you may not lose THAT much time by starting over for the CR1.

 

If you were at the point where you were just waiting for the interview, I think abandoning may be a mistake, but if you are only just at the beginning of the process it may not be a bad idea since USCIS is still operating and approving petitions, it is really only the embassy stage holding things up and by the time you get there things may be back to normal/even if they are not the CR1 is considered mission critical so there may be a higher chance of getting an interview.

Hi Sarah,

our timeline is accurate. We are about six weeks in. I understand what you’re saying. Yes, it wouldn’t be quite the sacrifice as it would be if we were at the point you’re at. 
 

What a dilemma. 
 

Regards

 

Andrew