Australians Waiting For Interview at US Consulate Sydney

[GiggsMcGill 40]

4 minutes ago, John0990 said:

Hi Giggs, I was going to do that but just saw other posts where it seems if you are in Victoria we are not even being looked at until the border issue is resolved. Such a long road here to the last stage and now this. Lets hope the whole covid thing is sorted soon.

Oh totally! Didn't look to see you were in Vic hopefully sorted soon for sure!

[Sharni 27]

44 minutes ago, WhyUSoMadFor said:

What is this supposed to mean? I have an approved expedite and they told me to pay the fee and create account etc, then I email them back to get an appointment and they tell me this???

I was put on a wait list because I asked for my interview for 3 weeks out. A week later, I got my appointment time.  I think they are only scheduling so far in advance and there have been quite a few successful expedite requests, so the numbers in the queue are increasing.   The other reason might be as Zochu mentioned, if you are be in Victoria they will schedule your interview when the borders re-open.  

 

[WhyUSoMadFor 62]

1 minute ago, Sharni said:

I was put on a wait list because I asked for my interview for 3 weeks out. A week later, I got my appointment time.  I think they are only scheduling so far in advance and there have been quite a few successful expedite requests, so the numbers in the queue are increasing.   The other reason might be as Zochu mentioned, if you are be in Victoria they will schedule your interview when the borders re-open.  

 

I'm sitting in Brisbane right now even though my case lists Melbourne, I tried telling them that specifically but I'm not sure if they even read it.

 

At which point did you get on a 'waitlist'? Can you tell me what other communication you had with the consulate before they did that? Did they say the exact same thing as mine?

[Sharni 27]

Just now, WhyUSoMadFor said:

I'm sitting in Brisbane right now even though my case lists Melbourne, I tried telling them that specifically but I'm not sure if they even read it.

 

At which point did you get on a 'waitlist'? Can you tell me what other communication you had with the consulate before they did that? Did they say the exact same thing as mine?

After the expedite was approved at end of August, I was sent an email on 1 September with 3 options and could choose to have an interview immediately, or put it off for a couple of months.  I chose Option 1 (straight away, but in 3 weeks).   They wrote back saying they weren't scheduling any appointments that far out and would put me on the waitlist.  A week later they sent me an email with the scheduled date of 22 September.

[WhyUSoMadFor 62]

1 minute ago, Sharni said:

After the expedite was approved at end of August, I was sent an email on 1 September with 3 options and could choose to have an interview immediately, or put it off for a couple of months.  I chose Option 1 (straight away, but in 3 weeks).   They wrote back saying they weren't scheduling any appointments that far out and would put me on the waitlist.  A week later they sent me an email with the scheduled date of 22 September.

Yeah unfortunately I didn't get sent those options, they just straight up told me they aren't scheduling appointments at all due to COVID. I wish I could contact them another way because they seem to ignore what I wrote in the email saying I am not currently in Melbourne.

[PriscillaQOTD 23]

On 9/22/2020 at 8:44 AM, zochu said:

yes so consulate will either issue or refuse. If you’re missing documents it’s considered “refused” regardless if they approved it on the day. 
 

if you are missing documents it’ll go to refused.

 

once they get the all the documents they will put you in admin processing. This is where they print the visa, once visa is printed it will say “issued”.

 

took around 1-2 days from admin processing to issued. 

Hi Zochu  I'm just wondering what you submitted for the Joint Sponsor docs? Did you have to submit their tax transcript or was their tax return enough? My joint sponsor had their tax return emailed to them from their accountant after lodgement but I'm not sure if that's considered a tax transcript or if one is even needed. Thanks

[PriscillaQOTD 23]

On 9/13/2020 at 11:32 AM, Sharni said:

Hi, I'm reaching out to anyone who has been for an interview at the US Consulate recently for some information around how the interview goes.  I've read some posts and they've been very useful.  I'd be glad to hear of anyone's experiences from start to finish, but I'm particularly keen to hear if I should take certified copies of all the original documents, or do they just sight the originals and hand them back?     Do I need to take copies of things that were digital to start with, such as a tax transcript.

 

In the email they sent me for prep for the interview on the 22nd, they were quite specific about the original documents that I needed to bring, but I think I should take as much as possible, particularly around the AOS supporting documents.  I'm keen to hear other people's experiences and advice.  TIA

 

Hi Sharni, just wondering how you were able to get your Tax transcript? I try to register online and it says that my details don't match. I then tried to call and there is an automated message that says you cannot request it at this time. 

[zochu 255]

32 minutes ago, PriscillaQOTD said:

Hi Zochu  I'm just wondering what you submitted for the Joint Sponsor docs? Did you have to submit their tax transcript or was their tax return enough? My joint sponsor had their tax return emailed to them from their accountant after lodgement but I'm not sure if that's considered a tax transcript or if one is even needed. Thanks

 

With our JS we submitted:

 

- i864 

- i864a (as the JS was/is married) 

- x 3 year of the full tax transcript 

- x 3 years of W2's

- proof of US citizenship 

- proof of US domicile (Drivers License)

- proof of house deed/title + evaluation but we did not submit any other i864(z/e/etc) just more proof JS can support me and their family. 

 

I think a full tax transcript is preferred with Sydney. BUT you could get away with a tax return, W2 and the 1040s too. 

[zochu 255]

1 hour ago, WhyUSoMadFor said:

Yeah unfortunately I didn't get sent those options, they just straight up told me they aren't scheduling appointments at all due to COVID. I wish I could contact them another way because they seem to ignore what I wrote in the email saying I am not currently in Melbourne.

 

I think you may need to change your actual address in your visa application - thats what they are probably going off. If you can, change it to your new QLD address. If you already haven't done so, I would highly recommend you do it. 

 

I would email stating there is an error in the visa application, namely, the residential address and that it needs to be updated.

 

Once you have updated it then email again requesting a new interview date as you are no longer living/a resident of Victoria so covid19 restrictions should not apply to you. 

[Sharni 27]

2 hours ago, PriscillaQOTD said:

Hi Sharni, just wondering how you were able to get your Tax transcript? I try to register online and it says that my details don't match. I then tried to call and there is an automated message that says you cannot request it at this time. 

Hi PriscillaQOTD, we didn't.  My husband has been working here, and although he lodged his return in the US as he should, he wasn't able to select the appropriate fields in the form to be able to get the transcript.  He ended up scanning the whole tax return with his signature on it.  It was accepted.

[PriscillaQOTD 23]

11 minutes ago, Sharni said:

Hi PriscillaQOTD, we didn't.  My husband has been working here, and although he lodged his return in the US as he should, he wasn't able to select the appropriate fields in the form to be able to get the transcript.  He ended up scanning the whole tax return with his signature on it.  It was accepted.

That's such good news, thanks Sharni! Did he explain that in a signed letter that you gave during your interview or did you just tell them that?

[PriscillaQOTD 23]

2 hours ago, zochu said:

 

With our JS we submitted:

 

- i864 

- i864a (as the JS was/is married) 

- x 3 year of the full tax transcript 

- x 3 years of W2's

- proof of US citizenship 

- proof of US domicile (Drivers License)

- proof of house deed/title + evaluation but we did not submit any other i864(z/e/etc) just more proof JS can support me and their family. 

 

I think a full tax transcript is preferred with Sydney. BUT you could get away with a tax return, W2 and the 1040s too. 

Okay thank you! I will get a transcript off them just to be safe. 

[Sharni 27]

10 minutes ago, PriscillaQOTD said:

That's such good news, thanks Sharni! Did he explain that in a signed letter that you gave during your interview or did you just tell them that?

Now that you mention it, that would have been a good idea, but he just printed out the form and highlighted the sections that asked which State he filed in, which he couldn't complete.  He was leaving it up to me to explain that if they asked any questions, but they didn't.  We did have copies of pay slips and also a letter from his employer here stating he would be working from their US office when we relocate, as well as a letter from them with his earnings agreement. 

[PriscillaQOTD 23]

15 minutes ago, Sharni said:

Now that you mention it, that would have been a good idea, but he just printed out the form and highlighted the sections that asked which State he filed in, which he couldn't complete.  He was leaving it up to me to explain that if they asked any questions, but they didn't.  We did have copies of pay slips and also a letter from his employer here stating he would be working from their US office when we relocate, as well as a letter from them with his earnings agreement. 

That's really helpful, thanks for the info!

[Adrian6584 7]

Hope that everyone is holding up alright! I was hoping someone might know how long it takes for the Consulate to schedule an interview post the NVC expediting it to the Sydney Consulate. We received the message below from the NVC last Thursday but haven't heard from the Sydney Consulate since then (we live in Sydney). 

The U.S. Embassy/Consulate General in SYDNEY, ASTL approved your request for expedited processing of your immigrant visa application. The National Visa Center sent your immigrant visa application to the U.S. Embassy/Consulate General in SYDNEY, ASTL for their action. The Embassy/Consulate General will contact you soon to schedule a visa interview.