Australians Waiting For Interview at US Consulate Sydney

[Daniella Reina 0]

On 4/16/2021 at 5:56 PM, Jaymit said:

I am waiting for my interview too at sydney consulate F2A

How long has you been waiting? 

 

Thank you, 

[Daniella Reina 0]

Hi,   I applied for spouse-immigrant visa, and currently waiting for my ds-260 approval, could someone indicate me what are the time frame after the ds-260 approval,  please? Like the interview time. I was planning to leave Australia on October but I am not sure if it is going to be possible. 

 

Thank you

[VJ0 4]

On 7/20/2021 at 10:24 AM, Daniella Reina said:

Hi,   I applied for spouse-immigrant visa, and currently waiting for my ds-260 approval, could someone indicate me what are the time frame after the ds-260 approval,  please? Like the interview time. I was planning to leave Australia on October but I am not sure if it is going to be possible. 

 

Thank you

It depends whether you are planning on applying for expedite. 

If you are, consider submitting your expedite request before you are documentarily qualified (DQ).

If you are approved for expedite, your case may only take a few weeks to be approved by NVC (providing NVC has all the documents, etc required. If not, there may be delays in your approval). 

 

If you are not applying for expedite, there will be quite a long wait.

 

An idea of timeline:

April 18 - submit DS-260

April 20 - submit expedite request

May 11 - expedite request approved

May 15 - Sydney receives case (opt for 'next available appointment').

Interview date set for July 20.

Sydney lockdowns have meant all interviews are cancelled until further notice. The Consulate at Sydney seems to have listed expedited cases as 'priority one' for rescheduling when lockdowns cease.

 

Whether you can leave by October I don't have an answer for that sorry. But hopefully this idea of timeline may help a little. 

 

[Daniella Reina 0]

3 hours ago, VJ0 said:

It depends whether you are planning on applying for expedite. 

If you are, consider submitting your expedite request before you are documentarily qualified (DQ).

If you are approved for expedite, your case may only take a few weeks to be approved by NVC (providing NVC has all the documents, etc required. If not, there may be delays in your approval). 

 

If you are not applying for expedite, there will be quite a long wait.

 

An idea of timeline:

April 18 - submit DS-260

April 20 - submit expedite request

May 11 - expedite request approved

May 15 - Sydney receives case (opt for 'next available appointment').

Interview date set for July 20.

Sydney lockdowns have meant all interviews are cancelled until further notice. The Consulate at Sydney seems to have listed expedited cases as 'priority one' for rescheduling when lockdowns cease.

 

Whether you can leave by October I don't have an answer for that sorry. But hopefully this idea of timeline may help a little. 

 

Thank you so much!!

 

Well I didn't have idea about the expedite request and my Ds-260 may arrive soon because the system indicate that they are reviewing the document from the 6th of jul and I submitted on 7th of jul. I had the issue that everyone seems to have with the police check report, luckily this time should be right!  Do you think I can still  submit an expedite request on the consulate with my ds-260 approved? 

 

Thank you again! 

[VJ0 4]

2 hours ago, Daniella Reina said:

Thank you so much!!

 

Well I didn't have idea about the expedite request and my Ds-260 may arrive soon because the system indicate that they are reviewing the document from the 6th of jul and I submitted on 7th of jul. I had the issue that everyone seems to have with the police check report, luckily this time should be right!  Do you think I can still  submit an expedite request on the consulate with my ds-260 approved? 

 

Thank you again! 

 

Yes you can still submit an expedite request.

 

You can email NVCExpedite@state.gov for an expedite request.

Within your email, it's very important to include all supportive documentation, as well as the following information;

• NVC Case Number
• Invoice ID Number
• Beneficiary Name, Date of birth and two contact phone numbers
• US Petitioner Name, Date of birth and two contact phone numbers 

They will request that information anyway, so submitting it all in the first email should speed things up for you.

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by VJ0
edit

[Taylor K 2]

Hello! Sorry, I am a bit late to the game, but have found this thread extremely helpful! 

 

I am planning on submitting an expedite request ASAP. My husband (in Victoria) and I (in Texas) received an email that our DQ last Thursday (22/07), and that NVC will work closely with the embassy in Sydney to schedule. Given the lockdowns, we don't really know what to expect. We have moved our big 'wedding' from this October to April 2022, which is good because he's not here! We are just trying to get our head around the timeline, which is impossible. We have an attorney, but she doesn't seem to know either ... it's been a journey. 

 

I am planning to email a request to expedite, as I have a letter from my counselor outlining my heightened anxiety, especially after having to establish domicile. Any insight from someone in a similar situation would be greatly appreciated!! I really want to get my hubs here. Thank you in advance

[VJ0 4]

8 hours ago, Taylor K said:

Hello! Sorry, I am a bit late to the game, but have found this thread extremely helpful! 

 

I am planning on submitting an expedite request ASAP. My husband (in Victoria) and I (in Texas) received an email that our DQ last Thursday (22/07), and that NVC will work closely with the embassy in Sydney to schedule. Given the lockdowns, we don't really know what to expect. We have moved our big 'wedding' from this October to April 2022, which is good because he's not here! We are just trying to get our head around the timeline, which is impossible. We have an attorney, but she doesn't seem to know either ... it's been a journey. 

 

I am planning to email a request to expedite, as I have a letter from my counselor outlining my heightened anxiety, especially after having to establish domicile. Any insight from someone in a similar situation would be greatly appreciated!! I really want to get my hubs here. Thank you in advance

Hi Taylor,

 

With the lockdowns I don't know how the Embassy is managing expedite requests. 

I can only suggest to submit your request and see how they respond. 

 

I think the normal timeframe before lockdown was 3-4 weeks for an expedite approval. 

 

I hope you can hear some encouraging news soon. 

 

Sorry I can't be of any more help.

Would love to hear how it goes for you.

[Taylor K 2]

12 hours ago, VJ0 said:

Hi Taylor,

 

With the lockdowns I don't know how the Embassy is managing expedite requests. 

I can only suggest to submit your request and see how they respond. 

 

I think the normal timeframe before lockdown was 3-4 weeks for an expedite approval. 

 

I hope you can hear some encouraging news soon. 

 

Sorry I can't be of any more help.

Would love to hear how it goes for you.

Thank you so much! I definitely will get that in ASAP, and will let you know how we go - fingers crossed!

[Daniella Reina 0]

4 hours ago, Sochi8 said:

I hope the timeline below helps shed some light on the NVC DQ process or the interview situation at US Consulate Sydney.

 

Has anyone been in contact with the Consulate who has more information about their rescheduling process after lockdown, particularly for those of us who already had an appointment set up and had it get canceled? They are usually very tight-lipped and vague, as they were in their response to me (below), but thought it might be worthwhile to ask if anyone knows....

 

 

CR-1 Timeline (from NVC processing):

March 15 - NVC received case from USCIS

March 17 - NVC Welcome Letter emailed

April 17 - All of our items completely submitted to NVC

(~NVC incorrectly marked one of our Australian documents as wrong document type and rejected it. We followed the reciprocity info and had to dispute their marking with NVC and get it approved - slowing us down about a week)

June 1 - NVC Document Qualified (WE DID NOT SUBMIT ANY TYPE OF EXPEDITE REQUEST)

June 22 - Email from NVC: Interview appointment at US Consulate SYD scheduled for 6 July

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 26 - Sydney enters lockdown and US Consulate SYD closes

July 1 - Email from US Consulate SYD notifying of canceled interview appointment for next week

July 18 - We email US Consulate SYD regarding possible emergency interviews as I am leaving the country soon this is their response:

"If we are unable to conduct IV appointments, we would also not be able to accommodate emergency requests and interviews."

Ohh I though that the US consulate was conducting interviews, my husband called on Monday and they said they are, so I though that people living in NSW would be able to go. So frustrating  .  Have you done your medical certificated yet? 

 

Thank you!!! 

[hctiwsblade13 5]

We just got our DQ for CR1 visa. Do we know if the Sydney Consulate is even accepting cases from the NVC right now given the lockdown? We're working on scheduling spouse's medical exam, and then as soon as that is done, emailing the consulate to say we could fly to Sydney at a moment's notice. And then planning on flying to LAX the moment we receive his passport back. Any clues on what the NVC to Consulate process is like right now?

[Naomi1984 12]

2 hours ago, hctiwsblade13 said:

We just got our DQ for CR1 visa. Do we know if the Sydney Consulate is even accepting cases from the NVC right now given the lockdown? We're working on scheduling spouse's medical exam, and then as soon as that is done, emailing the consulate to say we could fly to Sydney at a moment's notice. And then planning on flying to LAX the moment we receive his passport back. Any clues on what the NVC to Consulate process is like right now?

I emailed them a week or so ago and they said all interviews have been cancelled until at least the end of this month. 

[ClaireH93 4]

7 hours ago, hctiwsblade13 said:

We just got our DQ for CR1 visa. Do we know if the Sydney Consulate is even accepting cases from the NVC right now given the lockdown? We're working on scheduling spouse's medical exam, and then as soon as that is done, emailing the consulate to say we could fly to Sydney at a moment's notice. And then planning on flying to LAX the moment we receive his passport back. Any clues on what the NVC to Consulate process is like right now?

I’d be very hesitant to schedule the medical exam unless you have applied for and been granted an expedite by the consulate. 
when the consulate reopens for interviews, expedited cases will be first in line for interviews, then it will be by DQ date order. Being you’re only just DQ, you’d be at least a month away for an interview under normal circumstances. 
 

I was automatically expedited by the Sydney consulate for my interview (I’d been DQ and they were shut for 3 months so my case was getting old) and even after the expedite it was still a month before interview. 
If the consulate remains shut for another two months, you’ll run the risk of the medical expiring - they’re not cheap but they are super easy. 
 

all that being said, the consulate will not move you forward in the queue just because you have your medical done. 
it is all done by date order; the only way to jump the queue is to expedite 

[Daniella Reina 0]

On 8/18/2021 at 1:43 PM, Sochi8 said:

As far as we’re aware they are not conducting any face to face business/ Interviews… we haven’t heard anything from Consulate if they have, in fact, resumed interviews since July when they suspended them.
 

Who did you contact out of curiosity? There isn’t a direct line to the Sydney Consulate, only to the USA travel docs people (a 1300 number) who are an offshore call center and who can only help schedule interviews. They really don’t know the daily operations of the consulate or the covid restrictions here - at least that is our experience and impression from dealing with them!

 

and nope haven’t done the medical yet. We called the clinic in Sydney in late July and they said they could possibly do it, but would need to get back to us on it. They never got back. When we called back they said to try calling back again in a few weeks as they were swamped with vaccine requests and covid commotion.

 

let’s all hope Sydney can get through this soon!

Hi! Yes I asked my husband about the phone number, and you were right. 

 

Thank you!

[Nate Ander 0]

Does anyone know how long consular processing times are at the Sydney consulate right now?

My partner (in Sydney) and I (in US) are deciding between applying for CR-1 or K-1. We've always heard that CR-1 is preferred, but our lawyer just told us that consular processing times are like ~2 years now because the consulates were closed for so long, so K-1 may be better despite having to wait for work/travel authorization.

Any answers on processing times will be much appreciated.

[Daniella Reina 0]

18 hours ago, Nate Ander said:

Does anyone know how long consular processing times are at the Sydney consulate right now?

My partner (in Sydney) and I (in US) are deciding between applying for CR-1 or K-1. We've always heard that CR-1 is preferred, but our lawyer just told us that consular processing times are like ~2 years now because the consulates were closed for so long, so K-1 may be better despite having to wait for work/travel authorization.

Any answers on processing times will be much appreciated.

Hi! 

 

Well, what your lawyer told you it is correct. I applied for IR-1 on 15th jun 2020, I got a faster response on my I-130 because my aunt-in-law wrote to the senator to help us with our case. The senator office definitely helped us to get our case approved by the USCIS, the office of the senator  wrote an email, and the next days we received the approved letter, we had been waiting for almost a year with 0 answers prior that. I applied as well for K-1 but It got rejected due to my approval of I-130. Then,  you submit your documents for NVC takes around 45 working days, if your document is rejected you need to wait other 45 working days. BTW be careful with your police certificate. I got my DQ yesterday. Good luck