How to reschedule an interview in London?!?!

[bbauer26 0]

So my husband had an interview date assigned to him in London but unfortunately he received this notice while in the states visiting me as I was due to have our first child. He had to miss his interview (yesterday) as it was scheduled within a week of my due date. 
 

Despite the fact that he was assured he would be able to reschedule once the appointment was missed (apparently you aren’t able to reschedule until you’ve missed it) the site says “there are no interview appointments available at the selected location. Please try again later.”

 

Does anyone have any insight on how they are currently posting new interview times? Is it at random as they open up? Is it one day a week or at a certain time and they release several?

 

We’re just at a loss and there is no helpful information on the site that we can find. 
 

Thank you so much for any and all help! 

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

You messed it up for not rescheduling before the interview, at this pandemic you can't just pick any date you like, it is depended on allocated slots at the embassy. You need to email the embassy immediately to explain and request a new appointment.

Edited October 28, 2020 by NancyNguyen

[FlashLG 152]

Not sure if it is still the case now, but when I booked my appointment for London a few years ago I kept checking back regularly on the website. I seem to recall that they updated the appointments each day, after midnight, to include new slots that had opened up due to cancellations etc. Not sure if that still applies now, especially as you mentioned they are not allowing cancellations. I would still advise that you keep checking the site regularly though for an opening. 

 

 

1 hour ago, NancyNguyen said:

You messed it up for not rescheduling before the interview, at this pandemic you can't just pick any date you like, it is depended on allocated slots at the embassy. You need to email the embassy immediately to explain and request a new appointment.

How have they messed up? They were instructed to reschedule after the appointment was missed as it wasn't possible to schedule an appointment until that point. 

[JFH 12,191]

*~*~*country-specific question moved to United Kingdom forum*~*~*

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

3 minutes ago, FlashLG said:

Not sure if it is still the case now, but when I booked my appointment for London a few years ago I kept checking back regularly on the website. I seem to recall that they updated the appointments each day, after midnight, to include new slots that had opened up due to cancellations etc. Not sure if that still applies now, especially as you mentioned they are not allowing cancellations. I would still advise that you keep checking the site regularly though for an opening. 

 

 

How have they messed up? They were instructed to reschedule after the appointment was missed as it wasn't possible to schedule an appointment until that point. 

Where does it say "they were instructed after it was missed". Have some common senses mate.

 

 

[JFH 12,191]

Keep checking on the website. Multiple times a day, if you can. New appointments are being loaded randomly as and when they become available. 

[Muffinji 43]

I also missed my original interview date as I was visiting my husband when I got the notice. However, I immediately e-mailed the embassy regarding the fact that I won’t be in Malaysia during the date and was told to contact them when I was back and ready for the interview. 
 

When I got back to Malaysia and was out of compulsory quarantine, I sent them an email letting them know that I was available and they noted it and then proceeded to check my documents and requested for me to complete my medical before they would assign me a date. 
 

they asked to upload the latest w-2 Into ceac and once I provided the documents they requested plus Informed them that I completed my medical, they thanked me and informed me they would be processing it. Then after maybe a week or so they sent me an email with my new interview date. 
 

also make sure that your embassy is actually open and doing consular processing because the day after my interview, my state went back into a semi lockdown stay at home situation again and the embassy then stopped consular processing again. 

 

this was for the US embassy in Malaysia though. 
 

so maybe it’s different for London. 
Only way to find out is to contact the embassy and wait for their reply. 
 

they might also be just limiting the number of people daily due to covid. So that they can avoid any form of crowd in the embassy. 🤔 

 

because I was told not to arrive early to wait due to COVID. 
 

 

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

Just now, JFH said:

Keep checking on the website. Multiple times a day, if you can. New appointments are being loaded randomly as and when they become available. 

The slots are super limited now so I think it would be easier to email them to request new appointment.

 

[Mariam&Smith 45]

7 minutes ago, FlashLG said:

Not sure if it is still the case now, but when I booked my appointment for London a few years ago I kept checking back regularly on the website. I seem to recall that they updated the appointments each day, after midnight, to include new slots that had opened up due to cancellations etc. Not sure if that still applies now, especially as you mentioned they are not allowing cancellations. I would still advise that you keep checking the site regularly though for an opening. 

 

 

How have they messed up? They were instructed to reschedule after the appointment was missed as it wasn't possible to schedule an appointment until that point. 

This time of pandemic is not "a few years ago". All interview sessions are reduced significantly.

[JFH 12,191]

1 minute ago, NancyNguyen said:

The slots are super limited now so I think it would be easier to email them to request new appointment.

 

Maybe. But checking themselves won’t hurt either. 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

2 hours ago, NancyNguyen said:

You messed it up for not rescheduling before the interview, at this pandemic you can't just pick any date you like, it is depended on allocated slots at the embassy. You need to email the embassy immediately to explain and request a new appointment.

London does not allow a reschedule until after the interview date has passed. They log on and pick “I have missed my appointment” then are taken to the calendar to choose a date.

 

41 minutes ago, FlashLG said:

 

How have they messed up? They were instructed to reschedule after the appointment was missed as it wasn't possible to schedule an appointment until that point. 

You are correct. 
 

34 minutes ago, NancyNguyen said:

The slots are super limited now so I think it would be easier to email them to request new appointment.

 

London does not answer emails quickly and have a procedure to find an open appointment online. That’s what they want him to do.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

2 hours ago, bbauer26 said:

Does anyone have any insight on how they are currently posting new interview times? Is it at random as they open up? Is it one day a week or at a certain time and they release several?

 There is no pattern since the embassy reopened. It used to be that at the end of October, they would open through December. Not any more.  On Oct 20, they opened some November dates up until the 15th or so. There were a few dates last week but those are gone now according to a member who is actively looking and refreshing his screen all day. Expect some more November dates to open soon. They have become tighter on dates since the ones eligible to use the calendar are few in number now—- K1s are suspended and the DCFs are all finished. That leaves expedites and missed appointment people. Keep trying.

[bbauer26 0]

2 hours ago, NancyNguyen said:

Where does it say "they were instructed after it was missed". Have some common senses mate.

 

 

Thank you for attempting to help... my husband did email and call prior to missing the appointment and was told he couldn’t reschedule until after the appointment was missed. Apologies if that wasn’t clear in my original post! 

[FlashLG 152]

3 hours ago, NancyNguyen said:

Where does it say "they were instructed after it was missed". Have some common senses mate.

 

 

In the original post, and then the OP has since reiterated in their recent comment.

Hope that is enough 'common senses' for you 'mate'.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

To add to the discussion, here is a recent email received from London Immigrant Visa Unit concerning an appointment request:

 

Thank you for your email. 
 
Appointments are booked through the Visa Appointment Service, not by email. You may wish to check the appointment calendar periodically for any newly released appointments or cancelations. However, as the calendar operates in real-time, we cannot guarantee an appointment on or before any given date. This is one reason why we advise all applicants against booking tickets or making irrevocable travel plans unless they have received their passport containing a valid U.S. visa appropriate for their purpose of travel.