Any experience with interviews in Auckland?

[EKT 117]

22 minutes ago, rycilla said:

We received the same email as @MelanieR18 last week and sent our documents in for IR1/CR1. Which were delivered on Friday.

I asked if they had received them and they said:
 

I'm in Auckland, so thought that upon retrieval we would be able to schedule one.. but still waiting. Anyone else had better luck, and if yes, how long did you have to wait? 

Thank you!!
 

Typically IR1/CR1 interviews are prioritised by DQ date (ours was late July). I think Auckland usually only has a handful of applicants to interview each month but it would be interesting to know what kind of backlog they have.

 

@rycilla have you/your spouse had the medical already? I know @JoshandSarah and @MelanieR18 have so maybe they are prioritising people who are more likely to complete processing before the end of year closure. My husband hasn't had his medical yet as we are based in the South Island. He will end up doing it the same day as the interview, which will delay issuing of the visa until the report comes through.

 

It's very mysterious process right now!

 

 

[rycilla 14]

So stoked that things are moving again for you @JoshandSarah!!!!! Hoping everything goes smoothly 🤞🏼

@EKT yeah when I first got an interview date I scheduled my medical exam, and luckily they were still able to go through with it even though my interview got cancelled.
Weird though -- I was able to go for that full medical exam during level 3.. and yet.. they couldn't interview us during level 3. It blows my mind 😅

Yeah I was wondering if it might have to do with needing to wait for the backlog

Oh darn!!! That sucks about having to wait till he's up here to do it, hopefully not too long of a wait between the interview and the issuance!

[EKT 117]

5 minutes ago, rycilla said:

So stoked that things are moving again for you @JoshandSarah!!!!! Hoping everything goes smoothly 🤞🏼

@EKT yeah when I first got an interview date I scheduled my medical exam, and luckily they were still able to go through with it even though my interview got cancelled.
Weird though -- I was able to go for that full medical exam during level 3.. and yet.. they couldn't interview us during level 3. It blows my mind 😅

Yeah I was wondering if it might have to do with needing to wait for the backlog

Oh darn!!! That sucks about having to wait till he's up here to do it, hopefully not too long of a wait between the interview and the issuance!

Oh, that's awesome you got it done! He could have gone to Wellington in Level 2 but thought we would save a flight. We're not desperate to move but it would be great if he could get his visa and start negotiating a transfer with his company. Any progress would be great after 3 months! And yeah, the way they stated this in their last email made me think that Aucklanders would be able to go ahead regardless of date priority:

 

For applicants who have provided all documents to our office and are located in Auckland, we are currently advising those applicants of interviews available. This is based on the current lockdown situation.

 

 @MelanieR18 have you guys received a date? It seems like you would be one of the earliest DQ dates in Auckland... Seems like they should be able to do this with certainty now that they know traffic lights will come into play on the 3rd.

[MelanieR18 29]

18 minutes ago, EKT said:

 

 

 @MelanieR18 have you guys received a date? It seems like you would be one of the earliest DQ dates in Auckland... Seems like they should be able to do this with certainty now that they know traffic lights will come into play on the 3rd.

@EKT no date yet for us either, I'm super confused about the whole thing..

 

After we got that email from B asking for the civil documents to be sent, we couriered everything to them and they got it yesterday. We also created an account on ustraveldocs (the visa scheduling site mentioned on the consulate website) and requested an interview that way but we aren't able to book anything through there at the moment, the 'schedule an interview' area is not clickable.  I called the customer service for ustraveldocs and they said that they had to 'escalate it to the embassy' and aren't able to book us over the phone. So I'm really unsure of the next steps. I was thinking of emailing B again to see what is going on but it doesn't look like that will help based on what she emailed to @rycilla  

Because they know what date that we are going to the traffic light system, I don't know why they aren't making bookings now. It's so frustrating. 

[EKT 117]

45 minutes ago, MelanieR18 said:

@EKT no date yet for us either, I'm super confused about the whole thing..

 

After we got that email from B asking for the civil documents to be sent, we couriered everything to them and they got it yesterday. We also created an account on ustraveldocs (the visa scheduling site mentioned on the consulate website) and requested an interview that way but we aren't able to book anything through there at the moment, the 'schedule an interview' area is not clickable.  I called the customer service for ustraveldocs and they said that they had to 'escalate it to the embassy' and aren't able to book us over the phone. So I'm really unsure of the next steps. I was thinking of emailing B again to see what is going on but it doesn't look like that will help based on what she emailed to @rycilla  

Because they know what date that we are going to the traffic light system, I don't know why they aren't making bookings now. It's so frustrating. 

This is all so weird! I sent B an email today to let them know our documents will arrive tomorrow and asked if we could be notified of the interview date as far in advance as possible even if it's not until January, just to give us a better chance of lining up the medical and flights. If they're planning to schedule some on Dec 15th or 22nd, I can't think of any reason not to notify people of that now. They always seem to do interviews on a Wednesday so technically they could book Auckland people on the Dec 8th after yesterday's announcement.

 

Or maybe they've been reading this and having a good laugh as we all chase our tails trying to figure our what's actually going on!!

Edited November 23, 2021 by EKT

[EKT 117]

Sounds like it will be next week at the earliest before we hear anything about interviews due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Just got this from B:

 

The documents will go through the mail room, then be brought to me. Tomorrow is a U.S. public holiday, so the package should be brought to me the next day we are allowed in the office. Our time in the office has been limited. If the courier company advised the package has been delivered, you can be assured I will include his name on the list of applicants to notify when an appointment can be scheduled.

[MelanieR18 29]

Hi everyone, I emailed B yesterday and got some unfortunate news today:

 

The U.S. Consulate General Auckland will remain closed to routine immigrant visa applicants requiring in-person interviews until Auckland enters the orange level of the COVID Protection Framework / Traffic Light System. Please keep in mind that this situation is dynamic and we may cancel future appointments if Auckland returns to a state of lockdown.

 

[JoshandSarah 52]

8 minutes ago, MelanieR18 said:

Hi everyone, I emailed B yesterday and got some unfortunate news today:

 

The U.S. Consulate General Auckland will remain closed to routine immigrant visa applicants requiring in-person interviews until Auckland enters the orange level of the COVID Protection Framework / Traffic Light System. Please keep in mind that this situation is dynamic and we may cancel future appointments if Auckland returns to a state of lockdown.

 

How come I have an interview on the 15th then? I’m confused 

[MelanieR18 29]

19 minutes ago, JoshandSarah said:

How come I have an interview on the 15th then? I’m confused 

@JoshandSarah Right?! It is so confusing. Did you reschedule your interview through the UStraveldocs website?

[JoshandSarah 52]

3 minutes ago, MelanieR18 said:

@JoshandSarah Right?! It is so confusing. Did you reschedule your interview through the UStraveldocs website?

Nope I just scheduled it once and that’s it, she told me

 

“if you would like to log onto your GSS profile, we have opened up limited appointment slots for K1 fiance interviews to resume on Wednesday 15 December 2021, hoping all announcements moving forward from the New Zealand government do not set our plans back.

 

I will continue prepping your case file and if there is anything required, will be in touch to let you know” 

 

that was on the 15th November, So I did that

 

 

 

Edited November 30, 2021 by JoshandSarah

[JoshandSarah 52]

11 minutes ago, MelanieR18 said:

@JoshandSarah Right?! It is so confusing. Did you reschedule your interview through the UStraveldocs website?

Melanie, are you on a CR1 or IR1 visa??

[MelanieR18 29]

31 minutes ago, JoshandSarah said:

Melanie, are you on a CR1 or IR1 visa??

@JoshandSarah my husband is IR1. They must only being doing K1 interviews then, maybe those interviews are able to socially distance more than IR1 ones or something haha who knows.

Good luck at the interview,  hope it goes well for you guys and keep us updated!  

[JoshandSarah 52]

1 minute ago, MelanieR18 said:

@JoshandSarah my husband is IR1. They must only being doing K1 interviews then, maybe those interviews are able to socially distance more than IR1 ones or something haha who knows.

Good luck at the interview,  hope it goes well for you guys and keep us updated!  

Really confused here, I called the visa line to find out and they said my interview was still going ahead, so I'm happy about that but I'm terribly sorry for anyone who isn't in this boat 🥺

[kas & jewel 8]

Maybe the government is planning to shift it to orange on the Dec 13th announcement? Not sure if the embassy would know though… that’s the only thing I could think of? 😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️

[EKT 117]

1 hour ago, JoshandSarah said:

Really confused here, I called the visa line to find out and they said my interview was still going ahead, so I'm happy about that but I'm terribly sorry for anyone who isn't in this boat 🥺

Oh whew, I was worried yours might have been scheduled due to a miscommunication so that’s such a relief for you guys! Maybe they are allowing K-1s  in first because couples are more likely to have been apart since pre-covid 2020 like you guys.