appleblossom

That's massively helpful thank you. I'm expecting to have to cancel the interview date we're given as well and reschedule, we're EB1 though so just hoping it's the same process for us and we don't have to wait until the original interview date to do so.

Dates for filing do affect it though (so somebody born in India or China couldn't submit docs now), but yours is before that anyway. Might be worth filling in your immigration timeline in your profile if you wouldn't mind? It's always helpful to others in the same category, especially as there aren't many of us that are EB's on here.

Has EB2 retrogressing affected you, when is your PD and from which country? Just wondered if that may be why you haven't heard.

EB1/2 applicants can't upload their documents online, we have to send them in the mail. Not sure about other EB applicants, but it may be the same for them too. Mine are due to be delivered tomorrow (EB1), so will keep you posted OP! Hope you hear soon.

Guess it’s a wait and see, what rules the Home Office will introduce. Everything I’ve read says it’ll be the same as other countries with a similar scheme such as Canada or the US, with a legal requirement to enter on a British passport, but until full details are released nobody can know for sure.

Ah, so not specific to the ETA system? I suspect that’ll be updated when it rolls out fully. That’s why Brits will need a passport to enter - they won’t be eligible for a visa or ETA so will have to have a passport or won’t be allowed to board the plane.

That is a pain. Maybe because by the time you have your interview it will be 6 months though?

It’ll be a while before the US is added I think. Where is that last sentence from though? Everything I’ve read about the ETA says UK cits will have to have a valid British passport to enter, just as other countries with similar systems (US, Canada, Oz etc).

Yep, the US is different to the UK, there is no requirement for British citizens to enter on a UK passport. For now at least - the new ETA system being introduced this year (similar to ESTA) is expected to change that.

I’m glad you’ve heard something at least and hope the document is easy to get & submit. Do you have to mail it or is there a quicker/easier way they give for you to send it?

It will depend on the consulate. Some are scheduling pretty quickly, others have huge backlogs. Have you had your expedite request granted?

OK, so that brings another problem. Horrible to think about it, but if his mum's 85 he'll have to be realistic if she may not be around by the time his priority date becomes current. Does he have a sibling or another relative that could petition for him as well as back up maybe?

He can't stay longer than 6 months on a tourist visa though, so best to petition for him asap and get him in the queue for an immigrant visa as well.

Sounds like you're thinking of Premium Processing, unfortunately not an option for I-130's.

Oh, I see. You can search for timelines on the forum, but if it's anything like EB1 they are very rare, I only found two and both were from last year so not really much use for knowing current timescales. This thread is the only recent-ish one I've found for EB interviews at London.

I hope you hear very soon. Our civil docs have just been picked up today by UPS for our EB-1, should be delivered to the US on Monday so I'll be almost exactly a month behind you. Every time I get an alert that somebody has posted in this thread I hope it's somebody that's had their IL, but not yet! Hopefully soon for all.

After an interview, then if all is well, it should only be a couple of week before the passport is returned. It doesn't take long for the visa to be printed and for it to be couriered back. That's the same for all visa routes, our passports were recently returned (O visas) after 10 days.

Even if it's not cancelled, the OP would have to reapply, saying they've now had a visa refusal. Which would mean being unlikely to be able to travel using the VWP for quite some time. OP, could you split your travels instead? If you have a specific reason for needing longer i.e. you're hiking the Appalachian Trail, and can show an itinerary, then you may be more likely to get the B2, but otherwise it's a big risk.

OK, sounds awful saying this about a divorce, but that's good news for him now. Means it may be 10 years rather than 20! And cuts a decade or so off his sons waiting time too.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Show your Uncle and grandmother the Visa Bulletin above, and set their expectations accordingly. Just get the I-130 filed asap so that he's in the queue, but he won't be moving for at least a decade, far longer if he's married.

A K-4 isn't relevant for your situation. It's only for children - not anybody aged over 21 who aren't 'children' in US immigration terms - and even then is only for children of K-3 visa applicants. https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-of-us-citizens/k-3k-4-nonimmigrant-visas

Yes but it will take him many years to get his green card. You can look at the Visa Bulletin (mentioned in the article above) to see the possible wait time for him, if he's not married then look at category F1 (currently processing applications received in 2014), if he's married then it's category F3 (processing applications received in 2008). https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2023/visa-bulletin-for-april-2023.html So best case scenario, if he's unmarried and applies now then his priority date may become current in around 2033 (as a very rough guide - could be longer as the Covid backlog is expected to lengthen that time), so citizenship in 2038/2039. His sons then have the same wait for a visa, so another 10-20 years after that.

As above, no. They'd need to wait until their father became a citizen and then he can petition for them. So waiting for decades, they should look at other options.

OK, so your grandmother can't petition her grandchildren, and they should definitely explore other visa options, it would be decades before they could move via family.

Is your Uncle a US citizen? If so, he can petition for them, it's a heck of a long wait though (longer for the one that's married) so they might want to explore work visas to see if there is any quicker way over for them.