appleblossom

Which consulate? Some still have huge backlogs and long waits for appointments.

There's a step by step guide to the whole process on the NVC website - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition/step-2-begin-nvc-processing.html HTH.

That doesn't seem right at all. Our I-140 was approved on 18th Feb (TSC) and sent to NVC 5 days later on 23rd Feb. I'd definitely keep chasing it up.

wow, that's super quick. Ours was approved on 18th Feb, sent to NVC 23rd Feb so going on their published times we should get the welcome email next week if all is ok, but maybe it'll be sooner if others are hearing back in just a couple of days. Good luck with your parents app.

Is that specific to spousal applicants? We're applying for an employment based green card and NVC timelines show approx 3 weeks for case creation/welcome letter once it's been sent to NVC. Ours was sent on 23rd Feb, so I was expecting the email sometime next week, but your info seems to say we should have it already? Thanks.

We were having the same quandary, but I have a business account with Starling, and it turns out they do US checking accounts for customers. Free for the first month then £5 per month thereafter. It might be worth checking to see if your bank does the same? I don't know if it will work or not yet as we're still waiting for our welcome letter to pay the fees, but it gives me a US account number and APH routing number, so I can't see why it wouldn't. We also looked at other options like Wise/Revolut/AirWallex before I found I could open a US account with my current bank in just a few clicks, again I don't know if they would definitely work but it might be worth a try before you spend out on a flight over there? Good luck.