Ernie73

9 minutes ago, snm2212 said:

 

That was also my other question. SInce, i will be out of states for few months (7-8 months). I was exploring sim option. But most of them ask to get a plan for sim which is i suppose a waste of money if u arenot staying for several months. Is there any option for sim like pay as you go? sorry for being silly

I have US Mobile, not all of their plans have native roaming. I've got the $29 per month 'unlimited starter' and it works fine. I've heard of Telo as well but don't have any experience with them. I'm sure you can find some cheaper ones that don't include calling and are data only but those won't work for banking.

DM me if you want 👍

Just now, snm2212 said:

 

Thanks @Ernie73 . Much appreciated. So, I wont be in the US when my SSN arrives. Its okay if i can open bank account online later. Thanks again.

Yeah, we had left the US before they arrived. No problems opening an account online. However, make sure you get yourself a US number. The importance of having a US number can not be overstated. You'll need it to activate the account and for various other things. 

2 hours ago, snm2212 said:

FOr those who are already in the US, how long did it take to receive green card? And also social security number. I plan to open bank account and also apply for credit card in the US . But I will be there oly for 4 days. Can I open account with stamp on passport and without SSN? Hoping for your suggestions

The SSN cards took about 10 days. Family of four, one did not arrive. All four green cards arrived in 39 days. I opened an account with Capital One online, had to upload passport and SSN. They do not require your visa, just an ID and your SSN.

On 2/2/2024 at 3:26 PM, dolibash said:

 

 

VJ User	Category	Priority Date (MM/DD/YYYY)	DQ Status (MM/DD/YYYY)	Interview Letter (MM/DD/YYYY)	Interview date (MM/DD/YYYY)	Interview location
@dolibash	EB2	07/22/22	04/12/23	01/16/2024	02/16/2024	London
@snm2212	EB2	09/29/22	04/21/23		Waiting	London
@Ernie73	EB2	09/19/22	05/04/23	01/09/2024	02/13/2024	Iceland
@Hithere222	EB1	05/16/22	04/25/23		Waiting	Kathmandu
@Kw1097	EB2	02/22/22	04/04/23	08/27/23	09/20/23	Doha
@Kashraz	EB1	06/30/22	04/04/23		Waiting
@Damiores	EB2	11/18/22	04/05/23		Waiting	Ankara
@W Herrera	EB2	12/14/21	06/08/23	08/02/23	09/13/23	Georgetown, Guyana
@Kalied	EB2	05/09/22	05/04/23		Waiting
@CMingo	EB2	05/02/22	03/21/23	09/01/23	10/27/23	London
@Appleblossom	EB1	02/08/23	04/21/23	05/20/23	07/17/23	London
@Luis M	EB2	06/10/22	07/27/23	09/01/23	10/30/23 to be rescheduled as can't  attend	London
@whitewizard	EB1	01/20/23	03/31/23	08/02/23	09/20/23	Mumbai
@nodisplay	EB1		04/17/23		Waiting	Montreal
@jimmy2k	EB2	02/01/11	Waiting		Waiting	Montreal
@dabursot2	EB2	01/20/23	08/15/23		Waiting	London
@azzz	EB1	03/27/23	05/17/23	10/05/23	11/21/23	Almaty
@MalaYoon	EB2	03/24/22	03/10/23	07/31/23		Kuala Lumpur
@Ayobami	EB2	01/10/22	03/22/23		Waiting	Johannesburg
@dtbaby	EB2	03/02/22	12/02/22		Waiting	Lagos
@Aya2538	EB2	08/30/21	04/18/23		Waiting	Ankara
@Rocha3	EB2	05/10/21	07/10/23		Waiting	Rio de Janeiro
@nothin2C	EB2	01/XX/22	08/24/23	08/28/23	10/28/23	Paris
@whereisme	EB2	01/03/23	8/26/23		Waiting	Argentina
@Rainbow Aligator	EB1	06/20/23	11/16/23		Waiting	London
@Eren	EB2	03/09/22	05/10/23	08/03/23 (took a while due to PD not being current)	09/29/23	London
@chy8	EB2	09/27/22	07/18/23
@mohamedaali2	EB2	07/01/21	08/04/23	Waiting	Waiting	Cairo
@Laulau	Eb2	10/20/2022	11/03/2023	01/04/2024	02/26/2024	Bogota
@Aanuoluwa	EB2	07/27/2023	11/07/2023		Waiting	Johannesburg

Hi everyone,

I've updated the table above to reflect my current status. Interview letter arrived on January 9th, interview was today, February 13th.

Everything went very well, in and out within an hour. Only basic questions and nothing but smiles and a friendly demeanor from the consular staff.

We were told to come back on Friday to pick up the passports 👍

17 hours ago, appleblossom said:

 

Nope, no way of knowing in advance. Your employer doesn't need it for you to be able to start work though. 

That's a shame. The job I want to apply for requires a SSN to fill out the application. I've heard the social security card is relatively quick to arrive. 

2 hours ago, snm2212 said:

Hello everyone. My original interview date is feb 23. However, I had to cancel it due to my personal issues. I am looking for a date after March 20. Anyone has any ideas when the interview dates will be released for March? Will it be available in January itself or I have to wait till IL in February are distributed?

 

thanks

I got my IL January 10th for a February 12th interview. Different country of course. Have you tried emailing the embassy directly and asking? From what I've read, they try to accommodate.

Could anyone answer me regarding the SSN that is assigned after entry to the US? Is there any way to know the number before the physical card arrives? Online? Embassy? My employer wants it asap...

54 minutes ago, Rainbow Aligator said:

I just got out of my interview in London! EB1 category. It was all straight forward, she asked why I have the skills for this visa and started my little spiel, then was basically cut off after a few seconds and she seemed satisfied. The person ahead of me was an actor who had been in Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings so I was feeling a little intimidated being interviewed in the same category as him haha. 
 

But after asking a couple more Qs she then said it was approved and my passport should be back in 1-2 weeks.

 

Phew! 

Very happy for you! 😎

I think I've been too worried and preoccupied about my interview since the I-140 approval, I don't know why. Did you feel that the officer was re-adjudicating your I-140 approval? Or, verifying that the submitted information is factually correct?

Congratulations on your green card again!

Same here. Case showed ready, the next day I got the interview letter. Medical is early February, interview February 12th. Still shows ready on ceac. 

Any EB2-NIW interview experiences by the way? Don't seem to find much. Thanks

5 minutes ago, dabursot2 said:

Congratulations, What is your consulate?

Iceland 

On 12/15/2023 at 1:26 PM, Rocha3 said:

 

 

VJ User	Category	Priority Date (MM/DD/YYYY)	DQ Status (MM/DD/YYYY)	Interview Letter (MM/DD/YYYY)	Interview date (MM/DD/YYYY)	Interview location
@dolibash	EB2	07/22/22	04/12/23		Waiting	Riyadh
@snm2212	EB2	09/29/22	04/21/23		Waiting	London
@Ernie73	EB2	09/19/22	05/04/23	01/10/2024	02/14/2024	Iceland
@Hithere222	EB1	05/16/22	04/25/23		Waiting	Kathmandu
@Kw1097	EB2	02/22/22	04/04/23	08/27/23	09/20/23	Doha
@Kashraz	EB1	06/30/22	04/04/23		Waiting
@Damiores	EB2	11/18/22	04/05/23		Waiting	Ankara
@W Herrera	EB2	12/14/21	06/08/23	08/02/23	09/13/23	Georgetown, Guyana
@Kalied	EB2	05/09/22	05/04/23		Waiting
@CMingo	EB2	05/02/22	03/21/23	09/01/23	10/27/23	London
@Appleblossom	EB1	02/08/23	04/21/23	05/20/23	07/17/23	London
@Luis M	EB2	06/10/22	07/27/23	09/01/23	10/30/23 to be rescheduled as can't  attend	London
@whitewizard	EB1	01/20/23	03/31/23	08/02/23	09/20/23	Mumbai
@nodisplay	EB1		04/17/23		Waiting	Montreal
@jimmy2k	EB2	02/01/11	Waiting		Waiting	Montreal
@dabursot2	EB2	01/20/23	08/15/23		Waiting	London
@azzz	EB1	03/27/23	05/17/23	10/05/23	11/21/23	Almaty
@MalaYoon	EB2	03/24/22	03/10/23	07/31/23		Kuala Lumpur
@Ayobami	EB2	01/10/22	03/22/23		Waiting	Johannesburg
@dtbaby	EB2	03/02/22	12/02/22		Waiting	Lagos
@Aya2538	EB2	08/30/21	04/18/23		Waiting	Ankara
@Rocha3	EB2	05/10/21	07/10/23		Waiting	Rio de Janeiro
@nothin2C	EB2	01/XX/22	08/24/23	08/28/23	10/28/23	Paris
@whereisme	EB2	01/03/23	8/26/23		Waiting	Argentina
@Rainbow Aligator	EB1	06/20/23	11/16/23		Waiting	London
@Eren	EB2	03/09/22	05/10/23	08/03/23 (took a while due to PD not being current)	09/29/23	London
@chy8	EB2	09/27/22	07/18/23
@mohamedaali2	EB2	07/01/21	08/04/23	Waiting	Waiting	Cairo
@Laulau	Eb2	10/20/2022	11/03/2023	waiting	Waiting	Bogota
@Aanuoluwa	EB2	07/27/2023	11/07/2023		Waiting	Johannesburg

Good afternoon all, 

My case changed to 'IN TRANSIT' yesterday and this morning I received an email notifying me of the interview date of February 12th 👍 I was DQ'd May 3rd, 2023. PD September 19th, 2022. It's taken awhile. 

A couple of questions for those who have been through the EB2 interview. 

1. What kind of questions were you asked?

2. What did you bring with you aside from the mandatory items? Your resume? Articles and such that you've written? Diplomas? Licenses? Copies or originals?

I'm trying to get prepared and would love any inputs. Thanks and good luck to everyone!

22 hours ago, appleblossom said:

Your PD only current became current 6 days ago though, nothing will have happened before that point. Now that a visa is available to you things should be underway. 
 

Your online status will change to ‘in transit’ when your case is being sent to the consulate. 
 

Good luck. 

I always assumed that an interview would be planned when the bulletin is issued (early previous month), making use of the actual bulletin month for interviews. If the February bulletin shows a retrogression, then they won't be able to give me (and others) an interview and a visa.

I'm hoping that the bulletin for EB2 has moved so slowly this past year that there won't be a further/another retrogression 🤞 

Thanks for the replies.

On 12/27/2023 at 10:49 AM, snm2212 said:

we might get it by second week of January 

I sure hope so 🤞

My lawyer told me he is surprised that I have not been transferred to the embassy yet. My PD is September 19th, 2022. DQ'd since May 5th, 2023. I guess the holidays didn't help expedite anything. Anyway, like someone wrote, in the home stretch now 🙏

Hi all, has anyone that became current with the January visa bulletin received an interview letter? Or do they not send out interview invitations until the priority date is current? Meaning, embassies only do this when the bulletin becomes active on January 1st? Thanks

Congrats on moving forward to an interview! I'm still hoping for some progress in these next bulletins 🙏 

Can anyone answer one thing I'm wondering? At the interview for an EB2, is the visa "yours to lose" so to speak? As in, the embassy officer is verifying the documents are correct, you are who you say you are, and that your NIW endeavor is the same as you sent to USCIS with your I140. Or, is the officer questioning the endeavor itself and you have to prove it is still valid and worthy of a NIW? Does anyone know?

Thanks

Congrats! Please share the interview experience 🙏  My PD isn't current but would appreciate any tips.

Thanks and good luck. 

2 hours ago, snm2212 said:

VJ User	Category	Priority date	DQ status	Interview date	Interview location
@dolibash	EB2
@snm2212	EB2	09/29/22	04/21/23	Waiting	London
@Ernie73	EB2	09/19/22	05/04/23	Waiting	Iceland
@Hithere222	EB1	05/16/22	04/25/23	Waiting	Kathmandu
@Kw1097	EB2
@Kashraz	EB1
@Damiores	EB2	11/18/22	04/05/23	Waiting	Ankara
@W Herrera	EB2
@Kalied	EB2	05/09/22	04/05/23	Waiting
@CMingo	EB2	05/02/22	03/24/23	Waiting	London
@Appleblossom	EB1	02/08/23	04/21/23	Waiting	London
@Luis M	EB2	06/16/22		Waiting	London

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-5-collect-financial-evidence-and-other-supporting-documents/step-7-collect-civil-documents.html

Scroll down here to police certificates. You won't need a new one if you haven't been there since you left.

Police certificates expire after two years, unless the certificate was issued from your country of previous residence and you have not returned there since the police certificate was issued.

NVC email at 10pm eastern time last night. Officially documentarily qualified and now waiting for an interview 👍 Now hoping that EB2 ROW moves soon. 

Congrats 👍

Still no updates on mine, delivered at NVC on April 14th. I had to send our civil documents by mail as I'm EB2. Do mail-in documents normally take longer? Does anyone know? I'm driving myself crazy waiting 😬

1 minute ago, Damiores said:

Thanks for sharing. I sincerely don't expect any movement for EB2 ROW earlier than August VB. Hopefully, things is better than predicted.

I was (and am still) hoping for some movement these next months. But, it seems that there is a temporary "block" due to more applications/petitions than expected/normal. So, they have had to pause the newer petitions to clear the ones that are still open. Hopefully this clears up soon, or at least moves forward at a healthy pace 👍 

The register for your home country should be able to give you such a certificate. My wife changed her last name and it was done through our home country. They gave us such a stamped and signed document no problem. Try asking the authority that actually changed the last name 👍

Ernie73

EB2 - PD on Sept 19th, 2022

Waiting for NVC, submitted April 14th, 2023

Embassy in Iceland

Congrats on DQ! Now the wait continues... 😁

I thought I'd share that I watched a webinar on Wednesday with a firm called WR immigration (I'm not affiliated in any way). They posted it to YouTube (https://youtu.be/4GWkpxKaGtE). It's with Charlie Oppenheim which is primarily why I tuned in. He said didn't expect any movement in EB2 ROW until maybe July/September when the fiscal year ends. And, then further movement in October. It's worth the watch 👍

12 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

Have you seen the May Visa Bulletin? Unfortunately the final action date for EB-2 will retrogress further to 15th Feb 2022.

Of course, that doesn't change my question though 👍

Hi everyone. NVC received my documents on April 14th, waiting for DQ. EB2-NIW, ROW. Anyone here with a priority date before end of last fiscal year? I'm September 19th, 2022.