IntegerOverlord

Hey everyone. I am glad to report that last week, I received our passports with EB1A (E11 for me and E14 for my wife) visas inside. Below is my full timeline and a short write-up about the experience regarding my medical and the interview at the US Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic I-140 Sent: October 11, 2024 I-140 Receipt notice: October 15, 2024 I-140 Approved: October 18, 2024 NVC Welcome letter: November 1, 2024 DQ: November 29, 2024 IL: April 24, 2025 Medical Exam: May 26, 2025 Exam results sent to embassy: June 2, 2025 Updated some data in DS-260: June 18, 2025 Interview: June 23, 2025 Status changed to "Issued": June 24, 2025 Passports ready for pickup: June 26, 2025 For medical, you have MyClinic as the only choice. The process was fast, and communication was also great; my wife and I were done in under 1.5 hours. The staff is extremely nice, and the clinic itself is also very cool and modern. Since it's the only clinic in the Czech Republic authorized to perform these exams, the price is very high, 750 USD per person. The price listed on the website doesn't include age-specific tests, like blood and urine. It's around a 20 USD upcharge, but it still feels kinda wrong that they charge extra for it Before the interview, you need to register the appointment with USTravelDocs to select the preferred passport delivery method. I started the process but couldn't finish it since I was getting stuck on a calendar screen that was empty. And the calendar screen didn't make sense anyway, since my appointment was already scheduled by NVC. I called the support, they said it's a bug in the system, and assured me I can leave the thing unfinished since I already went through the steps with passport data and delivery preferences I had to update some answers in the DS-260 form due to some circumstance changes (not errors). My mother died between the DQ and interview date, and my wife's parents got new passports with new name transliterations. I initially planned to just correct these minor things at the interview, but then I called the support number on the embassy website on June 16. They said they prefer to reopen the form and told me it would take 2 business days. Indeed, the form was reopened on June 18th, and I submitted the corrections right away Now, for the big day, the interview itself. You pass through the standard airport-style security checkpoint to get in, and then it's mostly a lot of waiting. Judging by the ticket numbers, there were 3 immigrant visa applicants that day, the rest 20 people at the embassy were for non-immigrant visas and some US citizens. We got called at almost exactly our appointment time, went to the window, and this first officer just took our documents and asked some questions to verify we had everything we're supposed to, and told us to sit down and wait. So we did, it took a bit over an hour of waiting, and pretty much everyone else has gone home already; we were last. Finally, our number appeared again, we went to another window, and this was the actual interview. The officer took an oath that we were telling the truth, took my fingerprints, and started asking the actual interview. The questions he asked were: 1. Why are you extraordinary? Tell me what you submitted to USCIS I gave him the elevator pitch of what I do, and then went over all the criteria I submitted to USCIS, summarizing them very briefly 2. Are you guys married for a long time? No kids yet? Yes, almost 5 years, no kids yet 3. Are you planning to work in the area of expertise? Yes, and also I told the officer I am currently interviewing for positions in my area of expertise at several big companies The interview took like 10-15 minutes total. That was it, he then proceeded to take my wife's fingerprints, and went to grab a piece of paper, told us the visa is approved, and handed us this sheet which said when we can expect our passports (5-6 business days), and some next steps. The officer was very nice and professional, and it felt like he warmed up to us towards the end of the conversation I got the "Administrative processing" status in CEAC right after the interview. People dread AP, but every visa goes through this process; it's only bad when you are refused under 221 (g). For normal cases where the officer tells you are approved, it shouldn't take long, as it's just an automated background check from what I've read online. The next morning after the interview, I checked CEAC and saw that the visa was issued In the morning, both my wife and I got the SMS and email that our documents are ready. I drove to the central branch of DHL, which is the default free pickup location, and got a huge envelope for each of us. I expected everything to be electronic, since I spoke to the CR1/IR1 visa applicant at the same embassy, and he got just his passport and no visa packet. I suppose, just like with NVC steps, some stuff that's electronic for immediate family members is still on paper for employment applicants I want to thank the staff of the US Embassy in Prague for being very professional and on point Let me know if I missed anything or if you'd like to know more. I genuinely hope this helps future applicants for EB1A and people applying from Prague specifically

By the time USCIS and DOS approve you, I don't think a border officer would have much reason to question anything. Such are these categories, they allow foreign nationals without a job offer to permanently live in the US

It's not that uncommon, EB-2 NIW and EB1A are very popular now, with them, you can get an employment-based green card without having a US employer first And as a GC holder, you at least get to say that you will never require visa sponsorship, which simplifies things But I agree that depending on the industry, Zoom interviews might not be an option

This is a website for the UK, so no. I will be interviewing in the Czech Republic, so this is the place: https://www.ustraveldocs.com/cz/en/immigrant-visa That's where I ended up after following the instructions setforth on the Department of State website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/PRG-Prague.html#interview_guidelines https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-us/countries_list/iv has a selection of countries, but Czech Republic is not listed here, so I assume the instructions are still correct and I should've been using US Travel Docs

I tried to register for passport delivery service, and there's some issue that doesn't allow me to finish the flow; it requires that I schedule an interview that NVC has already scheduled for me, even though I selected "NVC Appointment Registration" option. I called the support, and they said it's okay, I can leave it as is, since I already entered my passport data and preferred passport delivery method. US Travel Docs is something else @Oyoafin thanks, I will share the interview experience when it happens, of course

I finally got my IL for EB1A in Prague, and I hope this info helps someone in the future. My timeline: I-140 Sent: October 11, 2024 I-140 Receipt notice: October 15, 2024 I-140 Approved: October 18, 2024 NVC Welcome letter: November 1, 2024 DQ: November 29, 2024 IL Delivered: April 24, 2025

@appleblossom thanks. Yep, I found that info on the NVC website but also some experiences from people who were transferred without proof of residency on Reddit and here, so thought I might as well try. It's a bit strange to me that DOS encourages people to travel for non-immigrant visas to ease the backlog, but not for immigrant ones, and also that non-immigrant visas seem to be prioritised. For example, in the Prague embassy, getting a non-immigrant visa appointment of any kind will take less time than even IR1/CR1

For context, we are waiting for my immigrant case interview letter (employment category) in the Czech Republic. This embassy handles very few cases and it takes a while. My DQ date is November 29th, 2024, and I've seen at least one employment-based case with a date in mid October 2024 who hasn't had their interview scheduled yet. This is a bit disheartening, to be honest, especially since I didn't find anyone who was scheduled, so I don't know if it's further 2 months or 1 year of wait. I see that Frankfurt and Warsaw embassies seem to be very fast, as well as others like Dublin and Stockholm I know NVC requests eligibility proof for a case transfer. My wife is a permanent resident of CR, which gives her freedom of residence within the EU, and me along with her. Does being qualified for residence anywhere in the EU suffice? I've also seen a few reports that residence itself is not necessary and NVC is more lenient when the embassy you want to move to is not backlogged

@TylerR I am also in tech, and all of my evidence is from industry, not academia. I have a degree and one paper associated with it, but the core of my case is the hard work and leadership I've done for the past 6.5 years I had quite a mixed bag of experience with lawyers during consultations, so I ended up doing the petition myself and it worked out. A lot of them will be either claiming you're amazing or terrible depending on their typical case type and/or how badly they need to make a sale, so be careful. One lawyer claimed I have a zero chance of approval cause I'm just 25. Jokes on him, what matters is your profile, of course, it's less likely to be approved at a young age, but not impossible if you have the qualifications and accolades

@TylerR The wegreened law firm specializes in academic cases, so don't be discouraged if (or when) they don't take your case. They rejected me, but I got approved for EB1A anyway. My profile doesn't match with what they are most competent/efficient in. Talk to a bunch of lawyers, most offer free consultations. Or even consider doing it yourself, it's possible as well

Hey everyone, I have been waiting for my IL for an EB1A case since 29th November 2024. The consulate is in Prague, Czech Republic. I know that immediate relative petitions with DQ dates from early December were scheduled about a month ago. So roughly in this consulate, IR petitions take 45 days to schedule, I'm almost double that with EB right now with no interview. Since employment-based cases are a lower priority, how much longer on average does it take in the EU? 2, 3, 4 times as long? Obviously, I want to receive the visa as soon as possible and contribute positively to the US, but the uncertainty is exhausting Thanks for any insights you might have

Hey everyone, My EB1A case has been DQ since 29th November 2024, and I'm still waiting for the interview letter. The consulate is Prague, Czech Republic. I know of at least one person with a similar PD who got their IL, but it's a family case. So I'm wondering based on previous posts from all over the EU, how much longer does it usually take for employment cases? Thanks