wario75

My IV interview at the US embassy in London has been scheduled for 18 Jan. Unfortunately I cannot make this date as my job requires me to be outside of the country at the time. In an effort to reschedule my interview for a later date I did the following...

1. Called the £1 a minute service at http://london.usembassy.gov/visa_con...formation.html. This service is for non immigrant visas only but the operator told me to email [email protected]. (BTW the page http://london.usembassy.gov/immigran...interview.html is misleading because the Rescheduling the Interview link points to a page which provides a service for non-immigrant visas only).

2. I wrote an email to [email protected] and also copied [email protected], including in the body of the message my name, DOB, POB and case number. I received an auto reply within a few seconds containing the following:

From: [email protected]
Subject: Your e-mail was deleted without being read

Your e-mail was deleted without being read.

This e-mail address is solely for individuals who have been authorized
to contact the Consular Information Unit about a specific matter. This
address is not for general inquiries from the public, attorneys or
agents of record. Please understand our workload does not allow us to
read unauthorized inquiries, but the Embassy has set up several
mechanisms to provide general and personalized guidance.
etc...

So... clearly do NOT send any messages to [email protected]. Hopefully I will receive a response from [email protected]. As I only sent the message moments ago I'll continue to keep everyone posted.

Can anyone else share recent experiences having rescheduled an interview? What is the typical email response time? And are they typically fairly accommodating?

Thanks

Noorah101

I'll just say here that if you do NOT receive a new interview date, or you hear nothing back from the embassy, you should attend the original interview date, even if it means flying back to London just for that one day.

Rene

country_canuck

Dude! With all you have been through, how can you even possibly consider missing that interview?

Need I remind you where requesting a rescheduling of interview date got me?

Angelheart1962

Wario, do you mind me asking when you found out your interview was 18th Jan? I am waiting for an IV interview in London also and would like to know how far they are booking ahead.

Regards

Angel

C_C

The reason why you got this automatic email is because you didn't put the required code on the email subject. Without this code, emails are deleted and not read.
You need to call the line again and see if you can reschedule through them. There are several options when you call and you need to press the one for immigrant visas so that you can speak with someone who knows what they're talking about. Have your LDN number handy and see if they can reschedule the interview for you. If not, they'll give you the code of the week and will advise you to put that on the subject line of the email and send it to [email protected]. Your email won't be deleted if it contains the code and they tend to be fairly fast when responding to emails about rescheduling people's interviews, according to what other people in here have said (most get responses on the same or the next day). You shouldn't have a big problem rescheduling your appointment and if you have any preferred dates in mind, it doesn't hurt mentioning them on the email. They seem to be quite accommodating with people's plans.

Good luck!

janadeen

I can't think of anything (outside of the death of a family member) that would make me miss such an interview.

I'd certainly have to explain this to my boss and try & get him/her to understand.

Rete

You have a case number right? Did you get a special code to enter with your e-mail on the header line or perhaps a different e-mail address.

Others have been given something that allows their e-mails to go through unhindered.

See the same has been posted already. Oops.

jmes

Exactly. We had a response within 5 or 6 hours.

If you need to reschedule, then do it. Shouldn't be a major problem. I really can't understand the attitude of some people on here. Of course this is important, but there are ways to fit a life in around it.

country_canuck

So you think my attitude stinks, so be it!

However, considering it took an act of Congress, literally!, for Wario to finally get his i130 approved after missing / canceling his AOS opportunity when he was in the USA with his first USC marriage....

There is a long story here that perhaps you aren't aware of?

traceym

Read then re read (as Jeepgirl says!)

wario75

Apologies everyone for the late follow up!

I've got some good news to share - I'm approved!! My interview was rescheduled from 18 Jan to 10 Feb. The interview was a pretty painless experience, just a few additional questions as I'd have expected given my prior immigration history.

Just echoing what others have said, rescheduling was NOT a big deal. I sent an email to [email protected] and received a response within a week, followed by a letter confirming my new date.

Secondly, you CANNOT reschedule over the phone, or speak to anyone re. your application over the phone if you are an immigrant visa applicant (as in my case). That hotline (09042450100 / 02074999000) only handles non-immigrant cases.

All in all, my I-130 took us 2 years from start to finish. What I do know is that the majority of applicants are processed well within this period. Anyway, we are finally looking forward to being reunited and I will be moving to Atlanta in March!

Thank you everyone for your support!

wario75

Hi,

This is my timeline from the point our application was transferred to NVC -

27-Jul-10 Notification from USCIS case has been transferred to NVC
Letter dated July 27

10-Aug-10 Case received notification from NVC and case number assigned

24-Aug-10 Payment made online for Affidavit of Support

25-Aug-10 Mailed off DS-3032

30-Aug-10 Mailed off AOS (I-864EZ) packet

15-Sep-10 Received email notice from NVC to pay Immigrant Visa (IV) Fee

16-Sep-10 Made IV payment

20-Sep-10 Sent out application to ACRO for Police Certificate

28-Sep-10 Received request from NVC for DS-230

04-Oct-10 Mailed off IV package to NVC

30-Oct-10 Received information request from NVC
Passport bio page requested. Received at NVC Nov 5.

10-Dec-10 Received email notice from NVC with interview date
Interview scheduled for Jan 18, medical scheduled for Jan 4. Sent request to have interview rescheduled.

04-Jan-11 Medical

10-Feb-11 Interview at US embassy (originally scheduled for 18 Jan)

It's probably fair to say my interview could have happened earlier had the NVC not come back with a request for the missing info!

Hope this helps

meauxna

Good stuff, wario, thanks! I put your timeline in the CR-1 wiki with a link back to your post. I think it will help give people a visual.. thanks for the contribution!
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/CR-1

ex_kendalian

I am trying to reschedule my visa interview at the US Embassy in London and did precisely what wario did; phoned the Non Immigrant helpline, got the relevant code to put in my email to the address, put in my reason for postponement and dates when I could attend. However the response I got was that I had to contact the NVC because my file had not been sent to the Embassy.

I am now really confused. My interview was scheduled for April 21 2011 and I thought these were sent out from the US embassy. But now I have to contact the NVC instead? My reasons for postponement are valid and pressing; I have to have surgery and will still be recovering and therefore unfit to travel the 300+ miles in my post-operative state for when the visa interview was set.

To the person who said they cannot understand anyone postponing their visa interview, try having to deal with needing surgery you cannot put off , as a valid reason.

Any advice as to how to get in touch with the NVC? I'm at a loss here. I'm entering via a CR-1 spousal to join my spouse who I married in Nov 09.

meauxna

NVC Contact Information

Perhaps wario's case was further along than yours (case already at Embassy). The NVC does all the IV scheduling.
Did you write to the IV Unit, or non-immigrant?

Regardless, I looked up the NVC contact info (which you should have from your correspondance already?) so you can give them a call.