swilt170571

Morning All.
Hopefully a quick question / answer

Background
My wife(American) and I (UK) are currently in process of applying from the UK for my residency visa for USA.

Last November 2022 I applied for my Residency via my wife being the Petitioner. 11 months later it has now been opened, looked at and approved and on to the next stage.

This is where I am now

======

The National Visa Center (NVC) has received your approved immigrant visa petition from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Before NVC can schedule your visa interview, you need to complete the following steps:

Step 1: Pay fees.
Step 2: Complete an Immigrant Visa (IV) Application (form DS-260).
Step 3: Submit required financial and civil documents.

=======

It also mentions Prioirty Interview Date 15th November / London (I will be on vacation then!)

So as usual I have a few questions.

November I am flying to USA on ESTA to spend time with family, will that still be ok?

Do I have to respond to the above request in a certain time, my wife is in USA till end of December I was going to do it when she got back to UK, or is it something that I can start anyway.

Once I do this stage, it says next stage is interview. Can I delay the interview till late 2024 at all? (Im not actually in such a rush now to move to usa! but I know I have to go eventually for sake of marraige

As always thank you in advance

christmasoompa

Really odd that you've already had an interview scheduled tbh, and also it says 'before NVC can schedule your interview' - so where does the 15th November come in to it? At the interview you'll leave your passport for the visa to be put in to it which can take a couple of weeks or more, so depending on when you plan to fly to the US that may not work.

The usual way to delay things would be to hold off on the NVC stuff as you have a long time to submit the docs etc (a year I think?) rather than delaying the interview, but having the interview already may change that. Are you sure you've had an interview scheduled, have you had the interview letter with details on?

Pulaski

The ESTA visit will be fine, shouldn't be an issue at all. The immigration officer will be able to see that you have a residency visa in progress, so be prepared for a question or comment about that, specifically that you will be returning to the UK on [date of your return ticket] to continue with your visa application. Or the officer might not mention it.

You have 12 months to respond at each stage before your application is deemed abandoned. I wouldn't leave it more than 10 months, just to be safe.

swilt170571

Thanks both for responses.

Im off to Spain next week, then a trip in November to say hello to the Wife who is over there for 3 months before returning. I think we will continue with the forms January... Perhaps the Priority date that it shows is just if I pay yet more money!!!!...

Pulaski

That is possible, but given the USCIS's quirky usage of "priority", meaning the date of applications they are now processing. For example the priority date for family greencards for siblings is, say June 201x (I won't put an actual date incase anyone thinks that I am stating a fact, but it's quite some years ago), I think that the November "priority date" is telling you that if you complete your forms and put them straight in the post today, that is the earliest that you can expect your interview.

swilt170571

Thanks for response. I noticed this yesterday that the green card lottery is now open for British. Given I am going through an application already and progressing. I presume I should NOT also try this way?

Diversity Visa Instructions (state.gov)

Thank you

Rete

Why would you want to do so. It is a lottery and you have a secured way into the US.

swilt170571

I dont know really

From what I understand once I gain a Residency Visa, then and only then I can apply for Work Visa.?

By way do you know if / when my Residency Visa is granted do I have to reside in USA a minimum time a year?

Thank you

christmasoompa

Once you have had the interview in London and been granted the visa, you’ll get an immigrant visa. The minute you enter on that you’ll become a ‘green card’ holder and be work authorised straight away, you don’t need to apply for anything else.

Your application is to be granted permanent residency of the US. You will therefore be expected to make it your home, to have your ties there, and to leave for short periods only. Anything else will risk your status so don’t proceed until you’re ready to live there.

christmasoompa

By the way, the date you mention, are you sure it doesn’t say Nov 2022 rather than Nov 2023? I really don’t think it’s an interview date, it sounds like it’s just your Priority Date (essentially the date of your application). That would make much more sense, as above your interview shouldn’t be scheduled until you’ve completed the NVC side of things (paying the fees, uploading your documents and having them all checked before it’s passed over to London). Even if you started all that today the earliest you’d get an interview would be the beginning of next year so I really don’t think the Nov date mentioned can possibly be an interview date, which is why I wonder if it’s actually Nov 2022?

Rete

Pulaski

Agreed, this is literally correct, you will be legally able to work as soon as you clear immigration, literally right there in the airport if you had a job to start.

You do not need an SSN to be able to start working either, and I started working, for an American corporation (a proper "career job"), just 6 days after I arrived, and obviously before I had received my SSN.

FWIW I would also point out that it is also perfectly legal to look for work and attend interviews while visiting the US on an ESTA or B-2 visa, you just can't start work until you come back on your resident visa. I also did this myself, visiting the US three weeks before my visa interview, and and 2½ months before I returned to live, for the specific purpose of attending job interviews, which is how I came to have a job lined up to start so soon after I entered using my CR-1 visa.

Rete

Also you should note that your passport will be STAMPED with an I-551 with a hand written date on or near it which is your paper green card. This I-551 is your work approval document as well as your right to leave the US and return to it as a permanent resident, which you are at the time of the stamping. Your plastic card should arrive in the mail within a few weeks/6 months from entry.

You will be asked for your SSN when you accept a position or apply for healthcare, etc. While you await your SSN to be mailed to you (whether you apply for it when you complete your interview paperwork or if you apply for it in the US after entry), you can substitute 000-00-0000 in the space allotted and update the information when you have the card.

swilt170571

Thanks for all the responses. You have all clarified something for me that I was not aware off. I didnt know that the start of the I-130 process actually ended up in me having a green card that gives the abaility to work. I Thought I had to do various requests ie Get Residency, then apply for another visa to be able to work. So from what I am reading, is that what I have started once completed basically gets me everything I need to move / work in America...

christmasoompa

Yes. Your wife is sponsoring you for an immigrant visa/green card so that’s what you get at the end of the process. A green card means you can do most things except vote, jury service etc.

If you haven’t found it yet, this web page is very useful in explaining the process and setting out the steps involved - https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...-pay-fees.html

You’re only at step 3. As you don’t want to move until the end of next year I would personally pay the fees now to make sure your petition isn’t abandoned, then hold off submitting your documents.

Once you submit your documents it takes a while for them to check them and for you to be ‘Documentarily Qualified’. You can keep an eye on that timescale here - https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...imeframes.html

As you can see, it’s only taking a week or so at the mo but has taken much longer in the past, so watch that page in case times start creeping up.

Once you’re DQ’ed, your file will then go to London for interview and medical. Interview at the moment is about 3 months from DQ to interview date.

If you don’t want to move until next December, then you don’t want your interview any earlier than about August. So that would mean submitting docs in May/June perhaps - but keep checking timescales just to be sure.

HTH, good luck.