Interviews being scheduled with minimal notice. The good news is
we are seeing more and more interviews being scheduled. I want to make it clear that
I'm talking about interviews that are occurring for spouse visa cases specifically and sometimes
fiancé visas where there is an interview that occurs at a US embassy or US consulate abroad.
I know that things are still slow. There's still a backlog. It's still painful,
waiting for your interview but there is good news. We are definitely seeing more and more
clients, more and more people in our Facebook group, more and more people getting an interview.
While that's great news, the thing that I want to make sure all of you know is that something
that we're seeing that's different is that immigration used to give you notice of about
30 sometimes 45 days but usually about a month, letting you know you have an interview in
30 days. That was nice because that gave you time to get your medical exams scheduled, make sure you
have all your documents in order and get prepared for that interview. What we're seeing now and
it's good that interviews are being scheduled. The consulates and embassies are trying to catch up.
They're actually giving very little notice and we're seeing people getting
interviews with getting a notice that says, "Congratulations, you have an interview in two weeks."
That's overwhelming to get prepared in two weeks. I hope that doesn't bring you too
much stress hearing, hopefully just as more positivity, that interviews are being scheduled.
But take a deep breath, knowledge is power. It's really good to know that interviews are
being scheduled with minimal notice. Here is what you can do. I would highly recommend, I know
you're probably doing it anyway, check your email every day because
you will receive an email from immigration that your interview has been scheduled. The National
Visa Center isn't in control of scheduling your interview. They have all of your documents ready
the US embassy or consulate and the country where you will be interviewing, they will actually
let the National Visa Center know, "We have some appointments available. Send the next batch."
And then, you will receive an email saying, "You have an interview and this is the date of
the interview. You can go ahead and take the next steps. Tip number one: be checking your email
regularly. And I'm sure, like I said, you already are. Make sure your email address is up to date
and you can make sure your email address is up to date if it's a spouse visa, that would be in your
CEAC portal but just make sure that your email address is up to date so
you are receiving those notifications. Even if you change your email address, if you
still have access to the other one, we recommend that if you have an email address that you keep it
throughout the immigration case if at all possible because immigration is notorious for still using
old addresses, old email addresses, so it's good to be able to continue monitoring that as well.
That's number two: making sure your email address is up to date. And then number three
I would say make sure that you are thinking ahead, knowing that you might get an interview with
very little notice to get everything in order. You can actually go to the National Visa Center,
prepare for your interview and you can download the checklist that's required
for your specific case, for that particular US embassy or consulate. I'll post that link
below. But basically, they have all of the things that you'll need to take to the interview. Be aware
there are some things that they don't always put on that list. Having copies of everything that
was submitted on the CEAC portal, copies of your prior applications, all of that is good to
have as well. There are some things you can't schedule until you get an interview, like
your medical exam. There are things that that you can't work ahead on but you can be aware that
they're coming if that makes sense. Those are some tips letting you know the good news.
Interviews are happening but with minimal notice and those are the things you can do to prepare.