You’ve submitted tons of documents to the United States Customs and Immigration Service and are waiting for confirmation of your next step in the visa request process. What are you waiting for? The “Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for Interview” notification.

What Does the “Case Is Ready to Be Scheduled for Interview” Notification Mean?

In order to receive this notification, applicants must have completed their application process. USCIS is confirming that there’s no issue with the applicant’s documentation and that they’re eligible to move on in the process.

What Are Your Next Steps - Waiting for your Visa Interview

Once the notification has been received applicants will move on to the next steps in the process. The following documents listed below are an example of the types of applications that will trigger the “Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for Interview” notification upon completion of documentation review by USCIS.

• I-130 Interview-Petition for Alien Relative which is associated with the U.S. Citizenship Petition for a familial green card.
  

• I-765 is an employment authorization request made by individuals who currently reside in the United States.
  

• I-485 US Green Card Permanent Residency Interview. This is a change of status request.
  

How Long Will It Take for an Interview to Be Scheduled?

Once you’ve received the “Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for Interview” notification please note that times vary depending on the field office that you’re working with for processing and scheduling your interview.

Plan for the possibility of waiting up to 24 months to move on from this step. However, it’s also likely that things move quickly and you’re able to interview much sooner than you anticipated. Use your receipt number to always keep track of your application status.

It’s also important to note that not all visa requests require an in-person interview. In fact, there are several visa types that are eligible for an Interview Waiver. The following visas eligible for an interview waiver are listed below:

• A-1 visas are granted to diplomats and ambassadors. What is unique about this visa status is that these individuals fall under “diplomatic immunity”
  

• A-2 while similar to the A-1 visa A-2 visa holders country gives permission to these individuals to participate in government related activities on behalf of the country.
  

• C-2 is specifically for individuals travel to the United Nations headquarters
  

• C-3 is another visa specifically for various types of diplomats who are in transit via the United States.
  

• G-1 and G-2 visas are issued to foreign diplomats who are tasked with visiting international organizations that are in the United States.
  

• G-3 visas are issued to diplomats from countries that are not officially recognized by the United States.
  

• G-4 NATO representatives and other representatives of similar diplomatic organizations may be issued this specific visa.
  

If you’re over the age of 80 you’re able to waive the interview process.

There are also some exceptions where you must attend in an interview and aren’t eligible to waiver that requirement.

Those exceptions are the following:

• You’ve committed a crime and have been arrested or convicted as a result. The jurisdiction where the crime or arrest has occurred is irrelevant.
  

• B-1 Individuals who are approved for a B-1 visa are able to work for a short-period of time within the United States. Typically, individuals with this visa designation are domestic workers.
  

• E-3 visas are issued to Australian nationals who have been offered employment within the United States.
  

• H-2 visa enables international workers to work in immediate need occupations within the United States for a specified period of time.
  

• L-1 allows workers within a company to temporarily work within the United States
  

• T visas are  issued to individuals affected by sex trafficking situations
  

• U visas are  issued to individuals who’ve been victims of crimes.
  

Is USCIS Still Scheduling Appointments?

As you can imagine, the current COVID crisis has caused some disruption to government services. However, at the time this piece was published interviews are being scheduled. It’s important to be aware that the situation is continuing to evolve.

Regional USCIS Field offices will determine when applicants will receive their interview notifications. Check your online profile in order to see when your notification changes to “Interview scheduled” you will also receive a notice that will be sent to you by mail.

Finally, at this time it is also difficult to say how long it will take for you to be informed of visa approval due to some delays due to staffing restrictions at this time may slow down processing of visas. Ultimately, extreme patience is needed as you work through making your visa requests. Do your due diligence, work with legal counsel and keep all documents and communications in one place.