Change Location of US Embassy Interview

I have a concern regarding the choice of location I placed initially for my interview, I have selected US Embassy. However, my dependent is in the Philippines and I intend to have the interview for my son in Manila. What would be the effect of this? Would there be any issue if ever, what would have been a better option for me? So it won't be complicated in my case, since I have problems with requesting a vacation to go for an interview in Manila, so I think essentially, she's going to be in Saudi and her son is going to be in Manila, do you see an issue with that?

Well, generally speaking, No, there are no issues in having, you know, people split. There are also theoretically no issues with changing the embassy selection. However, whenever you make a change, you should expect two things to happen. Number one, there's going to be a delay, no question about it. And number two, you're not going to be able to determine how long that delay is going to be. Sometimes, embassy changes go fairly smoothly. And the delay could be, you know, only several months. And other times, you could be looking at 6 to 10 months of delay, because of the change. But if you've already done it, if it's already filed, and it's already been designated, you either have those two options, continuing on with the course you've chosen, or dealing with the delay. And I think it's a decision that obviously is a personal decision. But you also have to talk to your recruiter and employer to make sure they have a certain expectation of when you're what the plan is going to be, and what the costs are going to be. And if you want to make this change, you're gonna need to talk to them to make sure that you guys are aligned so that everyone's on the same page as to what needs to be done.

Okay. Thank you for that, Mike. And so I think so the general rule of thumb is really to give some thought and some discussion to which consulate you're going to be going to your family you're going to go to before you actually move ahead with that decision. Because I mean, any change that you make is going to cause delays. Absolutely. And so you have to consider what are going to be my circumstances, when I get to the point where I'm going to have this interview, am I going to be allowed vacation? And I'm going to be able to let go? Is my family going to be here with me at that point in time? When's this gonna occur? Is my contract in the UAE? Are you gonna be up? So I'm already gonna be back in the Philippines? There are a whole lot of situations, I don't think the answer is always I'm going to have the interview where I'm living at today. I think that may be the right answer. But there are certainly other factors to consider.

It's kind of on a case-by-case basis. So really important to have that discussion with your case specialist before you embark on that journey.