Who I am
My name is Erin. I went through the US Embassy London consular process myself. I know what it's like to have questions at 2AM because nothing you've found is specific enough, or because you're not sure if you're reading a rule correctly.
I built this site because the information gap is real. There are official guides, but they're dense. There are community forums, but they're scattered. There's good data out there, but it's hard to find and harder to trust.
American Visa Guide is volunteer-run and independent. I am not a lawyer. If you need legal advice, consult an immigration attorney. What I can offer is clarity about how the process actually works, based on what real people have experienced.
What this site is
Two things: a community data tracker and a process guide.
The tracker shows real timelines from real applicants. As of June 2026, we have 217+ members submitting their milestones. You can see how long people are actually waiting at each stage, what outcomes look like, and what's shifted over time. It's not predictive, it's historical.
The guide is plain-language documentation of the process. How the I-130 works. What NVC actually does. What to expect at the medical and interview stages. Things that are hard to find anywhere else.
How the data works
People submit milestone dates—when they applied, when they got their approval, when they had their interview - via a form on the site. We store it by username (you choose a pseudonym) so you can track your own progress and see yourself in the community.
The averages you see exclude statistical outliers. If someone waited 800 days for an I-130 approval because of a security clearance issue, we note it, but it doesn't skew the average that the rest of the community experienced. We try to show what the community has actually experienced, not what USCIS's official estimates say you should expect.
The data is imperfect. It's self-reported. It only includes people who chose to share. But it's a lot closer to reality than silence.
What this site is not
Not legal advice. Seriously. If your case is complex, or if you're considering a waiver or appeal, talk to an attorney.
Not affiliated with USCIS, DOS, or the US Embassy London. We're independent. Everything here is my research and interpretation of public guidance and community experience.
Not affiliated with Track My Visa, though I have great respect for what they do. (More on that below.)
Track My Visa relationship
I previously volunteered with the Track My Visa Discord community. Track My Visa is an independent company and is not affiliated with USCIS. This site is written independently and is not affiliated with Track My Visa.
I built American Visa Guide because I wanted to create something specifically for the London consular process—London-specific data, London-specific guidance, resources tailored to the UK→US journey. Track My Visa covers all consulates globally, and provides channels for each stage of the process for a range of circumstances. American Visa Guide is hyper-focused on folks coming from the UK via the London embassy.
Thank you, Nikki
The Moving to the USA Workbook was created by Nikki, a brilliant member of the Track My Visa community who is going through the US Embassy London process. Nikki built it to share with everyone. It's comprehensive, beautifully organized, and exactly what people need when they're preparing their NVC documents.
How to contribute
Submit your timeline data. The tracker is only useful if people share. You choose a pseudonym; your personal information stays private. Your milestone dates help the next person make a plan.
Share the site. If this has been useful to you, share it with people going through the process. Word-of-mouth is how guides like this reach people who need them.
Support via Ko-fi. If it has been useful, and if you're able, Ko-fi contributions help keep the site running.
Contact
Have a question? Found an error? Want to contribute data or resources? Send me an email.
AmericanVisaGuideInfo@gmail.com
I read every message. Response time varies depending on what's happening in my own life, but I will respond.
Built with care. Maintained by volunteers (ok, just Erin). For people going through one of the biggest decisions of their lives.