The VB has been released that affects May interviews and it is a REPEAT of last months VB. No changes!
This is frustrating, not the first time they have done this, but it is somewhat surprising and concerning. Europe in particular could have benefitted from an increase. I expected the increase to “lead” the embassies that had capacity to overperform in this important month.
As for other regions, we Africa has an embassy scheduling problem, so couldn’t really benefit from an increase. Asia is “defacto” current and scheduling appears to be normal. OC and SA generally get only small increases anyway, although I must admit, I did expect a small increase for each this month.
What are the government playing at? I have no inside information – so let the speculation begin!!
Those that are current, and have forms processed early enough, can normally expect their 2NL in the next 2 to 3 weeks from now. This is supposed to be the same every month. VB from the 8th to the 15th of each month, and 2NLs in the second half of the month. For the last few months there have been 2NLs in daily batches, but we seem to be moving to a more normal procedure where almost all the 2NLs are sent before the end of the month, with just a handful being sent earlier this month. I would normally expect all the interview 2NLs to have all been sent by the end of this month, but we can see recently they are exceeding that to try and get as many interviews in as possible. They can be sent right up until the last day of the month, and even the first few days of the following month during exceptional times. One quick point, the 2NLs tend to come out in an approximate alphabetical order, based on the city name of the embassy. So, Addis and Accra tend to be early, and an embassy such as Yaounde would be later. As ever, just be patient…
To those new to looking at VBs, let me explain what the “except” XXX country means – and you can also read this post on how to read the visa bulletin.
April 10, 2026 at 01:35
Hi Simon, this is what I see after filling my ds260 to a different country Cotedivoire. But I don’t understand so can you help me know what to do next. Thank you https://kommodo.ai/i/JY2ExUf7DII5Ttwx0gaT
April 10, 2026 at 05:30
They want some proof that you are living in that country to justify moving the interview there. Have a think about what documents you can provide.
April 9, 2026 at 07:41
Hi Simon. Im Ghanaian but have filled my DS260 today choosing Cotedivoire as my interview center . I have provided Cotedivoire residence address in the ds260. Do I have to upload any documents after submitting the Ds260?
April 9, 2026 at 09:03
Not unless asked to do so.
March 18, 2026 at 16:34
Hello i would like to ask if there is any chance of waiting for an email while having a case number for eu that overcomes just a tiny bit the number 20000
March 18, 2026 at 20:46
Not until the number is current
March 18, 2026 at 14:57
Hello Sir,
For each interval of 1,000 case numbers, I found out from CEAC how many people there are (principals + dependents), in the first 20,000 cases (May cut-off), there are 20,484 people. Then, for each interval of 1,000 case numbers, I subtracted the cases that are still at NVC and those that have already received a refusal at the interview. In the end, about 8,842 people remained.
Of course, the calculation is not exact—I assumed a relatively uniform distribution of the number of people versus case numbers—but it can give us a perspective. If we assume that we will reach 10,000 people from the first 20,000 case numbers, it means that in order to cover 15,000 visas, the cut-off will have to rise to 30,000 this year.
For verification, I applied the same model to DV2025, when the May cut-off was 16,000, with about 11,500 eligible people at that time. The final cut-off was 23,000, meaning 16,000 + 44%. Extrapolating to the number of people, we get 11,500 + 44% = 16,560, which is roughly the number of visas issued for Europe.
Do my calculations seem reasonable to you?
Thank you very much for your time!
March 18, 2026 at 15:28
Yes it sounds reasonable although I didn’t check it.
Now we must wait and see what they do.
March 17, 2026 at 22:46
Thanks very much for your video explaining the embassy capacity and scheduling process. We are a UK winner (EU14K) for the London embassy so hoping we get 2NL soon.
March 17, 2026 at 23:02
Best of luck!
March 18, 2026 at 12:24
Thank you. We received our interview date this morning for the beginning of May! Also, sorry about my user name. I’m not sure why it’s showing as that as it was previously my initials. Apologies. Thanks again.
March 18, 2026 at 12:39
Thanks for letting me know.
March 17, 2026 at 15:12
Hello,
Your Youtube chanel and this website has been a great help and i truly enjoy listening to your live sessions. Thank you so much. We are EU18XXX in Montreal. I know Montreal is extra slow, but are there any charts i can check to see where should we expect our interview or 2NL at least? Thank you
March 17, 2026 at 16:04
Not this year. The change in CEAC data means that we can’t get reliable data for embassies now. All you can do is find out info by talking to others in the same position to see how far the embassy has progressed in the number range. BUT it’s not an exact science, so patience is still important. One thing I would say is that the lack of movement means they will spend this month playing “catch up” in some of the embassies that have got behind in scheduling.
March 17, 2026 at 13:28
Hi Brit,
I’m trying to understand why the current lack of movement in the numbers is concerning. Given that there’s a pause anyway, would any change right now have practical implications? What might I be missing?
March 17, 2026 at 15:11
They are wasting embassy capacity. Yes that has implications – once lost that capacity can’t come back.
This video may help you understand although I don’t know your region…
https://youtu.be/iR_ajsRISx0
March 17, 2026 at 12:25
Hi Simon, I hope you are doing well.
I recently joined the DV-2026 litigation as a plaintiff and would appreciate some clarification regarding how relief for plaintiffs may be implemented if the case is successful.
My case number is already current for interview processing; however, I have not yet received an interview appointment. The U.S. Consulate in my country has been scheduling DV-2026 interviews at an unusually slow pace this fiscal year, which raises serious concerns about whether my case will be scheduled in time.
In the event that the Court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, I would like to understand whether plaintiffs whose case numbers are already current could receive priority in interview scheduling or visa processing as part of the relief requested from the Court.
More specifically, would it be possible for KCC to schedule interviews for plaintiffs even if there are selectees with lower case numbers who have not yet been scheduled due to consular delays?
March 17, 2026 at 15:09
In reality we don’t know what will happen. I posted a video a few days ago that could help you understand likely outcomes, but basically anything is possible – nothing is certain…
March 17, 2026 at 11:31
Hi Brit,
Thank you again for your continued analysis — it’s incredibly helpful during this uncertain time.
We are DV2026 selectees (EU region), and we already had our interview in Paris in February. Our case is ready, but the visa has not been issued due to the current pause.
Given that there is no forward movement for Europe in the May Bulletin, would you personally see this as a sign that the pause may last longer, or not necessarily? Even a very rough or very hypothetical view would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much for your time,
March 17, 2026 at 14:59
I don’t think it is possible to be sure whether there is a correlation between the pause and the VB movement. I know you are looking for any clues possible, but I don’t think the VB is a clear signal one way or another.
March 17, 2026 at 09:08
Hi Simon, It seems very concerning that Europe didn’t increase at all. This only shows the current administration do whatever they want
I joined the Immpact lawsuit a few days ago, I appreciate your help in helping me decide that it will be the right choice for me.
Wishing that we will be able to see the fruits of the lawsuits soon and praying that the conflict in the ME will end soon so embassies will reopen and reschedule the cancelled interviews.
March 17, 2026 at 11:24
Fingers crossed.