Interview today - Approved!!!

[mikey78 6]

Hey guys! Just got out of the consulate and thought I'd share my experience with you So I got APPROVED but before that happened...

...got to the consulate at 7.00am and I was the first person waiting there. Other people started showing up 10 mins later. Around 7.30am security guard opened the door asked for our appointment letters and passports and started letting people in (btw, stand on the left hand side of the door). Then a brief security check and scan: empty pockets, don't bring electonics, no cell phones, etc. After that a guard clipped a letter 'A' to my appointment letter and pointed to the left asking me to head downstairs and wait by the elevator. Ten mins later another guard showed up, collected out passports and appointment letters with letters clipped, packed us in the elevator and off we went to admire a panoramic view of the city. So we were sitting there for maybe another 20 mins before the speaker announced my name, I proceeded to one of the windows where a really nice lady had my file from NVC. As the letter from NVC indicated I gave them all they wanted already. So she asked me for the envelope with the medical and gave me my DS230 to read through if all's correct. Then she asked me for the Xpresspost envelope.

Here, some of you might recall my envelope drama when I was publicly wondering on VJ whether one must have Xpresspost or Next AM Priority Courier...it seems that it doesn't matter as long as: it is pre-addressed (so write your address before you enter the consulate) and it is the right size - the gigantic kite-like large envelope.

Then this nice lady (and I mean really nice and friendly) asked me to take a seat and wait for fingerprinting. Some 10 mins later she came back, scanned me in and asked me to go back to the general waiting area and wait until I hear my name being called into a booth 7 or 8. Probably 20 mins later they called me into one of the interview booths. A young friendly consul greeted me and asked me to raise my hand and swore me in. Now, many of you might be wondering at this point...I am neither CR/IR nor K, I fall into the F1 category (unmarried sons/daughters of US citizens) so the interview might look a bit different from what you are used to.

First, he asked me to sign an affidavit that I am not married, because people in family based F1 have to be single (otherwise they fall down to F3). Then he asked where I planned to live once I moved to the US, when was the first time I visitited the US, how long my stays in the US were in general, what I was doing professionally and when I am planning on moving there. Luckily my birth certificate attests to my genuine relationship to my parents so all that bona fide relationship BS doesn't apply. The consul was really nice and kept the interview very light. In the end he pulled out a Welcome to the US letter and congratulated me warmly. Yippee!

But......

Then he said, that he wants to explain a couple of details concerning my visa and here he lost me totally. He said that once I enter the US I have to stay there until I get my plastic green card or else...exactly, what else? They might not let me in at the border!!! Because the immigrant visa works as a proof of your permanent residency but is not meant for traveling like multiple tourist visa so if I would like to come back to the US (assuming I left before I got the plastic green card) I would have to apply for advance parol at the border and it is at the border officer's discretion whether I get one or not...

WHAT?

He then confidently added that I might check the website for details cbp.gov....At this point I was more than confused but luckily I quicky recalled that some other people who interviewed recently reported a similar situation where they were told something that's not necessarily accurate. Of course in a moment like this one does doubt his/her own good judgement so I just listened to what he said without objections. But deep down... My fingers were itching to google it immediately and show him what US embassy websites say about this issue.

Here is what I found right off the bat after I left the consulate. First hit after I googled the issue, it is from the US embassy in Armenia but the regulations are the same everywhere. (http://armenia.usembassy.gov/using_your_visa2.html)

-------------------------------

Receiving your Green Card

As soon as you enter the United States on your immigrant visa, you will become a Legal Permanent Resident. Your I-551 Alien Registration Card (commonly referred to as a green card) will be sent via the mail to the address you listed on your immigrant visa application a few weeks after you enter the United States. However, for a period of one year your endorsed immigrant visa may serve as temporary proof of permanent residence. If necessary, you may leave the United States before you have received your green card, using your endorsed immigrant visa as evidence of your permanent legal status. After one year, Legal Permanent Residents must travel in and out of the United States with their foreign country passport and green card.

-------------------------------

Cleary what he was telling me is at odds with: 1) what the official websites say, 2) experiences of other VJ members who used to travel on their immigrant visas before they received green cards in mail. But you ain't gonna argue with a consul, will ya? So I just kindly thanked him (after all, he was super nice and approved me with no problems) and I left the consulate few minutes before 9am.

So here I am...waiting for the passport countdown starts now!

Oh, and just in case some of you will ask about my timeline: 7 years

[lgg 2]

Awwwww, MIkey!!!!

Yay, for you buddy! Of course you passed! That is awesome, now get the hell out of here (Canada that is, not this board)!

I kid, I kid....

Congratulations and good luck to you! I'm glad to hear that it all went well...

Best,

LGG

Edited October 29, 2009 by lgg

[SomberCat 0]

Wow, you've had a VERY long wait. HUGE congratulations!!

[Ontarkie 14,193]

Congrats, 7 years wow

[trailmix 77]

Congratulations

The children over 21 visa has to be one of the weirdest immigration scenarios ever, congrats on not getting married for all that time

[sdw 10]

Congrats

[Rustbelt 0]

Congrats!!

Obviously you had the same guy we did! My best guess is that the hang up is on the word "necessary" - you're only supposed to use the I-551 stamp for "necessary" travel, which he obviously feels means emergency-only travel. But certainly the folks at the Peace Bridge take it to mean "reasonably necessary" travel, including trips to wrap up personal stuff in Canada.

Would love to know what POEs have decided "necessary" means "if a close relative is dying", if any.

[Peachey 10]

Congrats Elmo!

[darkchilde794 5]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Mikey, congratulations!!!!!! As someone who followed your journey when I first signed up for VJ, I am soooo happy for you. Be sure to update when you are IN the US. LOL I think that is the most important part. Again, am really happy for you!

Sorry to nag, but you are sure I can use Priority Next AM? *CHEER!!!!*

Again, congrats!!!!!!!

[Flames9_RN 358]

congrats

[simistar 2]

A HUGE congrats! Good for you!

Hope you celebrated with a drink...or ten:-)

[antda 13]

Hi Mikey78,

Congratulations on getting approved at your F1 interview...

Wow, 7 years seems like a very very long time to wait...well deserved, indeed! How come it took so long for your journey?

Interesting too, that your visa is an F1 (child of US Citizen) and not a marriage based one....

Definitely need to post more info about that type of visa on vj, as others might want to learn about such too..

By the way, since you are a child of a US Citizen, don't you automatically have US Citizenship already (maybe through the child born abroad route?) and not have to go through the immigration process?...And once you come over to the USA, can you just apply for US Citizenship, right away, being a child of a US Citizen, or do you have to wait? kind of confused here about this.....

Either way, congrats, hope you get your actual green card soon, and good luck with the rest of your immigration journey...

Ant

Hey guys! Just got out of the consulate and thought I'd share my experience with you So I got APPROVED but before that happened...

...got to the consulate at 7.00am and I was the first person waiting there. Other people started showing up 10 mins later. Around 7.30am security guard opened the door asked for our appointment letters and passports and started letting people in (btw, stand on the left hand side of the door). Then a brief security check and scan: empty pockets, don't bring electonics, no cell phones, etc. After that a guard clipped a letter 'A' to my appointment letter and pointed to the left asking me to head downstairs and wait by the elevator. Ten mins later another guard showed up, collected out passports and appointment letters with letters clipped, packed us in the elevator and off we went to admire a panoramic view of the city. So we were sitting there for maybe another 20 mins before the speaker announced my name, I proceeded to one of the windows where a really nice lady had my file from NVC. As the letter from NVC indicated I gave them all they wanted already. So she asked me for the envelope with the medical and gave me my DS230 to read through if all's correct. Then she asked me for the Xpresspost envelope.

Here, some of you might recall my envelope drama when I was publicly wondering on VJ whether one must have Xpresspost or Next AM Priority Courier...it seems that it doesn't matter as long as: it is pre-addressed (so write your address before you enter the consulate) and it is the right size - the gigantic kite-like large envelope.

Then this nice lady (and I mean really nice and friendly) asked me to take a seat and wait for fingerprinting. Some 10 mins later she came back, scanned me in and asked me to go back to the general waiting area and wait until I hear my name being called into a booth 7 or 8. Probably 20 mins later they called me into one of the interview booths. A young friendly consul greeted me and asked me to raise my hand and swore me in. Now, many of you might be wondering at this point...I am neither CR/IR nor K, I fall into the F1 category (unmarried sons/daughters of US citizens) so the interview might look a bit different from what you are used to.

First, he asked me to sign an affidavit that I am not married, because people in family based F1 have to be single (otherwise they fall down to F3). Then he asked where I planned to live once I moved to the US, when was the first time I visitited the US, how long my stays in the US were in general, what I was doing professionally and when I am planning on moving there. Luckily my birth certificate attests to my genuine relationship to my parents so all that bona fide relationship BS doesn't apply. The consul was really nice and kept the interview very light. In the end he pulled out a Welcome to the US letter and congratulated me warmly. Yippee!

But......

Then he said, that he wants to explain a couple of details concerning my visa and here he lost me totally. He said that once I enter the US I have to stay there until I get my plastic green card or else...exactly, what else? They might not let me in at the border!!! Because the immigrant visa works as a proof of your permanent residency but is not meant for traveling like multiple tourist visa so if I would like to come back to the US (assuming I left before I got the plastic green card) I would have to apply for advance parol at the border and it is at the border officer's discretion whether I get one or not...

WHAT?

He then confidently added that I might check the website for details cbp.gov....At this point I was more than confused but luckily I quicky recalled that some other people who interviewed recently reported a similar situation where they were told something that's not necessarily accurate. Of course in a moment like this one does doubt his/her own good judgement so I just listened to what he said without objections. But deep down... My fingers were itching to google it immediately and show him what US embassy websites say about this issue.

Here is what I found right off the bat after I left the consulate. First hit after I googled the issue, it is from the US embassy in Armenia but the regulations are the same everywhere. (http://armenia.usembassy.gov/using_your_visa2.html)

-------------------------------

Receiving your Green Card

As soon as you enter the United States on your immigrant visa, you will become a Legal Permanent Resident. Your I-551 Alien Registration Card (commonly referred to as a green card) will be sent via the mail to the address you listed on your immigrant visa application a few weeks after you enter the United States. However, for a period of one year your endorsed immigrant visa may serve as temporary proof of permanent residence. If necessary, you may leave the United States before you have received your green card, using your endorsed immigrant visa as evidence of your permanent legal status. After one year, Legal Permanent Residents must travel in and out of the United States with their foreign country passport and green card.

-------------------------------

Cleary what he was telling me is at odds with: 1) what the official websites say, 2) experiences of other VJ members who used to travel on their immigrant visas before they received green cards in mail. But you ain't gonna argue with a consul, will ya? So I just kindly thanked him (after all, he was super nice and approved me with no problems) and I left the consulate few minutes before 9am.

So here I am...waiting for the passport countdown starts now!

Oh, and just in case some of you will ask about my timeline: 7 years

Edited October 29, 2009 by Ant+D+A

[CanAmerican 0]

Congratulations!!! I hope I get those same nice ppl for my interview

[meowmeowmeow 1]

congrats!

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Hey guys! Just got out of the consulate and thought I'd share my experience with you So I got APPROVED but before that happened...

...got to the consulate at 7.00am and I was the first person waiting there. Other people started showing up 10 mins later. Around 7.30am security guard opened the door asked for our appointment letters and passports and started letting people in (btw, stand on the left hand side of the door). Then a brief security check and scan: empty pockets, don't bring electonics, no cell phones, etc. After that a guard clipped a letter 'A' to my appointment letter and pointed to the left asking me to head downstairs and wait by the elevator. Ten mins later another guard showed up, collected out passports and appointment letters with letters clipped, packed us in the elevator and off we went to admire a panoramic view of the city. So we were sitting there for maybe another 20 mins before the speaker announced my name, I proceeded to one of the windows where a really nice lady had my file from NVC. As the letter from NVC indicated I gave them all they wanted already. So she asked me for the envelope with the medical and gave me my DS230 to read through if all's correct. Then she asked me for the Xpresspost envelope.

Here, some of you might recall my envelope drama when I was publicly wondering on VJ whether one must have Xpresspost or Next AM Priority Courier...it seems that it doesn't matter as long as: it is pre-addressed (so write your address before you enter the consulate) and it is the right size - the gigantic kite-like large envelope.

Then this nice lady (and I mean really nice and friendly) asked me to take a seat and wait for fingerprinting. Some 10 mins later she came back, scanned me in and asked me to go back to the general waiting area and wait until I hear my name being called into a booth 7 or 8. Probably 20 mins later they called me into one of the interview booths. A young friendly consul greeted me and asked me to raise my hand and swore me in. Now, many of you might be wondering at this point...I am neither CR/IR nor K, I fall into the F1 category (unmarried sons/daughters of US citizens) so the interview might look a bit different from what you are used to.

First, he asked me to sign an affidavit that I am not married, because people in family based F1 have to be single (otherwise they fall down to F3). Then he asked where I planned to live once I moved to the US, when was the first time I visitited the US, how long my stays in the US were in general, what I was doing professionally and when I am planning on moving there. Luckily my birth certificate attests to my genuine relationship to my parents so all that bona fide relationship BS doesn't apply. The consul was really nice and kept the interview very light. In the end he pulled out a Welcome to the US letter and congratulated me warmly. Yippee!

But......

Then he said, that he wants to explain a couple of details concerning my visa and here he lost me totally. He said that once I enter the US I have to stay there until I get my plastic green card or else...exactly, what else? They might not let me in at the border!!! Because the immigrant visa works as a proof of your permanent residency but is not meant for traveling like multiple tourist visa so if I would like to come back to the US (assuming I left before I got the plastic green card) I would have to apply for advance parol at the border and it is at the border officer's discretion whether I get one or not...

WHAT?

He then confidently added that I might check the website for details cbp.gov....At this point I was more than confused but luckily I quicky recalled that some other people who interviewed recently reported a similar situation where they were told something that's not necessarily accurate. Of course in a moment like this one does doubt his/her own good judgement so I just listened to what he said without objections. But deep down... My fingers were itching to google it immediately and show him what US embassy websites say about this issue.

Here is what I found right off the bat after I left the consulate. First hit after I googled the issue, it is from the US embassy in Armenia but the regulations are the same everywhere. (http://armenia.usembassy.gov/using_your_visa2.html)

-------------------------------

Receiving your Green Card

As soon as you enter the United States on your immigrant visa, you will become a Legal Permanent Resident. Your I-551 Alien Registration Card (commonly referred to as a green card) will be sent via the mail to the address you listed on your immigrant visa application a few weeks after you enter the United States. However, for a period of one year your endorsed immigrant visa may serve as temporary proof of permanent residence. If necessary, you may leave the United States before you have received your green card, using your endorsed immigrant visa as evidence of your permanent legal status. After one year, Legal Permanent Residents must travel in and out of the United States with their foreign country passport and green card.

-------------------------------

Cleary what he was telling me is at odds with: 1) what the official websites say, 2) experiences of other VJ members who used to travel on their immigrant visas before they received green cards in mail. But you ain't gonna argue with a consul, will ya? So I just kindly thanked him (after all, he was super nice and approved me with no problems) and I left the consulate few minutes before 9am.

So here I am...waiting for the passport countdown starts now!

Oh, and just in case some of you will ask about my timeline: 7 years

7 years, is that all? Ask the folks stuck in F4 from the Philippines. Of course I'm just kidding. That is a long wait and you stuck it out. No queue jumping, you played by the rules. I'm thrilled for you. Congratulations!!!!!!!!! There aren't many Family-based visas being applied for by the people here so you are very special indeed. You didn't correct the consulate people when they made mistakes, many people don't have your patience, bravo! US permanent resident, Mikey78 it sounds great!

BTW, Ant, once he turned 21 he aged out so he was no longer in the immediate relative category and thus had to go the F1 route.