Singapore K1s

[kitthekat 1,317]

Just got packet 3 this week! Here's what it contained:

1. Cover note from Immigrant Visa Branch

2. Visa instructions Visa Instructions for Singapore Embassy pg 1.jpgVisa Instructions for Singapore Embassy pg 2.jpg

3. Form I have to sign saying I have all the documents on the checklist Visa Instructions for Singapore Embassy pg 3.jpg

4. Instructions for I-134

5. I-134

6. Letter for medical

7. Letter for Certificate of Clearance

We spent an hour completing DS-160 today and printed the confirmation page with the barcode. I'll be paying the S$312 fee at Standard Chartered Upper Thomson tomorrow over lunch and sending off the forms and receipt at the end of the day. I'm hoping for an interview date in mid-December. Fingers crossed!

6. Letter for medical can be found here: http://travel.state.gov/pdf/medical/SGP-MED-ENGL-0004-1103.pdf

Horne & Chin will do appointments on weekends as well but there aren't as many available timeslots.

[EndlessStory 53]

Thank you for the detailed review on COC in Singapore but I am applying it from overseas since I am no more residing in Singapore, I turned in my EP and have no card/paper that says anything about my EP. I remembered my FIN number though. Not sure if they will accept that if I send it by post or mail.

[kitthekat 1,317]

Thank you for the detailed review on COC in Singapore but I am applying it from overseas since I am no more residing in Singapore, I turned in my EP and have no card/paper that says anything about my EP. I remembered my FIN number though. Not sure if they will accept that if I send it by post or mail.

You can email SPF_CID_COC@spf.gov.sg for the "official" instructions on how to apply. Since I haven't gone through it myself, my very basic understanding is that you would need the following:

a. COC request form

b. appeal form

c. two passport sized photographs

d. set of fingerprints taken by a "qualified Fingerprint Officer at a Police Station or an authorized office of the country he/she is now residing" - I've also read of people getting "notarized fingerprints" where a notary watched them fingerprint themselves and signed off on it.

e. cheque/bank draft for SGD50 (it has to be from a Singapore-based bank, so you can try DBS' online demand draft or approach banks in malaysia that have branches in singapore as well - hsbc? maybank?)

f. photocopy of valid passport bio page

g. past travel documents showing entry & exit dates (can be passport stamps since you don't have copies of your EP) for computation of the duration in Singapore

h. copy of the embassy's letter stating that the COC is required

[EndlessStory 53]

You can email SPF_CID_COC@spf.gov.sg for the "official" instructions on how to apply. Since I haven't gone through it myself, my very basic understanding is that you would need the following:

a. COC request form

b. appeal form

c. two passport sized photographs

d. set of fingerprints taken by a "qualified Fingerprint Officer at a Police Station or an authorized office of the country he/she is now residing" - I've also read of people getting "notarized fingerprints" where a notary watched them fingerprint themselves and signed off on it.

e. cheque/bank draft for SGD50 (it has to be from a Singapore-based bank, so you can try DBS' online demand draft or approach banks in malaysia that have branches in singapore as well - hsbc? maybank?)

f. photocopy of valid passport bio page

g. past travel documents showing entry & exit dates (can be passport stamps since you don't have copies of your EP) for computation of the duration in Singapore

h. copy of the embassy's letter stating that the COC is required

okay, I am a little confused with the Singapore COC, since I am residing abroad now.

Collection by person/proxy? what should i put?

I want it to be mailed to the embassy or should I have it mailed to my house and i will take it to the embassy myself?

There's no option for that. Should I attach a letter to it and state what do i want to do with it?

[kitthekat 1,317]

okay, I am a little confused with the Singapore COC, since I am residing abroad now.

Collection by person/proxy? what should i put?

I want it to be mailed to the embassy or should I have it mailed to my house and i will take it to the embassy myself?

There's no option for that. Should I attach a letter to it and state what do i want to do with it?

Honestly, I don't know. But if I were in that situation, I would mostly probably write "N/A (COC to be posted to US Embassy in xxx)" manually on the form because neither option would apply to me.

Since you want it to be mailed to the embassy, you can fill in the embassy's address on qn. 17 of the application form. I would also suggest emailing to let them have advance notice that you'll be mailing in the application and where you want it sent to - I find it helps to have a paper trail, just in case.

[kitthekat 1,317]

Just got a call from the US embassy to my office number (?!) asking if I would like to attend an interview tomorrow morning. I had to say no because I have a meeting I can't get out of tomorrow and it broke my heart a little saying no, but at least I know they haven't forgotten me and are trying to schedule an interview date! Woo!

Edited December 2, 2013 by kitthekat

[kitthekat 1,317]

I didn't want to wait till tomorrow to get packet 4 in the mail so I called DOS and they were able to give it to me - interview is scheduled for Dec 17, 10.15 am!

[EndlessStory 53]

I didn't want to wait till tomorrow to get packet 4 in the mail so I called DOS and they were able to give it to me - interview is scheduled for Dec 17, 10.15 am!

Congrats, happy for you.. ALL THE BEST for your interview. CO in Singapore US embassy is nice, I have nice experience from there for B2

[kitthekat 1,317]

Thanks Janice, that's reassuring!

[kitthekat 1,317]

Uploading packet 4 here in case anyone wants a sneak preview.

[EndlessStory 53]

Uploading packet 4 here in case anyone wants a sneak preview.

thank you! Do write back about your interview!

[kitthekat 1,317]

Interview:

I arrived at 920am (interview was scheduled for 1015am). There was no queue. I showed the guard my appointment letter and he asked me to wait for security to wave me through. I entered the room with the security scanner. There were some backpacks and luggage bags with tags stored there - and they will also keep your mobile phone if you need them to. I didn't bring mine with me.

Once you leave that room, you turn left and left again and go up the long-ish walkway. The building you want is at the end of the walkway, to the right. Show the lady inside your appointment letter and she will tell you to go to the visa room (first room on the left).

The visa room was pretty crowded and seats were all filled. I pressed the first button (immigrant visa) for a queue number (006). They were currently serving 003. All immigrant visas are first heard at window 7. What they say about people being able to hear everything you say is absolutely true. There's maybe a 2-3 step distance between the first row of seats and the glass windows.

Took about 45 minutes for my number to be called at window 7. The famous "asian guy" asked for my passport, my birth certificate plus one photocopy, police certificate, two passport photos, I-134 and supporting evidence, and any other proof of my relationship I wanted to submit. Just as a note, the girl before me didn't have a photocopy of her birth certificate and had to pay $1.30 for the embassy staff to make a copy. They must use some high quality paper lol. She also had regular-sized passport photos instead of the large US-sized ones so she had to get a set of two from the photobooth in the far corner of the room for $10. They did not ask for the ds-160 confirmation page (it was already sent in with packet 3).

Financial documents he took from my pile:

- I-134

- ITRs for 2012 only

- W2s for 2012, 2011, 2010 and the duplicate copies

- Offer letter (my fiance started a new job 2 months ago)

- First paystub from my fiance's new job

- Printout from my fiance's HR portal stating his YTD earnings

- J's Digital bank statements (not signed by a bank officer or anything like that - just computer printouts)

Documents he returned:

- Duplicates of all the documents above except the W2s.

- ITRs for 2011 and 2010

Note on the I-134 supporting evidence: He asked me if I had copies of my own bank statements. I was a bit stunned because I didn't think it mattered. He said that would only apply if I was intending to support myself in the US. I said, is self-supporting allowed in the embassy in Singapore? He said, sure, why not?

Also, the girl before me did not have any ITRs or W2s but she did present an offer letter from her fiance's current job (they both graduated recently I believe) and did not have to submit any additional documents.

Proof of relationship submitted:

- Chat logs from whatsapp and skype sorted by month

- I had a scrapbook of photos, cards, pictures of gifts sent to each other, receipts, etc that I slid under the window. I asked if I could get it back later on and he slid it back under the window and asked me to show it to the consular officer during the 2nd interview.

Then the questions started:

- So you work in xxx, what do you do?

- Tell me more about your duties. What kind of policies do you oversee?

- Have you ever been denied a visa?

- What is your marital status - single as in never married? How about your fiance?

- Do you or your fiance have any children from a previous relationship?

- How did you and your fiance meet and when?

- What kind of website was that? How did you end up dating someone from a writing website?

- Have you been to the US? When was your last trip?

- When did you first meet your fiance in person? How long did you stay? Where did you meet?

- Has your fiance ever been to Singapore?

- How many times have you met? (I answered just the one time early this year, and he paused and said, that's still fine.)

- Have you ever lived overseas?

- You listed xx countries as countries you visited in the last 5 years. What was your purpose for the trips?

- Did your fiance ever tell you how much he earns? How much?

- What is your fiance's job? What does he do?

The first interview was pretty relaxed and friendly overall. He asked me if I was excited and ready to move over to the US and made some small talk about being a civil servant and internet security measures in government offices. He then gave me my xray and two forms - a "document submission letter" and the instructions for registering with aramex. He checked if I'd read the pamphlet on domestic violence - I had - so he didn't make me read it again.

There were 12 applicants in the immigrant visa queue (mostly families) and they all went ahead of me and the other girl who was also applying for a fiance visa. After about 2 hours, we were pretty much the only two left. She was called first and after her I was called to window 6.

The American consul apologised for the wait and asked me how to pronounce my fiance's surname (it's not a common surname). He said, "So, your fiance is based in [town in Colorado], huh? That's the area I'm from, though I haven't been there in a while." Then he asked:

- You met on a writing website - what site is that?

- What do people do on that website, what is its purpose? How do you meet people there?

- How did you end up from talking about writing to your fiance coming over to visit you? (I corrected him and said that I was the one who visited my fiance and he laughed and said, sorry, my bad.)

- What do you both write?

- Is your fiance published? What kind of publications - print or digital? Can you name me three publications he was published in?

- Why do you remember those three publications specifically?

- Do you still write? What kind of writing?

- What did you do when you were in Colorado? Did you take any day trips?

- Was the trip to Colorado Springs the only day trip you took?

- Did you ride the railway up to Pikes Peak? [he started reminiscing about how long ago it was since he went up there last lol]

[At this point I volunteered to show him the scrapbook and he took it - he looked at the railway tickets, the pictures from a concert we attended, several pictures of us eating out, receipts from gifts, postcards we sent to each other, etc]

- Why have you and your fiance only met once? (he asked this a few times)

- Where does your fiance work? Is it a new position? How long has he been working there?

- You submitted your fiance's 2012 income tax returns. [At this point I passed him the rest of the ITRs] Where was your fiance working previously? What did he do there?

- Why did your fiance move to Colorado, was it to take the job? Where does he intend to stay after this?

- Are you having kids or planning on having kids? [i said no and he asked me if I was sure repeatedly ].

- What do you and your fiance talk about? What are your common interests? [i briefly mentioned Dr Who and he seemed to really like that and made some small talk about the 50th anniversary ]

Finally, he said that my fiance's income was borderline. I was a little shocked. So I said, but isn't he quite a bit over the poverty guidelines? He hemmed and hawed and checked a printout of the I864P and said "the poverty guidelines for 2 is 19,000 or thereabouts and your fiance is barely over 20,000. Or am I reading this wrong?" I verbally calculated my fiance's annual income and he accepted that we were nowhere near the poverty line. Phew.

Then he asked me to register with Aramex once I got home and that he felt our case was "pretty okay." Woo!

[kitthekat 1,317]

Registering for Aramex

The website seems to have a glitch - once you have keyed in your details and MRV receipt number (step 8) and click "submit", the page brings you to "schedule consulate interview". After a bit of a runaround (I called Aramex who said to call the embassy who said to call Aramex who finally transferred me to a call center), I was told that I should just click "back" (the button on the lower half of the webpage, not the 'back' function of the browser) when I get to the errant page, check that my receipt number is indicated correctly in step 8, then click "home" and "logout".

If you want to be extra sure, then you can call 800 8532 800 (the Singapore number for the call centre) to check if your account was created. Press 1 for english, 3 for schedule interview (it's the fastest way to talk to an agent) and then 5. You'll need your passport number, your SGP case number and the agent will ask for your full name.

Edited December 17, 2013 by kitthekat

[kitthekat 1,317]

Gah, the embassy forgot to take my oath and have asked me to return on Friday (20 Dec 2013) to do it. Not a big deal, just a bit of a hassle to request for time off again, travel there, etc. I'm guessing this also means there'll be a delay in getting my passport back.

[mwetterh 0]

Kitthekat,

On the 2nd page of this document it mentions another form that give the information for the medical group or person to go to. Can you post that or have you and how much did that process cost? I hear there are multiple things like the exam and xrays, immunizations etc each with fees

"Gah, the embassy forgot to take my oath and have asked me to return on Friday (20 Dec 2013) to do it. Not a big deal, just a bit of a hassle to request for time off again, travel there, etc. I'm guessing this also means there'll be a delay in getting my passport back. "

Sounds like you are just about done!