New Person, Stupid Question about the K1 Interview

[jenbikeswim 0]

Hi, everyone. Happy to read everyones questions and experiences through this nutty process.... Am engaged to a wonderful German man who I met while I was on a long term assignment in Germany. Am now back in the USA for the last month or so. Luckily, we were able to have our ducks in a row to file the I29F right after I arrived home (got engaged the week before I left the EU!).

I have been trying to plan the visa process and the wedding and my return to American life, and my brain is swirling with info overload.

I was under the impression that both Torsten and I would be required to be at the consulate for the interview. Further reading has lead me to believe otherwise: Torsten has to manage the interview alone.

Now, I still plan on flying over for the interview whether they speak with me or not: he's not going this alone! But my questions is: am I going to be interviewed as well?

appreciate the help!

Jennifer

[tucson_chick 0]

well - you are talkling about 2 different visa here. for DCF you guys could have gotten hitched and filed directly at the embassy and received the CR1 within weeks.

For the K1 he has to wait in Germany until the petition is approved and then fly over and get married.

well - as far as I know (and I might be wrong) is only the german fiance allowed to go to the embassy.

other than that: the interview is so short and really only a formality that it might be a waist of money for you to fly over just for the interview.

If money isn't an issue it might be nice to fly to Germany to kinda "bring him home" and fly back to the US with him.

best of luck!

[jenbikeswim 0]

well - you are talkling about 2 different visa here. for DCF you guys could have gotten hitched and filed directly at the embassy and received the CR1 within weeks.

For the K1 he has to wait in Germany until the petition is approved and then fly over and get married.

well - as far as I know (and I might be wrong) is only the german fiance allowed to go to the embassy.

other than that: the interview is so short and really only a formality that it might be a waist of money for you to fly over just for the interview.

If money isn't an issue it might be nice to fly to Germany to kinda "bring him home" and fly back to the US with him.

best of luck!

We are doing K1 not DCF... and it's never a waste of money to see my honey! So it's true he'll be facing the music solo. I want to go with him and be by his side to support and celebrate when they say yes!

[Dakine 26]

well - you are talkling about 2 different visa here. for DCF you guys could have gotten hitched and filed directly at the embassy and received the CR1 within weeks.

For the K1 he has to wait in Germany until the petition is approved and then fly over and get married.

well - as far as I know (and I might be wrong) is only the german fiance allowed to go to the embassy.

other than that: the interview is so short and really only a formality that it might be a waist of money for you to fly over just for the interview.

If money isn't an issue it might be nice to fly to Germany to kinda "bring him home" and fly back to the US with him.

best of luck!

We are doing K1 not DCF... and it's never a waste of money to see my honey! So it's true he'll be facing the music solo. I want to go with him and be by his side to support and celebrate when they say yes!

Good girl! Overall consensus is it's MUCH better in all ways for the petitioner to attend the interview. Some embassies allow the petitoner to be present during the interview and some don't.

Have fun celebrating RIGHT after no matter what happens !!

[TBoneTX 45,309]

the interview is so short and really only a formality

Don't ever, EVER count on this! GO, and even if you're not interviewed or allowed in the interview, be on the consular premises. I cannot emphasize this strongly enough.

You have actually asked the smartest question that anyone on VJ could ask... if you follow the advice to attend.

Edited September 11, 2008 by TBoneTX

[bakofoil 27]

It's best to ask this in the German forum. I understand your perspective TB, (hello, btw! long time, si man) but many embassies will not allow the petitioner to be present. Best thing she can do is ask questions in the local forums, find out how that embassy generally operates and begin collecting evidence.

[TBoneTX 45,309]

It's best to ask this in the German forum. I understand your perspective TB, (hello, btw! long time, si man) but many embassies will not allow the petitioner to be present. Best thing she can do is ask questions in the local forums, find out how that embassy generally operates and begin collecting evidence.

Si, man, yourself! Howareya?

It's absolutely correct that some embassies won't allow the U.S. citizen IN the interview; however, they cannot ban the USC from the premises. The embassy is U.S. soil, and the USC has every right to be there. If a local security-thug tries to say otherwise, pull rank. That part is actually rather fun, because they cannot deny us access. The point is that, to enhance the fiancee's chances of being granted the visa, it ALWAYS helps and can NEVER hurt for the U.S. partner to be "around." Even at lower-fraud consular posts, it can never hurt, si man.

[EmilyM 0]

When I went to my interview (alone :/ ) there were several couples who were ahead of me and they were interviewed together. So its very likely that if you go there, then you will be interviewed together, probably looks good too if you're there. If they don't let you in, then at least you'll be there right afterward and you can celebrate together!

good luck!

[Laura+Tom 2]

It's not required as they are interviewing you. I for one will be attending my interview alone as my OH will more than likely still be overseas, but if you can attend and provide support then go.

[cca 13]

I dont know what other embassys are like, but then again they are all USA embassies that are st in different countries and I know for a fact that the Embassy in United Kingdom will NOT let anyone else apart from the applicant go inside the embassy! They state this VERY strongly on their website and you are not even allowed outside to wait for security reasons. The applicant will have an interview letter and only he (with this letter) will be allowed inside. hes not even allowed to take Ipod, mobile phone ect as they are electronic devices and present a threat.

The Embassy isnt like a building where you can just go and sity down and then get interviewed in a room....its a very step by step procedure, finger scans ect and they take it very seriously. You hand in your papers at a desk and then most of it is just sitting and waiting -depending how busy it is they could be waitingup to 5 hours!! (ive had 2 J1 visas and have experienced this)

Again i dont know exactly what its like in different countries but im guessing the same rules , security procedures ect follow a standard us goverment procedure and so most are the same

If you want to be in germany and hen walk around for a while while hes in thre go for it, but if its to be there and present in the embssy i say the chances are slim

[KimandRuss 0]

As mentioned above, you're going to want to check with others who have gone through Germany. If you're not allowed 'into' the interview, you can always have him carry your passport to prove you are there. Also as mentioned, at some of the higher fraud posts this is strongly recommended.

[sib 7]

Hi Jennifer,

I was with my fiance at the interview in Frankfurt.

This embassy is very helpful. They even scheduled our interview (I emailed them after he filed the package 3) about a specific interview date (I couldn't be in Germany before that date because my son was still here in US in school) and they scheduled according to my request.

The interview was short and my son and I were standing with him (and his children) the whole time. The interview for my fiance was held in German (which I am fluent in too) and then the CO and I talked for a little while.

You can read our timeline to get more information.

If you can be with him, great. Get in contact with the embassy via email after he receives package 3 (which is only a couple pages, rest needs to be downloaded, the embassy website has more information) if you want to plan your travel and ask about when the interview would be ... They will answer you pretty quickly, too.

Wishing you luck in your journey.

Sib

[Shannon and David 0]

Hi!

Here's the link to the Embassy info here on VJ... You can read reviews there as well by clicking on the review page...

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/inde...p;cty=Frankfurt

Here's the link to FAQs...

http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k1k2visa-application.html

And the K1 guide, inc. info about the fiance Embassy part...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1guide

[Chamy and Gatita 3]

another angle to think about. whether you end up waiting in a cafe a block away or are actually at the interview together, you are there for each other. and after that, you can be together to say bye (or bye for now!) to his friends and family. also, you get to travel to the us together and help him through the border crossing. if anything goes wrong at any of these stages, you have each other to run ideas off of and try to laugh off the stress, if possible!!

kathie