IR-1 start to finish – Warsaw

danat · July 8, 2009

First, we want to say thank you to VJ and all the members that have made VJ such a useful resource for guiding those of us with loved ones immigrating to the USA.

When we started our journey, we seriously considered hiring a lawyer because this was one of the most important steps in bringing our family together again. I called a couple lawyers and was about to pay $2000 to get started when my wife found VJ. I started reading the forums and looking at the documents we would have to complete and realized we could do this.

We started gathering information and working on the forms in January 2009 submitting them in February 2009. We planned that it would take us until November 2009 to finish the process. We didn’t rush because our goal was doing everything right, double checking, triple checking, quadruple checking everything. We caught several mistakes we made ourselves using VJ guides (LingChe, IR1/CR1, DS-230, I-130, sample forms, cover letters) and reading the common RFE’s topics. Then we put everything in the recommended order VJ guides suggested.

The end result was processing and approval quicker than we had planned or dreamt possible. We received our interview date for July 1, 2009.

The time up to the interview was nerve-racking. We prepared by taking the list of interview questions and answering them so she could study. We printed more photos, more emails, more paystubs then made sure we had copies of everything they should have already received. I also prepared 3 more I-864’s with additional co-sponsors and assets just in case.

My wife prepared a bag with everything we thought we would need including our son’s US passport and CRBA. Unfortunately a few days before the interview, I was injured in car accident. I still wanted to go, but my wife was absolutely against it. She also did not want to postpone the interview either. Because of all of our preparation she was very confident that she could do it and we would be talking by cell phone before and after.

My wife is from Belarus, but the interview was held at the US Embassy in Warsaw. She had to get a Polish visa to attend. (If you are required to get a Polish visa, make sure to do it as soon as possible. It took 2 weeks to get the Polish visa. We had to use the interview date letter from the NVC because the embassy did not send the invitation letter until 2 weeks after they received our file which would have made it nearly impossible to get the Polish visa in time.)

One of the great things was that my wife met a lady and a guy on the train that were going to their interviews that day. They spoke and decided to join together during the day to make things easier. After they arrived they walked to each other’s hotels to get each of them settled and then headed to the Embassy together.

They arrived at the US Embassy in Warsaw at about 7:50am. Her appointment wasn’t scheduled until 9:30am, but they let them all in with no problems. There were 10 people in front of her. (They see the people that are returning from the day before first.) She was called up by a staff member that took her Passport and Medical Exam. The lady was nice and asked several questions but instead of my wife answering, she answered for her. Went something like this:

Staff: I guess you are married… Sure you are married!

Staff: I guess you have a baby… Yeah you have one!

Staff: I am sure you were not in prison… Yeah you were not in prison!

Staff: Ok… take your number and wait.

My wife didn’t really say anything, just smiled, took a number and sat down. Sometime later she went up and gave her fingerprints and then sat down again. She didn’t have to pay the fee because we had paid the fee directly to the NVC.

During her wait she heard several other interviews. There is no privacy there since everything happens in one room.

One lady that traveled with her went first and her CR-1 interview was easy. They had told her before she needed her university diploma. She brought it and gave it to the CO. (She had the female CO who was nice and laughed a lot with her.) The CO then told her to come back at 3pm to get her visa.

Another woman was missing documents and was asked to come back with them.

Then my wife and the guy that traveled with the trio saw the CO looking at a file with lots of papers and a Belarusian passport. My wife thought it was her and was nervous because the CO looked concerned and was walking around talking to the other CO’s and checking things. Then the guy saw his pictures and knew it was his file. He got up and was very nervous now… pacing back and forth and then he was called up. He was speaking with the CO for at least an hour. The CO asked him many questions about what he did in the USA and where he works. His interview was much more difficult. The CO told him that when he left the USA the last time something happened with his I-94 and it showed that he overstayed 1 year. The CO told him that he was going to put him in AP and should go home. The CO said they will call him when they get more information. This guy was angry and upset because he had proof that he left on time.

The wait was the longest part of the process. She waited about an hour before her number came up again. There were 3 CO’s working, 2 guys and 1 lady. My wife went to speak with one of the guy CO’s. He had all of our documents from the NVC so she didn’t have to give them anything else.

The interview:

Wife: Good morning!

CO: Good morning!

At this point she had to swear to tell the truth and then told the CO she could speak English and answer his questions in English during the interview. The CO was looking at papers, looking at his computer and typing while he was talking with himself.

CO: Oh, you married more than 2 years… Good…

CO: You have a son. Where is he?

Wife: In *****, Belarus with his grandmother right now .

CO: Oh good.. You have so many photos here.

Wife: I have more!

CO: Really?

Wife: Do you want to see them?

CO: Oh maybe just the recent ones…

My wife showed him the ones with her and our son and said… Look how big our son is now!

CO: Do you want all of these photos back?

Wife: Sure…

Then the CO gave back the photos and kept typing. Now he was just typing without talking anymore.

CO: Ok, you can come get your visa at 3pm today.

Wife: Today?

CO: Yes, if you didn’t lie.

Wife: I didn’t. Thank you!

Then she left.

My wife called me right away because she was very happy. She asked me if she should cancel the hotel room and change the train ticket to return that evening after she picked up the visa. I told her that we would have to pay for the hotel no matter what due to the hotel cancellation policy. We decided it was better for her to stay and relax.

My wife then went back to the hotel to relax a bit before having to return at 3pm.

At 3pm she went back to get her visa. Her lady friend was first and they had her visa ready for her. She was very happy as she had been doing this for over a year. My wife went up to the window and the lady there looked through her stack but didn’t find her stuff. Then she said that they weren’t finished with the security checks yet and they gave her back her passport with a paper. Then the lady told her to come back tomorrow between 8 to 10am. My wife read the paper and it was a 221(g) saying that they couldn’t issue the visa because they needed more documentation. It then listed:

- proof of education

- administrative processing

After she read the paper she was crushed. She couldn’t understand why they were asking for this. The CO said she was approved and never asked about her education. She called me right away and told me what happened and I tried to reassure her that the administrative processing was probably just the security checks they were doing. I told her I was not sure why they were asking about her diploma. I did encourage her to translate and get her degree certified with an apostille a few months ago so she did have it, but we didn’t think to bring it. I thought it was strange that they asked her to go back between 8 and 10 am if she needed her proof of education. She couldn’t just go home and get it because her Polish visa was only good for that trip. We talked about different things we could do, but decided it was just best to go back the next day at 8am and see what happens. We thought worst case she would just have to go back with her diploma.

My wife went back to the hotel and decided it was better if she walked around the city for awhile. She sent a sms to her friends and they met at the Hypermarket. They talked about what happened and walked around. My wife told the guy that he should go to the embassy with her tomorrow. He told her he didn’t want to because they told him that they would call him. She said it was his chance to prove it and get his visa and he shouldn’t leave. She asked him if he had more proof that he left on time and he said yes so she convinced him that he should get it and go to the embassy. So he decided to give it a try and called his sister to have the proof emailed to the hotel so he could print it.

My wife went back to her hotel and we talked. I tried to cheer her up and told her it would all be okay. I told her to stay positive and everything would be great.

She still couldn’t sleep very well… partly because of the tram that was close to the hotel (MDM is not the best hotel. Novetel is much better and newer for about the same price.) She arrived around 8am and went inside. She gave the lady her passport and asked about her visa and she checked. She then said the security checks were done and everything came back ok. She then told her to come back at 3pm again to pick up her visa. Déjà vu! This other guy went too and spoke with the CO. After speaking with the CO again he finally told him to come back at 3pm.

My wife met up with her friend again after the interview and they decided they would go back at 3pm together. When they went back my wife went up first and they handed her back her passport with the visa and the packet. She was so happy and I think was never so relieved that it was finally over. She waited to see what would happen with the guy and his CR-1… He went to the window and they had issued his visa too! He was surprised and extremely happy. He thanked my wife for making him go back and decided that he would carry her bags for her from the embassy to the train to show his gratitude.

I had no idea what had happened because we had spent so much money on phone calls she had a negative balance of $50 on her phone so we couldn’t call each other anymore. I was so nervous and was so anxious for her return… she had told me when the train would arrive. I thought if she comes online she got the visa… but the time for the train had passed and she wasn’t there… Some 30 minutes later when I thought all hope was lost… there she was and she said I GOT IT!!!

She told me when it was all over and she had the visa she was crying because of the up and down emotions and stress you have to go through to be with your family.

So To sum it up…

-The whole process took 2.5 hours (mostly waiting).

-The CO interview was less than 5 minutes.

-The questions were easy. The CO didn’t ask for any more proof of relationship or finances, but she showed some more photos anyway.

-If you interview at the embassy in Warsaw, they could ask for proof of education so if you have it, take it. We didn’t need it at the end, but if she would have brought it, she wouldn’t have been so stressed.

-If you get a 221(g) with administrative processing checked in Warsaw, don’t worry if they tell you to come back at 8am the next morning, it is probably just the regular security checks they do overnight.

-If you have a situation like the guy had, don’t give up. If you can get more proof or documents, go back and at least talk to them. The first no isn’t always definitive. All that can happen is that they tell you no again… but just maybe you’ll get a yes like he did.

Thanks again to VJ and all its members for helping reunite families…

Good Luck!

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