May 2012 Interviews

[Trav&Shell 83]

Our interview was yesterday at the London Embassy ---

We got approved!

Now we've got a month to pack up everything

congrats!!!!!!!!! :D :luv: :dance:

Approved! 90 minutes start to end and only 4 questions asked at interview.

Can't believe it ! Haha, feel like life can really begin now :-)

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woohoo! Congrats Peasky on your Visa Approval!! Get ready for POE! Life will commence for you very soon!

Amanda&Elvio: April 30 (APPROVED!)

dimples: May 3 (APPROVED!)

DanHill13: May 4 (APPROVED!)

StephanieM: May 4 (APPROVED!)

Matt & Rocio: May 7 (APPROVED!)

Peter D: May 8 (APPROVED!)

cheekyerica: May 9 (APPROVED!)

Divs: May 9 (APPROVED!)

July15: May 9 (AP)

BerryNRocco: May 10 (AP)

Peaksy: May 11 (APPROVED!)

trojam227: May 15

Alaska2012: May 16

RiaB: May 17

nica: May 21

Amrita&Terry: May 21

Trav&Shell: May 22

Chrissy&Mark: May 22

diani0626: May 23

GoingCrazy2012: May 30

mrsbinns: May 30

...Seems like May interviews are shaping up very, very well for the most part!

Edited May 11, 2012 by Trav&Shell

[Peaksy 4]

Yes, on a roll and long may it continue for when it is youre turn!

[Divs 35]

Congratulations Peaksy. I just picked up my passport with the visa stamped as well as the sealed envelope. Flying on 24th.

[Trav&Shell 83]

Yes, on a roll and long may it continue for when it is youre turn!

Sure hope so - and hope it continues on to June!

[Amanda&Elvio 12]

We did POE yesterday and SURPRISE, it was in the Bahamas! Thanks to the ignorance of one CPB officer we missed our flight but the American Airlines staff were awesome and put us on another flight immediately and we were still able to meet our next connection and get to Kansas City on time (but one bag short). 5 flights and 22 hours later we are HOME!!

[Trav&Shell 83]

We did POE yesterday and SURPRISE, it was in the Bahamas! Thanks to the ignorance of one CPB officer we missed our flight but the American Airlines staff were awesome and put us on another flight immediately and we were still able to meet our next connection and get to Kansas City on time (but one bag short). 5 flights and 22 hours later we are HOME!!

Very very awesome - congratulations :D :dance:

[gad33 47]

We did POE yesterday and SURPRISE, it was in the Bahamas! Thanks to the ignorance of one CPB officer we missed our flight but the American Airlines staff were awesome and put us on another flight immediately and we were still able to meet our next connection and get to Kansas City on time (but one bag short). 5 flights and 22 hours later we are HOME!!

Yay for you.

[Matt & Rocio 28]

We did POE yesterday and SURPRISE, it was in the Bahamas! Thanks to the ignorance of one CPB officer we missed our flight but the American Airlines staff were awesome and put us on another flight immediately and we were still able to meet our next connection and get to Kansas City on time (but one bag short). 5 flights and 22 hours later we are HOME!!

Congratulations! Can you elaborate on the ignorance of the CPB officer? Did you have a short layover? We will have a 5 hour layover in Atlanta which is way more than we will need, but it just worked out that way for the cheapest flight.

[Amanda&Elvio 12]

Congratulations! Can you elaborate on the ignorance of the CPB officer? Did you have a short layover? We will have a 5 hour layover in Atlanta which is way more than we will need, but it just worked out that way for the cheapest flight.

Our layover was 3.5 hours. We were the only ones waiting in the secondary inspection area so we should have had plenty of time. The officer took the folder from my husband and was looking through it. She asked me all kinds of questions about our relationship, it was like our Embassy interview all over again except she only spoke to me because she didn't speak Spanish and my husband doesn't speak English yet. First she couldn't find his A-number, which was the first thing listed on the outside of his packet. I pointed it out to her and then she said it didn't show up in the computer. She said she could see our case at USCIS but not the A-number, which for some reason was a problem. So she got really frantic and kept repeating herself. She just didn't seem very professional and wasted a lot of time by not going to ask for help from another officer.

[GoingCrazy2012 16]

Our layover was 3.5 hours. We were the only ones waiting in the secondary inspection area so we should have had plenty of time. The officer took the folder from my husband and was looking through it. She asked me all kinds of questions about our relationship, it was like our Embassy interview all over again except she only spoke to me because she didn't speak Spanish and my husband doesn't speak English yet. First she couldn't find his A-number, which was the first thing listed on the outside of his packet. I pointed it out to her and then she said it didn't show up in the computer. She said she could see our case at USCIS but not the A-number, which for some reason was a problem. So she got really frantic and kept repeating herself. She just didn't seem very professional and wasted a lot of time by not going to ask for help from another officer.

Personal Opinion: Because of the virtue of their position and how much the Government empower these individuals, some of them have this attitude of "I know it all" or even worse "I'm the king/queen of the World"

[Matt & Rocio 28]

Our layover was 3.5 hours. We were the only ones waiting in the secondary inspection area so we should have had plenty of time. The officer took the folder from my husband and was looking through it. She asked me all kinds of questions about our relationship, it was like our Embassy interview all over again except she only spoke to me because she didn't speak Spanish and my husband doesn't speak English yet. First she couldn't find his A-number, which was the first thing listed on the outside of his packet. I pointed it out to her and then she said it didn't show up in the computer. She said she could see our case at USCIS but not the A-number, which for some reason was a problem. So she got really frantic and kept repeating herself. She just didn't seem very professional and wasted a lot of time by not going to ask for help from another officer.

Is it common for IR-1/CR-1 visa holders to go through secondary inspection during POE?

We arrive early in the morning in Atlanta. Based on my previous experiences there are flights arriving at the same time from Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Lagos, Johannesburg, and other southern hemisphere locations. Sometimes the wait just to get through passport control can be 30 minutes or more especially if the flights from Africa get in first because so many of the passengers are LPRs and they take extra time to process as compared to a USC.

I could see us waiting for hours if we were to be called into secondary screening just due to the sheer volume at that airport.

Edited May 11, 2012 by Matt & Rocio

[Amanda&Elvio 12]

Yes, all immigrants arriving for the first time have to go through secondary inspection. That's where you hand over the sealed envelope from the Embassy and they go through all the paperwork.

Also, the officer was trying to tell me that we had to remove conditions in a year. Another officer came in and said it was 2 years and they actually started yelling at each other! It was ridiculous. Then the second officer took our file and completed everything in about 10 minutes.

If there aren't a lot of people waiting and you have a competent CBP officer you should get through pretty quickly. 5 hours should be plenty of time.

[Matt & Rocio 28]

Yes, all immigrants arriving for the first time have to go through secondary inspection. That's where you hand over the sealed envelope from the Embassy and they go through all the paperwork.

Also, the officer was trying to tell me that we had to remove conditions in a year. Another officer came in and said it was 2 years and they actually started yelling at each other! It was ridiculous. Then the second officer took our file and completed everything in about 10 minutes.

If there aren't a lot of people waiting and you have a competent CBP officer you should get through pretty quickly. 5 hours should be plenty of time.

That's good to know. I haven't really studied up much on the POE step so I didn't know what to expect. Hopefully we get a competent officer

[Peaksy 4]

What is the A number ?

[GoingCrazy2012 16]

What is the A number ?

Alien Registration Number. This number will be located on your Green Card once you receive it