Approved at interview! My Sydney consulate experience...

[aelix 2]

Hi all

I had my final visa interview on Tuesday morning and it went well - only took about an hour all up and I've been approved. Here's how it played out for those who are preparing for theirs:

• My appointment time was 8.30am but I showed up at 8am since I was in the city already. I went up to Level 10 (reception) where you need to go through security.
  
• Security is similar to at an airport - you put your bag/s through a scanner and go through a metal detector yourself. You can't take any electronic devices, USB sticks or even CDs with you... in my case the clinic that did my medical included a CD with my chest x-rays and as a result I wasn't allowed to take the envelope up to the interview. More on that later.
  
• I took all the docs requested in the interview letter as well as copies of the forms I'd submitted previously, just in case I needed to refer to any of those. I should have taken a book or magazine because in the interview room there are only women's mags :-P
  
• The first step once my number was called was a bunch of admin stuff - handing over my passport, prepaid envelope and the two US passport photos, doing fingerprints etc. I basically stood at the window while the lady looked through documents for 10-15 minutes.
  
• I had to go back down to reception to get my medical envelope because of the security issue I mentioned earlier. They made me open the envelope and take out the CD, then take the rest of the materials back up.
  
• After the admin stuff I sat and waited for 15-20 minutes for my interview. This was with an American officer who literally asked me 6 questions: when did I marry my wife? How did we meet? What does her dad (my co-sponsor) do for work? Why are we moving to the US? What do I plan to do for work there? Where do we plan to live on arrival? Our discussion lasted maybe 6-7 minuets and then she said "congratulations, you've been approved".

I had brought relationship and domicile evidence with me but wasn't asked for anything. But I saw another guy getting grilled quite a bit for his interview so it depends on individual circumstances. My case was about as straightforward as they get: Australian by birth, married to my American wife 5 years, already have 2 kids, moving to be with family. The other guy was Pakistani and had an arranged marriage to an American girl he had never met before etc. etc.

Once my interview was done the lady explained the next steps. The next day I got the email re. dispatch of my passport with visa and my entry package. That should arrive today and then I'm all done!

Many thanks to the VJ folks who helped me fill out forms and avoid common mistakes. Happy to answer any questions about my experience.

[sweetswinks 400]

Hi all

I had my final visa interview on Tuesday morning and it went well - only took about an hour all up and I've been approved. Here's how it played out for those who are preparing for theirs:

• My appointment time was 8.30am but I showed up at 8am since I was in the city already. I went up to Level 10 (reception) where you need to go through security.

• Security is similar to at an airport - you put your bag/s through a scanner and go through a metal detector yourself. You can't take any electronic devices, USB sticks or even CDs with you... in my case the clinic that did my medical included a CD with my chest x-rays and as a result I wasn't allowed to take the envelope up to the interview. More on that later.

• I took all the docs requested in the interview letter as well as copies of the forms I'd submitted previously, just in case I needed to refer to any of those. I should have taken a book or magazine because in the interview room there are only women's mags :-P

• The first step once my number was called was a bunch of admin stuff - handing over my passport, prepaid envelope and the two US passport photos, doing fingerprints etc. I basically stood at the window while the lady looked through documents for 10-15 minutes.

• I had to go back down to reception to get my medical envelope because of the security issue I mentioned earlier. They made me open the envelope and take out the CD, then take the rest of the materials back up.

• After the admin stuff I sat and waited for 15-20 minutes for my interview. This was with an American officer who literally asked me 6 questions: when did I marry my wife? How did we meet? What does her dad (my co-sponsor) do for work? Why are we moving to the US? What do I plan to do for work there? Where do we plan to live on arrival? Our discussion lasted maybe 6-7 minuets and then she said "congratulations, you've been approved".

I had brought relationship and domicile evidence with me but wasn't asked for anything. But I saw another guy getting grilled quite a bit for his interview so it depends on individual circumstances. My case was about as straightforward as they get: Australian by birth, married to my American wife 5 years, already have 2 kids, moving to be with family. The other guy was Pakistani and had an arranged marriage to an American girl he had never met before etc. etc.

Once my interview was done the lady explained the next steps. The next day I got the email re. dispatch of my passport with visa and my entry package. That should arrive today and then I'm all done!

Many thanks to the VJ folks who helped me fill out forms and avoid common mistakes. Happy to answer any questions about my experience.

Awesome and Congrats

Please paste your consulate review in the review section! http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/dos_review.php

[JIJourney 96]

congratulations! cannot wait to hear those words!

[SharksBelow 99]

I'll be doing my interview (HOPEFULLY!) in Sydney so this was great to read.

[KASH2011 382]

Congrats!

[aelix 2]

Awesome and Congrats

Please paste your consulate review in the review section! http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/dos_review.php

Done, thanks for the pointer.

[aruadha 58]

Congrats and thanks for the review

[sweetswinks 400]

Congrats and thanks for the review

Your fiancé's interview is coming up fast! You must be excited! Will he be arriving in Sept?

[aruadha 58]

Your fiancé's interview is coming up fast! You must be excited! Will he be arriving in Sept?

Not fast enough lol. But yes, we are excited. And ready. He hopes to get a flight soon after getting the actual visa. So, first week in Sept would be grand.

[sweetswinks 400]

Not fast enough lol. But yes, we are excited. And ready. He hopes to get a flight soon after getting the actual visa. So, first week in Sept would be grand.

If he gets his passport back by Friday which is often the case for Sydney, the flights don't vary too much in price! The ticket I purchased has hovered around the same price or within $100. Ps. TSC has suddenly transferred HEAPS of petitions!

[aruadha 58]

If he gets his passport back by Friday which is often the case for Sydney, the flights don't vary too much in price! The ticket I purchased has hovered around the same price or within $100. Ps. TSC has suddenly transferred HEAPS of petitions!

That's great- both about the flights and the transfer of petitions. Maybe they will even things out a bit between the 2 centers.