IR 1 @ Jerusalem Consulate: questions on police certificate, interview wait time, interview questions

[Moonrising 3]

I called NVC today, at first, the Rep. hesitated to let me speak to a supervisor, and finally she agreed, then came back saying she could get a hold of one, before I hang up, I asked her to try one more time, she did, and she spoke with the supervisor who told her to let me know that they will review my case and complete tomorrow, then they will schedule an interview after that. I don't know to believe it or not lool but fingers crossed!

I will call again tomorrow, just to check.

Good! At least there is some progress. I would definitely call them again today to check (maybe end of day though).

My hubby's interview is tomorrow (also MrsMansour0809's husband's). Wish us luck! I'll post after and let you know how it went.

[ammali 7]

Good! At least there is some progress. I would definitely call them again today to check (maybe end of day though).

My hubby's interview is tomorrow (also MrsMansour0809's husband's). Wish us luck! I'll post after and let you know how it went.

I wish you guys the best, an easy breezy 15 minutes interview! lol :-)

[Mrs.Mansor0809 1]

Thanks ammali and good luck to Moonrising and everyone who has an upcoming interview I'm trying to relax in the states while waiting for my husbands interview to pass fingers crossed!

[freedomB 0]

Hello everyne

Sorry I have been off line for a minute.

Good luck in the interview to Moonrising and Mrs.Mansor. Please let us know how it went and crossing Qalandia.

[Mrs.Mansor0809 1]

Hey everyone my husbands interview was this morning I'm still waiting on him to let me know what happened but I did speak to him before hand and everything was ok! Freedom he did cross from Qalandia this morning and he said it went smoothly thank god he went very early 5am so I'm not sure if that had something to do with it but it was fine! Moonrising lives on the other side so they won't be crossing the checkpoint hoping it went well for them!

[Moonrising 3]

Hello Friends!

We had our interview today and were approved!!!!

Whole process took us 1 hour (our interview was at 8:30, we arrived at the window outside at 8:00, there was no line, we got in very easily. I was surprised but they let me in with him, it wasn't an issue at all). There were only 2 other people waiting for immigrant visa interviews inside and a couple for non-immigrant. After 8:30 things started to pick up with more people arriving and the American Citizens Services starting getting busy too. We were called up to windows 3 times - first time with a Palestinian lady to give the passport, photos and original docs listed in the interview letter. The second time was with the American Consular Officer for the actual interview (she spoke some Arabic though we did everything in English with her). The third time was with another Palestinian lady to know what to expect next (visa going for printing in the passport, we'll get it and sealed immigration packet which we should not open, they will do this at the border. There will be a $165 green card fee to pay, etc.). At all stages they mention about US law that if the immigrant is a victim of domestic violence this doesn't affect their immigration status. They gave a brochure about it in Arabic too, and the CO asked if my husband had read and understood it. Even the last visit at the window the lady mentioned it, they really make sure you understand this issue.

At stage two, the actual interview with the American CO, I went up to the window with my husband, we both took the oath and answered questions. At some point I felt like I was doing too much talking (the CO kind of looked at my husband, I took that as a cue to let him take over) so I stayed quiet for the rest. The interview was quick - less than 10 minutes.

We've been married for 11 years, so I wasn't expecting the question "how did you meet" - it was ages ago! But it was totally within her right to ask, we answered simply and truthfully, and the rest of the questions were pretty straightforward. After the "how did you meet" question (which I answered) she clarified if I had been here when we met, I said yes, she said what were you doing (working). Then, "when was your wedding," "have you been living together ever since," "do you have children," "how many," "what are you planning to do in the US in terms of work." She also asked him some questions about where he's lived in the past and currently lives now. At the end she said "you qualify for a visa, you're approved, congratulations!"

We had a nice lady, she obviously had done her homework and read our file thoroughly. When we said we have 1 child and one on the way she said "yes, I read that in your file" - we had only mentioned it on one or two papers and I submitted a large file to NVC - so it was clear that she knew the specifics of our case well (granted, I am now visibly pregnant, but I believe her that she knew from our file). Her questions to my husband about where he had lived also showed she knew her stuff. It was good to know that someone had read everything that had taken us so much thought and effort to put together!

We were out of the Consulate at 9:00. By then there was a line outside up to the window. So even if having an early interview is challenging for the West Bankers in terms of getting there, it's not a bad thing because you can finish quickly.

I'm glad I went, I think it helped, though I know that not everyone has that luxury to attend with their spouses. Also maybe it's because we had an early appointment and there weren't many people in the Consulate at that time - not sure they would have let me in if it was later and busier.

We had gotten a checklist from NVC back in August asking for us to submit a paper during the interview. We brought it but no one ever asked to see it. We only showed the documents mentioned in the interview letter. We had a big file of everything we'd ever sent to NVC (AOS and IV papers and such) but we didn't need to open it once.

Hoping we get the passport back soon. They didn't tell us an exact date, but made it sound like a matter of a week or 10 days. We're hoping to leave in early November, but I won't book tickets until we get the passport back!

Thanks to everyone here for all the support and good luck!

[Jorag 0]

My wife interview is in November I was wondering how long until she get her passport back after can you please let us know how long does it take to get your passport back??

And can you please go more into details about the questions they asked and would they need pictures of the wedding and stuff like that?

[ammali 7]



Congratulation Moonring & Mrs.Mansor0809 on your visa approvals!!!! :-)

Moonring, I'm glad they let you in with your husband, and thank you for all the delaits of the entire process. This is very helpful for all of us!

[Mrs.Mansor0809 1]

Congrats to Moonrising!!! Unfortunately I didn't get an approval. The CO told my husband that everything was good but there was a mistake somewhere his passport number was input correctly I guess so the gave him a 221G and now we are in AP but the form they gave him doesn't say any of that on there nothing about what the mistake was where or how to fix it nothing and I've read it over and over at least 10 times! If anyone has any insight how what to do at this point in finding out where and how to fix it please let me know thanks in advance and good luck to the ones waiting I guess my advice make sure everything is correct before submitting any forms one tiny mistake can add another 3+ months ?

[Moonrising 3]

My wife interview is in November I was wondering how long until she get her passport back after can you please let us know how long does it take to get your passport back??

And can you please go more into details about the questions they asked and would they need pictures of the wedding and stuff like that?

Hi Jorag,

Yes sure I'll let you all know when we get the passport back. We will be counting the days!

I am putting more details on the questions we were asked below. They can definitely ask for proof that your relationship is "bona fide" so that includes wedding pictures, phone logs, chat logs, letters, proof of visits you made to each other, etc. This is particularly the case if you got married 2 years ago or less, also maybe based on the specific circumstances of your relationship (how you met, circumstances of your marriage, how often you communicate/see each other, etc.). I didn't bring wedding pictures (though I had submitted them for the I-130 petition) because we've been married for 11 years and have an 8 year old son (and I'm currently 6 months pregnant). I didn't think they would be so focused on the "bona fides" of our relationship, though they did ask a few questions to make sure (see the first questions below). I think they have to cover that in some way at least.

I would categorize the questions they asked as:

1) verifying the basics of our relationship (that we're legitimately married, have been living together)

2) verifying that we have plans to establish a life in the US together (only 1 question on this)

3) verifying that my husband had all of the needed police certificates to cover where he's lived as an adult (specific to his situation)

I'm not sure this will be the same for everyone, I think it depends on your specific circumstances, but I would think you could get some questions in each of those categories (bone fides of marriage, plans for US, specific issues with your case). Maybe MrsMansour0809 can tell us more the questions her husband were asked so we can compare.

For those interested, here are more details of our interview:

We went in to the section on the far right. After 20 minutes they called my husband to one window where they took his original papers that were listed in the interview letter (medical exam, passport, 2 photos, birth certificate and copy, marriage certificate and copy, original UK police certificate and copy). My husband said the lady didn't actually ask for the the copies, but he gave them and she took them (so have a copy of each just in case). She gave him the pamphlet about domestic violence and asked him to sit down and read it.

After 10 minutes he was called by the American Consular Officer, this is when I went with him to the window. She asked my name but I didn't have to show my passport. Then she said she was going to ask us some questions about our file that would hopefully prevent the need for further papers, but first she would need to put both of us under oath. We raised our right hands and answered "yes" that all of the information in our file was true and correct to the best of our knowledge.

She took his fingerprints and then asked the following questions:

-How did you meet? (I said through a mutual friend, here)

-To me: So you were here? What were you doing? (working)

-When was your wedding? (we both answered this together)

-Have we been living here ever since? (yes)

-Do we have children (yes)

-How many? (1 and 1 on the way - to which she said "yes, I read that in your file" - although it's pretty obvious now, this was mentioned in only 1 or 2 places in the huge stack of documents we had provided, so it was clear that she had read our file very well)

-What are your plans in the US, what are you planning to do for work? (I'm not planning to work for a while I'll be home with the new baby, we plan to live in our house, register our son for school, my husband will look for work).

-Is the house in both of your names? (no, just mine)

(I had been doing most of the talking up to this point apart from the question about our wedding date, she kind of looked at my husband and I felt like I should shut up so for the rest of the interview I tried to stay silent!)

-You're living in Jerusalem now? (husband - yes)

-But you lived in the UK for some time? (husband - I did my masters there but traveled back and forth several times because my wife and son were living here, and I got a UK police certificate which is in my file)

-Did you ever live in Jordan? (no, I worked there but I didn't live there, I commuted, would go in the morning and come in the evening) {more proof that she had carefully read our documents}

-Did you ever live in the West Bank? (yes, when I was a kid)

-But not as an adult? (he is a Jerusalem ID holder, he got an Israeli police certificate but got a Palestinian non-conviction certificate last week because a lady from the Consulate called him and was asking him about living in the WB. She wasn't clear if he needed it, but we decided to get it just in case. The Consular Officer didn't push this issue and his answer satisfied her, so she didn't ask for any further papers).

At some point in the beginning, not sure if it was before the oath or after, she asked if my husband had read the pamphlet about domestic violence and did he understand it.

Then she said - "you qualify for a visa, you're approved, congratulations."

We again took a seat and 5 minutes later were called into the little glass room on the far right (window 19) - but the door was open the whole time. I also went up with him to this window. A young Palestinian woman told us that they were going to keep his passport and print the visa in it, she didn't give a definite date but it sounds like very soon. She said we'll also get a sealed immigrant packet - don't open it, take care of this packet, travel with it in your carry-on so that you can present it at the airport you first land in the US, the immigration officer will open it then. We will also get a paper for the green card fee, we should pay this online, preferably before we leave for the US. And again about the domestic violence thing how it won't affect his immigration status (!). We gave her the courier envelope, I tried to ask what status we'd see online during the processing, she didn't know what I meant by this, just said something like you'll get it soon. It wasn't so important, I just wondered about the administrative processing thing, I can look it up on VJ anyhow.

So that's it! It was good, yes stressful, but the Consular Officer was nice, obviously knew everything in our file, and asked just a few simple questions, wanted to check on a couple of things but overall it seems the decision was already made. We didn't need that huge file I had prepared (copies of everything we had submitted to NVC), just the original documents and things mentioned in the interview letter. But it was a relief knowing we had everything on hand in case they asked for a paper.

I would advise everyone to bring copies of everything you have submitted to NVC just in case. I overheard 2 other interviews while there (because there's no privacy and you can hear everything they are saying at the windows), those other 2 also seemed to take the same time as ours. One of them was MrsMansour's husband. I had this feeling that the decisions were already or nearly already made for all of us and the interview was just to confirm some details. But this is just the feeling I had, not sure if it's right.

Happy to answer any other questions you might have.

[ammali 7]

Hi Jorag,

Yes sure I'll let you all know when we get the passport back. We will be counting the days!

I am putting more details on the questions we were asked below. They can definitely ask for proof that your relationship is "bona fide" so that includes wedding pictures, phone logs, chat logs, letters, proof of visits you made to each other, etc. This is particularly the case if you got married 2 years ago or less, also maybe based on the specific circumstances of your relationship (how you met, circumstances of your marriage, how often you communicate/see each other, etc.). I didn't bring wedding pictures (though I had submitted them for the I-130 petition) because we've been married for 11 years and have an 8 year old son (and I'm currently 6 months pregnant). I didn't think they would be so focused on the "bona fides" of our relationship, though they did ask a few questions to make sure (see the first questions below). I think they have to cover that in some way at least.

I would categorize the questions they asked as:

1) verifying the basics of our relationship (that we're legitimately married, have been living together)

2) verifying that we have plans to establish a life in the US together (only 1 question on this)

3) verifying that my husband had all of the needed police certificates to cover where he's lived as an adult (specific to his situation)

I'm not sure this will be the same for everyone, I think it depends on your specific circumstances, but I would think you could get some questions in each of those categories (bone fides of marriage, plans for US, specific issues with your case). Maybe MrsMansour0809 can tell us more the questions her husband were asked so we can compare.

For those interested, here are more details of our interview:

We went in to the section on the far right. After 20 minutes they called my husband to one window where they took his original papers that were listed in the interview letter (medical exam, passport, 2 photos, birth certificate and copy, marriage certificate and copy, original UK police certificate and copy). My husband said the lady didn't actually ask for the the copies, but he gave them and she took them (so have a copy of each just in case). She gave him the pamphlet about domestic violence and asked him to sit down and read it.

After 10 minutes he was called by the American Consular Officer, this is when I went with him to the window. She asked my name but I didn't have to show my passport. Then she said she was going to ask us some questions about our file that would hopefully prevent the need for further papers, but first she would need to put both of us under oath. We raised our right hands and answered "yes" that all of the information in our file was true and correct to the best of our knowledge.

She took his fingerprints and then asked the following questions:

-How did you meet? (I said through a mutual friend, here)

-To me: So you were here? What were you doing? (working)

-When was your wedding? (we both answered this together)

-Have we been living here ever since? (yes)

-Do we have children (yes)

-How many? (1 and 1 on the way - to which she said "yes, I read that in your file" - although it's pretty obvious now, this was mentioned in only 1 or 2 places in the huge stack of documents we had provided, so it was clear that she had read our file very well)

-What are your plans in the US, what are you planning to do for work? (I'm not planning to work for a while I'll be home with the new baby, we plan to live in our house, register our son for school, my husband will look for work).

-Is the house in both of your names? (no, just mine)

(I had been doing most of the talking up to this point apart from the question about our wedding date, she kind of looked at my husband and I felt like I should shut up so for the rest of the interview I tried to stay silent!)

-You're living in Jerusalem now? (husband - yes)

-But you lived in the UK for some time? (husband - I did my masters there but traveled back and forth several times because my wife and son were living here, and I got a UK police certificate which is in my file)

-Did you ever live in Jordan? (no, I worked there but I didn't live there, I commuted, would go in the morning and come in the evening) {more proof that she had carefully read our documents}

-Did you ever live in the West Bank? (yes, when I was a kid)

-But not as an adult? (he is a Jerusalem ID holder, he got an Israeli police certificate but got a Palestinian non-conviction certificate last week because a lady from the Consulate called him and was asking him about living in the WB. She wasn't clear if he needed it, but we decided to get it just in case. The Consular Officer didn't push this issue and his answer satisfied her, so she didn't ask for any further papers).

At some point in the beginning, not sure if it was before the oath or after, she asked if my husband had read the pamphlet about domestic violence and did he understand it.

Then she said - "you qualify for a visa, you're approved, congratulations."

We again took a seat and 5 minutes later were called into the little glass room on the far right (window 19) - but the door was open the whole time. I also went up with him to this window. A young Palestinian woman told us that they were going to keep his passport and print the visa in it, she didn't give a definite date but it sounds like very soon. She said we'll also get a sealed immigrant packet - don't open it, take care of this packet, travel with it in your carry-on so that you can present it at the airport you first land in the US, the immigration officer will open it then. We will also get a paper for the green card fee, we should pay this online, preferably before we leave for the US. And again about the domestic violence thing how it won't affect his immigration status (!). We gave her the courier envelope, I tried to ask what status we'd see online during the processing, she didn't know what I meant by this, just said something like you'll get it soon. It wasn't so important, I just wondered about the administrative processing thing, I can look it up on VJ anyhow.

So that's it! It was good, yes stressful, but the Consular Officer was nice, obviously knew everything in our file, and asked just a few simple questions, wanted to check on a couple of things but overall it seems the decision was already made. We didn't need that huge file I had prepared (copies of everything we had submitted to NVC), just the original documents and things mentioned in the interview letter. But it was a relief knowing we had everything on hand in case they asked for a paper.

I would advise everyone to bring copies of everything you have submitted to NVC just in case. I overheard 2 other interviews while there (because there's no privacy and you can hear everything they are saying at the windows), those other 2 also seemed to take the same time as ours. One of them was MrsMansour's husband. I had this feeling that the decisions were already or nearly already made for all of us and the interview was just to confirm some details. But this is just the feeling I had, not sure if it's right.

Happy to answer any other questions you might have.

Moonrising! This is amazing!!! you guys did very well!!! and thanks for all of the heads up and the details.

Question: Did they return the original documents back to you guys? or they kept them?

BTW: I went to the Senator's office today, I gave them my case info and they will look in to it and call NVC - of course I have been calling NVC for the past 5 days, and they just keep lying to me.

[Moonrising 3]

Moonrising! This is amazing!!! you guys did very well!!! and thanks for all of the heads up and the details.

Question: Did they return the original documents back to you guys? or they kept them?

BTW: I went to the Senator's office today, I gave them my case info and they will look in to it and call NVC - of course I have been calling NVC for the past 5 days, and they just keep lying to me.

What a nightmare Ammali. So sorry you have to go through all of this! I'm sure flagging this to your Senator will help - I read on other VJ forums that it does make a difference.

Yes we got our originals back (marriage license & birth certificate). We only realized later in the day that they didn't give us back his original UK police certificate so I emailed them and asked them to include it with his passport when they send by Wassel. I think it was just an oversight on their part, and hopefully it won't be a problem to send back. It's not even that big of a deal if we don't get it back, I don't think we'll need it again for anything, just it was a hassle and quite expensive to get.

[ammali 7]

What a nightmare Ammali. So sorry you have to go through all of this! I'm sure flagging this to your Senator will help - I read on other VJ forums that it does make a difference.

Yes we got our originals back (marriage license & birth certificate). We only realized later in the day that they didn't give us back his original UK police certificate so I emailed them and asked them to include it with his passport when they send by Wassel. I think it was just an oversight on their part, and hopefully it won't be a problem to send back. It's not even that big of a deal if we don't get it back, I don't think we'll need it again for anything, just it was a hassle and quite expensive to get.

Yep, lets hope a Senator can do something,

Also, I was wondering if I could attend the interview with my wife? Would that be helpful? Though, she does not speak fluent English, I'm thinking to fly over there once I get the interview date. Would you recommend that? Thank you.

Edited October 12, 2015 by ammali

[Moonrising 3]

Yep, lets hope a Senator can do something,

Also, I was wondering if I could attend the interview with my wife? Would that be helpful? Though, she does not speak fluent English, I'm thinking to fly over there once I get the interview date. Would you recommend that? Thank you.

They let me in to the interview with my husband though I was really surprised and not expecting that. Maybe because his interview was so early and there were so few people in the Consulate at the time. It might be worth emailing them beforehand to make sure you can attend the interview before you finalize travel plans.

I was definitely glad I could attend, but I'm not sure if it made much difference in the outcome. It felt like it helped, but maybe it's just psychological on our part.

I wouldn't worry about the language issue. Of the 3 steps we went through at the Consulate, 2 were exclusively in Arabic with native Arabic speakers, it was only the actual interview with Consular Officer that could be partially in English, but even she spoke Arabic (heavily accented, but understandable). I noticed for one of the other applicants she called over a translator too when she felt she could not fully explain in Arabic. I'm sure they have the same type of situation for Hebrew speakers, they don't seem to mind at all to do the interview in a local language. In any case if your wife does decide to do part of the interview in English, and at any point she doesn't understand something, I think it's much better for her to say "I don't understand" and ask for translation rather than answer incorrectly in English!

[ammali 7]

They let me in to the interview with my husband though I was really surprised and not expecting that. Maybe because his interview was so early and there were so few people in the Consulate at the time. It might be worth emailing them beforehand to make sure you can attend the interview before you finalize travel plans.

I was definitely glad I could attend, but I'm not sure if it made much difference in the outcome. It felt like it helped, but maybe it's just psychological on our part.

I wouldn't worry about the language issue. Of the 3 steps we went through at the Consulate, 2 were exclusively in Arabic with native Arabic speakers, it was only the actual interview with Consular Officer that could be partially in English, but even she spoke Arabic (heavily accented, but understandable). I noticed for one of the other applicants she called over a translator too when she felt she could not fully explain in Arabic. I'm sure they have the same type of situation for Hebrew speakers, they don't seem to mind at all to do the interview in a local language. In any case if your wife does decide to do part of the interview in English, and at any point she doesn't understand something, I think it's much better for her to say "I don't understand" and ask for translation rather than answer incorrectly in English!

Thanks for your input, I definitely will contact the Consulate before I make any travel arrangements.

I'm glad to know they accommodate in helping with language translation.

We are going to do the police certificate from the Israeli police tomorrow, even though we still waiting for a CC - but it wont hurt to get it done and be sent directly to the Consulate.