IR-1 Interview Review

[Shayney08 4]

Wife had her interview today (Nov 14th), I (the petitioner) came with her. Her appointment was for 7:30. Approximately 15 minutes before scheduled time we were allowed entry. Data entry, through fingerprinting went incredibly smooth. We were told by the 2nd window that I needed an affidavit of support from my mother, I told the lady there, that wasnt true, as the only thing my mom was doing was allowing us to rent a room while we looked for housing. Financially Im set so there was no need for her support. I think the lady just didnt know what was going on. She said she would make a note of it and the interviewer would make a final decision. I wasnt stressed about it, wife of course was. The longest part of this was waiting for an interview window, but even then it wasnt too too bad.. on a scale on 1 - DMV, i'd say it was a 4.

Things did get sketchy though, as we got to the interview window my wife was incredibly nervous and to be honest, the guy was rather impatient.. No issue with the affidavit of support. He did have an issue with proof of domicile (as wife and I currently live in PH). I provided a recent voters registration, which he didnt see until i told him it was in the package. Then he wanted further evidence.. banking info from the states. Which.. i swore up and down I had printed, but wasnt sure if it was in the package or not. I was going through our documents, and he sent us away to find it and submit it to the releasing window. So.. wifey didnt get the coveted 'your visa is approved'. I had to leave the embassy to print the banking document off a thumbdrive, returned and submitted it to the releasing window. Only to find out, the same document was already in the package. The guy just wasnt looking, kind of frustrating and a waste of time and money to get another printed. Upon leaving we were already emailed the 221g for further evidence of proof of domicile.

Wife was sad, but I remained optimistic as: 1. we already paid and 2. they retained her passport. I replied back to their email saying I wasnt sure if the 221g is email is auto generated or if the evidence we gave to the releasing window wasnt good enough. Obviously no response yet. However! the travel.state.gov site we checked this evening using the MNL number and it says its been approved and will be released in 7-10 working days. So long story short, its approved.. I think.. I'd imagine if it werent approved yet, the travel.state.gov site wouldnt say 'approved' but 'pending' or something along those lines.

All in all, the experience was fast. I really wish the guy could look at the documents submitted, sitting in front of him. However I should have known to tell him to look.

My only other issue with the process was while outside waiting in the immigration line. People kept urinating behind a tree. You could smell it and it was horrible. The amount of tiny biting flies meant i had to continuously move my legs or get bombarded with insects. I think if the guards actually looked up from the ground and enforced some basic rules (no urinating on embassy grounds for a start) the bugs wouldnt have been an as big of an issue. Also, to get in the line we needed to show the appointment letter. Which boggles my mind because we were harassed multiple times by beggars and the guards were really in an 'out of sight, out of mind' kind of mentality. I expect more, which isnt much.

I want to thank everyone here on vj for the help that has been provided through the whole process of crba/passport for our child through I-130, medical and interview. A special shout out to Philippines^Sagot, whom went above and beyond in assisting me with this process. Thanks again!

p.s. i made an effort to listen to the types of questions the interviewers were asking different people and can provide some feedback on that if requested. Take care.

[Sagot 1,548]

Here is hoping things move smoothly for you from here forward.

Once it shows ISSUED you should being seeing your visa within 5-7 days. https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?eQs=WwjqOlbeRYzCYubaSQI+RA==

Thanks for keeping me updated with the DFA hiccups.

[Tahoma 2,292]

Thanks for sharing your interview experience!

And best wishes for a quick visa delivery.

[Shayney08 4]

thanks we're both patiently waiting for the visa to come in the mail. cant wait!

[Shayney08 4]

visa is now in hand. picked up from 2go Dau

[Sagot 1,548]

That was quick!!

Maybe the embassy is improving their system.

[Tahoma 2,292]

Yes...that was fast...!