To go or not to go

[Maryland 13]

Hello thanks for reading my post. I just wanted to know people's experiences with attending the interview with their spouse. My spouse is in Pakistan and I am considering not attending the interview with him. The reasons I am thinking about not attending are the ticket cost a lot of money to go over there and I have a new job and I can't really take off it will cause a financial burden on me. So the main question is to go or not to go. Can somebody tell me if they had an interview in which they did not attend with there spouse because they were not required to attend .where they still approved? Thank you in advance

[David & Diana R 1,005]

9 minutes ago, Maryland said:

Hello thanks for reading my post. I just wanted to know people's experiences with attending the interview with their spouse. My spouse is in Pakistan and I am considering not attending the interview with him. The reasons I am thinking about not attending are the ticket cost a lot of money to go over there and I have a new job and I can't really take off it will cause a financial burden on me. So the main question is to go or not to go. Can somebody tell me if they had an interview in which they did not attend with there spouse because they were not required to attend .where they still approved? Thank you in advance

I can share my experience.  I attended the interview with my wife in Manila because we had a huge age difference and had only met online 2 months before I first visited her and married her in the Philippines.   All of my children from my first marriage are older than my Filipino wife.  The CO asked me more questions than they asked my wife.  I was able to answer those questions honestly and with confidence and I believe that the CO was convinced that our relationship was genuine.  In our case I believe if I had not attended the interview my wife would have likely been denied.  Your case may be different than ours but I don't know if you have any red flags.  We certainly did but I believe my presence was key to instant approval.  I am not sure if Pakistan embassy allows to to attend the interview inside the embassy or not.  Good luck and God Bless.  david  

[Ahmed&Freda 628]

10 minutes ago, Maryland said:

Hello thanks for reading my post. I just wanted to know people's experiences with attending the interview with their spouse. My spouse is in Pakistan and I am considering not attending the interview with him. The reasons I am thinking about not attending are the ticket cost a lot of money to go over there and I have a new job and I can't really take off it will cause a financial burden on me. So the main question is to go or not to go. Can somebody tell me if they had an interview in which they did not attend with there spouse because they were not required to attend .where they still approved? Thank you in advance

My husband is also from Pakistan.  I'm considering going. (even though I don't have any vacation until later 2018 and my finances are tight)  I want to do everything possible to get him here sooner.  It seems the approval rate is better when the spouse attends.  I don't have experience in this as I'm at the NVC stage at the moment but maybe someone else who has completed can give more insight.  

 

Do you have any red flags?  

 

Hope it all works out either way   

[Kastrs 723]

If you can go then GO

 

Read my review, if you have any questions feel free to message me

 

 

[amul 229]

30 minutes ago, Maryland said:

Hello thanks for reading my post. I just wanted to know people's experiences with attending the interview with their spouse. My spouse is in Pakistan and I am considering not attending the interview with him. The reasons I am thinking about not attending are the ticket cost a lot of money to go over there and I have a new job and I can't really take off it will cause a financial burden on me. So the main question is to go or not to go. Can somebody tell me if they had an interview in which they did not attend with there spouse because they were not required to attend .where they still approved? Thank you in advance

My hubby is from India and we had several large red flags, age being one and I made sure to attend his interview.  I believe  me being there really helped us (plus the fact that I front + side front loaded like a champ!). 

 

No family support, huge age difference, divorce, kid from previous marriage -- zero scrutiny about all that and zero questions about future plans for kids etc. 

 

Here is what I would suggest for folks dealing with difficult countries -- if you can go, do it! 

[geowrian 22,337]

If you can go, it would absolutely be to your benefit to do so. Pakistan has one of the most difficult embassies to go through. People certainly are approved without going there, but it certainly does help to be there. Other than that, it depends on how strong of a case you have otherwise...how much time you have spent together in person, if you have any red flags, how long you've been married, etc.

[Maryland 13]

3 hours ago, amul said:

My hubby is from India and we had several large red flags, age being one and I made sure to attend his interview.  I believe  me being there really helped us (plus the fact that I front + side front loaded like a champ!). 

 

No family support, huge age difference, divorce, kid from previous marriage -- zero scrutiny about all that and zero questions about future plans for kids etc. 

 

Here is what I would suggest for folks dealing with difficult countries -- if you can go, do it! 

Thank you for your reply. What kind of questions did they ask you? And did you get approved?

3 hours ago, geowrian said:

If you can go, it would absolutely be to your benefit to do so. Pakistan has one of the most difficult embassies to go through. People certainly are approved without going there, but it certainly does help to be there. Other than that, it depends on how strong of a case you have otherwise...how much time you have spent together in person, if you have any red flags, how long you've been married, etc.

Based on you guys answer I decided to go. Thank you

[Maryland 13]

4 hours ago, Kastrs said:

If you can go then GO

 

Read my review, if you have any questions feel free to message me

 

 

Thank you. 

[amul 229]

6 hours ago, Maryland said:

Thank you for your reply. What kind of questions did they ask you? And did you get approved?

Based on you guys answer I decided to go. Thank you

The questions seemed tailored to our case -- you can read my Embassy interview review here. http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=22377

 

Was very fortunate to have found VJ while I prepared our petition, hence I could front and side load efficiently. Interview lasted 5 minutes and we were approved. No hassles, no drilling, but we knew that our file was looked over carefully! 

 

Red flags, not enough face time spent and tough Embassies can trigger a denial. So be prepared and don't give up!  🙌🏽

 

 

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

7 hours ago, amul said:

Was very fortunate to have found VJ while I prepared our petition, hence I could front and side load efficiently.

 

 

Very sorry to hijack this thread too. But what do you mean exactly with front and side loading?

 

 

To the OP. I wish you all the best on your interview.

[geowrian 22,337]

2 hours ago, amul said:

I'll take a stab at this. 😄

Nailed it.

[amul 229]

10 hours ago, Little_Vixen said:

Very sorry to hijack this thread too. But what do you mean exactly with front and side loading?

 

Great question! 😀

 

Front loading is when you send in proof of relationship with your initial spousal petition (I-130) and side loading can be sending in further proof during a godforsaken RFE!

 

I did both! I omitted the chat and call logs during the side loading -- just put in boarding passes and a few pictures. Side loading was done with a heavy yet balanced hand. 😅

 

Hope this helps. 

 

[amul 229]

9 hours ago, geowrian said:

Nailed it.

Hahaha, thanks -- I had awesome teachers here 🙌🏽☺️

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

7 hours ago, amul said:

 

Great question! 😀

 

Front loading is when you send in proof of relationship with your initial spousal petition (I-130) and side loading can be sending in further proof during a godforsaken RFE!

 

I did both! I omitted the chat and call logs during the side loading -- just put in boarding passes and a few pictures. Side loading was done with a heavy yet balanced hand. 😅

 

Hope this helps. 

 

Thank you! I still have so much to learn. You people are wonderful. 

[Lazybones18 261]

On 9/27/2017 at 10:49 AM, Maryland said:

Hello thanks for reading my post. I just wanted to know people's experiences with attending the interview with their spouse. My spouse is in Pakistan and I am considering not attending the interview with him. The reasons I am thinking about not attending are the ticket cost a lot of money to go over there and I have a new job and I can't really take off it will cause a financial burden on me. So the main question is to go or not to go. Can somebody tell me if they had an interview in which they did not attend with there spouse because they were not required to attend .where they still approved? Thank you in advance

I think you should definitely go ... Do ANYTHING possible to increase the % chance to get a approval and being at the interview is one of them

 

based on your timeline you have waited a year+ and still no NOA 2 ... You have a RFE also ... not sure the details

 

its not worth getting a AP or denial .. being at the interview will reduce your chances