​🇨🇷​Pura Vida​🇨🇷​ Costa Rica Filers

[TBoneTX 45,604]

It's a good idea for the petitioner to be on the consular premises.  Sometimes, the CO will have questions or need information, and if the petitioner is there, things can be cleared up then, with no need for a return visit.

[Luis P 2]

On 1/2/2019 at 8:11 PM, cdee098 said:

Hey, all! Happy New Year! 

 

Just checking in with how things are going in CR! My fiance has his interview the 14th of this month, and our visa petition expires on the 20th, so I was getting a little nervous and wrote the embassy for an extension, they just encouraged him to mention it in his interview. However! Now with the government shutdown, I'm worried about the interview itself being cancelled/postponed and the petition expiring. When I called, they basically said if that happens, there's a protocol and you'll be notified (a little too pura vida for my nervous brain, hah!). Any word on how things are proceeding with the embassy and if they're anticipating any closures?

 

Additionally, I'm curious as to how long others have waited to receive their passports at the post? Trying to get an idea of when he could potentially arrive if all goes well. 

 

Thanks, as always, and pura vida!

Hi! Did you end up going to the interview with him or did he go by himself? How did it go? I see everyone keeps recommending that the USC travels to CR for the interview, but my fiancée won´t be able to join me becaue of work and Im quite nervous about it. 

Good luck with everything!

[Luis P 2]

8 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

It's a good idea for the petitioner to be on the consular premises.  Sometimes, the CO will have questions or need information, and if the petitioner is there, things can be cleared up then, with no need for a return visit.

Thank you!

[midwinterrose 275]

9 hours ago, Luis P said:

Hi! Did you end up going to the interview with him or did he go by himself? How did it go? I see everyone keeps recommending that the USC travels to CR for the interview, but my fiancée won´t be able to join me becaue of work and Im quite nervous about it. 

Good luck with everything!

I recently attended the interview with my fiance (now husband), and there were a couple other people there interviewing for the K1 visa who attended without their fiance.  You stand at the windows for the interviews, so it's fairly easy to eavesdrop, which I did fervently.

 

There was a young man in his mid 30's, and his interview lasted maybe 10-15 minutes and he was approved.  The questions seemed pretty routine; "How/where did you meet your fiance, how often do you see each other, where does she work?", etc.  They did seem to ask the same questions a few times each, worded in different ways, but it was very relaxed and friendly.

 

There was a middle-aged woman who was there for a CR1 visa, married to an American woman, whose interview also lasted about 10 minutes and she was approved.

 

There was a younger girl in her mid 20's maybe, with a toddler, and her interview took the longest, maybe 20-25 minutes.  I had a hard time hearing what they asked her, but it seemed that she was approved in the end.  The same interviewer who seemed to give her a bit of a hard time turned out to be our interviewer as well, so we were a little nervous.

 

The interviewer asked my fiance where we met (I hadn't written anything in the original I-129F application about how we first met) and he gave the hyper-specific answer, "On a farm, where she was at that time."  The interviewer kind of looked at me a little confused, and I explained that I used to live in CR, and that we had been neighbors.  She then asked my fiance if he had been to the U.S. before, and for how long, which he answered accordingly.  She also asked if he had been to Italy, and for how long (I had included copies of passport stamps with the I-129F), and then she asked me, "And you were in Italy...?," and I told her that I had been living and studying there and he had come to visit me.  She then asked how long we have known each other, and we both sort of looked at each other and both answered, "Twelve years".  "How long have you been dating?"  "Ten years."  "How long have you been engaged?" "Five years," to which she incredulously replied, "What took you so long?!"  I responded that I had been in college and wanted to finish my studies and get a job and all that good stuff first, and she nodded.  Then she said, "Well everything seems to be in order, you will receive your passport back with the visa in about 10 days."  My fiance asked if that meant we were approved and she replied, "Yes, congratulations, I wish you all the best," and my fiance grabbed me and gave me a big hug and kiss.  I was sort of expecting to get some sort of paper or something back from her, but there wasn't anything, so we tried to gather up our remaining papers and quickly make our way out before they changed their mind.

 

Don't worry too much, it was way easier than we expected, and people are approved all the time without their fiance being there, you'll be fine!

[cdee098 5]

10 hours ago, Luis P said:

Hi! Did you end up going to the interview with him or did he go by himself? How did it go? I see everyone keeps recommending that the USC travels to CR for the interview, but my fiancée won´t be able to join me becaue of work and Im quite nervous about it. 

Good luck with everything!

I was unable to attend with him, and he went on his own! While I certainly would have felt much more confident if we were both there, he did just fine! He said everyone was very polite, they asked him just a few questions as his paperwork was well-organized and complete, and he was approved! He arrives in just a few days, fingers crossed.  Good luck to you as well! 

[Luis P 2]

1 hour ago, radharose said:

I recently attended the interview with my fiance (now husband), and there were a couple other people there interviewing for the K1 visa who attended without their fiance.  You stand at the windows for the interviews, so it's fairly easy to eavesdrop, which I did fervently.

 

There was a young man in his mid 30's, and his interview lasted maybe 10-15 minutes and he was approved.  The questions seemed pretty routine; "How/where did you meet your fiance, how often do you see each other, where does she work?", etc.  They did seem to ask the same questions a few times each, worded in different ways, but it was very relaxed and friendly.

 

There was a middle-aged woman who was there for a CR1 visa, married to an American woman, whose interview also lasted about 10 minutes and she was approved.

 

There was a younger girl in her mid 20's maybe, with a toddler, and her interview took the longest, maybe 20-25 minutes.  I had a hard time hearing what they asked her, but it seemed that she was approved in the end.  The same interviewer who seemed to give her a bit of a hard time turned out to be our interviewer as well, so we were a little nervous.

 

The interviewer asked my fiance where we met (I hadn't written anything in the original I-129F application about how we first met) and he gave the hyper-specific answer, "On a farm, where she was at that time."  The interviewer kind of looked at me a little confused, and I explained that I used to live in CR, and that we had been neighbors.  She then asked my fiance if he had been to the U.S. before, and for how long, which he answered accordingly.  She also asked if he had been to Italy, and for how long (I had included copies of passport stamps with the I-129F), and then she asked me, "And you were in Italy...?," and I told her that I had been living and studying there and he had come to visit me.  She then asked how long we have known each other, and we both sort of looked at each other and both answered, "Twelve years".  "How long have you been dating?"  "Ten years."  "How long have you been engaged?" "Five years," to which she incredulously replied, "What took you so long?!"  I responded that I had been in college and wanted to finish my studies and get a job and all that good stuff first, and she nodded.  Then she said, "Well everything seems to be in order, you will receive your passport back with the visa in about 10 days."  My fiance asked if that meant we were approved and she replied, "Yes, congratulations, I wish you all the best," and my fiance grabbed me and gave me a big hug and kiss.  I was sort of expecting to get some sort of paper or something back from her, but there wasn't anything, so we tried to gather up our remaining papers and quickly make our way out before they changed their mind.

 

Don't worry too much, it was way easier than we expected, and people are approved all the time without their fiance being there, you'll be fine!

Amazing! You really have given me peace of mind. Thank you so much for taking the time to write your answer. Best wishes to you both!!

[Luis P 2]

7 minutes ago, cdee098 said:

I was unable to attend with him, and he went on his own! While I certainly would have felt much more confident if we were both there, he did just fine! He said everyone was very polite, they asked him just a few questions as his paperwork was well-organized and complete, and he was approved! He arrives in just a few days, fingers crossed.  Good luck to you as well! 

Thank you so much for your answer! Now I'm not as worried. I'm sure everything is gonna go great with his entry. Best wishes to you both!  

[Dprz22 7]

Has anyone gone thru a recent interview? Just wanted to check how long it’s taking to get your passports back after an approved interview. Is there an option to pick it up instead of having it mailed? 

[eduardo12305 30]

7 hours ago, Dprz22 said:

Has anyone gone thru a recent interview? Just wanted to check how long it’s taking to get your passports back after an approved interview. Is there an option to pick it up instead of having it mailed? 

good question I had my interview last Monday and don't know where's my passport.

[Dprz22 7]

26 minutes ago, eduardo12305 said:

good question I had my interview last Monday and don't know where's my passport.

Sorry to hear. They scheduled my interview Monday right after Semana Santa. 🤨 Can’t get medical exams done prior interview because medical offices will be closed, which means I have to ask for 1 month off work....

 

[Cari & Andy UB 69]

28 minutes ago, Dprz22 said:

Sorry to hear. They scheduled my interview Monday right after Semana Santa. 🤨 Can’t get medical exams done prior interview because medical offices will be closed, which means I have to ask for 1 month off work....

 

What case are you? IR1/CR1 or a K-1... I didn't see that you have a timeline yet with dates. Just wondering I got CC on 02/20 and I am still waiting to be scheduled for an interview. When was your CC?

[Dprz22 7]

52 minutes ago, Cari & Andy UB said:

What case are you? IR1/CR1 or a K-1... I didn't see that you have a timeline yet with dates. Just wondering I got CC on 02/20 and I am still waiting to be scheduled for an interview. When was your CC?

I’m a F2B. Had CC: 1/25/19. Yours is prob coming.

 

[oflyingbunnyo 119]

Guys I have a question.

Today we sent out our packet and...

We just saw that pretty much everyone labeled the petitioner and beneficiary passport photos on the back with each corresponding name. 

And of course, we forgot and re saw this once the packet had been sent 🤦‍♀️

 

Is this enough of a reason for a RFE? 

My gut tells me that yes... 

 

If it helps at all, the CBP lady on my last trip stamped the entrance seal on the page that is right next to where my U.S. tourist visa page is, which shows my face and information of course. This part of my passport was scanned and photocopied and sent off with the packet. 

Will that be enough to save us perhaps? 

 

Thank you in advance for any promptly response. 

Edited March 14, 2019 by BunnyBoo

[oflyingbunnyo 119]

Oh also...

We paper clipped the passport photos to the I-129F itself, no little zip lock bags or anything like that...

We also paper clipped very neatly the whole application since it ended being a tad bit bulky, no folders or anything like that.

We also sent off 3 little brown baggies which contain pictures of us or gifts,  etc. For example: "Proof of having met within the last 2 years" sealed with some tape, not attached to the petition itself since it was impossible because of how bulky it ended up being. 

And no, the brown baggies do not have the petitioners name nor signature ( I know🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️)

Is there any chance that these baggies will be lost, they are inside the envelope itself alongside the packet?

I know a lot of these things are rookie mistakes. 

Am I just overreacting or does all this scream trouble/RFE or even outright denial?   

[midwinterrose 275]

58 minutes ago, BunnyBoo said:

Oh also...

We paper clipped the passport photos to the I-129F itself, no little zip lock bags or anything like that...

We also paper clipped very neatly the whole application since it ended being a tad bit bulky, no folders or anything like that.

We also sent off 3 little brown baggies which contain pictures of us or gifts,  etc. For example: "Proof of having met within the last 2 years" sealed with some tape, not attached to the petition itself since it was impossible because of how bulky it ended up being. 

And no, the brown baggies do not have the petitioners name nor signature ( I know🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️)

Is there any chance that these baggies will be lost, they are inside the envelope itself alongside the packet?

I know a lot of these things are rookie mistakes. 

Am I just overreacting or does all this scream trouble/RFE or even outright denial?   

I paper-clipped our photos to the application, no baggie, no problem.  I think having your names on the backs of the photos is mostly precautionary in case they get separated from your packet.  Any person with any sense can figure out who is who if your packet includes your passport with your photo. I wouldn't expect you to get an RFE for that.  There might be a chance of those brown baggies getting lost in the shuffle, but if you included other evidence such as passport stamps, even if they did get misplaced it might not matter.  All we sent was copies of passport stamps and photos together as evidence of having met and that was enough.  If you're unlucky and something gets lost you could maybe get an RFE, but there's no way you'd get a denial for any of those things.