Help me settle a petty argument about visa interviews.

[ledingham 68]

Hey!

I am waiting on a K-1 visa right now and my fiance in the USA seems to believe that visa interviews are the exact same as job interviews. It's to get to know each other and for some odd reason he seems to believe that the individual being interviewed is supposed to ask questions about the visa and what comes next. I have no idea where he got this idea as he has done little to no research about this visa. Wouldn’t it look odd to the interviewing officer if the person they were interviewing didn't know much about their own visa? He also believes that, just like a job interview, that I SHOULD have questions to ask the interviewing officer because it will “increase my chances of getting a visa and it makes me look good”. I don’t believe they care at all about what comes next and whether I know it or not, they probably only care if I have the right documents that they need to be looking at. However I could be completely wrong. I have read through many of the consulate reviews, specifically Montreal, and none of the posts indicate that interviews are going to be like a job interview. So, does anyone have any insight into this? Feel free to laugh as well, I know this is goofy.

Obviously this post goes out to ALL visa types that have interviews and if I posted this in the wrong forum I apologize. 

[Crazy Cat 42,033]

14 minutes ago, ledingham said:

Hey!

I am waiting on a K-1 visa right now and my fiance in the USA seems to believe that visa interviews are the exact same as job interviews. It's to get to know each other and for some odd reason he seems to believe that the individual being interviewed is supposed to ask questions about the visa and what comes next. I have no idea where he got this idea as he has done little to no research about this visa. Wouldn’t it look odd to the interviewing officer if the person they were interviewing didn't know much about their own visa? He also believes that, just like a job interview, that I SHOULD have questions to ask the interviewing officer because it will “increase my chances of getting a visa and it makes me look good”. I don’t believe they care at all about what comes next and whether I know it or not, they probably only care if I have the right documents that they need to be looking at. However I could be completely wrong. I have read through many of the consulate reviews, specifically Montreal, and none of the posts indicate that interviews are going to be like a job interview. So, does anyone have any insight into this? Feel free to laugh as well, I know this is goofy.

Obviously this post goes out to ALL visa types that have interviews and if I posted this in the wrong forum I apologize. 

Ask your fiance to join us here on VJ......You are the interviewee.....not the interviewer.......this is not the time for you to start interviewing the Consulate Officer...  My opinion.....Cardinal rule of immigration interviews:  Answer all questions truthfully, but don't offer a lot of extra, unneeded information.

Edited February 21, 2020 by missileman

[SuznAaron 121]

7 minutes ago, ledingham said:

Hey!

I am waiting on a K-1 visa right now and my fiance in the USA seems to believe that visa interviews are the exact same as job interviews. It's to get to know each other and for some odd reason he seems to believe that the individual being interviewed is supposed to ask questions about the visa and what comes next. I have no idea where he got this idea as he has done little to no research about this visa. Wouldn’t it look odd to the interviewing officer if the person they were interviewing didn't know much about their own visa? He also believes that, just like a job interview, that I SHOULD have questions to ask the interviewing officer because it will “increase my chances of getting a visa and it makes me look good”. I don’t believe they care at all about what comes next and whether I know it or not, they probably only care if I have the right documents that they need to be looking at. However I could be completely wrong. I have read through many of the consulate reviews, specifically Montreal, and none of the posts indicate that interviews are going to be like a job interview. So, does anyone have any insight into this? Feel free to laugh as well, I know this is goofy.

Obviously this post goes out to ALL visa types that have interviews and if I posted this in the wrong forum I apologize. 

Your fiance is the American Citizen right? He should have been the one that filed this for you. How did he file without knowing the process? He needs to join here as there are many other steps you all will take in the immigration process. Is he attending with you? If so he needs to wise up about this process.

But really to answer your question NO it is not like a job interview. You dont talk until you're asked to do so and believe me they will tell you to shut up if needed (yeah I was told that). My fiance interviewed in London and we felt they were doing everything to not approve the visa. Our AOS was a much nicer experience and less scary. Good luck!

[Unlockable 7,315]

I agree to have him join this site or show how this thread.

 

He is really putting himself at a disadvantage by not researching how this process happens. A job interview??? Seriously???

 

If you want you can have him PM directly if he wants to know what happens during the interview because I did the K1 for my now wife and I was standing right next to her during the entire interview.

 

Also, being Canadian, you should look into the spousal visa as the K1 has huge disadvantages.

[ledingham 68]

3 minutes ago, SuznAaron said:

Your fiance is the American Citizen right? He should have been the one that filed this for you. How did he file without knowing the process? He needs to join here as there are many other steps you all will take in the immigration process. Is he attending with you? If so he needs to wise up about this process.

But really to answer your question NO it is not like a job interview. You dont talk until you're asked to do so and believe me they will tell you to shut up if needed (yeah I was told that). My fiance interviewed in London and we felt they were doing everything to not approve the visa. Our AOS was a much nicer experience and less scary. Good luck!

Yes he filed for me but I was the one that did all of the research on the visa. I basically just have to tell him what to do and he does it. That's how we got our I-129F filed. This entire visa process is just going to be me telling him what to do. Like a mom baking a cake with her child 🤣 He will not be attending the k-1 visa interview with me because from what read the consulate will not allow him in with me.

3 minutes ago, missileman said:

Ask your fiance to join us here on VJ......You are the interviewee.....not the interviewer.......this is not the time for you to start interviewing the Consulate Officer...

I have asked him to check out the site before in the past and I do not think he has even looked.

 

I knew I was right. The interviewing officer has no reason to care about me outside of what I needed to bring to the interview and the questions they ask me. If you were supposed to ask questions I feel like that would've been mentioned in at least one of the many consulate reviews on VJ.

[ledingham 68]

5 minutes ago, Unlockable said:

I agree to have him join this site or show how this thread.

 

He is really putting himself at a disadvantage by not researching how this process happens. A job interview??? Seriously???

 

If you want you can have him PM directly if he wants to know what happens during the interview because I did the K1 for my now wife and I was standing right next to her during the entire interview.

 

Also, being Canadian, you should look into the spousal visa as the K1 has huge disadvantages.

See above about joining VJ. 

Yeah I have no idea where he got the job interview idea from. He has no reason to believe that especially when I have told him many times that it is NOT like that. It kind of feels like he is actually just choosing not to believe me at this point.

We looked into the spousal visa and we ended up deciding on the K-1. As of now I kind of wish I picked the spousal visa.

Edited February 21, 2020 by ledingham

[Crazy Cat 42,033]

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
    Slightly faster arrival in the US    
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

  

CR-1
    Slightly slower arrival in the US 

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  �

 

[ledingham 68]

2 minutes ago, missileman said:

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
    Slightly faster arrival in the US    
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

  

CR-1
    Slightly slower arrival in the US 

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  �

 

Yes I actually have a list like this in google docs. Sadly though as we are approaching NOA2 for our petition I'm thinking that switching to CR-1 would set us back so far it may not be worth it

Edited February 21, 2020 by ledingham

[ledingham 68]

I am hoping others will come forward sharing an experience where they talked too much or asked too many questions during an interview

[Mollie09 1,543]

Every visa interview I've ever attended started with some chit chat, then went straight into visa-specific questions and then ended. Nothing like a job interview, which in my mind is a two-way interview.

[ledingham 68]

Just now, Mollie09 said:

Every visa interview I've ever attended started with some chit chat, then went straight into visa-specific questions and then ended. Nothing like a job interview, which in my mind is a two-way interview.

This is how I imagine it is supposed to go. It not like the IO and I are going to be friends after nor will they be making any other decisions on my immigration process beyond that.

[Crazy Cat 42,033]

8 minutes ago, ledingham said:

This is how I imagine it is supposed to go. It not like the IO and I are going to be friends after nor will they be making any other decisions on my immigration process beyond that.

You will never see that Consulate Officer again.......and I'm sure you don't desire to see him/her again.

[Mollie09 1,543]

22 minutes ago, ledingham said:

This is how I imagine it is supposed to go. It not like the IO and I are going to be friends after nor will they be making any other decisions on my immigration process beyond that.

I mean, immigration officers are people, and they're biased towards people they like. But they try to trim that down to a minimum in situations like these, and cut the talking to a minimum outside of the information they need to make a decision. Which is to say, if they get chatty, I would consider it a bad sign.

Edited February 21, 2020 by Mollie09

[Orangesapples 1,954]

3 hours ago, ledingham said:

This is how I imagine it is supposed to go. It not like the IO and I are going to be friends after nor will they be making any other decisions on my immigration process beyond that.

During my AOS interview we had a friendly chit chat with the officer and he was pretty cool but nothing like any job interview ever. I've never had a job interview where they ask me to swear to tell the truth for example. Also, a job interview is an interview for establishing a future two-sided relationship and each party is evaluating the other. You don't get to evaluate your interviewer at a visa interview and you hold zero power over them. You're the only one being scrutinized and the officer has absolutely nothing to lose no matter what you decide and no matter what you think of them. Also, in a job interview you need to create a good impression and convince the interviewer you're competent and a good fit. In a visa interview, the only objective the interviewer has is to evaluate if you qualify for the visa. That's it. 

[Tm and Je 35]

8 hours ago, ledingham said:

Hey!

I am waiting on a K-1 visa right now and my fiance in the USA seems to believe that visa interviews are the exact same as job interviews. It's to get to know each other and for some odd reason he seems to believe that the individual being interviewed is supposed to ask questions about the visa and what comes next. I have no idea where he got this idea as he has done little to no research about this visa. Wouldn’t it look odd to the interviewing officer if the person they were interviewing didn't know much about their own visa? He also believes that, just like a job interview, that I SHOULD have questions to ask the interviewing officer because it will “increase my chances of getting a visa and it makes me look good”. I don’t believe they care at all about what comes next and whether I know it or not, they probably only care if I have the right documents that they need to be looking at. However I could be completely wrong. I have read through many of the consulate reviews, specifically Montreal, and none of the posts indicate that interviews are going to be like a job interview. So, does anyone have any insight into this? Feel free to laugh as well, I know this is goofy.

Obviously this post goes out to ALL visa types that have interviews and if I posted this in the wrong forum I apologize. 

I had a K1 interview and l was asked why l wanted to merry with my fiance... Just one question. Then, the CO said your visa has been approved. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. I suggest you do not ask any questions.