Well another approved K-1 visa interview for you guys! They didnt even ask her any questions and the "interview" took less than a whole minute. The officer just asked "hows your fiance" thats it. He said that he looked at everything and he didnt have any questions. It was super easy.
When we got to Kiev on Friday we had to go for the medical exam which was uneventful, however we did not show up until 11am and we were done about an hour later. You go in and there is just a hall with seats on one side and doors on another. First you have to go into a USA Regristration room and then they give you all the documents and other room numbers you have to go into before you are done. Its first come first serve for each room and the people waiting have a order made of who goes first. It seems like there were more people getting other visas than K-1 or K-3. We decided to wait until 3pm for the results and they even have a nice little cafe in the medical center to sit and wait. The medical center is nice for Ukrainian standards.
As for the interview it again was uneventful. We arrived at the embassy at 8:45am and there was a line to enter. The line consisted of all boys and men though, no women. So i took Tanya and walked right to the front of the line and just walked into the security area, ya know since im a US citizen i can do that. Then we went to the immigration area and there was about 3-4 women sitting already. It kinda reminded me of a DMV but with glass windows. There was a man being trained in that took our documents and organized them into a little folder. It was not rushed and we all took our time. He called both of us up to the window to hand in our documents. Then we had to go and pay and come back with the receipt. Then we waited about an hour, in that time a few other k-1 and k-3 visa applicants came with their men. Tanya was called basically first and like i said she was done about 1 minute later!
We submitted in a VERY organized little 3 ring binder; (2) DS-156K, (1) DS-156, pregnancy letter that was signed and UN-notarized, My I-134 signed and UN-notarized, My 2006 1040's and schedules, My 2006 and 2007 bank statements, My warranty deed and evaluation of my home, My fathers I-134 and his 2006 1040's that were both scanned and emailed(NOT ORIGINALS) and notarized, Proof of our relationships, my passport, color copy of my registration to stay in the Ukraine and passport control stamps, plane tickets to the Ukraine, proof of both of our travels to Egypt, over 100 photos of us and my emails and phone records. From the pregnancy letter i stated i was living with her since Jan 5th 2007 and they can verify that by my passport stamps and Ukraine Regristration. I could tell that all was fine when the officer called her name and had a big smile, im sure our case was over documented and very easy for them. We were kinda nervous because we didnt have my fathers original I-134 or a notarization for my I-134 or the pregnancy letter. But since i was there i can verify the signatures. Plus we included her birth certificate and criminal record and her medical exam, plus translations and copys which are a must of course.
At the embassy there was a ton of men and boys that were Ukrainian that were there for something, it was weird. They were not in the immigration area though. Oh the officer told Tanya that they would issue her visa either today (same day as interview) or tomorrow and she should receive it in a week. Just for the record i would not have had to use a co-sponsor but as i stated above i have been living in Sevastopol with Tanya since Jan 5th 2007 and its September 25th right now!! So just to be safe since i obviously cannot work in the US when im not there, however i do have assets and am self employed so i can do that. Plus we are expecting a child in Jan. 2008.
My personal recommendations are to not show up for the medical exam until 10:30 or 11am as there are tons of people at earlier time i hear, and we started her exam within 5 min. They will get to everyone for the medical exam so dont worry. Plus there is a cafe in the medical center to wait for your results. At the embassy do not wait in line, go right to the front and walk in the security door. All US citizens and K visa applicant get in first. The security at the US Embassy will treat the US citizens like gods, just so you know! Do the DS-156 AND DS-156K online and DO NOT sign them until instructed by the officer. We filled ours online and it saved about 30 min. at the embassy. Some people had to go up to the window 2 or 3 times because of mistakes on their 156 applications. Be very organized in your documents, it does help. Be calm and take your time, nobody at the embassy rushes you in any way. If you can, attend the interview with your fiance(e). It is easy if you are prepared! My finace says that for all the girls DO NOT worry about the interview at all, it is easier than you are expecting!!!!!! For us waiting was the hardest thing, we mean waiting from the time the petition was filed to the visa interview. If anybody reading this wants to know more we will help in any way. My fiance can speak perfect english and is a translator. We can help anybody find apartments or help you get around in Kiev. DONT use a lawyer unless it is a unusual case! We can help and im sure many others like us on this site can and are willing to help for free. You can email us at tsloula@gmail.com. We would like everyones experience to be like ours, no questions asked at the interview right???
