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|  Review on August 25, 2012: |
G & Oxy
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
We are so excited to be done with this stage. My experience was a pleasant one
Medicals:
Day 1 – After a brief counseling and once you have signed a consent form, your medical/vaccination history will be taken to enable them determine the requisite vaccinations. On vaccinations, the doctor/nurse at IOM will determine the ones you'll need based on your age, gender, country and any prior vaccinations. If you have any vaccination record/letter, bring it with you.
Medical examination costs $138 or Kshs 11,476 exclusive of vaccination fee. The lady recommended 4 vaccines for me. MMR (Measles Mumps Rubella) - $26 or Kshs 2,162, Influenza ($28 or Kshs 2,328), Varicella ($54 or Kshs 4,491) and Dultravax ($32 or Kshs 2,661). The total costs for medical examination plus vaccinations = Kshs 23,119 (approximately $280). Once payment is made at their cash office, you will be called to the laboratory for a blood test. You will then be taken (in batches in IOM van) to the nearby ‘The Nairobi Hospital’ for an x-ray. After the x-ray, you are free to leave. You may ask the IOM driver to drive you back to IOM or you can find your way home/to the hotel from The Nairobi Hospital. Day 2 appointment is at 7.30am.
Day 2 - A nurse will take your detailed medical history/information and perform the usual body weight and height measurements, heart beat rate/blood pressure and eye test. The doctor will then do a body exam and he’ll let you know the outcome of your medicals. You will then be given your x-ray – they confirmed that you do not have to carry this for your visa interview. It must be carried as hand luggage as it may be required at POE. You will thereafter have the prescribed vaccinations and a Vaccination Documentation Worksheet issued to you.
Your medical results will be sent by IOM to the Embassy. I inquired how long it takes for the results to get to the Embassy and they confirmed that it may take at least between 24 hours to 3 days or more in some cases.
Interview
We were scheduled for Wednesday, August 22 at 7.15am. Although my fiancé was in the country, we decided that he would not accompany me to the Embassy but he would be on stand-by in case something came up. I did not want to get worried about him being outside the gate in the event that he was not allowed to accompany me inside. It really helped that he was just a stone throw away. My fiancé’s presence and support really boosted my confidence
I went through all security checks and eventually picked a number inside the consul area. You must have your Appointment confirmation email and passport to pass through all the security checks. There were not so many people inside so I was lucky to find a seat inside the consulate area as it was freezing outside. The people who came in after me had to wait outside for their numbers to be called out through the intercom. My number was called to Window 5 where a pleasant lady asked for the following documents, one by one: Two DS 156, two DS 156K, two DS 230 Part 1 only, 3 passport pics, Affidavit of Support (without any supporting evidence), original and a copy of my birth certificate, police certificate. She confirmed to me that she did not require our I-134 supporting documents, letter of continued support/updated letter of intent or any additional documents. We were well prepared just in case and we even had an extra copy of everything including our petition to USCIS. Ensure that your police certificate has a fingerprints report from the police attached to it. Another interviewee who did not have her fingerprint report was told to send the fingerprints form by DHL.
I was then called to Window 1 for fingerprinting. At 10.15am, my number was called and i went to Window 10 (a male consul officer – very nice and friendly). The CO returned and on top of my folders and binder, was Robert Allen's Crazy Laws Lawsuits which I was reading prior to being called to the window. The CO was so pleasant, he saw the book and asked which book it was and then he told me he was also reading something on law - Mediocre/medieval law. We had something in common – we were both reading crazy legal stuff! He asked what kind of work i did and i told him i'm a lawyer, then he laughed and jokingly said 'ummmh, yours will be tricky because I cannot tell when to believe a lawyer...' I took an oath and confirmed to him that '...we lawyers understand the consequence of any statements made on oath and the dire consequence for any misrepresentation....so he better believe me.' I guess I was asked very simple questions because my fiancé had neatly arranged and frontloaded everything with our petition.
1. When did you meet your fiance?
2. Where does your fiancé work?
3. How old are you? Your fiancé?
4. How many times has he visited you? Thrice...in fact he is currently in the country!! He actually believed a lawyer without asking me for any evidence of my fiance’s presence!!
He asked to see our photos.
He then told me that I was approved and handed me a green letter/slip with instructions on how to collect my visa from DHL in a week. The interview took less than 10 minutes.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #10262