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| United Arab Emirates |  Review on September 11, 2012: |
loganx
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Hello Everyone!!
I have been following this site and the Abu Dhabi forum. Thought I'll finally contribute my share! I am an Indian Citizen living in Abu Dhabi, and my wife is American. We got married last year and started our process a year ago. You can check my timeline!! I had my interview for the CR-1 Visa on 9th September'2012. Here was how it went -
Interview was at 8.00 AM as everyone else's who was there. We reached around 7.40 and there were already a nice bunch of people waiting outside. The line for immigrant visas were longer. We were the only Non-Iranians in the immigrant visa line!!! I kid you not!!
Finished all the security checks and got in, got token number 7. The first lady that collected our documents told us that we might need a Joint Sponsor because my wife was working here. So I told her, that my wife has already got a job back in the US and has her UAE visa cancelled. So she said, the interviewing officer might ask... and took our documents in. I did the finger prints and we were soon called for the actual Interview. The CO was a young pretty and friendly lady. These were the questions asked -
1) Who is Amanda (my wife)?
2) How long have you been married?
3) Where did you meet?
4) How long have you been in the UAE and how long has your wife been in the UAE?
5) Where do you work and what do you work as?
6) Where in the US do you plan to go and when do you plan to go?
She then repeated what the earlier lady said. She said we will need a joint-sponsor. I told her about my wife's new job in the US. She said it doesn't matter, because income earned outside US is considered as zero even we had tax returns for the last 3 years. She actually showed us her tax returns which we submitted, in which at the bottom it shows "adjusted gross income" as 12 dollars. So she said,they can only consider 12 dollars as the income. Anyway, I put my wife's latest bank statements in front of her and the new job offer. She looked at it and asked if it was a US bank account or UAE. We told her its a US bank account. She then looked at it some more and said, it all looks fine. She kept the passport and gave us a pink slip and asked us to go back on Tuesday afternoon at 1.30. We had taken such a big file, with photos and cards and so much evidence, but she never asked for anything!
I went there this afternoon at 1.20 all nervous and jittery. Most of the people who were there, had come with a blue slip to submit additional documents.I was almost sure they will ask for additional joint-sponsorship or put me on Admin Processing. I waited for 45 minutes as all the officers had gone for lunch I assume. I got called, they give me a big fat packet and a nice Visa stamped inside the passport!! To be frank, I never expected to get a visa so fast, and was sure we would go through Administrative Processing. Our lawyer told us too, to expect Admin Processing for sure, because I have a Muslim last name and I was applying from the Middle East. So I am relieved, and this journey over a crazy and overwhelming year has finally come to an end.
Thanks to many of you'll here! I have frequently visited this forum and site and was well-prepared thanks to VisaJourney!
Cheers!
(updated on September 12, 2012)
(updated on September 12, 2012)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #10370