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| Ireland |  Review on September 13, 2012: |
Bacon and Cabbage
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Myself and my wife(US Citizen) arrived at the Dublin consulate at about 12:50 on Sep 11th. There was a queue of a couple who we think were applying for a similar visa, a lone gentleman and then us. A few more couples and a family joined behind us after a few minutes. When we arrived there was a couple already going through the security hut. One group of people at a time were allowed in. Once that couple was let out of the security hut the family of 5 jumped the queue and went into the hut. This was the only negative point about our experience. After about 10 minutes we were allowed in. They took our mobiles and a small bag which we didn't need. The security was firm but pleasant. They put us through airport security screening, which was fine. They gave us our security passes and let us through and pointed us to where we had to go. When we walked into the building another security officer asked what type of visa we were there for and we said Immigrant. He gave us a ticket stub and we sat down. The room was split into two and was relatively small. It reminded us of a motor tax office or bank with all the glass fronted counters and seats with everyone waiting their turn. After only 10 minutes I was called up and a guy asked me to confirm my name and to take my seat again. A few mintues later I was called up again and the lady I was dealing with asked me some basic questions. Where is your wife?, How long has she lived here?, etc etc. Nothing difficult and more just to put all the pieces together. Then there was a minutes silence to remember 9/11/01. When she returned she asked for my xray and took a sealed document out of the large envelope and handed the xray back to me and told me to keep it for when we fly into the states. She took my passport and a passport photo and then asked for the envelope. Previous to this I received an envelope asking to bring a 12" x 14" envelope which was impossible to find. We ended up bringing 3 different envelopes close enough to it. In the end she took the one I bought at Easons which has cardboard on one side to stop it being bent. The size measured 12.5" x 15.5" and was about €2. After that she asked me to take a seat again. Approximately 20 minutes later we were both called up and a different lady greeted us. She asked us to hold up our hands and swear that we are telling the truth. She asked us a few more basic questions and then said that our application had been approved and we would receive the visa in about 1 week.
All in all we were in and out within an hour and a half and had no problems. We had every t crossed and i dotted and copies of everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING. We also went there with the attitude that it was going to be tough and to expect the worst so that anything else would be a positive. In the end it was all fine and have a positive view on the consulate.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #10398