|
|
| Sweden |  Review on September 30, 2012: |
Mr. Borkström
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
If memory serves me right, the embassy website says they open at 8: AM. My appointment was at 9:00 AM. I got off the bus at maybe 8:30. The bus stop was right across the street from the US embassy, so that was very convenient. There was a security checkpoint and I was asked to wait outside (it was raining, of course) and stand in line. There were two lines and I obviously went to stand in the wrong one.On the plus side, next to me was an older couple, turned out they were from El Salvador and had lived in Sweden for 25ish years. They were very chatty, so that was nice. Behind me there was a whole bunch of middle aged guys, the members of an orchestra as it turned out.
After a while I noticed I was in the wrong line, though, so I went over to the correct line. There was one person ahead of me in the much shorter immigrant visa applicants line. When it was my turn, a security guard took my passport, ask me to wait behind the line right outside the entrance and show him the soles of my shoes. I was let in and a second guard took over. It was funny cause I thought he sounded Australian. "Just like at the airport" he said. I scanned all my belongings and turned in all electronic devices (cell phone, iPod, memory card for the camera etc). I was then asked to proceed outside, follow the yellow line and into the main building and a waiting room. I got a receipt so I could get my stuff back once I was done.
I got in the main building and the waiting room. It was probably around 9:25 when I got in. Another security guard told me (in Swedish) to go to Window F. Another Swedish guy asked to see my passport, looked at a list and then asked me to go to Window G (for immigrant visas). A third Swedish guy took my passport, looked through my documents (forms and such) and gave me a large envelope to write my address on and put the stamps on it. When we were done he asked me to sit down and wait and they would call my name later.
It was hard to tell how quickly time passed cause there was no clock, only a television set and a vending machine. I passed the time by starring at the vending machine and eaves dropping on the old dudes in the orchestra. After an unknown period of time had passed, a speaker voice told me to go to Window something-or-other (I forget). It was an American woman, probably in her early 40's or so. She started looking through all the papers and forms that my wife and I have sent in the the US authorities since we started this process back in November. I had to swear an oath that all the information I had given and was about to give was true. I left my finger prints in a little scanner they had. She then started asking me questions. How long have you known your wife? Where did you meet? When was she born? Has she lived her whole life in Pittsburgh? Have you ever applied for an immigrant visa before? What are her parents' names? Have you met her parents? Do you have children? Has she been to Sweden? Oh you got married here in Sweden? Why did you decide to get married in Sweden? Were her children there for the marriage? They were not? Why not? Did any of your friends and family attend? There may have been more questions but those are the ones I can remember for now.
The whole thing didn't take very long. I'd say between five and ten minutes. At that point, she said: "Your visa application has been approved. Congratulations. You will have your passport back in the mail within two weeks." It felt like it came at an unexpected time. I was stunned. Everything turned hazy. I started tearing up. I wasn't sure I heard her right, I almost wanted to go back and ask her "Approved? Are you sure?" But I thought to myself that she wouldn't have congratulated me if she'd denied the application. So I gathered all my things, went back outside, claimed my electronics at the guard station and went on my merry way. I was outside again by maybe 10:10 in the morning.
After giving it some serious thought, I decided to rate my experience at the embassy a 5. The reason why I had to think it over is because it took an unusually long time for me to get an interview date after the NVC had completed our case. My wife called the NVC and was told the NVC completed our case on July 2nd, 2012. We had to wait until September 17 before we got an interview date. Waiting for 2 months and 15 days when our case was complete was very depressing. Once we got the interview date everything went very quickly and smoothly, but it's still very hard to gloss over the long wait. They even re-scheduled my interview: it was originally scheduled for October 9, but "due to unforeseen circumstances" I was told they needed to re-schedule and I was asked if I wanted a new date before October 5 or after October 12. So, like I said, after that everything has gone very quickly and very smoothly (I completed the medical examination by the panel physician in Stockholm on September 21).
With all that said, I give the embassy a 5 because that long wait doesn't have anything to do with my experience at the interview. But if I'd written this review at a different time, I may have given the embassy a 4. But oh well. All's well that ends well.
| |
|
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #10525