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| South Africa |  Review on January 13, 2013: |
Lindsey&Chris
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My overall experience with the Johannesburg consulate was great. We had received packet 3 but we were waiting for my Unabridged birth certificate as it was something that was not brought to our attention until the last minute(you have to have the Unabridged version or they will not give you the visa). After nagging Home affairs for 3 weeks straight we managed to get hold of the Birth certificate on 8 January 2013, exactly 7 days before our flight was scheduled to leave(15 January 2013), we were just about to cancel my flight so it came in the nick of time! With precious little time left to work with, we called the Johannesburg consulate and asked them if there was any way that we could interview 2 days later(10 January 2013) and they said that we could have the appointment on that day at 1:00pm, this was very nice of them as they could have easily just ignored the urgency of our request and let me pay the cancellation fee on my flight. We then rushed to Johannesburg and did our medical at Dr. Cobb's office in Rosebank, he and his staff are also wonderful people and helped us a lot with a last minute appointment. The interview itself went great too, I arrived at the gate just before 1:00pm because I knew that they only allow you in after 1. Just after 1pm the security guys let us in one by one and we had to go through a security checkpoint and then go into the actual consulate building entrance. Once inside they send you to a window where a lady asked me to put my fingers on the scanner in a few different ways and they took the fingerprints. She alsoasked for the filled out paperwork from packet 3(DS-230 etc.), the filled out I-134 and supporting documents(petitioner's bank statements etc.), the passport photos, my passport and the documentation to prove our ongoing relationship(photos, greyhound bus tickets with names on them etc.). After that she asked me to go to the cashier window around the corner to pay the $140(+-R1246). I headed over to the cashier to pay and she took a while to come(5 minutes or so)and when she got there I gave her my $140(in US Dollars) and she said she couldn't take the one note as it had a mark on it so I paid with my card(by the way the notes must also be newer than 2003 or they wont take them). I was told to go wait in front of window 7 and then after a while was called up by the interviewer, he was a really nice guy with brown hair. He started off by asking where my fiance'e and I met and I told him our whole story from the beginning to the end and every now and then he would just ask for details like "how long did you stay there for", basically just rough dates and elaborations to give him extra info that he may need. At the end he asked me when I planned to leave, which made me nervous because we were trying to squeeze everything into such a small space so that we could leave on the 15th of Jan, I told him and he said "Great, we will have your visa ready by tomorrow, just come and get it between 1pm and 4pm" and then gave me a slip that I needed in order to get the visa. I thanked him and left to go and tell my fiance'e the great news(she was across the road in Sandton City). I returned the next day with the slip and the guards let me through and they gave my visa to me within 20 minutes. They revoked my C1/D visa(for working on the cruise ships) and my B1/B2 visa(for tourism)but the stamps on those visas say "Cancelled without prejudice" so they will know that they weren't revoked because of anything but my immigration. For anyone who is getting the bus up to Johannesburg, there are rental car places at Park Station that open at 8, we used Select and we were very happy with them(we also had a brand new Etios to drive). I actually asked Europcar first but to be honest their attitude stinks badly there and the guy half chased me away when I asked about renting a car so if possible try to avoid them. Watch out for the bums at Park Station and FYI they don't have toilet paper in any of the bathrooms! We stayed in the Westford Hotel, it is cheap, very close to the US Consulate(like 2 min drive) and not far from Dr. Cobb's office(like 10 min drive) and for a hotel right in Sandton with pretty decent rooms, R560 a night is a steal! Anyways, that's my essay done...I wish you all the best for your interview and hope this has helped a little. Inbox us if you need additional info.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #11255