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|  Review on March 1, 2013: |
indiana_sweetie
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
My husband is from Kosovo but the embassy in Skopje processes the visa applicants from Kosovo. My husband arrived early for his 8 am appointment. Then he nervously waited 4 hours before they interviewed him. The CO, a lady, asked many questions, some regarding our ages, because I am 29 years older. She also asked why he didn't want kids (because I can't have more children). The CO snapped these questions at him, maybe hoping to make him nervous. My husband kept cool and answered the truth with confidence.
Thanks to the advice from the VJ community my hubby was well prepared for a tough grilling because of our red flag (age). My husband speaks English but is more comfortable speaking Albanian, so he answered with an interpreter. Then the CO repeated some of the questions but worded them differently. Again my husband answered without wavering. She was not able to shake him up, so finally she said it was a good interview.
But we had two issues. One is the date of my second visit. Hubby had asked me what day I flew to him in 2012. I gave him the date I left Chicago, but the date the lady was looking at is the one stamped in my passport, the following day. Because of time zones, when I fly to Europe I leave on one day and arrive the next. When I fly home the whole trip is the same day. So she told him, "Your wife needs to show us proof of the dates of her trip because the dates don't match." She would not let my husband present any proof that he had with him. I guess once they write up a Refusal Worksheet it's a done deal. The evidence needs to be presented at a later date.
Then she said we need a co-sponsor because (she erroneously claimed) that I would loose my social security income because I remarried (not true, the USA law says I keep it because I remarried after age 60). The mood of the CO had gone from aggressive to helpful. Apparently she was satisfied with our mountain of chats, emails, photos and my husband's answers. Now she was helping my husband, explaining what I need to do. She was explaining, tell you wife to do this and that, and then call to make an appointment. She said my husband did not need another interview, the interview was good, only to bring the documents they requested. She said if the documents are accepted then his visa will be ready in about 3 hours.
Now, because my husband lives in Kosovo, we already knew they would give his passport back so he could travel home, and he would return when the visa was ready to be issued, in 3 business days. The CO gave my husband an OF-194 form with the details of the documents needed. Then she gave him back the mountain of chats and emails, so that answered my question about how they put everything into the brown envelope, I guess they just give some back.
Some of the other questions she asked were, did you pay your wife to marry you? Did your wife pay you to marry her? (no on both) Did you give your wife gifts (yes, he named them). Did your wife give you gifts (yes, he named them). All the dates and places that were important in our relationship, things like that.
All during the questioning the CO kept her eyes on my husband's eyes and face and hands. Bottom line, if you have red flags, front load and practice dates and names to perfection. Be confident. Be ready for a grilling. The CO was tough, but professional. People are being put into AP at the Macedonia embassy and needing to return. Everyone present that day were either sent away or returning with more evidence.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #11550