|
|
| Sydney, Australia |  Review on April 20, 2013: |
PerthtoMass
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
The interview was smooth:
My interview was conducted on the 16th of April, 2013 at 9 AM and it was an enjoyable experience. The staff are all professional, kind, and friendly.
I travelled from Perth the day before, so I made sure I checked out exactly where I needed to be as soon as I arrived in Sydney. I went to the MLC Centre around 8.45am.After we got up to the tenth floor, the consulate doors opened and I was the second one through.
At reception staff checked my passport and placed a tick next to my name on the master list. I then placed all of my things on the security screening belt. I had to take any electronic devices out of my bag. I passed through security and deposited my excess gear, but took my paperwork with me.
I sat waiting until called to take the lift up to the 59th floor to my interview conducted. I took the relevant immigrant visa ticket from the ticket machine and sat. It was tense in the waiting room and each and every child present could feel it, and were naturally confused and misbehaving. My number was called and I went up to window number 4. A woman took my passport, the platinum envelope, and my visa photographs and my medical envelope.
My number was called and I went up to window number 4, again – I can’t remember why but when finished was told to take a seat again to await the final visa interview.
I stayed very busy chatting with a diversity lottery winner to stay distracted and as calm as possible… I was then called to window 1 (my interview window) and the consular officer inside was a truly nice and kind woman.
She asked some general admin questions, took my fingerprints, and then asked me to swear an oath that everything I say is true to the best of my knowledge
She then proceeded to ask me these questions while looking through my file:
Have you been to the USA before? How many times?
How long was your longest stay?
Have you ever had any issues with USA immigration?
Have you ever been arrested?
She looked through my proof of no criminal record carefully, then asked:
Have you ever resided in another country for longer than 6 months?
Were you born in Australia? When did you immigrate here?
Have you ever been married? Any children?
Has your husband ever been married? When was he divorced, Any children?
What does your husband do – what will he do in the US
What work do I plan to do in the US – She smiled broadly when I said ‘entry level anything’
She looked at my proof of no criminal record overseas and my citizenship certificate, flipped through my file again.
I felt very comfortable as the officer was smiling the whole time. This made me comfortable enough to supply a lot of extra information and I talked freely. As we had already provided the affidavit and supporting documents in our petition, looked again at the petition files, compared them to the information in my file and said after a while "Everything looks fine here." Then she handed me a small white slip that said "Congratulations your visa has been approved!" A very insubstantial tiny little document to record such a monumental life changing outcome – I nearly laughed
She then told me that the following steps are:
I will receive a sealed envelope with my visa, which I will have to hand carry with my chest X-ray to customs when I arrive in America. I will be taken aside to secondary and the officers will open the documents there.
She was very thorough and informative. When I walked out of the building I felt weird, so much time was spent getting to this point... I just desperately wanted my family with me to share the moment; instead I called my husband to tell him the good news. I couldn’t wait to get back on the plane to my husband and our daughter. When I arrived at Perth airport I could see our daughter jumping up and down with joy, I doubt I will ever forget that moment…
| |
|
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #11853