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| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |  Review on January 30, 2007: |
Tony_H
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Here's our report of her interview on 1/23/2007. I was prepared with lots of evidences but only a few were looked at.
She arrived at the consulate at 8:24am for her 10:00am interview appointment, presented her passport and appointment letter to the security guard, then she entered into the security area. She was asked to leave her cell phone if she had one, send her bags through the X-ray machine, and then she walked through the metal detector.
She was shown to go down the right corridor for Immigrant Applicants into a very large waiting room (Non-Immigrants on the left to a different room). There were about two hundred people in that waiting room, individuals, mother and child, families, old folks, group of people, children of all ages, etc… There are 2 TV monitors in that room continuously giving detailed instructions on this entire process for applicants to listen to while waiting. There were instructions on where to get a number to wait, how to do your fingerprinting correctly, if you get your pink slip then to come back not before 4pm today to pick up your visa, if you get a blue slip then you need to follow its instruction on the slip to bring additional documents, and a few pictures of famous spots in the U.S. such as Grand Canyon and so on… Then she was directed to go to a window to get her number. She was given number A036 and was told to go wait at window #11. She guessed that the A prefix appears to be for fiancé and marriage applicants, and B prefix is for family applicants like children, parents, siblings, etc… There are 15 windows with protective glass. Her scheduled appointment time seems to be just a target time for the interview. So she went over to that area and nervously waited for a long time.
Shortly after she sat down to wait; there was an American man who came into the room with an interpreter, asked everyone to stand up and raise their right hand to take an oath that they are to tell only the truth and nothing but the truth. There were occasional reminders over the PA to arrange your paperwork in order and your evidence in time-chronological order. Apparently, many applicants were not organized enough at the interview. After the facts, she felt that she was more organized than most because it took very long for others to have their documents examined. It was a long agonizing wait then finally it was her turn to go to the interview window at around 11:15am. Up to this point, everyone working there were very courteous and pleasant. There is an electronic board always with 3 numbers changing frequently. They also called the numbers over the loudspeakers.
Her first interviewer was a nice 40's Vietnamese man behind a secured window with a document tray below the glass with a small 2" open slit. This is the reason why you have to take all documents out of any plastic sleeves and their binder. He asked to see her paperwork and she slid her first batch through with a summary list of documents so he could see what she got in which order. He began to ask for those documents one by one and she continued to slide them over to him. He thoroughly checked the order and read them carefully as he asked her 4-5 questions during this time:
He returned any extra copy of documents she had and the Single Status document. As he inspected the documents, he was checking off a white checklist. It appeared that he was verifying her answers against the paperwork. He also asked her to enter the name of her sponsor into a section of DS-156 and that she agrees to marry the petitioner/sponsor within 90 days after arrival in the U.S.. She also had to sign a form stating that she understands the reason for the interview. He took the medical exam result and returned the X-ray envelope. She asked if he wanted to see the immunization record, he said "No". This process took about 5 minutes. He did not ask for any evidence. She still had her relationship evidence in a binder of plastic sleeves organized for quick access. Then she was asked to sit down and wait.
About 10 minutes later, she was called back up to window #9. Her next interviewer was a nice, late 20's, & good-looking American woman with an interpreter. They greeted each other pleasantly in English. My fiancé was asked if she can speak English. She answered that she can but she might need some help. The lady asked my fiancé in Vietnamese to do the fingerprinting. Then she was asked to sign the DS-156 forms. The interviewer then asked about 10 questions.
My fiancé answered quickly and precisely to each question. Everything that my fiancé said was noted by the interviewer. The lady then asked to see our pictures. My fiancé slid over the 1st pack of my family & personal pictures. The lady looked at them all very quickly but picked out a picture of my college diploma and put it aside for some reasons. She continued to look over other groups of pictures quickly such as my 3 trips' pictures, and very carefully at the Engagement party's pictures. She seemed to note all the dates carefully. She did not seem to pay too much attention to the wedding studio pictures. My fiancé then asked if the lady would like to see our video conference logs, the lady waived her hand and said "Ok, Ok, OK, that's enough, no need". Then the lady interviewer signed the pink slip quickly, handed it to my fiancé, and said "You passed, and you can come back to pick up your visa at 4pm". Then the interviewer returned all pictures and document originals such as everyone's birth certificate, ID card, Family Household Book, divorce papers, but not her passport.
This process took between 5-10 minutes. Then my fiancé left the consulate at 11:40am. I got her text message of the good news about 7 minutes later.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #1244