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| Switzerland |  Review on September 28, 2014: |
lorella
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My fiance and i arrived at the park near the Interests Section before 7am. There was a man standing on a stool/chair in one corner of the park calling out names. Once my fiance's name was called, he gave them his ID card and were directed to another line to wait to enter the Interests Section office. While in this line, there was an officer that came by to do a quick check of our documents and gave me a pass to enter the office with my fiance. The first group of people were taken into the office around 7:45. We were not in the first group and were told we would be entering the office with the second group around 10am. Around 9:50am, the officer return and began calling names of those in the second group. We walked in a line for 1-2 blocks to the entrance of the office. After going through security - we were sent to a waiting room with several windows. where we were given a card with a number and color on it that served as our interview ID number. After waiting about 15 minutes, our ID color/number was called and we submitted the documents we brought to the interview (see lists below) and paid the visa fee of $265 (be sure to confirm the visa fee rates prior to your interview). Next, we were sent to a second waiting room. It was about 10:30am when we arrived in the second waiting room. There was a TV in this room that showed the ID number/color of people being currently interview. We waited until around 2:30pm for our number/color to show up on the TV (we were one of the last people to be called).
We were interviewed by an older woman who was a US citizen. She spoke in both English and Spanish during the interview - English to me and Spanish with my fiance. Her Spanish was not very good - so I felt like she was happy to speak English with me. She looked through all our papers and asked the following questions...
To my fiance (in Spanish):
-where do you work?
-have you traveled to other countries? how long was your trip?
-have you ever been a part of the communist party?
-she asked about the specifics of an item on his police report..how old he was when it happened, what was his punishment, etc
To me (in English):
-when did you meet?
-how many times have you returned to cuba to visit?
-do you speak Spanish?
She excused herself from the interview room and came back with a man who reviewed my fiance's police report. This man said that we would need to bring back additional documentation related to an item appearing on my fiance's report. We brought the correct police report but they wanted to see additional documents (court sentencing documents). I was not aware that they would need court documents - so I did not tell my fiance to bring them. If your fiance/spouse has something on their police report...make sure you bring the related court sentencing documents with you to the interview. My fiance's incident with the police was for something very minor that happened over 13 years ago...and they still wanted to see the court sentencing documents.
The lady interviewing us said that she had no doubts about our relationship and believed it to be genuine but we would need to bring back the required documents before they could make the final determination for our visa. It was very disappointing - but I understand that they have to follow certain procedures.
At the end of the interview we were given a document that had several check box options on it. If you are approved - they check the box that says approved and lists the date you can return to pick up the visa (one week after the interview for K1). The box checked on ours stated they could not issue the visa and listed the documents we needed to bring back. The letter is a pass to get back into the Interests Section office to either pick up your visa or return with requested documents. Like I mentioned, the letter will list a specific date to return if your visa is approved. If you need to provide additional documents, the letter says that you can return to the office any day Monday-Thursday to provide the requested info. So it will not be necessary for us to schedule a second interview date.
Documents I brought: relationship evidence (call logs, email logs, phone recharges, photos, evidence of visits to cuba - boarding passes/passport stamps) and the I-134 affidavit of support and related documents (employer letter, tax documents, bank statements). The relationship evidence I brought from from my NOA1 date to the interview date...since I had already submitted relationship evidence with my I-129F application.
Documents my fiance brought: medical examination results, birth certificate, police report (antesedente penales), acta de solteria, passport, and two passport photos with white background. From our experience - nothing needed to be translated (police report, birth certificate, acta de solteria) from spanish to english for the interview.
Other things to note:
-The interviewer had a print out of my facebook page - which i DID NOT submit with the application.
-there is a small store/cafe across the street from the park where you wait in the morning. there are also some tables next to the cafe. so you can purchase food and drinks while you are waiting outside.
-the interview waiting room (where you will spend the most of your time...4 hours for us) has a bathroom and a water cooler. but there are not any other drinks or snacks available for purchase. i would recommend eating right before you come in or bringing some small snacks. my fiance and i were starving while we waited!
-no cell phones are allowed in the Interests Section office. If you are a US citizen, they allow you to check your phones at the security gate. You can return after your interview to pick it up. However, they do not offer this service for Cuban citizens. So if your fiance is going to the interview alone, I would recommend leaving the cell phone at home.
-No envelopes are allowed in the office. However, you are allowed to bring in clear plastic envelopes (similar to accordion folders). I was not aware of this - but I apparently missed the memo because everyone and their mother had their documents in a plastic envelope. There was a lady selling the plastic envelopes in the park (50 cuban pesos) but we opted to just carry our documents in our hands.
-You are allowed to bring purses into the office. I was worried that I might not be able to bring my purse in - but that was not the case. They looked through my bag at security but I was allowed to bring it in.
-Prior to the interview, my fiance did not go to the office to pick up the "packet 3" document, as the full list of documents required are listed on the interests section website. I emailed the office and confirmed that physically picking up the document was optional.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #15293