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| Bucharest, Romania |  Review on October 2, 2014: |
AnnaMaria
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
First, I would like to say that this embassy holds true to its reputation of excellence.
My wife's appointment was at 13:00 on Oct 1st, 2014 and since I have been living with her in Romania since 2013, I was allowed to join her at the interview. Every person we encountered working at the embassy was polite, professionalism, and genuinely helpful. Our case was expedited and we provided exactly what the requested from our AoS and IV Packet and it went very smoothly.
A quick timeline of the events.
12:15 - Arrived at embassy and asked to wait across the straight until called.
12:50 - Security collected passports and called in two people at a time for security screening
13:10 - Wife's named called at Window #2 to provide AoS documents, and IV Documents. They did not request any supporting documents at this time.
13:20 - Lady at Window #2 asked me, the petitioner if I would pay the IV Fee at Window #12 while she continued to collect my wife's documents.
13:30 - Documents accepted and fee's paid, asked to take a seat until called.
13:50 - We were called to Window #11 where our interviewing officer was waiting. I missed his name because I was a few seconds behind my wife carrying all of our files. He gave off an incredibly welcoming energy. He was friendly, smiling, and asked my wife some basic questions and then turned the rest of the interview time to me inquiring about why I have been living in Romania. I explained I am disabled and I wanted to be with my wife throughout this process. He asked me if I had served in Iraq or Afghanistan while in the Army, and he asked me about my income and if my Joint Sponsor was OK with helping us out if needed. After no more than 5-10 questions between both of us, he typed something in the computer and said "everything looks good here, we just need to do the final security check, which we should have back by tomorrow, and you should be able to pick up your Visa as early as Friday." I was confused it that was an AP statement or an approval so I asked "Sir, i'm just curious, but are we approved or do you need to do further processing." He stated "Oh, yes you have been approved, this is just necessary for all approved visa's and shouldn't take very long."
They kept my wife's passport and we said our goodbyes to the interviewing officer, and spent the rest of the day astonished at how smooth things were. We had been planning things for around 7 months and it was like a huge weight off our shoulders.
I can say this much, they did not take or look at ONE SINGLE PIECE of our supporting documents for bona fide marriage. Probably because we had about 100+ items to show them, but my wife offered to show our pictures and he said "I appreciate you bringing them, but I can see that you two are just fine."
If you are Romanian or will be working with this embassy, all I can say is that you are in for a pleasant experience after the NVC and USCIS. The embassy responded to ALL of my e-mails within 24 hours (Usually only a couple of hours during working hours) and they upheld the most excellent business standards I have seen in a long time. Once we have the visa in hand, I plan on writing a formal letter to the consulate thanking him about the experience and praising them for their professional behavior and positive attitude.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #15310