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| Chile |  Review on December 17, 2014: |
Molly&Juan
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
So here goes...
Overall our experience was very good. The beginning was much as others have described it. We arrived 5 minutes before 2pm and waited for them to let us in the door. We gave our names and walked through the screening then into a beautiful courtyard. We followed the signs to the hall where the interviews were to be conducted, checked in with a lady then waited to be called.
My husband was called up to the first window and I went with him. Then lady asked if I was Molly, then said I could sit down for this part. "This is the boring stuff. You are welcome to stand with him during the interview though." She was very nice to me. I sat down and waited while they talked in Spanish. There were quite a few questions, including when and where we met (my husband NEVER remembers so he actually turned around and asked me what year we met). She asked about his entries and previous visa to the US. This part took about 15 minutes. Then he sat down again and we waited to be called for the interview.
I was thinking we would be going to an office, but it was just conducted standing in front of a window, like at a bank. The CO was very nice and spoke English right away. He asked a couple of questions, and he asked me how we met. I said "Am I supposed to answer?" He said "Sure." So it was very casual.He asked me what work I did and I told him I'm a nurse in the ICU. He said his brother is a PA for cardiac surgeons so we both work wight he same kind of patients. He was a very nice guy, very patient and he really listened to us.
So he then asked about the issues my husband had previously with immigration stuff. He was denied entry once because they said they thought he had worked on a previous visitor visa, and there were a couple of other minor things as well. So we explained everything (which we had also done on the DS-260, but we knew they would ask about all of it).
Once we had explained everything the CO said "Well there are a few hits that I will have to take care of, but I don't think it should be a problem. It may take me couple of weeks but I don't think there should be a problem issuing the visa." He told us very clearly the things that needed to be addressed. Of course he didn't tell us that we were approved, so I asked when we could expect to hear. He said if you don't hear from us by Monday (1 week) shoot us an email.
So we left, and it seemed all very positive, but because there was no definite "YES" we were both very hesitant to be excited. So the next Monday was actually the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which meant it was a holiday for everyone, including the embassy. So I emailed them but didn't hear from them until the next day. They said "The visa is not ready yet. Please allow 5-10 business days..." Of course we thought.. Ready yet??? Does that mean it's been approved but it's just not ready yet??? Because we had still not received a definitive YES.
So we had originally though it would be great if we got approved and got the visa right away and he could fly back with me, but by then it was clearly not going to happen. I had to leave Wednesday. So the waiting continued and we were hoping to hear by Monday.... Then Tuesday (10 business days). I had sent an email Monday but didn't get a response. Tuesday was a terrible day full of tears when I realized it was past 5 in Chile and we wouldn't hear anything that day.
So I was preparing myself for another long day of waiting and hoping when my husband texted and asked if I had gotten an email... They sent him an email telling his the visa had been printed and he could pick it up on Friday! So strange! We have been waiting for so long, it is very surreal to have things be coming to an end. Over all a very good experience. Now to get through POE.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #15807