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| Senegal |  Review on April 22, 2015: |
cloclo2
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Medical:
We did the medical about 2 weeks in advance. Went to Dr. Rahmi, he saw my husband and step-daughter for just a few minutes and gave them the prescriptions to go get the chest x-ray and blood test and then we made an appointment for the next day to see him again. Chest x-ray is just a few blocks away, they did it and then we waited about an hour for the results. Took a taxi to get the blood test done at Institut Pasteur. That took about 30 minutes but the results aren't ready until the next day. The actual appointment with Dr. Rahmi lasted over an hour. He asked a bunch of medical history questions, filled out the forms, and did a physical exam. Then my husband and step-daughter got 1 shot each (the vaccines they were missing). Dr. Rahmi gave us a sealed envelope and that was it!
Interview day:
We arrived around 6 am (appt at 7). At first, it seems very disorganized because there are dozens of people just standing across the street, not in line or anything. But if you ask around, there is a sign up list. I was NOT allowed in the embassy with my husband and step-daughter. I guess they never allow the petitioner. Only exceptions would be if you need a translator. He went to the first window (outside) and showed his P4 letter, passport photos, and passport. You can't bring anything into the embassy with you- even the messenger bag which was holding all of our documents. So he gave me his phone, bag, etc to hold while he went in with just the binders. There are a few shops down the street where you can leave your phone and pay a small fee, just in case you don't have someone to hold it for you.
My husband was the first in line and he was done in about 1.5 hours. He said that it was mostly spent waiting around. The interview was short maybe 5 minutes, he said the CO was a very nice woman, she asked him maybe a dozen questions about us and looked through our pictures. I had sent him in with 3 huge binders. They only wanted to see the original birth certificates, marriage certificate, police certificates, and pictures. She told him that she just needed a week to verify his court record and she handed him a 221g paper.
Result:
The next week they called and told us to bring the passports on Thursday. Took about an hour to drop the passports off. Were given green tickets and told to come back on Tuesday. No official word about approval- keeping us on the edge of our seats 
We came the next Tuesday to pick things up. Waited inside for 2.5 hours and they told him they were closing for the day and we'd have to come back next Tuesday. So it delayed us another week. Came back the following Tuesday, he waited inside for a little over an hour and was finally given the sealed envelopes with the passports/visas.
He said that the Senegalese workers were not very friendly but the American CO who interviewed him was really nice and even joked with him. I found the Dakar embassy is pretty good at responding to emails within 48 hours, but they usually just give you the formulaic responses. All in all, an okay experience.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #16652