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| Egypt |  Review on January 16, 2016: |
kyrachos
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
We arrived at the embassy around 6:30AM (for a 7:30 appointment) and a man corralled everybody into an area across the street from the embassy. Nobody formed lines and everybody stood around waiting. If this is a regular occurrence, I advise not arriving before 6:50 or so because there is no point in arriving earlier if no lines are formed to save your place. Around 7:05, the man "released" everybody and approximately half of the 40 or so people who had gathered RAN to the entrance to take the best place in line. Immigrant visa applicants were on one side and non-immigrant on the other. I counted ~5 immigrant families (including us) and the rest arrived between 7:10 and 7:30. We were the third family in line.
A little later than 7:30, the guards asked to see papers (interview appointment and document delivery) and pictures. The first family didn't have their Aramex paper and were forced out of line. The second family didn't have the right size pictures and were sent away to redo them (I believe there is a shop across the street). My husband and I were prepared, so we ended up being the first of the immigrant line to go in.
We arrived in the waiting area and took our ticket at exactly 8:00AM. Around 8:15, our number was called and we went to the window to submit our original documents. The Egyptian woman was very curt and cold. She didn't ask for the documents in the same order that they appeared on the P4 letter. My husband asked her if she wanted both our marriage contract (from the Ministry of Justice) and the notarized translation from the embassy (that we had done a few months after we got married). She just kept repeating "marriage contract, marriage contract!!" in Arabic and shrugging her shoulders until my husband handed her the MOJ version. She handed us back about 30 pages from our file (translations that we submitted with our AOS/IV documents, a USPS mailing envelope...?, cover letters/tables of contents, a few other things that they apparently didn't want). She started reviewing my AOS packet and asked me if my joint sponsor was X. I told her that I wanted to cancel the joint sponsorship and was submitting an updated I-864 and "intent to reestablish domicile" papers (as I lived in Egypt throughout the whole process). She started going through it (after handing me back the cover letter/table of contents) and INSISTED that it was the same as the old packet. I told her that it wasn't and mentioned what was updated. She again INSISTED that it was the same. I told her again that it wasn't, and she begrudgingly stapled it and added it to our file. Then she sent us back to our seats.
We were called for the interview at 9:10. When we left the embassy completely, it was 9:22. The interview was as follows (to the best of my memory):
CO: When did you arrive in Egypt?
Me (petitioner): Month, Day, 2014
CO: Oh, so a little before your wedding. Did your family attend?
Me: No, (explanation).
CO: Oh, you will have to have a party in the US! And do you still work for X company?
Me: Yes.
CO: When did you meet your husband?
Me: We met in Month, 2011, but we started a relationship in Month, 2012.
CO (to husband/beneficiary): Can you tell me how you met your wife?
Husband: *several sentence long explanation* Also, I have some old pictures that I can show you--
CO: Yes, I'd like to see them. But you two are young; those are /not/ old pictures! (with a smile)
Husband (after giving him the pictures): Would you like me to explain them for you?
CO: No, I am trained to review these. (after looking at them, he pulled out my new "intent to reestablish domicile" documents and read the cover letter and flipped through the packet for about 15 seconds)
CO: Even though you don't have kids, I can tell you have kids! (referring to our pets  )
Me: (laughing) They are the loves of my life!
CO: OK, I just want to ask you about your I-864. It's a little complicated.
Me: Yes, sorry about that.
CO: So, you are now earning $xx,xxx per year? Do you have any proof of that?
Me: Yes, I included a letter of employment with the AOS packet and I've been working for the company for 2 years. My rate was increased on [recent date] due to my relocation to the US. (My previous rate was below the AOS poverty requirements.)
CO: OK, but do you have any recent pay stubs? I want to see that you are actually earning this rate.
Me: Yes, I've only received one since the change, but I included my recent invoices and pay stubs.
CO: (silently reviews AOS papers for about 1 minute) OK, it all looks good! Congratulations, you're approved. Did you receive a pamphlet (about domestic violence) like this one and did you read it?
Husband: I, uh, well, I glanced at it, but I was nervous and uh--
CO: (smiling) Yes, sir, I am Egyptian. 
We all laughed, thanked him, and gathered our stuff and left.
As long as you are a genuine couple, you are prepared, and you are honest, you have nothing to worry about. I highly recommend both spouses to attend if at all possible. I included as many details in this review as I could because I was definitely nervous that my domicile/updated AOS documents wouldn't be accepted (as I have been living abroad for years and I only very recently was able to meet the poverty guidelines requirement), so I hope this helps some people going through Cairo who had similar worries. My domicile documents included:
* letter stating I would be living with a specific relative
* pay stubs showing that my checks are sent to that address
* bank statements with that address
* student loan bill with that address
* plane ticket for ~1 month from interview date showing that a pet would also be in cargo
* pet's microchip registration showing the same US address
* pet's "pet passport" and vaccination records (requirement for US travel)
* pet's recent health certificate from vet (requirement for US import and Egypt export)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #18758