|
|
| Algiers, Algeria |  Review on December 4, 2016: |
khtak716
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My fiance had his interview in Algiers on 11/28/16. He arrived early, and waited outside the embassy. They opened the doors at 7:30am. They do security checks when you first come in, and you can hand over your phone, at that time (you cannot take it in with you). The interview was supposed to begin at 8:30am, but he had to wait until around noon to be seen.
When he first went in at 7:30am, he had to wait about 10 minutes, then they told him to go to counter #1 to pay (this counter is the payment window/station; he paid 29200 DA). He showed his passport and the DS-160 confirmation and gave them his two 2x2 in. (5x5 cm.) pictures. Then he had to wait almost an hour for the next step.
After an hour someone called him to counter #2 to hand over all his paperwork (the new packet and medical records), and they took his fingerprints. (Counters #2-#4 are for paperwork/fingerprints.) Then he had to wait around 3 hours, until he was called to counter #7 (#5-#7 are for interviews).
The lady who interviewed him at counter #7 was very nice. My fiance was very nervous, but she put him at ease. She asked whether he could speak in English or would need translation. He said he could speak in English. Here are some of the questions she asked:
--Asked about what my job is
--Asked about how many brothers/sister I have
--Asked about who my parents are
--Asked if he ever met any of my family
--Asked if it was a problem for him that I am older than he is
--Asked about where we first met (we met on an online penpal site)
--Asked how he found me/why he chose to contact me on that site; asked what he first said to me (these were details we'd provided in our evidence)
--Showed him a Skype screenshot with a conversation we'd had and asked him to explain what the conversations was about.=
--Showed him Skype logs and asked if they were from me or from him
--Asked when we will marry
--Asked what his parents think of me
--Asked if he knew I was married before (and divorced, of course)
My fiance was approved for the K-1 Visa! We've been a couple for 16 months. We met online and started communicating every day, usually by Skype and FB messenger. I got a Skype subscription, as well, and he had phone data to call me. We had our first vacation in Tunisia after 9 months long distance. We got engaged then (knew we wanted to before the trip). I met his parents via Skype. We were able to submit our K-1 visa petition a little over a month later (it took some time to compile, because we 'front loaded' it with lots of info; I also included my plane flight info for the upcoming trip to Algeria to meet his family/friends--that trip took place 3 months after our first vacation together).
To note, I am 16 years older than my fiance, and we have had a mainly long-distance relationship with just to two vacations (around 8 days each), so we provided LOTS of evidence on our relationship in the initial petition and with the packet my fiance provided at the embassy. The packet he provided the embassy for the interview was about 7 cm thick! I made a Table of Contents for this that listed everything in it. Also, he took all his nervousness and just channeled that energy into being expressive about his feelings, in the interview. The lady interviewing him could obviously see his sincerity, and it was a friendly atmosphere.
At the end of the interview, she told my fiance to go meet with her colleague, who could explain the process of getting his passport back with the visa info. So he knew he was approved! He was so thankful and told her so. We are now waiting on and update on the CEAC site (https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx) to see when the visa is issued. They told him it could take up to 10 business days (around 15 days total). You have to have your DS-160 code to check the status. Once it says 'ISSUED' he can go to Algiers to get the passport with visa and packet he must bring to give to the custom's officer when he lands in the United States.
| |
|
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #20987