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| Islamabad, Pakistan |  Review on March 25, 2017: |
mastercard
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
My wife's interview was scheduled for March 1 but the day before that the Islamabad government decided to declare a surprise holiday. I only found out when I happened to check my junk email folder right before I was about to leave for the 3 hour drive to the Embassy. I received an email from aeg.com.pk saying our interview had been rescheduled for March 28. Needless to say I was upset.
I tried calling the embassy to see if it was possible to get an earlier date but I just got rudely hung up on. I sent them a message thru the website and they replied that the date couldn't be changed.
I then contacted my Senator thru his website but I had fill out a release form which I didn't bother with because I figured there wasn't anything he could do anyway. But on March 8 I received an email from his office telling me to send the release form and they will look at my case. So I sent in the form.
Lo and behold on March 17 I received a reply from the Senator with a new interview letter from the US Embassy for March 20. Now I wish I had sent in the letter to the Senator earlier.
So on March 20 my wife, my newborn daughter, and I went to Islamabad for the interview. The first time they called us to the window they took my wife's fingerprints, 2 passport photos, and the interview letter. They also ask for 2 phone numbers for the courier service. Make sure you give good numbers because they will call you when your passport is ready for pickup.
The second time they asked for my wife's original birth certificate, the original Urdu Nikah Nama (marriage certificate), the sealed medical report, and my wife's passport. They didn't ask for any other documents from the checklists nor for any photocopies. They also told us we should apply for a CRBA for our daughter. We told them in fact we already did and already have her passport. And my wife told him to do her interview in Urdu.
We came to the window for the third time for the interview. It was a white American gentleman who spoke perfect Urdu. He was very friendly and smiling throughout. The first thing he said was congratulations for our daughter. He asked to see her birth certificate. I asked if he wanted the CRBA and he said that would be perfect. He carefully checked the names on the CRBA with our Visa forms. I think at this point he was satisfied and the interview was just a formality. He also asked to see my passport. I brought a whole bundle of documents and photos but he never asked to see any of it. He gave my wife an oath in English which I don't think she even understood but she answered Yes. He also took my wife's fingerprints again. He told me to sit down while he interviewed my wife.
Some of the questions he asked:
What city does your husband live in?
What state does your husband live in?
When was your wedding?
Where was your wedding?
Was it an arranged marriage or a love marriage?
Are you cousins?
Where do you live?
Have you ever been outside the country?
Were all the documents you gave for your daughter's CRBA correct?
Can you please call your husband?
He said visa is approved and asked what I did in the US. He also gave back my wife's birth certificate and the Nikah Nama (both folded in half, grrr). I asked whether the courier would call us and he said yes. He also told us Good Luck.
Later that day the CEAC status showed Administrative Processing. The next day on March 21 it showed Issued. We got a call on March 24 at about 10am from the local courier office saying the passport was ready for pick up. They told us to bring my wife's ID card and a photocopy. At the office he took the photocopy and my wife had to sign a couple of receipts. We also had to pay 850 rupees delivery fee. We received the passport with the visa and the sealed Immigrant packet.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #21593