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| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |  Review on August 7, 2017: |
elle.and.elle
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My fiancee and I had our interview and visa approval a couple of weeks ago. This review is based on what I can still remember.
Our interview was scheduled for 8am, we got there at 7:30 as the instructions said not to arrive more than 20 minutes early or 20 minutes late. I told my fiancee it was OK to be a little early based on what I've read but she was insistent that we followed instructions and of course, when we got there, we were one of the last to come in. I almost felt like if we came 20 minutes late, we wouldn't have had to wait as long as the majority of the morning appointments all came early and the lines would have died down a bit if we came late.
So we arrive at 7:30 and there was a crowd across the street by the lawn. Security was directing people over there and we made the mistake of following the crowd as we came "late" so the line to wait at the embassy outside had already gone in. Turns out the crowd across the street is for student visas. Visitor and immigration interviews were allowed in. Before going into the building, the security guards outside checked our passports and appointment letter. Once we got inside, there was a line for security with about 10 people ahead of us. We were also handed a half sheet a paper to fill out from the EMS lady who was monitoring the queue. She reminded us that once we get inside, numbers will not be called in order and that's expected.
Next stop was security where we checked in our cell phones. I didn't bring a backpack as instructions said they weren't allowed, but I did see others who were allowed to bring in small backpacks. Would have been helpful for our evidence binder. As we came later than others, we didn't have to wait to long to get through security. We then proceeded to the EMS table where they checked something, I don't recall what it was. I do remember the EMS lady at the table was very rude as she yelled at me stand back and only the beneficially needed to be standing at the table.
We came inside where there is another line for her to stand in to get her fingerprints and a number. I sat down and waited for her. This took about 30 minutes. We waited about another 30 minutes after for them to call us up to the first window where they took our required paperwork which included the I-134, birth certificates, household registry book, and her passport. The person at the window was a young Vietnamese man. My only complaint with him was that he did make a shocking facial expression when looking at my tax transcript which I thought was a bit unprofessional, but otherwise pleasant experience. He did not have a demanding demeanor like some of the other employees I saw there. Because we had all our paperwork organized well, it didn't take very long for us at the first window. I did see some people who were there for quite some time. My fiancee also heard while she was waiting to get her fingerprints that windows 1-12 was for paperwork and 13-20 was for interviews.
We sat back down and waited for our number to be called again for the interview. While the numbers were not called in order for turning in the paperwork, it seemed like for the interview, they were more in order. There were some out of sequence, but overall, in ascending order. We waited for a long time and decided not to sit on the side closer to the interview windows as there were too many people over there and it was pretty hot in the building. They don't have A/C, just ceiling fans. Eventually we were called up, I purposely walked up to the interview window with her. The interviewer was a young African American male, asked who I was, and then told me I can sit down and he'll call me up if he needed anything from me. My fiancee speaks English and preferred to do her interview in English, but she had problems hearing the interviewer as he spoke with the soft voice and the microphone was pointed at the translator. She was asked 3 questions:
1) How did you guys meet?
2) What do I do for a living?
3) What evidence did you bring in?
I sat close enough to the window to hear my fiancee answer the questions. She was so nervous that she spoke really fast. For question three, he wanted to look at the oldest evidence we had instead of what's recent to show that we've been dating for awhile. She showed him our chat logs, but forgot to show our pictures taken together from my visits. Interview was over in 3 minutes or so, and we were approved.
A few things about our case, we're a same sex couple and did not experience any type of discrimination from anyone working at the Consulate which was very nice. We've never been married before and also have not come out to our families as we're both Vietnamese and our parents and culture are not as open. Because we're not out, we did not have an engagement party. We also did not have any pictures with friends or family which was OK. I did not front load our I-129, just provided enough evidence of us meeting.
Overall, I felt the interview was fair. I did see a lot of people who got blue slips who did and didn't have the petitioner with them. Also did see people who came alone who were approved. I think the interviewer does have an opinion about your case prior to interviewing, and the interview is just to help solidify the decision, or to change their opinion. Come prepared, be honest, and you'll be approved.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #22301