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| Hong Kong, China |  Review on July 25, 2018: |
acnickell
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
I had a very easy time at the Hong Kong Consulate and was very happy with how accommodating they were for my situation. First of all, I received my interview date via email and it was set for July 13th 2018. This date actually collided with a wedding of a best friend that was July 12th 2018 in Alabama US. I quickly emailed the consulate to ask them to arrange an earlier interview date for me. I was extremely surprised when 3 days later they emailed to tell me that they had re-arranged my interview for July 5th 2018. I had actually thought that they would deny my request, but thought that I would at least ask to see what would happen, so I was so happy that they were able and willing to do this for me even though it wasn't a life or death reason to change date. I also prayed hard for this so thank God for his perfect help.
I arrived at the embassy for an 8:30 am appointment. You first have to go through security, much like an airport, and surrender your mobile phone to them during your time at the embassy. They give it back to you at the end.
I walked into a small waiting room with about 4-5 other applicants, and was shortly called up to the desk window by a male Chinese immigration worker to hand in my documents (passports, police certificates, medical report, evidence of marriage...) I then was told to sit down to wait again, probably for 30 minutes.
I was then called up again by a lovely female Chinese immigration worker. She completed a sort of pre-interview with me. She also gave me a pamphlet to read on my rights concerning domestic violence in the US and asked me whether it was okay for the consulate to keep my passport for 10 days to put the visa in. Again, because of the wedding I mentioned above, I asked her whether I would be able to receive my passport back earlier than their usual processing time. She asked me why, and then happily told she would try her best to complete the visa and place it in my passport within only two working days. She told me that she would not send me my passport via courier, but that she would call me and allow me to come and pick up my passport directly from her as well. This was such perfect news for me, and she was extremely kind and very accommodating. Again thank you Jesus! I then was told to sit down and wait again for the US immigration officer to arrive for the interview.
My interview was conducted by an American female immigration officer. She was also very kind. She asked me the same questions as the pre-interview and again the interview lasted only 5 minutes or so. She did tell me that my photos were not the best quality and told me to retake the photos. They have a photo booth at the consulate that will take two photos for 50 HKD, I went downstairs to do that and then returned to give her the photos. After this, she told me she needed nothing else from me and I should wait for my passport to be given back to me in a couple days.
Some questions asked of me were:
- Where is your husband now?
- Has he visited Hong Kong?
- Where have you previously lived other than Hong Kong?
- Why did you live there? How old were you? and what were you doing there?
- Where did you meet your husband?
- How did you meet?
- Where does your husband work?
- What did he study at University?
- What did you study at University?
My interview was Thursday July 5th, and I received a call around 11 am on Monday July 9th that I could come and pick up my passport! I booked a plane ticket for the next day and landed in the US on July 10th in the evening  SO even though the consulate is very strict about appointment dates on their website. I would definitely ask them about re-arranging your date if you really need too! They were very helpful to me!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #24304