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| Tokyo, Japan |  Review on September 10, 2018: |
kikume
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I was very surprised that our case took the time it did with the embassy after the interview, because all other previous stages for us were so straightforward.
Note: The Tokyo Embassy was backed up for interview slots till end of July 2018 when I tried to book around mid-May. Luckily with obsessive site checking, a slot opened up in mid-June.
On the day of the interview, I first had to spend at least 10 mins discussing with the embassy staff explaining that I was indeed half Chinese, but did not have a Chinese name. And even though I was born and lived in Hong Kong before, I did not have a Hong Kong passport. They finally understood and let me proceed with the interview.
The interviewer was not pleasant to talk to - she spent the entire time focused on her computer, and cut me off if my answers were more than one or two words long. Then she put me on administrative processing stating I was missing documentation, i.e. my resume, my Master's Degree transcript and a copy of my Hong Kong ID card. I did not get an explanation on why this was needed! I found out later researching on my own that my degree was on the Technology Alert List. They kept my passport at the time.
Overall I was in administrative processing for just over a month. The lousy review is due to the fact that I was repeatedly requested to submit documentation in addition to the above. I submitted the following docs in the sequence below, and each time I had to cover costs myself:
- Family register (koseki tohon), original and translated, despite having already submitted my birth certificate
- Copies of all pages of all previous passports
I was also asked to resend my resume and copies of all pages of my current passport via email... I sent the former and called customer service to tell them, "You have my passport. How can I provide copies?" I lost count of how many times I had to say that before it went through to the rep. And then it took a few more days until the embassy waived that part.
THE REAL CHERRY ON TOP was when I received my visa and my nationality was printed as "HNK", which I assume is Hong Kong, but there are THREE problems with this!
1. I am a Japanese passport holder. I even have a different country visa inside said passport with the correct nationality printed. How can you get that wrong???
2. THERE IS NO SUCH THING. I believe Hong Kong passport holders are listed as Chinese now (British National Overseas pre-1997).
3. Even if there was such thing, it would be spelled as "HKG".
I was told to send my passport back to the embassy at my own cost, and also enclose a prepaid envelope for return shipping afterwards. At least the visa change was free. But it cost me a few 3-4 more days of accommodation waiting around for them to finish.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #24590