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| Tokyo, Japan |  Review on December 22, 2018: |
GingerDino
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Tokyo Embassy is a strange place. We walked from our hotel next door to the Embassy, we saw a security guard before getting to the front gate, he checked our interview letter...and gave us a folder containing international phone call advertisement?? Capitalism at its finest.
As most professional establishments in Japan, everyone had been professional and polite since we walked into the gate. No one was yelling at people to intimidate others like TSA/CBP officers at some airports in the US. As soon as we walked into the office building, Embassy staff greeted us with a smile and instructed us on the next steps. Another staff then handed us a number for our case.
Tokyo Embassy designates Mondays to process immigrant visa interviews, naturally everyone was there for the same reason. Our interview time was at 8:30, however, it seems to be merely a time slot the Embassy assigns to applicants. We were among the first group of interviewees as our case was very promptly expedited. The second group came in soon after the first group had submitted their documents, as I observed.
We were called three times: first time was for submitting necessary documents, second time was for fingerprinting, third time was the actual interview. As soon as we submitted our documents, the staff placed a piece of hot pink paper on top of our case file, assuming for expedited cases. The staff who did fingerprinting was very friendly and approachable. Unfortunately the interviewer was a very stern white man in his 40s.
All the basic questions were asked, such as my wife’s full name, birthday, hobbies, and where we met each other. He paid very close attention to each document in the case file, flipping through each page as I stood there. However, he did not notice our joint sponsor’s documents at the bottom until I pointed it out. As soon as he read through our joint sponsor’s paperwork, he said “Thank you for your patience. Congratulations, it has been approved.†The interview itself wasn’t long, most of it was the interviewer reading through the case documents page after page. The interviewer was serious, but fairly professional. Except he referred to the United States as “Americaâ€. I didn’t expect any slang to be used in the interview, and I didn’t want to correct him as he had the authority to make the final decision.
We arrived at the Embassy at 8:20, left around 11:30. Overall, Tokyo Embassy is very efficient in processing paperwork and fairly easy to communicate with. Attorney removal was done in a timely manner as well. The interview was on Monday, my passport was at my door by Wednesday morning.
PS. Would not recommend staying at Intercontinental ANA Crown Plaza hotel next door.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #25253