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| Frankfurt, Germany |  Review on April 4, 2019: |
ACook
Rating:  | Review Topic: O-1 Visa
I went to the Frankfurt consulate for my O1 visa. I am a UK resident but German citizen, due to some not so positive stories about the London embassy I decided to have my interview in Germany. This should be an option for most EU citizens, I think. Just keep in mind that you'll have to stay in the country until you get your passport back!
Appointment: After my USCIS approval it took 2 days to get an appointment in Frankfurt.
Travel: Interview times are scheduled for the mornings, I arrived the night before and stayed in a hotel nearby. Villa am Wasserpark, nice hotel, affordable, 8 minute walk to the embassy.
Wait time: When I arrived at 9.10am for my 10am appointment there was a long line for security OUTSIDE the building. It was only 3 degrees that day and the wait was over an hour, so dress warm. Don't worry about arriving late. Everyone had to wait longer than they thought and we were reassured that appointment times are for when you show up at the consulate and register you're there, not for when you get inside. They kept repeating: You can't miss your appointment. Times are only given out to regulate the overall number of people showing up.
When you get there you have to go to a window to get a number and register. You show them your passport and DS-160 confirmation. After you have to stand in line with everyone who is applying for a visa, there's a separate line for US citizen business. This line is to get in the door and through the security check. They only take 5 people every 5 minutes and are more thorough than TSA. You can't bring big bags or larger electronic items. On the website it says you can't bring your phone but some people did. They had to switch it off and leave it in a box at the security checkpoint. I left all my things at the hotel.
Once inside you go to a counter to show your documents (i-797, DS-160 confirmation, passport, passport photo no older than 6 months!). The guy at my counter was already very nice. My photo was a year old so I had to go take new pictures. There's a machine there and it costs 6 Euros. He told me to come straight back to his window. He scans the photo and gives them back to you. He checked the i-797 and handed that with my passport and a sticker with my case number back to me.
Next up is fingerprints. Super quick. You then get to line up in separate lines for immigrant and non-immigrant visas.
My line was very short. My interviewer was incredibly nice and friendly. It was more like a friendly chat with a few questions to do with my visa and then we talked about things we had in common. He then checked my petition on his computer briefly, said "good luck!" and told me it'll be about a week until I get my passport and visa back.
It took 4 business days until it arrived via UPS.
All in all I spent just over an hour waiting outside. Once inside I waited for maybe 10 minutes, interview was 5 minutes and I was done. Everyone was very friendly and it was a great experience.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #25927