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| Costa Rica |  Review on April 16, 2019: |
N & Nancy
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
My wife’s interview at the US Embassy in San Jose went very smoothly. I also attended without any problem. The appointment was at 1pm, and we arrived a little after 12pm just to be safe. Just follow the instructions you are sent (no electronics, bags etc.) and entry is easy. There was only one family in front of us, and one couple behind us, at the entrance. We waited about 10 minutes and then the guards checked our appointment letter, our IDs, and let us in.
We proceeded through the security line, past an atrium, and into the waiting room. There are about 10 DMV style windows, with only one being used. There were several USCs getting passport renewals and other services in one section, and CR citizens applying for visas on the other side of the room. We pulled a number from and were called almost immediately to the window.
The first person that we spoke to only collected our paperwork (medical packet, Correo de Costa Rica registration, marriage cert, birth cert, and police cert in our case). She also took my collection of photos for bone fide evidence. She was extremely polite and completely bi-lingual. She explained the entry process to my wife; specifically, that she didn’t require the sealed packet upon entry at the POE, since everything is electronic in CR.
My wife’s first birth certificate had been rejected by CEAC. We were specifically asked for the rejected document by the document number. Fortunately, I had both the accepted and rejected versions with me. After about 10 minutes of processing we sat down and waited for the CO.
We were called to another widow, after about 45 minutes, for my wife’s interview with the CO. He was very friendly, polite, and was also completely bi-lingual. I had “side-loaded†in the NVC process with lots of pictures, passport stamps, and tickets. I’m not sure if that helped, but we were not asked for any additional information. The CO was bilingual and spoke to me in English, after asking if I spoke Spanish (I do but it’s not great). My wife’s interview was completely in Spanish, but he asked us both questions:
- How did we meet?
- When and where were we married?
- What does my wife do for a living?
- What do I do for a living?
- Where in the US do I live?
- He looked through the pictures (with family, wedding, and trips together) and asked a couple of questions. I mentioned that I had visited 6 times since the wedding and we had two trips in two foreign countries together.
- What does my wife plan to do in the US for work?
I may be forgetting one or two, but all the questions were straightforward. He then said everything was in order and she was approved! Here passport/visa was received at a Correo de Costa Rica office 4 business days later.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #26003