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| Panama |  Review on August 19, 2019: |
TandClaudia
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My biggest take-aways:
• Bring a paper copy of the P4 email with you. My fiancée’s name wasn’t on the list as having an interview that day and having that printout was the only reason why we were not turned away.
• If the beneficiary has long hair, please read the passport photo instructions closely, and make sure that his/her ears are visible in the photo.
• Bring cash, just in case. $5 bills, $1 bills, or “moneda.†There’s a machine for passport photos that accepts bills, and there’s also a vending machine. The Security Guards there are very nice and helpful, but they don’t always have change.
• Organize your documents in the manner that they request you to do so in the P4 email. If you can find an “accordion style†folder with the tabs, that is very helpful.
• Bring a book, magazine, or a sketchpad. They don’t get in a hurry to do ANYTHING there. ïŠ
• Be prepared for opened ended questions, and listen to the questions fully before answering.
Our appointment was on Thursday August 15, 2019 at 1pm CST.
We arrived at the Embassy at 12:30. This is the rainy season in Panama, and thankfully, there was a canopy for us to stand under while we waited for the green light to walk up the hill.
We went through a security checkpoint with metal detectors, and they took any electronics, and liquid that people brought with them. They gave you a number for you to collect your items later.
You will exit the checkpoint, walk another 200 meters, and enter another building. This is the main building where the interview takes place, and yes, there’s another security checkpoint and metal detector.
We were asked to go to the ticket machine past the checkpoint, press the third button, get a ticket, and then wait near window number 9 for our number to be called.
My fiancée was told that not enough of her ears were showing in the photos that she used for the medical appointment, and they asked her to go and take another photo, take another number, and then come back. She wasn’t the only person that this happened to.
The lady in front of us had the same issue. The security guard was nice enough to let her borrow/use a “hair tie,†so she could take the correct type of photo. I thought that was very nice.
After getting the passport photos corrected, our number was called, we presented all of the requested documents from the P4 email, my fiancée was given the domestic abuse pamphlet, they kept her passport and we were asked to wait until her name was called.
When her name was finally called, I went to the window with her. The Embassy Officer didn’t ask me to leave, so I assumed that he wanted me there as well.
He proceed to attempt to validate her fingerprints, and the machine would not read her prints. After 10 attempts over the course of the next 5 minutes, he asked us to sit down for a moment.
Our names were called again, and the officer was able to successfully take my fiancee’s fingerprints prior to starting the interview. He asked if she wanted the interview in English or Spanish, and he spoke to me in both English and Spanish.
The questions were very open ended, and the officer seemed to be more interested in my fiancee’s body language and facial expressions rather than the actual answers. He also made lots of correct statements, followed by incorrect assumptions, with the expectation of us correcting him.
Eg: You’re from Venezuela, correct? Yes. Caracas, right? No.
Tell me about the city where you were born.
Tell me about your Fiancee.
Does he live in a house or an apartment.
Tell me about his house.
Have you ever been there?
After 5 minutes of questioning her, he asked me a few questions about my house and my fiancée. He then asked us to have a seat. I assume that he was looking at our I-129F to verify her answers. 2 minutes later, he called us back to the window, said that we were approved, and said that her visa should be ready in 5 to 10 days. I gave my fiancée a big kiss and we left.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #26883