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| Zimbabwe |  Review on August 29, 2019: |
Bruce Chimani
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
In order to expedite processing of applications, the Embassy asks all applicants to submit all the requested original documents and evidence of marriage (or other related documents) for prescreening at least a week before the interview.
My wife and I didn't submit them on time because there was some miscommunication/misunderstanding, and I was out of the country, so they were kind enough to allow us to submit on a Monday when the interview was on Thursday.
On the day, we arrived with my wife, and I asked the guard if she could come in. He said it wouldn't be a problem as this was "her home country's embassy" - as long as she has her passport. Another guard called again, just to check, and we were both allowed in. We then did the security check and got inside. Once we were inside, there were about 15 people there and I was the third person called up to a window by a Zimbabwean lady who collected my passport and asked me to go to the next window for fingerprints (biometrics). The American gentleman doing this was very pleasant and very funny. Which sort of calms the nerves, if you know what I mean. He then told me to wait to be called up for the interview. I sat down as the first person to be interviewed went up. Right after she was done, I was called up to the window.
The consular explained to me the oath and asked if I agreed with it before I proceeded to get fingerprints taken as a form of "signature" for the oath I had taken.
She then proceeded to look at the stack of pictures we had submitted. She was very personable calling some of them "cute", and telling us me looked good together.
She then asked me the following questions as she listened and typed:
1. Is that your wife seating out there? How did you and your wife meet?
2. When you were denied the Visitors Visa, were you wanting to go and see her?
3. When she came in 2017, were you already dating?
4. When did you propose?
5. Looks like the whole family came for the wedding, right?
6. Where was the wedding?
She was doing this while she flipped through all the paperwork we had submitted. Then she said: "Sometimes you have cases where you have doubts about a relationship. But in this case, I have none at all. So that is all good. But since your wife isn't working at the moment, and I see you have a joint sponsor here, but will she work? What does she do? Since you work in the church field, do you already have something lined up in the US? We do not want you to rely on the government and be a public charge."
By the way, this lady was very nice and polite while asking all this. Might sound "harsh" here, but it was very sincere, warm and professional.
I must say, I was prepared for this. I already have a job offer, so I answered her questions and asked if I could show her my job offer. She looked at it, asked some questions about it, typed some more. She then asked me about my police clearances - if I had only stayed in Zimbabwe and South Africa. I answered positively.
She typed some more. Then said the beautiful words: Everything looks good to me. Congratulations and good luck. Your passport with your Visa will be ready for collection next Thursday at 2PM.
That was it!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #26967