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| Sweden |  Review on December 22, 2019: |
ljujas2019
Rating:  | Review Topic: General Review
I had my CR-1/IR-1 interview on December 18, at 8:30 in the morning. I had had a very hectic the day before, and especially on the night of the 17th, so I ended up arriving to my hotel in Stockholm after midnight haha! I slept for five hours or so, then got up right away and got ready to leave the hotel. I checked out and left my luggage in the luggage room around 7:20 AM. This could be an important detail for you to note, those of you that have an appointment at the embassy coming up soon. You're not allowed to bring your luggage to the embassy, so try to find a place to store it or leave it with a friend/at the hotel/centralstation, etc., before leaving to go to the embassy. And by the way, for those of you who are concerned about transportation, getting an uber to the embassy was easy, and taxi services seem to always be accessible in this area, at every hour.
When I arrived to the embassy around 7:45 AM, there was a long line outside of the building already, with about 20+ people waiting in this glass-sealed open space. Most people had their appointments set even before my scheduled time, so I understood that most of the people around me had prioritized coming very early ahead of time, for their appointments. At first, I did not know what line to stand in, because I had read about two different systems, one for immigrant visas and one for non-immigrant visas. The queue of people I saw, however, was apparently for everyone. I walked up to the building at first, following some other people, but then realized rather quickly that this was only for staff haha!
Regarding the initial security check, I only brought a purse with my folder and wallet, to decrease the risk of experiencing any inconveniences. Everything went fine upon entering. They had called people up, one at a time, based on who was first in line ("next," "next," etc.). That's why it was a good idea to be one of the first people in line and to be there super early! Before entering, I had to take off my jacket, show the officer the bottoms of my shoes and to display my passport through the glass window. Then I was let in, and my stuff had to go through the security check, like at the airport. I had work and home keys in my wallet, so this was taken out and placed in a separate box, to be picked up after the interview. They also took my phone.
After this part, I was sent to the building closest to the front office/security building, following the yellow line for immigrant visas. I entered and was told to sit by a table and wait to be called up. There were other people in this waiting room, sitting in chairs and waiting for their number/name to be called, but I was sitting in a separate section of this room, at a table with only three other people. Perhaps, they also had the same application as me.I had to wait for the three people before me to submit their documents during the initial review when being called up the first time. When it was my turn, I had to submit my original documents, add financial documents upon request, and also proof of bonafide relationship. Everything went fine, and I had to wait for the second review.
This time, I had to wait much longer for my turn, about 1 hour. My case was called up, I entered the room, and was met by a very friendly face who welcomed me and asked me very basic questions about our relationship. We were discussing a financial document, and there was some kind of issue with a discrepency between the salary that my spouse had indicated in the I-864 vs as shown in the paystubs. However, I explained that there had been a salary increase since September, since my spouse has recently started a new position and is now making more money. This was accepted. The officer told me to just wait for my medical exam (which I had the week before) to reach the embassy, and that my passport will be sent back with my visa then. I was so happy!
After these good news, I got back all the documents I had submitted during the first review, except my passport, I believe. I was finished and good to go, went back to the security room to pick up my keys and phone, and then left the embassy area with a big smile on my face!! Don't worry everyone - this part was the easiest of them all throughout this long process of being far away from one's spouse and waiting abroad for a year. I wish you the best of luck, and please do not be nervous. There is no need to. I was also nervous, but everything went completely fine. Just have all your documents ready - that's it :-)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #27712