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| Manila, Philippines |  Review on July 6, 2008: |
ArtCess
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Wow! It has been over a month since our interview (May 27, 2008). TYh eintyerview was the easiesty part of the whole process. The steps before and after proved to be more stressing but not insurmountable. On the mornoing of May 27 Cess and I arrived at the embassy two hours ahead of schedule. We had slept very little the night before and rather than lay awake and worry we went out bar hopping. The next morning we were tired and nervous but we knew that we had done everything we could to be prepared thanks to the guidelines in this website. Cess presented the Visa docs and we were tol;d that I would not be allowed to go in with her to the interview. I almost felt like my presence ws useless other than for support of my fiancee but I was wrong. The next step was biometrics wee they take fingerprints. The assistant had been called away and we had to contend with the lady on the other side of the glass. She proved to be quite a witch and rude, but we kept our cool and smiled and were polite. After that we waited for the pre-interview and we had all our documents ready including 2 four inch ring binders of our chats and emails and over 200 pics. The preintervoiew clerk was very nice and she asked me what kind of work I did and I told her I am a teacher. She was very pleasant and made small talk. Amazingly after all our preparation she only asked for 3 things: Cess' birth certificate, our photos and my 2007 tax return! Nothing else. My worries about my current employment (part time) were for naught but I was prepared with co-sponsor info just in case. But those docs were not needed. The next hurdle would be the actual interview. cess went in alone and came out 15 minutes later. I was a nervous wreck. Cess emerged and she told me how it had gone. She spent most of the toime making small talk with the consul and at the end she asked if she had passed and the consul smiled and said "you absolutely passed." I had also told cess to ask the consul for visa pickup and she had a letter from me to that effect. (Against the advise of the website I had already purchased a round trip ticket for Cess and was worried the Visa would not get to us in time before the flight. I was due to report to my summer job by June 11th) The consul told her she was very sorry but she could noty grant the request and that the visa could take 2 to 4 weeks. In actuality we got tyhe visa THREE days later!!! A word of advice DO NOT buy a round trip ticket for your fiancee you will not save money and if you buy it from cathay Pacific they will cancel the return portion of the ticket if the first half is not used. So I had to purchase a ticket there anyhow but the good news is that tickets in the Philippines are cheaper than the ones purchased in the US even at a discounted rate. Well this all seems like a dream now. We got married in a small elopment ceremony and we are preparing to move to Florida as soon as my summer program job is over and I will be teaching at a school in Ft Lauderdale. We plan a bigger church wedding for December and another commitment ceremony for her family in Cebu when we go back in two years. cess is adjusting to life in the US and we both would like to thanks this website and all of you that provided with invalubale advice and guidance. Thank You!!!! 
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #3095