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|  Review on August 28, 2008: |
coyote
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
The experience at the consulate was degrading and dispiriting. We flew to Nairobi from Lamu after I made an appointment with Dr. Meyerhold at the Sarit Center and arrived early, only to be told that "the doctor doesn't make appointments on the phone." We could fork over $300 for medical tests but the doctor wouldn't see us for 3 weeks. This was not what I'd been told on the phone. I pushed my way into the other doctor's office, thank God. But this turned out to be consistent with embassy practices. We arrived for our 8 a.m. appointment for an interview and had to wait on various lines for four hours. We weren't given numbers or anything; instead we had to shift chairs, until we finally dealt with a rude and ignorant Kenyan employed by the embassy (typical Kenyan bureaucrat) who was so awful I finally asked to see a supervisor. The embassy doesn't bother to tell you that the interview is only the beginning, and that if you fiance happens to be Muslim and has a common name (they all do) you will have to wait "1 month or 1 year" for a security check.
The five American staff are actually pretty good once you get to them, but inevitably you will not have the right documents and you are likely to depart in tears -- this has become a running joke among Kenyans. This is because the consulate's letter to your fiance is sloppy and unclear. So they are doubling their own workload (with only five staff to handle visa requests for 8 countries) by ensuring that applicants will not have the correct documents. They also insist your fiance gets a new passport rather than renewing an old one so MAKE SURE TO DO THIS BEFORE YOU GO.
Oh, and did I mention that nobody in this section ever answers the phone? I resorted to calling the general number and asking for the staff who deal with US citizens, because that is the only way to get a minimum of response. They treat the Kenyans like shit.
Oh, unless you're a missionary.
Great way to win hearts and minds in a country that is being targeted by Islamic fundamentalists.
Terrible experience overall, humiliating, demeaning, inefficient. But talk to the U.S. staff if you can, and clarify which documents you need. 
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #3283