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| Sydney, Australia |  Review on September 30, 2008: |
aliya
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Arrived about 45 minutes early for a 9am appointment having taken a lovely walk to the Consulate through Hyde Park from the hotel and I was asked to present my appointment letter and passport on arrival at the Consular 'checkpoint' on level 10. The security officer said I was a bit early and to come back at 8.30. I went back outside to take in the beautiful Sydney spring morning atmosphere. Back on level 10, a few others were there, we were security checked and escorted to the 59th level in batches. As I entered, a young woman who I'd seen going up earlier was leaving in floods of tears...it was a bit disconcerting! Once there I didn't wait too long (maybe 15 mins) for my number to be called and a friendly Australian lady asked for my appointment letter and packet 4 checklist, for my passport, photo, visa payment receipt and Express post envelope. Then she went through my paperwork, took my fingerprints, asked about my children (who are not going with me (they are 21, 19 and 16 and have their own lives here in Australia), asked what date I intended to travel to the US and said that everything looked in order. She asked me to sit down again to wait to be called for the interview. After about another 20 mins, I was called to another booth and a very sweet American fellow congratulated me on our engagement, asked me how Joe and I met, what he does and where we hope to be married. We chatted about the merits of Skype video conferencing (this formed the bulk of my evidence for an ongoing relationship)! He said congratulations again and that it sounded like we have some exciting plans and wished us a happy new life together. Then those magic words "Congratulations, your visa has been approved, it will mailed out to you within two working days"! He gave me a notice of approval with the tracking number from the express post envelope. All in all, nothing traumatic about the experience, and very pleasant people at the Consulate.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #3395