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| Frankfurt, Germany |  Review on March 30, 2009: |
ibtd
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My interview was scheduled for 03/24/09 at 8:30 a.m. I arrived at the embassy at around 8:10 a.m. and the line outside wasn't long at all. There were only 2 people in front of me, so it was pretty fast until I was allowed to enter the embassy. The security personnel was really friendly, unlike most security teams on airports.
After only a short wait of around 10 minutes, my number got called for the first time and I had to go to the famous window #23. They took my passport, my visa fee receipt and a passport picture. I had to retake the picture at a booth they have in that great waiting hall because I only had a picture where I am wearing my glasses which they didn't accept. Something about eyes and ears not visible enough. The very nice woman then told me what is going to happen next and that I should start to put my documents in a specific order. I already knew that was coming, so I was organized weeks before my interview. This measure is supposed to speed up the process at the next window, but it really isn't that big of a deal as long as you know where you have your documents.
After another waiting period of around 40 minutes (it could have been 20 minutes, but the couple in front of me sure as hell took their time with making more photocopies and not noticing that they were called to the counter), I was called the second time. At the counter (#20 this time), I had to put my address and some stamps on a return envelope and then the woman asked me for a copy of my birth certificate, the original (which I got back after she compared both), my original police certificate, my military records and a copy of it (again, she compared and gave me my original back), and the Affidavit of Support (I-134) including supporting evidence. I actually gave her an I-134 from my fiancée and an I-134 from my fiancées dad. She asked me for a copy of his passport or his birth certificate to prove he is a US citizen. But I wasn't prepared for that. After asking for all the documents, she went over the documents I had to send in beforehand and asked me if everything was still true. After that she explained to me what the different parts of the visa are and what I have to do once I enter the U.S.A. and once I'm married.
Then I had to wait again, this time only for another 10 minutes because the couple in front of me was about done at the next and last window already. The woman in that last window was really friendly and in a very good mood, which was really nice. She started by asking me which language I prefer and I replied that it doesn't matter for me. So we ended up talking in English (I was talking German at the other 2 windows). This was the actual "interview" part. It really didn't feel like an interview. It felt more like a chat, like smalltalk of some sort while she was going over all the documents again and checking them. Here are most of the questions she asked me:
How did you meet your fiancée ?
Have you visited her already ?
How often have you been to the United States ?
When do you want to leave Germany ?
Do you have wedding plans already ?
What is your future father in-law's job ? (I think she asked that because of the second I-134)
What is your fiancée doing ?
What do you want to work as in the U.S.A. ?
After all the questions were done, she told me that I simply have to fax in the missing proof of citizenship from my fiancées father and then they will send me my visa, which should only take a few days.
All in all it was really easy. The people were extremely friendly (there was a security guy coming into the hall every now and then, doing his routine check and while he was there he was joking around a little with some of the visitors, which was really nice to see and a welcome change to the waiting) and it was no problem at all. The whole thing took only about 2,5 hours.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #4160