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| Manila, Philippines |  Review on June 1, 2009: |
evemonte
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
received packet 4 from US embassy in singapore 2 april 09. unable to proceed with the processing since i was no longer working and my work visa was about to be canceled on 6 april. called the embassy and was advised to have my case transferred to manila since it will not accommodate persons on social visit pass.
requested the USEM singapore to transfer my case to manila on 21 april 09. received packet 4 from USEM manila on 20 may 09. was scheduled for medical exam 26 may and interview on 1 june 09. flew to manila with my fiance.
medical exam on 26 may -- arrived at st. luke's extension clinic around 430am. around 50 people were already queuing. around 6am, the guard opened the clinic and distributed forms and Q numbers. i was 20 on the queue. around 7am, the US reception opened and people were asked to line up by 10s for the digital photo taking. you will need to bring to the clinic your notification from the embassy (have this photo copied) and 3 2x2 inch photos. only 1 will be submitted on the 1st day of the exam and the other 2 copies will be collected from you together with your passport when they release your chest x-ray (which by the way is in CD. sosi d vah?).
others were able to get their medical exam results the following day. for me, i was advised to come on the 28th. if everything's fine with your medical exam, you will be given your vaccines. you have the option to have it administered at st. luke's or upon your arrival in the US. since no additional cost will be charged if you have it done here, go for it na. sayang din. i had 2 vaccines -- 1 for tetanus & 1 for MMR.
you also have to remember your last menstrual period. during the physical exam, you will be asked about your medical history (see sample form), identify your chicken pox scar if you've had it already and any vaccine scar that you have on your arm (can't remember what it was for). for ladies, a breast exam including hemorrhoids will also be done. the doc will also ask you about any scar that is on your body.
be ready for a long wait. you may want to bring water and snack (yung madaling kainin) since you will not be able to go out in between your tests. i finished with the medical exam at 11am. the second day was not so bad but i had to wait 3.5hours at the releasing section before i got my x-ray cd.
interview 1 june 09 -- arrived at the US embassy in manila around 440am with my fiance. there were about 30 to 40 people already there. i suggest that you don't go there that early. you may arrive before 6am. the guard will ask people to line up around 6am depending on the time of the scheduled interview. before 630am, we were already inside the embassy. quite strict with the no cellphone or electronic gadget policy. bawal talaga ito.
before you get to talk to the consul, you will have to go through 3 queuing:
(1) to get you queue number and submit your DS156 & 157 forms. if you paid your visa fee at BDO, the bank will provide you a validated 157 form and the bank receipt.
(2) document submission -- birth cert, nbi/police clearance, cenomar, affidavit of support & related docs, DS156K.
(3) finger printing
(4) interview with the consul -- tip here: the questions you were asked during your document submission are the same questions the consul will ask you (sort of validation maybe). be consistent with your answers and know the documents you have submitted (i.e. emails, photos, chats) by heart. the consul will ask a test question so don't make up any answers if you are not sure.
sample questions:
- what did you do in singapore?
- where did you meet your fiance?
- when did you start to chat?
- when did you first meet each other?
- how many times have you met each other?
- how did he propose to you?
the interview took less than 10 minutes. the consul was very nice and gracious. i would give it a 5. i have observed that other consul did not allow the fiance to go with the beneficiary inside the room. was lucky he allowed my fiance to come in with me.
hope this will help other applicants. good luck and trust in god.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #4491