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| Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |  Review on March 4, 2010: |
drdave820
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
After your visa has been approved, you can say that the interview was easy, but up to that moment, it is high adrenaline all the way through.
I was the first person to arrive for the immigration line. I stayed in a hotel nearby, and walked to the Consulate. My interview was scheduled for 7:15 AM, and I was there at 6:45. Around 7:00 AM they hand out a stub with a number. They let us into the building around 7:30 AM. The same girl who handed out the numbers (there were only 5 cases; in 2 of them both the man and woman were present) tells you to get the documents out of any case or file, and stack them in order (it will be a good idea to get this done at home - the order of the documents is available on the embassy web site). Some of the documents need to be signed. Others need to have zip codes and phone numbers added. She will tell you to do it when she verifies them. You must answer the question of when you intend to arrive in the US, even if you have not made plans for the trip yet. Pay attention to which documents should only be signed in the presence of the Consul.
Form 156 can only be filed online, but the others can be handwritten. I took one blank copy of each, just in case. One woman needed form 157, and they let me give my blank copy to her. She later found the one she had filled out attached to another form.
My photographs were not approved: the ears did not show, despite the hair being pulled back. Well, my ears don't show, they lay very close to my head. "Well, the photographer at the Kodak store nearby has some tricks, they might have to stick something behind your ears to make them appear in the photo" (!!!)
After presenting the documents to her, you go to one of the booths (when called by the number) to have another staff member double check your documents. This guy told me: "Your fiancé did not send his IRS, uh?" I replied he had been very careful with his documents, and had sent his employer's letters, bank accounts etc. "We will see what the Consul will think of that..." My anxiety skyrocketed. Of course he also thought the photos were unacceptable, and handed them back to me, telling me to get new ones.
Next, fingerprinting. Electronic fingerprinting, getting called to another booth
I went to the Kodak store nearby, but it was I who had to tell them about the trick of stuffing the back of my ears with paper and tape to make them stick out. They had to take the picture 3 times, until one of the ears finally showed up... Just one of them, but then there wasn't much that could be done.
I came back to the Consulate, and the Consul started calling the numbers for the interview.
Although my number was the lowest, I was the third to be called. First called was a couple, but the man was not allowed to stay in the room. The second was also a couple, and the woman was allowed to stay. Each of those interviews took about 20 minutes. I could overhear a lot of talking, but not what they were talking about. The first two beneficiaries were approved.
Then it was my turn. The interview was short and corteous. How did we meet, what does he do for a living, what is your line of work, have you always lived in the same city, do you intend to keep working there, when do you intend to go to the US? It took but five minutes (or my anxiety made me feel it was that fast). He told me the papers were in order, and that I could go home after making arrangements for the passport with the visa to be sent to my home.
You have to pay for special mailing service. It was R $31 (approximately US $17). The expedited service costs much, much more: about US $150 - and the passport will be sent the day after the visa issuance. With the normal delivery you will get your passport in about 7 days. I did not pay for expedited service.
Looking back, it seems to be all about having the documents in order, and a well-established relationship.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #5762