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| Sydney, Australia |  Review on May 26, 2010: |
John and Sarah
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My journey began in Brisbane. I decided fly to and stay over the night before in Sydney to ensure I was there the morning of the interview. I stayed in the Travelodge in Phillip St, I can recommended that, good price (for Sydney CBD!) and courteous enough. It is 2mins walk from St James train stop which has trains directly from the airport for $15 (expensive!) and 3mins walk from the MLC centre. (The MLC centre (center) is actually the corner of Castlereigh St and King St, NOT Martin Pl as the address would have you think)
I ended up waiting in the downstairs foyer of the MLC centre until at least 10:30am (appointment was 11:00am) before going up, I feel like you could actually come to the 10th floor much earlier than that, as the 10th floor is just security and a holding room. After you pass through security (no mobile phones people) they direct you to the 59th floor (which has an awesome view of the harbor bridge and opera house!) where the nice lady's behind the bullet proof glass check your passport before directing you into the interview waiting area. You take a ticket (for K-1 visa's the ticket is actually for Immigrant Visa) then in my case I waited at least an hour before I was called. The first items they take are your passport, confirmation email (printed out), visa fee receipt and your express post 3kg satchel, interestingly they recommended that you get a platinum express post (although that definitely isn't mentioned on the Packet 4 email). They ask that you sit down while they check the paper work, that takes about 10mins, then you return to the same lady. And she tells you that everything seems to be in order, she takes your fingerprints, then explains she will now put you in the queue to see the interviewing officer (wait I thought this was the interview!) which for me was another 30mins.
The interview officer was just as nice if not nicer than the first lady. First you sign paperwork that affirms you swear to tell the truth. Then come the questions, which like previous petitioners have stated, seems like a formality as I can see the paperwork in front of me saying approved. Questions were; When did you meet, How many times have you visited her in the US, How many times has she visited you in OZ, Has she met your parents, Have you met her parents, When do you plan to get married (for this I told her we were getting a court marriage initially then renewing that later in the future at a time when families can get together, that was perfectly okay), and lastly when do you intend to travel to the states (I planned to travel within 7 days which to that they warned me the passport/visa could take up to 5-7 days, but she added 'it usually only takes 3 days').
Once she is satisfied she informs you that the visa is approved and hands you a congratulations letter, which also contains a bit of info on preparing for arrival in the US. Such as making sure to bring the yellow sealed envelope (that will come in my express post satchel) with me on board my carry-on luggage to give to the immigration officer in the US. DO NOT OPEN THIS ENVELOPE or so they strictly inform me!
Otherwise I found the process very straight forward and the staff above and beyond friendly. Just follow the instructions in the Packet 4 email. Interestingly I had with me more evidence of our relationship beyond the initial petition date, however they didn't ask for any more supporting evidence. Too easy! javascript:emoticon(' ')
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #6128