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| Dominican Republic |  Review on July 29, 2010: |
Chavonia
Rating:  | Review Topic: General Review
I apologize for the lateness of this review as I have been busy with work. Because there is so much time in between my interview and this review, not to mention the fact that I lost my notes I took for the interview, I am not sure if I will remember everything properly. I will do my best!
Interview Date: July 9, 2010
Time: 0600
Place: Domnican Consulate
That morning my fiance and I didn't wake up as early as we had hoped but we got there at exactly 6am. All that talk about long lines and getting there early seemed to be more reason to cause paranoia and nervousness. We got there at 6am and everything happened in a a timely (yet, very Dominican) manner. There are several different lines you have to wait in. We asked which line to get in for the type of visa we were there for. I think the lines may change everyday so there is not much point in me telling you which line. Its best to ask a uniformed employee of the consulate. We must have waiting in line no more than 30 minutes before we were separated in lines of women and men in order to clear security. The line for women in much longer because their purses have to be screened. We entered into a very large and open room. The DR is a hot country and I had intially imagined being in some tight space with no air conditioning. However, they had many fans running and plenty of room to spread out. It was a lot more comfortable than I thought.
We sat down for about 20-30 minutes before we were called to a side window. At that window they took some of our paper work and then told us to go to another window to pay our fees. This window did not open until 7:30 or so. We waited at this window long enough until a short line was formed behind us. The window opened exactly when it said it would, give a take a couple minutes. We paid our fee and were told to have a seat again until called to another window. We then sat for about 20-30 minutes or less and then were called to the next window to submit the receipt of payment for the fees. We were then told to sit and wait to be called for the interview. I was nervous yet excited. We were there called to the window for our interview. This set of windows is behind a glass wall so while people can see you, they can not hear you. Our interview questions went as such.
How did you meet? (directed to me)
When did you first meet in person? (directed at both of us)
Have you been in the US before? (fiance)
When was the first time you came to the DR? (me)
Have you searched for possible jobs in the US? (fiance)
What do you do for a living? (at my fiance who responded that he is a computer programmer)
What programming languages do you work in? (fiance)
When do you plan to go to the US? (fiance)
I see that you have submitted a lot of pictures as evdieance. (I offered for him to see them but he said it wasn't necessary)
I am not going to waste any more of your time, you are approved!
We were never asked for additional paperwork nor the Affidavit of Support. HOWEVER, I do believe each case is different so you should be prepared with all your documents just in case. After being approved we were told to proceed to the DOMEX desk to pay the shipping fee for the visa and my fiance's passport to be delivered to his home, which he received in less than two weeks.
Advice?
Stay calm and have faith in your hard work up until this point and your relationship. Don't worry about how you will be perceived. Answer questions only when asked them, smile, and use your natural charm. Be on time and being a littler early won't hurt. Don't worry about food. There is a small cafe there in case you get hunger pains or haven't eaten yet. Dress business casual. Be prepared to wait a while. It was also fun to spot other couples that may be there for the same reason. No harm in making friends or at least eye contact to show some support and ease everyone's nerves. We had the coolest and more down to earth interviewer ever!! He seemed very easy going and open minded. He spoke to me in English and to my fiance in Spanish and English. Our interviewer was particularly taken aback by how we met (we met 5 years ago in an online video called World of Warcraft). He said that he has many couples who met on the internet but not in a video game. Lol, I truly think that is what got us our visa. It excited him somewhat!
Well, I hope this helps. Best wishes!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #6413