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| Ukraine |  Review on August 25, 2010: |
Pennsylvania
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
The interview went very well.
We had been traveling around Ukraine and arrived in Kyiv from Ivano-Frankivsk the day before (Sunday) by train. Arranging the payment of $350 was a minor nightmare, because I had lost my bank card and my credit card kept issuing fraud alerts whenever we tried to use it as a second option in ATMs. After a 20-minute phone call to the service center in Delaware, however, the card was authorized and I quickly made the necessary withdrawals at a Bankomat.
After staying in an apartment and doing some laundry, we got a much needed night's rest. We called a taxi, which took us to the consulate and we arrived around 8:20 for a 9 a.m. interview. There were many people standing around in various lines. We found a woman who directed us to a separate building where we could store my fiancee's purse and any such items for a fee, for which we got a little wooden ticket, and then we went out to find a cup of coffee and just walk around a bit to calm her nerves.
About 8:45 we went to near the front of the line to wait until the 9:00 appointments. At precisely 9 a.m. we were called into the embassy, showed our passports, and were directed through a series of hallways to a small room which was filled with about 15 people. She had to leave a few more belongings in the embassy that couldn't be taken any further, which we claimed later. I was getting over a cold and kept coughing, so I was glad that there was a water cooler in the room, of which I made frequent use. I found the room comfortable, but my fiancee, used to Ukrainian temperature conditions, said that others (as well as she) found the room somewhat chilly. We were nervous, but I think that she more than I. 
There were perhaps 4-5 other fiancee couples waiting, some with 8 a.m. appointments and some with 9 a.m. appointments. Some couples were together, while others were just one fiancee. When we came to the little room, we immediately went to a small window there and a man named Igor proceeded to go through our file, a large yellow envelope. My I-129F stamped "Approved" was clearly visible on the top of the pile.
He asked for a series of documents, such as proof of our relationship, the medical report, etc. He needed two copies of one document, the DS-156, and we only had one, but thankfully he was willing to photocopy it for us. The X-ray was not needed, nor were the originals of my birth certificate or my father's (for sponsorship purposes) -- those were returned and only the copies were kept. They didn't take all the proof of our relationship, telling us that certain documents were "more than enough."
At this time Igor asked if I had paid the fee. I said that I hadn't, so he directed me to window number 9, where I waited a bit and a woman appeared. She didn't seem to speak a lot of English so I arranged for the payment in Ukrainian language. They couldn't read her name so I had to clarify that.
Then we waited for about an hour and a half, while various other people were called for various purposes. We chatted mostly with ourselves and a woman next to us, and two other fiancees, all by themselves, and watched an American promotional video on TV that looped mostly between New York, Philadelphia, and Florida, with lots of smiling people in every scene.
Then we were called back to another window for fingerprinting. It took several tries but they got a satisfactory result.
Then more waiting in the little room, and finally we were called back for our interview at about 10:30. A middle aged woman asked for my passport, told me that they had no further questions for me, and said that I could wait in the room. My fiancee was nervous, however, and I heard everything she said, although I was sitting in the room.
The questions, as best we can remember them are, 1. He said in the packet that he was giving you an engagement ring. Is that the ring? 2. Have you met his parents? 3. How did you meet? 4. Does he have any siblings? 5. Where does he work? 6. What kind of work does he do? 7. What are his interests and hobbies?
Afterwards, she came back to me with the pink slip! We got papers back and went outside to another little building in the complex where we arranged for the FedEx shipment to her mother's apartment, for 60 hryvnia, I believe. Then we got back our belongings from the consulate and from the little building.
That's it!!!!! Due to a mix-up with her mother's schedule the visa lingered at the FedEx office in her home city for a few days, but we picked it up there ourselves wit no problems.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #6526