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| Tokyo, Japan |  Review on February 3, 2011: |
chicalifornia
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
First of all, LONG WAIT!! I was the 2nd one there, but maybe I didn't pick up my number fast enough (they have the same system as some of banks in Japan or social security office in the US), or maybe I went to bathroom too often (I went there in June, but it was really cold there!!), or because they were reviewing my documents longer than everybody else as I have been in the US with F1 visa also, but at the end, I was a ZOMBIE!! I think I left there around 3 hours later or so.
On the other hand, the interview itself was pretty smooth. There were 3 stages of interviews for me. (In other word, they call my number 3 times.)
1.It was a while ago, so I don't remember well, but I think this was when they took all the prepared documents. They asked me if I have a F1 visa from previous stay also. I did have one, so I showed that to them. Don't remember if I gave a photocopy or F1 visa itself and then they took a photocopy. The interviewers were a couple of polite Japanese folks.
2.A bilingual lady who could speak Japanese a little bit took my fingerprint. She was really nice also. Very quick.
3.And this was a loooong wait!! I believe only one lady (Caucasian lady and I don't think I did not hear her speaking Japanese at all during I was there the whole time.) was in charge of people (mostly girls) applying for K1 visa, and there were a lot!! Mine only took 10 minutes maximum, but some other interviews were taking longer. I felt like the later the people were called there, the shorter their interviews were. On the other hand, I saw that the interviewer was kind of grilling on this one girl who had an interview earlier than me. She was asking all kinds of questions in regard to the pictures the girl had. The only semi-weird question she asked me was how long my husband's commute was (but I am pretty sure it was just a part of conversation and she was just wondering about it as he used to commute from one place to another.) I even did not have to show my photo album I made for the interview and the interviewrer was nice enough to give me back the photos my husband submitted at the first stage that I did not expect to happen at all. It was strange to receive something that my husband worked on from somebody else.
In the end, my K1 visa was approved, and overall the time I spent there wasn't too bad at all. I recommend anybody going there to have a good condition especially if you are older or have small kids with you as all the interviews take places at booths that both interviewers and you have to stand up. However, there were gazillions of chairs you can sit on during your wait. In addition, I also recommend you to bring some books and magazines to kill your time. Remember that your fancy Japanese cell phones are not permitted to enter the Embassy beyond security point. (So as any electric devices, food, or liquid. Not sure if you can bring electric dictionary.)
Don't be too scared and good luck!!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #7129