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| Dominican Republic |  Review on May 7, 2011: |
tasha&vlad
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I arrived in Santo Domingo on May 3 and met Vlad at the Melia Santo Domingo. It was facing the ocean and was 7 miles from the Embassy. On May 4, we left mid morning to the banco popular to get the receipt for his visa and then got it line at 11am to get his medical exam results for the interview tomorrow. Interview day, May 5. I read previous reviews from people about getting there very early. I did not see the point of that because you just stand there in line and it does not determine which random number you will receive inside. We arrived 5am, but would of been fine if we arrived at 545am for the 645am appointment. The area is covered in case it rains. When they let us inside, we went thru security, they asked for our appointment letter and seperated men and women in the security line. It is open air with fans. There are several metal benches lined up with several large TV screens. I brought my own snacks in my purse and they were fine with that, they did not take them away from me. You wait for your fiancee\'s last name to be called and then you go up to the window hand in your required forms and you receive a number. The woman was very pleasant. We sat back down to wait for our number to be called. We waited about 2 hours. Long day, about 9 hours total before we finally received visa approval at 210pm. When our number was called again with window number, we went to go pay the $210 for the visa, then sat down. They had a cafeteria with a window you go up to if you want to buy drinks or food. They called our number again and then Vlad got his finger prints done at another window. Sat down, waited again for the number to be called then went to window 24. We were sworn in. This lady was not very nice and very sharp. Vlad had to sign a form and print my full name. He got nervous and forgot how to spell my middle name and the lady was very rude and said are you sure you should be getting married, he does not even know your name. I was thinking oh my god. I just politely said yes we want to get married and he knows my full name very well and is just having problems spelling it. I just ignored her and said just a moment please and spelled it for him. I was thinking, I hope this is not the person that makes the final decision and sure enough it was in the end. So we sat down and waited for our number to be called for the interview. Vlad was upset and wrote out my name like 20 times on a piece of paper. After we got called to room 11, the man (who would not reveal his name) asked me to sit outside and Vlad went in with our book of papers. He asked to see pictures and asked how we met. Be prepared for very personal questions. Wanted to know the first time we had sexual intercourse, did we use protection, what did we use, were the lights on or off, who took a shower first that day, do you want to have children, why did you want to get married so quickly, when did he propose, how did he do it, info about each others family and what their names are, have you met them, what is your fiancee\'s profession. The thing that really threw me was the interview person said your finacee does not speak very good english how do you communicate with each other. He never spoke to him in English??? I just said we communicate just fine and he is working on his English. I could not believe they did not ask for receipts, phone bills, affidavit, bank statements, or employment letter. They just wanted those pictures and to look at my passport. You should always have those papers just in case they ask for it. It looks good when you are prepared and keep everything in a nice folder. I brought a hard plastic 3 ring binder with papers seperated by tabs. They asked the most questions about our wedding details. I brought copies of the wedding shower invite with pictures. After interviewing me last (took about 15 minutes) he told us to go sit down again and wait for our number to be called. I shook his hand and thanked him for his time. I thought they were supposed to tell you right then. I was getting nervous waiting the next hour for the number to be called again. Ok, so in the end we got called to window 24 again, which I thought oh no, not the rude lady again. I walked up there with Vlad and she told me to go sit down. I could see him talking to her and was getting very nervous, and then she called me up there and asked me about details about the wedding again, what is my religion, who is doing the ceremony, were is it at, how many people attending. After that she said, OK VISA APPROVED. We were so relieved and kissing each other. We are both so thankful that god was with us that day. It was a good thing I came up to be with him for the interview, I can\'t imagine him going thru that by himself. It is good to support each other. It really makes the day go by faster to be with each other for such an important day in your life.
Good luck, be honest, and speak from the heart.
Highly recommend to pick up Visa instead of having it mailed.
(updated on May 13, 2011)
(updated on May 13, 2011)
(updated on April 2, 2013)
(updated on April 2, 2013)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #7560