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| Tokyo, Japan |  Review on July 21, 2011: |
TRanger
Rating:  | Review Topic: General Review
We arrived the day before the interview and stayed at the Asia Center of Japan hotel for 12,390 yen for the night, including a decent buffet breakfast in the morning. The hotel is in the Roppongi district of Tokyo, it conveniently close to the embassy as well as restaurants, bars, parks and other amenities (like family-mart and karaoke!)
The appointment was for 9:00 am, we arrived by taxi, ~1800 yen, at a little before 8 and were the third in a line forming just outside the first entrance point on the sidewalk. It was raining a little and I was really hoping we wouldn\'t get stuck in the rain until 8:30. After about 10-15 minutes they opened the doors. We were able to leave all of the electronics and our luggage in the first security check. They gave us numbered tags corresponding to identical tags attached to our belongings.
After going through another security check we entered the waiting / counter area. There is touch screen computer on a counter where you are prompted to take a number. It was a bit confusing because the two choices were things that didn\'t apply and \"Immigrant Visa\". Since K-1 is a non-immigrant visa I was stumped for second, but took the \"Immigrant Visa\" choice. We were number 003.
Our materials were put in the folder provided and in the order specified on the instructions. 1st call was to take the materials. 2nd call was for fingerprinting and the 3rd call was for the interview.
BTW the chairs are arranged with half facing one end of the room with the other half facing the other end. At each end is a large display with the numbers of the counters across in two rows. Listed under the counter is the call number of the person requested to that counter. I was watching how high the numbers went and as I recall they were under 30 when we left.
I approached the counter with my fiancee (the benficiary) and the CO asked if I was the fiance and politely told me to have a seat and he would ask for me if needed. I moved seats so I could overhear the questioning. That plan didn\'t work too well, as they quickly moved from English to Japanese. My fiancee told me later that it made her much less nervous speaking in Japanese. Her English is very good, but under the circumstances it was just less pressure for her. She said the CO was very fluent.
He asked (in no particular order):
How long have you been in Japan?
How did you meet your fiance? Why did he come to Japan?
Were you married at the time? was he?
What does your fiance do for a living?
Do you have any children?
Does he? What are their ages?
What part of the US does he reside in?
Do you have any brothers? sisters?
What language do you speak to your fiance in?
He handed her a paper that said she was approved and said she would get her visa in the mail in about a week.
All in all, between 5 and 10 minutes at the counter. I knew by the emphatic \"thank you\'s\" that she was approved. It was such a wonderful feeling of happiness and relief.
The embassy was organized, clean, comfortable and efficient. I am so thankful we were here in Japan.
(updated on July 21, 2011)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #7973