|
|
| Costa Rica |  Review on August 23, 2011: |
es_mi_vida
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
We spent the evening, before our interview, ironing our interview clothes, signing our papers, and making sure we did not forget anything. I made two packets, one original, the other a copy, just in case one of our bags was lost or stolen on our trip; Can’t be too careful after all the effort we both put in to getting this far in the process.
Our day, Monday, August 22nd, started off with a 5.5 hour bus ride at 3:30am from Tamarindo. Luckily we were the first on the bus and were able to get the back seat with plenty of leg room and a place for our bags. Antonio slept while I worried for the both of us about how the day may very well seal our fate.
We arrived at the San Jose central bus station at about 9am, walked around a little bit, then took a taxi to the consulate about 20 minutes away. We were greeted by a very nice security guard that asked us what time our appointment was. We smiled and said proudly, 12pm and the guard told us to return at 11:30am to go through the security check. He pointed across the street to a shopping center where we could hang out. We ended up at a hardware store looking for shower heads for the condo, then decided to find a bench somewhere to sit and finish eating the snacks we packed for our trip. We found a bench in the center of the shopping area, and as we sat down, and looked up, realized we were right in front of a Wedding Ring store. Antonio asked me, again, to marry him.
On a powder room excursion I came across a salon that looked like it needed some business and Antonio was in desperate need of a manicure. So we passed our time with a lovely woman from Haiti and a $6 manicure. Not a great manicure, but the experience was priceless. Unfortunately she gave us a little scare by saying that Antonio will not get the visa because he has to go to the Nicaraguan consulate. Since I knew this not to be the case, I tried to ease Antonio’s mind and explain what I knew to be the truth.
At about 11:15am we headed back over to the Consulate. Arriving early we had to wait outside for 15minutes. Unfortunately we did not stand right next to the door so a few other couples jumped ahead of us. My feathers were ruffled a little, since we were the first to arrive, but once we were allowed to enter the security area the process went very smoothly.
First we entered the security area where we took out of our bags any electronic or sharp metal items. They scanned our bags, then searched mine again, since I had forgotten about my ipod and tweezers. They locked our electronics in a nylon bag and gave us the key with a number tag on it. I was surprised when they handed our bags back to us. For some reason I thought I read somewhere that you could only bring in your papers.
We exited the friendly, air conditioned, security room, into an inviting outdoor courtyard. In the distance we could see about 20-30 people in blue chairs and one couple, that was in front of us outside in red chairs off to the side. We walked slowly to figure out where we were supposed to go and what to do. I felt like I was in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, wondering what would be the next surprise around the corner.
Next we came upon a “take a number” machine that had a list of letters A-M (I think). Antonio chose our letter, G (I don’t know what G meant, but that’s what he said to pick). We took our number that spit out of the machine, then immediately a nice security guy with a clipboard came up to us and asked us what number we were. He asked the name of the beneficiary of the visa and we pointed to Antonio’s name and the TOP of the list. He guided us to the red chairs and told us to wait there. As we were about to find out spot amongst the 30 or so chairs without too much sun, we heard our number called. Wow, that was service.
We entered another air-conditioned room with glass covered teller windows that reminded me of what it may be like to visit someone in a prison. We were immediately directed to a window where we were greeted by a very friendly woman with a slight Spanish accent. She proceeded to ask us for our paper work, and I asked a few questions about items I had not completed on a few of the forms. 1. The affidavit of support that is on the USCIS site does not include the attachment that the consulate gives you in the packet. At the bottom of the page make sure to fill out the line after the first line to fill in the beneficiary information, and include Fiance as the relationship. 2. If you are unable to fit everything in the forms by typing in adobe or on the internet form you are allowed to write the remaining items in.
Next they handed Antonio a few forms to sign…one being a military draft acknowledgement and agreement which made me and him a little nervous, to say the least since he is under 26. Yikes!!!
In about 10 minutes, after signing the documents, our consular, shuffling and stapling our papers, told us we need to come back at 1:30pm for the interview. With it only being 12:30pm we decided to head back to the shopping center and found a little outdoor covered tent make shift restaurant with 4 tables in the center next to OUR bench that served fish, beans, and rice. It was just ok, not bad, but not great either.
At about 12:45pm we made our way back through security which was much quicker since we left all our items except our cell phones in the locked bag. Again, the guys were very nice and the process was seamless. We went to the number stand again, choose G, which we soon found out we did not need to do the second time in. We asked a security guard whether to wait outside and in a few seconds our name was called. Wow, I thought, that is amazing!!! Well, it was because we took another ticket….we went to the window and the lady was confused, but smiled, because we already turned in our papers. We were directed to wait in the chairs along the wall. At exactly 1:30pm Antonio was called to a different window and asked to put his fingers on a finger print machine. Then we sat back down again and waited about 20 minutes and his name was called again. Geez, this is better than the CA DMV!!!! I guess that is not saying much, but it was quicker than anything I had imagined.
Once Antonio’s name was called for the interview we quickly realized we were going to be interviewed in front of about 20 other people sitting in the chairs behind us. It was a little weird standing at a teller window and answering questions that could seal our fate in front of a bunch of strangers. However, our consular made us feel very much at ease. Ironically enough she was from San Francisco, so I felt a bond with her right away. As she thumbed through the papers nonchalantly she asked Antonio how we met? He answered very sweetly and eloquently. Then she asked me when did I know he was the one for me? And finally she asked whether we had set a date for the wedding. (I said no, because we were waiting until we received the visa to start planning. We are going through the process one step at a time) Next she typed up a few notes, then smiled and said if all the papers check out then we can come back and pick up the visa on Thursday at 3:30pm. I think we were both a little stunned that that was all that we were going to be asked. I asked if that meant we had the visa and she said most likely unless something does not check out on Antonio’s papers. We were amazed and ecstatic because we knew everything would check out. I was tempted to ask her if there was any way to process it all by Tuesday afternoon since we had a 10 hour round trip bus ride, but I did not want to push it.
Our bus ride home was long, tiring, and difficult, however, we felt like we were in a dream and could not believe that we are finally going to be together. I am still in amazement every moment I look at him that I finally found my mate, the most amazing person I have ever known.
Long story short I would give this consulate an A for friendliness, an A for process, and an A for making what could have been a stressful process into an enjoyable one.
javascript:emoticon(' ')
| |
|
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #8176