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| Egypt |  Review on November 14, 2011: |
Luv4Eslam
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
My husband's interview appointment was set for 7:30am on November 13, 2011. We wanted to postpone the appointment. We had requested to delay it through an email because we hadn't completed the medical exam, not to mention I have moved to Egypt.
We arrived for the appointment around 8:00am. There was a line of approximately 50 to 70 people ahead of us. lol... Fortunately we were not really late, as it's first come first served. There were also plenty of people to come after us. I think we waited in line for approximately 2 hours with a lot of other anxious but patient people. When we were getting close to the enterence, we kept seeing people coming out smiling. That was good to see! Finally we made it to the man toward the front of the enterence, he checked my husband's printed appointment page (Don't forget to print this and bring it with you to your appointment).
We went through the security screening process and left our cell phones and camera in exchange for a claim number.
Next we made it inside and headed downstairs. We met another line inside, after we passed a bunch of people seated outside waiting. We waited in line for another 10 to 15 minutes and his papers were checked. My husband told them he didn't bring any pictures for his visa, nor did he bring his medical report, as he hadn't completed this yet because we requested to reschedule. They gave us a number and we waited for about another 10 to 15 minutes.
We were called to window number khamastawsher (15). lol Sorry but we had to listen to them calling people to windows in arabic and english for about 3 hours nonstop!
Next we met with an Egyptian woman who couldn't find our file. It took her about 5 minutes, finally she found it. IT WAS THE BIGGEST FILE SHE HAD EVER SEEN (JUST GUESSING, BUT SHE SEEMED PRETTY AMAZED BY THE SIZE OF IT). We had a lot of evidence! After she found it she proceeded to pull pages from it (all the copies). She seemed to want to hold onto certain documents, mainly originals. She then asked us if we had a copy of our marriage contract or else she would keep the original. I had a copy and traded her for the original. She asked me if I had been married before, I said yes. She said how many times. I said twice. Then she began to quiz me on the divorce dates. I gave her the months and years of her request. Finally she finished throwing papers at us and had what she needed to prepare for the interviewer (I was wondering why she was getting so nosey about my divorces, because she wasn't the interviewer). It seems she prepares our package for the person who will eventually interview us. We told her about our predicament of not having completed the medical exam and wanting to reschedule. She told us we can still do the interview today, unless we want to come back and do it at a later date. We agreed that it would be better to by-pass the redundant waiting and complete the interview today. After she completed what she needed to know (I would consider this a prescreening or prep for our interview), she told us to have a seat and they would call our number 2 times. The meeting with that lady took approximately 20 minutes.
We went to have a seat, then I told my husband maybe he should go bring the document(s) she printed for us to the guys sitting over by the DHL area. He did just that, they took one of the copies of the DHL order and told him to have a seat. We waited and waited and waited and waited, listening to the continuous sounds of visa applicants being called to windows. I'd say we waited about 45 minutes before they finally called our number.
We went up to window 7 and met with an Asian woman who had an attitude. She was calling up multiple people to her window (about 3 at a time to try to keep things flowing). She was tired of having to repeat herself and explain things to multiple people who either don't speak English or don't understand what she wants them to do. She was the fingerprinting lady! By the time my husband got up to her window she had just dealt with two older women who didn't quite understand everything she wanted them to do, so we witnessed her frustration. lol... Earlier we had seen her scolding a woman for not listening for her number. She had repeated it TWO TIMES!!! lol... My husband went up to her window and followed her instructions so perfectly! I think he made her day! He's a sweetheart anyway!!!!!! She asked him if he would throw away some trash, (left by the people that had visited her window). I guess it was towelettes and some numbers or whatever they used at the fingerprint window. He picked all of the trash up and threw it away for her. She smiled, so things were looking better than earlier! lol...
We had a seat again, to wait for our number to be called for the second time. The fingerprinting and waiting in line there took approximately 7-8 minutes.
It took what seemed a lifetime. We were waiting in the outdoor seating area. They called everyone's number except ours. We were the absolute last people in this area still waiting. Finally after about an hour, our number was called.
We went to window 14 (I think?? As if that matters). Anyway a lady, I'm guessing in her 40's was our interviewer. She told us she had not received his medical report and was sifting through the papers looking for some pics. Then we briefly explained what was going on. We told her we had attempted to reschedule his interview via email with no response, so we showed up today without all the necessary paperwork. She said okay, no problem, you can mail those documents in later. We said okay great! Next she asked how we met. My husband answered her and told her we met online through yahoo, between the end of August, early September 2009. Later on April 23, 2010 we met in person in Egypt. She asked when the date of the marriage was. He said we married on April 29, 2010. She said, approximately how many days was that since you met in person. We both answered like 6 days or 7?? lol... The she asked my husband has he had any previous marriages. He said, "No.". Then she looked to me and asked me have I been married before, I said, "Yes, twice". She said okay can you tell me when you divorced. I told her the first marriage lasted for 5 years, then we separated and later divorced in 2006. The second marriage could have been annuled, but I filed the divorce myself and we were together for less than a month. It was a mistake! The 2nd divorce was final in February of 2008 She said okay, have you sponsored an immigrant to come to USA before? I said yes my first husband. He came to USA and as I told you we were married for 5 years and he had a difficult time adjusting in USA. It was right after 9/11/2001 and, well you know, people weren't welcoming him here at that time, as he is Muslim. The whole experience was very hard on him, he suffered a lot in U.S.A and we separated and he returned back to his country. He's living in Saudi Arabia now. She said does he have U.S. citizenship now? I said, "No, he never pursued it, he could have filed an extension, but he decided not to come back to U.S.A. She said, "Oh okay and the 2nd husband, did you file a petition for him?" I said, no the marriage was in U.S.A., no petition involved. Then she asked me, "How long have you been in Egypt, visiting your husband? We both answered her, since October 3rd of this year. She said, 2011? We said yes. She said okay, will you return back to U.S.A soon or how long are you planning on staying in Egypt? I said, "No, I don't plan to return anytime soon." She said, "Oh?" I told her, well we were tired of waiting for the visa to be processed and we thought it was taking too long; couldn't stand to be apart anymore, so I resigned from my job and moved to be with my husband, here". I told her, but I have another job promised to me, as soon as I want to return home. She said, "Oh, okay". She then said, (after typing her notes on the pc), Your visa has been approved! We smiled and thanked her. My husband told her he really appreciated her being our interviewer. She was really cordial and explained to us that we just need to finish the medical exam and DHL mail it back to the Consulate in Egypt. Then I said, "Can I ask you a question?". She said, "Sure". I said, well we had been waiting what seemed like forever to process this visa and eventually we could not wait anymore. We couldn't stand to be apart any longer, so I decided to move here to be with my husband, but we don't want to flush all of our effort, time, and money down the toilet. Is it possible to postpone his visa for a later date? She said, yes I think so. She told us to hang on a minute and she turned to her coworkers and asked them about our question. They talked to her for a few minutes and gave her the information, she followed up and gave us. She handed us a small piece of paper that had a typed email and department name. She told us that we would need to contact them and get the details, but as far as she knows we have up to one year before the visa expires. As soon as my husband gets his medical exam done, this is only valid for 6 months and he has to get a Tuberculosis test which will also expire after 6 months, so don't wait around to file an extension before the year's validity is up.
I said, so we can prolong the visa for longer than a year if we file an extension. She said yes! Then she just reminded us to follow up and don't forget to DHL the medical exam report in after you get the guidelines regarding the extension and then just follow their instructions and we will be fine.
YES! We are happy to be together, that's the most important thing for both of us. APPROVED BUT DELAYED for now. :D:D:D Oh yes, I guess the interview was pretty short and sweet, we probably had more questions than she did. It lasted maybe 10 to 15 minutes or less, but took maybe 20-25 because we had questions. Total time at U.S. Embassy in Cairo began around 8am and ended around 1:30pm. We were mostly tired more than anything. In the end we didn't want to lose our effort, but we had already achieved our goal, to be together, so approval for his visa or denial wouldn't have been the end of our lives together. Alhamdu leAllah!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #8703