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| Dominican Republic |  Review on December 15, 2011: |
atpozo
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Our interview date was 11-15-11. I landed in Santo Domigo on the 11-11-11 trying to make sure I had enough time to gather all the evidence and all the pictures for the interview. We even went over a lot of sample questions that we found online, which is always good because you might know all the answers but they might catch you off guard with an intimate question if you don't know what to expect.
On the day of the interview we arrived at the consulate at approximately 5:10am. We where scheduled for 6:45am so we figured that an hour and a half was more than enough time to get in. There was already a line of about 40-50 people in front of us and after we got there the line just kept growing exponentially by the minute. By 5:45 there were already what seemed like over 200 people behind us.
**A word of advice: if you're not scheduled for 6:45 DO NOT arrive so early. The don't allow people with interviews after 7:00 to get on the line until all the 6:00 people are inside. Then they don't allow the 8:00 people on the line until the 7:00 people are inside... and so on.
Moving on...
At 6:00am they finally opened the door and some people wearing yellow t-shirts started collecting the interview appointment letters and they would give each case a number. As we approached the door we were separated. The men where located on the right side and the women on the left before going through the metal detectors.
Once inside, there were instructions over a speaker indicating that Immigrant Visa cases where to sit on the benches closer to the DOMEX booth and the cafeteria. Non-Immigrant cases where to sit on the benches closer to the doors.
Once inside its a waiting game...
Pointing out that the numbers are NOT called in any specific order, but rather they are called at random.
We made it inside by 6:30, but they didn't start calling numbers until 7:00. After what felt like 15 minutes, our number was called to window number 21. The woman there asked for my wife's passport, the police records, the Banco Popular payment receipt and the interview appointment letter. She asked us if we had any children and about 3 other routine questions which she compared to the DS-230 form that she had in front of her. Then she turned to page 2 and asked my wife if that was her signature. My wife said yes so the lady asked us to have a sit and wait to be called for fingerprints.
The following hours felt like years. We spent ALL MORNING watching people get interviewed. Most couples weren't even separated, but they were asked what seemed like a ridiculous amount of questions about pictures and other proof that they brought. One older couple seemed like they were asked to name every single person on each picture of the album, but by the body language and facial expressions of the consulate officer it seemed like he was bored to death. Luckily at the end they were approved.
It was kind of sad having to witness the many cases that were being denied. My wife even found a young woman in the bathroom crying her eyeballs out because her case was denied. But I guess she didn't know that in Santo Domingo for spouse visas if the petitioner is not present at the interview you don't stand a chance.
10:30am... still waiting...
A few minutes past 11:00 our number was finally called to window 13. This time they just took her fingerprints and told us to sit back down. Luckily we didn't have to wait long this time. Because about 20 minutes later we were called to window 17.
As soon as we got there, the lady made us swear this oath and then she asked me for my passport and told me to sit down. 5 minutes later my name was called over the speaker to return to window 17. As soon as I got there, she instructed my wife to sit down. She then asked me the following set of questions:
When did you guys meet?
When did you have sex for the first time?
Why do you remember the date?
Where do you work?
How do you travel to and from work?
What color is your car?
When did you arrive in Santo Domingo?
Who picked you up at the airport?
What did you wear to sleep last night?
After each answer I noticed she would place a check mark next to the answers that she had written down, so I guess I answered everything correctly. Then she told me to call my wife over to the window.
She then picked up the affidavit of support and asked me who that person was. I told her it was a friend of mine from work. She wrote something on the first page of the DS-230 form and handed me my passport back. She then placed my wife's passport inside the packet that she had and explained to us that the visa was approved, but that it would be a conditional visa since we were married for less than 2 years.
We were handed a green slip which we had to take to the DOMEX booth and pay for the delivery. As we were leaving we realized that we were never asked to show any proof of our relationship or any pictures. But it's like I always say, it's better to have extra than to not have enough.
All waiting aside, it was a good experience. Everyone was nice or at least very respectful.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #8877