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|  Review on December 30, 2011: |
MrsNelson
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
We were told our appointment was at 8:00 on 12/19. We should up at the embassy at 7:20 and there were already 2 people waiting in line (I guess for work visas). Even though it was freezing cold we lined up too and were the first couple to submit our paperwork at a little after 7:30. When you first go in you have to surrender your phones and they give you a ticket and you go up to the third floor. (The same floor that you submit your petition). You take a number and sit in a big room with lots of windows where all the workers sit (kind of like the DMV). IMPORTANT: there's a checklies that you will be sent with packet four. Bring this checklist and submit the documents in the order that it says on the checklist. There is also a counter where you fill out a courier form so a guy who works for the embassy can deliver your visa and forms to you at a later date. You keep the first page and submit the rest of the form with your paperwork and checklist when they call your number.
So my husband and I were #3 and we gave the nice lady behind the window our paperwork. She checked through everything, made sure it was all there. The main things I noticed that she checked were if hubby's korean police check included expunged records, if all the documents were signed, etc. She didn't ask to see our originals but we had them anyway just in case. After she checked everything she told us to please sit down and wait for our name to be called.
So we sat down and about a half hour later we get called to another window where a nice man fingerprinted my husband (again, I was able to stand there with him.) The nice man told us to go to the second floor and pay the fee, then bring our receipt back to him. We took a paper to the second floor and went to the window that said "cashier". The guy said we had to pay "x" amount of money (it was over 400 bucks). We told him we were paying in Won, not dollars. He asked us did we have exact change, we said no and then just decided to use our American debit card. Took the receipt back up to the third floor and submitted it. We were told to sit back down.
Now, here's where it gets interesting. We didn't know this and it freaked us out. Pardon me if the next part sounds confusing. In the room were about 50 people. The number machine issues numbers 1-20, then rotates back through again. We were in the "first" rotation and assumed we would be the 3rd person interviewed. However many other people were called up before us, interrogated by the consulate officer, given their "blue" paper (meaning forms were missing) and told to leave. My husband and I were really worried, we thought they were skipping us because we had been denied or they forgot us or something. Sounds irrational but at this point we'd been waiting 2 hours and had been up since 5 and we were SO nervous. ;-) We decided that I would go up (VERY politely) and ask if something was wrong. I went up to the window where fingerprint guy was:
Me: I'm sorry, is there something wrong with our paperwork? It's just that so many people are going before us, and we just assumed because we were here so early that we would get interviewed sooner. I understand we have to wait, we're just really tired and worried and want to make sure everything's okay.
Fingerprint Guy: Oh, no, nothing's wrong. We go through all 20 packets and everyone who is missing documents gets called up first and given their blue form so they can go ahead and leave. Then we start processing the people who have all the correct paperwork. Don't worry, everything's fine. It's better to be last.
Sure enough 30 minutes later the consulate officer calls my husband's name. Now this guy's "window" was at the very end where you couldn't see him from the seating area. I decided to at least walk my husband up to the window so the consulate officer knew I was there too and we were a team. I knew I couldn't stay with my husband, but I wanted them to know we were in this together! The consulate officer is a younger, blond guy and was quite pleasant. He even smiled and said I could take a seat that this was going to be "no big deal" and started asking my husband questions. Here are the questions my husband said he asked:
1) When did you meet your wife?
2) How did you meet?
3) How long have you been married?
4) What state is your wife from? What hometown?
5) Where will you live in America?
6) What will you do there?
7) Where were you born?
My husband is from NZ originally and the consulate officer had been there on vacation before so he asked my husband a little bit about NZ and talked about swimming with the dolphins and stuff. Hey, whatever he wanted to talk about was FINE with me. Finally the consular officer said "congratulations your visa was approved" and said that the courier would bring a bag with the paperwork envelope and my husband's visa and passport within 5 business days. I figure since our interview was on a Thursday and New Year's is this weekend we should get on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Oh, so when the courier comes you have to pay him for bringing the paperwork (it's about 8 bucks if you live outside of Seoul). We decided that, like most teachers here, most of the day we're at our school so we're having him bring it there. They also ask for your phone number I guess in case he gets lost.
Another thing we noticed was that a lot of people who came for their interviews were dressed in some SHOCKINGLY sloppy clothes. Like, track suits and t-shirts. Nothing wrong with that, but my husband wore a suit jacket, tie, dress pants and dress shoes. I wore a dress and sweater. I really think you should be as neatly dressed as possible at your interview. We're not rich or anything, but we tried to look nice!
We had a lovely experience with the embassy here. I also appreciated that the waiting room had bathrooms, water fountains and a tv and comfortable chairs. It may seem silly but it was nice to have a glass of water when your nerves were getting the better of you!
Good luck to everyone, and thank you so much for all your help!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #8944