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| Sydney, Australia |  Review on February 8, 2012: |
TimmyH
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Interview 7th February 2012 10am.
On the night before the interview (6th Feb), I flew the redeye to Sydney arriving at 6am. This was a challenge, but necessary due to work on Monday and Wednesday.
Got a cab from the Airport and arrived at the MLC centre at about 9am. Went up to the 10th floor at about 9:05am and was told it was too early and to come back in half an hour. I came back at 9:35am and they checked my passport and ticked my name off the list. Then went through a metal detector and they x-rayed my belongings. I had a satchel bag that had my document folder, I left the bag and took the folder with me. Left my phone as well and they gave me a ticket for all my items and told me to present it later to get my stuff back. They were pretty nice, even after turning me away earlier for being early.
I sat in the chairs on lvl 10 and then was called to the elevator where they scanned a card and sent me up to the embassy (59th floor?) Outside the elevator were pics of Obama and Hilary Clinton, a nice touch I thought 
There was a security booth and they buzzed me in through the heavy security door that everyone talks about. I pressed the 'Immigration Visa' button on the console to get a ticket and took a seat. After about 5 minutes, I was called to window 1 where the lady asked for my passport, medical, prepaid envelope and any other docs I had been asked to bring. She checked a few boxes and asked when I wanted to travel to the US, I said the 29th of Feb. She took my finger prints and asked me to sit in the middle section of the room and wait for my number to be called again.
I sat for about 1 & 1/2 hours and finally my name was called and I proceeded to window 5. The nice lady there asked me some questions. There was another guy sitting next to her that I think she was training because she was kind of explaining stuff to him as she went. She asked me to sign a form to say that everything I was saying and had provided was accurate. I was so nervous, I can't even remember whether it was a DS-230 part II or not...
Questions were: Where did you meet your wife? Have you met her family? What was your longest previous stay in the US? Have either of you been married before? Do either of you have any kids? Who is our additional sponsor?
After the questions above, she started flicking through the documentation like the AOS, medical etc. all the while putting her initials against items on a check-list they have. After all that was done, she handed me the bit of paper saying that my visa had been approved and that it would be mail to me in 5 working days!
All up, it was easier then expected. I think the fact that we lived together for 3 years prior to getting married made it easier for them. (and us!)
They didn't look at any of my supporting documentation, however joint rental agreements and joint bank statements were previously provided with the I-130, so maybe they already looked at everything they needed to!
I went downstairs and picked up my belongings and called my wife!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #9128