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| New Delhi, India |  Review on March 22, 2012: |
vs2011
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Arrived at the US Embassy around 7:15 AM. Appointment time was 8:00 AM. They started letting people in at 7:45 AM. I, the US Citizen and petitioner attended the interview. You must have an appointment letter with the date, time and your name on it to get in. If you have a cell phone, you can store it at the entry and pick it up on your way out, that's what I did, no problem. Once we got inside, we went through security and then my fiance was given a token number. After that we went inside the Embassy and she got her fingerprints done. Also, they asked for 2 passport size pictures, which we did not have so we were able to take them inside the Embassy for Rs. 100. After the pictures and fingerprints, we waited until her number was called and then were called to a window to pick up any original forms (birth certificate, tax forms, etc) and submit her passport and medical report. The guy who was taking our documents seemed a bit lost, he took a long time and had to ask other CO for help as to which forms we needed and how to put them in order. He asked us for a DS-230 and I told him it was already there and he looked surprised. Maybe it was his first K-1 Fiance Visa processing. After that we paid the $350 visa fee, got a receipt and sat back down waiting for her number to be called again for the actual interview.
There are about 30 windows inside the Embassy, but only a few were doing K-1 Fiance Visa Interviews. The other were doing fingerprints, work or tourist visas or student visas, or verifying documents.
Since the waiting area and the windows where the interviews are conducted are all in the same room in the open, you can hear the questions and answers during interviews. My fiance and I listened to a few of the K-1 Fiance Interviews just to see what types of questions they were asking and what were the answers. (It wasn't that we were eavesdropping, it was happening right in front of us and there is no way not to listen to it unless you close your ears hahaha)
Finally her token number was called, we both went up. The CO was a young white guy, probably in his late 20s to early 30s. Nice guy who spoke Hindi and English. He asked my fiance what her name was and then asked me what my name is and once I told him he looked surprised, looked back at the application and asked "So you are the petitioner?" I said yes I am. From that point on, I knew my fiance was going to be approved, just the look on his face and everything. I felt very confident. So after that, he said that he would be asking me a few questions then ask some to my fiance.
He first asked me:
1. What do I do
2. How long I have been a US Citizen for
3. How my parents came to the USA and became US Citizens
4. How we met
5. Do I have any family in India and where
6. Why are we getting married in the USA and not India
7. Will her parents/family attend the wedding in the USA
Then he asked me to take a few steps back and ask questions to my wife. That's where I corrected him and said 'No, we are only engaged, she is my fiance, not my wife.' He smiled and said 'Sorry I have had a lot of spouse visas, get confused.' I smiled back and said no problem. I honestly think and feel it was a honest mistake on his part. He wasn't trying to trip us up or trick us in any way.
He asked my fiance:
1. What do you do
2. Where do you live
3. How did you two meet
4. Why are you getting married in the USA and not India
5. Do your parents have visas to come for the wedding
6. Have you ever traveled outside India and what for
7. Will anyone from your family attend the wedding in the USA
8. When did your fiance come and visit you the last time
After that he said 'You will receive your passport and visa in the mail within 5-7 days.' I came up to the counter at this point and asked the same question as to what happens now, and he said the same thing. I gave my fiance a big smile and huge hug! So happy!!
The interview was on a Monday. On Friday she got a text saying that her passport was ready for pickup between 4-5 PM at the US Embassy in New Delhi. If not, it would be mailed back to the VFS Office in Chandigarh where she could pick it up. We were already back in Punjab so we just waited to pick it up from there. On Monday they called her saying it was ready for pick up at the VFS Office, so she went the next day and picked it up.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #9366