|
|
| Madrid, Spain |  Review on March 22, 2012: |
Ryan and Pamela
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Hello to everyone,
First of all I would like to thank everyone on this site - their information, forums, and comments really help you through the whole process. There is just so much information out there (some good, some bad) and sometimes it feels overwhelming. This site has helped us with the process and that´s why I think it´s also important to share information and personal experiences with others here - to give back and to ultimately help others who are or will soon be in the same situation as the rest of us. With that said....
Our journey was with the Madrid Embassy in Spain. I will be relating some of this post to the information already posted on the Madrid embassy on this site, and the rest of this post will be on our personal experiences and opinions....any feedback is more than welcome of course!
The interview for my wife (the Spanish citizen) was scheduled by the NVC for March 8 at 15.00, which was a Thursday afternoon. Obviously this does not coincide with the information on this site - and from what I have previously read until now - that the inteviews were always on Wednesdays in the morning.
There are 2 different places to have the medical exam done in Madrid. We decided to go with the Unidad Medica Angloamericana. We were satisfied with the way we were treated and everything went smoothly. You do need to take 2 american sized (5cm x 5cm) passport photos with you. When my wife was in the embassy waiting to be interviewed, she spoke with another couple that had their medical exam at the Centro de Radioagnostico and they said that they had problems. I would suggest going to the Unidad Medica Angloamericana, the hospital where you have to get an x-ray done is about a 20 minute walk away, but if it´s a nice day in Madrid it´s not a problem.
Regarding the interview, I have read information stating that women cannot bring in their purses, etc. My wife did not go with her purse and once in she asked if she could have brought it and they said it would be no problem. Take what you will from this...I´m not suggesting to go in with a backpack or a laptop, but I´m pretty sure you can bring a purse. They only made my wife leave here cell phone with the security guard at the gate. When I went with her to the interview, I asked if I could go into the Embassy with her. They said that I could not enter because I was not on the list. I did not press the issue and stayed outside. When my wife´s number got called for the interview, the consulate officer asked ¨Where is your husband?¨. She told him that the security guards would not let me in....to which he replied ¨he could have come in if he wanted¨. Maybe I should have pressed the issue more or showed him my American passport. My wife also saw other couples in the interview office waiting.....what I´m trying to say is that I´m pretty sure you have the right to go in with your husband/wife, you might have to press the issue a little bit, but hey, if you get in that´s the important thing.
Her interview was no problem. They reviewed her petition that they had recieved from the NVC (she took in copies of everything just in case) and did not ask for more passport photos, although I do suggest taking a few extra just in case. She was asked the following 3 questions: Where did you meet your husband? Where do you plan to live in the U.S.? What will you do when you are there? She responded to all of them, he said that all of the paperwork looked good to him and said ¨Congratulations, your visa is approved.¨ It will be sent to our house in about 7-10 days.
So that was our trip to Madrid! Had some sleepless nights the whole week of the trip, but if you have your paperpwork approved from the NVC and have nothing to hide (being a bone fide marriage) you should not worry! We´ve been married 7 years now and are moving to the states because the job situation is horrible here, hope everything works out!
I hope you can extract some useful information from this post and good luck with your journey!
If anyone has any questions/comments, I will be checking this post and will try to respond as best I can.
| |
|
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #9367