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| Guangzhou, China |  Review on June 15, 2012: |
Pitaya
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
The medical exam for my fiancee and stepson was on 11 June 2012. Due to weather delay in Beijing, I arrived in GZ at midnight. Their scheduled document intake was at 12:30pm on 13 June 2012. By that time, there was quite a crowd outside the entrance to the building. Due to the number of other applicants, they were able to complete the document intake in about 3 hours. My fiancee was asked some rather off-putting questions by the Chinese woman accepting the documents, such as, "Why did she want to marry an American man?" However, my lady was at the top of her game, it was her birthday, so she felt like super-woman! Additionally, we had rehearsed numerous times appropriate responses to all manner of potential questions. They were given stamped instructions on the appointment form to show up the next day (14 June 2012) at 7:30am for their interview. (On the form there was placed a green circular sticker with the black line across the diameter. We were unable to determine any significance to the green sticker.) They arrived a little before 7:30 am on the 14th, there was another big crowd already assembled in front of the building housing the consulate. I hang out for awhile at the cafe and then went back to our hotel room around the corner from the consulate, due to a bad case of jet lag). They arrived back at the hotel around 11am, with the visa approval notice. My fiancee said the interview lasted about 10 minutes, the western male CO was professional, but friendly. She presented my un-notarized EOR letter, folded in my passport to the CO. She said that he scanned it and my passport, then returned my passport to her. He asked if she was a member of the CCP, asked about our trips together in China. My stepson noted that the CO seemed to type information slowly into his computer, but was carefully observing both my fiancee's and stepson's eye movements and facial expressions. The CO looked over our photographs (~30) that included the three of us, me with her family, and she and I on our trips together. His final question was if he could trust her statements. She emphatically replied, "Yes, you certainly can!" He then said that their visas were approved and happy birthday!
Overall, the experience was quite nerve-racking (naturally), but in the end uneventful. All of us agreed that the hot and humid weather in Guangzhou was not to our liking.
A few caveats: Come prepared to state your case. My fiancee took almost four inches of supporting documents and evidence to the interview. The CO asked for very little of it, but could see that we had done our homework. Be truthful and succinct in your answers. The old saying, "The truth will set you free," comes to mind. Work as a team and support your future partner.
Thanks to all of the great people at this site, the information and advice was invaluable.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #9842