Consulate Review: Manila, Philippines
Review Topic: Other Experience
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
January 19, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
MY CR1 INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE – USEM Manila, Ph
I am so thankful for the group and i learned a lot from the experiences of the everyone here, so i decided to write up a rundown of what happened on my interview day.. i hope some of you would get mental notes of what i will share
I was set to sleep around 11 pm (normally, 1 sleep late, like 2 am since i still talk to my hubby, who’s in CA). As much as i tried to sleep, inde talaga ako makatulog, so my hubby was still accompanying me via chat, and making sure that i have all my papers complete.. as much as i have organized all the papers the way our sisters assisted me with their guide, insistent si husband to fix it the way he way he wanted it to be (like what the interview email specifically listed it. We made sure that we have all orig companies, plus 2 photocopies just in case, being a good wife, i did comply. Well, i thought outside of the box, i brought even more stuff, like our wedding guestbook, pre nuo coffee book, wedding planning clearbook and more photos together.. i just wanna make sure nothing will be left behind.. my bag, i felt was more than 5kls of documents and proofs altogether.
I tried to see if i can at least nap, so at 330 am, i caught a wink, and woke up at 430 am, my interview is not till 830, but i just wanted to be prepared. I had coffee and tried to eat something, but i really couldnt.. so what i did was just ran through some possible q and as while having a cuppa... around that time, hubby did give me a wake up message, and we chatted a bit, then took shower.. hubby was soooo concerned and made sure i check all my docs before i left, and i did.. took a shower, changed and did my make up. Hubby was even telling not to bring makeup as it may not be allowed, so i took time to apply it .. hehehe.. i was all ready at 530 am.. i asked my bro in law and sister to drive me to the embassy, the thing was, we really stay up late ( my bro in law is fr UAE and is still adjusting to the time, was only in the ph for a vacation). I was thinking that if they are still not awake by 6am, i would commute going to the embassy. But 5 mins before 6 i heard their door open, which was a relief.. my sister went down and i asked them if they’re ok to drop me off and they said it’s not a problem it was a great start..
We left the house at 630 am. We are from Cavite and a normal drive in a work week that time usually takes 2 hours. I was hoping and praying we’d get there very early. But another positive sign was, even if it was a school day, traffic wasnt that bad. During the entire travel, i was so quiet, it was my sis and my bro in law talking all the time. They gave me words of encouragement and told me just to be myself. Bro in law said, just be confident, and if things will not work out, dont act as if i’ll beg to ask for the visa (because he lives in an arab country, and is a local emirati, it’s hard for them to be granted a visa, even if they’re rich ) he talked to me about his friends experiences before and how they were turned down.. so i understand his point. We arrived at the embassy and they dropped me off at the tent area, wished me luck, and i went to proceed to the entrance check area.
I was initially expecting a lot of people to be there, but there were a handful at the entrance, there was a queue for the immigrant visa and fiancee visa applicant, a queue for seafarers, uscis and other businesses. They checked and took time to look at the papers of k1 applicant. If they see you have an invitation letter for immigrant visa, they will let you in to the door 3 entrance immediately. After the bag check and metal detector body scan, i made my way inside.The lady guard instructed me to get a ticket first before going inside. From the ticket booth, they checked my interview letter, placed my pp in a ziplock bag, stapled a copy of my ticket number on the interview letter and was instructed to drop my letter off to window 39. The doors of the US embassy were so heavy, like, i described it to my hubby as it was like a bank’s security vault door. Inside, i noticed a lot of people were already in. There was a separate wing of the building for non immigrant and immigrant applicants. So i went in, had m belongings checked. And immediately went to window 39 to drop off my letter. It was around 8am then. I thought that pre screeenings and interviews will be held in a room, but i noticed all the interviews and checks were done standing, as if you’re transacting with a bank teller..
I felt like there was more than 300 people inside. I was praying that my turn would not take too long. Ive read that numbers are NOT CALLED IN NUMERICAL ORDER , and had been advised to look at the queue board and check if the number has been flashed. I was called for fingerprint scanning at about 855am. There was a proper system inside because one area was for fingerprint scanning, another for filipino screener evaluation and an area for consul interview. We were asked to proceed to the next area if we finished each step.
At around 10 am, i was called to the Filipino screener area already. Got to have a nice time with the pinoy screener as he was friendly, which was a relief because i was nervous every after each step. The screener asked me basics, like who was my petitioner, when did we get married, when did we meet, . I told me we met online thru MIRC and he asked, what’s MIRC, I told him it was a chatroom program. He then said when did you physically met. I told him the exact date. And he asked in tagalog, why did it take you a while to get married. Quite long relationship. I told him it was a mutual decision, and bec of familial obligations... he said, that’s great.. then he asked me to sign my DS230 part 2 form, and checked my DS230 part I. He noticed my degree was education and asked, which level. I told him High School. He asked which subject and i said Physics, he said, that’s my fave subject, i got 76, i smiled at him and laughed a bit with him.. He asked me if we have joint properties, CEMAR, passbooks and remittances, and i showed him. He looked at my mom in law’s AOS file, and was looking for her wage statement. He was checking the NVC file, and it wasnt there, he told me, mam, you’d make me compute for her wage, it isnt here (My hubby verified that he is sure he placed it in the package, and that NVC might have lost it.) I told him, “wait sir, I have a copy here, let me check.” I gave him my copy of my mom in law’s AOS, and he said. This is fine. NOTE: PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR AOS HAVE WAGE STATEMENTS, JUST TO BE READY. He then asked me for pictures of our relationship progress, specifically transitions, like different years we were together. So i gave him. PIECE OF ADVISE. DONT DO SCRAPBOOKS ANYMORE, THE GLASS WINDOW OPENING IS VERY SMALL, LIKE A TOKEN BOOTH OPENING FROM A TRAINSTATION OR AN AMUSEMENT PARK. What i did the night before was separated the pics in a clearbook plastic sheet, and that came in handy. I dropped as much pictures as he wanted and he was satisfied. He then asked me to sit and wait for my name to be processed.
It was quite a wait. My number flashed at 11 am. Asked to proceed to window 66 for my Consul interview. He was a middle aged consul who looked like matt damon. He asked me questions almost the same questions the pinoy consul asked. Then he asked for pictures, and asked where i will live and who will be with us.. after all the questions, i thought he asked far less questions than the pinoy pre screener. he was scrutinizing my paper, and i saw the stamper. I got nervous, because it may either mean denied or approved. I prayed to god silently that the consul will grant me approval. After a minute of dead silence, he said, Well, I approved your visa, congratulations!, wait for your number to flash and await for visa delivery instructions. --- Those words made my day! Teary eyed but happy. I told him, really sir???!!! Thank you... it was funny telling this part to my hubby because he asked, why did i say really.. it was the first word to come out of my mouth.. hehehe
Even though it took like 5 minutes, it felt like forever to end the qa with the consul. I went back and sat at the waiting area with a big smile on my face. I was already planning on my head where to call my husband.. 30 minutes passed before my number was flashed at window 73, for document re verification, and since there are no more pending docs, i was asked to go to window 69 for delivery instructions. I opted for home delivery, and immediately went outside. I asked the guard for the nearest internet shop, and since it’s in the malate area, i couldnt go bec of the heavy docs with me. Asked for payfone and he pointed me to it.. immediately scourged my purse for loose coins because i wanted to share the news to my hubby. I only had 20 php coins, which was enough to make a 2 min call and called my hubby. Tried his mobile, he did not pick up. Called his landline, he picked up, and i told him... what do you think??? He jokingly said... failed... i almost shouted.. NOOOOO... hehehe.. we talked a bit about the experience and i felt he was happy too.. passed the fone to my mom in law but the call got cut. Purchased a 40php juice bottle nearby just to get coins and called my mom in law again. I told them, i’ll call via viber when i get home..
I left the embassy at 1130 with a big smile and silently thanked god for the blessing..
FEW POINTS :
1. Make sure you have all orig docs with you.All recent docs. Even if CEMAR wasnt included in the letter, bring one. And bring copies just in case.
2. Make sure your passports are current, and not to expire soon – one grandpa had a 221g for pp almost nearing expiry, pp can take 2 months to process.
3. Eat before you get inside – i didnt and i was famished after the interview
4. Bring coins to call your loved ones immediately, share to them the great news
5. Most importanly... PRAY, be yourself, be confident and always have a smile on your face. It helped me a lot! |
| Rating : |
Very Good |
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ver 5.0