Consulate Review: Manila, Philippines
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
December 19, 2011 |
| Embassy Review : |
On some of my past entries, I've been ranting about how I felt as I went through the series of waiting for my fiance visa's approval. I wont lie, it was a big test of patience. And for a person who isn't very patient, I would say I did pretty well in trying to overcome this challenge. I never really knew how it was like to ride "a rollercoster of emotions" till I have experienced this long distance relationship. To me, it's being happy that you have someone so special in your life, and at the same time, being sad because you're miles and miles apart. Being away from the love of my life is one tough challenge. REALLY TOUGH.
My fiance and I are on the final stretch of this waiting game, and last December 9th, the big day finally arrived. My appointment was at 6:45am. I woke up at 4, just so I wouldn't have to rush. I prepared everything the night before. The outfit, the hair blow-dryer, the make up, and the envelope of documents, which contained the paperwork that I started gathering months ago.
I was accompanied by my mom and together, we left the house at 5:15am. Around this time, traffic in Manila is nowhere to be found so I didn't have to worry about being late. In fact, I reached the US Embassy quite early (6:15 maybe?), and at that moment, they didn't allow those under my appointed time to get in yet. My mom and I waited outside where there were people constantly reminding you that electronics are not allowed, also those who are offering services such as rush ID, or pens for sale. I didn't need any of it. Finally, we were called in. Upon entry, they checked my appointment letter, passport, 2 copies each of the 3 DS forms. I kept everything organized with the help of paperclips and yet the woman at the entrance would just take out the paperclips, check one copy of each DS and would give them back one by one, in no particular order, in no particular form (sideways, front view, back view), some pages even fell on the floor so I had to pick them up… She would apologize and she's actually nice but I swear it drove me nuts. I was in high heels, carrying a heavy plastic envelope with my 2 hands, and a shoulder bag which made my movements limited. PIECE OF ADVICE: Wear comfy shoes on the day of your interview.
When I got in, I went through security check, and I heard that the lady behind me was asked to surrender a memory card that was detected in her bag. Yes, even memory cards or USBs are not allowed. They wouldn't keep it for her so she just threw it somewhere. I went to the ticket booth where they gave out the numbers. One will be attached to your forms, and the other one is for you to keep. I surrendered the requirements on one window and patiently waited for my number to be called. The numbers are called out in the most random order ever! It's as random as having the number 5045 flashed first to 6095 next. So you have to watch carefully. I was called after about an hour and a half for fingerprint-scanning. Then after that, I had to wait for another hour or so to be interviewed by a Filipino pre-screener. She was very nice. Here are the questions:
-Who's your petitioner?
-How did you meet your fiance?
-How often does he visit you?
-How often do you communicate with each other? How do you communicate?
-How old is he?
-What does he work as?
-Is he still studying? Where?
…I saw that she had our I-129F from NVC with her. And she was browsing through it. She also asked if I had photos with me. I brought 2 albums, and she actually browsed through everything. lol. After that, she asked me to sit and wait for my number to be called, and she also wished me luck. It was the last time that I had to wait till my interview with the consul. I took the opportunity to pray.
At last! After an hour (or maybe 45 mins?) It was my turn to be interviewed by a consul officer. The CO was a caucasian guy who's probably in his late 20's or early 30's. The questions were almost the same as that of the Filipino pre-screener's but anyway, here's how it went…
CO: Good morning.
Me: Hi Sir. Good morning.
CO: How are you today?
Me: I'm good. How are you, sir?
CO: Good.
CO: So who is your petitioner?
Me: My petitioner is my fiance, (fiance's full name)
CO: OK, and how did you meet him?
Me: I met him when I was on vacation in San Francisco three years ago. My cousin and my fiance, they go to the same university so they had common friends and--
CO: What university?
Me: (university name)
CO: OK… *types something on the computer*
Me: I met him at a college party.
CO: Oh, ok.
CO: So does he work or is he still studying?
Me: He's a working student.
CO: Oh so he's both…
Me: Yes sir.
CO: So does he do both full time?
Me: No sir, he's a full-time student who works part-time.
CO: OK *browses through the I-134*
…How many years does he have left in university?
Me: He has two semesters left to finish, sir.
CO: And what does he plan to do once he works full-time?
Me: He wants to be a computer programmer.
CO: Do you have pictures to show me?
Me: Yes sir, I actually have 2 albums.
CO: Just show me one or two through the window.
Me: *flips album* This is us during our engagement party, *flips to the next page*
…And this is us with my family.
CO: OK, everything looks good. Please wait for your number to be called where you can anticipate the approval of your Visa.
Me: *smiles* Thank you, sir. (I wanted to run around, jump, scream for joy, and let the crowd of random people know that my visa's approved.) But I just smiled from ear to ear instead as I sat and waited.
My number was called on the next window, and the Filipino guy there just told me to wait for my visa to be delivered. YESSS!!!
I'm still waiting. So far, it's been 6 working days, but at least the hard part is over. Stay strong and always pray, my fellow VJers. If it's love, there ain't no stopping it! God bless you all!  |
| Rating : |
Very Good |
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ver 5.0