Consulate Review: Sweden
Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
July 18, 2017 |
| Embassy Review : |
Review per my wife:
I’m gonna try & write this as detailed as possible, but for you who don’t like to read a lot, at least read this one tip:
Have your documents in order, with the checklist as reference. First thing on the checklist is the document you have on the top of your little pile, basically.
I also kept documents & proof separated, & I divided the proof into different categories (pictures in one folder, correspondence etc in another).
This saved me a lot of time & stress.
OK so! I’m lucky & live walking distance from the embassy, wanted to be out in good time & therefore arrived kind of early: 07:35.
My interview was scheduled to be at 08:30, just like all the other immigrant visa applicants I talked to. So it’s first come, first served.
There’s two lines outside of the embassy. One of them (the longer one) leads into some sort of “glass tunnel†thingie. That one is for NON-immigrant visas. There’s another line more parallel with the entrance. It had a black sign that said “Please wait here†& of course one that stated that the line was for immigrant visas. The latter sign is facing the embassy, so I didn’t see it at first.
I was also the first one there, & a guard peeking out of the entrance made sure that the immigrant visa was what I was there for.
I had to wait until 08:10, I think, until they called me. For me it was worth the wait to be first in line.
They asked me to show my passport through the window, to open my folder case & show what was in there, & to turn off my cellphone. I also had to turn around & show my shoe soles before I was allowed to enter.
In the first room it’s pretty small. They have the typical airport x-ray machine, & scanned all my stuff in it.
2nd tip: Don’t bring a lot of stuff. They will store your electronics for you, but they don’t have a lot of room. It will also save you some time.
Once they put my stuff in the little storage box I was given a number tag so I could pick it all up after the interview.
The people in this first room all seemed like good ones & treated me very nicely. They told me to inform the guard in the waiting room that I was there for immigration, & that I was supposed to go to window 7.
After that I walked up to the other building. It’s only one possible way, really, & it’s very very close.
I told the guard my purpose, but he seemed a little bit confused & wanted me to take a number & wait with the rest of the people (that was there for non-immigration visas). Luckily, I only had to wait for 5-10 minutes or so, because it was indeed the wrong window.
The gentleman sitting there told me to simply walk up to window 7 & wait in front of it, which I did.
Quickly a very pleasant & friendly Swedish woman approached & asked me if I had read the IMBRA pamphlet, for my passport & then documents. I gave her the folder with all the required documents listed on the checklist, & she grabbed some of them & gave me back the rest.
As far as I remember she was interested in my original Swedish birth certificate & my police records (she kept these two), & the original marriage certificate (this one they gave me back after the interview). My husband had given me his updated tax documents (since he received these after we had sent away all our documents to NVC), & she was interested in that too (I mean, why not).
After this she asked me if I had brought some proof to show that our relationship was real. I gave her some pictures which I had marked with place, year & occasional comments on the back.
She then asked me if I had some proof of correspondence, print screens from Skype or similar. I.e. proof of communication. I handed her some print screens from messenger, a Skype print screen & a little silly note with a one loving message from each of us.
I did have more proof with me, but she seemed satisfied & asked me to sit down & wait until I was being called to window 5.
I waited for about 30-35 minutes, I think. Then I got to talk to an American woman. She was equally nice, & even complimented one of my proof pictures.
I’m gonna try & remember the questions she asked me. It does seem like they ask slightly different questions depending on who they have in front of them. So basically, you will not get asked something you don’t already know the answer to.
OK here we go:
Who’s the filing petitioner in US?
What’s your relationship with him?
Right now, does he live in Sweden or in the US?
Where are you moving?
How do you know each other?
When was the first time you met?
When did you start dating?
Where/when did you get engaged/married?
How many times did you visit him, or vice versa?
Where does he work?
Does he live alone, or with roommates, family..?
When was the last time you saw each other?
Have any of you been married before?
Have you ever been living abroad before?
Everything was said with a smile, more or less. My interviewer was a very very kind person with good vibes. Talking to her, I didn’t feel nervous at all; neither did I feel nervous around any of the other people working at the embassy.
After the questions she gave me back some documents, my pictures & a paper that basically says that they can’t approve my visa until they get the results from my medical exam, which I already knew. The paper states that you been denied, but she told me something like “don’t worry about this at all, this is a paper we have to give to you, & it only shows that we’re waiting for your medical results.â€
She told me that they had all the documents (except the medical), & that I would receive a package within 10 days (or two weeks, if the medical takes a little bit extra time to deliver because it’s summer). In the package, she said, my passport will be, & it will have my visa in it.
& that was that.
I just walked back to the first little entrance room, picked up my phone & felt HAPPY.
I really enjoyed my experience with the American embassy & its employees, & I can totally see why people keep rating it high.
So peeps, don’t be worried. Make sure your documents are in order, & that you have some good proof. The people you will be talking to will be nice, heck, even super nice! It’s not some hardcore trial, just a couple of question you already know the answer to! Piece of cake (& this comes from someone that’s usually super duper nervous).
You’ve got this!
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| Rating : |
Very Good |
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ver 5.0