Nairobi Embassy Thread!

[realras 1]

NVC had scheduled our interview before they sent the file to Nairobi. From the time we got case complete, it was about 3 weeks before we had an interview date, which was then about a month away.

We used the spousal visa, so we didn't submit a DS-160. I know the processes are different so I'll let someone else comment on that.

My husband was in Kenya for a total of about 2 weeks. His interview was on Nov 19 and when I originally emailed the IOM to schedule the medical exam they had given us an appt on Nov 3-4. I decided to try to ask to change it to be closer to the interview date and luckily they did, so his medical exams were then Nov 13-14. That is one way to lower the amount of time you have to spend in Nairobi.

Also, my husband searched our friend networks and found someone willing to host him for free (of course he bought food and things for everyone as much as he could). Then, he stayed at China Garden Hotel for only one night before the interview, which was about 75 USD. From what he told me it was only a 5-10 minute walk to the Embassy so he could be there by 5:45am before his interview. He just walked around the area one afternoon after his medical exam and was able to look for places to stay that way. I don't think he found a cheaper place that was really convenient. For us, the important thing was being close and not having to worry about traffic the morning of the interview. I would highly recommend trying to find someone to stay with, if possible. Then you will also be able to cook your own food and not spend all of your money in restaurants. Compared to Uganda, Kenya is very expensive!

Good luck!

hi Oklai125 thank you so much for responding. I will consider the hotel the night before the interview for sure. I was looking on airbnb and they have some decent rooms to stay in for $20- and up self catering like you mentioned. I'm just not sure how far things are apart. On the map it looks manageable but in real life who knows?? Do you know how far time wise the IOM office and the Embassy are from nairobi central or the westlands highridge area?? Thanks again so much for the advice.. it is much appreciated

I hope some one else who knows about the K-1 process in Narobi can add to the discussion.. I like to be prepared as best as possible, beforehand.. Thanks Ricciardo

p.s. congrats on your husbands approval and coming POE you must be giddy with joy lol God Bless Best of Luck

[Kolewenoik31 57]

Jan 26th interview set

[NYCruiser 423]

hi Oklai125 thank you so much for responding. I will consider the hotel the night before the interview for sure. I was looking on airbnb and they have some decent rooms to stay in for $20- and up self catering like you mentioned. I'm just not sure how far things are apart. On the map it looks manageable but in real life who knows?? Do you know how far time wise the IOM office and the Embassy are from nairobi central or the westlands highridge area?? Thanks again so much for the advice.. it is much appreciated

I hope some one else who knows about the K-1 process in Narobi can add to the discussion.. I like to be prepared as best as possible, beforehand.. Thanks Ricciardo

p.s. congrats on your husbands approval and coming POE you must be giddy with joy lol God Bless Best of Luck

I see from your timeline you filed in August of this year? You are in NYC? That would be the famous Texas Service Center who will be processing your I-129f paperwork. Current waiting period (as was for us) was 6-7 months unfortunately.

So in March or so I would contact them at the USCIS Service Center. We applied for a K1 Visa too. Once they approve it goes to the National Visa Center, so it is supposed to take about two weeks before it gets to Nairobi.

We would email the Embassy at the email they give you on their website and they get back to you within a day. They will contact you only via email (no snail mail) to respond to your concerns.

The process is very fast after the TSC waiting period

[KASH2011 382]

Jan 26th interview set

Good luck!

[MTA 3]

We just finished day one at IOM. We arrived at 7:30 am to beat the morning traffic. It seems like things will go rather smoothly as long as you have these items out and ready:

1) passport

2) the scheduling sheet that they sent you by email

3) 2"x2" photos (at least two of them, and make sure they are the correct size)

4) vaccination records (so that you don't have to pay for any that you already have)

5) a letter from the consular indicating your case number - my fiance got hung up on this one because we didn't have an actual letter, but an email printed out and it was mixed in with everything that we plan to provide at the embassy on the interview date (I had her bring everything to the medical exams just in case). A series of frustrating phone calls ensued as I tried to explain to her what the paper looked like so that she could show it to them. I should have just made a second copy and put it together with all of the other items above.

When she finished everything, they gave her a payment coupon for the amount that we needed to pay for the medical exam and vaccinations. You have the option to pay in either USD or Kenyan Shillings. The slip is for Commercial Bank of Africa. We just walked 5 minutes down the road to the Village Market to make the deposit. The bank gave us a stamped receipt that she will bring with her on day two.

This process is very stressful for the fiance, so having all of the papers in order and making sure that they know what all of them are (label everything!) I think helps them to feel more confident and at ease.

I'll try to keep everyone updated as we continue the process.

Edited December 9, 2014 by MTA

[NYCruiser 423]

The IOM people are great indeed. The best thing we found was to first contact the IOM directly. They email you the information for the Medical. One thing they do ask you on the phone is the case #. The USC can get the # from the VSC.

The exam I am told is pretty straightforward. If your fiance has already got the vaccinations that were stamped on the Yellow DOH book then they record it.

One thing we noticed that at the POE they take all the Medical Docs and only give you a copy of the vaccination record.

Anything else let me know

David

[Kolewenoik31 57]

We just finished day one at IOM. We arrived at 7:30 am to beat the morning traffic. It seems like things will go rather smoothly as long as you have these items out and ready:

1) passport

2) the scheduling sheet that they sent you by email

3) 2"x2" photos (at least two of them, and make sure they are the correct size)

4) vaccination records (so that you don't have to pay for any that you already have)

5) a letter from the consular indicating your case number - my fiance got hung up on this one because we didn't have an actual letter, but an email printed out and it was mixed in with everything that we plan to provide at the embassy on the interview date (I had her bring everything to the medical exams just in case). A series of frustrating phone calls ensued as I tried to explain to her what the paper looked like so that she could show it to them. I should have just made a second copy and put it together with all of the other items above.

When she finished everything, they gave her a payment coupon for the amount that we needed to pay for the medical exam and vaccinations. You have the option to pay in either USD or Kenyan Shillings. The slip is for Commercial Bank of Africa. We just walked 5 minutes down the road to the Village Market to make the deposit. The bank gave us a stamped receipt that she will bring with her on day two.

This process is very stressful for the fiance, so having all of the papers in order and making sure that they know what all of them are (label everything!) I think helps them to feel more confident and at ease.

I'll try to keep everyone updated as we continue the process.

What vaccines will your fiance need? And if you already have vaccinations what proof will IOM accept, is it a special card or something from your own personal physician?

[Kolewenoik31 57]

The IOM people are great indeed. The best thing we found was to first contact the IOM directly. They email you the information for the Medical. One thing they do ask you on the phone is the case #. The USC can get the # from the VSC.

The exam I am told is pretty straightforward. If your fiance has already got the vaccinations that were stamped on the Yellow DOH book then they record it. What are the vaccines? MMR, Tdap, influenza?

One thing we noticed that at the POE they take all the Medical Docs and only give you a copy of the vaccination record.

Anything else let me know

David

[MTA 3]

What vaccines will your fiance need? And if you already have vaccinations what proof will IOM accept, is it a special card or something from your own personal physician?

My fiance has the sheet right now with the list of vacs, but I'll let you know when I see it.

My fiance brought her yellow WHO card and an official letter from her government's vaccination records office with a list of vacs she's received.

[Kolewenoik31 57]

My fiance has the sheet right now with the list of vacs, but I'll let you know when I see it.

My fiance brought her yellow WHO card and an official letter from her government's vaccination records office with a list of vacs she's received.

Ok I will wait for your response. I was trying to explain to my hubby what it might look like and to see if he can avoid paying all that money at IOM and just get them in his village for a cheaper cost.

[MTA 3]

Ok I will wait for your response. I was trying to explain to my hubby what it might look like and to see if he can avoid paying all that money at IOM and just get them in his village for a cheaper cost.

Yes, definitely try to get as many as you can beforehand because it's probably going to be much cheaper. I think my fiance's yellow fever shot was only a few dollars in Rwanda.

[Kolewenoik31 57]

Yes, definitely try to get as many as you can beforehand because it's probably going to be much cheaper. I think my fiance's yellow fever shot was only a few dollars in Rwanda.

Is yellow fever one of the required shots? I thought there were only 3 plus chicken pox but if you had them its waved.

[MTA 3]

Is yellow fever one of the required shots? I thought there were only 3 plus chicken pox but if you had them its waved.

I don't think it's required for US immigration, but I mentioned it because it's one that she got recently and I was surprised by the cost difference from when I got mine in the US. Vaccines seem to be cheaper in developing countries. She got the yellow fever shot because it's required for entering Rwanda, so she would need it if we ever want to return. They don't usually check for it, but better safe than sorry!

She got the following shots at IOM:

Varicella $54

Influenza $28

MMR $26

DT $32

Unfortunately they don't have any of them in Rwanda, so we had to pay for all of them at IOM!

Day two went much more quickly because all of the paperwork and orientation is finished on day one. The worst part is being poked at during the physical exam and then getting shots. But once this part is over you get some time to relax until the interview date!

[Kolewenoik31 57]

I don't think it's required for US immigration, but I mentioned it because it's one that she got recently and I was surprised by the cost difference from when I got mine in the US. Vaccines seem to be cheaper in developing countries. She got the yellow fever shot because it's required for entering Rwanda, so she would need it if we ever want to return. They don't usually check for it, but better safe than sorry!

She got the following shots at IOM: So it was $140 total or was that just 4 the vacs plus $138 4 exam?

Varicella $54

Influenza $28

MMR $26

DT $32

Unfortunately they don't have any of them in Rwanda, so we had to pay for all of them at IOM!

Day two went much more quickly because all of the paperwork and orientation is finished on day one. The worst part is being poked at during the physical exam and then getting shots. But once this part is over you get some time to relax until the interview date!

Thank you so much another question.....are there any cheap hostels around the area? Did she stay close or further away from IOM, and do you know how far the Embassy is from IOM?

Edited December 11, 2014 by Kolewenoik31

[MTA 3]

Thank you so much another question.....are there any cheap hostels around the area? Did she stay close or further away from IOM, and do you know how far the Embassy is from IOM?

It's the 138 plus the cost of whatever shots you need.

We're staying outside of the city center, so we're paying more for taxis and we have to leave very early to get through the traffic, but it's safe and affordable where we are staying. IOM is in the same general area of the US embassy. In fact, there are several embassies in the area. Hotels around there are expensive, though. You have to decide what you want to trade off. We are suffering through traffic into/out of town, but it is safe and quiet. I hear that hotels in the city center are very cheap, but I didn't want to have to worry about security. It just depends on how much you are willing to pay compared to how close you want to be to the embassy. Of course, you could split your time between different places and stay close by on the days that you have appointments and stay in a cheaper place on the other days. It just takes more planning.

Thank you so much another question.....are there any cheap hostels around the area? Did she stay close or further away from IOM, and do you know how far the Embassy is from IOM?

It's the 138 plus the cost of whatever shots you need.

We're staying outside of the city center, so we're paying more for taxis and we have to leave very early to get through the traffic, but it's safe and affordable where we are staying. IOM is in the same general area of the US embassy. In fact, there are several embassies in the area. Hotels around there are expensive, though. You have to decide what you want to trade off. We are suffering through traffic into/out of town, but it is safe and quiet. I hear that hotels in the city center are very cheap, but I didn't want to have to worry about security. It just depends on how much you are willing to pay compared to how close you want to be to the embassy. Of course, you could split your time between different places and stay close by on the days that you have appointments and stay in a cheaper place on the other days. It just takes more planning.