OK this is my first post here, I'm starting the application process for the k-1 visa to have my boyfriend come to the US. I am currently living in Peru with him, but will be going back to the states in april. Do I need to be at the interview with him? I really want to go back to the states and start working, plus I have already purchased my ticket. Did I just screw myself?

Do you need to be there? No... You can relax now.

Some people just like to be there for support.

I've heard different things, but it surely would not hurt. I plan on being at the interview in Lima on March 15th. For me, there's no way I would take any chances on this.....if my presence helps, then I'm there.

I attended the interview with my wife. It is not a "requirement." But you may want to attend. If you do attend--be prepared to answer questions also--as you will also be interviewed. The day I went to the interview only about 20% of those there that day had the USC there with them for interview. Also I have read where people have been denied the visa with or without the USC present--so its not safe to say your presence will guarantee the visa is approved.

What will guarantee the visa is to be prepared and truthful. Have all your documents and stories straight and you sail through no problem. Good luck!

As far as the OP's question goes, there are no "hearing different things". There is no requirement for the USC to be at the interview.

Will it hurt? Probable not. Will it help? Who knows? The question was: is it required? The answer is no.

Wow....what crawled up your rear end?

Yes, it is true that is not required for the USC to be present at the time of the interview......but we all know that sometimes the unwritten rules and perceptions are more important. I talked to a couple of people that went through the U.S. embassy in Lima and the feeling was that it helped.

I suggest to the OP that you do a search in the profile for people that have gone through Lima and get their perspective.

flipside,
Message boards like this are partly for clearing up facts, but mainly for sharing experiences of reality.

Peru has a funny reputation and it was a defacto unwritten rule that the USC petitioner had to appear at the interview if the visa was going to be issued. I know this from reading others' experiences. I don't know what is happening there currently, but the OP has a valid question that should be addressed by people who have recently gone through that Consulate.

My apologies then. I wasn't aware of any unwritten rules.

It *does* look pretty stoopid written that way... Just putting in my two cents that the OP is wise to ask

Yes... the Lima consulate will not issue the visa until they have talked to the USC. At times they will allow a phone interview (have heard this on occassion), but usually they issue a 221g and won't issue the visa until the USC appears and they can interview the USC as well.

yes, I was asking because I have heard of this "unwritten rule" and was hoping that it was just a myth. I'm going to try to call the embassy and get their opinion, but for now, I'm going to count on having to buy another ticket to come back here...I think the interview will be a good thing for us, and I'll have to bring our baby son, so there's proof of the relationship right there. I was just dreaming about not having to buy another expensive plane ticket.

Yeah, those tickets are not cheap. I did pretty well though on Expedia for my upcoming trip to Lima for the interview. I booked on Delta for $538 and just about fell to the floor. Prior to that, I was spending about $1,200 to get to Arequipa. I fly out of Chicago, but there are not a ton of options for me.

WOW! $538! That is incredible. I usually pay 800ish roundtrip, with a student discount. I have a long way off until we even get the interview date, so I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed that I find a good deal.

Peru now does it a little differently, just so you are aware. Now, they send Packet 3 and 4 at the same time. That means, you are given your interview date right away.....generally 6 weeks out or so. Just make sure that gives you enough time to get all of the police certificates.....and make sure you get the correct police certificates as well. Many people mess that one up because the directions are not so good.

You need to get a Frequent Flyer credit card like one with Delta or American Airlines. Me and the Wife are flying to Lima on 60,000 flying miles we have with a total cost of $69 dollars round trip for each of us. (Atlanta to Miami to Lima)

I'm so hating you right now hahahaha. I signed up for a United card several years back and have tons of miles.......the only problem is that they don't fly to Peru! Ain't that a b!tch.........we'll use those United miles for Europe or Australia though.

Given that we will be heading to Peru probably once per year, I'm looking into the American Airlines card....but that really hurts because I hate that airline. I had plenty of bad experiences with them.

mercuryroad: "Code Share".
I used my AA miles to take a trip last year and never boarded an AA plane all the way to Asia and back.

Um.. you do know that you can use your united miles on 15 other airlines?

www.staralliance.com

Yep.....I spoke with United before booking my last flight. They wanted to send me to Brazil and have me wait overnight. Then, they wanted me to book a flight from Rio to Lima myself through Varig. The whole thing was pretty ridiculous actually. I saw the cheap ticket to Lima on Delta so I went ahead and booked it. I asked the agent at United about the Star Alliance partners and there wasn't anything they could do for me.

After hearing alot of stories about the Lima consulate I decided to go and would reccomend going

greetings,

Just to second information that others have alread submitted....it is an unwritten rule that the sponsor attend the interview according to everone I have spoken with...Peru is a high fraud country and the embassy wants to see us at the interview...

regards
katheleen

After reading the new immigration law: "International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005." I can definately see where with K-1/K-3 visas it would be well advised to attend the interview with your non-USC spouse/fiancee in Lima or otherwise in what have you country of your SO. Please see the other thread regarding this law--it has more implications besides a regulation on "Marriage Brokers." Namely more scrutny of K type visas and the USC background as it relates to any criminal activity and prior marriages.

I see a lot of posts here saying the USC doesn't need to attend the interview but I recommend you contact the embassy about that. I have seen several posts about Peru in the past where the petition was placed on AR because the USC didn't attend. Good luck

When I attended the interview with my wife last year, their were 4 other couples their for the interview. I know people who have been approved without having the spouse there, but in my opinion it certainly does not hurt and it definitely is comfort to your wife if you attended. I found it to be a very stressful experience. So it was good we were both there to support each other if for no other reason.

Steve

Silvia was denied her visa in the first interview

The reason the USC was not present

You Must go!!! They may say it not required but she will get denied if the USC is not present, peru does not follow the rules.

When we were there there were 8 other couples with the same sheets she had recieved.

I am offically JEALOUS, i been paying 800 to 1100 a flight and the lowest i have found is 780 even on expedia, you lucky stiff you!!!!

You'll really hate me when I tell you they overbooked the flight on the way down there (by 20 passengers). I did not have a seat assignment, so they put me in row 3.....yeah that's first class hahahaha. It was awesome.

Ok.... looks like we need a Peru VJ get together. Didn't realize so many of us are on here.

I'll say go to the interview......

Others have posted this same thing

You guys have me worried.

I spent three months in Peru with my fiancee but I HAD to come back for work.

I included copies of every page in my passport to show that I had been to the country. There is also proof that we met and spent 8 months together in Holland as well.

Please advise! The interview is on tuesday and I want to make sure she gets through.

If she gets denied because I am not there, what will happen? If the denial happens, I will fly down right away, but will we have to wait for another interview date??

Fable-

I would call the embassy RIGHT AWAY and ask what they think. If they say you need to be there, reschedule the interview or try to make your way down there for Tuesday. I've heard so many times now that the USC needs to be there or it will get denied.

AFAIK, if they deny her the visa, it's a harder road than just rescheduling the interview and going to be with her.

good luck

The thing is, in the documents from the embassy it doesn't say anything about the USC having to be there. I was in Peru during that process and there is no mention of that.

As many people have said, it seems to be an unspoken rule...ugh...

Dont worry Fable, I had my interview this year, i went with my fiancee, its highly recommended that the petitioner assists to the interview too but I have seen cases where the beneficiary alone gets the visa without problems, before me there were 2 peruvians girls who went to the interview alone and they got the visa without problems. In my opinion your fiancee can make it, but send her a lot of evidence of relationship, and in case she has any problems during the interview, you can fly that day and go to the embassy the next day, and ask for another interview, sometimes they make the interview the same day. Dont worry, everything will be ok

OLY AND DIDIER

thank you OLY AND DIDIER

I am so nervous I cant even eat. But we have tons of proof. I will keep you posted.

I really appreciate your response!!

FABLE..
Relax!!! I know how are you feeling.... I had my interview last year (June) and my husband attended the interview with me, I remember that we saw three other couples, as Oly and Dider said is highly recommended that the US Citizen attends the interview. I had a friend that meet her fiance on line and they denied her the Visa, they rescheduled it for them next week and she got it.
I was very nervous since the moment I got the interview date, a very nice lady interviewed us and she she asked alot of questions to Silvio, it helped that she was from NY and they ended talking about restaurants and food.
Don't worry I'm sure everything will be ok..don't forget to post your experience....

Vi [size=3]

thanks Vi Mazzella

I will definitely keep you posted.

The interview is tomorrow!!

so, what happened with the interview? any problems with you not being there?

Michela, Fable posted his fiancee experience at the embassy a long time ago, his fiancee is already here. Her fiancee first got a yellow slip because she messed up in one of the certificates but then when she sent the correct one, she got the visa. These are the posts:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...c=15029&hl=


http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...c=16965&hl=

I hope that helps u, if u have any question, don hesitate to ask

OLY AND DIDIER

bumping this up, since the unwritten rule seems not to be applicable anymore. so many people are getting accepted without having the USC there at the interview.
does anyone have any final word? know of any denials/delays when the USC wasn't there?

doing two full days of travel with a 15 month old for a 4 day visit (aka being there for the interview) is really something i would love to avoid. i'm going to call the embassy to see if there's any way i can do a phone interview.

michela...I hope for your sake that you can find a way to avoid the hassles of travel to attend the interview. My only suggestion is to call the Embassy and ask them directly.

Nonimmigrant Visa Unit:
Phone hours: Monday - Friday 3-4 p.m.
Phone: (51-1) 434-3000


I will be going to Lima for my interview, but it is much easier for me to travel (no kids). Besides, I love to have a good excuse to go back to Lima. I LOVE it there!!

I'll be anxious to know how everything goes...so keep us posted.

i too am going to be there for the interview. less then 2 weeks now

I look forward to hearing about your experience. Keep us posted, ok?

I will. I don't always post here but I am always lurking...

We'll find out in 2 weeks. My wife is going to the K3 interview without me. I went to her K1 last year and it was a breeze, so she wanted me to save the trip this time.

I ended up going. Flying twice in 5 days with a toddler was not my idea of a good time, but we did get the visa, so that was good. I'll post more about our interview later, but basically, the woman only talked to me and not to my boyfriend at all! I think she just didn't want to have to talk in Spanish...

Congratulations!

Felicidades!!!! So very happy for you....

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Yes... the Lima consulate will not issue the visa until they have talked to the USC. At times they will allow a phone interview (have heard this on occassion), but usually they issue a 221g and won't issue the visa until the USC appears and they can interview the USC as well.
[/quote]


Really? Where did you get this from?
My Fiance went alone for K1 visa interview on Sept 26 and receive it without problem. No one spoke with me.

I think USC attending the interview may rather hurt then help. Why giving them a chance interviewing you as well?

If your fiance can get tourist visa don't bother with K1.

If the relationship is genuine, there shouldn't be a problem with the USC answering some questions as well. It has been recorded here on VJ by several members that it is more effective if the USC is there for the interview. Either way, I'm looking forward to going back to Lima!!!