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| Manila, Philippines |  Review on January 7, 2016: |
Mizike
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
We just completed the interview a few hours ago. Here's the short summary:
We arrived at the Consulate at 5am for a 6:15am interview. The line was already very long but since we had a child, a nice security guard let us be first in line in front of the Embassy. At around 6am, the line moved to front of the Embassy where they ask you to produce the first page of the DS-260 and the first page of the Invitation letter. at 6:10, they let some of us queue in front of the door leading to the X-Ray scanners. Again, this is only because we had a child with us.
HOWEVER, if the petitioner is with you, you can enter the entrance for US Citizens which is a much shorter line.
Once inside the embassy, within 5 minutes, we were at the finger printing window. That was over within 5 minutes. Then onto the pre-screening line and window. The wait was about 15 minutes. A Filipino gent asked a few basic questions. VERY IMPORTANT: if you have a child that is an American citizen, then you MUST bring in the CRBA (an original and copy). Otherwise, a very uneventful pre-screening where he asked when we met, how long we've been married and where the applicant worked. This step took about 10 minutes--most of the time in which he looked through our documents and asked us to procure the originals listed in the interview letter.
Because there were more than 5,000 people going through the Embassy that day, they actually let us bypass the Oath step...lol.
Then we waited about 30 to 45 minutes for the interview step. The reason we waited so long was that the interview windows do not open till 7am. We were the second couple to be interviewed. The actual interview lasted shorter than the pre-screen. He asked us all of two questions (when did we get married and does our child have a CRBA/American passport). Then he simply announced that we should receive our visa in about a week. Overall, the interviewer, an American gent, was not very friendly....just professional. I think it might have been a little too early for him and he didn't quite wakeup yet to have the nice banter/exchange that we read so much about among Consulate interviewers.
Another 15 minute wait for the release windows to open (I think they start opening at 7:30). We were again the second couple at the release window. Funny thing about this process is that the Filipina said it was their policy not to give us a timeframe as to when the visa will arrive whereas the interviewer said it would take about a week ago. Anyway, this step took 2 minutes as she reviewed our approval.
And then we were out at 7:45 am.
Moral of this story: having a child with you helps!
Good luck everyone!
(updated on January 6, 2016)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #18679