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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on August 18, 2017: |
JessieABC
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
This review is being submitted on behalf of my husband, a British citizen so it may not be as detailed as some of the others but hopefully it will provide some insight!
He arrived 3 hours early (being as cautious as he is) around 9 AM and was told that IR1/CR1 applicants are only allowed in within 20 minutes of their designated interview appointment. The line extended all the way into the park but after speaking with a representative, they scribbled his interview time on his interview letter in red, stated that usually the line clears up by noon and they were right. When he returned at around noon, the line had disappeared.
His interview was at 12:30PM so he decided to grab some food and review his paperwork in the park. At noon, he went back and entered after providing the requested passport and interview letter, he proceeded to the security check where they scan your bags and belongings. They made it clear that laptops are not permitted but he was allowed to bring in small electronics such as his phone; it was clarified that he could use the phone but it must be turned off when stepping up to the kiosk. They also emphasized that photography is not permitted inside, which is understandable.
Once he entered, he walked up to the reception area where he received a ticket number and was directed to the waiting room. In the waiting room, there was a display of what documentation will be requested and during the next 20-30 minutes, he sat near the front so he could prepare the documents in the order they were being requested.
He only waited 15 minutes before his number was called with the Kiosk information and he walked up to the the first representative who asked some basic questions and for his original documentation, his courier information, his passport and interview letter. He whipped each one out as they were requested. My husband could see a huge manila folder of all the documentation we had provided earlier (must have been several inches thick since we front loaded our 1-130) which had two holes punched on the top with metal fasteners to hold it all together. It was obvious that all our files had been reviewed and pieced back together in a specific order.
When it came to photos, they simply scanned the extra photos he had brought with him and returned those to him but they kept the original documentation. This all took no more than 5 minutes after which he was told to wait for his number to reappear on the screen.
After a 20-30 minute wait, the number after his appeared on the screen and there was a brief moment of pure panic (verbatim, per my husband hahaa). Apparently, the numbers do not always get called in order so don't panic if yours gets skipped. It will definitely be called sooner or later. His number had appeared with guidance for a different kiosk, so he proceeded to the second representative. He was asked to raise his right hand and swear that all the information provided was true and accurate to the best of his knowledge after which he was handed his medical x-rays (CD and photos), as well as all the some of the original documentation he had provided to representative #1 except his passport and his police record.
The questions were relatively straightforward and it's not as scary as he originally thought. :
- How did you both meet
- How many times have you seen each other (we had made about 13 trips back and forth within the 1.5 years we've known each other so the representative actually laughed due to his surprise)
- What are your intentions when you get to the United States (my husband basically provided a summary to the gist of starting our life together and building a family)
- Where will you stay when you move there (my husband responded that he would be living with me)
- How did you maintain communication
- How often do you communicate
- Have you ever lived in any other country
There was also a reference on the Police Certificate which came up. It never went to court and had been closed within a day or two but NVC had previously issued an invalid checklist for court records which we had overturned within 3 days of issuance. The representative asked, "In your own words, what happened?" My husband provided the background and the interviewer disappeared into a back room for 30 seconds, came back, returned the Police Certificate back to my husband and said "that's fine."
Subsequently, the representative returned the paystubs I had provided in the NVC packet (which I had included as extra) and stated these were not needed. This was probably because my W2 and tax information were well above the poverty line requirement. They then went on to review my tax information upon which the representative stated that the documentation was very organized and extremely meticulous (I had organized everything with clear outlined section covers detailing content as well as removable sticky tabs identifying each section).
The representative then smiled, told my husband he can relax, stamped the file and scribbled a huge "A" on the file. He said, "I'm sending it for approvals and you should receive all your documentation within 2 weeks."
Total time at the second kiosk was probably only about 10 minutes.
The interview was on 8/16 at 12:30 noon.
Visa Status changed to "Administrative Processing" on morning of 8/17.
Later that night on 8/17, the status changed again to Issued.
We're now waiting on the courier notification to track his passport 
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #22354