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| Jamaica |  Review on June 12, 2018: |
JDK2018
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Our appointment was scheduled for 10:00AM on June 7, 2018 in Kingston, JA.
Before we arrived, I had quickly took a look at the interview letter and realized the appointment time said 10:00AM EST and I panicked. For those of us from the US, EST is currently an hour ahead of Jamaica time, so I was pretty anxious being that we were arriving at 8:30AM, JA time. Once we got to the embassy, the guards confirmed that the appointment time was for JA time and not US time, so if anyone from the US attending with their fiancé(e) or spouse, please don't panic, the time on the interview appointment letter is for JA time only.
Okay, so when we arrived, there was a lager group of people standing on the other side of the road (the road somewhat looks like a boulevard with a slender sidewalk path and this is where the group stood), from the embassy and there was another large line of people in front of the embassy. The guards reviewed our interview appointment letter and told us that we needed to wait across the street from the embassy, along with the other large group of people. The guards then called out "9:00AM," for anyone with an appointment scheduled for 9:00AM. While we waited, there were a line up of chairs in the shade and a vendor selling them for $400 Jamaican dollars, just to sit in them. There were also vendors that charged to used the restroom, to hold your cell phone or personal belongings while you attended your interview, and there were also vendors that sold drinks and snacks. If you are a woman, I recommend to NOT wear heels if you arrive at this appointment hours before your appointment time, the wait is pretty long.
When we arrived at the embassy it was 8:30AM Jamaica time and when they finally called 10:00AM appointments, it was 10:09AM. We crossed the street with everyone else that had an appointment at that time and were told to line up single file. The guards then allowed a number of people behind their rope (maybe 7-10 people at a time) which led into another line that they split into two (this is still outside by the way). Once we got to the second line behind the rope, there were about 4-5 employees that were checking people's appointment letters (with tablets and cell phones), people that were there for a visitor's visa showered their DS-160 confirmation pages and one passport photo, these were stapled to their DS-160 passport photo. People that were there for a fiancé(e) or immediate relative (I-130) interview had to show their interview appointment confirmation letter. By the time we had our letter confirmed, it was 11:00AM. Once we got confirmed, they put us in another line that led to a room with a medal detector which is kind of small so they only let in about 6-7 people at a time. In this room you have to take off any metal objects such as a belt, cane, watch etc and place them in a bin to be reviewed (remember, you cannot have a cell phone, pens, pencils, or anything electronic at this point or they will turn you around). Once we went through the medal detector, we were rushed to remove our things from the bin and my fiancé had to put his belt back on before we could go to the other line. Once my fiancé's belt was on, we were led to another waiting area (looks similar to a large outside patio) there were a number of chairs on either side and I noticed that some of the people that were there for the 9:00AM appointments, were still sitting in these seats. In the middle of these number of chairs, there is a line that leads up to a small desk with 2-3 officers and they are reviewing the appointment letters, stamping numbers on it (for when your number is called inside the embassy), they also are checking to confirm if you have registered the pick up location for your passport and will give you a paper to fill out with your information, to register the location if you did not already do so, lastly, they called people up by row, to go inside the embassy and wait for their number to be called. We had already registered the location when we scheduled our interview appointment so the lady confirmed it, gave us the ticket with the number on it and let us go inside the embassy to wait for our number. Once we were inside the embassy, the visitor visa applicants sat on the left side of the embassy and IV (fiancé and immediate relative) applicants sat on the right side of the embassy. Inside the embassy looks somewhat similar to the DMV here in the US (but is about 100xs slower). As we waited, we noticed that you had to go up to a window twice, one for your fingerprints and the other was for your interview. It was about 11:30 or 11:45 when we sat down.
Our number was finally called around 12:00 or 12:05, this was the first window. When we went up to the window, my fiancé was asked if and when he did his medical, we let them know it was the Thursday prior (May 31), he was also given a form to sign stating that he is of appropriate age to get married. Once he signed the form, we gave the officer (woman) his No Impediment Certificate, Police Certificate, Birth Certificate, 2 Passport Photos, and passport. I was also asked for my updated I-134, 2017 tax transcripts and W-2, they then took my fiancé's fingerprints and asked us to sit down and wait for our interview.
During our wait, there was a lady officer that was pretty intense, she was very direct, straight to the point and grilled applicants about their prior applications, relationships and anything else she could find. Most of the questions she asked, we had already practiced from the reviews from this website, so we figured if we had her, it wouldn't be so bad. She asked questions like: "how did the two of you meet, when did your husband divorce his previous wife, who filed this petition for you, etc".
When we were finally called up to the second window, it was around 12:20 or 12:25PM and we met with a male officer who was pretty nice. He sworn us both in and had my fiancé sign a paper for selective service and told him that he has to register for selective service within 30 days of his entry into the US or it will be legal consequences if he does not. He then processed to ask us the following questions:
-Who is filing the petition for you?
-How long have you two known each other?
-How many times has the Petitioner visited the applicant?
-Who was the Petitioner with when she came to Jamaica for the first time and what was it for?
-Where does the Petitioner stay when visiting the applicant?
-Does the applicant rent, lease, own his residence?
-Have you ever been arrested or gone to court for anything other than a traffic violation?
-Who is the woman that you listed on your prior visitor's visa application that you were going to see?
-When did you do your medical?
We had brought in a packet of updated evidence to the interview (sceenshots of text messages, copies of all of our original docs, photos, etc.) and the officer told us that we had more than enough stuff on file already, the relationship looks legit and that they did not need anything else. The officer let us know that the medical exam had not been received yet (which is ridiculous because the hospital that they do the medical exam at is right down the street) and that they should receive it by Friday or Monday, they will approve the application and my fiancé should receive his passport with the stamped visa within a week to a week in a half. Our interview was completed at 12:40PM.
It is now Tuesday, June 12, 2018 and our case still says "Administrative Processing" and that the case was last updated yesterday, June 12th. We're waiting until Thursday of this week to follow up with them and see if the medical exam has been received.
I will say that my personal experience of the embassy was that it was very clean and the staff were pleasant. I was a little overwhelmed with all of the waiting we did, especially since our case is still in AP at the moment. I do have some recommendations though for future Applicants and Petitioners:
1. Always, Always, Always have the Applicant review the DS-160/DS-260 BEFORE it is submitted online. Mistakes happen all of the time and if you've submitted anything in any prior applications, that is different from your current application, you will want to be prepared to explain it at your interview.
2. The questions that they ask at the interview are mostly form the DS-160/DS-260 and whatever documents that were submitted to USCIS, remember to have a copy of your application so that you and your spouse/fiancé can review everything, like the dates, places and people mentioned in your photos and throughout the application.
3. Be sure to schedule your medical exam within 10-14 business days of your interview to avoid additional processing times.
4. Relax, the interviews aren't as bad as they seem, as long as you come prepared.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #23983