The Interview in Lima

[jm&mcs 1]

We arrived at 7:30 and went through two securities. A man took the appointment letter and wrote 10. We waited until 8:05 and called to window 13 for passport. At 8:35 to window 10 for medical papers and asked for photos. She asked Manuel:

When and where did you meet?

When did your wife visit after the first meeting?

Were either of us married before this marriage?

Did you live in another country before?

Is this your first time to the US?

Do you and your wife have any children?

At 10:05 we were called to room 15. The CO was a women I would say in her 30´s. Manuel put his signature on DS-230 and signed the paper about registering for the selective service. The CO asked me to leave. Questions for Manuel:

Why do you want to go to the US?

When and where did you meet your wife?

Where do you stay in Iquitos? He said we have a house and it is in the photos.

Do we have children?

Do you want more children?

What is your work? She asked again because she wanted more detail.

What is the work of your wife?

Why do you want to marry a women older than you?

The CO said to Manuel -- You say that you love your wife because you want to go to the US. You lie to your wife and she doesn´t know it. I don´t believe anything you say to me. She wants more.

Manuel says I have letters from my family and her family. Her family came to Peru for the wedding. I have all the communication, internet, telephone, cards and letters. He picked up all the evidence and she didn´t want to look at it. A man came into the room with some papers. Manuel understands some English so he listened. The lady says to the man she has a strange situation. He is 26 and she is 51. The man looks at the photos and says to Manuel he likes the photo of us holding the sloth. The lady asked what should she do and the man said I don´t know.

She then asked Manuel what is the name of your wife and how old is she?

She called me back to the room and Manuel left. I had no idea what happened with him.

She says to me it is her job to look at the relationships and look for fraud. I said yes I know your job. She proceeded to give me examples of people marrying for fraud and the consequences for the US citizen. I commented that after I told Manuel that people said he only wanted to marry me for a green card, he had no idea what a green card was and it took a month to explain. She said "All Peruvians know what a green card is!" I dropped that issue.

Then she says he is 26 and you are 51. I said yes, it is different for me. When he asked me to marry him, I said no. When I returned I got to know his family. And his grandmother´s husband is 30 years younger than he is. So for him it is normal. I continued with two more statements. Two weeks ago I asked what if I don´t work for a year and stay in Peru. He said that would be better. And two nights ago he said he wasn´t going to the embassy because he didn´t want to go to the US.

I thought for sure this was the end and how can he ever have his visa approved. After a few moments the CO said to me "well, I´m not going to stand in your way, I´ll call him back in and tell him his visa is approved." I thought I´d fall out of the chair. Manuel returned. She told him his visa was approved. He thanked her and we left. Walked over to DHL and paid the 16 soles.

I don´t know what changed her mind, because I know it was made up before our interview. I never gave an oath and Manuel said he didn´t either. The process was not bad, only the interview was grueling for both of us. Thank God that all worked out in the end.

Joanne

[Thai family 0]

Congratulations! After all of that it sounds like you two deserve some relaxation!

[flomagy 0]

Wow!!! Congrats on getting through that!!