Am I ready for the interview?

[beccainturkey 0]

Hey everyone!

MynameisCat asked me a really good question yesterday -- are you ready for the interview? I THINK I'm ready for the interview at Ankara, but I'm not sure.

Does anybody have any advice about the interview? How should we dress, how much is too much? What are the chances of getting denied? What kind of pictures did you show them?

I've got....

-some telephone records

-rent contract in both of our names

-photos of me with his family, me and him from various years -- I dont have any pictures of him with my family, because he's never met them before. Is this going to be a problem? I made a scrapbook of our wedding stuff, but I cant find it That's my weekend mission.

So yeah, does it look like we need anything else?

[camistanbul 0]

Does anybody have any advice about the interview? How should we dress, how much is too much? What are the chances of getting denied? What kind of pictures did you show them?

I've got....

-some telephone records

-rent contract in both of our names

-photos of me with his family, me and him from various years -- I dont have any pictures of him with my family, because he's never met them before. Is this going to be a problem? I made a scrapbook of our wedding stuff, but I cant find it That's my weekend mission.

So yeah, does it look like we need anything else?

Hi Becca,

As I wrote in my post about our interview in Ankara, we brought a book a photos, printouts of emails from 2005 to when we moved in together, letters, etc. The woman did not look at ANY of this, but I'm still glad we had it just in case.

Dress: We both dressed up nicely and were by far the nicest dressed people there. It seemed most people were wearing jeans, t-shirts, and casual wear. My husband wore a dress shirt and a tie, but he was happy he looked nice and it made him feel more confident about the interview.

When they called our number, we brought everything to the counter and the woman told me I could go sit down. This happened to another couple I saw who were interviewed before us, so your husband should expect to be interviewed alone. Is your husband familiar with all of the documents you sent in? It seems like the lady was flipping through our documents and asking questions about whatever she saw -- my parents' occupations, where they lived, my taxes, etc. It lasted 5-10 minutes and she never needed to speak to me. Your husband will need to decide whether he wants to be interviewed in English or Turkish. My husband chose English (because we thought we'd be interviewed together) and at first, he panicked about deciding this, but then after it was done he felt really good about having done it in English, since that's how we communicate anyway.

It sounds like your have enough gathered, but I would definitely try to find your wedding scrapbook.

Try not to stress out too much! You've been going through the process of getting everything together over the past month and even though your interview was scheduled so quickly, it's great because you'll get it over and done with instead of waiting for months like we did. The interview is quick and even though sitting in that room, waiting for your number come up is scary, it really was OK! I'm sure you guys will do great!

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

I don't know Turkey but my general tips would be:

- dress conservatively, but not too formal- think business casual.

- No gum!

- Bring a book or magazine, you may be waiting a while.

- Be sure you know the policy on cellphones/ bringing in water and food etc- some embassies you can leave them at the guard hut, some you cannot bring them at all. Might be best to leave them at home.

- Have all your paperwork ready, double check it, then file it in a large folder with dividers or some such, so you have easy access and don't need to scramble for whatever they ask you.

- Relax! It's not half as difficult as you think it is as long as you are prepared.

[beccainturkey 0]

I don't know Turkey but my general tips would be:

- dress conservatively, but not too formal- think business casual.

- No gum!

- Bring a book or magazine, you may be waiting a while.

- Be sure you know the policy on cellphones/ bringing in water and food etc- some embassies you can leave them at the guard hut, some you cannot bring them at all. Might be best to leave them at home.

- Have all your paperwork ready, double check it, then file it in a large folder with dividers or some such, so you have easy access and don't need to scramble for whatever they ask you.

- Relax! It's not half as difficult as you think it is as long as you are prepared.

Thanks Penguin!

Cammie did you guys take copies of all of your documents with you?

[camistanbul 0]

I don't know Turkey but my general tips would be:

- dress conservatively, but not too formal- think business casual.

- No gum!

- Bring a book or magazine, you may be waiting a while.

- Be sure you know the policy on cellphones/ bringing in water and food etc- some embassies you can leave them at the guard hut, some you cannot bring them at all. Might be best to leave them at home.

- Have all your paperwork ready, double check it, then file it in a large folder with dividers or some such, so you have easy access and don't need to scramble for whatever they ask you.

- Relax! It's not half as difficult as you think it is as long as you are prepared.

Thanks Penguin!

Cammie did you guys take copies of all of your documents with you?

Hi Becca,

We didn't take copies of the documents we had submitted with us -- we had our hands full with all of our photos, emails, letters, etc!! The only thing that surprised us was that they asked for 2 more biometric photographs as we were entering-- we did not have them, but my husband had 2 normal photos. The woman took his medical report and the two photos with her, but she did ask "Did you send photos with your application?" We did, but it was one of those unexpected things that took us by surprise since it was not asked for on the "Interview Checklist." It seemed to me that there is a little confusion between all the different kinds of visas people are applying for there, but just in case, bring 2 extra photos with you!

Penguin is right about having everything organized. The wait was killing me (even though really... we didn't wait too long once we were inside! It was just nerve-wracking!). When our number came up, it seemed like we just had a moment to gather everything and go up there -- and I had to leave everything with my husband and go sit down. Just go through everything you're bringing together, so if he needs to find something he knows where to look!

I think once you go there, you'll be fine. Just gather all of your things together and do your best to relax! The woman that interviewed my husband was really nice and it was over before we knew it. Good luck and let us know how it goes!!!

[happyinlove012408 0]

I think you are ready and I wish good luck on your interview.