CR-1 Interview Review

[S&ET 2]

Congratulations and Thank you sachinky!!!!

[MSPtoYYZ 0]

Wow, AWESOME review Sachi!!!!!!!! Congrats again!

[zenaxe 22]

awesome review... :dance:

Congrats to you !! great review, I had to chuckle at the security guard thing hahaha cupped even. toooooo funny

[JohnAnwesha 4]

Okay, here's my very detailed interview review at the Mumbai Consulate on Wednesday May 12, 2010.

I stayed the night at the Kemp's Corner Hotel which is about 10 minutes away from the VFS office. I dressed in well-fitting jeans and a white dress shirt. I wore both my wedding and engagement rings. I got to the VFS at 7AM and was in the bus by 7:10AM. Reached the Consulate at 7:20AM. Stood in line for a bit while they checked our passports and interview letters.

Entered the Consulate for security. The security guard was a b!tch. She grabbed my a$$ several times (like, seriously cupped my boot-ay) and worst of all, took out ALL my papers from their properly color coded folders messed it all up and then gave it back to me in a heaping pile.

Had to stand and organize everything again and then I entered the waiting room. Waited in line for about 15 minutes for biometric fingerprinting. They give you pink tokens for NIVs and wooden tokens for IVs.

After that, I sat in the waiting area till my name was called for the pre-screener at 8:15AM. She was a middle-aged Indian lady.

Questions asked by her:

--Who is calling you to the States?

--What is his name?

--What is your father's name? (She was confused if his middle name was actually his first name)

--Mother's maiden name?

--You studied in the U.S.?

--Where did you meet your husband?

--In India or the U.S.? So you had a F-1?

--What is your husband's name?

--Who did you visit on your previous B-2 visa?

--Where all did you visit?

--What are your qualifications?

--Where did you get married?

--When did you get married?

--Did you have a Hindu wedding?

--Why not?

--You got married under the Special Marriage Act? Was it a court wedding?

--Did you convert?

--Did he convert?

--Where are you currently working?

--How long has he been in the U.S.? (Born and brought up there).

--Is he an American? (DUH!)

--I mean, is he of Indian-American origin? (No, he's white, of Irish descent).

--Are you a Canadian immigrant? (She was confused by my Canadian once-in-a-lifetime-at-the-border tourist visa).

--Have you resided for more than 6 months in any other country other than the U.S.?

--Who is *joint sponsor's name?*

--What does he do?

--Is he married?

--His wife works? What does she do?

--He files taxes jointly?

--Do you have his 2009 tax returns?

--Where is his W-2?

This is when I shoved in another joint sponsorship as my original joint sponsor was being very uncooperative recently and had refused to send his '09 W2s. I wasn't going to deal with a blue slip for missing documents so I insisted she used whichever one had the better/complete information. She kept both of their documents and said that the final decision would be the CO's.

--Who is *new joint sponsor's name?*

--Your husband recently got a new job?

--What kind of wedding did you have?

I offered to show her some pictures but she pulled out the ones I sent in with the I-130 petition and said she already saw them--she just wanted me to tell her.

I also had to turn in a new DS230, as VFS had turned in a photocopied one. She needed the original signature on it. Thankfully, I was carrying an extra one, all filled out. Helps to be prepared!

She then returned a bunch of documents to me (including my originals and everything that had been submitted to NVC) and told me everything looked good and that the CO might want to ask me a few questions. She asked me to go back and wait.

So I waited. For three freakin' hours while all the B-2, F-1 and H-1Bs kept getting called. There is a food counter with sandwiches, chips, and drinks available but I wasn't carrying any cash so I listened to my stomach growl in hunger. Pointer: EAT BREAKFAST before you go no matter how nauseated you feel in the morning!

Finally, I got called at 11:15 AM. The Consular Officer was an Indian-American lady, very casually dressed. I didn't even realize she was the CO. I just assumed she was there to assign the oath. Which she did and then asked me to sign the new DS230. I did. And then there was a less than 5 minute conversation that consisted of the following questions.

--You have 2 previous visas to the US?

--Yes. B-2 in 1999 and a F-1 in 2005.

--Where did you meet?

--Ithaca College, NY. We were both pursuing our undergraduate degree there.

--Is he an American citizen?

--Yes, he is. (*WHY THESE STUPID REDUNDANT QUESTIONS?*)

--How long have you known him?

--We met in Jan '08, started dating end Feb '08 so about two and a half years now.

--How did you meet him?

--His roommate was a friend of mine.

--When did you get married?

--August 17, 2009. (Asked this twice, to ascertain the date, I assume)

--Do you have any relatives in the U.S.?

-- A couple of distant relatives in my extended family but no one in my immediate family.

--When did you graduate?

--May 2009. May 17, I think. (She seemed surprised that my F-1 is valid till July 2010 and that I had left the U.S. much prior to it's expiry).

--How long have you been married?

--9 months. Will be 9 months this 17th.

--Has he visited you since then?

--"No, unfortunately, he's not been able to." She turned to look at me -- the only time she did so, the rest of the time time she was busy typing on her computer.

--Why not?

--"I guess we were naive and thought we would be done in 3-4 months so we didn't really make any plans to meet up -- we didn't think the process would take so long as long as it did, and besides with both of his jobs being recent, it was hard to get time off." She nodded, and said, "yes, I understand that."

--Speaking of which, where does he work?

--Where do his parents live?

--What do they do?

--What are your qualifications?

--Does he have any brothers or sisters?

--Where does she live?

--What does she do?

I responded quickly to each question with short, precise answers. Then, another guy walked in who cancelled my previous visa. The CO said, "Well, your visa is approved!" She didn't look at one thing. Seriously. I dropped 10 lbs of evidence in front of her and she didn't ask to see ONE damn thing.

I was like, "Seriously? That's it? You don't wanna see some pictures? How about some phone bills?"

She said, "Nope, your passport will be sent to you via courier in a couple of days!" So I said, "oh okay, thankyou." And walked out of the booth in a daze.

I was out by 11:20AM, caught the return bus to VFS and was there by 11:30AM.

Thanks again to VJ and the wonderful VJers for all their help, support and good wishes!

Enjoyed reading it and a job well done girl !!!

[sachinky 464]

Congrats and thanks for the excellent review. This will help a lot of people who will be going to the consulate in Mumbai.

Thank you! Glad to be of help. Good luck on your visa journey!

Thanks for the detailed review Congratulations again on getting approved

Muchos gracias!

[sachinky 464]

Yay Sachinky !!!! Thanks so much for the write up !!!

Yer my new poster child for Green Crayon !!!

I'm so happy for you two - Yay !!!

GoGoGadget PackTheSuitCases!!!

More power to the Green Crayon!

Thanks, Darnell! I can't believe I'm almost there. It's finally beginning to sink in. I also wanted to thank you for all your advice through this entire process, right from the start--you've been a tremendous help!

Suitcases all packed. I'm ready to GoGoGo!

Congratulations and best wishes to both of you!

Many thanks, lady!

Congratulations and Thank you sachinky!!!!

Thankyou! And all the best to you on your visa journey!

Edited May 15, 2010 by sachinky

[sachinky 464]

Wow, AWESOME review Sachi!!!!!!!! Congrats again!

Thanks, dear!

Congrats to you !! great review, I had to chuckle at the security guard thing hahaha cupped even. toooooo funny

Thankyou!

I know! I was like, "whoa! That was some definite...cupping."

Enjoyed reading it and a job well done girl !!!

Thankyou, chica! You're gonna do great on yours! All the very best to you!

[Deb+Steve 13]

You had me at cupped the boot-ay ...

[sachinky 464]

Hey, at this point, I'll take any booty action I can get.

Even if it's from a stern and hefty security lady.

[the_nesh316 1]

super review sachi...mine is at mumbai...and i am really getting nervous reading at your post...but its very informative so hope i will pass through with no problems...

[Vanessa1 7]

Congratulations Sachi and have a safe trip! Don't forget about us in June interviews...ok, who am I kidding??? Go have a FABULOUS time with your husband and just enjoy it.

[sachinky 464]

super review sachi...mine is at mumbai...and i am really getting nervous reading at your post...but its very informative so hope i will pass through with no problems...

I'm sure you'll do fine. There's no need to be nervous (although, my knees were shaking). Answer to the point. Don't volunteer information that isn't asked. Smile. They guage your body language--are you comfortable, are you shifty, how quickly do you answer these questions, how much do you umm and uhhh. Names, dates, addresses are a must. Try and maintain eye contact. Treat it like any other conversation. And even though they asked to see absolutely nothing, I'm glad I went fully prepared with an entire freakin' suitcase of papers and folders. You can never be too prepared!

Congratulations Sachi and have a safe trip! Don't forget about us in June interviews...ok, who am I kidding??? Go have a FABULOUS time with your husband and just enjoy it.

Thanks, dear! Don't worry, I'll be following the June interviews very closely. You're not gonna be rid of me that easily!

Good luck on your upcoming interview!

[Mr&MrsWrest 0]

Congratulations Sachinky...

Great review experience

[carolynhotstuff 252]

Congrats Sachinky you handled yourself like a professional. Have a safe flight and welcome to the good old USA.

[Third 0]

Congratsss Sachinky. Are you packing yet?