What to bring during the interview?

[Since2012 28]

Hello fellow VJ friends. My interview will be next week. And I'm really nervous about it. Do you have any idea on what to bring during the interview? I have all my fiance's documents and mine. And he will be with me during the interview. I'm just going to check if we missed some documents. Thank you very much! May God bless us!

[carton025 38]

Just me, but i had my gal take everything with her including, but not limited to, my K1 petition and any other documents I had. And, I will add that all of the documentation I sent to her was original artwork/documents. The only thing(s) she was asked for during her interview was to show the interviewing CO the first email we had exchanged to, in my opinion, verify the length of our relationship. And, if she had not have our complete K1 documentation with her she would have been unable to provide the interviewing CO what she asked for. Others here may tell you, other than the needed documentation needed, it is not necessary to being anything else. I am just telling you what I did. It is up to you!

Best of luck!

[Since2012 28]

Just me, but i had my gal take everything with her including, but not limited to, my K1 petition and any other documents I had. And, I will add that all of the documentation I sent to her was original artwork/documents. The only thing(s) she was asked for during her interview was to show the interviewing CO the first email we had exchanged to, in my opinion, verify the length of our relationship. And, if she had not have our complete K1 documentation with her she would have been unable to provide the interviewing CO what she asked for. Others here may tell you, other than the needed documentation needed, it is not necessary to being anything else. I am just telling you what I did. It is up to you!

Best of luck!

[Since2012 28]

So you were with your fiance during her interview? Did they asked for a lot of documents? We don't have the first chat that we had because we both deactivated the account in the site where we first met. All we have is the fb, imessage from iphone, pictures, receipts of packages and mails.

[Al422 221]

The biggest subjective area is proof of relationship. To that end, Candy will bring Skype logs, Yahoo Messenger logs, emails, photos of us together, photos of the engagement party her mother threw for us last July, as well as photos of gifts and photocopies of the purchase receipts.

Financial: Tax returns, tax transcripts W-2s (mine of course) and affidavit of support. My income is several times over the minimum so no issue there.

And all the standard stuff.

[Since2012 28]

The biggest subjective area is proof of relationship. To that end, Candy will bring Skype logs, Yahoo Messenger logs, emails, photos of us together, photos of the engagement party her mother threw for us last July, as well as photos of gifts and photocopies of the purchase receipts.

Financial: Tax returns, tax transcripts W-2s (mine of course) and affidavit of support. My income is several times over the minimum so no issue there.

And all the standard stuff.

Is it okay if we don't have our first chat logs? Because it's on the website where we met but then we deactivated it years ago. All we have is his plane tickets and the standard stuffs.

[Al422 221]

Somethng that shows regular communication would be a good idea. Emails, Skype, Yahoo, phone records. You don't communicate by telepathy, so you must have had some way of staying in touch. Show them that you did.

Early chat logs are of mininal value. The eividence is supposed to show a continuing relationship, so the recent stuff is what matters. I only went back to July of last year for our chat logs, since that is when we met in person. The logs show a continued relationship since then. I have logs all the way back to August 2012 when we first met on Filipino Cupid, but those are early logs so I did not bother with them.

[Greenbaum 12,262]

babe2012, on 11 May 2014 - 03:29 AM, said:babe2012, on 11 May 2014 - 03:29 AM, said:

Hello fellow VJ friends. My interview will be next week. And I'm really nervous about it. Do you have any idea on what to bring during the interview? I have all my fiance's documents and mine. And he will be with me during the interview. I'm just going to check if we missed some documents. Thank you very much! May God bless us!

A number of us here on VJ attended the interview with our Filipino fiancés and found the experience to be very enlightening. The benefit was the number of questions that were asked went down significantly by us being present at the interview. For my personal experience, the CO thanked me and stated that he appreciated that I was there. He then asked me to have a seat and if needed he would call me up. The interview lasted less then 5 min. tops. So is it necessary that he be there, no but being there does it have an impact on the CO and the number of questions they will ask? IMHO, Yes.

Relax and enjoy the experience. You seem to be very organized and ready. Just use the instructions and required documents as outline here http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/325288/packets/K1%20and%20K2%20Interview%20Preparation%20Instructions%20-%20English%20_updated%2004%20Feb%202014_.pdf as a checklist.

Further, I'd like to share this list of the Top 10 mistakes at the interview.

Top 10 Mistakes at Visa Interviews

Visa interview is most important part of the whole visa process. A successful interview can have greater positive impact in visa grant decision. Following are some of the most common mistakes people make during the interview.

1. Not Prepared Well for the Interview

Being prepared for interview can better equip you for the interview. A prior research and preparation for commonly asked questions and their appropriate answer will be helpful during the interview.

2. Not Providing Complete and Truthful Information

It is very important that you provide complete and truthful information. Any incomplete/false information can lead to unnecessary delay. False information can have severe impact on your future ability to apply for US visa. It may also cause you lot of frustration and legal actions against you.

3. Providing Incomplete Documentation

Must carry all the required documentation with complete and authentic information. Read all the prerequisites and prepare all the documents accordingly. Keeping your documentation well organized can also leave a positive impression on the consulate officer.

4. Not appearing well for the interview

Ensure you dress neatly but not in a pretentious fashion. Ensure that you don’t have an exotic hairstyle; don’t use artificial hair color if that is obvious; don’t chew gum; don’t wear revealing clothing. These are just some of the obvious things that can hurt your case.

5. Providing Unnecessary Extra Information

Do not give away any information voluntarily which is not being asked. In many cases, people trying to be over confident and over smart give out more detailed answers than is required. This may trigger additional related questions which may not work in your favor.

For example:

Question: Why do you want to go to the US?

Wrong Answer: I want to see how USA is and if I like it I want to stay back with my son.

Preferred Answer: For tourism purpose and/or to spend some quality time with my son/daughter.

6. Inconsistent Information

Inconsistency in the information about what you provide in the documentation and what you say during the interview can go against your case.

7. Arguing with the Consulate Officer

Never ever make any arguments with the consulate officer. If you want some information ask in a polite manner.

8. Having Poor Communication

Poor communication is the number one reason that affect your case in a negative way. If you're not good in English, you should request for a regional language interpreter.

9. Having too Much Communication (talking too much)

Remember, you are the one being interviewed and not the other way around. So, keep your communication brief and to the point. Speak only when asked for an answer.

10. Appearing to be Nervous

Being confident can bring positive results. Especially, in case of visa interview where a consulate officer has to rely on limited information provided by you. Their judgment is highly influenced by the way you react to questions, your body language, and the authenticity of you answers.

From <http://www.path2usa.com/top-10-mistakes-at-visa-interviews>

Edited May 11, 2014 by Greenbaum

[Al422 221]

Excellent advice. Candy and I already covered all 10. We have been preparing for this for three months. Her medical is in about 10 hours form now, and the main event at USEM will be on May 20.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Hello fellow VJ friends. My interview will be next week. And I'm really nervous about it. Do you have any idea on what to bring during the interview? I have all my fiance's documents and mine. And he will be with me during the interview. I'm just going to check if we missed some documents. Thank you very much! May God bless us!

You bring what is required in the embassy instructions letter, the embassy does not ask for anything more. Print a copy of the instructions letter and use it as your checklist

This requirement is the only one that leaves it up to you what you provide, but they give you excellent "suggestions":

h. EVIDENCE OF A GENUINE ENGAGEMENT. You must be prepared to prove to the consular officer

that you have a genuine relationship with your petitioner and a clear intention to marry within 90 days of

admission into the U.S. In the past, successful applicants have submitted photographs, letters, e-mails,

phone records, bank records, and remittance records as evidence supporting their relationships and intent to

marry.

It is a very good thing to be confident, self-assured (but not arrogant) and for sure smile & look the CO in the eyes when speaking.

All will be fine...

(PSST! And the reason for wanting to go to the USA is - TO GET MARRIED TO YOUR FIANCE!!! )

Edited May 11, 2014 by Hank_

[Hank_ 9,174]

Is it okay if we don't have our first chat logs? Because it's on the website where we met but then we deactivated it years ago. All we have is his plane tickets and the standard stuffs.

Yes it is OK if you don't have copies of your first chat logs, you only need to bring a small sampling of your chat logs anyway... plus the CO rarely asks for them and even more rarely actually reads any

Don't stress... show that you have a genuine relationship and have everything that is listed in the embassy instructions letter and you will be just fine ..

[Since2012 28]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL THE ANSWERS. I really appreciate it a lot! May God bless us!