Craig2006

Good Luck

I received mine by snail mail.

Congrats and Good Luck

It is always nice to hear a positive response to questions. Good luck with everything.

Congrats and good luck

Congrats and Good Luck

Congrats

Thanks everyone. I'll feel much better once Elaina has the visa in her hand and is here in the US with me.

Try calling 1-800-375-5283

We were approved for our visa last week in Rio. We should have the visa in our hands this week.

Thanks again for everyone help here at VJ. It helped us a lot.

I posted our experience in The Foreign Embassy and Consulate General Discussion page.

Here is how our interview went in Rio last week. I decided to attend since Elaina had never traveled before (she lives in Recife) and we really wanted to see each other.

Wednesday (April 26, 2006)

0700 We arrive at the Consulate early since we were both nervous and could not sleep. There are 2 lines. One line is for K-1/K-3 visas and the second line is for everything else. Just ask the guard with line you should be in and don’t forget to bring the letter stating your interview date.

0740 They let everyone in after checking your interview letter and making sure you don’t have a cell phone or any other electronic devises (Camera, translator, etc.). You can NOT bring these in. There is someone that will hold them for you (about R$5,00) and return it to you when you are done. After security, you will go upstairs to start your wait.

0800 They conducted a role call and provided everyone with the order they want the documents. Thanks to the information provided here at VJ we all ready had that done and were second in line to turn in the documents. When we turned in the documents, the photos Eliana had didn’t completely show her ears (they only showed half) so we had to go and have new pictures taken. There is a Kodak shop around the corner. The cost was R$10,00 for the 2 photos. Of course if I had paid attention, we would have had this done the day before. I was just concerned about everything being filled out correctly. Anyways, we had the photos taken and turned them in and began our wait to be called.

0930 They called the first couple in. Their interview lasted 45 minutes (K-3). We were now thinking this is going to be very difficult.

1030 They finally called us in (and we were second). We sat down and he returned several documents back that I guess they didn’t need (2003 and 2004 tax return, pay stubs, my birth certificate, letter from employer). He asked Elaina if she spoke English or Portuguese. She answered Portuguese. He asked me the same and I asked English. He said no problem and he would conduct the interview in both. He had Eliana sign a few documents and asked to her to discuss how we met and how our relationship developed. She talked for about 5 minutes as he went over the documents about 10 times to make sure everything was in order. When she was done, he only asked me 2 questions. 1. How do I like Recife (he is being transferred there in 2007). 2. What do I do for a living. As I was explaining my job, I see him stamp APPROVED on our file. He told us we could have it mailed or pick it up on Friday at 1500. We told him we would pick it up on Friday. He handed us a slip of paper that we needed to bring with us. The whole interview was over in less than 10 minutes.

Friday (April 28, 2006)

1430 We arrived at the Consulate and waited in line with the others to pick up the visa.

1500 We go back thru security (of course this time everyone left their electronic devices at home or in their hotel rooms).

1510 The first person is called in. Also, there is no order of when you will be called. The third person interviewed on Wednesday as one of the last to be called. By 1645 we were still waiting to be called (along with 4 other people). They called everyone who was still there to the window and took our names and had us sit down. They called us back and told us that our visa was not ready (this happened to 2 of the other people there) because of a computer problem in the US. Apparently, this happens to a few people every week. They told us we can pick up the visa on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday) or they would mail it to us. Since we had flights scheduled for Saturday, we told them we would have it mailed. They gave us a form to take downstairs and to pay for shipping (R$86,00) and bring it back upstairs. We were told we should receive it by Friday (5/5).

I am just glad that we didn’t plan on leaving for the US that day. Elaina wanted to work for a few more days and spend sometime with your family before moving here. She is scheduled to arrive in New York on May 18, 2006. Only 17 days until she is here!!!!

You will need to complete the DS-230 part 1 and mail it in with the check list.

Our interview is 3 days away. I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon for Rio. I decided to attend to provide support to Eliana since she has never traveled before (she lives in Recife). And since my birthday is next week, this will allow us to be together for my birthday. We have all our documents in order (Thanks for everyone's help here at VJ) and we are ready for the interview. Hopefully everything goes well. I will let you all know how the interview goes when I return next week.

Once again, thanks to all the help everyone provides here. It makes the process a little easier.

Craig

Congrats.

Hopefully we have no problems in Rio on 4/26.

Good luck.

Let us all know how it goes.

Congrats

This is what I understand you need to bring for support:

Affidavit of Support

- Form I-134 signed and notarized,

- Last 3 federal income taxes,

- proof of current job and

- proof of citizenship or greencard

At least this is what I plan on bring with me. If anyone else thinks of something else, please let me know.

Congrats.

Good luck at your interview. Ours is scheduled for April 26.

Let us know how the interview goes.

Congrats and have a wonderful reunion.

The NVC forwards your case to the Consulate and the Consulate will send you packet 3.

I am not sure about Manila, but the Consulate in Rio was good at responding to e-mails to give me updates.

I am sure others here will be able to let you know about how long the wait is for Manila.

Congrats

Congrats and hopefully everything moves quickly now.

Congrats.....

Congrats