elgator

Well, in my nightly telephone conversation with Yeli this evening, I learned a little more about the interview.

She had awoken at 3:00 a.m. at her Caracas, Venezuela hotel and made her way to the embassy shortly after daybreak. There, she waited in line for 5 hours. This was evidenced by the fact that the aforementioned phone call to me was placed shortly before 1:00.

After waiting for the interviewer to speak to me on the phone, it was her turn. Among the questions, she was asked if she had ever met my first wife. Note -- I have not previously been married. She swatted that one away. They also asked her why she wanted to be with someone so much older than her. Before she had a chance to tell me how she responded to that one, I laughed and answered it for her -- because Eduardo is beautiful. Case closed.

So I guess this interviewer was just doing his job, trying to bring out a temperamental answer from me, and trying to trip up Yeli. He did not succeed on either count, and we are the proud owners of one official U.S. certified Visa! Sweet.

Yeli plans to travel to the USA on July 16, or thereabouts, after her daughter's elementary school graduation.

Our best wishes to everyone,

Eduardo and Yelitza

Wow! That is a wild story!!!

Congrats on the Visa- did Yeli even have to go for an interview?

Yes, Yeli was interviewed, right after my phone call. That evening she told me (as best I could understand with my limited understanding of Spanish) that her interview lasted 20 minutes and that she was asked some difficult questions. I am curious as to what some of those questions were and will try to find out soon. Apparantly, she handled them well enough!

Several people have commented that they had never heard of this happening before. Was this referring to the phone call interview? Or to the negative line of questioning?

Thanks, Ed

Hello all --

I have been reading and appreciating this forum for months, although posting only once previously. But I thought that I would post a report about our interview which at long last occurred yesterday in Caracas, Venezuela. The official journey for Yeli and myself began with the submission of our application in the final days of November, so yesterday we were at the 5 and 1/2 month mark.

What I did not expect was that the interviewer called ME on the phone, I was at my Florida home. He sounded very pleasant and introduced himself (although did not give his name). He then very quickly fired a statement at me in Spanish. I explained to him that while I was able to speak a little basic Spanish, usually well enough to get my point across awkwardly with little regard to grammar -- I did have difficulty understanding when spoken to at a normal rate of speed.

So he asked me how Yeli and I were able to communicate. Well, I thought I just answered that?! I told him that I was able to get my point across reasonably well, and that she was good at speaking slowly and simply to me. Whereupon he asked me to describe IN SPANISH how Yeli and I met. I did so in 3-4 sentences and thought I did an adequate (albeit clumsy) job. He marked on his check list -- "okay your level of Spanish is 2 out of 10." This guy was a tough audience! I would have graded myself a 3 or 4.

Anyway, he then proceeded with a rather negative line of questioning -- all the while coming across in a very cordial, professional, friendly manner. He brought up our significant age difference (58 and 30), the language barrier, the difference in culture, the fact that I have not previously been married, and the possibility of this young woman being a gold digger. I fielded these as best I could, defending my beloved, and expressing optimism regarding our future together.

He asked a few questions about the kids, their names and ages, questions about Yeli's family -- no problems here. As he was wrapping things up, I asked if I could ask a question or two. Sure, he said. I politely commented that several of his questions cast a pessimistic note on our relationship. I asked him if this was an indication that our chances for approval were not good? "Not at all," he said. These were standard questions that are always asked to see my reaction. He also indicated that the next step would be to interview Yeli, but he did say, "so far, so good." Well, okay then!

A couple of hours later I received the giddy phone call from Yeli -- we had passed the interview and would receive the visa in a few days! We laughed, and yelled and shrieked and celebrated!

Thank you all for the encouragement and support this forum provides. I apologize for the length of this post. I offer this experience in the hopes that it contributes to someone else being better prepared if and when they get a phone call on interview day.

God Bless Us All, Eduardo Miguel

Hello All --

Greetings from a new poster who has been lurking for a while, and appreciating the information and spirit of this wonderful and supportive group.

We are attempting to get the K-1 for my fiancee from Venezuela. Our application was received on December 1, California. I have been sitting on pins and needles for the past week or so, as I observed late November applications being approved.

No touches at all. But last night at 9:15 p.m. eastern time, received an e-mail from USCIS (my first piece of communication), with the very generic subject line of "Case Status Information for Receipt Number:......"

Boy, you talk about a person's heart pounding. I clumsily scrolled down the message until on line 5 I saw the sweetest words possible -- "Current Status: Approval notice sent."

Woo-Hoo!

Not exactly clear as to what the next step is, although I do believe the next major project is an e-mail to the American embassy in her Venezuela to request an interview appointment? I should note that I have employed an attorney in this process, and despite the dissenting views on attorneys which this board has offered, I am glad I did. Mine is an immigration attorney located 10 minutes from my house in Florida, and he is fluent in Spanish. I have found his fluency invaluable in communicating with my fiancee, I don't think I could have done it without him. I consider his fee to be some of the best money I have ever spent.

Anyway -- my best wishes to everyone -- and if anyone cares to shed any light as to what lies ahead for me, I would be very receptive.

All the Best, Eduardo