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Average Rating: 4.2
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185 Review(s)
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| Naples, Italy |  Review #8739 on November 20, 2011: |
er@mar
Rating: 
· 1 person found this review helpful
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: General Review
Dear VJ friends,
I hope this review helps you. Well I was very blessed because I stayed with friends from Naples, so they knew where everything was and I didn't really need to worry about it. But anyway I think that if you ask people they are very nica and willing to help.
DAY 1.
I woke up early that day, I know it's so much stress so it was hard to sleep but anyway I was in front of the Istituto Varelli at 7. It was pretty cold so I was so happy ti find out that they let you in anyway. I gave my passport to one of the ladies at the reception and sat down at the yellow chairs.
After a while people kept coming and then at about 8.15 they started calling names for the blood withdrawal. It was very strange because I stil haven't figured out the order that they called us, but it sure wasn't in arriving order. In fact they were not that organised. Anyway afterwards I went back to the yellow chairs and waited for a nice quite old man to call my name. He called me and we went to a small office, he asked me ONE picture, checked for the list of my previous vaccinations and told me that I needed the Trivalente shot. He also asked to see my DS-2053(remember that you complete only the first part as the instructions say).
Afterwards he gave me a paper and told me to wait for the doctor. I went back to the famous yellow chairs. Meanwhile the other applicants and I chatted a lot, my advice is to not stress out and to not be influenced by other people's visa experiences.
The doctor called me and I went in, there is also a very nice blonde lady in the same room. She asked me to take off my shoes and she checked my height, weight and my eyes.
Then the doctor asked me if I had had any health problems in my past, he checked my papers and then asked to lay down on the bed and checked my heart beat, my blood pressure. Then he gave the Trivalente shot and asked me to go downstairs to get the X-rays done.
After the X-rays I was done. At 2 o'clock I needed to be at the Consulate for the fingerprints. If you have time relax at lunch time and get a good coffe, actually I highly recommend it, coffe in Naples was so good.
At 2 we were all there in front of the Consulate. You go in, two people at a time, you leave all you electronic devices to the officer including cameras, phones, etcc...They were very nice and funny, they'll give you two numbers, one is small size and it will be used when you get out, to pick up all your stuff and the other one is the number that you will be called for the fingerprints. Then you go in, second floor, they'll ask you for your passport and ONE picture. Make sure that the picture is the right size.
Then all afternoon I was free to enjoy the town everhtough I was very stressed still.
DAY 2
I went to the Consulate at 7. I had to wait 30 minutes and the police officer started getting our passports. After 5 minutes they strated calling ou last names to get in. Same procedure as the day before to get in. Then there was an officer who checked our documents just to make sure that we had everything. There were some people who did not have their CARICHI PENDENTI certificate and the BNL RECEIPT, so make sure you have them.
Afterward a very nice lady, Miss Woods started calling our numbers. I was number 5, she checked all my papers that I had tried to organize so well, as she touched the papers my heart was beating so fast, I was really nervous, she said well everything seems to be ok but you are missing a police certificate from the country where you were born. Here is my advice, if you have lived in a different country (not Italy) for a long time then e-mail the consulate to know specifically the names of the police certificates that they need. In my case they needed three and I had only two. I was speechless and so confused. I asked her: What does this mean in my situation? She said: "It means that we can not issue a visa today but you can still have the interview with the consul. She told me to go and wait until the consul called my name.
I was soooo stressed at this point, but I had to be ready for the interview. After 15 minutes the consul called my name and I took my huge backpack where I had tons of proofs of our ongoing relationship. He made me sware that I was saying the truth and I said yes as I was raising my right hand.
He glanced at everything while he asked me where we met...Then he started asking me random questions like: where did you learn to speak english? He was very laid back and nice as he was drinking his coke zero...
Then he told me that I needed to submit the other police certificate. I asked him if I could come back the day after with a fax on that certificate instead of going back home and rescheduling another interview day. He said he needed to ask his collegues, and he sent me to another window. There was a lady whom told me that they usually prefer originals but in this case Yes I could come back the day after.
I went oput and rushed to call my parents. They got my policer certificate, translated it and notarised it in a record time. I had my fax by 5 p.m.
Same thing the third day, I went there pretty early, in fact I was number 1. The lady took my certificate and told me to go pick up my passport at 5 p.m at Mailboxes etc.
I went there at 5, I advice to go there earlier, we were a lot of people waiting. They gave us a number and told us to wait until they called our numbers. As people were getting out of that door we were yelling from the joy that we had for each of them. I advice not to plan on traveling too close to the interview date because it is too stressful. There was a girl who had the interview on Thursday and her flight on Saturday, wedding on Monday. I would advice to take your time and plan things in such a way that will make things easier not harder.
Anyway there was me......waiting to get my passport and the famous yellow envelope. Unfortunately It wasn't ready yet. They told me that I could pay 25 euro and they would mail it to me ASAP.
I am still waiting for my passport to get here but I called Mailboxes and they dais they mailed it.
Good luck everyone. I know it may seem so hard and stressfull but in the end it will make you appreciate your time with your soulmate so much.
God bless you!
| | | Naples, Italy | Review #8491 on October 12, 2011: |
kaleigha
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Here is my fiance, Fabrizio, described to me about his experience in Naples
First of all, Fabrizio recommends to use the taxis to get around Naples, but you might want to negotiate on the prices. They are pretty cheap and they will get you anywhere you want to go. He also recommends to watch out for the cars when you are walking because they don't pay much attention to red lights...
Fabrizio stayed at Napul'è bed and breakfast at 92 Riviera di Chiaia and it worked out well and it is close to the consulate and reasonable priced. The rooms are restored and have air conditioning, bathroom, tv, and internet (which was great because we were able to skype). He said it is a really old building without a sign, but just look for the 92 on the outside.
Day 1
My fiance was the first to show up at the medical and you wait on the yellow chairs. Other people started showing up after a little while (he said there were about 10 other people) and they first called him in to draw blood. Then he was sent out to wait on the yellow chairs again. He was then called in so the doctor could go over his vaccines (he didn't need any) and then he had to pay 160 euros for the exam. Then he played the waiting game again on the yellow chairs. The next time he was called a doctor examined him (height, weight, etc...) and then he went and got the chest x-rays done. He said there were a lot of doctors there, and didn't take as long as he expected. He said it took less than an hour and a half to have everything done.
Then at 2 o'clock he went to the consulate for fingerprinting.
Day 2
If you arrive early and there aren't any problematic cases ahead of you in line, you can get out of there quickly... Fabrizio was finished and texting me that we got the visa at 9:15 in the morning italy time.
Fabrizio says that it is very important to remember to turn in your passport to the guard right away when you get to the consulate, because this determines the order you will be called. The guard shows up around 7:30 to start collecting passports. Then you wait more and the guard calls you from an intercom (which he said was difficult to hear...) and you give them your cell phone and they tell you to go up to the second floor. When you get there they give you your number and you wait. You will be in the same room that the fingerprinting was done in.
After a little while you will be called up to the window and the woman will ask for your documents (two copies of DS-156, 2 photos, DS-156K, DS-230 part I and II, Birth certificate, I-134 with all of the supporting documents, and both police certificates) Make sure that you have both casellario giudiziale and certificato dei carichi pendenti. Many people forget the certificato dei carichi pendenti...
Then you sit back down and wait for the consul. Fabrizio said the consul was a lot younger than he expected. Before you get called, you can see the consul studying your file, so it is easy to guess when it will be your turn. Don't expect a private conversation for the interview... you will be in front of everyone else there when you have your interview. The consul has you swear that all of your information is true. Then, if there are no problems on your documents, you have a really easy conversation with the consul. If there are any suspicious things on your forms he will ask you about them...
Fabrizio said the consul was more pleasant if you speak in english with him (although he was still nice in Italian) ... Fabrizio said his italian wasn't the best. But overall, it was easy to speak to him because it was basically just a chat.
The questions the consul asked Fabrizio were:
Where did you and your fiancee meet?
What is your job?
Then, if everything has gone well, the consul will tell you when your visa will be ready (5 o'clock). Some visas are ready, some are not and they will be shipped to you and should arrive in a week. If you have to have the visa shipped, it costs 25 euros, if it is ready you only pay 7 euros. Obviously, don't open the yellow package that says "Do not open" and make sure to keep your medical results because you must bring them with you at POE.
Most of the other people there were couples who were already married, there two other people who were there for the K-1 visa. One of them did not have the second police certificate and was rejected.
Hope this is helpful!
The only other thing is to make sure to eat a pizza while you're in Naples!
| | | Naples, Italy | Review #8310 on September 14, 2011: |
Max1gk
Rating:
· 4 people found this review helpful
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
This is my K-1 visa experience in Naples between sunday 11th and tuesday 1th3:
Me and my Dad(let someone accompany you if you can) at the B&B Napulè (Riviera di Chiaia 92),just 200 meters from the consulate in Piazza della Repubblica therefore in a PERFECT position for anyone who has to go through this 3 days journey in Naples. The owners are very nice and professional and will do the outmost to help you for any problem you might have; they also know a lot about the visa process since the majority of their hosts are Visa Applicant at the US General consulate. If you're one of those concerned about Naples and robbery in hotels..you can trust these people with your life,It's a family run B&B..they live there too.
ok let's talk about the real stuff now:
Day 1: MEDICAL VISIT AT ISTITUTO VARELLI: Valeria,one of the owners, reserved a taxi for us the day before and at 6:25 I was on my way there where I got at 6:35,25 minutes before the Varelli opening time. Needless to say that I was the very first one lol . At the entrance a secretary registers your name on the computer and takes your passport and then invite you to seat down on the right side of the hall where there's a line of yellow chairs. After a while I was called for the blood test to check for HIV or other highly infective transmissive illnesses. After this is done you go take a seat again and wait for another doctor that will call you to pay the fee and check your vaccination history..they seem to really care only for Trivalente and Tetano. Then wait again but on the left side of the hall (again yello chairs) and you will have the main visit which consists in reviewing your DS-3026 medical history sheet,blood pressure check,lymph nodes check under your armpits,your eyes sight (la vista),your lungs and hearth with a stenoscope..nothing invasive basically. The last step will be the chest X-ray,after that you're done..they will not give you any package or evenlope,they will bring everything to the consulate so don't worry I was out at 10:40 so It does take a while. Btw If you don't take a cappuccino and a sfogliatella at the Illy bar in front of the Varelli after your medical..you're crazy!
They will tell you to be at 2 o'clock at the Consulate gates for fingerprinting,which will take place in the same place (second floor) where you will have your interview the day after.It's very quick and then in the afternoon you're free
One little tip: to go back to Piazza della Repubblica from the Istituto Varelli,there's a bus the C18 who goes from Viale Traiano and stops right near the consulate..It's a perfect alternative to taking a taxi on the way back.
Day 2 INTERVIEW DAY: The appointment is at 7:30,time at which the gates open but I got there at 6:30 to be sure I was number 1. Around 7:35 the guard began collecting all passports and let everyone in one by one. Leave your turned-off cell phone to them and you can pick it up after you'll be done. The guard will give you your number for the interview (Guards are all Italians btw) and you proceed inside the consulate at the second floor where It's pretty much like the inside of a post office with a waiting room and windows desk on its left side. They began calling us almost right away and I was asked for the following documents:
- DS-230 Part I (SIGNED) and Part II (UNSIGNED)
- TWO UNSIGNED copies of the DS-156
- ONE UNSIGNED copy of DS-156K (bring another one just in case,even if they wanted only one)
- payment receipt from BNL of 263 Euros with a stamp "pagato" on it,that is very important..without the stamp they will make you go at the nearest BNL branch to get one.
- I-134 forms
- evidences of support: TAX RETURNS and most recent PAY STUBS
- my BIRTH CERTIFICATE
- Casellario Giudiziale Generale AND Certificato dei Carichi Pendenti. My suggestion is make sure these two docs aren't too old..as a general guideline at least no more then 3 months old. The Certificato dei Carichi Pendenti is NOT mentioned in Packet3 and It's the NUMBER 1 Reason of delays in the visa process. They will NOT issue the visa on your interview day if you don't have BOTH these docs..really important!
The lady will then give you back your medical worksheet report which you will need for your AOS in the United States, your sealed envelope with your x-ray results and a flier of the MBE office where your supposed to pick up your visa later on in the late afternoon.
After this first part is done,you go take a seat again and after a while (1 hour in my case) I was called again by surname and I had my interview with the Consule in person. Very nice and laid out guy,but speak in English with him.
He told me to swear with my right hand raised that everything I submitted was the truth,only the truth,nothing but the truth and then I was only asked how me and my fiancèe met and what does she do..that's it,no pictures,no further questions! he told me to go pick up my Passport with the Visa after 5 o'clock at the MBE office at Via Andrea D'Isernia,less then 10 minutes walk from there. At 9:10 AM I said hello to some of the people I became friend with there and got out from the consulate!
Now instead I would like to talk about the visa pick up part. The chances that your visa will not be ready the same day aren't dim at all cause almost one third of us didn't get it the first day;I was among the lucky ones. I believe that being among the very first ones in the morning does play a role. In case your visa will not be ready or you have to leave Naples earlier,you can go there at the MBE and tell them to ship it home; It should cost you around 25 euros in that way. If instead It's ready and you pick it up on the spot you will have to pay 6,40 euros. Do not go at 5 ,go earlier cause there's gonna be a line there too and they will give you a number to wait your turn.
I'm giving the general experience a 4,cause It took too much time for the consulate to send me packet3 after they got my petition from the National Visa Center.
I hope this can help you and good luck
| | | Naples, Italy | Review #8272 on September 8, 2011: |
ABandIG
Rating: 
· 3 people found this review helpful
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Had my interview just yesterday and thought to share my experience with you all hoping it can help somehow.
Day 1: Medicals
It was said on Packet 3 to be at the Istituto Varelli at 8.15 in the morning, I took a taxi at 6.30 and I was there just before 7o'clock and I was the first person in line.
Taxi are usually not that expensive, you can call RadioTaxi and they would charge you around 1 euro per minute, so if it's early in the morning and there's not so many people around, you should be ok with 10, 15 euro.
Just after a couple of minutes we were already four people and the institute opened at 7.00.
They told us to give them our passport and to take a sit on the famous yellow chairs (lol) so we did, waiting for the other people to arrive and for 8.30.
Then they started to call for the blood test....starting from the very last person arrived... O_o I thought something was wrong and they seemed to keep going backwards from the last one so after a couple of people, one of us decided to go ask and they said that someone messed up the passports and that they would have tried to call us asap... >_>
Aaaanyway, I had my blood test in the end, and after that, they called me inside an office to register my name, the guy told me I had to pay 160euro for the visit, they wanted ONE passport pic, and said that I was ok with my vaccines (most of the people had to take tetanus vaccine which was around 25 euro, btw they check just tetanus and trivalente, I'm guessing the other vaccines are required for AOS).
Then waiting again for the doctor to call me, and I finally got inside an office and they took my height, weight, blood pressure, they checked my eyes, heartbeat and checked for lymph nodes.
The doctor filed out the paper and told me to wait outside for the doctor to call me to take my Xray. After Xray they said that the next day, before the interview, they would have given me the results of the medical and that I would have had to bring those with me in the USA.
Then they let us know we had to be at the consulate at 2.00 pm exactly to take the fingerprints.
At 2.00 we were all in line and they let us in one by one, giving us a number and they took our names, ONE passport picture, and they took our digits. It's just a matter of a few minutes, so consider to be out of there by 3 o' clock.
Day 2: Interview
We were told to be at the consulate around 7.30, and I was there at 6.30 and I was the forth in line. At exactly 7.30 they started to let us in one by one, checked our passports, and told us to go to the first floor and wait for our turns.
They started to call us like right away, there was a very kind blonde lady who was supposed to check we had every document and form required. When it was my turn they asked for ONE passport picture (this make it three), all the forms on packet 3, my birth certificate, the CERTIFICATO DEL CASELLARIO GIUDIZIALE, the CARICHI PENDENTI (yes, it's required indeed), my fiancee's divorce decree, and proof for the I-134 (if you are over the poverty line, just the last tax return is sufficient). Remember NOT TO SIGN THE I-156 and the I-156K cause you'll have to sign those in front of them.
Then she took my digits again cause apparently the ones from the preview day weren't ok (O_o), she gave me a paper explaining that in case the visa was granted I would have had to pick it up after 5 in the afternoon at Mail Boxes etc., and she told me to sit and wait for the Consul to call my name.
Then the consul arrived, and started to call the first person in line.
Be VERY PREPARED; if you have ONE DOCUMENT MISSING, ANY KIND OF PROBLEM WITH TAX RETURNS, or IF YOUR CERTIFICATO DI POLIZIA was given to you more than 6 MONTHS AGO (it expired and in that case you would have to request it again) the Consul will more likely send you home and tell you to come back. That is what happened to the first three persons in front of me.
That morning it was just me and another girl being interviewd for a K1, the others were mostly for renewal of green cards, Spouse visa, or other kinds of visa.
Finally the Consul called me by name, I rushed to the desk with my load of documents and proofs and he asked me to raise my right hand and swear all that was in the forms was the truth. I sweared and he started to talk to me in english (don't worry if you don't speak the language, just say BUONGIORNO and not GOOD MORNING when you get there and he will most likely ask you what you prefer).
I wrote down on the I-129 the fact that me and fiancè met through Twitter and so he told me it was the first time he saw someone meet on there, and he asked me how did I come out with my twitter name (lol! It had absolutely nothing to do with the whole thing but he looked amused by it XD), then he asked what's my fiance's job and if he has children and what their names were.
Then he smiled and said I could have had my visa after 5 o clock.
And that's it! I stayed at the consulate waiting for the other K1 girl, who was approved as well, and she had already all the wedding figured out, invitations and everything.
Out of 19, just 3 of us were approved, but DON'T WORRY: make sure you have EVERYTHING they want, make sure to request your certificates as close to the interview as you can, make sure you have proofs for the I-134 and make sure you are super-organized cause they don't like to waste time.
At 5.00pm I was outside the Mail Boxes etc (these at the MB's are NOT very patient and kind people btw <_<) and they gave me my passport with the visa in it and the holy yellow envelope with A GIANT WRITING "DO NOT OPEN!!" lol.
I was so excited I wanna cry!
I'm gonna rate this experience 5 cause in the end everything went good, and I can say the people at the consulate are very efficient people, but the stress I had was enormous. I can assure you in the end it's all worth it!
Good luck to all of you and if anyone needs anything, just contact me!
Blessings!
| | | Naples, Italy | Review #8191 on August 25, 2011: |
quickatie
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Direct Consular Filing
Super smooth process!!
The key is to prepare prepare prepare!!!
All of the other reviews pretty much cover the detailed process of the medical/consulate appointment. Just a few tips from our personal experience:
Arrive early for all appointments!! We arrived at 8:15am for the medical, at 1:50pm the same day for fingerprints and at 7:15am the next day for the consulate and there were still around 10 people in front of us for each appt. The most important appointment to show up early for is the interview/consulate appt on the second day. We were there at 7:15am, but had to stay until around 11:30am. People who had shown up just 10 minutes earlier than us were done by around 10am.
Make sure you read and re-read the documents that you need to bring to the appointment!! The most common reason couples did not get approved that day was because they were missing the "Carichi Pendenti" document. You need this AND the "Casellario Giudiziale" along with the other forms listed on the consulate's website.
The interview questions to my Italian husband were: "Where/when did you meet your wife?" "Why do you want to move to the US?" and then the Consule and I proceeded to chat about my hometown where he had lived for a few years. He was so nice!!
The staff at the Varelli Institute and Naples Consulate all make this a very smooth process IF you do your part and prepare your documents ahead of time!!
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