|
|
| Dominican Republic |  Review on August 26, 2012: |
jlw1013
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
After almost 10 months, we finally had our interview. Our appointment time was 7:30AM, and we arrived about 6:20AM. 75-100 people were already in three different lines located outside the Embassy. Apparently there are two different sides of the building for different visas, and luckily my husband had been to the Embassy before and knew which side of the building to go to. There is no real signage, and the signs that were there made no sense. There was minimal to no help from Embassy employees, and it took about 40-45 minutes to get inside. There is an Embassy employee who takes your appointment cover letter, then issues a number.
I am American, and was one of the few there. I had a problem in the security line because I had a small disc drive in my purse. The security woman spoke no English, and my husband had already gone through security and was inside. I had to wave him down to come back out so he could translate for me. She made him take the hard drive back outside, and then he had to get inline again and go through security all over. Luckily he made it back inside in 10 minutes.
Everything was located outside with metal roof covers and fans. It is very primitive like most structures in the DR. There are rows of metal benches that have padding, with two small screens that announce your number and the window you are supposed to go to. We were called just before our appointment time, but did not have our Banco Popular receipt. We had gone to Banco Popular in Puerto Plata, but they tried to tell me I also owed $6,000 RD for the interview. I used an attorney, and had paid all our fees in advance. The first interviewer asked for the Banco Popular receipt first thing, and my husband had to leave the Embassy, take a cab, and then wait for a local bank to open to pay $15 and come back with the receipt. We then had no idea what to do next, and could not find anyone to help us. Finally we went up to a random window, and were directed on what to do. We then had to wait for our number to be called again, which took much longer. The conditions are pretty poor, and there is no resemblance of the US there. I did not use the rest room or eat the food.
We finally met with a very nice American bilingual interview officer, and after 5 minutes of basic questioning, the visas were approved. My husband two daughters ages 14 and 7 were present also, but were not questioned. I came with copies of all our documents provided from my attorney, and a large notebook with the evidence of our marriage. None of it was needed or reviewed.
We were told the wait time for the actual visas is two weeks which was very disappointing. I took 3 weeks off from work and rented a condo in Santo Domingo and planned to stay in town to pick-up the visas from Domex, which I read on this web site was the best way to do it, but I'm not sure I can wait two weeks now since I arrived five days prior to the interview. The Embassy web site says the wait time is 1-3 weeks which is probably accurate. Don't plan on anything happening efficiently in this country.
Overall, I feel our experience was poor due to the conditions of the building itself, and lack of signage and/or help from Embassy employees, and that the security line employees did not speak any English. Thank god we were approved and it is over.
| |
|
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #10263