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| Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina |  Review on September 17, 2013: |
WorldTravelers
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-5 Visa
We had interview appointment at 1.30, but were not done until 3 PM. 95% of that time was just waiting, as immigrant visa interviews are done in the same place as all non-immigrant visa interviews. After getting through the security check , my mom (I was not allowed to enter the building) waited 45 min to submit her papers (passport, photo, and one other document), for a 2 min conversation. Then she waited another 45 min to speak to the consul ~ another 2 min. There is a room for interviews, but they are still done at the counter, where everyone else waiting can hear the conversation. Not cool.
The first person at the counter took the passport, took a look at our family photo, and asked again about the court certificate. We had it in the original documents sent to NVC, but since it's a smaller size paper, they didn't see it and just returned it to in stack of other papers, taking the other copy we happened to have with us. Mom brought with her the copies of every single paper we sent to NVC, which they didn't need - except the court certificate - and they returned to us the civil documents copies I sent to NVC.
The interview with the consul was very brief. She just asked why mom, who traveled every 1-2 years to the US for the last 15 years, has decided just now to apply for the immigrant visa. She answered it's because she is getting older and wants to be with her children - she couldn't say it's because I just recently became a US citizen. 
At the end, the consul said to come pick up the visa in 3 days. This embassy started using DHL to send back passports with tourist visa, but it seems that's not the case for the immigrant visas, probably because of the sealed envelope we also need to pick up.
All in all, the interview part of this was quick, but waiting for it is why I can't give it a 5-star rating.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #12790