The reviews other have posted helped my husband and I as we prepared for each step of our journey so we wanted to return the favor:
* First, they *will not* allow you to enter the consulate without a valid passport. My husband lost his passport immediately before his 1st scheduled interview. He checked in at the consulate and they were extremely helpful in directing him to the UK passport office and such, but he was not able to attend that interview. (We were fortunately able to reschedule the new interview for 3 weeks from the first).
* The rescheduled appointment was for 9:30. My husband left his backpack and other bag along with a bag of his electronics at Goulds. No problems there. If you are leaving something larger (like a bag) then they tie the bag around the handle of your bag.
There was not a long line to enter the consulate and security was smooth and easy. You must have your interview letter with you and they will check your name off on their list. My husband was called to the first window at 11:30 and a nice guy asked for some of his paperwork. Then he sat back down to wait again. He bought a cup of tea (lukewarm). The non-immigration numbers seemed to be called in no particular order, but the immigration numbers went in order. Finally at 1:00 he went to the window for his interview. He was with an African American woman and she was very polite and kind. She asked him some cursory questions verifying facts. Then she asked him a few questions about us:
- Where did you meet your wife? [On-line] What website?
- Where and when did you and your wife first meet in person?
- When did you first realize you wanted to be together permanently?
- "Oh, I see you were deported. What happened there?"
She was kind and somewhat apologetic when she informed my husband that he couldn't get his visa (due to his deportation) and would need to file for a 212 waiver (which we already knew). My husband was also able to take his original paperwork (that had been sent in at the NVC stage) with him [we needed his passport since it is our only copy and not easy for us to get another copy].
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #13062
Review on October 22, 2013:
