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| Dominican Republic |  Review on April 5, 2014: |
bob72601
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Fiance Visa (K-1) Consulate Interview in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic April 3, 2014
We are a same-sex couple and may have been the first male couple to be interviewed in Santo Domingo.
We arrived in Santo Domingo on April 1st and stayed at the Jardines del Teatro, which is just a few hundred yards from the consulate. The people at the hotel are very
nice. We had a 2 bed room with kitchen and bath for $65USD per day including tax. It is nothing to rave about, but it fit the bill.
On our interview day, we walked to the consulate and arrived in the already long line at 6:05AM. The physical lines are numbered 1 (ACS), 2 (NIV), 3 (IV), and 4(IV).
They had combined lines 2-3-4 together and you had to wind your way back and forth until you reached the entrance. We finally made it inside about 7:45AM. The inside is
one crazy place. After going through the security checkpoint, you enter the waiting area where there are rows of padded benches. There are restroom facilities (1 each
for male/female) and a small cafeteria window. The place is hot and they have large fans to circulate the air. There are a couple water dispensers with paper cups. I sure hope the new facility is much better than this old one.
So after arriving inside at 7:45AM we waited and our number #213 was called to window #26 to turn in our documents. The nice lady asked for the DS-160, DS-156K, Banco Popolar receipts for $160 and $15, the police report, birth certificate and she only wanted 1 picture. She then gave us a receipt and told us to go to window 14 to pay
the $80 fee. We took the receipt immediately back to her window as she was waiting on us. Then we had a seat and waited until 9:00AM when we were called to window 14
for finger prints. That was painless and we again took a seat. We waited until approximately 11:40AM and we were called to window 25 for the INTERVIEW. Let me explain
the windows: #14-#19 and #26 and the RED #27 are on the outside of the building per se. Windows #20-#25 are in a more enclosed and quieter area than the rest. If you
can imagine a U-shape, windows #14-19 are on the left, #20-25 are on the bottom and #26 & #27 are on the right. The RED window #27 is for USCIS ONLY. And the others
are for the IV Unit.
OK, here we go. The time is at hand and we will know our fate in a few short minutes. We stepped up to window #25 where we were greeted by a nice American lady. She
noticed that we both spoke English and we said we wold conduct the interview in English.
She had us both raise our right hands and swore us in. Then she began with the questions. She asked us both who contacted who first. I responded that I had contacted
my fiance first. To my finance she asked when and where did we meet? She then asked me why I was attracted to him. She was satisfied with our answers. Then she ask my
finance about his first visa, which was in 1992. She asked him about how he obtained his subsequent visas, which he told her were simply renewed. Then she asked what
happened on his last trip to the US and his visa was cancelled in Miami. He told here that he was "turned around" for coming too much. She was looking on her computer
and was satisfied with his answers. She asked me if I had ever been married and I said yes, that I was divorced. She asked if I had any children, which I said I had
twins that are 42 years old. I also told her I married in 1969 and divorced in 1977. She was satsfied with my answers. She then asked my fiance if he had ever been
married or had children, the answer which was no on both accounts. Oh, I forgot, at the beginning, she ask my finance to place his fingers on the scanner. They seem to
check fingerprints at every stage of this process. A friend that works for CBP told me they do this to make sure you are the same person. There have been cases where
people have swapped one person for another. OK, back to the questions. She then asked my fiance had he ever been arrested or had a criminal record, which he answered
no. She then asked who traveled first and then how many trips we each made. She was looking at our folder and at some of the pictures that were in the folders and she
asked my fiance - What happened to your hair? He had longer hair in the photos and had it cut short after. She was just teasing him about his hair. The final question
was "Where are you going to get married?" We responded in Iowa. She said that was great and at that point she closed our folder and we saw the "Green Ticket" clipped
to it. She said welcome to the United States. You are APPROVED! Take this ticket and pay DOMEX. We both thanked her and away we went. She was very kind and treated us
with total respect. I asked her how long she had been in the DR and she said about a year. I ask where she was from and she said Boston. Then my fiance asked her how
was her Spanish? She replied "mas o menos". The interview was over in a matter of less than 10 minutes.
She did NOT ask to see any pictures, my I-134 or tax returns. I think the fact that we did use an attorney (Masliah & Soloway) that our I-129F Package was totally
complete and they did not need to ask for any of these other documents or pictures. Thanks Lavi and staff.
Now we wait at Orlando's home in Dajabon for the processing of the actual visa and DOMEX receiving it. We hope it is a fast process, but you never know.
We wish everyone else a speedy and positive outcome.
Bob & Orlando
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #14256