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| Athens, Greece |  Review on August 20, 2015: |
SofiC
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
If you are reading this please be very very very careful of the steps that you take in the system in Yatri. Further down i will explain why.
First of all, i got information about my case, medical and paperwork needed about two weeks after my case had been received in Greece. I have to admit that stress was building by then. Good point is that everyone was very polite and as helpful as they could be on the phone, bad point is that the instructions e-mail i was forwarded had the wrong instructions. Which i did not know by then, i got to find out after i met the consul.. But, okay!
Medical appointment: I went for my medical in Euro-clinic and although the procedure was quite simple, i am afraid the doctor i had to meet was a little bit chaotic. At first he came to greet me, and he forwarded me to the cashier where i paid and got my vouchers for X-ray and blood test. I had the X-ray in 10 minutes and blood was taken in 5 more, after that i had to wait for the doctor for about 30 minutes, which i find normal. As soon as the doctor came to me again (in the hallway) he wanted to discuss of my history (in the hallway-standing-in front of other people i did not know and had nothing to do with the medical personnel).. javascript:emoticon(' ')
Also, right there while standing and discussing in front of others about my medical history, he saw my vaccinations booklet and decided that i should have 2 extra vaccines. The one, i have to admit that i needed it (had completely missed repeating it 5 years ago) but the other one i had done and repeated twice. When i asked why i needed to have the second vaccine he said that the date on the booklet was not very distinguishable, and he had no time to figure what the date was. I refused to have it. He insisted on me doing it. I read the date (which was not unclear, just had a stamp on it) and once again refused. After i explained to the doctor that i have no intention to re-do vaccinations that i have done and repeated in the past 3 times and after him telling me that i have nothing to lose, and that the cost is not high he decided to look my booklet more closely. I went to buy that 1 vaccine i truly needed and returned to the doctor to do it.
He took me to a room took my history once again only that this time he was writing it down, and translated my vaccination record without complaining about the dates. He gave me a copy of the vaccination record i payed 120 euro to him and left hoping that i will never-ever-again have to meet him in the future. I really do not recommend Euro-clinic, and although i thought it was only me, while in waiting line at the embassy, i heard also that others were displeased with him too. I was not the only one! javascript:emoticon(' ')
Embassy/ Consulate: I was there very early in the morning my appointment was at 8.15 but the bureau did not open before 8.30am. The procedures were quite fast as soon as you were talking with a representative, but waiting was a bit long between meetings. First a spoke with a very kind lady that saw my stress and tried to relax me a bit. She asked me to speak in Greek and to tell her my WHOLE story. Even if i was jumping forward (to save her from silly details) she was going back asking some more. I did not have any skype logs with me, which she noticed, but i explained that all my skype logs were the last 2 years was of the type "call started at..." - "call ended, duration...". She noted that down as she was surprised by it and asked me to send her the logs later that day. After she was happy with all i told her, she told me to go out and wait, which i did. About half an hour later i was called in again, this time they asked me for 2 papers they found missing in my records. Once again i was asked where i will live, if i have visited the US and how long i stayed. I was once again released. Half an hour later i was called in again, this time to meet the consul. This time i had to speak in English. She was a very polite woman, had me vow that all documents i submitted were true and that everything i say is true as well. She took my fingerprints and asked me in general how we met. She focused on the duration of the relationship, and since she had in front of her the notes of the other woman she had specific questions about our relationship. She asked why i did not visit US after we sent the papers to USCIS where i honestly told her that it would be devastating for me to go to US and not be allowed to see my fiance in case something went wrong. Cheeky-me i also added that the only more devastating thing that can happen to me would be for her to tell me that i cannot be with my loved one. She smiled sympathetically and she said that she understood. After that she told me that she needed me to get 2 documents missing from my file, one was a payment that i did not do, because following the instructions i had booked an appointment for another type of visa which did not require a fee, and the other, the original affidavit of support from my fiance (i had a scanned copy with me) that had delayed to arrive to Greece by mail. She told me that my visa is approved but she cannot yet forward it because of those 2 documents. At least, i am happy with the result! I passed the hard part! javascript:emoticon(' ')
Trouble: After meeting the consul and returning home i found out that it was not me that did something wrong and avoided payment, but instead, the instructions i was given in the first place were wrong. I had to contact the help desk ask for my case to be reset in their system and fix it. Help desk put the existing applicant (me+appointment) in archive and advised me to re-create my application for a K1 appointment. Which i did.. but, doing that i needed a new DS-160 number AND i could not book a new appointment (since i already had passed that step) so now it seems like my case is "pending" for an appointment in Yatri system. In general, the whole system-bummer-thing was a pain. I had to contact the consul again, forward to her all the new documents DS-160 and payment receipt and hope it all went well. A stressful and head-exploding experience! But it's over! javascript:emoticon(' ')
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #17588