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| United Arab Emirates |  Review on February 26, 2016: |
ChicSharjah
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
It was a long wait for a breezy interview.
Arrived at the embassy 15 mins before my appointment, and there were already 15 immigrant visa applicants ahead of me. Note to future interviewees: DO NOT bring bags/purses, however small it may be, you will be refused entry (I kept reading about this in this forum yet I didn't heed the warning: I was initially denied entry because of my small bag – even if it contained only my wallet LOL). I had to hurry back to the hotel nearby (thumbs up for Aloft) to deposit my bag and just bring along my rather large wallet. Only papers are allowed inside, and given the bulk of documents I brought, I had to use a woven shopping bag to keep everything in.
Numbers are called in windows where they collect documents to add on to the I-129F file they already have. I handed over my DS-160 confirmation paper, proof of payment and appointment letter, filled up DS-156K, original passport and a copy of it, original birth certificate, original Dubai Police Clearance Certificate, original NBI Clearance, sealed medical records, 2x2 photos, DS-134 as signed by the petitioner, and more importantly – financial evidences. I was only asked to give 2014 W2 and 1040, and I handed over 2015 W2 and 1040 as my fiancée has completed filing the same to send to me in time for the interview. For my case, it seemed that the W2 and 1040 documents were enough – they did not ask for the salary letter, current bank statements, or other financial documents (I have all 2014-2015 W2s and 1040, 2014-2015 property taxes, current investment portfolios, 3-months bank statements, and 3 months payslips). Also, the CENOMAR was not asked.
After the collection of documents, I had my biometrics taken, and was made to wait.
I was then asked to go to a closed room, not a window, for my interview. The consul was a nice American man who asked the following questions after putting me on oath: how long have you lived in the UAE? What is your job? What does your company do? How long have you known your fiancée? When was the last time we saw each other? When did he go to the US (I had to correct him with a smile on this one – “SHE went to the US in..” – he smiled back, apologized, and seemed to reset his mind that he was dealing with a same-sex relationship. How does your family feel about your relationship? There is another applicant in the file (K-2), and he asked where my child is currently, if she was from a previous marriage, and when she will follow to the US. He then proceeded to say that he will approve my visa, and that I will have to come get my passport back after 6 days. He apologized that the time from the interview to the passport collection is too long; and asked if I prefer to have it collected on a later day, towards the end of the week.
We then proceeded to discuss how my K-2’s file will be transferred to the US Embassy in my home country (it shall be an internal arrangement between Abu Dhabi and Manila embassies). All the while, he was handing me over the famed pink slip, a VJ’s sign of visa approval.
After 3.5 hours of waiting, I breezed through the interview in 5 minutes. It was worth every waiting minute.
My thoughts on undergoing the interview - the process may be nerve-wracking, but answering naturally and from the heart makes a big difference. The CO already has all the information about you and your fiancee, and one way to validate these information, particularly the proof of relationship, is by hearing it first-hand from you.In my case, sharing a little more about the relationship (how it took 25 years to be realized)kinda cinched it - when you truthfully relate something from the heart, it reflects another side to the relationship that no amount of document can prove.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #19007