|
|
| Tokyo, Japan |  Review on October 15, 2007: |
Cassandra+Yuibi
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
In order to get ready for my interview, I triple-checked all the documents and proof of an ongoing relationship. I also made a duplicate copy of every document just in case. I utilized both the online checklist and the paper one that was included in the packet 3. Due to my meticulousness, I ended up sleeping at 4AM, and woke up 2 hours later.
I knew I wasn't supposed to bring any electronics inside the embassy, so I used a coin locker at a station. I soon regretted this as it turned out the embassy was kind enough to keep forbidden items until the interview's over at the first room where I had to pass through a metal detector.
I quickly walked to the waiting room and got a slip of paper that had a checklist and my reception number. I made a pile of documents just as the checklist said. There was, however, one thing I wasn't sure about: application fee receipt. Thankfully, there was a nice Japanese clerk who tried to tell me what it was.Even though he didn't know the answer, he was pretty attentive.
I eventually figured it out by myself when I turned in my documents. There were 9 Immigration Visa counters which were separated by glass, and I noticed most of the clerks were Japanese women. Although their English was more than satisfactory, I'd recommend speaking Japanese for better understanding. Maybe I should've stapled the papers together beforehand as the clerk looked sulky when she was stapling them. After she checked everything, she gave me back my photo album, saying "It's too much." I was told to sit down and wait for a while.
Soon after that, my number was called again. This time, a Caucasian lady who had her nose pierced (yeah, I was surprised...) asked me to put my fingers on a biometric fingerprint reader. It went very smoothly, and the waiting began again.
After about an hour, I finally had an interview. The interview took place right next to the counter that I was just using. In fact, counter 6 through 9 were used for interviews as soon as many of the applicants finished turning their stuff in. The interviewer was a middle-aged White man, and he interrogated me. The questions included:
"When did you meet your fiancee and how?"
"When is the last time you saw your fiancee? Was it in Japan or the U.S.?"
"When you went to the U.S. for the first time to see her in person, did you stay at someone else's house?" I told him I also stayed at my friend's house.
"How did you find your friend?" I explained I was an exchange student a couple of years ago.
"Why is your friend living so close to your fiancee's house?" I said "Just a coincidence," to which he looked a bit quizzical.
"Tell me your wedding plan."
"Is your family coming to your wedding? How many of them?"
Maybe he tried to nitpick me because he asked me a bunch of questions about "when." Thank god, I had no problem answering those questions, and he told me my visa had been approved! What a relief.
In conclusion, the interview was a little tricky, but maybe it's because I'm a guy (needless to say, most of the applicants were women). In retrospect, I might have been overly careful because many people were still working on their documents while they were waiting to be called. They also had an automatic photo booth, which I found very useful as I had had a hard time getting a 5x5 pictures. Overall, I would say the rating of the Tokyo embassy is 4.
| |
|
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #2109