The overall process was nothing that you would not expect. I had previously been in the USA before on a J1 visa and the process was very similar.
Overall, it took about 15-20 minutes to line up outside, get through security, and into the waiting room. Once inside, the whole process took close to an hour which was mostly spent waiting for the number to be called. The actual interview itself took no more than 10 minutes from swearing the oath through to being approved.
The questions I got asked where:
How did you first get to know about each other?
When did you meet for the first time?
Have you been back since? (as I had been back for Thanksgiving I then was asked if I had spent it with her family)
What does she do for a living? (after I had mentioned that she had visited here over the summer)
One part stood out to me. I had done as much previous research as possible and it is possible that the change had been made very recently. I am dual national NZ/UK who was born in NZ. As part of the documents required I had my NZ police certificate which I had obtained through the Ministry of Justice the same as anyone else in NZ would. For the first trip to the window and the handing over of documents, I was asked if I had contacted the NZ embassy to obtain my police certificate and explained that I followed the process as if I had been in NZ (and then had family ship the certificate over). He noted on my file that the certificate came from the MOJ and then completed the rest of the tasks and asked me to sit down. When I was called to the actual interview there was a form already sitting in front of me that was a Consent Release Form. I was asked to sign to state that I gave the Department of State permission to request my information from New Zealand and have the police certificate approved that way. The rest of the interview was carried out and at the end he notified me that my application had been approved and they would get the paperwork from NZ before sending my passport back to me with the visa and that I could expect it to be delivered in the next 2-3 weeks.
And just to reiterate what others have posted, bags (backpacks/satchels/handbags etc.) and small electronic devices (no attached keyboards - phones and kindles fine) are allowed inside the embassy.
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #21299
Review on January 31, 2017:
