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| Cambodia |  Review on March 1, 2017: |
mysoeng
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I accompanied my fiance to his interview in Phnom Penh and I’m thrilled to say that we were approved! A huge thank you to everyone on these message boards who helped me along the way.
Having read all of the prior reviews I was expecting a bad experience, but I have to say that I found the whole process to be efficient and well organized. I also found all of the people we encountered at the consulate to be so polite and helpful, even the guards.
We arrived at 6 am and were first in line, which forms outside the door to the left of the window. We wore matching white shirts and ties because we are both boys. The window opened at 7:10 and the man let us in after checking our passports (he never asked for my interview letter). The guards inside checked our passports again and took our bags and phones. No food or water is allowed inside, but there is a drinking fountain and very clean bathrooms. We went through the double doors and lined up outside of window 7, which opened around 7:40 to give everyone a number.
About 10 minutes later, we were called to the window to submit our documents (ACLEDA Bank receipt, I-134 with employment letter, 2015 tax transcript, letters of intent to marry, fiance’s ID card, passport, passport photos, birth certificate, medical exam, police certificate, and lastly all my evidence of the relationship). My fiance only brought the English translation of his birth certificate and forgot the original. The woman politely explained that we could still do our interview but he would have to come back with the original. Next was fingerprinting and finally the interview.
The American man who interviewed us was fluent in Khmer and was so nice and friendly. He started by asking my fiance whether he wanted to be interviewed in English or Khmer. When he chose Khmer, the man turned to me and asked how we can communicate if he doesn’t speak English. I told him my fiance speaks English, he’s just nervous about the interview. He then asked my fiance the following questions in Khmer and asked me to confirm each answer in English:
1. Where and when did you meet? I heard my fiance say the wrong year (2016 instead of 2015) but the interviewer let it slide.
2. Where and when did you get engaged?
3. How many times has your fiance been to Cambodia? He then asked me if I spend a lot of time with my fiance when I come. I told him it’s the whole reason I come and he stays in the hotel with me.
4. What is your fiance’s job? My fiance told him my title and company name and then he asked him what my company does and what I do every day at work. My fiance said he doesn’t know, which made
me very nervous.
5. Where does your fiance live in America? He then asked him further details like who do I live with and do I rent or own my apartment?
6. Where do your fiance’s parents live in America?
7. What are your plans for getting married in America?
There were a few other questions that I just can’t remember because it all went by in a blur, but nothing that I haven’t read in other reviews. After that, he handed us a pink paper and said we have been approved, but my fiance would need to come back the following Monday or Tuesday to bring his original birth certificate. I gave my fiance the biggest hug and we thanked him and waved goodbye. My fiance brought his birth certificate back the following Monday and they told him to come back in a week and a half to pick up his visa.
I’m going to provide a few more details about our situation because this is the information I found to be most helpful and was frustrated when the other reviews left them out. We didn’t have any red flags, but my biggest concern was that we only met 3 times in person. We met in a nightclub the first time I came to Cambodia as a tourist. We didn’t have any pictures from that meeting so I made sure to include our text messages from the next day saying I’m so happy I met you last night. I came two more times over the course of a year and started the K1 application in between those two trips. I included at least one glossy photo from every day that I spent with him in Cambodia. I took screenshots of our text messages on the Line app and included at least one screenshot per day for the entire length of our relationship (1 year and 3 months). I also submitted all of our video call logs (about 2 per week) and for each one I included a screenshot of our faces talking to each other on camera. I read in someone’s review that a picture is worth a thousand words.
I also wanted to mention that another girl was having her interview at the same time as mine so I overheard some of the conversation. She was by herself and the man was grilling her really hard on every question. I heard him say “so your fiance came to Cambodia just to find a wife? ...so your parents decided your engagement for you? ...so you did or did not have an engagement ceremony?†Another employee was translating her responses from Khmer so I couldn’t hear, but she was providing really long answers and there was a lot of discussion back and forth. I thought for sure she was going to fail from his tone, but I guess she argued her case well because at the end he told her she was approved and wished her the best of luck. Another couple was turned away during the document collection step because they didn’t pay the fee through ACLEDA Bank.
My advice is to smile a lot and provide as many text messages and video call logs as you can. I think my mountain of evidence helped us a lot, even when my fiance messed up some of the answers. Good luck everyone! Feel free to message me if you have any questions.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #21454