My interview time was 9.30am on 29/11/2017. I arrived at the embassy around 9.10am and joined the queue in front of the blue visa tent. (There were 2 queues, the left queue is for people checking in and the right queue is for those that have checked in but are not there for immigration interviews). When I handed over my appointment letter I was told not to join the other queue as I was there for an immigration interview and to go straight up to one of the security officers who also checked my letter and then sent me into the security room. My bag was scanned just like at the airport and then I was advised to go into the main building. I checked in again with a lady at a desk and she attached stickers to my appointment letter. I then went in to a large room and waited in the seating area. There is a large screen that flashes up numbers and tells you which window to go to. It took around 10 minutes for my number to appear. (Your number is on one of the stickers) I went to my allocated window and a man asked me for my original birth certificate, passport photos, marriage certificate and police clearance certificate. He asked if I had my husband's w2 but I said no and he wrote "missing w2" on a page. I asked if this was going to be an issue and he said if the officer conducting my interview was happy with the tax transcript I had submitted then it wouldn't be an issue. (It wasn't an issue at all! The officer never mentioned it during the interview) The man asked me if I had my courier print out which is the ONE AND ONLY THING I had forgotten to print!! Doh! He printed it for me. He took my fingerprints and then asked me to sit down and wait for my number to appear again. Im not sure how long I was sitting down and waiting, possibly around 20 minutes. When my number appeared I headed round the corner to the allocated window. A pleasant young american woman was sitting on the other side of the glass. She asked me to raise my right hand while she read out an oath. She asked me 4 or 5 questions. She was friendly and put me at ease. After the few simple questions she said "congratulations, you've been approved" and that was it! I had a folder of extra evidence and photocopies of all the required documents and I was never asked to show any of them! The interview was completed in under 5 minutes! The officer said I will have my passport back in 1-2 weeks (even though the screen in the waiting room says it is taking 17 working days to process immigrant visas) I was in the embassy for less than an hour in total.
Questions I was asked -
1. How did you meet your husband?
2. When did he first visit you?
3. What are your plans once you get to America?
4. What does your husband work as?
I honestly don't think there was anything else asked! She typed while I answered her questions and some of the questions had follow up questions depending on my answer. For example I said in response to the "what are your plans" that we had bought a house in the summer and she asked where it was.
I genuinely feel like they had already approved me in their minds before I attended my interview and me showing up and answering her questions was merely a formality. We totally front loaded our initial packet that was sent to USCIS with evidence and then sent further evidence at the NVC stage, so I think this probably helped.
My only negative point would be that where my interview took place was in a room with quite a lot of people standing in a queue. They were all talking so I had to bend forward towards the glass to actually hear the officer clearly. It was a little odd doing an important interview and answering personal questions in front of a queue of strangers.
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #22910
Review on November 30, 2017:
