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| Sydney, Australia |  Review on December 14, 2017: |
Steff&DJ
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Interview: August 29, 2017 at 08:50am
Note - You cannot enter the US Consulate more than 15 minutes before your interview.
Before entering the first stage of the US consulate on level 10 a security guard checks your interview letter and makes you turn off your phone. You walk to a desk where you hand your paperwork over and someone goes through it to make sure you have everything required for the interview. They put it in one of their own translucent folders and hand it back to you. You then go through the security process, just like at a US airport - shoes off, etc.
You are required to leave electronic devices and all other belongings, except your paperwork/evidence in this area. You are then seated and told to wait for someone to come and get you. I only sat there for about 2 minutes before security came and got me and took me in a lift to the 59th floor.
On the 59th floor I was directed to go through a door where I had to take a ticket once inside (note that every single person walked straight past the ticket machine and sat down, it is not very visible!).
In the waiting area you can see and hear people being interviewed, it's a bit like a bank teller set up but with even less audio privacy.
After about half an hour my number was called, I approached a counter where a very nice lady took my paperwork and my fingerprints and said that she would go through everything to make sure it's ok, then, someone else would call me for my interview.
In the time I had to wait I listened to people get questioned over and over again and to my surprise, one guy got denied while I was sitting there! One of the CO's doing the questioning seemed quite strict and skeptical of most answers.
After about an hour my number was called and to my surprise, I was called to a counter that I did not even know was in operation right up the end of the office - with the most privacy you could hope for! A gentleman was stood there and told me he would be interviewing me. He took my fingerprints again, I then took an oath and the interview commenced. He asked me where my fiance and I had met and if I had been over to the states yet (I had been numerous times), he asked if my fiance had been to Australia yet, which he had.
The CO was satisfied with these answers alone and told me that my visa had been approved and that I would receive my passport within 7 days. The interview literally lasted all of 3 minutes.
I received my passport 2 days later on August 31, 2017 with my US visa inside.
Note - Someone has to be there to sign for it. If no one is home to sign, it gets sent back to the US Consulate.
Overall, I had a great experience and everyone I personally dealt with was very pleasant.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #22981