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| Manila, Philippines |  Review on August 17, 2019: |
BM24
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
My appoinment time was 7:40am. I arrived at the Us Embassy Manila at 6:30, I waited about 30 mins before getting in. No need to arrive super early, I recommend at least 30-45 mins.. Otherwise, you will have to endure the long wait since they won't let you in if it's not your time schedule yet. There are chairs for rent but there's no shade outside incase of rainfall incidents. When I entered the first gate, I prepared my passport and DS-260 confimation form. They didn't check my appointment letter as they can see it through the printed stickers which will be attached to the DS-260. I entered the second gate and passed through a metal detector for scanning. Then I walk for several steps until I got in to gate 3 which is in another building. You won't get lost since everyone in the embassy are very friendly and accommodating. I sat in and followed the queue for the pre-screening by a Filipino Consul. He was very kind, smiling and he speaks clearly. He asked for my name, date of birth, name of petitioner, age, date of marriage, if my husband is a US citizen, where he was born, and my parents' name. Then he asked for the Affidavit of Support and the tax transcripts. Then that's it. I went to the finger scanning and the American woman is very patient. She wasn't able to get my finger prints at one try since my hands were so dry and there were cracks on my right index and middle finger. After a 3rd try for the right hand, I was done. Finally, I followed the queue for the final interview with the American Consul. It was a long wait. I waited about 2 hours. I was nervous but I suppressed that feeling and got excited instead because majoity of the consuls seemed so kind and friendly. When it's my time, the American Consul greeted me with a smile saying Good Morning and greeted him back. He has the loudest microphone/speaker, so obviously, others had heard our conversation. But it's okay because it was the greatest interview I've ever had. We were just like strangers getting to know each other. He speaks well so I understand every question. He just asked me what's my name, how to pronounce my surname, how did i meet my husband (we were childhood friends so he asked a follow up question if how did we reconnect), when did my husband left the philippines, how many times my husband visited me. Then he said that he will be recommending for my visa approval and he smiled at me saying Congratulations. He returned my Affidavit of support with the transcripts and the civil docs as I'll be needing them at the POE. I actually brought two heavy binders for my documents, photo albums, chat messages, receipts, passport stamps etc but both the filipino and american consul didn't ask for it. My whole Us Embassy experience is my most memorable one because this is the only place where all of the people (from guards, staff, consuls) are smiling, accommodating and spreading good vibes, the reason why I was not so pressured. Fast forward, I received my visa 4 days after the interview. God bless us all.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #26877