USEM Interview Experience

May 20,2011 K1 Visa Interview


Getting there
I went to the embassy at around 6am. My appointment time is 6:25am. And there was already a long queue outside. You have to ask the guard where to fall in line. He will guide you where you should go.And beware of those people outside telling you to leave your gadgets to them ( I'm glad my mom and my lil sis accompanied me so I left my phone and my ipod with them ). I only brought with me my 2 bulky envelopes which contain all the important documents such as my fiance's Affidavit of Support and other supporting documents,my Appointment Letter and DS forms,Identification Papers (NBI,CENOMAR,Birth Certificate) and other proof of ongoing relationship. See photos below as to how I arranged them.

The guard then called all applicants scheduled for 6:25. We were asked to fall in line again at the Immigrants line. When it was my turn,the lady asked for my Confirmation Letter,BPI receipt and my passport. She gave me instructions on what I'm gonna do when I get inside the embassy. 


Getting inside the embassy
When I got inside,I placed my things at the metal detector. After the checking, I went out and fell in line wherein the lady asked for my DS forms and she instructed me to drop them at Window 39.She stapled them all together. She gave me my number which is 7020 which I used for the whole interview process.

When I got inside the building,I went to Window 39 and dropped the forms. I took a seat and waited for my number to flash on the screen. Note: You really have to pay attention cause the numbers are flashed in random order. After 20 minutes or so,my number flashed and I went to Window 40 for my finger scanning. She was a nice Japanese or Chinese lady. Not sure though.lol Then she told me to take a seat and wait for my number to be called. At around 8:30 I think, I went to Window 48 for my preliminary interview. He was a goodlooking,young man. :) He asked me the following questions:

1. What's your name?
2. What's my petitioner's name?

He then asked for my NBI,CENOMAR and Birth Certificate. He told me if I still don't have my police certificate ( cause I worked abroad ) and I said it's still in process.Then he looked at my DS forms and asked me to fill out the ones he placed a check on. After that, we proceeded to the interview.

1. What country and what kind of job was it?
2. What's my petitioner's job?
3. What other countries I have been to? Good thing, I brought my old passport with me too then I handed it to him along with my current passport.

He then asked for my fiance's Affidavit of Support and his Tax forms. Then he asked for photos of me and my fiance. I showed all the pics to him in which I arranged them according to the places we've been to. He said, "ah,ganito pala pagkakaayos mo." Then I just smiled. He browsed at all the pics and he even jokingly said if I fed my fiance with an oyster and I said "No Sir,he doesn't like to eat those." hehe and we both laughed. And he seemed familiar with my place which is in Cavite. He asked me if the Pokemon statue is still there.haha!  So I said to myself, he must be a Caviteno too. :-) While browsing the pics,he asked me if my fiance sends me money and he asked for my other proofs of ongoing relationship. When he saw how thick my folder was,he said "Sige ok na.Alam ko na"that he didn't bother to look at them anymore,hehe. I think my work paid off. It was a good talk with him. Then after that he told me to be seated and wait for my number to flash.

I killed time by having a talk with the ladies seated beside me. But I still paid attention to my number on the screen. The lady beside me is number 7021 but her number always gets ahead of me.lol Her number flashed on the screen for the Consular interview. It was this time that I felt chills all over my body. I knew I'm almost nearing my interview with the Consul.^.~ It was around 10:30 when my number flashed on the screen. I went to Window 62. She was a blonde American lady Consul. I can tell that she's in her 50's already. Oh well if not in her 40's cause Americans mature earlier than us Filipinos. =)  She greeted me Good Morning and I greeted her back. She asked me to raise my right hand and made me take an oath. She asked me my name and she said "Hey,Mitzi" in which she started asking me the following questions:

1. What's my petitioner's name?
2. What's his job?
3. Does he have any siblings and how many?
4. How did we meet?
5. When did we meet?
6. If I worked abroad and what kind of job.
7. If my fiance owns a house or if he rents.
8. Our wedding plans and I said we plan to wed in Vegas. She said "Oh in Vegas" then she smiled. :)
9. If I'm aware that I have to get married within 90 days of my arrival in the US.
10. What kind of work do I plan to have when I get in the US?

She kind of noticed that I'm quite nervous so she told me not to be scared.hehe 

1. How many times did my fiance visit me here?
2. Does he live with his parents or does he live on his own?
3. How long is he living in Colorado now?
4. How often do we talk? I said "Daily,Ma'am"
5. If we're both married and if we have kids.

After that,she started typing something on her computer. While typing,she gave me another look and she smiled. Then she asked for some photos of me and my fiance in which I just held it up for her to see. Then she said ok. After the interrogation (LOL), she told me "Unfortunately, I cannot approve you yet cause we still need your police certificate and we need something from your fiance ( I was like,what else does she need from my fiance? I knew we were above the Poverty Guideline). Then she told me to go take a seat and that they will give me some instructions on what to submit. I said thank you Ma'am.

I knew that not having my police certificate will cause a delay to the processing of my visa but oh well what can I do... :) So I took a seat and not long when I heard my name being called on Window 72. The lady at the booth gave me a white form or the 221(g) as what they call it with all the documents we need to submit and she even gave me a form on how to obtain this police certificate but I told her it's already on process and she said oh ok. She just put there in process and she asked me if I was familiar with 2go. She told me that if everything else is ready,I can just mail it to them thru the 2go courier and she told me to include my passport in it. I kinda felt relieved when she said that cause I knew they wouldn't ask for my passport if I was denied,right? :-)  She told me to go to Window 70 and give the 2go delivery information sheet and after dropping the form,she told me I can go home already. Note: While waiting for the proper interview, be sure to fill up the form with all your necessary information so that you're just ready to hand it over at the window. I left the embassy at around 11:30 and feeling hungry already.lol But while waiting for a cab,an American man in his mid 30's or 40's I guess stood beside me and lit up a cigarette. He then started talking with me and he asked if I got approved. I told him I still have to submit some required documents. Then I asked if they got approved and he said yes. He accompanied his fiancee to the interview. Then I told him Congrats.He said this whole process is a lot of work and I couldn't agree more. I wanted to tell him a lot of waiting too but a cab stopped by in front of me and I bid the man goodbye. I feel happy for the people who gets approved cause they'd get to be with their loved ones in no time.

Well as for me, I still have to wait but I know that in God's perfect time I'll be with my beloved hunnie too. :) I told him what happened to my interview and he was happy for me all the same. He said he knew that I could do it. He cheered me up. We never lose hope for we know we have God,who's already at work and ready to fulfill all our plans. And I never forgot to pray while I was being interviewed. I asked Him to guide me throughout the interview and to give me the strength and the wisdom I need to be able to answer everything the interviewer will ask of me. And that He'll lead me to a good pre-interviewer and a good Consul. All my prayers were heard! God is so good!

June 14- when I sent an e-mail to the USEM inquiring about the status of my case. I sent one during the afternoon and when I checked my e-mail in the evening,lo and behold, the visa was already issued to me last June 10. I didn't expect the consular review to be that fast (it's only a week when the documents were forwarded to the Consul).But nevertheless I'm so happy and so is my fiance. :)) As soon as I received that mail, I hurriedly forwarded the good news to my fiance. I left a message on ym telling him to check his e-mail. Didn't tell the news right away. lol And when he saw my mail, he can't believe it either. He was so happy! He even asked me if I screamed after seeing the news.haha! He bet. ;P Of course, who wouldn't,right? I mean, the whole process wasn't easy. It's like going thru the eye of a needle. You're like competing in a race, striving to reach the finish line. And once you get to the end of the goal, it's such a great feeling. You feel so accomplished and successful! That's what me and my fiance felt. We felt like winners!
June 15 was the day when I got a hold of my visa. It truly was a remarkable day and I became quite sleepless. Yes because of too much excitement in my heart that very soon I'll be together with my man. I'm very much looking forward to that day I'll be with him and from that moment on, we'll be inseparable. I love him so very much! 
And most of all, I really thank God for He never left us during the entire process. I let God be in control of everything so that's what He really did. My Father is really an awesome God! All praises belong to Him! I love you Lord Jesus!