spouse visa

Visa CR-1 / IR-1 ➤ My Interview

My interview was at 10am, I arrived a little early but as I read in testimonials (on visajourney for example), no need to arrive more than 15 minutes early because they will not let you in.
I had made the mistake of wearing heels (even if quite small!) but with the heat (I had my interview in the middle of a heat wave) I already had foot pain when I arrived.
I waited in the small park on the other side of the road and went at 9:45. The security guards at the entrance joked with me, but I can’t remember on what… but it was a relaxed atmosphere.

After this first security point, I presented my passport, my DS-260, the sealed envelope given at the medical examination and my criminal record.

1st security point and verification of your identity and appointments.

You then pass a second security check where they take all your electronic equipment (phone, headphones, and so on) and give you a badge to pick it up at the exit.

Once inside the embassy, an agent signaled me to go in line. There were a few people in front of me (about ten people), and I waited a good hour. The VERY bad surprise (compared to the fact that I did not want to land in flip flops when believe me a lot did not shy away) is that there are no seats! It just did not work out, the only benefit I would say is that I was so much in pain that it completely took precedence over my stress.

When I finally arrived at the first window, they took my fingerprints, checked my documents, gave me back the unnecessary duplicates – we actually already had provided a lot of originals so I did not need to bring all that (but caution is mother of safety …). In the end I think they only needed my pictures, my more recent criminal record and my sealed medical envelope. I have only been asked one question, who is my sponsor (my mother-in-law), is she married and does she have dependent children?
Everything was OK so I was told to go in line for the next window.

After another hour of ~~unbearable suffering~~ wait, I finally arrived at the window for the actual interview!
There is about zero confidentiality because while you are queuing you are roughly one meter behind the people who are interviewing.

I do not know if it’s because I arrived with a “Good morning” but my interview was conducted in English while all the other windows were in French.
The Consular Officer was impassive from A to Z, typing on his computer the whole time, stopping only to look at the file and mark a new page with his pen. He did not ask a lot of questions and kept typing at the same time. The annoying side for me is that I have a weak ear and I have a lot of trouble hearing 1) behind a thick glass 2) with noise around (as I was saying people waiting are right behind you ).
He asked me:

How long have you been married?
What’s his job?
How did you meet?
When did you start writing?
How many times have you seen him?
Where did you get married?
What is your mother-in-law’s job?
Do you stay at his mother’s when you visit?
Will you live with her?

There was just a moment when he apologized and left for a minute, so I was afraid he had discovered a problem with our file, but he came back alone and continued typing.
After all these questions, he joined his hands and leaned a little towards me/the window and said “I guess you do but I have to ask you, are you aware of his legal situation?” I answered “Yes” and I was expecting other questions on the subject to follow but he said “Looks like everything is okay, your visa has been approved, you’ll receive it in about ten days”.
I didn’t even know how to react on the moment, I just said “okay …”. He did not ask for any proof of relationship or anything extra. I happily thanked him and greeted him all the same, but my foot pain prevented me from doing my little victory dance in the bathroom.

Visa CR-1 / IR-1 [step 3, embassy]

After successfully completing the USCIS and NVC steps, your file is sent to the US Embassy in Paris (or wherever you’re from).
Almost 3 weeks after having our Case Complete, we finally received the “Packet 4”, which contains the date and time of interview, a reminder on the last necessary steps and a checklist of papers to bring to the interview.
I do not think I said it before because it must have seemed obvious, but all correspondence/information is in English.

First, go to nvc.state.gov/interview to download the PDF corresponding to your embassy (Paris for us) which explains everything in details.

Several steps are included in this step 3:

You have to confirm your interview appointment online and register the address to which you want to receive your visa.
You must have a medical examination with one of the accredited doctors (two options in Paris) – the examination costs 300€.
BE CAREFUL, it’s a step you prepare in advance !!
Before going to the medical examination:
– Check with your primary care doctor you are up to date with your vaccines in the US standards (not the French -or your country- ones).
– You must go to one of the accredited laboratories to have a urine test and a blood test (for syphilis and gonorrhea tests) – 2 x 30€.
– You must have a chest x-ray in the only certified center – 40€.
It is possible to do everything in one day, doing the tests and the x-ray early in the morning so that the doctor receives the results in time for your appointment in the afternoon, but personally, I did not want to stress unnecessarily about the deadlines. So if you can afford it, spend an extra day in Paris, and take your tests the day before your medical visit. An intention that was confirmed by 2 testimonials of girls who had some stressful setbacks to get their results on time!
Gather all the documents on the checklist.
– These are more or less the originals of the papers you have provided to NVC.
– Remember to request a birth certificate and a copy of your criminal record in the 3 months preceding the interview because you need recent ones.
– You need to ID pics in the American format (5 x 5 cm).
– Bring new evidences of relationship, especially to show that the relationship still exists, since it has been months/a year from the moment you started your visa process!
Pass the interview!
You are announced face to face if your visa is approved (or not).
I will detail mine in a future post, but you can easily find other shared experiences online.

If your visa is granted, your passport will be kept and your file will update to Administrative Processing. Not to be confused with the AP that some complicated case files face. Here, it just means that your visa will be printed.
You can follow the evolution on the CEAC website.

After Administrative Processing, it will change to Issued. You just have to wait to receive your passport with your visa at home! It will also be accompanied by an envelope that must not be opened and that will be given to the agent at your Point of Entry in the USA. You must then pay the last $220* Immigration Fee (the cost of your Green Card).
* as always, fees vary from one year to another so check them here.

Categories: Living in the USA, US immigration: CR1 (spouse) Visa

Visa CR-1 / IR-1 [step 2, NVC]

Once step 1 is behind you, your file is sent to the National Visa Center.

Second step: NVC

The NVC receives your file and assigns it a case number.
The petitioner (US Citizen) and the beneficiary (and the lawyer if there is one) receive the invoices for the fees, the Affidavit Of Support Fee ($120 last December) and the Immigrant Visa Application Processing Fee ($325 in December ). Since we had a lawyer, he was the one who made the payments online.
In the same email, you also receive the cover sheet of the case file that you must put together (and which list all the documents you need to provide).
Once the payments are cashed, your DS-260 is generated (see below).

There are then 2 “requests” to manage simultaneously.

The DS-260 (there is no order, you can start with this one or the other).
This is an online questionnaire that you fill out on https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx with your case number and your invoice number. Watch out, it’s long! Fortunately, you can save it and fill it in several times.

The information to provide:

Family information: your parents, their addresses, the same for your spouse.
ALL your addresses since the age of 16 (TWELVE for me !!!!!!) and your future American address.
The list of your trips to the USA and their duration.
You must answer security questions (similar to those you answer on your travels).
If you have or want a social security number.
Information about your current job or the list of your previous jobs.

Once you have completed everything and re-checked (several times and with a rested head!), you submit.

The I-864 packet.
To build this packet, you must follow the instructions of your cover sheet. The papers depend on your situation and what you have already provided in your initial file.
Here is a list of what is needed:

Affidavit of Support of your sponsor/s, IRS Tax Transcripts, W2 or other evidences of incomes.
Proof of Relationship (Marriage Certificate)
Proof of US statut (US spouse’s birth certificate or passeport)
Birth Certificate of the alien spouse and its certified English translation.
Criminal record of the Alien spouse (from all countries where you have lived more than 6 months since you’re 16 years old, so I had to provide one from Denmark) and its certified English translation (this translation does not seem obligatory , but we did not want to take risks).
Copy of the valid passport (valid for more than 6 months after the planned departure) of the Alien citizen.

You then send it by mail and the day your file arrives at the NVC is what is called your Scan Date (the day the file is entered into the system). Then starts the wait again, which used to be short (between 2 and 4 weeks) before but can sometimes go up to 12 weeks (we waited 9 weeks) since your Scan Date.

If you have forgotten a document… it’s horror! You will receive a checklist and it will be necessary to provide these documents as soon as possible BUT the date of their arrival at the NVC will be your new Scan Date so… yes, you have guessed right, you must wait again for a similar amount of time!

Once everything is OK you finally have CASE COMPLETE (you receive a letter/email)! At this point, you can begin to relax, because you fulfill all the administrative and financial conditions to obtain the visa (but there is still the medical visit and the famous interview).

Your file is then sent to the embassy.

FOLLOW @PENTIONERY