To go for interview or not to go?

[Zoidberg]

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone knows if it is important or helpful if I go to the interview in Kiev with my fiancee. It sounds like if I was there I'd go in with her. I only turned in the first set of paperwork to the California office and got a reply that it will take between 60-100 days. It's already been about a month. I was thinking about going to see her again in Nov but if I did that I doubt I would have enough vacation time to go back for the interview. So what do you think? Wait for the interview to be with her or go see her earlier?

IMHO, I'd think it would help but those that have been through it, what do you think? I'd love to hear opinions of even those who haven't been through it yet as well.

Thanks!
Z.

[John K]

... in response to To go for interview or not to go? , posted by Zoidberg on Aug 13, 2003

From Marina's experience, the interview was pretty easy.  She went in the Warsaw embassy with a plethora of paperwork and spent the bulk of her time sitting and waiting.  When they called her up, they asked her a few simple questions, took some papers and told her to come back later that afternoon to pick up her passport.  When she later came back, all they did was call her name, give her back her passport with the K1 visa, and made her sign for it.  Then she was done.

Now if she was coming to the US directly after that, I'd have gone over to bring her home.  In our case, she was still going to be in Ukraine a few months before I picked her up and brought her to the US.  For us, it wasn't financially smart for me to come over for a simple K1 interview.  

I guess the upshot is that if you have the extra money and vacation time to burn, you can certainly go over, but your presence probably won't do much otherwise.  If you're bringing her home at the same time, by all means go.  You wife will likely need your assistance to navigate all the airports overseas and at home.  My wife still makes me wait for her at O'Hare outside international arrivals when she comes home.  This last trip, my company flew me out to meet her, which was a nice touch...

[romachko]

... in response to Is she coming to the US immediately afte..., posted by John K on Aug 14, 2003

John, you indicates that your fiance will come to the U.S. a few months after she got her visa. Do you know if there is any time limit between the visa acquisition and the actual entry to the U.S.? Does she have to come to the U.S. within, say, three months? Can she stay in the U.S. for 90 days from the entry date or from the date of visa issuance?

Thanks in advance for information.

[tbirdjoy]

... in response to Re: Is she coming to the US immediately ..., posted by romachko on Aug 15, 2003

She has 6 months after issuance to come to the US. Once she hits US soil the 90 days start to tick.

Mark

[John K]

... in response to Re: Re: Is she coming to the US immediat..., posted by tbirdjoy on Aug 15, 2003

We were told the same thing by the US Embassy in Warsaw, regarding the 6 month clock after issuing the K1.  If your fiancée doesn't make it to the US before the 6 months runs out, you have to reapply for another fiancée visa for her.

Once she hits the US shore, then the 90 day clock starts ticking.  You have to be married within the 90 day window.  You should file within the 90 day window as well, but if you're a little late, the INS might overlook it.  We filed our adjustment of status 6 months after our wedding, and the INS didn't seem to be bothered by it.  Of course, that was before 9/11.  Things might have changed since then...

[MarkInTx]

... in response to Is she coming to the US immediately afte..., posted by John K on Aug 14, 2003

Yeah... navigating through the airports is a good point.

Also, when we were coming home, we got fogged in at CDA in Paris, meaning that we missed the connecting flight in Boston.

Boston airport was under construction, and it was hard for *me* to find my way around... I can't imagine what she would have done, being new to the country, the culture, and only speaking a passable English (at the time.)

Then, France Air put us up at the airport Hilton. Because I was an Hilton Hhonors member, we got moved to a suite.

So, I agree with John... if she is coming straight over... go be with her. She is not, after all, a Mail-Order Bride... Don't make her feel like a Fed-Ex package...

[T P Cornholio]

... in response to Good Point..., posted by MarkInTx on Aug 14, 2003

Yep, it took a week for my wife to get that darn stamp off her forehead.

[MarkInTx]

... in response to Fed-Ex, posted by T P Cornholio on Aug 14, 2003

I hope that you at least checked the "No one needs to be home to leave package" box... so in case you were out, she didn't have to stay in the truck if you weren't home  

;-)

[ChrisNJ]

... in response to Re: Fed-Ex, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 16, 2003

n/t

[Zoidberg]

... in response to Is she coming to the US immediately afte..., posted by John K on Aug 14, 2003

Thanks for all the great comments. She is planning to come back with me right away so that is why we were thinking of doing it this way. I assumed the interview would not matter if I am there or not. I just thought going there it would make it easier for her coming back. I can only go there once because of vacation time unless the K1 takes a year. I also want to have a week off at home when she first gets here as well.

Z.

[John F]

... in response to To go for interview or not to go? , posted by Zoidberg on Aug 13, 2003

I went.  My wife's interview was in Warsaw, in January!!!  It did make a difference for me to be able to skip to the front of one line with her and make that cold, cold, cold, did I say COLD wait shorter.  It also gave me peace of mind that I was able to guide her through the airports, one in particular had a short layover and we actually had to run to the gate.  That was Amsterdam.  Then, it also gave me peace of mind to guide her through passport control, customs, and immigration when we arrived stateside.  Finally, we finished early and had a 6 hour wait until our departure flight.  I was able to get us on an earlier flight and cut that wait in half.  I know she wouldn't have known how to do that.  As far as the interview, I really don't think it made a difference.

[MarkInTx]

... in response to To go for interview or not to go? , posted by Zoidberg on Aug 13, 2003

I would say go...

It was a nerve-wracking experience, and I am really glad I was there with Victoria when she went through it.

We also got put to the front of a few lines because I was an American citizen.

And, of course, the celebration the night of approval was worth the price of the ticket :-)

[tbirdjoy]

... in response to To go for interview or not to go? , posted by Zoidberg on Aug 13, 2003


That's really a personal call on your part.  I went to my first wife's interview in Moscow back in 1998 and brought her back with me.  I also went to my current wife's interview (this past May) in Warsaw and also brought her home with me. We spent a week in Poland and had a great vacation. It also turned out to be a lifesaver that I was with her in Warsaw cause there was a problem with information on the paperwork and had I not been there to appeal to the interviewer to do an expidiated background check (which took only 24 hours) they would have sent her back home with instructions to come back in 3 weeks.  If you're gonna bring her home with you after the interview then the women think it's great to have you there and then come to their new country with their man.  They feel very safe and secure with the thought of having you there.  If you're going there just to be there for the interview and then return without her then it's probably a waste of your time and money.  They do just fine on their own especially now that Ukrainians don't have to go to another country i.e. Poland for the interview.  What it really comes down to is your fiancial resources and vacation time.  

Mark

[Yeahbaby]

... in response to To go for interview or not to go? , posted by Zoidberg on Aug 13, 2003

My 2 cents-  My wife told me that as much as she would have loved to have seen me, she thought it a complete waste of time and money for me to go there for her interview for just a couple of days, that she was a "big girl" and could handle it herself. ;-)  She had no problems whatsoever and her actual interview lasted literally all of 2-3 minutes and she was out of there..  She said she would much rather I saved the money for us to go on a trip together when she got here, which we did- Hawaii for our belated honeymoon..

I was so happy she felt this way.  A friend of mine who had brought a woman here from Russia about a year and a half ago went to his wife's interview and said it was a total waste of time and money in his opinion.  
Some guys here have said that if you are there, she doesn't have to wait in line etc.. but my girl said she never saw this happen.  Regardless, I think it's kind of silly to make that kind of trip so a woman might not have to wait perhaps an extra 30 minutes in a line!

Now if your woman really WANTS you there, that's a different story.  I know some are quite nervous about going alone etc..  If that were the case, I'd go.  I'm just glad that my girl didn't feel that way.

Good luck,
Oscar

[Stevo]

... in response to To go for interview or not to go? , posted by Zoidberg on Aug 13, 2003

but it makes absolutely no difference in getting the K-1 visa. If she wouldn't get approved for some reason, then you being there wouldn't matter either.