Successful Interview in Sydney
Hubby & I had our interview at the US Consulate in Sydney yesterday. We arrived at the elevators at around 7.20am and had to wait for about 10 minutes for the elevators to let us up to level 10 reception where we went through the security check…just like at the airport. I was so tired I forgot to get our passports and appointment letter ready, so heaps of people went in ahead of us while I fumbled around in our folders for the documents. It was very busy that day as the consulate had been closed on Tuesday and Wednesday (I asked why but they wouldn’t tell us) so we didn’t get up to the 59th floor and into the consulate until around 8.15am.
We went to the ticket machine and pressed the top button – Immigrant Visas – and out popped number 5. Damn! I thought we would be waiting around for ages, but they must have been ready for the extra interviews that day and we were only waiting for about 10 minutes before we were called to window 1. The friendly lady at the counter asked us how she could help us and we explained we were there for our DV interview and handed over our pile of documents…hubby first as he is the primary applicant, and then mine. I was so busy with pushing the documents through that little space under the window that I completely forgot to give them my 3kg Express Post envelope and had to fumble around for that, then she had to hand it back to me as I had also forgotten to put our address on the front. After so many months of sorting, organising and research, I felt like I didn’t know what was doing! She was very patient and eventually we had everything sorted out. She asked us to take a seat and wait to be called for fingerprinting.
We only waited about 5 minutes or so before our number was called to window 4 and another nice lady took our fingerprints. We had time to mention the awesome view from up there and she laughed and said it was a shame that she never saw it as she had her back to it all day. They have a 360 degree view from all sides of the consulate.
After the electronic fingerprinting we went to window 7 to the cashier to pay our fees. We had checked the exchange rate that morning and were happy to note it was still up around 94 cents…but NOT at the consulate. We were charged 86 cents in the dollar, a nice little earner for them! If you can, try not to pay by credit card as you pay extra because of this.
Then it was back to our seats to wait for our number to be called up again. We sat next to a very stressed Aussie who, it turns out was a DV winner from 10 years ago. He had recently been robbed and couldn’t get back home (to the US) as his passport and green card had been stolen. He was applying for a temporary something or other so he could get back to the states. Note: Once you get it…don’t lose your green card! After an interesting chat with stressed Aussie we were once again called to window 1. The lady indicated that everything was in order, asked us to swear that everything we had given them was true and were we part of a terrorist organisation, to which we answered yes and no respectively. Then it was back to our seats to wait for the final interview.
Again it was only 5 minutes or so before we were called up to window 5 where a lovely American man asked us to sign our original applications. He then mentioned the missing Canadian Police Certificate. Yes, we responded, we applied for them as soon as we were asked by the US Consulate in Sydney. That was about a month ago and it takes 120 days for them to process the application. The nice American seemed a little surprised at that and said that he would hold on to our passports until we send the police certificate. They would then stamp the visa into our passports and post them back to us. It took me a while to realise what he had just said! So, we got them? Yes, he smiled, pending the Police Certificate and photocopies. Awesome!!! We were out of there by 9.30am. The whole process took only 45 minutes!
After months of gathering paperwork, and doing heaps of research, and taking so many extra documents it all seemed almost anticlimactic. I thought it was going to be much more difficult. But, thanks to all the great information from everyone on these forums, it all went smoothly. We should receive our police certificates around early August, and our visas not long after that.
Thanks again to everyone who contributed information on this forum, and everyone who responded to my queries. It was because of your help all that I felt so confident, and had such a positive experience.
Hubby & I had our interview at the US Consulate in Sydney yesterday. We arrived at the elevators at around 7.20am and had to wait for about 10 minutes for the elevators to let us up to level 10 reception where we went through the security check…just like at the airport. I was so tired I forgot to get our passports and appointment letter ready, so heaps of people went in ahead of us while I fumbled around in our folders for the documents. It was very busy that day as the consulate had been closed on Tuesday and Wednesday (I asked why but they wouldn’t tell us) so we didn’t get up to the 59th floor and into the consulate until around 8.15am.
We went to the ticket machine and pressed the top button – Immigrant Visas – and out popped number 5. Damn! I thought we would be waiting around for ages, but they must have been ready for the extra interviews that day and we were only waiting for about 10 minutes before we were called to window 1. The friendly lady at the counter asked us how she could help us and we explained we were there for our DV interview and handed over our pile of documents…hubby first as he is the primary applicant, and then mine. I was so busy with pushing the documents through that little space under the window that I completely forgot to give them my 3kg Express Post envelope and had to fumble around for that, then she had to hand it back to me as I had also forgotten to put our address on the front. After so many months of sorting, organising and research, I felt like I didn’t know what was doing! She was very patient and eventually we had everything sorted out. She asked us to take a seat and wait to be called for fingerprinting.
We only waited about 5 minutes or so before our number was called to window 4 and another nice lady took our fingerprints. We had time to mention the awesome view from up there and she laughed and said it was a shame that she never saw it as she had her back to it all day. They have a 360 degree view from all sides of the consulate.
After the electronic fingerprinting we went to window 7 to the cashier to pay our fees. We had checked the exchange rate that morning and were happy to note it was still up around 94 cents…but NOT at the consulate. We were charged 86 cents in the dollar, a nice little earner for them! If you can, try not to pay by credit card as you pay extra because of this.
Then it was back to our seats to wait for our number to be called up again. We sat next to a very stressed Aussie who, it turns out was a DV winner from 10 years ago. He had recently been robbed and couldn’t get back home (to the US) as his passport and green card had been stolen. He was applying for a temporary something or other so he could get back to the states. Note: Once you get it…don’t lose your green card! After an interesting chat with stressed Aussie we were once again called to window 1. The lady indicated that everything was in order, asked us to swear that everything we had given them was true and were we part of a terrorist organisation, to which we answered yes and no respectively. Then it was back to our seats to wait for the final interview.
Again it was only 5 minutes or so before we were called up to window 5 where a lovely American man asked us to sign our original applications. He then mentioned the missing Canadian Police Certificate. Yes, we responded, we applied for them as soon as we were asked by the US Consulate in Sydney. That was about a month ago and it takes 120 days for them to process the application. The nice American seemed a little surprised at that and said that he would hold on to our passports until we send the police certificate. They would then stamp the visa into our passports and post them back to us. It took me a while to realise what he had just said! So, we got them? Yes, he smiled, pending the Police Certificate and photocopies. Awesome!!! We were out of there by 9.30am. The whole process took only 45 minutes!
After months of gathering paperwork, and doing heaps of research, and taking so many extra documents it all seemed almost anticlimactic. I thought it was going to be much more difficult. But, thanks to all the great information from everyone on these forums, it all went smoothly. We should receive our police certificates around early August, and our visas not long after that.
Thanks again to everyone who contributed information on this forum, and everyone who responded to my queries. It was because of your help all that I felt so confident, and had such a positive experience.
CONGRATULATION and ALL the BEST