Well, I’m back from my interview and thought I’d write you all a story ‘cause I so enjoy reading everyone else’s interview experiences. Note that my interview was in Auckland so process will differ slightly for the Aussies.
I arrived at the Auckland consulate when it opened at 7:45am for my scheduled 8:20am interview. After handing over my phone and keys at security I was asked to go to the immigrant visa window and press the buzzer. The lady whom I had given my documents to a couple of weeks before came to greet me and we had a lovely chat. She basically explained the whole process to me about what happens AFTER I received my visa. She would say things like: “so when your visa is approved, you’ll get sent a packet which you need to take to the States” etc etc. So it left me thinking that this was the actual interview and I was pretty much already approved. It turned out she wasn’t the CO as I initially thought, she essentially handled the admin/data entry side of things. But it was a great chat nonetheless. I work for PepsiCo and she told me how she LOVES Pepsi Max and drinks it every day (like a true American you could say). But then I said something like “you should’ve told me before, I could’ve sorted something out for you”. To which she replied “oh no, don’t say that. It may be construed as bribery”. That made me panic a little but she still had a smile on her face so I knew it was nothing.
I then had my fingerprints taken on both hands and was instructed to pay my fee of NZ$396 at the cashier window. After paying I was told to wait until I was called up for my interview. It seems that non-immigrant visas have priority over immigrant visas so I watched as a whole lot of people went up to explain their holiday plans, school exchanges and Disney internships to the COs at the interview window. I also kept running possible interview questions through my head and answering them to myself to ensure I was prepared for anything. After roughly 30 minutes I was called to window 2 and greeted by a very friendly man who asked me to scan my fingerprints to confirm my identity. He then asked me to raise my hand and state an oath, something along the lines of “I have not lied on my application and am not trying defraud the government” or words to that effect. But then came the questions, which was the biggest surprise. Brace yourself, are you ready? After swearing the oath, he says “All your documents check out, no issues with your police check and medical. You’ve done a Masters degree which is much more than what’s required. Your visa has been approved. Congratulations.” So yeah, in case you missed it, there were NO questions! At that point I just smiled and simply replied “Awesome”. I couldn’t believe it was over. He then returned my original documents and explained that I will be sent a package in the post. I was out of the consulate just after 9am, done and dusted in less than an hour! I rang/messaged up a few friends and fam and celebrated by buying a 25th anniversary salted caramel Magnum ice cream, because I see the billboard everyday coming home from work and thought now’s the time haha.
And that’s it! I can see now why no visas were denied last year in Auckland. There’s a lot to be said about how lax the Auckland consulate is, but hey, I’m not complaining. WOOOO! So happy! Thanks to you all for the constant support and advice. I love this family!
(just made me double check it myself haha!)
