My wife's interview

[hoby]

I figured I would get on here and post some more about my wife's interview experience. Her appointment was for 7:15 AM. We got in line outside a little after 7:15, and she actually got to the entrance to the Consulate around 7:50 or so. I went to the coffee shop on the fourth floor to wait. People started to come down from the Consulate around 9:00 or 9:30 (I can't quite remember clearly). My wife, despite her 7:15 appointment, didn't come down until 1:15 PM. That was definitely some of the most agonizing 5+ hours of my life. Same for her; since they don't call the numbers inside in numerical order (why on earth don't they, by the way?), she had no idea when they were going to call her. She didn't even dare to go to the bathroom in case they called her number while she was gone.

 

As for the interview itself, it sounds like she did an awesome job. She says that she spoke English the whole time (the VO said Ni hao when she walked up, then switched to English when she started speaking it). Also, the VO only looked at our picture album; she said that she kept talking the whole time, volunteering information about any picture that he paused on, so that she actually spoke more than he did. It sounds like she came across as very confident, which I think helped a lot. After over 5 hours of waiting, her interview lasted only 5 minutes.

 

We filed through DCF, and have been living together since early 2005, so this interview might not be very representative of what some CFL people will have to deal with. The thing we were most worried about was domicile. My driver's license expired last year, I didn't have proof of voting any elections while over here (I only voted in the presidential in 2004), nor did I have any kind of job lined up. What we did prepare were a bunch of things sent to my permanent address in the U.S., including credit card and bank statements, a letter from the career counseling service I'm using now to look for a job in the States, and a few other random things. I gave her my driver's license with a letter explaining why I let it expire.

 

Turns out the VO didn't look at any of that stuff; we think it's probably because of my job over here--my first year here I was on a U.S. government scholarship, and the next two years I was doing English teaching--not exactly the kind of sweet gig that you don't want to give up to go back to the U.S. Perhaps if my job were better or more permanent there might have been more trouble on the domicile front.

 

Anyway, here's how the interview went, as best as she can recall:

VO: Ni hao.

SO: Good afternoon, sir. Would you like to see my passport?

VO: (Switching to English) Wait a moment.

(VO organizes some documents)

VO: OK

SO: Here is my passport. This is my husband's passport. (Starts to say that I'm waiting for her downstairs; she is interrupted by the VO)

VO: When did you get married?

SO: (She answers)

VO: When did you meet?

SO: (She answers)

VO: So how long did you know each other before you got married?

(My wife says he was trying to trick her here to see how well she knew our timeline)

SO: (She answers)

VO: Where were you when you met?

SO: (She answers)

VO: What does your husband plan to do after he goes back to the U.S.?

SO: (She answers)

VO: What is your husband's job now?

SO: (She answers)

VO: Do you have any pictures?

SO: Yes, we made a special album.

(She gives him the album we prepared)

VO: Who are these people? (Points to a picture of us with my mom and step-dad)

SO: (She answers)

(VO looks at a picture of us with my wife's family, labeled as having been taken in my wife's hometown)

VO: Was this taken in Shanghai? (My wife says he was trying to trick her here too)

SO: No, that was taken in Sichuan, in my hometown.

(VO nods and smiles)

(VO looks through the picture album; my wife volunteers information about the pictures he pauses on, including one of my sister and her daughter and one of my dad and his dental office.)

VO: Have you met his mother?

SO: (She answers)

VO: Have you met his father?

SO: (She answers)

VO: Have you ever been to America?

SO: (She answers)

VO: OK, no problem. (He begins getting the visa ready)

SO: (Says thank you and starts talking about how this is a great birthday present for my mom.)

VO: One last question... (This scares the crap out of my wife, who starts to wonder if her pink slip is going to get taken away.)

SO: What?

VO: Did I give you back your passport?

(The two of them look for her passport; turns out the VO still has it)

Well, that's everything. Hope this is useful to someone here. We had a lot more stuff prepared than we needed; in fact, my wife says that she had the most stuff of anyone in the room.

[Rakkasan]

Congratulations!!!!!

[IllinoisDave]

Congrats Hoby!

And thanks for the write-up. This kind of info is really invaluable for those of us waiting our turn in the grinder.

[Guest Mike and Lily]

Thanks for the info and Congrats!

[LeeFisher3]

Congratulations