Marjeta

I went for my (successful!) K1 interview at the embassy in Zagreb, Croatia yesterday.
They don't schedule interviews, you can walk-in any tuesday and thursday from 8am to
10.30am. So my experience is this:

I was there at 8.40am. I told the security guard that I was there for my fiancee visa
interview so they let me in and security-checked me. The guards are croatian and
they're very friendly and helpful. I was sitting there and waiting for about 10
minutes for my turn. There were about 7 other people in the room, and more coming in
and out, probably for other visas. The personell are behind bulletproof glass and it
kinda looks like a prison... The croatian lady I spoke to was very sweet. She had our
approved petition there and asked for the forms (she took three completed DS-156
forms (the forms were in croatian) and one supplement form). Then she took a look at
my documents and checked if I have everything.

I gave her:
- 3 pictures ADIT style
- a notarized copy of my birth certificate
- notarized copies of police certificates
- affidavit of support with supporting documentation
- my passport

She was not picky about anything, she only took a quick look. Then she brought the
medical results that they already had and took a look at those and she rolled up my
x-ray and gave it to me. Everything seemed ok, she just asked if I had any pictures
of me and my fiance together. I said that I do and that there are some in the
petition that we filed, so that was fine. She said if I could sit down and wait a
little bit for the consular officer to come. So I waited for about 30 minutes. They
called my name and I had to go into a different room, actually still the same room
but detached so there is more privacy. The consular officer behind the glass was a
woman in her 50s and she was very friendly, but also very curious. Nomatter how
friendly she was I still find it unnerving to talk about my and my fiance's private
life to a stranger like that, but that's just me!

The interview took about 15 minutes. The questions that came across while we were
talking were:
- What passport do you have? (Slovene as I'm a Slovene citizen)
- Who are you marrying in the United States?
- How did you meet him and when?
- How many times have you seen him?
- How old are you?
- How old is he?
- Is this your first marriage?
- What do your parents think about it?
- Have you met his parents?
- Are they nice?
- What does his father do?
- Does he have any brothers and sisters?
- What does your fiance do?
- What do you study?
- Where are you going to get married?
- Do you have a picture of your fiance? (showed her the pic that I carry in
my wallet)

So yeah, she pretty much asked me everything. After the conversation she made me
raise my right hand and I had to swear that what I said was truth and nothing but the
truth, we both signed the form and she issued the visa. During the interview she also
chatted with the croatian lady... like she was amazed by the fact that the INS
approved our petition super fast (in less than a month through VSC), and she also
said that she hasn't done this for ages (an interview for a fiancee visa) so I'm
guessing there are not a whole lot of visas of this type being issued (?) or perhaps
she's just new there. She then said that I should come back between 3 and 4pm to pick
everything up, wished me good luck as a navy wife, and said that my english is great.

I was done there a bit after 10am. After my interview me and two of my friends who
were with me in Zagreb went to a shopping mall and to see the Zagreb cemetary, it is
HUGE and beautiful. Then we drove around a little, got something to eat and came back
to the embassy. We didn't have trouble finding a parking place close to the embassy
which is located in the center - so parking is not a problem. I went back at 3pm
sharp, and there were a couple of people there before me. I didn't have to wait long.
There was the nice croatian lady again, she gave me the passport and the envelope
with documents and explained about the visa and what I need to do at the port of
entry, and then I left with the visa in my hand! ))


---
Our timeline:

JUN/12/2002 Mailed out the petition to VSC. JUN/24/2002 Petition arrived to VSC.
JUL/02/2002 NOA#1 arrived in the mail. JUL/10/2002 NOA#2 - approval - arrived in
the mail and was also cabled to the consulate. AUG/01/2002 The consulate in
Zagreb, Croatia received our approved petition. AUG/05/2002 Received packet#3 (#4)
in the mail. AUG/14/2002 Took the medical exam in Zagreb. AUG/27/2002 Interview -
GOT THE VISA!

Chris

Congrats Marjeta....

Seems myself and Aleksandra will have about a 100+ day wait to just get our 2nd NOA
    ( If all goes right we will send our I-129 to NSC tomorrow (08/29/02)

Wish you and yours the best of luck on your upcoming happiness )

Chris

Marjeta wrote:

    > I went for my (successful!) K1 interview at the embassy in Zagreb, Croatia
    > yesterday. They don't schedule interviews, you can walk-in any tuesday and thursday
    > from 8am to 10.30am. So my experience is this:
    > I was there at 8.40am. I told the security guard that I was there for my fiancee
    > visa interview so they let me in and security-checked me. The guards are croatian
    > and they're very friendly and helpful. I was sitting there and waiting for about 10
    > minutes for my turn. There were about 7 other people in the room, and more coming
    > in and out, probably for other visas. The personell are behind bulletproof glass
    > and it kinda looks like a prison... The croatian lady I spoke to was very sweet.
    > She had our approved petition there and asked for the forms (she took three
    > completed DS-156 forms (the forms were in croatian) and one supplement form). Then
    > she took a look at my documents and checked if I have everything.
    > I gave her:
    > - 3 pictures ADIT style
    > - a notarized copy of my birth certificate
    > - notarized copies of police certificates
    > - affidavit of support with supporting documentation
    > - my passport
    > She was not picky about anything, she only took a quick look. Then she brought the
    > medical results that they already had and took a look at those and she rolled up my
    > x-ray and gave it to me. Everything seemed ok, she just asked if I had any pictures
    > of me and my fiance together. I said that I do and that there are some in the
    > petition that we filed, so that was fine. She said if I could sit down and wait a
    > little bit for the consular officer to come. So I waited for about 30 minutes. They
    > called my name and I had to go into a different room, actually still the same room
    > but detached so there is more privacy. The consular officer behind the glass was a
    > woman in her 50s and she was very friendly, but also very curious. Nomatter how
    > friendly she was I still find it unnerving to talk about my and my fiance's private
    > life to a stranger like that, but that's just me!
    > The interview took about 15 minutes. The questions that came across while we were
    > talking were:
    > - What passport do you have? (Slovene as I'm a Slovene citizen)
    > - Who are you marrying in the United States?
    > - How did you meet him and when?
    > - How many times have you seen him?
    > - How old are you?
    > - How old is he?
    > - Is this your first marriage?
    > - What do your parents think about it?
    > - Have you met his parents?
    > - Are they nice?
    > - What does his father do?
    > - Does he have any brothers and sisters?
    > - What does your fiance do?
    > - What do you study?
    > - Where are you going to get married?
    > - Do you have a picture of your fiance? (showed her the pic that I carry in my
    > wallet)
    > So yeah, she pretty much asked me everything. After the conversation she made me
    > raise my right hand and I had to swear that what I said was truth and nothing but
    > the truth, we both signed the form and she issued the visa. During the interview
    > she also chatted with the croatian lady... like she was amazed by the fact that the
    > INS approved our petition super fast (in less than a month through VSC), and she
    > also said that she hasn't done this for ages (an interview for a fiancee visa) so
    > I'm guessing there are not a whole lot of visas of this type being issued (?) or
    > perhaps she's just new there. She then said that I should come back between 3 and
    > 4pm to pick everything up, wished me good luck as a navy wife, and said that my
    > english is great.
    > I was done there a bit after 10am. After my interview me and two of my friends who
    > were with me in Zagreb went to a shopping mall and to see the Zagreb cemetary, it
    > is HUGE and beautiful. Then we drove around a little, got something to eat and came
    > back to the embassy. We didn't have trouble finding a parking place close to the
    > embassy which is located in the center - so parking is not a problem. I went back
    > at 3pm sharp, and there were a couple of people there before me. I didn't have to
    > wait long. There was the nice croatian lady again, she gave me the passport and the
    > envelope with documents and explained about the visa and what I need to do at the
    > port of entry, and then I left with the visa in my hand! ))
    > ---
    > Our timeline:
    > JUN/12/2002 Mailed out the petition to VSC. JUN/24/2002 Petition arrived to VSC.
    > JUL/02/2002 NOA#1 arrived in the mail. JUL/10/2002 NOA#2 - approval - arrived in
    > the mail and was also cabled to the consulate. AUG/01/2002 The consulate in
    > Zagreb, Croatia received our approved petition. AUG/05/2002 Received packet#3 (#4)
    > in the mail. AUG/14/2002 Took the medical exam in Zagreb. AUG/27/2002 Interview -
    > GOT THE VISA!

PEACHSTER

Well I hit day 100 today!!! (29th) God I hope it isnt much longer & I get approved. Then finally I can move on to step two.