Ask the Consul
I have an immigrant visa interview appointment date and
all of my documents are ready. What and who should I bring to the interview?
Each case will vary, but the important thing to remember is
to bring that which will assist the officer in determining your qualifications
for the visa for which you are applying. You should not bring children who are
not applicants in the case except for breast-feeding babies as you may end up
waiting most of the day for your interview. You also should not bring children
under age 14 who are derivatives in your case. Children under 14 are only
required to appear for the interview if they are 14 or older OR if they are the
principle applicant in the case (IR-2 and F2-4 cases, primarily).
Depending upon the visa class, you might also consider
bringing in additional people who may help demonstrate your qualifications.
Specifically, it is usually helpful to see both the biological parent and the
petitioner in an IR-2 case based upon a stepchild relationship. Likewise, it
can be nearly impossible to determine the validity of a marital/fiancé(e)
relationship case (IR-1, K, F21) without both sides of the relationship
present. In IR-5 cases, if the principle applicant is illiterate, it may be
helpful to have the literate petitioner available during the interview to answer
questions regarding the visa forms. In short, if a large part of your
qualifications for the specific visa is based on a relationship, you should
consider asking the people who are part of that relationship to appear for the
interview. For immigrant visa cases, lawyers are permitted to enter, but are
not required for the interview.
Documentarily, you should also think about what you need to
demonstrate and prove your qualifications for your specific visa. For example,
if you are applying for a K visa, you should bring along documents that can
assist you in showing the bona fides of your relationship (photos, cards, plane
tickets, passports showing travel, remittance receipts, etc.). If you are
appearing for a step relationship based IR-2 case, you should consider bringing
documents that can show that the relationship between the bio-parent and the
stepparent is genuine such as those documents listed above for K visas.
Remember that it is always better to bring more than you need than to return
home with a pending case and a refusal letter under Section 221(g) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act. |
