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United Kingdom US Consulate Reviews
Average Rating: 4.4
/ 5
1830 Review(s)
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| London, United Kingdom |  Review #33654 on May 15, 2025: |
koriyal
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Thought I would give a quick run-down of my interview experience at the embassy in London today.
My interview was for 8.30am and I arrived just before 8am. There was a huge queue of people waiting to get into security and a smaller queue of people who were seemingly waiting for their documents to be checked. I went to that desk and asked where to go if I have a K-1 appointment and he told me to just join that queue, which I did. A man was walking down the queue making sure people had the two documents needed (DS-160 and something called a GDIT which doesn't apply to the K-1). I told him I was here for a K-1 appointment and didn't have the GDIT, but he didn't seem to understand and kept telling me to check my email. After a small back and forth of me insisting I didn't have it, he carried on down the line. About 5 minutes later another man came over and told me to go and speak to a lady behind one of the windows instead. She took my DS-160 and then also asked for this GDIT form. Once again I said I didn't have it and went through the same conversation about checking my email. She even asked to have my phone and check my email herself as if I wasn't understanding her!
After I explained again that I had an interview appointment for a K-1 she finally seemed to hear me and confirmed I didn't need the other form. She checked my name off a list and wrote my interview time on a post-it, sticking it to my passport. She told me to cut the security line and go straight to the door and show them my passport, which I did. It feels awful skipping past all the people who have clearly been waiting a while and I apologised a lot as I was walking past them all!
Security was super quick, just put all my belongings in a tray and walked through the metal detector. No checking my phone or water bottle. After this I walked up to the main building and got to the reception desk. They gave me a sticker with my number and off I went back up to the first floor.
There were only a couple of people there and only two booths were in use. One for document intake and the other for interviews. I got called up for my documents in about 10 minutes and handed over my passport and the sealed wallet they had given me on my last visit. He quickly checked everything, handed me a leaflet about my rights in the USA and information about domestic violence etc and told me to take a seat and wait to be called again.
After another 20ish minutes I got called up and saw a lovely man. I held up my right hand and took the oath, plus he verified my fingerprints. Then he opened my file only to notice someone else's medical report was there. He flicked through a couple of bits of paper and all the documents in the file were for someone else with the same surname as me! He went and spoke to someone and told me it'd be a few minutes for them to get my stuff and said he'd call me up again after the next interview.
I took a seat once more and waited approx 30 minutes to get called back up, this time they had the right documents! He didn't ask many questions, just when/how I met my fiance, how many times we've met in person/who visited who, what my fiance does for a living and where he lives and if I've ever lived outside the UK. That was it! He then said it was his intention to approve my visa and that I should get it along with my passport in 1-2 weeks by courier.
Overall it was fairly painless! By far the worst part is getting into the embassy to start with. Just know that if they ask for a GDIT form, tell them you are there for a K-1 interview and it doesn't apply to you!
| | | London, United Kingdom | Review #33620 on March 31, 2025: |
team-joric
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
[I had my interview on 31 March 2025 at London Embassy for a CR1 immigrant visa. I've been petitioned by my spouse (US citizen). I already did my medical exam and document review on 13 March.]
My interview was at 8am. I walked to the Embassy from Nine Elms station which was easy to find despite roadworks. The south entrance of the Embassy already had a long line of people queueing but I walked to the front of the line and asked the attendant checking everyone in which line I should join for an immigrant visa. Once he confirmed I was applying for a green card, he asked to see my passport and put a Post-It note on the back of it. He asked me to come back at 7.45am (I was early; this was at 7.30am)
At 7.45am I returned to the same attendant and he lifted the barrier and took me straight to airport security-style area, bypassing a second queue. I felt like a celebrity! Ha. The airport style screening was fine - I took a medium size backpack and just had to take a sip of water - then went straight through to the Embassy building. You check in at the desk inside the Embassy building - they give you another sticker on your passport, then you're directed to the first floor, then to go left then left.
The area where they deal with immigrant visas is very clean and quiet compared to the rest of the building. I took a seat and waited for the number on my ticket to be called.
At ab out 7.55am my ticket number was called and I went to the window. The woman I spoke to was pleasant and business-like; she just asked for the sealed envelope I received at my documents review, my courier confirmation, and my passport. She asked if I had been told to bring any additional and I confirmed that I had not been. She gave me a fact sheet about domestic violence with my passport sticker on it, and told me I would be seen shortly.
At about 8.25am I was called back to the window to see a different person - this man was pleasant. I had to take an oath that I was telling the truth. Then he asked if I understood the information on the domestic violence fact sheet and if I had any questions. I didn't have any questions. I had to scan my fingerprints on my left hand. Then he asked me some questions about my relationship with the petitioner (my husband). It was only after the third or fourth question that I realised I was being interviewed - it really just felt like a pleasant conversation! He asked: How did we meet? When was that? What does he do for work? Where is he living currently? At that point I asked if I could update my US destination address, and he advised that I didn't need to do it at the Embassy but that I need to update USCIS. Then he said, congratulations, I'd been approved, and that my passport would be delivered to be in 1-2 weeks.
My USCIS visa status was showing as "Issued" by the time I first checked it that same afternoon (about 3pm). Overall I was very happy with my experience - the staff were efficient but overall very pleasant and they didn't say or do anything that was uncomfortable or intimidating.
| | | London, United Kingdom | Review #33603 on March 16, 2025: |
Strawberry Wizard
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Our appt was for FEB12-2025. We got a room at a hotel nearby called the Griffin Belle. Room was a bit pricey for what amounted to a matchbox sized dwelling, but the bed was good and the free breakfast was nice.
The embassy was a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel, which was good because the appt was scheduled for 9:30 AM. It saved us having to rush via trains from Essex.
Upon getting close, we saw a huge line already forming, along with a separate line for "Passports". We didn't know what line to get on, so we asked a security guard with body armour and a big rifle.
He was very nice and directed us to an Indian man who was managing the queues out front. He asked for our DS-250, but we mentioned we have a DS-260, not a DS-250. We explained we were there for an IR-1 Visa. I may be misremembering the exact form code that everyone else had.
The man explained that that meant we didn't have to get in the line, since we had an appointment. He said that all the people in the queue were there for H1Bs or Non-Immigrant visas and didn't have appointments.
However, as it was 8:20, and my husband's appt was for 9:30, he said we have to wait until 9 (half hour before appt). So we sat outside in the cold for about 40 minutes while checking and double-checking our huge folder full of paperwork that I spent 3 hours the night prior tabulating using post-its from Sainsbury's.
When 9 rolled around, it was time to go. I walked with my husband over to the entrance and saw that the Indian man from before was now gone. We explained what he had said to an Indian woman who confirmed it and had my husband skip the line. They checked his passport and DS-260 and he went into security.
Once he was out of security - he told me this later - he went up an elevator and came to a waiting room. He took a number and waited his turn. A large screen showed the names of people who were being "served next". He ended up waiting for about 45 minutes past his appt. It was 10:25 AM when he was finally called.
He came to a small interview room and a woman was there. She introduced herself and asked for his passport, DS-260, ARCO Police Certificate, and birth certificate. She checked things on a computer and asked him for his name, date of birth, and my name and date of birth. She then nodded and said "My intent is to grant your visa today." She then entered info into a computer for 5 minutes and took the passport and some papers. That was it.
Meanwhile, I waited outside at a coffee shop nearby called District. It was full of nervous husbands and wives waiting for their spouses to finish their interviews.
Overall a good experience, but the confusion of the entryway could have been better mitigated by signs or something.
| | | London, United Kingdom | Review #33539 on January 29, 2025: |
Cricket99
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Rating only
| | | London, United Kingdom | Review #33534 on January 27, 2025: |
Tesco
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
I arrived into Paddington Railway station 2 ½ hours prior to my Embassy appointment. Once outside I then ordered an Uber, which astonishingly arrived in less than 2 minutes. Jumped in and made the 30-minute journey to Ponton Road. The first thing that really hit me was the incredibly long que, which spanned as far as the eye could see, back, (almost) to the Embassy Gardens and water feature on Nine Elms Lane.
I did notice that those in the que were grasping DS-160 Confirmation forms. I went directly to the red visa check in awning, right by the Consular Services entry doors and showed them my DS-260 and passport. Fully expecting instruction on what to do, they moved the stanchions out of the way and asked me to go straight through, (after marking me off a single page typed appointment list – remembering here that I was the best part of 2 hours early). I went through security, where someone was asking if anyone had a laptop, (no one did) and then out of the secondary door, through the small garden area to another door which this time gives entry into the Embassy proper. I gave the lady on reception my DS-260 & courier confirmation and received a ticket number and then given instructions on how to get to the Immigrant Visa area. The instructions were easy to follow and I made my way up to the first floor and eventual areas, (windows 20 to 24 from memory). My number was called after 15 minutes where I saw a very nice woman who asked for civil documents. I was then asked to take a seat and I’d then be called for the interview.
Very soon afterwards, I was called to another window for swearing in and questioning, (all nice questions that you will know the answers to). Although I was given the verbal approval that I was ok, the Consular required additional documentation, so no visa that day, (had to wait another week to receive the passport/visa back via courier).
I left the Embassy and then ordered an Uber for my trip back to Paddington Station. I only booked a single, ticket, as you have no real idea of when business for the day will be over. As soon as I got to the station, I booked a ticket there and then. I did purchase a Rail Card prior to my Visa Medical, which paid for itself twice over. Considering the Embassy Appointment too, I saved loads. Ultimately, it’s tricky to avoid ‘peak’ travel times and expensive ticket costs.
The U.S. Embassy is utterly beautiful, lovely gardens and super nice and helpful staff.
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