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United Kingdom US Consulate Reviews
Average Rating: 3.8
/ 5
6 Review(s)
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| London, United Kingdom |  Review #33132 on April 21, 2024: |
Davibob07
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: EB-1 Visa
Apologies. Post not relevant.
(updated on April 21, 2024)
| | | London, United Kingdom | Review #32723 on November 21, 2023: |
Ali1999
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: EB-1 Visa
Had my EB-1A interview at the US Consulate in London on Friday the 3rd of Nov at 8am.
I showed up at 7:20am and there was a long queue. I spoke to a lady who was guiding people. I told her I was there for my green card interview and she told me to go to the front of the queue. The lady at the desk outside security checked my Passport and appointment letter then told me to go to the front of security.
Security was super fast as they were just opening.
Once through security you enter the courtyard and the next building is signposted. There's two queues to join, US Citizen/Immigration which is blue and visas which is red. I joined the blue queue which was empty and again, was seen first. The lady at the desk took my passport and DS260. Affixed labels to it and told me to go up the elevators, take a left, then another left and to sit at the booths were my number will appears. It's all relatively straightforward and well signposted.
I went and sat down in the area specifically for immigration type visas. I was called up to my first window in maybe 5 minutes. Asked for my passport, 1 passport style photograph then my original birth certificate, ACRO certificate/any other police certificates and my courier details for having my passport sent back to me. Really nice guy. I was then asked to sit back down my number will be called again.
Around 15 minutes later I was called up to a different window. There was an American lady there and I cannot emphasize enough how nice she was. She asked me to raise my right hand and to affirm that everything in my application etc was true to the best of my knowledge. She then asked me:
“What guilds are you affiliated with?”
“Have you won any awards?”
“What have you appeared in?”
“Have you ever judged the work of others?”
“Where has your work been shown?”
(Asked again) “what guilds or associations have you been apart of?”
She then said that my visa had been approved. I said thank you and she wished me a good weekend and said I should receive my passport back in about 7 days.
As far as getting my passport back. My case status didn’t update right away.
It showed as “Ready” until Tuesday the 7th.
“Administrative Processing” from the 7th to the 9th.
“Issued” on Thursday the 9th.
I got my tracking number on Monday the 13th and my passport was ready for pickup on Tuesday the 14th. So 7 business days from interview to passport being returned (like the interviewer said).
All in all, it was very smooth and straight forward. Best of luck to you all!
| | | London, United Kingdom | Review #30644 on January 19, 2022: |
nanobot
Rating:
· 1 person found this review helpful
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: EB-1 Visa
Interview time 10.00am, advised by my lawyer to arrive 9.45am at the South Pavilion. Arrived in the area around 9am and went to the District Cafe across the street from the Embassy to wait until 9.45 - this is a great spot for coffee and food, lots of tables, toilet, kid friendly (as much as it needed to be)
Two lines at the South Pavilion (the entry point). One for US citizens which had a big line, and one for Visas (on the right) which had no line. First off go to the window on the far right hand side, with appointment and passports. Then security. There was no line for either of these. Then through and out the other side of security, into the embassy grounds. At this point look back and to the left - there's a crazy sky pool between two buildings! Anyway, reception desk who checked the paper and send us to the first floor with a sticker and number on our paperwork - again no line here, super fast. Out of the lift someone pointed us to booths 20/21 which were left and left again.
On arriving at the waiting area they had our number on the screen so went right to document check. A super nice guy asked for documents one by one whilst the family sat down, did my fingerprints, then called the family for their fingerprints. This process took around 5 minutes. He said they had not yet got our medicals, but not to worry, they'll turn around the visa same day or next day when it arrives with them. At the end he said to take a seat and wait for our number, and we would be seen at one of the next booths - 22 or 23.
Sat down for a nervous long wait, however about 30 seconds later our number came up for the window. The full family went up, both adults had to hold up right hands and swear they were going to tell the truth, fingerprints again for the adults, then the family sat down. The interviewer was super nice. Three very brief questions for me, which she wanted brief conversational answers, what was my extraordinary ability, what will I do in the USA and where will I live in the USA. The whole thing was a couple of minutes. No trick questions. Just looking to coorborate a couple of datapoints in the file. The file was massive, maybe 15 inches thick!!
Got a 212g refusal blue form stating they were waiting on the medical, otherwise done. The interviewer said I should have passports back within a week.
There was no-one else in the Immigrant Visa section. The NIV section was very quiet with 5/6 people there.
Total elapsed time from entering security to walking back out onto the street was less than 20 minutes.
Notes:
- there's free wifi, not that we even had time to sit down
- there's a small cafe with coffee, snacks, pastries etc in the main waiting area - despite saying there is not on the website
- you cannot get lost, someone is always there to point you onwards
- there are toilets, a family bathroom, and a water fountain
| | | London, United Kingdom | Review #23161 on January 30, 2018: |
Richard Purves
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: EB-1 Visa
Well that was a waste of time that might have life changing repercussions for me.
Interview scheduled for 9am January 30th at the new London embassy. Got there early, but allowed through at 8.30am. Process was smooth as I was in an immigrant visa category, and I got to skip nearly all of the queues. Immigrant visa petitioners end up in a separate private section away from everyone else two left hand turns from the elevators. This is where things stopped being smooth.
The process is in three parts: 1) submission of documents, wait and then 2) actual interview then 3) pay visa fee.
1) Spoke to the lady at the window. Volume on the speaker was really low so was a struggle to hear her. Find out at this point that they did not have my medical file but get through this part ok. They keep your original birth certificate at this point and don't tell you, so a few of us were wondering what was going on.
2) Get to the interview properly. Held up my right hand and swore in as required. This is where the guy behind the glass had obviously had a bad day. He discounted large chunks of my file, specifically everything to do with things I was working on right now: He only wanted completed project information. That was the first bad sign. Worse was to come when I got grilled on how I'd supported myself. Anyone who's done anything in the Entertainment biz supported themselves by other means while they established their careers, so telling him that was yet another wrong answer. Again future stuff that is dependent on this visa doesn't count apparently despite the catch-22 that puts me in.
The potential job doing other things in the entertainment industry was also discounted out of hand.
I didn't get to no.3 as I was referred to Administrative Processing with a blue 221(g) form. What this now means is this guy has just condemned me to a minimum 60 day black hole as my file is referred back to USCIS, assuming it ever does.
The warnings of not travelling to the US because my ESTA is now invalid were bad. Worse was to come: If I fail, I will require visas for any travel to the USA in future. Because of a prior failed immigration petition, the likelihood of gaining such a visa is almost nil.
This is probably going to kill my entertainment career stone dead. It's also going to have severe repercussions for burgeoning relationship I have, and for my other career path too as it's reliant on US based info and conferences. Starting to wish I'd never done this.
| | | London, United Kingdom | Review #22908 on November 30, 2017: |
Paul Turner
Rating:
· 1 person found this review helpful
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: EB-1 Visa
First I would like to start by saying THANK YOU to this site for being there for me in times of panic. You were there when I just needed to read about other peoples experiences so that I could prepare myself for EVERYTHING and not to ruin my chances of having my Visa approved. Also I have not found someone in the same position as I was, applying for my EB-1 (or E11) with a beneficiary spouse.
I really do hope this helps someone.
My appointment was at 9am. I had read that this was the busiest time at the embassy so me and my husband had prepared to be there early. We were a little too eager and ended up arriving at 8:15am. There was a blue tent with 2 queues and a random side queue running alongside the square. (it wasn't insanely busy).
In the queue by the square there were attendants helping and checking letters to tell you what to do next. This lady was VERY nice and helpful. She told us we were too early, to go for a stroll come back straight to her at 8:45am and she will let us in immediately. PERFECT.
8:40am (I couldn't stroll any longer) we returned BUT the lady wasn't there. (AHHHHH). But I walked up to the desk under the tent and just politely asked the lady. She was also very nice, I explained the situation and she said, and I quote, "Immigrant Visas never have to queue". She honestly meant that they never make immigration visas wait. I then followed up with a joke saying.. "Well I wish that was the case inside too" which she then added "IT DOES!". I was a bit shocked..
But this was very nice indeed.
With that she told us to skip all the queues and go to the security door. We went inside. The lady on reception looked us up and stuck a number on the letter and told us to head to the front of the waiting room.
I had just got my coat off when ... *Bing* our number shows up to go to the first window.
We needed .. Passport / Original Birth Certificate / Original Marriage Certificate / 2 photos each / Courier info. THATS IT. No photocopies even though I had a million.. JUST IN CASE!!
They took our finger prints and we sat back down. It was all very pleasant and just administration.
NOW THE LONG WAIT!!
*side note* The noise every time a number is called is consistent!! and it is funny to watch everyones head look up and back down every 0.5 seconds.
*20 minutes YES only 20 minutes later*
We have to go to the interview.
Our lawyer had warned us that they could possibly do this interview separately, but as we weren't told otherwise we walked up together. Thought it would be better to be told than guess.
We arrived to a very nice gentleman. He was talking to someone and apologised to us for having to wait for his conversation to finish..
We both did our finger prints..
I was expecting a James Bond Villain like interrogation.. NOPE.
All I was asked was;
1. What will you do when you get there?
2. Which projects are you talking about? ( I had mentioned 'projects' in my first answer)
3. What are you doing now?
4. Have you put an application in for this visa before (which I had..)
It was VERY conversational and we even joked about certain things I said.
He only looked at my husband and said "OK, I'm going to go ahead and approve both your visas. You should get them within 1 or 2 weeks"
I said, " I could scream"
He said jokingly, "I'd wait until you were outside to do that"
THAT WAS IT!!! From asking the lady at the tent (8:40) to leaving and ringing our parents (9:39am)!!!
59 MINUTES!!
I have to add that it is very easy for me to say now that.. THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. But that is ridiculous. Of course there is. It is a very big deal.. you are going to be nervous, but the officers are human too and it is like they completely understand that.
I had 2 other FULL files of documents, pictures, emails etc. just in case and even though I really didn't need them.. I still suggest take it ALL!!
You never know.
I really wish any one that reads this GOOD LUCK!!
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