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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on June 11, 2014: |
G Walters
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
"I stayed at the Rose Court Hotel. Cheap and cheerful and less than 10mins walk from the embassy. On the morning of the 9am interview, I arrived at 6:45. There were 3 people there already. At the front of the embassy are two glass cabins; the left for Citizens, the right for Immigration. At 7am a man came out and put up a booth and a sign for the immigration queue for us to queue 'here'. There were about 15 of us now. We queued on the wrong side of the sign, so shuffled round to the other. At around 7:15? A lady came out and informed the 40 of us that the queue was going to be split into two: 8am interviews were to stay in the first queue, and anyone after 8am would form a second queue. We adjusted accordingly. By 7:30 it looked like there were around 50 - 60 people. She started checking off people's DS-160, interview letter and passports against a list and they were allowed to enter through the glass cabin, where the security is, to go on through to the entrance. At some point, the lady at the desk suddenly shouted whether there was anyone for immigration, and I piped up. She checked my paperwork and waved me through the cabin. No laptops. Mobile phones are fine, but only the ones with smart screens. (One lady who had her laptop with her, ran up to Goulds pharmacy and dropped it off there and joined the queue in under 10mins.) After security, we entered the building by the side and queued to get our number for the queue for the interview. The printer had just broken, so as we were waiting, and I was about 30th in the queue, the lady at the desk called out if there was anyone from immigration, I piped up, and she gave me the last ticket that had printed before the machine conked out. My ticket said I was 3rd in the Immigration queue; it was 7:42. We walk into a hall, where chairs face a large screen which displays information on what paperwork you need. To the left of this screen is a smaller one showing which numbers have been called. When the number calls, it goes 'ping' and flashes up on the big screen before moving on to the little one. Keep ears and eyes open. Interviews are taken standing at the counter, like being at the bank. First one involved passing over paperwork, no questions are asked at this stage. You are sent back to your seat and called back later. There is no clock up, so wear a watch or keep switching your phone on to check the time, if you want. 2nd interview is it! Swear an oath, tell the truth. The questions I got were; how often had I visited the US, why had he not come to the UK, what did he do? What did I do? Had I met his family, why not? When did I hope to fly? the man doing the questions did not crack a smile. He said the visa had been approved and only then did he smile! In fact when I left the booth, I was not sure whether he had said I was approved or not, I was so overcome with joy, and all I had to remember his words by was his smile. I was out of the embassy and calling my fiance by 8:54. There is a photo-booth in the waiting area and drinks and food is available for purchase too. Good luck, and happy future to you all. 
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #14604