APPROVED!!!!

[Jessa & Liam 11]

Hi everyone Just off the plane and back in the house but I wanted to say that Jessica and I got approved at 9.30 this morning

Thank you all for your help, especially Nich-Nick. A full write up will be done in due course.

Good luck to everyone still going through the process

[tru_loves_journey 117]

[cathy2904 97]

Congratulations!

[Katie Watie 3]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!

Nich-nick is amazing for all london applicants :D

I have my interview a week tomorrow

[teach_says 4]

Congratulations!!

[X Factor 1,110]

ConGraTuLaTions

[xjoseyx 19]

CONGRATS!!!!

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Way to go!! Now go on and tell all the people freaking out that the interview is not that difficult. They won't believe you, but you've earned the right to say it now. hahaha

Thanks for the kind words too.

Husband has his interview in 10 days. We are so nervous.

Just kidding. Just another hoop to jump through.

[MissAAA 9]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!

Nich-nick is amazing for all london applicants :D

I have my interview a week tomorrow

yes he is! congrats in advance!!!

Hi everyone Just off the plane and back in the house but I wanted to say that Jessica and I got approved at 9.30 this morning

Thank you all for your help, especially Nich-Nick. A full write up will be done in due course.

Good luck to everyone still going through the process

congrats!!!!!!!!

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

yes he is! congrats in advance!!!

Nich-Nick is female/USC. A guy wouldn't write such long-winded posts. I talk waaaay too much.

Thank you for the compliment. Glad I can help.

[Shawn&Jodie 14]

Congrats

Jodie is on her way to the interview in a couple hours. Trying to chill her out. I swear she thinks they are gonna ask her to solve a calculus problem.

[Jessa & Liam 11]

Way to go!! Now go on and tell all the people freaking out that the interview is not that difficult. They won't believe you, but you've earned the right to say it now. hahaha

It was pretty simple and straightforward, bar one minor hiccup at the first window when the lady there asked me for police certificates from Ireland because I have an Irish passport. People born in Northern Ireland can hold a UK passport or an Irish one. After I politely explained to her that I've always lived in Northern Ireland (which could be seen from the DS-230), which is a part of the UK and not the Republic of Ireland, she went away for clarification and whomever she spoke to must have confirmed that. When she was away I couldn't stop shaking with nerves. But all in all it was a very quick and largely painless process. I was in and seated by 7.45 and the visa was granted by 9.30

Thanks for the kind words too.

Its the least I could do after all the help and advice you've given which has helped clear things up and steady nerves

Husband has his interview in 10 days. We are so nervous.

Just kidding. Just another hoop to jump through.

Hehe Good luck and I have no doubt he'll be fine

[Jessa & Liam 11]

Embassy Review is now up - http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=9483

Apologies for the wall of text

I thought I would share my experiences with the London Embassy for all those still going through the process and wanting to know what the next steps are.

My appointment was for 08.00 at the Embassy and I had flown in the day before from Northern Ireland, after some minor drama with the plane being grounded for two hours because a back up system to a back up system failed (this was followed by the Stansted train being held up by engineering and the Tube having to stop for a reason unbeknown to the driver). Needless to say I was more than grateful to get to the hotel just off Oxford Street.

I left the hotel around 7.05 after talking to Jessica a little before she went to bed (she had her bridal shower the day before I flew over) and was at the Embassy roughly ten minutes later. By the time I got there a queue had started and I was the twelfth in line, chatting to the people ahead of me the majority of them appeared to be there for N visas. We were each called forward one at a time to show our appointment letter and the MRV receipt. The appointment letter and MRV is something you will need to show quite a bit so have them close to hand. You will be asked if you have any electronics (including remote key fobs for cars and headphones) and if so you are advised to drop them off somewhere as you will not be allowed in with them. They take this seriously as one person behind me made two trips to Gould's Pharmacy on North Aubrey Street to drop his stuff off. We were then each given a clear plastic bag to place our loose change, belts etc. into for the security screening. and then we went into another queue. At 07.30 the security guards started bringing us forward four at a time to the security hut after checking the MRV and passport. The security screening is identical to any airport. You place the clear plastic bag with its contents, your documents and whatever else you are carrying into a plastic box to go through a scanner and you walk through a metal detector.

One you get through the security hut its off too the right following the yellow signs past very pleasant but well armed Police Officers with their MP5's and up some steps and into the Embassy itself. Once inside the Embassy you queue again to get your ticket number after showing your appointment letter and MRV (the number I was given was an "I" number) and up stairs to the left into a room with a lot of chairs set up in two columns each of maybe 7-8 rows facing four screens. There is a second bank of screens facing the opposite way with more chairs arranged the same way and a snack bar at that far wall. It was roughly 07.45 when I got in and I chose a seat at the edge of one row of chairs facing the middle of the bank of screens and at 08.00 the screens came on and I could feel myself getting excited.

I was the second I number to be called up at around 08.15 to Window 1 where a lady from London was stationed who looked like she was far from interested in any casual conversation. Each window is like a bank teller's window. You stand there, there is a glass partition between you and the person on the other side and a small gap for you to pass your documents through. She had a pink folder at least an inch thick with our application and the supporting documents. She asked me for my appointment letter, MRV receipt and passport. No problem as I had them well labelled and near the top of the papers I brought. Next she asked me for my birth certificate, UK Police certificate and Irish Police certificate,

"Irish Police certificate?"

"Yes, you have an Irish passport"

"I live in Northern Ireland. Its part of the UK, we can have an Irish or UK passport"

"I need your Irish Police certificate"

"But I've always lived in the UK, I've never lived in the Republic of Ireland"

"I'll have to go and clarify that"

Away she went to speak with someone out of sight and out of earshot. My hands were shaking so badly because I thought I had everything prepared and all the paperwork in order. I went through the paperwork I had brought and found the Embassy's checklist stating that an applicant needed a Police certificate for countries they had lived in for more than 12 months from the age of 16. My DS-230 which she had in the pink folder would show that I had never lived outside the UK. After what left like a life time she returned and resumed working on my folder without another word about the Irish Police certificates. She asked of copies of my birth and Police certificates, my passport pictures and Affidavit of Support and then she started placing them in the folder in the relevant places before going through a checklist asking had I visited the US, had I ever over stayed during a visit, if I had been married before, if Jessica had been married before, if I was adopted and if I ever changed my name. Then my finger prints were taken on a scanner that was just off to my left, it was the same as when I first entered the US under the Visa Waiver Program. Left hand four fingers, right hand four fingers and then both thumbs. Once that was done she handed me a pink slip for the courier and told me to have a seat until I was called again.

I went back to my seat to see that it was only 08.45, the minor hiccup with the Irish Police certificates made it seem a lot longer. I sat and took a minute to steady my hands before I filled in the pink slip for the courier and noticed that the N visas seemed to be blue courier slips. The lady at Window 1 kept the ticket with my allocated number so I took a quick minute to write my number on my hand lest I forget it. Now it was just the waiting game of watching the screens and waiting for my number to be called.

I chatted a little with those around me, what visa they were here for etc. I had just started talking to a South African lady when my number was called to Window 14. I very quickly excused myself and made my way to the allocated window. I could feel my heart race as I approached it knowing that this could be the final hurdle before we got our visa but the issue of the Police certificates still playing on my mind.

Behind the glass partition was an American lady with what I took to be a mid-West accent who was very pleasant and smiling. She introduced herself and said that she was going to be conducting the interview but that I would need to verify my fingerprints before we proceeded. I then swore a solemn oath to tell the truth to her. When that was done she highlighted parts of the DS-156K and asked me to complete my fiancee's name and to sign it. The interview itself was just a few questions and seemed fairly informal. She asked me;

How had we met?

How many times had I visited?

Had I met my fiancee's parents?

Had she met mine?

Had she ever been over here?

If she had any siblings?

What her brother did for a living?

Had the age gap caused any issues?

How I proposed?

When I was telling her how I proposed I seen that she was grinning away and when I said about having plan of what I wanted to say worked out on the flight over before it went out of my head between going down a small set of stairs and getting down on one knee she joined in too saying about people forgetting what they were going to say just before proposing. Still grinning she said "I think I've heard enough", I held my breath at this point knowing that this was either the longed for yes or the dreaded no, before she continued "I'm going to go ahead and approve your visa".

I burst into the biggest grin ever and thanked her profusely. She did have to asked me to concentrate on her a second longer whilst she explained what documents I would be sent out and what I was not to open. She wished Jessica and I good luck and told me to go ahead and pay the courier. I walked down to the courier's desk with a definite spring in my step.

My visa was granted by 09.30 and I just about ran back to the hotel still with the huge grin on my face to waken my very sleepy fiancee and give her the good news.

Next stop - home where I belong

Good luck to everyone on their journey, God speed and may you be back with your loved ones before they know you've been away

Edited April 17, 2012 by Jessa & Liam

[spookyturtle 9,465]

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Wow. Your lady was thorough. What her brother does for a living??? I think that's the hardest question I've heard. My husband wouldn't have a clue. And now I'm curious what your age gap is. Wondering what gap she considered significant enough to query because I haven't heard that one before either.

Good review. Thanks for the details. It helps other people.