Medical & interview exp, plus a wee thx

[ConnorS 85]

Hey peeps, so I crammed everything in pretty quickly the last few weeks as I have been trying to get out early August as my partner and future Mrs, works for the school district and we wanted to spend time together before term starts again.

 

So on the 07/02/19 I jumped on the Caledonian sleeper down to London (along with the return) for my medical, being rather frugal with my money I chose a seat rather than a bed and saved myself a few hundred pounds.

 

My medical wasn't until 2pm so I had plenty of time for sightseeing and went down to the southbank, crashing a big university graduation party that was being held there and just mingling with the people like I somehow belonged 😂 seen the London eye, buckingham palace, Westminster abbey, the houses of parliament, imperial war museum.  I also went to a few of there parks as the weather was fantastic, regent's park specifically was very nice as they had an art exhibit on in the park and artist has their peace's sprawled throughout the park for the public's viewing pleasure. Oh and in green park next to buckingham palace deck chairs where out for the public to sit on and soak up some vitamin D for those in need or worship the sun.

 

As for the medical I turned up early and was told to take a seat in the waiting room but ended up getting taken early as the person before me hadn't turned up.  The medical went without a hitch. I was way over vaccinated apparently 😂 I just wanted to ensure there would be no issues when it came to AOS. I was seen be 3 people, the first gentleman for my chest x-ray, then I was asked to take a seat in the waiting area before being called by the nurse to go over my vaccination records. Lastly to then see a GP to give me my physical.  All 3 people were extremely nice and pleasant and just had a general chit chat, asking about my plans, how I got down to London etc.

 

  For those worried about their patient care summary (in Scotland or at least with my GP referred to as a "Home visit report"), mine contained very little, one page which made mention of me popping in to see then regarding vaccination and under that I had no trace of allergies, no record of high priority diagnosis, no acute medical conditions in the last 3 months, no current repeats and no recent test results, a very basic one page summary with my personal details at the top along with my NHS No.

 

On the way out I paid my dues at reception and was also handed a vaccination documentation worksheet required for change of status, with a sheet stapled to it from visa medicals informing me not to lose it, fingers crossed 😅. They also said my medical would be with the embassy at the end of the week.  At this point I had already scheduled my appointment there for 2 weeks time, but armed with that information from the receptionist and how confident she sounded that it would be there by the weeks end I rescheduled my embassy appointment for Wednesday (07/10/19) and again opted for the sleeper down to London.

 

My interview was booked for 11am and I arrived at 7 on the sleeper again, so had myself some breakfast on the walk down from Euston station to Victoria st station where I also dropped my bag in at left luggage to pick up later, as I was concerned it was a little on the big side and didn't want to take the chance, on reflection and seeing what other people had taken in I was overthinking it as usual 😅.  From there I jumped on the underground and got off at Vauxhall and had myself a leisurely stroll along the riverfront until it was time. I showed up 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment time. When I arrived at the Embassy's consular entrance there was a metal desk outside a glass partitioned section with security. I spoke to one of the two women on the desk who took my name and my ds-160 from me and signed it she told me to join the line of people waiting to go through security. There was a secondary line of people  who had arrived too early and where being told to wait off to the left.

 

By the time I got through security it was already just leaving 11 and I was then greeted with another large queue and just as I was getting close to it a gentleman from the embassy came through a door to call for all applicants with appointment times of 10 and 10:30 to come forward as it was their last call.  I took the opportunity and followed said gentleman past the rather long queue and was promptly signed in. He attached my number to my ds-160 and told me to take the lift to the first floor turn immediate left walk to the end of the building and left again, take a seat and await my number to be called.  

 

Once there after about a 15 minute wait I was then called to the first window where I was asked for my passport and ds-160 and 1 photo, she then proceeded to scan my fingerprints before asking me for my birth certificate, divorce decree, ACRO, and I-134.  Once she had all this she handed me CD with my medical results/x-ray on it and asked my to take a seat and wait to be called to a secondary window. Unlike other member on this forum who didn't wait overly long to be seen I waited almost 3 and a half hours to be called to the second window, but I certainly wasn't alone that day as I was sitting with 5 other k-1 applicants in my immediate vicinity who all had equally long wait times and had all arrived before me as I discovered as we all started to chat as we nervously waited our turn.  When I was finally called to the second window I was the last man standing in that section of consulate floor at around 2:30. The woman interviewing me was looking rather desrevelled at this point and in much need of a break, but she was very nice nonetheless. I was asked, how we met, where we first met in person, had I met her children in person and how that went. Where would I be staying once I arrived there and who was the person co sponsoring me and what my relationship was to them. With that all said I was in front of her for all of 5-10 minutes and was then told everything was in order and that I should receive my passport back within a week to 10 days and sent on my merry way, down through a consulate floor once bustling with lines of people waiting in seats or at windows now empty with no one but myself and some employees sitting at the desk by the elevator.  I promptly rang my partner to give her the good news and also had myself a little celebratory rum and coke to settle my nerves as I had the rest of the day in London again until I took the sleeper train back home that evening.

 

Two days later my status changed to issued and yesterday I got an email informing me that I can pick up my packet today from my designated location.  So my flights have subsequently been booked and I shall be leaving on the first of August, woohoo.

 

Anyway this forum has been an immense help and I'm very thankful for such a wonderful resource.  It has been great to read and interact with people on here, especially those on similar timelines to myself who often ask questions I hadn't thought to myself @Zoeeeeeee , @Pooley and @LukeU spring immediately to mind.  However a big and special thanks has to go to @Wuozopo, you my friend are exceptional, a fountain of knowledge and insight and I am very grateful for your time and dedication to helping others going through this process, so again thank you, and apologies if there is spelling and grammatical errors all over this post, I'm doing this from my mobile phone so it's been hard to check over such a long winded post 😅

 

[ennabaer 73]

love your post! it is like reading a well written book. also i love the positivity youre sharing here. even though i had nothing to do with your journey, i am happy it all worked out great for you and i hope you have an amazing start in the states in only 2 short weeks! wohoo!

[wbeem 568]

Congratulations!  Your dance with USCIS is only just beginning, but the worst part (being separated) is over!  Well, it's over in 2 weeks

You made me laugh about the Caledonian Sleeper. I did the same thing ... booked a cheap seat from Glasgow to avoid throwing out even more money haha.  Enjoy the last couple of weeks with your friends and family. I was so stressed and exhausted that I was barely aware of anyone around me when I left and some of those people who didn't get a proper goodbye ... I'll never see them again or get the chance.  

New chapter of your life about to begin with the one you love.  Savor every moment

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

Huge congratulations @ConnorS! So pleased for you mate - and you’re right, @Wuozopo deserves a medal for all the help he dispenses!