Knightsbridge Experience - 18th September 2019

[Richard Purves 58]

Hot on the heels of my reaffirm story ...

 

Saturday 14th September, I set a calendar entry to remind me to call Knightsbridge on Monday morning. Spend the weekend trying to relax.

 

Monday 16th, while I'm battling day job and all the confusion with the embassy interview booking I called up the Knightsbridge number at 9am precisely. This was because I know from previous experience that their phone line melts down from the amount of calls they get on any given day. Mercifully I get straight through to the IVR and choose option 1 for the USA. I speak to one of the receptionists, and astoundingly there's a free appointment at 10.30am Wednesday. Right, I'll have that one. Confirm my phone number and email address. I've also got my email client open, so I email a confirmation query just to make sure.

 

(last time I did this, I booked my appointment by phone. They got my email and phone number wrong, so they couldn't contact me and I did wonder why I never heard anything.)

 

This time it's all avoided and I get the confirmation email with all the details of location, what the building looks like and all the items you need to bring. It explicitly states you need 90 minutes.

 

Wednesday 18th morning. Triple check that I've all the items I could need. Throw that in my rucksack and head out. I'm early. Very early because of London rush hour. So I decamp to a Starbucks around the corner from the Regent St. Apple Store for breakfast and caffeine. It's maybe a 10 minute walk to Bentick Mansions for me from there. I'm still early and arrive at 9am for a 10.30am appointment. The lady at reception takes all the documents I have (quadruple checking paid off!) and I engage in some quick conversation.

 

@Wuozopo This is where I find out a lot of Knightsbridge staff, and the doctors are quite new and weren't there January last year when the new embassy opened. However I do find out they are forced to use DX like us.

 

The lady at reception very kindly bumps by appointment up by 40 minutes to 9.50am. Cool! I thank her for doing that, but I was happy to wait. No complaints there! Now there are forms to fill out. Take the clipboard, fill those out. Hand them over and then it's off to provide the urine sample. They give you a bottle and a bag ... top tip: make sure the cap is on as tight as you can! I did not have accidents but I once worked in a hospital so I'm aware that it can happen. Back to reception. Hand over sealed bag with sealed bottle. Secretly glad I had my caffeine beforehand as that made life easier.

 

(note: there are disposable cups and jugs of water in the waiting room.)

 

I wait. 9.55am I'm called up by the nurse. She gets my last name wrong: no big deal as virtually everyone does anyway. I go up, discuss medical history briefly and they find my old file from last year. Turns out I'm missing a second MMR jab ... that'll be £50 please. I don't really have time to reschedule or take more time off so I take the hit as it's cheaper in the long run. Needle phobia starts to rear it's ugly head, so I warn the nurse and this jab turns out not to be so bad. I get a tiny plaster for my trouble. I'm warned about potential reactions and feeling ill. I'll have to grin and bear it, but never had reactions to vaccines before so I don't worry.

 

Back to reception. Called up maybe 10 mins later by one of the doctors. Nice guy, shake hands, discuss my file in a lot more detail. Won't bore you with details. He wants more blood. I really don't like needles so I say it's unfair that I only get a cotton ball and that I'm paying for the privilege. He smiles but he's seen my type before. Thankfully I avoided the one joke I have about air bubbles (not funny, offends EVERYONE especially medical practitioners). He gets his vial and I get my taped on cotton ball. There's other more physical tests, poking and prodding. All clear. Clothes back on. Thank him very much and back to the waiting room.

 

A few more minutes, I'm called to X-Ray. Stuff in corner, shirt off again (I should have left it off? Well if I wanted to scare people I would have 😛 ) Stand in front of the machine as directed. Takes a few seconds, bit of a brief hum and we're done. I stand there and wait as the Doctor loads up the digital x-ray system and thankfully my picture is present and clear. I quickly tell the story I know of the guy with the Nobel Prize and the airport x-ray machine. (Worth looking up, very funny). We're done. Maybe 10 minutes total?

 

Back to the waiting room. A few minutes as my file is transferred to reception. I'm called up for the last time, collect my passport (yes they kept it all this time) and pay up. Talk to receptionist about Monzo for 40 seconds and find not only have I just spent £350 for an exam, £50 on an MMR jab but my credit card became due. Ow! I spent a bit of time packing up the documents handed back to me and we're done.

 

11am. I emerge into brilliant sunlight outside of Bentick Mansions and proceed back to Bond St. I'm medically passed, £400 + credit card poorer, one slightly sore arm.

 

Now it's onto the interview on 1st October. That part I'm really concerned about!

[Kris & Crystal 47]

Good write up. I'm guessing they did all the eye test stuff, etc. I've read about elsewhere.

 

I'm actually more worried about the medical than the interview despite never having had anything worse than shingles or a bad flu with no ongoing conditions, etc. I'm just paranoid they'll find some reason to fail me.

[Richard Purves 58]

58 minutes ago, Kris & Crystal said:

Good write up. I'm guessing they did all the eye test stuff, etc. I've read about elsewhere.

 

I'm actually more worried about the medical than the interview despite never having had anything worse than shingles or a bad flu with no ongoing conditions, etc. I'm just paranoid they'll find some reason to fail me.

Eye test ... yeah that was basically stand at a distance from an eye test chart, cover one eye, read second bottom line, cover other eye and read the same line backwards.

 

So inconsequential that I forgot to mention that part in the OP.  

[Wuozopo 4,285]

2 hours ago, Kris & Crystal said:

I'm just paranoid they'll find some reason to fail me.

There's not much they can fail you on

Mental disorders associated with harmful behavior if the behavior is curent or likely to reoccur, 

Drug addiction 

Active Syphilis, Gonorrhea, or Leprosy not being treated

Communicable diseases that require quarantine like cholera,  yellow fever, plague

  

You probably don't have those or would be aware and seeing your GP already.

 

 

 

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

On 9/18/2019 at 6:19 PM, Kris & Crystal said:

Good write up. I'm guessing they did all the eye test stuff, etc. I've read about elsewhere.

 

I'm actually more worried about the medical than the interview despite never having had anything worse than shingles or a bad flu with no ongoing conditions, etc. I'm just paranoid they'll find some reason to fail me.

@Wuozopo is right - I think it wouldn’t be easy to fail the medical. They’re not looking for you to be a perfect picture of health - they’re looking to see if you’re contagious and could infect others - if you’re mentally unstable and could be a danger to yourself or others - or if you’re likely to cost a fortune in medical costs and could end up a public charge. That’s pretty much it.

[Mrs Ryan Carreras 247]

@Richard Purves

Thank you for the update on the medical exam. We have read through a few as Ryan’s is tomorrow morning. 

Appreciate the detail. 

Good Luck on the rest of your journey. 🎉🎊

 

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

23 hours ago, Sarah n Ryan said:

@Richard Purves

Thank you for the update on the medical exam. We have read through a few as Ryan’s is tomorrow morning. 

Appreciate the detail. 

Good Luck on the rest of your journey. 🎉🎊

 

Just seeing this now Sarah! Hope everything went ok today 🙃

[Mrs Ryan Carreras 247]

2 hours ago, Zoeeeeeee said:

Just seeing this now Sarah! Hope everything went ok today 🙃

@ZoeeeeeeeYes he had his medical today and it was pretty much as the post described. 
 

He went in and had to do a urinalysis, they checked off his shots and medical summary, did his eye exam, chest X-ray, took a blood test and they signed his forms. 
Now on to the interview on the 4th. 
We are so ready now and to be reunited.

It feels surreal to be at the finish line. 
I’m nervous on one hand but so ready to move on to the next step after years of back and forth.

Hope all is well with you and you're fiancé and Congrats on your recent approval 🎊🎉

So very happy for the two of you. 

 

[Kris & Crystal 47]

Just had my Medical today. I'll write it all up in a day or so.

 

As a side note it seems they've switched to an electronic system at the end of last week/start of this week instead of using a courier.

[Richard Purves 58]

I might be the last of the courier ones then. I got my x-rays back in a Knightsbridge medical folder on a CD.