MrWorldwide

Hi folks!

I thought I would share my experience at the US Embassy the other day to help alleviate some concerns people might have about this part of the process.

To start with, I'm from Scotland and a few years ago I did Camp America where I needed to get a J-1 visa. This involved a far less stringent process but one that still required an interview-type situation at the Embassy in London, so I wasn't new to the embassy experience itself. For any that haven't been, I'll describe it.

My appointment was at 1200, so I arrived in London around 0700 that day and at the embassy around 0930. At this time, the queues outside the Visa Services tent were very long and I was told by staff there that they can only let people in 15-30 mins before the scheduled appointment. So I went away and sat in the park, as it was a nice day. I'll add also that remember you are not allowed certain things within the embassy for security reasons, and so the common practice is to go along to Gould's Pharmacy on the street across from the embassy. This offers a service allowing you to safely store your belongings for a few hours at very little cost (I was £6 for my bag/laptop). This is another reason it's good to arrive early at the embassy, so you have time to do this. I did this so that all I had on my person was my phone, my wallet and my evidence folder (more on that later). 

Around 30 mins before my appointment, I walked up to the now-very-quiet Visa Services tent (I would hazard a guess that it is better to book an afternoon vs morning slot as the morning is very busy for whatever reason). Manning the tent was a lovely lady who asked for my appointment letter (the first letter the beneficiary receives directly in the mail, with your case number on it), and my passport. She wrote something on the letter and told me to come back in 10-15 minutes.

After more walking around the park, I walked back to the Visa Services tent and was told just to go to the security section. After entering security, I was asked if I had registered at the tent desk, and then proceeded to place all my belongings inside an X-Ray tray. Once this was done, I walked into the embassy itself.

As you walk in, there's a reception desk where friendly staff will ask for your appointment letter again, as well as your passport. They then print a sticker with a number on it that gets stuck to your appointment letter. This is the number you will hear get called when it is your turn. You are then directed to the waiting area, which I can only describe as being like Argos. You sit down, there's a big screen that alerts you to which number is next, and it tells you which window to go to. 

I waited there for around 20 minutes before my number was called. I walked up to the window and was presented with a very friendly man who wanted all my paperwork. He asked for my appointment letter, I-134 (Affidavit of Support) with any accompanying evidence, my original Birth Certificate, my original Police Certificate and one US-size passport photo. I provided all these (the evidence I brought for I-134 was a letter from my fiance's employer and a recent bank statement from her) and was given my chest x-rays in an envelope and told to carry them with me in my case when I fly out. I was then told to sit back down and await my interview. 

I waited for what must've been 30-45 minutes before being called up on the same number as before. This was to a different window, with a different person who was nonethless great. He was super friendly, asked how I was doing, and then he asked me to raise my hand in oath that all of the information I provided was accurate to the best of my knowledge. I then had to provide my confirmation page (from booking/paying the appointment online). Then he asked me some brief questions about myself and my fiance. Questions were: How long have you been together? What does she do? What do you do? Where is she from? Where will you be staying? What are your plans for work when you are over there? All of the questions were things he already knew the answers to from my application, and so they were purely confirmatory. Funnily and weirdly enough, he pointed out that the address my fiance works at (she is a nanny) is 3 streets from where he lives, and so we had a laugh at that and allowed me to get a comment in about how wonderful a neighbourhood it is. After that, he said "Well, that's all we need from you, your visa has been confirmed. I guess I'll see you around the block  ". 

I got quite lucky and only needed to provide the explicit documents that you are told to take, and wasn't asked for any evidence such as photos/chat logs etc. For my folder, around a week before, I had bought an A4 binder with poly pockets, tabs and a tab index. I had the sections as follows (and I would recommend you do similar): 1. My important docs (birth cert, police cert, confirmation pages/letters, passport photos, photocopies of docs just in case, passport), 2. Her important docs (photocopy birth cert/passport 3. Important docs from I-129F (application page, letters of intent, declaration of how we met), 4. I-134 and accompanying evidence 5,6,7,8,9,10. A section for each month since submission of the I-129F, filled with evidence such as photographs, chat logs, call records, receipts and airline tickets. My last section had random pieces of evidence from before I-129F such as of our proposal and stuff. 

Once you are approved, you leave happily and collect your passport/visa/envelope at your chosen pick-up point 17 working days later. And that's that!

It is a scary experience initially, I was very nervous, but later found that there really is nothing to be worried about. They have a great service at the embassy and all the people are fantastic and really helpful. So just keep calm, put a smile on and tell them the truth and you will walk out of there with your visa  

Hope this helps someone! 

I want to take this opportunity to thank VisaJourney and all it's wonderful members who were so supportive through my entire process, I couldn't have done it without this community. Thanks guys!