Here's a overview of my interview that took place on August 23rd. My interview was scheduled for 9.30am.
I stayed overnight in London the previous night so I could get to the embassy early knowing how the queues build up quickly from the reviews I've read. I would recommend doing this if you can afford to. I stayed at the Rose Court hotel - about 10-15 minutes walk to the embassy.
I arrived at Gould Pharmacy around 6.50am so decided to walk over to the US embassy and get an idea of where to go - one of the security guards told me they start letting people in at around 7.30am. I walked back to the pharmacy and they opened round 7.10am so I dropped off my mobile and headed straight to the embassy.
We were told to wait outside the room where the airport-style security scanners are located. My interview letter was checked and then another wait. At just after 7.30am we were sent to a guy who checked over my passport and interview letter. Then it was time for the scanner which took about 5 mins. After a short walk around the side of the building and up some stairs, I was given my number - I-903 - and then into the waiting room (where the courier company are on your left).
At 8am, the shutters on the windows opened and numbers started to be called - a lot of N and a few E numbers. All of a sudden I-901 & 902 were called so my heart rate went up a notch..!! After another wait of about 20 minutes, I was called up to window 14 where I went through my documents with a really helpful guy. Fingerprints taken and passport photos handed over. Question 30 on the DS-230 part 1 was incorrect and I explained that I sent the updated document to the NVC but it was nowhere to be seen - I had to fill it in there on the spot. Talk about pressure. After checking some further documents, everything was good.
I was given my pink courier slip to fill out and then back to the seats to wait to be called. Within 15 minutes, I was called again to window 15 where I was going to interviewed by the consular officer. After swearing an oath to tell the truth, he went through a number of questions: How did you meet? Do you have any children? Does your wife have any children? Why didn't you get married to your previous partner of 14 years(This question really threw me as it could look suspicious as to why I married within months of meeting my wife). Where did your wife work? Do you have any photos of you together (even though we had sent printouts in the I-130 application). And that was pretty much it. The consular officer said he was going to approve my visa and I wanted to shake his hand...!!!javascript:emoticon('')
After paying the courier my £36 for pre-8am delivery (7 to 10 days for delivery of IR-1/CR-1 visas), I was out and free to go. A huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders and now it was time to tell me wife who was over the moon that we had passed the final hurdle in our journey.javascript:emoticon('')javascript:emoticon('')
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #10256
Review on August 24, 2012:
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