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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on November 9, 2012: |
True Brit
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
So here is my experience of today’s interview (9 November 2012).
My husband (petitioner) and I joined the fairly long queue outside the Embassy at 8.30am for my 9am interview. We got into the Embassy and through security fairly quickly. When we stopped at the reception desk we were given the number I910. We took a seat around 9.05 am and were a bit alarmed because all the numbers being called were prefixed with an ‘N’ – not another ‘I’ in sight! To our great relief our number was called at 9.15 am and we went to window 13. A black lady who at first seemed a little unfriendly started going through my papers and said to Theo ‘Do you want to go and pay for Trudi’s visa at the desk whilst we continue with this?’. Yes! Result! Theo got stuck with footing the bill!! Anyway, whilst he was away paying, the lady suddenly looked up with a brilliant smile and said ‘Your hair is lovely – so bouncy and shiny!’. Folks I was so taken aback I immediately started simpering like an idiot and thanked her profusely. She had a sense of humour though, because when I pulled out my dreadful passport photos she said ‘Oh but I see you weren’t having such a good hair day on this day though!!!!’. I found going through the papers quite flustering – I think because I felt so nervous and to be honest it’s all a bit of a blur now and I don’t remember exactly what she asked. It was mostly about Theo’s tax returns, why he had returned to the States to work, had I ever lived abroad, had I ever been in trouble with the police, that sort of thing. Finally she said everything was ok, took my fingerprints and gave us the pink form for the courier. By 9.30 am we were back in our seats but didn’t get called to interview until 12 pm – so a two and a half hour wait. The waiting room was absolutely packed with all the chairs taken and people standing by about 11 am, but though there were huge numbers of ‘N’ numbers being called, there were only about 5 ‘I’ numbers and two or three ‘E’ numbers. I don’t know what the prefixes stand for but I have asked the question on the VJ forum.
I had wanted to go to the ladies since about 9.45 am but felt I should hang on incase I got called. Just before 12 pm – you guessed it – I could wait no longer and set off for the ladies in great haste. I had just sat down when my name was called!! I came flying out of there like a banshee and folks, I would like to assure you one and all that that is absolutely the first time I haven’t washed my hands afterwards!!
When they call you for the interview, they call you by name which I hadn’t expected as I had been craning my neck, watching the screen, for my number to come up again. We went to window 16 and were met by a young (possibly Chinese?) man. He began by making us both swear the oath and took my finger prints again. I then signed my name on the DS2301 Part 2 . To my surprise, most of his questions were directed at Theo (the petitioner and my sponser). Do you have any children? How old are they? Where do they live? Why did you return to work in America?
His questions to me were things like – have you ever changed your name by deed poll? How old were you when you lived in France (I was there less than 10 months). How did you meet Theo? When did you get married? He told us that 90% of the couples he interviews met online which I thought was quite interesting. He was writing all the time and then finally said ‘Your visa is approved. Now you need to go to the courier desk to make arrangements for your visa to be delivered. When Theo asked him how long he thought it would take, the young man said between 5 and 10 working days, but remember Monday is a holiday (which we didn’t know but its apparently Veterans Day.
Overall impression? No one was in the least unpleasant, but I was very nervous and I found it quite a strain. However, that is my personality. I have always been useless at any kind of test or exam even if I know all the answers. My advice would be that if you are the same, be as organised with filing your papers as you can possibly be so that you don’t end up throwing them all over the floor trying to find something! Be as sure as you can be that you have all the documents that might be required and join in all the forums on Visa Journey to get valuable advice before you go for your interview!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #10853