Finally – at last, after all the waiting it's the day of my interview 01/10/13. The day the US government shut down. Living just north of London I decided to drive in and was thrilled to hear on the radio that they were shutting down the passport offices. So as you can imagine I was rather pleased when I got to the embassy to see the queue.
First things first – I needed to leave my key fob at Goulds Pharmacy. If you stand with the front entrance of the embassy in front of you they're a short walk up the road to your right. Easy peasy. It's obviously a well rehearsed production line (and nice little earner for them). Decided to get a coffee next door then headed down to the embassy and joined the queue.
First off showing my passport and interview (packet 4) letter. Very pleasant woman who like me expressed some incredulity when someone asked if it would be OK to take a knife in. When they tell what you can and cannot take in – believe them....
Next up the security queue. Fairly typical airport style checks. Made a bit of a fool of myself when the guard muttered something about the exit door. I thought the white switch was a door release. No – it was the lights - oops. The guard explained sarcastically they don't have have releases on secure doors. I then wended my way round to the side entrance on the right. More queuing – this time to get our numbered stickers – I was I906. My appointment was 08:30 and I was in and sitting down by about 08:15.
Room is as described in many other reviews. You will just stare at the screen not wanting to miss your number. The vast majority are non-IV's so they chug through those at quite a rate. In the end it was my number. Oh and there is a photo booth there.
Had a very pleasant interview with a youngish British guy who took all my documents which I'd made a point of getting together in a way that was easy to handle. They really do just want the ones they ask for and make sure you have the copies you need. The next bit was a bit different for me as I was self sponsoring and this was the bit I was realllllyyyy nervous about. My plan was to use my house equity and some savings. I handed over a bank statement – not the complicated stuff they ask for on the web – just a statement you get over the bank counter usually. That said once I showed him my statement concerning the house he handed the bank account stuff back and we never referred to it again. I had prepared a summary of house value, sale price, mortages etc and balance due. And that's all he took. I relaxed at this point. All I now had to worry about was getting the “scary chinese lady” next.
With that all done I went back to the hall to wait out for the next bit with the CO. Seemed to take a while there is no way of knowing the time if you don't have a mechanical watch. But then my number beeped. Here goes.
I was interviewed by a very pleasant young African American woman who checked my dabs and got me to sign the statement and swear the oath. She then asked me a few basic questions about how we met and how had the relationship had progressed. When I was able to show her a photo of us as a couple in 1981 she laughed and it was all very relaxed. No 3rd degree and no tough questions. And that was it and I heard those magic words - “I am happy to say your visa is approved”.
I guess we were pretty easy to approve. I had all the documentation they asked for and I presented it quickly and clearly. All in all a very pleasant experience and I was out by 10am and the sun was shining too.
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #12922
Review on October 2, 2013:
