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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on October 15, 2013: |
GoSteelers
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My interview was scheduled for 9am. I arrived at Gould's pharmacy (1min walk from the Embassy) at 7.30am, and left my bag (with all electronics, including HSBC internet banking keypad) and phone. I was in the queue outside the Enbassy 5 mins later.
Join the shorter queue on the left, they check you passport and appointment letter and give you a plastic bag to put your wallet, belt etc in. Then join the longer queue... you get put through security (airoirt style) in groups of four. Lots of people were turned away due to having headphones, USBs etc... they really mean no electronics. I was through security and inside by 8am. You go to a desk and get given a ticket number... mine was I-909 which I think meant I was the 9th immigrant visa of the day.
Then you go through into a large waiting room with lots of chairs... and numbered kiosks/windows along the right hand side (like in a bank). They started reading out the ticket numbers and windows over the loudspeaker... problem was it was impossible to hear the numbers as the sound kept cutting out! After about 20mins of worrying that we were going to miss our numbers they switched the big screen on which displayed the information clearly - that was a big relief!
After about an 1h15mins, my number popped up... I went to window 1 and was asked for MRV receipt, 2xphotos, birth certificate + copy, police certificate + copy, affidavit and supporting info (I had loads of tax transcripts, pay slips, W2s, but the only info the lady wanted was a letter from my fiancee's employer which stated her salary - she said we should keep the rest for the I-864 we would have to do for AOS!) She also took my fingerprints (electronically) and gave me my chest x-ray on a CD. And she also asked me my fiancee's name. After that she kept hold of all the documents and asked me to take a seat and wait for my number to be called again.... that first part took no more than 10 mins.
I waited for another 1h30mins and was called again... this time to a different window around the corner. My fingerprints were checked again, I had to swear that everything I had submitted was the truth, fill in my fiancees name (on the DS-156 I think) and sign it. My birth certificate and police certificate originals were returned to me. Then I was asked the following questions... but it was more of a chit chat while the interviewer typed some notes on the computer. I tried to elaborate and expand a bit on the answers which she seemed to appreciate.
1. where did you meet
2. how did you keep in touch after that
3. when did things start getting serious
4. when did you first discuss marriage/when did you propose
5. what does your fiancee do for a job.
Then I was told that my visa application had been approved! And I should expect to receive my passport within about 7 working days! I was out of the Embassy at about 10.45am, so just over 3 hours in total.
The whole experience was no big deal. If you have all your paperwork and have done some preparation you have nothing to worry about. I had two folders, one with stuff I knew I needed and one with stuff I probably didn't need but may have been required. All of the staff were very friendly and professional, they weren't trying to catch you out or trip you up.. and seemed very efficient.
I think it helped that we had a straightforward case (no criminal records, divorces etc) but I was pleasantly surprised how straightforward and easy the whole interview process was. The hardest bit was waiting for the interview to be scheduled!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #13008