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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on February 25, 2014: |
stevensane
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I filed for my K-1 visa in early September 2013 and my interview was on Tuesday 11th February 2014.
I live in Bethnal Green in East London, so did not have to worry about an early morning train into London or getting a hotel or anything like that. I left my flat at 6.15am and got the Central Line directly to Bond Street. I usually cycle to and from work and around the city so don't get the tube often, but my naivety told me that it would be quiet. I was wrong. The tube was busy even that early in the morning.
I got to Bond Street at about 6.45am and went for some much needed coffee. I went to Gould's Pharmacy for opening at 7.15am to check in my bag and phone. Waiting their met a gentleman from Ghana named Johnson who was getting a tourist visa. Chatting with him while waiting for Gould's to open really calmed my nerves, so I was thankful for the company. When Gould's opened I went to check in my bag and phone, however I was told that phones are now allowed in the embassy. I considered not checking my bag in, but it had my lunch in it as I was going straight to work after the interview and I decided that it would be odd for me to take a box of food into the embassy so I checked it in for £3.
I walked with Johnson to queue up outside the embassy. We got there at 7.20am and there were already about 10 people in front of us. I thought that was a lot until it got to about 7.30am and I was very far forward in a queue of about 60 people.
Advice for interviewees: DON'T arrive later than 7.25am as the line really picks up around then.
In the queue I was given a small clear plastic bag and was told to put my belt, keys, wallet, phone, watch and anything else metallic in it. I was also told to take out my interview letter, passport and DS-160 form for inspection. I was checked in and then ushered to a security guard who checked my passport and guided me to the security booth. This took me up to about 7.40am.
Advice for interviewees: DO bring an umbrella if you suspect it may rain, which it often does in London. It was raining that morning and I didn't finally get into the building until 7.45am. Luckily I had brought an umbrella.
After going through the metal detector and putting my belt etc back on I went to the reception when I was given a ticket number. It was explained to me that I had to listen out for the ticket number (I-909) and go to the interview booth when it came up. I went to get a second cup of coffee from the small cafe inside the embassy (this was a mistake, that second jolt of caffeine did not help my nerves!) and took a seat next to Johnson and chatted with him to take my mind off how nerve wracking it was.
My number was called for the first time at about 8.20am. Signs were up reminding us not to have our phones on at the interview booth so I turned mine off. I went to booth 16 and a nice British man took my documents. He took my interview letter and went to find my file. While he did this I took out my passport, I-134 and supporting documents, birth certificate, police certificate and photograph. I told him I got a new passport since filing the I-129f, but he wasn't interested in the old passport and just asked for the newest one. He gave me my chest X-RAY back on a CD and asked me when I was intending on flying to the US. I told him I intended on going on 30th March but had not booked a flight yet. He took my fingerprints and asked me to got back and sit down and wait for my number to come up again. This took me to about 8.30am.
I went back and spoke to Johnson again for a bit, but he soon had his interview, got approved, wished me luck and left. I now had a jittery wait for my number to come up again, which it did at 9.10am. I was called to booth 18 this time and was greeted by a very pleasant American lady. She smiled and wished me good morning, which I tried my best to reciprocate without letting on how nervous I was. I think I did pretty well! She 'signed me in' by taking my finger prints on my right hand and gave me back my police certificate and birth certificate back.
Question #1: "So your fiancee is called Sophie. Can you tell me how you and Sophie met?"
I explained that we met in October 2010 when she was in London doing her postgraduate degree at the London School of Economics and I had just moved to London from Newcastle to do my postgraduate degree at King's College London and that we had met through my then flat-mate who was also at the LSE who had a friend from North Carolina, who had another friend from North Carolina who had met Sophie when they were both working in Beijing and they were now also at the LSE together. I made some kind of lame joke about the fortuitousness of us meeting through 3 degrees of separation like that.
Question #2: "How has the relationship progressed since October 2010?"
I explained that Sophie left London in October 2011 when we had been together for a year and moved back to New York. I explained that although Sophie had lived in New York since she was 14 (she is 27 now) she was a Chinese citizen and needed to get her US citizenship. While she was going through that process we were in a very successful long-distance relationship where I was able to visit her about once every 2/3 months and that we had decided at some point along the way to get married.
Question #3: "So, how did you propose?!"
I explained that I often get asked that and hate to disappoint people by telling them that there was no 'proposal moment', and that what really happened is that we had a practical discussion about how to continue our relationship, and the ultimate answer was for us to get married and me to move to the US. She joked "oh, so no flashmob of family and friends?" I said "alas, no, but maybe some day!".
Question #4:"Have you ever been deported or removed from the US?"
No
Question #5: "Have you ever lived anywhere outside of the UK for more than one year?"
No
Question #6: "And have you ever been cautioned, reprimanded or arrested?"
No
She looked through my file and said my medical results were "excellent" and that my affidavit of support was "excellent".
[NOTE! My fiancee is interning and working part time and therefore does not make a huge income. Her mother acted as our co-sponsor as she is a high earner. HOWEVER! her mother is not a US citizen or Legal Permanent Resident. She is a Chinese citizen living in the US for the past 16 years on a diplomatic visa. Many people on VJ told me that this meant she could not act as a co-sponsor. This is not correct, she can. She simply choose the option on the I-134 section 1) e) and provided her I-94 number. At AoS, however, your sponsor must be at USC or LPR. I just wanted to note this as it caused a huge amount of concern for me until it was confirmed that Sophie's mother could act as our co-sponsor.]
She then typed at keyboard and looked at the screen, turned back to me, smiled and said "Everything here seems in order, I am happy to tell you that your visa is approved."
GIGANTIC WAVE OF RELIEF!!!
I began laughing and thanking her and explaining how relieved I was. She smiled and was lovely, as she had been through the whole interview. She then explained that I would get a text message or email in about 10 working days telling me I could collect my passport and visa from the Houndsditch DX Depo (as that is what I opted for). She also noted that I would also received a large sealed envelope and that I was not to open that as it was for the POE border officer. She also explained that if I left the United States before AoS was completed that I would have to go through this whole process again, "So please don't do that!" she joked. This took me up to 9.30am.
I thanked her again profusely, left, and told everyone with an ear to listen for the rest of the day that I was approved and delighted!
My CEAC status was changed to 'Issued' on 13th February, and the visa was delivered and in my hands on 19th February.
Despite my nerves I could not have asked for a better experience and I am thankful to the British man and American woman for both being so pleasant.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #13931