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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on March 1, 2014: |
TAB2TAB
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I stayed at the Lincoln House hotel at Gloucester Place the night before my interview. I was scheduled for 10 am, and arrived at the Embassy at 9:15 and joined the left-hand queue to check in. Five minutes later, I showed my letter of appointment to the very friendly check-in lady. I then joined the right-hand queue to go through security. This took about 10 minutes and they took us through, 4 people at a time. Interestingly, when they had us go through the airport-like security, they told us to put our loose change, belts, AND mobile phones in a tray. So… to echo more recent reviews, it appears that mobile phones are now being allowed through security. Don’t bet your future on our observation alone, however!
After security, I turned to the right and went around to the side of the building, went up some steps into the building and to the main reception area. I presented my passport and letter of appointment, and a gentleman affixed my ticket number, I-924, to my appointment letter. I then entered the main waiting area which was full. I sat down and started watching The Monitor, which would emit a “ping” every 10-20 seconds on average, at which point, every head in the room would look up to the screen then look back down. It was rather comical, kind of like watching a tennis match that is vertical instead of horizontal.
After an hour and 15 minutes, my number came up and I went to booth 16. A pleasant young man asked me for my letter of appointment, passport, police certificate and copy, birth certificate and copy, I-134 and copy, and proof of income. I offered the 2012 and 2013 W2s, IRS transcript from 2012, original employment letter, and paystubs over past year, along with copies of all; however, all he wanted was the most recent W2 and copy. He also asked for my passport photos, of which he scanned one of them, then returned them both to me. He also gave me a data CD with my chest x-ray results. He then recorded my fingerprints on the scanner, and issued me to my seat.
I settled back into my chair prepared for a long wait, but was astonished that after 10 minutes, my ticket number came up again and I was asked to go to booth number 14. I was greeted by the now infamous beautiful African American lady, who put me instantly at ease with a huge smile and a “Hi! How are you?”
She confirmed my identity by scanning my fingerprints again, and then asked me to swear on oath that everything in our application as well as what I say in my interview today is accurate and truthful. My answer was “I do!” almost anticipating my forthcoming marriage vows. She then returned my original documents that had been requested at the first booth.
She then proceeded to ask me several questions:
How did you meet? How did your relationship progress? Who proposed to whom? Have you ever been arrested, cautioned or reprimanded? What does your partner do for work? It felt very conversation and not like an interrogation as I answered each of her questions. She closed the file, squared it away, looked me directly in the eye, and said “Sir,” and then paused: “Your visa is approved.” I was somewhat overcome with the emotion, and through tears I managed to say “Thank you!” and she handed me some tissues through the bomb-proof windows, obviously prepared by similar reactions in the past.
All in all, I was in and out in just about 2 hours. I power walked back to the hotel to get my mobile phone to call my fiancé and he was still asleep (5 hours behind) not expecting me to be out so soon. The phone ring finally awakened him and we got to share the amazing moment that all of our efforts had been rewarded! javascript:emoticon(' ')javascript:emoticon('')javascript:emoticon('')
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #13981