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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on April 13, 2015: |
DaveBrit73
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
I attended my IR-1 visa interview at the US Embassy - London, on March 27th, 2015.
After reading online that queues can be horrendous, I decided to arrive early, at 6.30am for my 8am appointment. I was the 3rd person in line when I arrived. Within 20 minutes or so, the queue (line?) was up to 50 people or so. By 7.15am, there were over 100 people queued up, including a UK TV presenter and singer (think "The Voice"), a coach-load of Royal Navy sailors and some sort of random grungey-looking rock band!
The process started around 7.30am. They set-up a gazebo and a couple of desks outside, then start checking people, whilst another person starts splitting the queue.
I was the first person queued-up for an immigrant visa and was the 3rd person through the simple security check. You can keep mobile phones with you, they're only really concerned about laptops or bigger. After security you turn right and head around to the entrance, where they check your passport and appointment letter, then apply a sticker to all your documents. Mine was I901 - Immigrant visa number 1 for the day.
After this, you sit in a huge 1970's style waiting room, with a big screen at one end, which will eventually show your number and which window to go to. Mine flashed up as Window 1, at 8am. You present all your documents to the guy behind the window. Then he takes your finger prints. Gives you a pink slip and sends you to another window to pay the visa fee. Once this is done, you go back to him, give him the slip and take a seat.
Eventually, your number will reappear - this is for your interview. You go around the corner to another, quieter set of windows and see the consular officer. You swear the oath, then she reviews the paperwork and I was asked the following:
"I'm concerned you wont have enough money as your sponsor's (retired father-in-law) income is border-line"
I presented a letter from my company showing my current salary in USD. That was sufficient.
The lady (who was from the same town as my wife and knows the exact street she lived on!) then said "I'm happy to say you're approved, you'll receive your visa within two weeks"
...and that was it. Done.
The queuing out in the cold wasn't much fun, but it was well worth getting there early. I was out of there by 9am.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #16572