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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on May 11, 2015: |
Limey
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I was impressed how well things moved in London, having spent months in the Texas Service Center tar pit!
My medical was 10th April 2015 and 2 weeks later I got a letter inviting me to interview on 8th May - less than a month after the medical.
My appointment time was 1pm but I knew I'd probably spend a long time waiting inside. My letter said they would not admit me to the embassy before 1230, so I waited a few minutes until that time and then joined the short queue outside. There was a little temporary shelter with a couple of girls checking basic documents (invitation letter, DS160 receipt, passport) and they then directed me to the security queue.
A short wait and then I was admitted to the airport-style security. This was very quick and efficient. In the past you could not bring in mobile phones, but that is fine now (tablets are okay too, but not laptops).
I followed the signs to the visa entrance and queued for a short time at the reception desk before being given a ticket number and pointed to the waiting room.
You wait in a large room with a video screen waiting for your ticket number to come up. My ticket number was i925 but I saw only N and V numbers coming up. But after about 1pm I numbers started appearing - I think they switch from non-immigrant visas to immigrant ones in the afternoon.
I waited a good hour or so until my number was called. Up to the desk and you're told to present only the documents they ask for. I had them all well prepared to hand. It was a British man at the desk. I was then sent back to wait.
After another 45 minutes or so my ticket number came up again and I went to the window indicated. This time it was an American lady. She was very friendly - it did not feel like an interrogation or grilling. She asked a bit about how we met, whether i'd met my wife-to-be's family (i have) and whether either of us had been married before and/or had kids. She checked that she had my fiances divorce certificate, and some other paper work. She asked if I'd visited since meeting my fiance - I told her I had - 6 times (!) plus one in Canada when US immigration told me I was visiting too often (she laughed).
Then suddenly she said "congratulations, your visa is approved1". I hadn't expected anything else, but it was still a very happy moment. I smiled and thanked her.
The process took about 3 hours, most of it waiting around. But I have no complaints - it was efficient, organised and none of the hassles and surprises i routinely encountered in the UAE where I previously lived. 3 hours is no time at all having waited 6.5 months with nothing happening at Texas.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #16800