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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on January 18, 2019: |
peanutismint
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Pretty standard visit, though a lot longer than I was expecting given some of the "in and out in 20 minutes" that I'd heard here...! (this is my last chance to partake in the national British pastime of "moaning" so please indulge me!)
10:30am appointment so left from Cardiff around 5:30am; parked at Westfield shopping centre near Shepherd's Bush, £6 to stay all day! If you set up an account with credit card it'll take payment automatically from your car number plate. Then got underground (1 x change) to Vauxhall.
Arrived at embassy 10:15am, security was a breeze but then we were all left queueing outside in the freezing cold for another 15-20 mins; could've done without that.
Only waited about 5 mins for first interview; asked to provide passport, birth cert, police cert, I-134 form; he asked for proof of my sponsor's earnings and luckily I'd got a copy of their recent tax return so all was fine. Fingerprints taken.
Then I unfortunately had to wait about 45 mins for my second interview. It wasn't very busy but they only had one person (as far as I could see) doing secondary interviews. I was amazed how open the booths were; I was hearing the full dirty details of everybody's salacious past visa offences/deportations/deaths in the family....something to bear in mind.....!
Anyway, the 45 min wait wouldn't have been too annoying if it weren't for the families with kids who have no sense of acceptable behaviour for a situation like that. One kid kept stomping on the metal floor grates and could be heard throughout the entire building; his mother didn't seem to care. Another family with 5 x kids decided it would be fine for them to use the Embassy as their own personal playground, so they were rolling around the floors, chasing around tripping over people's bags, hiding in the interview booths while people were trying to take oaths etc....! Kind of annoying/offputting when you're trying to stay calm on one of the most important days of your life...!
Ok rant over.
45 mins later, second interview; took less than 5 mins. Was asked to raise my right hand and swear an oath. That was fun. Asked about how I met my fiancée, how many times we'd visited, when we got engaged, who was supporting me financially, what I hoped to do for work there etc... Then told "I'm pleased to tell you we're going to be able to approve your visa". Amazing words to hear after all these months of forms and learning and waiting!!
Should hopefully have email confirmation soon and pick up my passport in a week or so. They also asked me when I hoped to fly out to the US; I told them "first few weeks of February" (I didn't feel comfortable telling them I'd already found a really cheap one-way flight for the 9th and booked it!) and they said "yeah that'll be fine".
SO exciting to be approved and starting the next chapter of my life; I've dreamed of moving to the USA since I was about 9 years old and now it's finally happening I can't quite take it in. Now onto the real fun - adjusting my status!!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #25406