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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on July 24, 2019: |
Howins
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My appointment was for 11.30am, and I arrived at 10:30am. The queue to get into the building was huge (trailing back around the building), but by 11am I was checked in and through security. Despite the fact my appointment letter told me to be there no more than 15 minutes early, I think because they were so busy, they were letting people in slightly early just to process the queue. I was definitely glad I had arrived as early as I did.
There were two lines queuing out of the embassy building doors, so I approached a staff member and asked where I should go for a K1 visa. She told me to join the queue, but after 10 minutes of not moving, I knew something was wrong -- and I had previously read on here that K1 visas skip the queue and go straight to the reception desk. When she came back out of the doors to manage the queue, I asked her again -- and this time she took me to the front desk and checked me in. She said it was lucky that I had queried it, as by that point, it was 11.20am -- just ten minutes before my interview!
Crisis averted, I went up one floor via the lift, turned immediately left and walked to the end of the room, and then turned left again. The waiting area for immigration surprisingly wasn't very busy, and I was seen by the first officer within about 20 minutes. He took my picture, passport, birth certificate, police report and I-134, as well as my fiance's employer letter and tax return. He was really friendly and we joked back and forth as he scanned my fingerprints. All over and done with in about five minutes.
Then I sat back down and had a nice (and nervous!) chat to a lovely chap who was sat next to me about our respective visa journeys. Within about 40-50 minutes, I was called to the interview portion. Again, the officer was so friendly and asked how I was. I told him very nervous, and he said there was no need to be. I swore an oath that all the information I was giving him was true and correct and he asked a few simple questions about how my fiance and I met, how often we saw each other, where he lived and what he did for a living. Then he told me he was going to approve my visa and said it would be just about late enough that my fiance should be awake for me to call him.
I thanked him effusively and was off on my merry way to celebrate, which I did with a bottle of bubbly.
My advice to others is to not let yourself get as nervous as I was -- be prepared, of course, but the interview was nowhere near as bad as I was imagining.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #26722