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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on January 15, 2020: |
Haydnator
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I'm writing this on my fiances behalf, since he was the one who had the interview:
"The very first relief is that you can't miss the embassy. When you turn into its area, it's very clearly marked where you have to go. When I got to the security, there was a pretty big line waiting outside and I was a bit unsure what to do here. I decided I had enough time to be patient and I think that was the right call. For this first queue you just need your DS-160 confirmation and your passport ready. The bloke scanned it and looked at my passport and then told me, as I was a K1, to bypass the queue at the front desk of the main building. First I had to go through a simple airport security thing, very straightforward. Then you go through another outside area, with very clear signs directing you to the main building. There was a big queue coming right out the doors and the only way through for me was a sign marked for US citizens, so I was a bit daunted going through there and dodging the queue, especially as a Brit. Queue dodging is not in our nature! Perhaps this is the first test for getting the visa.
No worries though, that's exactly what they want K1 people to do. Skip the line, go straight to the reception desk and say you’re for a K1 visa. The nice geezer at the reception took my DS-160 print out and put a sticker on it with barcodes and, most important, a big number. He told me to go up to Level 1 in the lift and then make two lefts. I did exactly that and it took me to a small waiting area with banks of nice seats sat between big video screens and banking style window counters numbered 19 to 26 (I think). The screens would show a big number and direct that number’s owner to a window, if you're British it's pretty much like Argos. My number got called to my first window within minutes, a very pleasant woman took my finger prints, then asked for my documents one by one, following a simple checklist. From memory, she took my DS-160, then gave it back, then took my passport, then she took my photograph, scanned it and gave it back, then took my birth certificate, police certificate and i-134 form and my fiancée’s tax returns, she asked some basic questions to verify I didn't need anything else, and that was it. She gave me a sheet of paper explaining my rights in the United States and told me to wait to be called again.
I think I must have waited no more than twenty minutes for my big number to be called to the next window. There was a friendly woman who asked for my fingerprints again and to make an oath that the information I’ve given and will give is the truth. She then asked me surprisingly simple questions: When did you meet your fiancée? How many times have you met her? Where does she live in America? What does she do for a living? What do you do for a living? Then she did took out some paperwork which I recognized as the 1-129 stuff my fiancée had prepared, and she gave me back the photographs we submitted as proof of relationship, which was really nice. Especially nice to see my fiancée’s face as this moment in time! And then said my visa would be ready in about a week. Very happy! Can’t wait to see my fiancée’s face for real!
I was less than an hour in the embassy. Very impressed with the set up and the service."
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #27803