Consulate Review: London, United Kingdom
Review Topic: K1 Visa
|
| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
September 20, 2013 |
| Embassy Review : |
(Sorry, this is super long, but I appear to have had a slightly different experience to the norm...)
We arrived at 7.50am after dropping our stuff off at the pharmacy, the queue was very short. My fiance’s name was handwritten at the bottom of the printed list they have outside (we emailed in advance and got confirmation within 2 days that he could come with me - thanks to Anna on this site for her advice)
Advice on going through Security – DON’T take your handbag if you’re anything like me and have loads of stuff in there that you’d forgotten about (eg: headphones, old USB key, heated eyelash curler) – take a small bag with only the things you need for the day.
We were ticket number I909 and waited about an hour for the first interview, and another 45 minutes for the second interview – mainly, I think, because of my handbag issues…
Interiew 1 – nice American guy, very friendly. He congratulated me on our engagement (nice touch), and asked for:
•MRV payment confirmation
•He asked if I’d booked the courier for my passport, but didn’t want to see confirmation
•My birth certificate
•Police certificates x 2
•Took my fingerprints
•D156K form - he then realised he had a copy of that already and gave it back to me.
•He asked me to put my name on the back of my 2 American sized passport photos, which I did, then he said he didn’t need those and gave them back to me.
•He asked me to sign the DS2001 Part II (I think), and write my fiance’s name on it.
•i134 form, which I gave to him along with my fiance’s bank statements
•I explained immediately that I was self-supporting, and handed him a signed summary of my assets (I can’t remember who suggested I did that, but it was a great idea, and made it all go very smoothly), and said that I had evidence for all of them. He asked for statements for a couple of the items on my summary, which I provided. He said he didn’t need the rest.
•He gave me my TB screening CD in an envelope.
When he was checking the i134, he seemed unsure about whether it was a photocopy or an original document, as my fiancé had signed it in black ink. I said “oh, if you need him to sign it again, he’s just in the waiting room!” at which point he said, “no that’s fine, but why didn’t you bring him up here with you?” (in a nice way). I said that I didn’t think that was allowed, and he said that not only was it allowed but that it was encouraged, and I should bring him with me to the second interview.
Agree with others who suggest having one file with the stuff that you know you need, and another with the stuff that they might ask you about (eg: petition or application paperwork). Makes it so much easier and less stressful.
Interview 2 – I know a lot of people have said that the first interview was the tough one and the second was just a nice chat, but I had the opposite experience. We went up to the second interview together, and had a young, very serious, guy. My fingerprints were checked, and I took the oath.
The first thing he said was “so, you’ve travelled a lot” and quizzed me about some of the countries I’ve visited in the last 10 years, recording details – including the tour operator in one case. I guess having visited certain countries sets off a trigger for more questions? The ones he asked about were North Korea, China, Turkey, Russia, Jordan, Nepal. Most were holidays, a couple were work trips, he seemed satisfied.
He then said “so, you met in 1997? How did your relationship progress from there?” And that’s where it all went wrong. I explained that we’d met and really liked each other but we had been young and emotionally immature and so we never told each other how much we liked each other so we never really got together, but that we’d spent a lot of time hanging out and talking, then stayed in contact on and off for a few years when I was seeing someone else, and then lost contact for about 10 years before we reconnected online. He then spent 5 minutes quizzing me on what I was doing in Prague (gap year travel), what my fiancé was doing in Prague (visiting a friend who was living there – “what friend?” and “what is their relationship?”), and the date when we lost touch. Well, that’s tricky, you don’t tend to know the specific date you lose touch with someone!
Finally he moved on to (more relevant?) questions about when my fiance found me again online last year, at least I knew all the exact dates! He asked about our more recent relationship and how that developed, what was it that attracted me to my fiancé, and why it was different this time around.
He asked whether my fiancé had ever visited me in the UK (when he was standing right next to me!). Yes, twice. Did he come over specifically for the interview? No, he booked his tickets before we knew the date, but we’d hoped that it would coincide (thanks to Visa Journey Timelines...).
He asked if I had met my fiancé’s family, I said that I had met his mother a number of times and also several of his cousins and aunts. He asked about his father, and I said that he wasn’t around. He asked me why, and I had to explain that he had left the family when my fiancé was 1 year old, and so he wasn’t around at all.
He asked if my fiancé had met my family, and I said no, because they live in Australia, however he had met all my close friends and their families. He asked when I was last in Australia, and I said it had been about 6/7 years since I was last back. He asked why it had been so long, and I explained that I’d lived in the UK for 16 years and my life was there, and that I wasn’t that close to my family, however my parents visit the UK every year and they are coming to the wedding. He then asked me why I wasn’t close to my family, so I had to explain that my mother and I had had problems since I was a child, and that I moved out of home at 18 and had supported myself from then on.
He asked how, and how often, my fiancé and I communicated. Daily, via a combination of email / online chat / videochat / texts. He asked for proof – I provided 6 screenshots of Google search results (over the last 6 months) which show that we interact on a daily basis. He then asked to see the (20) photos I’d brought with us, and questioned only two – one was with my fiance’s Aunt at our wedding venue, and the other was the only time he smiled – a photo of us together in 1997. I had Facebook screenshots as well, he didn’t want to see those.
He asked me to move away, so he could talk to my fiance alone (explaining that as a US citizen he had a right to privacy), and asked him about his DUI 6 years ago, and about some medical debt he has, and asked him if I knew about them (which I do). That felt kind of odd – surely the petition checks that stuff out? I’m not sure what would have happened if my fiancé wasn’t there.
He then brought me back and asked what my fiancé did, he is currently on disability. He asked what I did, and asked about how I would support us in the US. I answered, and offered to give him the same financial information I had given previously (I had copies), he declined but went away and came back so I guess he checked it?
FINALLY he said that he was approving our application!
He asked if I’d booked my flight, I said no, the embassy advice was to wait until approval, he said I shouldn’t book a flight with a short connection, to allow time to go through border control. I’m not sure whether that was standard advice or whether I’m going to get another grilling at border control, but the visa is approved, so surely that’s a done deal?
The questioning felt more intense and challenging than I’d been expecting – I don’t know if between us we’d set off some red flags, or whether the guy was just new and going through all the processes to the letter. (Asking whether my fiancé had ever visited me in the UK when he was standing right next to me makes me think the latter…)
Note on visa/passport delivery – when you get the email saying it’s ready to collect (for me, yesterday - exactly a week after my interview), if you’ve agreed to pick it up from a collection point, wait 24 hours. I had the day off so drove down to pick it up and was told it wouldn’t be ready till the next day (I’m not the only one, they have complained to the Embassy several times – teething problems I guess…). However what they also told me was that the hours advertised on the site aren’t correct. South London says they’re open for collection 10am-4pm Monday to Friday. Apparently they’re open 8am–6pm Monday – Friday and 8am–12pm on Saturday. I double checked this and they confirmed that yes, I could come down on Saturday morning and pick it up, and a Beverley confirmed that she’d be there. (And the other guy gave me tips on getting home quicker to avoid traffic on the A13 – lovely people!)
To all of you reading this in preparation for your interview - good luck! Bring a book - but don't expect to be able to concentrate on it - every time you hear the "beep", you'll be looking up at the screen hoping it's your number that's being called! Most of the time it won't be - I numbers are few and far between - but you have to check... x |
| Rating : |
Moderate |
|
ver 5.0