Consulate Review: London, United Kingdom
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
October 3, 2013 |
| Embassy Review : |
It was with great trepidation that I woke this morning after a fitful night of dreams - the usual angsty “I dreamt I woke up 100 miles away and had 2 hours to get to the interview - possible but not that likely”. I’d been particularly concerned because I knew that whilst I had all the right credentials, I have a wonderful fiancee, and I am a valid beneficiary of a K-1 visa, I had the wrong sort of affidavit of support. I had the I-864 rather than the I-134 - this was on the incorrect advice of my lawyer. Incidentally, for most people with some resource, commitment and initiative, a little time spent on VJ is a much better option than the lazy spending of a (very) good few hundred quid on an inept lawyer...
I was feeling terribly jittery in the cab on the way over. I tried to think how I could calm myself - I imagined if it was my fiancee facing the interview with, possibly, inadequate documentation and I was trying to comfort her. I imagined I’d tell her “everything will be okay, if it doesn’t work out today it will be disappointing but we’ll get the right form and evidence couriered over very soon and this will delay things by a week or so, everything will still be okay”. I found it a useful exercise that was effective in the way that “calm down, Joe” isn’t!
I had an 8.00 appointment this morning and turned up at 6.45. I was fifth in the queue at that point, by 7.30 there were about 50 people in the queue and by 8.00, probably a 100. I got chatting to guy in front of me, who turned out to be a pilot for Virgin, cool! We spoke about various things - my take on the torturously long K-1 ordeal, hearing about where he lived, what his job’s like, the visa process for flight crew - nice chatter, an opportunity to share but not compare relative experiences - ultimately some welcome respite from the nerves.
They made the usual announcement: “make sure you have your ds-160, you will be turned away if you don’t have it.” I would have been concerned if helpful VJers hadn’t already pointed out that this is only a non-immigrant form and nothing to be concerned about. Whilst queuing they told us to have our passports and ds-160s out (I needed my appointment letter and passport), we get given transparent plastic bags for our belts, wallets, keys and coins. My poor pilot friend, who’d been here since 6.30, was caught out by this and sent away. After passport and appointment letter are checked, people 3-4 at a time are let into the security booth where airport-style security check is in force (x-ray possessions and metal detector for us). After that, I walk around the side of the building (the right side of the fence), this already feels like an achievement!
Into the building, under the watchful eyes of oil portraits of former US ambassadors to the Court of St James’s, I have another check of appointment letter and passport, then given a number for the queuing system - I was I-902 (I stands for immigrant, non-immigrants had N preceding their numbers). They ask if I’m planning to leave in the next 7 days, I’m not, but this makes me think they’d accommodate you with an expedited service if needs be. We get sent upstairs to the left for the waiting room - a cavernous, light, high-ceilinged room with a row of some 15 counters to the right and another 10-15 down a corridor to their right. It felt nice to be the fourth person in a room full of 150 empty chairs. I while away the time chatting to another VJer, going to join her fiance in New York, a little more calm descends.
The windows start opening up slowly at 8, the first few numbers are called over the tannoy proceeding a beep. The announcements mainly stop after a critical mass of new windows open and the rate of beeps increases to 5-6 every minute. At this point, you have to watch the big screen above the cafe or risk the admonishment of the announcer.
I see my number on the screen around 8.05, they’re not in strict order, I was about 7th or 8th. I head towards counter 1 and a very pleasant woman of Asian descent. I get asked for the usual:
-passport
-birth certificate
-police certificate
-2 US-style passport photos
-appointment letter
-MRV receipt
But she also asks me for my forms (ds-156, 157, 157k and 230 pts 1 & 2) because they didn’t have them! Luckily I had copies. I ask if this is normal, she says there’s a big back-up at the moment. I think the only reason I got the interview today was an email plea via the contact form to do things as quickly as possible as my fiancee is pregnant.
She asks me, by name, for the I-134
-”I only have the I-864”
-”it’s the wrong form”
-”I’m afraid it’s the only one I have”
She ponders a moment, takes it, asks if I have the W2, I hand it to her with my fiancee’s tax return, she only wants the W2. She wants an employer’s letter or pay stub. I hand her a printed out copy of the latter. I felt like it was precarious at that point but I believe she was placated by the fact I’d been employed by the same company for 12 years. At this point she makes a joke - I gratefully laugh and relax. It’s now that I know everything will be fine but still find it hard to fully accept. I had a load of other documentation to prove I wouldn’t be a burden (bank statements, security accounts, my tax returns) but as so many people have said here before, it’s nice to know you have some back-up ammo that’s never used...
She takes the documents and sends me back to the seating area and that I should expect the next interview around 8.45. My number reappears on the screen and I head down the corridor for interview 2. This is uneventful, given by a warm African-American woman. I make my oath, confirm I have never committed any crimes or been married. She asks me a few of the usual questions (when did we meet, how did we meet, how many times have we been over to see each other, where is she from, which part of the state is she from, how did we get engaged...) It felt like a formality at this point. By the end she said something like “as I’m sure you know, you’ve got your visa. I should expect it by the end of next week, but to be safe give it another week on top.” Wonderful, wonderful!
She tells me to take a moment to collect all my things because she full well appreciates that this pronouncement hits everyone like a foam mallet, imparting a combination of bedazzlement and a millstone lifted. I wander back into the waiting room towards the ‘No exit’ sign before coming slightly closer to my senses and heading back the way I came.
I’m out the exit, past the police with guns, past the still-100-deep-queue, into the fresh air. I’m so happy, the only tangible thought going through my head is that this is real - I’m a native in a foreign land, my home is now Boston.... |
| Rating : |
Very Good |
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ver 5.0