what to take to UK interview

[WS-JW 0]

hi again all,

I have my interview in London next week and just wanted to double check I have everything I need. My list so far is this:

passport

birth certificate with 1 copy

police certificate with 1 copy

evidence of support

vaccine records that i have just had but didn't at the medical

now, it also says 2 colour photos. Is that US passport style photos? or does it mean 2 pics of me and my fiancee?

this is really all it says to bring on the letter I got. Should I bring evidence that I sent when orignally filed? like pics of us, phone bills, plane tickets etc or is that unnecessary at this stage?

another thing i am concerned about is the affidavit of support. I have one but there are so many papers from my fiancee and her father cosponsor is is complicated. and just incase it is done wrong, will bank statements of mine for the last 12 months proving i have plenty of money to look after myself be acceptable? i read on the website it can but have not heard of anyone else using it.

Also my appointment is at 9am and am getting a train at 5:30 which will arrive at kings cross around 7 - 8.

does anyone know how far the embassy is from kings cross station? is it an easy taxi journey? and finally i understand there is a place i can get the US passport photos taken near the embassy within walking distance, is that correct?

if so what is the name of this place? thank you for all your help in advance

Edited February 23, 2008 by WS-JW

[Lansbury 19]

Take exactly what it asks for on the checklist. I though the vaccine record if done after the medical went back to the doctors but as you still have them take them with you.

Take the other evidence you have just in case, but experience of people on VJ says you will not need it. Better to have it then not.

Have all the documents they ask for on the checklist in the order they are on the checklist, that is how they usually ask for them.

2 colour US size passport photos

There is a place in Oxford Street which does them, someone will post the name I can't remember it, and there is a booth in the visa waiting area inside the Embassy.

Kings Cross to the Embassy by taxi that time of day if busy 20 minutes tops. More like 5 - 10 minutes.

Your bank statements might help, always best to take them. The support relies mainly on your sponsors but if you can show liquid assets that can only be in your favour.

Edited February 23, 2008 by Lansbury

[Lansbury 19]

should have added best of luck

[Sal and Jay 2]

I was reading you post and congratulations on passing your Driving Test Im dreading it, lol

[piggulet 0]

My fiance went for his medical at Knightsbridge last week and swung by the Embassy just to check walk times, and stuff. He said it was posted that you should have a copy of your DS-156 (all three pages). This information was not in the checklist but was posted at the entrance for the embassy. It also said you should bring a letter of appointment and the fee.

Just a heads-up--because the DS-156 is not in the checklist.

Paul's appointment is this Friday, Feb. 29 at 9 am.

Best of luck to you....and to my baby!!!

-Kimberly

[WS-JW 0]

thanks for all your replies. Can anyone confirm how expensive the passport booth is in the US Embassy?

and, are you saying I should do the DS-156 online form again and print it to take with me?

[bakofoil 27]

hi again all,

I have my interview in London next week and just wanted to double check I have everything I need. My list so far is this:

passport

birth certificate with 1 copy

police certificate with 1 copy

evidence of support

vaccine records that i have just had but didn't at the medical

now, it also says 2 colour photos. Is that US passport style photos? or does it mean 2 pics of me and my fiancee?

this is really all it says to bring on the letter I got. Should I bring evidence that I sent when orignally filed? like pics of us, phone bills, plane tickets etc or is that unnecessary at this stage?

another thing i am concerned about is the affidavit of support. I have one but there are so many papers from my fiancee and her father cosponsor is is complicated. and just incase it is done wrong, will bank statements of mine for the last 12 months proving i have plenty of money to look after myself be acceptable? i read on the website it can but have not heard of anyone else using it.

Also my appointment is at 9am and am getting a train at 5:30 which will arrive at kings cross around 7 - 8.

does anyone know how far the embassy is from kings cross station? is it an easy taxi journey? and finally i understand there is a place i can get the US passport photos taken near the embassy within walking distance, is that correct?

if so what is the name of this place? thank you for all your help in advance

So sorry, I have only just spotted this thread.

Thanks to Lansbury and Piggulet for their valuable advice. I will be going through this soon so this info is very useful.

I have a couple of things to add to their comments;

There is a VJer called weedebz who presented bank statements at the interview along with the sponsor and co-sponsor info and the embassy saw her bank balance (c. £9k) and didn't even bother to check the I-134 package she took with her. So, it is a good thing to have a back-up plan of your own if you can.

I know everyone using a co-sponsor (including me) has concerns but it seems that London is pretty flexible on this.

I also think you should take your original K1 package plus any communication evidence you have gathered since filing. As Lansbury said, most people say that the CO doesn't even ask to see this - but I think, and this is ONLY my opinion, if you look like you have a lot of evidence then they won't ask to see it.

I would also take copies of all the forms you submitted in Packet 3 - so yes, that would include the DS-156.

I think the key here is to be prepared then complain later that you need not have bothered preparing all this stuff

[Lansbury 19]

There is a VJer called weedebz who presented bank statements at the interview along with the sponsor and co-sponsor info and the embassy saw her bank balance (c. £9k) and didn't even bother to check the I-134 package she took with her. So, it is a good thing to have a back-up plan of your own if you can.

I know everyone using a co-sponsor (including me) has concerns but it seems that London is pretty flexible on this.

I think there is more to this than that. £9k in assets is about a third of what would be needed for a 2 person family, if the couple were married, to cover the required income for 3 years using assets. No one else has reported on VJ that the London Embassy has done anything but require the financial requirements to be met.

When you hand the paperwork over you are asked to sit down again while the Consular officer looks at it, there is no way to be sure what has been looked at and what hasn't. They spent about 5 minutes looking at our paperwork so I surmise it wasn't examined to closely or in great detail, but I have no way of knowing for sure just what they looked at and what they didnt.

[mustang-sally 8]

There is a VJer called weedebz who presented bank statements at the interview along with the sponsor and co-sponsor info and the embassy saw her bank balance (c. £9k) and didn't even bother to check the I-134 package she took with her. So, it is a good thing to have a back-up plan of your own if you can.

I know everyone using a co-sponsor (including me) has concerns but it seems that London is pretty flexible on this.

I think there is more to this than that. £9k in assets is about a third of what would be needed for a 2 person family, if the couple were married, to cover the required income for 3 years using assets. No one else has reported on VJ that the London Embassy has done anything but require the financial requirements to be met.

When you hand the paperwork over you are asked to sit down again while the Consular officer looks at it, there is no way to be sure what has been looked at and what hasn't. They spent about 5 minutes looking at our paperwork so I surmise it wasn't examined to closely or in great detail, but I have no way of knowing for sure just what they looked at and what they didnt.

I had bank statements with me that showed over £30k in assets but never showed them, I took them as a last resort. I gave the I-134 package to them, this was accepted so I didnt bother volunteering any more. I had read that if you was self funding then you had to declare that in packet 3 so I only took my bank statements on the off chance as further evidence should they query the I-134.

[bakofoil 27]

There is a VJer called weedebz who presented bank statements at the interview along with the sponsor and co-sponsor info and the embassy saw her bank balance (c. £9k) and didn't even bother to check the I-134 package she took with her. So, it is a good thing to have a back-up plan of your own if you can.

I know everyone using a co-sponsor (including me) has concerns but it seems that London is pretty flexible on this.

I think there is more to this than that. £9k in assets is about a third of what would be needed for a 2 person family, if the couple were married, to cover the required income for 3 years using assets. No one else has reported on VJ that the London Embassy has done anything but require the financial requirements to be met.

When you hand the paperwork over you are asked to sit down again while the Consular officer looks at it, there is no way to be sure what has been looked at and what hasn't. They spent about 5 minutes looking at our paperwork so I surmise it wasn't examined to closely or in great detail, but I have no way of knowing for sure just what they looked at and what they didnt.

Well, I'm just quoting what she told us on VJ here but I have no direct experience of the interview myself so I am inclined to trust your word on not knowing for sure what was looked at and what wasn't.

Anyway, I wasn't suggesting that WS-JW relies on his/her own funds alone. Just saying it's a good thing to have some proof of self-funding as a back-up or supplement to the sponsorship stuff.

Also, I was trying to find a thread I read a long time ago that stated some flexibility about the beneficiary meeting any shortfall in income. I'm sorry I can't find it now so I suppose the message here is have a sponsor or co-sponsor who can prove earnings of 125% poverty level and if you have some assets of your own, all the better.

[Lansbury 19]

Well, I'm just quoting what she told us on VJ here but I have no direct experience of the interview myself so I am inclined to trust your word on not knowing for sure what was looked at and what wasn't.

Anyway, I wasn't suggesting that WS-JW relies on his/her own funds alone. Just saying it's a good thing to have some proof of self-funding as a back-up or supplement to the sponsorship stuff.

I fully appreciated what you were saying and that you were quoting someone else, however I did think it prudent to make the point I did. The person who you hand the documents too, isn't the person who reviews them or makes the decision.

You point of having a proof you can self fund is a good backup, all I was trying to do was make sure people didn't accept what a person thought had been checked and what hadn't as reliable information however well intentioned.

[bakofoil 27]

I fully appreciated what you were saying and that you were quoting someone else, however I did think it prudent to make the point I did. The person who you hand the documents too, isn't the person who reviews them or makes the decision.

You point of having a proof you can self fund is a good backup, all I was trying to do was make sure people didn't accept what a person thought had been checked and what hadn't as reliable information however well intentioned.

I agree. You were right to point that out. I could have worded things better in retrospect.

[WS-JW 0]

Ok, I think I have everything ready to go:

passport

interview appointment letter

birth certificate with copy

police certificate with copy

affidavit of support I-134 with that persons tax returns etc

my own bank statements

proof of MMR and TDAP vaccines at my local GP (probably won't need it yet)

copy of the origianl DS-156 and 156k I sent before

photos of me and my fiance

telephone bills from last 6 months showing how much i've called USA (like everynight)

is there anything i have missed? the only thing i don't have is the 2 US passport style photos.

can someone please reply and tell me the name and location of the place that does them and if it's within walking distance of the embassy, or if there is one in the embassy, how much does it cost?

thanks for your help everyone

Edited February 26, 2008 by WS-JW

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

is there anything i have missed? the only thing i don't have is the 2 US passport style photos.

can someone please reply and tell me the name and location of the place that does them and if it's within walking distance of the embassy, or if there is one in the embassy, how much does it cost?

thanks for your help everyone

Passport Photo Service

449 Oxford Street

London W1C 2PS

020 7629 8540

http://www.passportphoto.co.uk/

I've used these guys in the past for photos for a US passport. Up several flights of steps, so if you don't mind climbing... Quite near the Embassy.

Also these guys:

Gould Pharmacy

37 North Audley Street

London W1K 6ZL

020 7495 6298

http://www.gouldpharmacy.com/Photos.asp

They are on the way to the Embassy, so MUCH more convenient. They also claim to get you your photos in 2 minutes. The other guys took about 5-10, if I can recall correctly.

Good luck!