The 2009 United Kingdom Interview Thread!

[KnightAndMagpie 7]

Grats Nik and Heather .

I'm a bit stressed myself, and I've been trying to put it out of my mind, but the embassy's told me it'll take between 10 and 15 working days from when I sent my passport for them to get it back to me because I was in AP. If I don't have it back mid-week next week, I'm going to change my flight date and hope that it comes...thankums for the reassurance, Emma.

Magpie.

[MARM 7]

Little late but congrats MARM, after all you've been through you deserve it.

Thanks, its not late at all!

And thanks everyone else for the best wishes as well.

Congrats to Nik+Heather for your 4th June interview date, will update the list now.

Magpie, paul., Kat&Allie, and Alixhilary: I hope that you guys get your visas in hand ASAP!!!

[MARM 7]

January 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London
Jason&Sarah, Hannah+Vito, Mrssmith, ShannonNick, adrianandlinsay, Marmite Lovers!

February 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London
Rob&Dawn, Zoe and Hal, Terri and Seb, Talyss, TeeKol

March 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London
Stinky Monkey, skparker, Laurence+Lauren, pothergavel, paumanda, texpat cymru, obbynox, jhonscotland, Caminic, Furious Biscuit, ahlpo, jojo_gee

April 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London
DairyFarmer, skeez&titanic, SwanTiger, miss g, LondonLad, niniel71, mr and mrs, Stinkerpotsam, Marty J, prima and jay, Helen&Dougie, KAT&Allie, KnightAndMagpie, paul., Kirsten UK, Colinjess

May 2009 Interviews
1st May 2009.....Graziumphry..................K-1
1st May 2009.....emma77........................K-1
5th May 2009.....Monkey Juice.................K-1
5th May 2009.....Gemmie.........................K-1
12th May 2009....MARM...........................K-1- APPROVED PENDING PASSPORT
12th May 2009....mrs_sdp.......................K-1- APPROVED PENDING MEDICAL
15th May 2009....H&V..............................K-1
19th May 2009....laura819.......................K-1
22nd May 2009...PB&JAM.........................K-1
29th May 2009...Bob and Patricia.............K-1

June 2009 Interviews
1st June 2009......JimandChristy...............K-1
4th June 2009......Nik+Heather.................K-1
12th June 2009....Ellie-and-David..............K-1


Still waiting for approval
stevi1123..........16th October 2008 - Approved pending additional documentation
Marie620..........12th January 2009 - Denied
Dave and Jess..10th March 2009 ?
The Dip Sticks..25th March 2009 ?
Alixhilary..........27th April 2009- Approved pending additional documentation

= APPROVED

Updates/New entries/changes highlighted in blue - will go to normal color in the next update.

Please let us know if you have an Interview Date to add to the list, updated information or corrections.

[paul. 0]

Damian, I had totally forgot about that....too funny mate. But yeah, I've had pretty shitty luck throughout this visa fiasco, but I'm approved and that's all that matters at the end of the day. But I'm missing tornado season in Oklahoma, so it'd better hurry up and get here so I can go chasing!

[Marty J 0]

Thanks, its not late at all!

Some more belated congrats here!

[KAT&Allie 0]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah so sorry to hear about you missing your wedding day. did they give you a time for when it will be done? can you get back any of the money you spent on your wedding, you know venue and such.???

So am I, believe me . And all we wanted is to be together. Who would have thought we had to put up with so much cr*p?! The major expense was the caterer and we had to put down 75% deposit which we lost but overall I'd rather lose it all and be together than this. Money is money, it comes and goes but the moments that we haven't spent together be reclaimed. We'll just have to live longer to make up for the lost time

On a different note, Nik got packet 4 today, and our interview is June 4, 8am!!! Hoping the medical follow up is completed in time! I am just thrilled!

YEA!!! Glad you finally got the date. Good luck and all.

Just to keep you all posted with my story, I had an email from the Embassy last night (after I sent the 2nd coded email to them this week) that said

"Unfortunately we were misinformed by the Immigrant Visa Unit and you visa was not issued until today (13th). Your passport has passed to the courier service for delivery to you.

Sincerely,

Consular Information Unit

CONS/VISAS/CIU/ak ".

I simply don't believe them any more and until I actually see my passport, I won't be able to believe whatever they say. Note that they didn't apologise or offer any explanation. That would be too much to expect, I suppose...

I did call the couriers this morning and of course they haven't received anything for me. At this point, I'd be more surprised if they said, yes, they have something to deliver to me.

Anyway, that's the story so far.

[MissusM09 1]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah so sorry to hear about you missing your wedding day. did they give you a time for when it will be done? can you get back any of the money you spent on your wedding, you know venue and such.???

So am I, believe me . And all we wanted is to be together. Who would have thought we had to put up with so much cr*p?! The major expense was the caterer and we had to put down 75% deposit which we lost but overall I'd rather lose it all and be together than this. Money is money, it comes and goes but the moments that we haven't spent together be reclaimed. We'll just have to live longer to make up for the lost time

On a different note, Nik got packet 4 today, and our interview is June 4, 8am!!! Hoping the medical follow up is completed in time! I am just thrilled!

YEA!!! Glad you finally got the date. Good luck and all.

Just to keep you all posted with my story, I had an email from the Embassy last night (after I sent the 2nd coded email to them this week) that said

"Unfortunately we were misinformed by the Immigrant Visa Unit and you visa was not issued until today (13th). Your passport has passed to the courier service for delivery to you.

Sincerely,

Consular Information Unit

CONS/VISAS/CIU/ak ".

I simply don't believe them any more and until I actually see my passport, I won't be able to believe whatever they say. Note that they didn't apologise or offer any explanation. That would be too much to expect, I suppose...

I did call the couriers this morning and of course they haven't received anything for me. At this point, I'd be more surprised if they said, yes, they have something to deliver to me.

Anyway, that's the story so far.

i know this might be slightly of topic though not really because its inregards to gettign this visa. for co sponsor's can they use a driving licence and social security card as a form of id??? c.s. doesnt have passport or birth certificate???? cananyone help

thanks

[Gemmie 142]

i know this might be slightly of topic though not really because its inregards to gettign this visa. for co sponsor's can they use a driving licence and social security card as a form of id??? c.s. doesnt have passport or birth certificate???? cananyone help

thanks

I wasn't even asked for anything to show the co-sponsor's nationality or asked. I had a birth certiificate with me, but he just took her tax return (for 2008) and that was it!! I do know someone else was put on hold for not having anything though; and I know that you can get a driving lisence and SSC as a non US-citizen, so I don't know what else you could have.. maybe they could go to their registry office and get a B.C??

oooh, sounds promising, Kat&Allie... I hope you all get your passports ASAP!!

[PB&JAM 1]

Is it just me or is this week going by soooo slowly........

[Gemmie 142]

Not for me.. too much work!

[MissusM09 1]

i know this might be slightly of topic though not really because its inregards to gettign this visa. for co sponsor's can they use a driving licence and social security card as a form of id??? c.s. doesnt have passport or birth certificate???? cananyone help

thanks

I wasn't even asked for anything to show the co-sponsor's nationality or asked. I had a birth certiificate with me, but he just took her tax return (for 2008) and that was it!! I do know someone else was put on hold for not having anything though; and I know that you can get a driving lisence and SSC as a non US-citizen, so I don't know what else you could have.. maybe they could go to their registry office and get a B.C??

oooh, sounds promising, Kat&Allie... I hope you all get your passports ASAP!!

yeah but i got red head-blonde cow face. Does she deal with it when all the pending docs come in i wonder.

i'd rather not risk it, though....will have to see what happens.........better yet i will ring DOS or the exorbitant- wait too long- mostly scottish operators (???)- dont know much about anything line.

yaaaaaay

[mrs_sdp 0]

Good morning everyone!

I'm finally back from London - footsore, but with a smile on my face.

We flew into Luton early Monday morning - no problems with the journey. We picked up the Easybus at the airport and an hour and 15 minutes later we were dropping off our bags at the Lincoln House Hotel. We had the rest of the day to ourselves and had a great time seeing the sights! I would recommend the open topped tourist bus - you can hop on and off as you like and it was reasonably priced at £24 each. After dinner, we did a "trial walk" to the Embassy, just to make sure we knew where we were going! It was pretty straightforward with the map provided by Nich (thank you!)and we got there in 20 minutes ...

Tuesday morning, I arrived at the Embassy at 8.45am (for a 10am appointment). There wasn't much of a queue at all, and they let me straight in. I went through the little security point and walked around the building to the reception. The receptionist couldn't find me on the system at first and just as I was about to blow a gasket, she said "Oh, THERE you are" and printed out my ticket ...

I walked up the stairs, with ticket number 5020 grasped firmly in my hand and began my (almost) two hour wait. I was called at 11am to station number 1. The guy I spoke to was friendly and polite. He took everything slowly and double checked that I had given him all the docs that he needed. He then took fingerprints. He even took a photo copy of my passport picture page so that I had if for my medical along with my drivers' licence. As Marm said earlier, the card machine was down, but I was lucky enough to be paying in cash (£87) so that wasn't an issue.

I sat myself back down at 11.20 and tried to read my book. It was a waste of time taking my book with me lol - I couldn't concentrate on it!! I ended up watching the screen with all the numbers popping up ... I finally heard my number being called to station number 16 at 12.45pm. The consular officer was very friendly and apologised for being a little hoarse as he had a sore throat. Again, I got my finger prints taken and signed and dated one of the forms and then he asked me some questions ....

Where are you going in the USA?

Where does your fiance work, what does he do in the University and how long has he been there?

Have you ever been in trouble with the police?

What's the longest stay you've had in the USA?

How many times did you stay for 90 days?

Have you ever been in trouble with the police?

What are the plans for the wedding?

I don't know why he asked me the "have you been in trouble with the police" question twice - I haven't had even a parking ticket! I wasn't asked for any additional documentation - not even proof of relationship.

Anyway, he obviously couldn't tell me I was approved because I still had my medical to get. He just gave me the blue A4 sheet and said - "ALL we are waiting for now is the medical results - NOTHING else ok? Go and pay the courier so we can send your passport back to you". I took that as being an approval ...

Apart from the waiting around ... the experience was fine. No problems ... a doddle ....

Now for the medical .... again, we had done a walk through on the Tuesday night and knew where we were going. That took a lot of the stress away as we knew there was no chance of getting lost and being late for the appointment!

I arrived at the offices at 10am for my 10.30 appointment. I had a letter from my GP about my asthma and also a print out of my vaccinations.

After I had filled out a form in the waiting room, I saw a nurse first of all for my vaccinations. She said I was up to date except for my MMR. I asked about the TDap and she said that because I'd had the tetanus and diptheria jab in 2006 for going to Mexico, I couldn't get the one for pertussis as I would overdose on the tetanus ... YIKES! I asked if that was ALL the jabs I would need and she said yes, and that I would get the form I needed for the AOS before I left.

I then went for my X-Ray (I had to strip to the waist and was given a belted gown to wear). The radiologist was so jokey and funny - he put me at ease straight away! I was done there within five minutes and laughed all the way through it .... his patter was brilliant!

I was then asked to wait in a wee room with a couple of other gowned people. I only waited about five minutes and was called in by a nice Irish doctor called Owen. He was professional, but friendly ... He asked about my asthma and said the letter I brought with me covered everything and that it wasn't an issue. He kept up a steady conversation as he did all the medical checks - I didn't feel uncomfortable at any time. He took blood from me and also took my blood pressure. My blood pressure WAS a little high, and he asked if I had any previous problems with it. I said no .. that I'd had a check up at my clinic a couple of weeks ago and that it was fine then. He seemed to be satisfied when I said it was probably a little elevated due to the circumstances, but also said to keep an eye on it in the future ... He didn't even check my bits .. which was the part I was dreading and had prepared myself for LOL!!

In all ... I have no complaints about the medical process .. even the receptionist was nice to me!! When I was paying the bill (£180 plus £35 for MMR jab) and picking up the form I needed for my jabs, the nurse said that the results would probably be ready either Friday or Monday and would be couriered to the Embassy then. She said they would only call me if there was a problem and that I COULD CALL them on Tuesday if I was anxious about the results and wanted to put my mind at ease!

This was my first visit to London ... and I had a good time. I'm glad Mum was able to come with me, as apart from keeping me reasonable calm, she turned out to be an ACE map reader - which I had no idea about! We only got lost once ... and we still enjoyed the walk!

I have no idea when my visa will get to me .. but for now, I'm content knowing that the interview and medical is over and done with ...

Good luck to everyone ... I've lost track of who has interviews and who is waiting for visas. Give me a day and I'll be back on track lol ....

Thanks for all your support everyone ... you've been brilliant!!

Moira x

[emma77 0]

January 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London

Jason&Sarah, Hannah+Vito, Mrssmith, ShannonNick, adrianandlinsay, Marmite Lovers!

February 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London

Rob&Dawn, Zoe and Hal, Terri and Seb, Talyss, TeeKol

March 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London

Stinky Monkey, skparker, Laurence+Lauren, pothergavel, paumanda, texpat cymru, obbynox, jhonscotland, Caminic, Furious Biscuit, ahlpo, jojo_gee

April 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London

DairyFarmer, skeez&titanic, SwanTiger, miss g, LondonLad, niniel71, mr and mrs, Stinkerpotsam, Marty J, prima and jay, Helen&Dougie, KAT&Allie, KnightAndMagpie, paul., Kirsten UK, Colinjess

May 2009 Interviews

1st May 2009.....Graziumphry..................K-1

1st May 2009.....emma77........................K-1

5th May 2009.....Monkey Juice.................K-1

5th May 2009.....Gemmie.........................K-1

12th May 2009....MARM...........................K-1- APPROVED PENDING PASSPORT

12th May 2009....mrs_sdp.......................K-1- APPROVED PENDING MEDICAL

15th May 2009....H&V..............................K-1

19th May 2009....laura819.......................K-1

22nd May 2009...PB&JAM.........................K-1

29th May 2009...Bob and Patricia.............K-1

June 2009 Interviews

1st June 2009......JimandChristy...............K-1

4th June 2009......Nik+Heather.................K-1

12th June 2009....Ellie-and-David..............K-1

Still waiting for approval

stevi1123..........16th October 2008 - Approved pending additional documentation

Marie620..........12th January 2009 - Denied

Dave and Jess..10th March 2009 ?

The Dip Sticks..25th March 2009 ?

Alixhilary..........27th April 2009- Approved pending additional documentation

= APPROVED

Updates/New entries/changes highlighted in blue - will go to normal color in the next update.

Please let us know if you have an Interview Date to add to the list, updated information or corrections.

Hi All, After what seems like an eternity my passport was delivered back today with the visa in it!! To all who are still waiting I hope yours comes soon, To all who answered my many questions Thank You. The next hurdle is the AOS, I'm sure I will ask many more questions!!!! I'm now looking forward to the 29th May when I fly to Newark (fingers crossed it will be uncomplicated) and then the 24th July for my wedding in St Thomas.

[MARM 7]

Congrats emma77 on getting your passport, good luck with POE and the wedding...AOS shouldn't be all that frustrating, with a wonderful site like VJ, you can get through anything!---the most important thing is that you will be together!!!

Moira, yaaaaaaaaaay! :dance: Finally done with the medical and interview, glad they both went well! By the time you are well-rested from your trip, hopefully the passport should be on your way to you with your long-awaited shiny visa page!

Edited May 14, 2009 by MARM

[MARM 7]

January 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London
Jason&Sarah, Hannah+Vito, Mrssmith, ShannonNick, adrianandlinsay, Marmite Lovers!

February 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London
Rob&Dawn, Zoe and Hal, Terri and Seb, Talyss, TeeKol

March 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London
Stinky Monkey, skparker, Laurence+Lauren, pothergavel, paumanda, texpat cymru, obbynox, jhonscotland, Caminic, Furious Biscuit, ahlpo, jojo_gee

April 2009 Graduates of the US Embassy, London
DairyFarmer, skeez&titanic, SwanTiger, miss g, LondonLad, niniel71, mr and mrs, Stinkerpotsam, Marty J, prima and jay, Helen&Dougie, KAT&Allie, KnightAndMagpie, paul., Kirsten UK, Colinjess

May 2009 Interviews
1st May 2009.....Graziumphry..................K-1
1st May 2009.....emma77........................K-1
5th May 2009.....Monkey Juice.................K-1
5th May 2009.....Gemmie.........................K-1
12th May 2009....MARM...........................K-1- APPROVED PENDING PASSPORT
12th May 2009....mrs_sdp.......................K-1- APPROVED PENDING MEDICAL
15th May 2009....H&V..............................K-1
19th May 2009....laura819.......................K-1
22nd May 2009...PB&JAM.........................K-1
29th May 2009...Bob and Patricia.............K-1

June 2009 Interviews
1st June 2009......JimandChristy...............K-1
4th June 2009......Nik+Heather.................K-1
12th June 2009....Ellie-and-David..............K-1


Still waiting for approval
stevi1123..........16th October 2008 - Approved pending additional documentation
Marie620..........12th January 2009 - Denied
Dave and Jess..10th March 2009 ?
The Dip Sticks..25th March 2009 ?
Alixhilary..........27th April 2009- Approved pending additional documentation

= APPROVED

Updates/New entries/changes highlighted in blue - will go to normal color in the next update.

Please let us know if you have an Interview Date to add to the list, updated information or corrections.

--------------------------------
Good luck to H&V for tomorrow!!! :thumbs: