2010 United Kingdom Interview Thread

[jkminney 30]

I've been looking to see where are good places to stay around the Embassy... Radisson Edwardian Sussex looks quite good, not too expensive and nicely placed between the embassy & the docs... Anyone stayed there?

We stayed at the Millenium Mayfair and it was VERY close and was a nice hotel as well. Not sure about the price as I used airline miles to pay for it....thank you Delta!

[doghandler 2]

Oh! Well thanks, I'm glad you approve

Any particular reason you like my name?

Obviously I don't know if it's your real name. If it is, it's just really cool and instantly memorable.

If it's not, it brilliantly sums up the immigration process (as do many other words, not all polite!).

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I've been looking to see where are good places to stay around the Embassy... Radisson Edwardian Sussex looks quite good, not too expensive and nicely placed between the embassy & the docs... Anyone stayed there?

Here's a map I made that shows the Embassy, medical office, and a few cheap hotels where people have stayed. You can zoom or move the map around. Zoomed in you can see coach stops and more detail. In the upper right, you can change to hybrid or satellite on the map drop down. Going to the interview MAP

We stayed at the Lincoln House and found it cheap and close and clean. They had a computer for getting online free. They held our bags, phones, electronics while at the Embassy, even after we had checked out. The room was small, but adequate. We came on coach and many coaches stop or pick up on that street or the next one over Baker St. If you call the hotel you can negotiate a better rate than they publish.

[Hokie97 5]

Here's a map I made that shows the Embassy, medical office, and a few cheap hotels where people have stayed. You can zoom or move the map around. Zoomed in you can see coach stops and more detail. In the upper right, you can change to hybrid or satellite on the map drop down. Going to the interview MAP

We stayed at the Lincoln House and found it cheap and close and clean. They had a computer for getting online free. They held our bags, phones, electronics while at the Embassy, even after we had checked out. The room was small, but adequate. We came on coach and many coaches stop or pick up on that street or the next one over Baker St. If you call the hotel you can negotiate a better rate than they publish.

That's a great map, thanks for sharing it with us. The best I have found for a reasonable price (under £100) with two teenagers is the Travelodge near at St Pancras. They have family rooms, which even that will be small for us. I just don't want to spring for two rooms. I'll take a look at those places and see if they have rooms for four. Maybe I'll get lucky.

[MrStrain14 2]

Obviously I don't know if it's your real name. If it is, it's just really cool and instantly memorable.

If it's not, it brilliantly sums up the immigration process (as do many other words, not all polite!).

Haha, cool, well thanks again! It is in fact my real name... Mike Strain, pleased to make your acquaintance! It's Irish, and not all that common. 14 is my 'lucky' number, hence the username

[nickm 1]

COME ON YOU LONDON EMBASSY LOT!!!!! I MISS MY SWEETHEART.. thats all i have to say.. (insert smily banging head against the wall here)

[Justine+David 218]

Haha...um. I waited 3 months from sending my p3 to actually getting an interview...pipe down!

[Hellojulie 0]

Ugh. We go down to London tomorrow for my husbands appointment ties morning. Really getting nervous now. don't even know why! :/

[Rito 28]

Ugh. We go down to London tomorrow for my husbands appointment ties morning. Really getting nervous now. don't even know why! :/

I'm excited for Tuesday! But then, I'm not the one who has to interview.

::readies her pom poms::

[Ricky+Vanessa 43]

Ugh. We go down to London tomorrow for my husbands appointment ties morning. Really getting nervous now. don't even know why! :/

Good luck for Tuesday Hellojulie.

And good luck to the others who are interviewing Tuesday and Wednesday.

[Hellojulie 0]

Thanks all. I'm sure we are fine. Will report back either way.

[Hellojulie 0]

Quick question - I've read in various places that they interview you in the order you arrive not interview time. However the link on the website says they will not let you in more than 30 min before your interview. Does anyone know which is correct? We planned to get there about 7:30 which is substantially earlier than our appointment time.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Quick question - I've read in various places that they interview you in the order you arrive not interview time. However the link on the website says they will not let you in more than 30 min before your interview. Does anyone know which is correct? We planned to get there about 7:30 which is substantially earlier than our appointment time.

They used to cue lines by appointment time and also check your electronics at the embassy. That's what I was expecting back when we prepared for the interview part. However sometime in the summer of 2008 they quit checking things for customers and quit managing the lines into cues, ie. 8:00 appt line, 8:30 line, 9:00 line, shoo anybody else off until closer to their appointment. I'm pretty sure now, they just start processing the line (check id and see if you have an appt) in the order it's in and don't look at times. Then you pass through the security scanner hut.

When you finally get inside, you get a number on stickers. They are consecutive and are called consecutively. So whomever gets in the door first, gets the first number. If people are strolling along the sidewalk around the building between security and the entrance, you could sprint ahead of them and get a number before them.

I believe they suggest coming about 30 min before your appointment just to manage the flow better. If everybody tries to cue at 7 am, it makes a big crowd by opening and takes longer to get to the front of the line and then through the security hut. So to the people who say they don't want to have such a long wait inside, I kinda think well you're waiting a long time outside and it could be hot, cold, or raining and you're standing. It's not like concert tickets or a special price at Walmart where people line up all night...they aren't going to sell out of visas. Take your choice of when you want to show up.

Edited April 5, 2010 by Nich-Nick

[Hellojulie 0]

Thank you very much for your reply. it's what I thought, but wanted to check....

[Hokie97 5]

Our interview is coming up quickly, and I have a question... can you take food into the Embassy? It lists backpacks and electronics, but doesn't mention food. Our 12 and 14 year old are going with us, and if we're going to be there hours I'd like to be able to take sandwiches or chips in for them to snack on.