London Interview Details

[westie 0]

I had my interview in london yesterday, and thought id start a thread in a similar style the medical one, so people can share thier accounts of the day.

Filing for; CR1

Filing location; Vermont Service Center

Interview Time; 0930

Application Status; APPROVED!!!

here is a run down of how the experience went

I arrived in London the day before and booked into the Gloucester Place Hotel (it was cheap and basic, included a continental breakfast. i also left all my electricals there after checking out so i didnt have to make use of the Goulds pharmacy.) I did a dummy run to ensure i knew where i was going the next morning and timed how long it took to walk.

being over eager i arrived at the embassy over an hour early, and there was no line. once the girl at the small counter had checked my letter and passport and ticked off my name i was then directed to a security guard who checked my passport and ensured i looked like my photo. i was then told to wait outside the security office until i was called in to go through the metal detectors and xray machine. inside another woman at the desk checked my letter and issued me with my number.

i then had about a 30-45min wait while endless nonimmigrant numbers were called, before i was up. at the first window (lucky number 13!) all the documents were checked and i was asked for a W12 (i had no idea what this is, but later found out its the form that my wife should have submitted to prove her income. instead she had submitted yearly tax returns which gave the same information. the guy was really friendly and said he had to check with his boss to make sure what she had submitted was ok. all this after the NVC had checked everything and accepted it. he then confirmed that it had the possibility of stopping a positive outcome on the day, and told me to sit down to wait to be called to the next window... an agonising 20 mins later (which seemed like much longer, and my blood pressure soring to levels that would have seen me fail the medical!) i was called to the next window, and after a brief pause, in which time i could hear the guy in the window next to me getting a good grilling, and almost being reduced to tears, it was time to face my fate! the girl was really friendly and asked simple questions, nothing designed to catch me out. (how and when did you meet? have you met the family? etc) she had some wedding photos which we submitted with the i130, which she thumbed through commenting that it looked like a lovely day, so i handed her some more that i had brought just in case and she eagerly flicked through more. finally she said she loved my wifes wedding dress, and us cutting the cake with a sword, then confirmed the application had been successful and handed me my original birth and wedding certificate back. i didnt dare ask about the issue the guy in the first window mentioned!

the final stage was to pay for the courier to return my passport. this apparently is currently taking between 7-10 days.

...and then to the pub to celebrate!

All in all, there was nothing scary (provided your documents are all up together!) i left at about 1045 with a big smile on my face!

[Owen_London 65]

Congratulations on your approval.

I don't think you needed to start a thread for this though, it can just go into the London embassy reviews, like they usually do.

[Lou29 5]

Congrats! I'm hoping to be celebrating on Wednesday with the same result as you!

[QueenOfBlades 224]

What's a form W12?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I want to add a little explanation to this part--

and i was asked for a W12 (i had no idea what this is, but later found out its the form that my wife should have submitted to prove her income. instead she had submitted yearly tax returns which gave the same information

A "complete tax return" is what they require for the I-864. To be complete, it must be the tax return forms and schedules, AND the W2 statement from the employer stating the total income for that tax year. Or the income may be shown on a form 1099 if it is not from an employer. Examples of people who get 1099s are contractors, pensioners, social security recipients to name a few common ones. A copy of the tax return without the wage statement is not complete. Reason? I could go fill out tax forms right now, make up a big salary, and sign it. The wage statement is needed to backsup the income you report on the return.

There are also free tax transcripts that can be ordered from the IRS that can be used Instead of the "complete tax return". Then no W2 or 1099s have to be sent because the transcript comes from the IRS.

Nice review. Thanks for that.

[fcat 79]

I ordered Tax Transcripts for my wife and my co sponsor and they only took 4 days to arrive:)