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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on January 24, 2008: |
Steven F
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
First of all, for those of you who are as scared of this interview as I was; don't be. It's nothing. Really.
And now, the review.
Living as I do in the north of England, I was compelled to take an overnight coach to London. This arrived around 6:30 in the morning, giving me two hours before my appointment. I called my fiancee for a while, who helped calm my nerves a lot (as she often does, it's one reason why I love her), then went to get some breakfast. I then bought a day pass on the Underground, and boarded a train for Oxford Circus, then on to Marble Arch. It was really early still, but I wanted to make sure I could find the place easily. It's difficult to miss. It's the really big building with the American flag on the roof. There were a lot of roadworks around, so finding the actual entrance entailed walking halfway around the world first. I eventually found a sign that said 'Visa applicants this way', or something along those lines (I forget what exactly), and since there was still plenty of time to go, I sat on a bench in Grosvener Square and checked through my documents one final time.
I decided I'd at least go and queue up to go in after a while. The first person to greet me was a friendly guy in a yellow jacket who looked at my appointment letter and put my mobile phone and some coins in plastic bags. I then joined the queue. It didn't move very much for a while, but at the end of it I had to show my passport and appointment letter to another guy, then go through the security checkpoint, where they took my mobile phone and made me 'test' the water in my water bottle in case it was sulphuric acid or something. Then I went inside the embassy, got given a number (5007), and went to sit down in the waiting area. It was some time before my number was called out, but when it was, I went to window 13, where an English guy who seemed kind of bored checked my documents, took the affidavit of support, and my fingerprints, then told me to go and pay the visa fee ($131, which I paid in dollars, helpfully), then he gave me my chest x-ray and a pink courier form, then told me to go and wait and fill in the courier form while I was waiting.
Not much after that, I was called forward again, this time to window 15, where a particularly pleasant American chap greeted me, told me to raise my right hand to swear that everything I've said and will say is true, and took my fingerprints again. He asked me a few really easy questions:
"Where did you two meet?"
"Why did you decide to have you move to the US rather than her move to the UK?"
"Have you been to visit her? Has she been to visit you? When?"
"Where do you plan on settling?"
He asked me one other question, which I really don't think was pivotal. I'm a self-employed musician and declared myself thus on the forms, and he asked me what instrument I played. I joked later on with my fiancee that he would have refused me my visa if I'd said I played the bassoon. But anyway.
He then said 'Well, your case is complete and I'm pleased to say your visa is approved'. I said thank you and smiled rather a lot, then I walked away doing a little shuffle.
Then I paid for the courier service.
Then I wandered around London for a bit (I went to see Big Ben. Saw it, came back) and went home.
All in all an easy and pleasant experience, although nerve-wracking before you go there because there's always a chance they'll find something wrong. But I'm deducting a point for the annoying voice that announces which number is being dealt with next. I think it's the same person who says 'mind the gap' on the tube.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #2385