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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on December 2, 2020: |
PBabz
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Initially walked to the side door of the consulate where a Met police officer very kindly recommended a coffee shop to sit and wait as I was 45 minutes early for my appointment.
He suggested I walk to the main door and speak to the security guards there to check if they would admit me early - which they did, amazingly!
Went through airport style security, a lovely lady did my screening and asked me to sip my water and show her my hand sanitiser in my bag then off I went through (the heaviest doors ever) up to the main building. That process was literally 5 minutes long.
Walk up the the first desk where your confirmation page is reviewed and you are given stickers with your ticket number. Upstairs in the lift to the first floor, another desk where the receptionist there asks you to walk around the corner and take a seat until your number is called up on screen. Not a long wait for this to happen as there were only a few people in the waiting room.
The officer at the desk asks you to remove your mask, use the sanitiser and produce your confirmation page, your original documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate and passport) along with your courier confirmation page. Electronic finger prints were taken here too.
My new passport was in my married name whereas my application up to this point had been completed in my maiden name. This didn't present an issue, the officer just adjusted the name and we continued the review. I produced my passport photo, which was scanned in, and my husband's W2 and tax return documents were reviewed. The officer mentioned that the most recent documents were going to need to be seen, I handed those over in hard copy since I had uploaded 2018 documents but then had 2019 documents. He mentioned that it would be likely for the consular officer to reject my application pending digital receipt of the 2019 W2 and tax return forms.
Went to sit and wait to be called again to speak to the consular officer. This was about a 15 minute wait, in which time I was able to chat with another VJ member who was also waiting for their appointment, and upload my 2019 tax documents using my phone, with some assistance  and prepare for the interview process.
Called up to another window where the consular officer asked me to remove my mask and swear/affirm that I would answer questions truthfully. My finger prints were verified before the interview began.
Only a couple of questions asked about:
- Where my husband and I met?
- Why did we decide to get married in Gibraltar?
- When was the last time we saw each other?
The officer then used the opportunity to tell me my application was approved, hand back documents and let me know that my passport would be received in 1-2 weeks. As of this morning, 2/12 my visa has been issued already! The interview was maximum of 5 minutes, definitely no more.
Arriving at ~10:16 to the main building and leaving at ~11:30, very straightforward process, didn't need all the documents I brought along as they weren't asked for, but it gave me a sense of confidence that I could present anything asked for.
Everyone was extremely nice and super helpful, couldn't complain about the process. Good luck to those who have this part of the process to go and wishing you all a swift and final reunion with your spouses!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #28854