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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on July 6, 2021: |
Not Active
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-5 Visa
We had our interviews on 30 June 2021.
Stayed at Travelodge in Vauxhall which is right next to Kings Cross and about a 15 minute walk to embassy, although we got an Uber due to me wearing heels and the weather not being good!
Two queues, one for US citizens (which I didn’t first notice so just queued like a lemming behind everyone else until we realised they were all dressed very casual and had American accents 🙄 😅…moved to other queue. No wait time, showed interview letter and then went through security. Husband had to remove belt and you put all your stuff in a tray like an airport.
You are then directed to go up a lift and follow signs to the waiting area. Inside there are several numbered booths on one side and seating in front. There was around 16 people and not many spare seats (because of social distancing). Room air conditioned so nice and cool, but remember to take a drink with you. (I didn’t but wish I had)!
Friendly atmosphere and had a bit of a chat to the other people (mostly single people for fiancé visas.
First you are called up to a window and asked for our passports, birth certificates, marriage certificate (as ours was for a Parent visa), one photo, our daughters birth certificate and her latest tax return (luckily I asked her to email it to me as had a feeling they may want a more recent one due to the 12 month delay).
Next had to sit back in waiting area and wait for our number to be called again and this time it would be for the interview with the consular officer. This was a bit more of a wait but the interviewer was so lovely and friendly and was approving all the fiancées and there was lots of relieved tears that day…it was quite emotional ðŸ˜. This stage only lasted around 10 minutes or so. You have to stand in the booth but you can’t really hear other people because of the design so it’s quite private.
She checked through our documents and had our medical notes and told us that as long as she sees a ‘B’ that’s all she’s needs to know 😅.
We were asked what our plans were for when we got there, and we explained we were looking to open a business and spend time with our grandson. It was nothing at all like I was imagining. She was outgoing, friendly and there were no probing questions. After around ten minutes she told us she was happy to approve our visa, to which I added to the list of people that shed a tear 😅…we already had flights booked from last year for a holiday and she said that was fine as we would now be able to enter as a Permanent Resident! 🥰….she did say to check with Border Patrol as this visit would be temporary and we would not be moving out until November, but she said that was just to cover us to make sure we don’t get any grief at the immigration desk 😬.
Anyway, we fly on 27 July, so fingers crossed 🤞 they will be ok with our travel plans.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #29814