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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on March 3, 2022: |
ohiohopeful
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Interview 9am, March 2nd (Medical, 24th March - only 3 working days between these appointments)
Arrived at the embassy 8:50am and waited in a very long queue outside in the rain. First checkpoint looked at my DS-260 and passport. Approx wait was 30 minutes in the queue. Was told here not to queue again inside, but to head straight past everyone to the desk as I was waiting on an immigrant visa.
In to security, they checked my DS-260, then I had to open an app on my phone, take off jacket and belt etc, standard airport style security. This took a few minutes and I was through.
Inside the embassy I walked past the queue, as directed, and spoke to a lady at the desk, who again checked my DS-260, then printed a few stickers with my information on and directed me to the floor above, and was told to turn left, and left again to the waiting area.
As I left the elevator, 2 embassy workers beckoned me forward in to the crowded room and told me to sit down to the right hand side - I told them i'd been directed to turn left, to which they replied "Ah okay, yeah left and left again". Be careful here - I think they are working with an influx of J1 visas etc, so just expected me to be waiting for the same category.
Once round to the correct waiting area, I sat down and waited 45 minutes to be called up to the first window, at which point a man checked my passport, courier confirmation, DS-260, birth certificate, police certificate and asked me who my joint sponsor was (How I know them). He had all of the financial information on his screen, and asked about my joint sponsor by name, he also only looked at originals and made copies rather than using mine. He handed me a sheet about modern slavery etc, scanned my finger prints and asked me to take a seat again. Contrary to common reviews, this interaction was very friendly and easy, I was expecting someone moody from what i've read! (The few people before me seemed to spend ages at the window with multiple problems, luckily for me it was over in 5 minutes without any problems)
I waited 10 mins and was called forward for the final interview. The lady asked me to raise my right hand for an oath of truth, and then scanned my finger prints again. I was asked if I had received the sheet on modern slavery, and whether I had any questions about this. I was asked where I met my spouse, and where we are going to live, she handed my documents back to me that had been held from the first window, and then told me she was accepting the visa application and that I would receive my passport back in 1-2 weeks. Done!
Important points: I took, but did not need, all financial documents submitted to the NVC, passport copy for my spouse, photocopy of everything. It seems that the embassy specific instructions are out of date now, so they ask for much more than they need. At my medical they told me it would be a minimum of 5 working days to be sent to the embassy, so I expected to be rejected pending medical results, but to my surprise they had already received them!
The process, apart from the waiting, was very straightforward and simple to follow. I'm hugely relieved now it's over! Good luck to anyone with an interview coming up.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #30799