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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on June 10, 2024: |
Green Lady
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
I had my interview 10th June 2024 at the US Embassy, 9 Elms, London. Other peoples detailed reviews have helped me so here's mine and i hope it helps someone else!
I travelled down from the Midlands on the Sunday afternoon for a Monday 8.30am appointment. I didn't want to risk running late or being delayed (waited too long for this!) so i booked the train to Euston, then taking the tube south on the Victoria Line to Vauxhall. I booked in at the Travelodge there and arrived a bit earlier than expected for my 3pm check in, so wasted some time at the Starbucks and then at the Waitrose that are on the same block, just steps away. You can take food into the hotel. A few notes on the Travelodge. It was great for what it is - good location and half the price of other hotels nearer to the Embassy - but just small niggles make me hesitant to recommend it 100% unless you are on a budget - then its perfect. Know that if you check in before 3pm you will be charged £10 early check in fees. This isn't clear on the booking, however I was able to enter the building early and they have sofas next to the check in desks that you can wait on. I experienced a 'newly refurbished Super Room', which was missing an office chair although it had a desk, and had no 'modesty' curtains only the choice of fully open or light blocking curtain. This would be ok if it didn't face the platforms of Vauxhall station! I was on the 3rd floor which was a quieter room than others below due to the open air bar next door playing pretty loud music. So you can book a quiet room if that's important to you. The beds are good and i managed to sleep well there. The staff were lovely and helpful.
I left the hotel at 6:55am and used google maps to find the walking route to the embassy which is only a 10-15min walk. (To note: There's buses that take literally 5mins from Vauxhall to the embassy. Its so close to walk or bus it!) I wanted to have a look at the Mi6 building so i walked across the road from the hotel to the bridge, passing Pret A Manger (open from 5am!) and took some pictures from the bridge. I then doubled back and took a right onto Riverside Walk, which was surprisingly nice even in heavy rain! Around about the Nine Elms Pavillion i crossed over the road to the embassy, walked past the main entrance and around to the Visa Services areas. Even with a slow walk (i knew i was early) and taking pictures on the way i still arrived before 7:15am.
On arrival there were already around 30 plus people waiting and the staff were only just bringing out and erecting the two marquees! I went to the blue one first just because i wanted to see if i needed to wait there. There were only about 10 people but it took around 10 mins for them to open up and see the people who were there first. When i got to the front they sent me to the red one but told me not to queue. I did this and the staff at the red one said i needed to get in the queue so i did. I was so early it didn't matter to me which was good. I got to the front at 7:50 am and they told me i was too early and to go away and come back to the front at 8am. They are really strict on this! So i wandered towards coffee places and back. Then i was asked for my passport and DS-260 printout and let through towards the doors between the two tents. At the entrance another staff member asked me to show my phone, unlock the screen, then let me through.
I was inside to security and had to wait again here because a lady with a baby had a bottle of baby food in a glass jar - they don't accept glass through security. Once the glass jar issue was sorted out the line got moving again and i was swiftly through security which has scanners like in the airport. You take your coat off and put it with your bag into a tray and walk through the scanner. Through the set of doors and you are in an open courtyard area and its a short walk to the main building.
In here there are queue barriers in a maze shape but there were only two people in front of me so it was straight to the reception desk which was a very calm area after the hustle and bustle of the queues outside. The receptionist checked my DS-260 and passport and printed off a number sticker for my passport and sent me through a corridor with instructions to take the lift to the 1st floor turn left and left again. Its pretty straightforward but as you come out of the lift, even at 8:20 in the morning there are so many people in the cordoned area waiting for the non immigrant visas. Its a little awkward as you have to walk in front of them waiting, between the heads of every queue and the window they are waiting to go to. But once you get past that and round the other side its very quiet.
There were 4 people already there and I could listen as i sat there as its not completely private so I generally knew what to expect by the time i went up to the window when my ticket number got called. This first part is to give your original documents to the officer for checking which i did. I was asked for my birth certificate, marriage certificate, police certs with translations if necessary, and the divorce papers. Questions were 'is this your first marriage' and 'how many times has your partner been married', then questions confirming what you have put in your applications, confirming names and basic info. Then i was told to take a seat again and wait
This next wait took longer. The first was only a few minutes, maybe 10 max. But this time took more than an hour and it was very quiet and relaxing in there, all white everywhere with blue cinema style seats which are well spaced from each other. The seats are really comfy and i had to be careful not to drift off to sleep!
Finally i was called up and asked to swear on oath for which you just put your hand in the air and the staff member says his piece, then you say i agree or i will, (something to that effect). He then asked some more questions to check full names and the US address of my petitioner. He asked how we met and i answered. He was very non-judgemental and was pleasant and not intimidating at all. He then was asking me about the timeline of how often we had visited each other, when we got married, and asked when i was planning to leave the UK. He said all my documents were in order and he was pleased to say he could approve the application today. I was trying not to shout YAYYYY! He smiled and gave me my documents back, then pre-empted my next question - when would i get my passport back? Within 5-10 days he said. Of course i was so excited leaving there!
I walked out and waited to text until i got to the courtyard. To leave you go back through the same security area but are not scanned again or checked at all.
Once out i decided to take a walk to Battersea Power Station which has a new tube station and a large new mall. It only took 10mins to walk and was completely different from Vauxhall and much less busy so i would recommend going that way if you want a quieter/newer station. I got an uber boat from the riverside at Battersea to Westminster, changed to the open top tourist boat and had a fun ride down to Tower Bridge before getting the tube back to Euston. I would recommend the river cruises - it costs a lot more than the tube but definitely worth it for an experience of London from a different point of view.
So to summarise it was a very good experience, especially once inside the building. The signage for queuing could be improved out the front but get there early like i did and you'll have no issues. All the staff were pleasant and seemed quite happy in their work.
I got my passport delivered to my house on the Thursday after the Monday interview which was fast, although i couldn't be home as i was away that day and they'd only notified me that morning! They did not post it in my absence but sent me a text to choose which redelivery day. I chose Friday but on that day they did not actually deliver and it wasn't until late afternoon i got a message saying they couldn't deliver and i'd need to rearrange. I didn't try to update this until the Sunday by which time they had already scheduled it for Monday anyway. This delivery went well and I received my passport with visa a week after the interview. 
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #33270