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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on August 29, 2024: |
ScarletWitch6x
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
This is all secondhand information from my fiance!
He had his interview this week at the consulate in London. His was an early morning appointment so he did arrive the night before and stayed at the Vauxhill Travel Lodge. He did get the late checkout so that he would have a place to keep his things during the interview, and in case things went over. He would have been back in plenty of time for normal checkout, but he felt better not having to rush.
He had all of his information organized in an easy-to-navigate folio, and we used everyone's reviews to determine the order. This is how we laid out his binder:
- Interview appointment confirmation screen (had courier info and visa paid receipt)
- DS160 Confirmation page
- Current passport
- Birth Certificate - long form
- Police Certificate (UK ACRO)
- Divorce decrees for both (US divorce decree was certified and file stamped)
- 2 color US passport photo of beneficiary taken in the last 6 months (he had 4 and they only needed one! they do recommend 2 on the embassy website)
- Evidence of Support I-134 with most recent tax transcipt from US petitioner
- Additional evidence for I-134 in case requested (it was not requested)
- Proof of Relationship - photos and travel docs
- 1-797 Notice of Action (NOA2)
- NOA1
- NVC Letter
- Letter from the embassy
- I-129F Application Copy
- US Petitioner biographic documents
- Old passports (in case they need them)
He got to the embassy about half an hour before his appointment and there were already people lining up outside. There was someone checking the line who tried to tell him he didn't have the right form, but once he explained to her that he was there for a K1 Visa she let him jump the line. He went through security just fine and then went to the first check-in point.
The person at the first check-in point took his documents (and told him how well-organized he was) before giving him the immigrant's rights pamphlet and telling him to have a seat to wait for the interview. Though we had prepared extra information for the I-134 they only wanted the latest tax transcript. We had only claimed my income on the I-134 and left the rest of the asset sections blank, as my income exceeded the threshold.
When he was called up for the interview the officer was very nice. She asked him a few questions, but their conversation was more conversational so it didn't feel so interview-y.
- How did you and your fiance meet?
- How many times have you met in person?
- How did you propose? Were they expecting it?
- Have they (fiance) ever visited the UK?
- When are you planning to enter the United States and plans for the wedding?
- Have you and/or your fiance been married before?
I'm not sure from his retelling which were the actual interview questions and which were just polite follow-up questions. He told me that though it was rather quick he rambled a bit on the first question which answered a lot of the subsequent questions. So the officer would go to ask the next question and would say that he already answered it for her before. He was at the embassy for a little over an hour.
The only snafu we ran into was that Visa Medicals failed to send over his medical results to the embassy. We had called VM after scheduling his interview appointment and they were the ones that told him when he could have the medical done in order to have the results at the embassy in time....then he added an extra day. All in all, VM had 11 days to get the results to the embassy but they were never sent. The consular officer told him that he just needed to call them and remind them to send the file over and that the status would show 'refused' until it was received and reviewed. He asked the officer if he had passed the interview and she told him yes. They then chatted and he asked again (probably for the benefit of his anxious partner) for her to confirm that he had passed and was approved and she confirmed that yes he was, as she had no concerns about the validity of our relationship or intentions.
As soon as he left the embassy he called VM and they said they would send it within 24 hours, but that it had all been approved and signed off on by the doctor (they did not share the reason for the delay). They were nice enough about it and assured him it would get done.
His interview was on Tuesday and they had received the medical by Thursday. By 1700 BST the status had changed to 'Approved'!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #33356