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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on October 28, 2008: |
T and M
Rating:  | Review Topic: Direct Consular Filing
We arrived at 8am. No cellphones, laptop, but I DID have my USB key/chip and car keys which had an electronic fob for unlocking. Both were considered an "electronic" item. The girls mentioned there were some cafes on the corner. I found the pharmacy that stores one small bag for 10 pounds. That seemed ridiculous, so I went to Starbucks, and "left" my keys at the counter. The girl was not happy with me, but I was not going to pay 10 pounds to leave a tiny, tiny rental car key! I threw away my USB key as it was a corporate gift.
So we got in.
Were called up after around 45 minutes...by now it's 9:15am. We showed our paperwork, copies AND originals (definitely have copies of everything, b/c they WILL keep a copy of everything.) He asked me about my PhD, and whether or not I had proof from my university that I could complete my research from the US. Of course I did not, and he said that maybe it wouldn't matter...that "it depends on the officer." He then asked us to go to window 13 and pay 400 dollars. (We already paid 355 so I was shocked, but what are you going to do?)
We left our US credit card at home, and the cashier said they give a 2:1 exchange rate. I left the building, took out 200 pounds from a nearby ATM and returned just as they were re-calling our number.
The officer was very nice, and warned us not to lose her permanent residence by setting up domicile in another country. The whole interview lasted 10 minutes. Oh, he wanted to see proof that I maintain US domicile. Drivers license and copies of bank statements to my US address were enough.
We then paid 14 pounds for the courier service and were told it would arrive between Tues-Thurs! We are thrilled and can't believe it is over! So anticlimactic as other VJers have pointed out. 
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #3518