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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on March 27, 2009: |
santos-wilson
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
And so is the story of a very strange day in my life...
I arrived in London about 7.30am and headed to the Embassy. On the way I passed 'Goulds Pharmacy' - which is a place you need to go to drop off any electrical items you have about you. The Embassy don't allow things like camera's, phones, i-pods, even head phones... so if you have these, just take a visit to Goulds Pharmacy first. It costs a flat fee of £5 to store your belongings.
My appointment was meant to be at 8.30am, but I joined the queue and they didn't mind that I was early.
After lining up I passed through 'security' which is just like the airport, but a lot less stressful. You can keep your shoes on for a start. You're in and out of there pretty quickly.
From here it's just a short walk around the building to the main entrance. I walked there with a scruffy looking guy with long grey hair and a Led-Zep T-Shirt... it turns out he was a roadie with 'UB40' - and sure enough, the band were inside waiting for their Visa's to go on a US tour. I was very excited by this!
Anyway... inside the Embassy you have a lot of chairs, tv screens and walk-up windows. It's fairly self explanitory. I was asked to take a seat and told I would be called by name. This confused me because I was expecting a number?! Sure enough they called for all 'Immigrant Visa Applicants' to go to Window 1. It was here we picked up our numbers.
It soon dawned on me that getting there at 8am (when the window's open) is a good thing! The quicker you get to that window and grab a number, the quicker the whole thing will be over. Even if you are due in at 9am, I would suggest trying to get in earlier.
So after I'd got my number, it was only a short wait of about 30 minutes before I was called to the first window.
Here I was met by Antonio, who was neither too friendly, nor too offensive. Just a guy doing his job really. He took my photographs and stapled them to the forms - then he took my police certificate and its copy, my birth certificate and its copy, my affidavits and their copies - oh, and he gave me back my chest X-Ray (in a very large envelope which was very difficult to walk around London with all day).
He also asked me to pop to a different window where I paid the Visa processing fee. At the current exchange rate it cost me £90 which I paid on American Express. After that I was asked to take a seat back in the waiting room.
I got into the waiting room and met up with another VJ'er (FuriousBiscuit) and we sat and chatted. It was really nice having another person to talk to, especially as we were in such a similar situation and both used VisaJourney.
As time ticked on, my nerves developed. Everytime a number is called my heart would stop in anticipation. The wait was horrible. Thankfully however, my number was 5004 and it took 1 hour, 40 minutes to be called to the second window... but FuriousBiscuit was number 5010 and I believe it took her an extra 3 hours after I'd left before she got called! Crazy!!!
So I was called about 10.30am - and I was sooooooooo nervous! I got to the window and was asked to sign a form (the 156 I think)? I was then asked to hold up my right hand and swear to tell the truth...which I did.
I was first asked questions about my police record which stated "No Live Trace" relating to an arrest back in 2004 for being Drunk & Disorderly. I also told the doctor about this at the medical and had to have extra pathology to prove I wasn't an alcoholic...which I'm not. After I told him the ins-and-outs he said that drunk & disorderly isn't something that would stop you getting a visa (I felt a sign of relief).
Other questions included...
Have you ever had problems at Immigration?
What countries have you lived in since the aged of 16, for more than 1 year?
When was the last time you went to the States, and how often have you travelled there?
What does your fiancee' study? And where? And when will she finish?
What does her father (my co-sponsor) do for a living?
Where will you/both live?
Have you made any wedding/travel plans?
He asked me to tell him about the job offer I'd received.
Finally he asked me how I proposed.
I think I may have been asked a few more questions than most people due to my police record...he probably wanted to check that I was being straight with him.
He then handed me a blue piece of paper (which worried me because everyone else had pink ones)... and he said I'd need to forward him further documents relating to my arrest before he could issue the Visa. He talked me through that process. I was slightly confused and asked him "does this mean I have a visa...does it mean I can go to America?"
He responded "As long as your record confirms what you've told me, you'll get your Visa... have fun in the states"
I was a happy boy! I know I'll be getting that Visa (just not as soon as I had hoped)!
I left the Embassy with a kind of deflated anti-climax, still a mixture of nerves and dazzed as to what had happened. I left the embassy at 10.45am.
I decided I would go to Harrods for a nice glass of champagne and a nice lunch to celebrate. As I arrived and checked out the menu in the window of 'Laduree' (a nice Parisian bakery/restaurant) - I noticed a face in the window looking up at me... I couldn't believe it, but it was Rod Stewart having breakfast.
I can't believe I've seen two great bands and got a visa approval all before 12pm!!!!! Ha!
It was a great day - and I've just finished the last of my champagne.
I wish everyone reading this all the very best of luck and sucess with thier Visa Journey.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #4142