|
|
| London, United Kingdom |  Review on March 30, 2009: |
ahlpo
Rating:  | Review Topic: Direct Consular Filing
Although currently staying just outside of London since our lease expired last week, my wife and I booked a hotel room near the US Embassy to avoid any risks of traffic or public transport delays or potential G20-related disruptions (which, by the way, there were not). We stayed at the Milleniuem Mayfair at Grosvenor Square, literally just 1 minute from the building, which was quite nice and reasonable priced for London from the rate we found on Lastminute.com. This was also convenient to leave our electronic devices and other belongings at the hotel.
When we arrived at 7:30 AM, there was a queue of about 20 people ahead of us who were slowly being let in. I was admitted without any problems although I had previously sent an email to the US Embassy to confirm it would be OK to accompany my wife for her visa interview. Once past security, we entered the building and were assigned a number. After waiting about 20 minutes, interview windows began to open up and numbers were called starting at 8 AM. It took about another 35 minutes for ours to be called, 5th down the list for the Immigrant visas.
When we were called, a English gentleman asked for my wife's passport and then told us to pay the visa fee ($400 or £279) at another window before returning to him. Once we paid, he asked for all our documents, one by one, including a photocopy of each as he checked them off from the list. For the I-864, he also asked for my most recent tax return (2007 was OK in this case), last W2 form received (for which I provided that of 2008), and a letter from my employer certifying that I was being relocated and would have continuous source of income. This also satisfied the US domicile requirement.
Once the paperwork check was complete, he gave my wife a large manila folder with her chest X-ray inside to be taken with us to the USA; this took about 15 minutes. He then told us that everything seemed OK but that final approval would be at the discretion of the Immigration Officer who would call us shortly. We went back to the seating area and waited another 30 minutes before being called again to another window. Whilst waiting we filled out the SMS courier form we were given for redelivery of the passport and visa.
The Immigration Officer was very kind and pleasant; he asked my wife a few questions about our relationship, how we met, who proposed and where/how, what we were planning to do in the USA, and where we would go. He returned our original documents to us and told us that the visa was approved; he wished us good luck and all of this took about 10 minutes. We then went over to the SMS courier desk, paid the charge, and were done in another 5 minutes.
We were told the passport and visa would be delivered within 5 working days and a text message would be sent the day before. Also, the passport holder does not need to be there as long as the person who signs has proof of identity for the beneficiary (bank statement or card, driving license, etc).
| |
|
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #4164